Everyone’s blogging these days. Doctors, vets, writers, heck even cats have blogs. It’s never been easier to set up a blog with the likes of WordPress and Blogger at the click of a button. But how do you get people to read the damn thing? This must be one of the biggest questions in the blogging community, and every blogger wants to be read. So where do you start?
1) Be Yourself
There are a million different bloggers and it’s amazing how many sound the same. If you want to stand out and be remembered then add some personality into your writing. Don’t copy other people or you’ll end up a second rate version of them. It’s better to be a first rate version of you! Throw in your quirks. Don’t be afraid to have opinions. People respect honesty, so don’t hold back your feelings. Let them bleed on to the page. Well, not quite but you know what I mean. Don’t be bland. There’s too much monotony on the Internet and the bloggers who stand out are the ones who write with their hearts on their sleeve, for better or worse.
2) Write Fantastic, Useful, Exciting – Content
This seems obvious, and it’s a mantra spouted by Google, but unfortunately it’s true. There’s no point writing a blog unless you write something people want to read. Write something useful. You might find your cat thrilling, but it isn’t a quantifiable topic to write about. Let’s face it, most people search on Google because they need to know something. They have questions they need answered. Play into that by second guessing what people need to know, and give them the answer.
Become a ‘resource’ in what you know.
Of course you don’t need to second guess at all. You can follow forums, ask on social media, do keyword research, and this will tell you what people need to know about your area of expertise. Become a resource and they’ll keep coming back for more.
3) Have An Area of Expertise
There’s an argument to say this should be number one on the list, and maybe it should. If you’re going to be a blogger you should come from an area of expertise. It doesn’t matter what it is, and it doesn’t matter if you’re an expert at all, but it must be something you’re passionate about. If you’re passionate about something, you’ll learn from it. If you keep on learning, you’ll become an expert, and you’ll have valuable information and insights to pass on to your readers. Keep doing this, rinse and repeat and before you know it you’ll have a resource that readers come back to time and time again.
4) Use Social Media
So you’ve got your content and area of expertise, what next? Get social! There’s groups and hangouts on social media for just about any subject you can imagine. Join them and get involved. Search Facebook for groups where enthusiasts gather. Follow like minded fellows on Twitter. Join some communities on G+.
Keep doing this and before you know it you’ll have thousands of people interested in the very subject you’re writing about. Then you can start sharing and encouraging discussion. Think carefully about your headlines and be consistent. If your content has ‘value’, you’ll earn respect. If you earn respect they’ll read your blog. Simples.
There was a time when viral was bad.
Now it’s fantastic!
5) Guest Post on Relevant Blogs
Getting an article posted on a major blog is the best way to get large volumes of traffic to your own blog. Every niche imaginable has at least one blog that’s killing it with traffic. Usually the reason they’re so popular is because they’re pumping out useful/engaging/interesting content on a regular basis.
Any blogger will tell you, thinking of fresh, imaginative content on a regular basis isn’t easy. Usually these types of blogs will accept articles they feel worthy of their audience. This is where you come in. Research the articles they post. Think of fresh ways to deliver an article they’ll publish. Find out their submission guidelines, or ping them an email pitching your article. If they like it and agree to publish, you’ll get an author bio along with your article. This raises your profile immensely and you’ll have a vital link on an article read by thousands.
Rinse and repeat, and you’ll have a lots of visitors reading articles on your own blog. It’s hard work, but massively rewarding.
6) SEO, Search Engine Optimisation
If done correctly SEO can get a ton of traffic, with hundreds, even thousands of new readers for your blog. Do some keyword research and find out what people are searching for in your area of expertise. Specifically look for long tail keywords as they’re easier to rank. Compile a list of keywords and write some specific content tailored to match these searches.
If you’re writing an article for Google,
it needs to be good.
Think of your article as the ultimate resource for that particular question. We’re talking 2000 words plus. If people are searching ‘How To Grow Strawberries’, then write an article covering every aspect of growing strawberries. Answer every possible question that anyone could ask about growing strawberries.
Add in all the phrases you’ve found in your keyword research. Add the highest searched phrase in the title of your article. Break your article up with h1, h2 and h3 tags, and add keywords into those. Use keywords as ALT tags for your images. Make the article as rich and search engine friendly as possibly, then try and get others to link to it.
If you’re guest posting they’ll usually allow you to link to other articles, and this is a great way to get links for your own blog. Keep doing this and eventually your article will be ranking on Google and bring in a plethora of extra readers to your blog.
Take The Plunge!
There’s no doubt about it, using these techniques will make a big splash in your niche, and people will be reading your blog by the bucket load. It takes time and hard work, but if you’re writing a blog you should be prepared for the long haul anyhows.
I’ve been ghostwriting other peoples blogs for years, but this blog is brand new. I’ll be using these techniques myself, so if you want to keep up with what I’m doing, feel free to subscribe.
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