There are now literally millions of businesses and individuals in the world blogging, all vying for the eyes of as many readers as they can get. Many times blogs are set up, a few posts are created and then the blogger or business just sits back and waits for traffic to come pouring in.
Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.
Blogging takes time, commitment and hard work. But it can be a worthwhile investment and reap great rewards for yourself and your company – if done well. The question most bloggers (including some of my clients) end up having is have is, “How can I get more traffic to my blog?”
This is not an exhaustive look at how to get more readers, but here are 4 good ways to get started:
1. Write Great Content
It doesn’t matter how flashy your site looks or if you post 5 articles a day – people read blogs for the content. Make sure your content is high-quality information that the niche you are writing for cares about and people will come to read it.
Tip: Use Google Analytics to see what pages and posts people are reading the most as well as what keywords they were searching for when they came to your site. Write more content accordingly.
2. Post Consistently
How often you post is up to you. But don’t leave your readers guessing if you’ve given up on the blog. Make it obvious how often your blog is updated and make sure you stick as close as you can to your timeline.
Tip: Future-post! Prewrite a few great articles, then change the publish date on them to the future (super easy to do with WordPress). Viola! You’re already on target for posting consistently in the next few day or weeks.
3. Guest Post
Write somewhere other than on your own blog. This helps new, more and different readers see what you write about, and if they like your post enough they will click through to see your blog. Ideally you should guest post on a blog with more visitors than your site has, and with readers that would want to learn about the same general topics that you write about.
Tip: Make sure you read the blog that you are submitting an article to. Get a feel for the writing style, length, and content. If you don’t know where to start, try guest posting on blogs you like to read often anyways.
Check out the spike in visitors the day one of my clients guest-posted on a bigger blog.
4. Participate
Blogging is all about sharing information, ideas and opinions. Make sure your sharing doesn’t stop when you hit Publish. Engage your audience continually to build a sense of community around your blog. Reply to comments on your own blog and go comment on other blogs. Use social media to interact more directly with readers.
Tip: Make sure it is easy to leave comments on your blog. If the form takes too long to fill out, or if it is obvious the blogger doesn’t respond to comments many people won’t waste their effort.
Some further resources for getting more traffic to your blog:
How to get traffic for your blog by Seth Godin
13.2 Easy Ways to Build a Thriving Blog Community from Men with Pens
9 Things to Do To Make Sure Your Next Blog Post is Read by More than Your Mom at ProBlogger