What’s the point of having a blog if you don’t have an audience? Blogs today serve as convenient platforms for public speaking, and nearly everyone can or does have one, but few have the number of visitors that they wish to have. You may be wondering, “How can I control how many people visit my blog? There are millions of regular people who have blogs, and I’m competing with them for everyone else’s attention. What can I do differently?” There are certainly ways that you can increase visitors to your blog in an honest and efficient way; all it takes is a little proactive thought and effort.
How to Utilize Social Media
First and foremost, use social media as a supporting platform for your blog. Don’t make your accounts all about your blog alone, but reference it often in your posts. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all great ways to facilitate interaction with your visitors, and that’s a positive thing in that it’ll keep people coming back. They’re also great tools for announcing when you have a new post, what’s coming soon, and linking to other sources via tags and hashtags. You’ll find that the more you hashtag, the more you tag other businesses and people, the more you make it more about everyone else, the more people will do the same for you. By using social media to invite community even outside of your blog, you’ll gain more followers and interests in what you have to say.
Post Regularly to Increase Traffic
Take this with a grain of salt, knowing that “regularly” may be curtailed to whatever industry you’re in or whatever subject matter you’re blogging. For example, don’t bombard people with new articles multiple times a day, unless your blog is all about breaking news. Aim instead for a consistent number that your audience can come to grips with – a number that leaves them looking forward to the next one but not deprived of reading them as often as they’d like to. Consistency is key – aim for 3 times a week if that’s all you can do consistently. Visitor numbers will grow as people learn exactly what they can expect from you.
Don’t Ramble When Writing Articles
People would rather see your collected (and edited) thoughts and ideas, not a rambling bout of words that seems to have no flow, no content standard, no end. You have a blog because you have something you’d like to say, or a business to promote, yes? Put in the extra effort to polish off your posts. Sit on them for a couple of days at a time; read them and re-read them, editing as you go along, removing unnecessary statements that only serve as filler. People will re-visit and tell their friends about blogs that are a pleasantly professional, yet easy read.
Engage with Your Website Visitors
Interaction is key. People want to be heard, even online. Visitors will disengage and leave the blog, never to return again, if they feel ignored. If they comment, respond. If they have a question, answer. If they reach out via social media, do your best to reciprocate. Engage your visitors via competitions where they need to tag friends (on Instagram or Facebook) in order to enter. People love this interaction, and the excitement involved in possibly winning something fun, and it drives more visitors to your site.
Use Pictures to Enhance User Experience
Words are old news. Have you heard of Pinterest? It’s all the rage these days because it’s quick, it’s mindless, it’s a never ending scroll of pictures. With minimal thought or effort, people scroll through picture after picture and decide what they like, what they don’t like; what they want to re-create, what they want to bake. Pictures are the new words; don’t deprive your blog and your visitors of thoughtfully crafted images. You’ll do yourself a huge favor by studying up on how to take a good picture, and by throwing a few images into each post.
Be Real with Your Followers
Blogs are a controlled way to put your best foot forward, to be perfect. The problem is that people don’t want perfect, because people aren’t perfect. You’re more likely to increase your following if you relate to them. Step down off the high horse if you must, and post something real, something you struggle with. For example, if you’re a stay at home mom with an Etsy shop and a creative blog, know that people will be more likely to follow you if your posts and social media reflect a whole life (struggles and successes), not just your business. People want to relate to you on more than one level, so do a blog post about how you’re making it through sleepless nights with a 4 month old. Get real with people, because they’ll appreciate it.
Driving visitors to your site isn’t really difficult if you’re thoughtful in your blog presentation and are willing to put in the extra time and effort to make it happen. Visitors don’t come without effort, so be real, use pictures, engage, don’t ramble, post regularly and utilize social media.
