Professional blogging is not as easy as it sounds. It can be a bit of a vicious circle as a blog cannot thrive without traffic, so we have to put forth a lot of effort in an attempt to obtain it – however simply working hard is no guarantee that you will receive traffic in the first place. To help with this matter, below are eleven tried and tested techniques that will ensure you get as much traffic that you need to your blog.
1. Be Remarkable – This one is number one for a reason. If you do this, most of the rest of this list will come into place and will have lasting effect on the growth of your readership.
So how on earth do you make yourself remarkable?
* Being informative: Teach your readers what they want and convey the info in a way your audience appreciates. * Entertain – Insert humor, amaze your readersdo what’s appropriate to get their attention. * Connect with Your Audience – Understand and speak to their pain, worries and even their dreams and desires. * Be Controversial – Share an opinionnot everyone has to agree with you to find you interesting.
I have been accused of having an “if you build it, they will come” attitude with this suggestion and I guess to some extent, it is true. That doesn’t mean you can’t be proactive in your traffic building as well, but the more remarkable your blog isthe better the long and short term effects of your efforts.
2. RSS: Some may say RSS old news, but there are still many blogs that haven’t thought to use a feed. If it is not something you have come across, an RSS feed is simply something that allows readers to stay updated without constantly visiting the blog. The RSS feed alerts readers to every new post via their feed reader or e-mail account. Using a service like FeedBurner.com will make this process a lot easier.
#3 Ping Your Blog. Be sure to choose the option to ping relevant services. Most blogging platforms or scripts will allow this easily via your control panel. Using a ping service will notify various search engines and other sites that you have updated your blog.
#4 Comment on Other Blogs: Comment on other blogs in related field to your own. The option of linking back to your own blog is usually available. Make sure you are respectful! I would pay the conditions set by the blog owner, be courteous by offering real information instead of a big advertisement for your own blog. Without this kind of diplomacy, your comments will probably be deleted by admin.
#5 TrackBacks: Most other blogs will allow you to post comments about their site on your blog. When you link to their site, a link to your own post actually appears in the comments on their blog. Setting up trackbacks between two WordPress blogs is easy, you simply need to put a link to the relevant post and the rest is done for you. Again, be respectful. If you’re going to TrackBack to someone else’s comment, be sure that you have written something useful. Simple copy and pasting of their own post really does not count as adding to the conversation.
6. Keep Your Email List Up-to-Date: You probably already know that your mailing list is a valuable asset. Use this asset to the fullest by sending them to your blog to read the posts you think they will find helpful, enjoy, etc.
7. Distribute Content: A great way to get people read more of your content is by getting content out there to more people. You can distribute articles, post videos, guest post on other blogsjust get some good stuff out there and lead people back to read your blog.
#8 Affiliate links: If you have your own in-house affiliate program, and you have enabled the affiliates to link to any page, ask them to link to your blog posts. I personally use a system called QuickSale.com, which is a 1shoppingcart solution. This enables affiliates to link to any blog post they prefer.
Affiliate referrals are cookied when someone follows a link and if that referral eventually buys, they get the commission. Of course, the conversions on blog links aren’t going to be as good as linking directly to a sales page, but it gives your affiliates the opportunity to bring value to their own readers (by linking to your AWESOME content) and potential benefit financially.
#9 Social Networks: All of the popular social networks around can provide traffic like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Internet users admire the transparency that these type of networks offer, and like the idea of being able to communicate with the blogger. Follow the right mannerisms when using these networks, and try not to fall into the trap of messing around on social networking sites for hours ( remember there’s more important work to be getting on with). And, if you are remarkable as mentioned above, everybody else will be talking about you on the networks without you having to intervene.
10. Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking includes sites like Digg, del.icio.us and Stumble Upon, where you can share links to a variety of content. Some people self-bookmark, but realize this could put your account in jeopardy, so read all the rules first. Others choose to work with others in helping each other bookmark. Being remarkable also encourages people to spread the word on your behalf.
11. SEO (Search Engine Optimization): I put this one last, where I know a lot of people tend to put it first. If your goal is repeat visitors who become faithful fans, put SEO on the backburner and SEO your other content pages where you are looking for first-time or drive-by visitors.
The reason why SEO Shouldn’t be such a priority, is the fact that good content needs to come first. Spending hours optimizing each page on your blog may turn out to be a misuse of your time. Text that has been optimized for the search engines and certain key words tends to be less readable and repetitive. If you are skilled enough however, you could combine SEO with outstanding content, and get the best of both worlds. Just try not to create everything solely for the search engines.
