For the business person, we put content online to lure you into our web of products and information. For the mom blogger, we put a lot of love and sweat into our writing. And we love, love, love it when people read and comment! But for every popular blog on the web, hundreds more are read by Loyal Mom, and on some days, Loving Grandma. Writing a blog is usually a labor of love. And most of us are really truly surprised how much work it is to keep fresh, well written posts on the front page!
For those of us who are hoping to turn our blog world into something more than a monthly cappucino, we’re going to need to get more readers!
Here are 10 Proven Strategies to Get More Readers
1. Write Well, Write Often
I admit, I get pouty when I make the effort to visit a blog and see the same ol, same ol’. Remember to keep your blog current. Some advertisers require 2-3 posts per week. Use the Schedule Publishing Tool in WordPress, and an editorial calendar if you find that helps.
2. Write a few Articles!
I’m not talking the regular post, I’m talking something in the unique niche that you’ve chosen. With a few well written articles each month, you can guest post or submit them to article directories. There are those that provide free advertising on a quid pro quo basis, and you’ll get more readers who are already interested in your niche.
3. Social Networking
Oh my goodness! The difference is unimaginable!! Two that I use are Facebook, and Twitter. When I started on Twitter, my readership jumped over 50% and stayed up. Now it seems Facebook is my forte – see you there!
It is great fun to see other bloggers in your niche. Also, the more interesting you are, and the more transparent, the more people will like you and want to read your blog. Some people just shine in this arena! I suggest Twitter Tools and WordBook plugins to integrate those two social networks and ultimately get more readers.
4. Viral Marketing
This is fun! I just started this last year – I got business cards. At the time, they were more like mom-cards. Have you seen the cute designs out there? You’ll be amazed at the opportunities you have to spread the word about your blog. Give the cards to friends, family and even strangers.
5. Use RSS Feeds
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. You will have feeds – several of them actually – automatically produced for you by the WordPress engine. I suggest using FD Feedburner plugin, in combination with a Feedburner account making it easier for your readers to subscribe.
6. Submit Blog to Search Engines
WordPress blogs are automatically a big hit with Google. And our custom designs since this Summer have been formed on the Genesis Framework allowing for the best SEO-friendly themes out there. And already built into WordPress is the Ping-O-Matic pinging service. You may add to that service under Settings – reading if you wish, but it isn’t necessary. Just because your blog is crawled by google, doesn’t mean that it is loved by google though. You’ll have to do a little more work for that!
For starters, I recommend the Google XML Sitemap plugin to help the google bots crawl your blog for new content. Then check out the SEO Basics conversation here, and Search Engine Finesse Series here.
7. Joining Forums
As a blogger you are building an online reputation. The easiest way to do this is to become a member of forums, bulletin boards, or ad websites that feature other bloggers in your niche. On my Strawberries blog, nearly ALL the traffic is actually from the Foodbuzz network – which also happens to pay me for running their ads! If you do join forums or bulletin boards, don’t forget to add a link to your signature - you never know where you’ll get more readers.
8. Visit other blogs
Nearly every blogger out there started with only a handful of readers. And nearly every one of those will tell you that the fastest way to grow readership is to find blogs to follow and comment on them. Get to know fellow commenters and open the conversation.
Show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone. And every little bit of conversation that you develop increases the chances of you developing great friendships, and wider readership.
9. SEO Marketing
Whatever you write, use relevant keywords. If you’re writing about knitting, don’t avoid the word knitting in the article! We should be using the keywords in our articles between 3% and 10% for maximum find-ability by the search engines. Use title tags including your keywords for your links, and always use alt and title tags for your images. When commenting, emailing, or leaving your link anywhere, always use the same format – either with or without the www. The point is to be consistent. Use the Google Webmaster tools to specify your preferred link, and then use google analytics to uses of the alternate one so you can correct the discrepancy. See point #6 above for good resources into the SEO game.
10. Social Bookmarking
I know some popular bloggers that get a lot of traffic, and find a lot of use for stumble upon and technorati. They are the go – to locations to find any relevant links on ANY topic! So register your blog – they’re FREE!
The most important thing (in my opinion) is to love what you do. If you love it, you will research it, take pride in what you write, and keep it fresh and alive. When you are a real person, behind a real blog, providing relevant information it’s Blog Magic!
Re-written for today. Originally published August, 2009.
