To increase blog traffic quickly, you need to have a solid commitment to your blog. I know this is a very broad statement, but really, think about it. You need to be entirely devoted to going through the LONG and complicated processes. There is no easy method to take you from 0 to 100, sorry. So, quickly is a relative term. But if you do the work outlined over the next six months, you’re guaranteed to see results at the end of that period.
As much as we’d all love to come up with a topic, hit the publish button and see those fab Google Analytics numbers crawl up consistently, that’s unrealistic. Growing your blog requires the not-so-fabulous side of blogging: business strategy and marketing savviness.
I always say that “blogger” is just a new way of saying marketer. We’re, for the most part, a one-man show that takes care of content creation in addition to all the work advertising and marketing teams do in companies. We’re an incredibly lean start-up!
So, to increase blog traffic, you need to employ the strategies and methods that businesses have historically used to grow their presence. You might not have the luxury of hiring a full team of professionals, but the beauty of owning a blog is that you have an authentic connection to your readers! That’s something other, traditional, media streams lack.
Let’s answer the question of how to get more blog readers quickly and ways to increase blog traffic in 10 steps:
1. Collect emails.
We can all agree that pop-ups and email forms are annoying. But even the sleekest of businesses refuse to let them go. Why? Because email lists are the best and most reliable source of devoted customers and readers you will ever find! These are the wonderful people that tell you they WANT to hear from you!
If you’re not building out an email list, you’re missing out on a consistent source of traffic. If you do have a list, make sure to give your readers a reason to stay on it. Provide them with useful information that’s supplementary to your blog articles for bigger value.
A few excellent tools to get you started with building your email list:
Hello Bar // Thrive Leads // MailChimp // GetSiteControl // ConvertPlug // OptinMonster
2. Write very detailed posts/content to rank highly for long-tail keywords.
Ok, so what mainly happened in fashion blogging is we all started to put a lot of pictures up without actually writing all that much. When we do write, it’s either super short, nonspecific descriptions of a personal diary or we only talk about what’s happening in the picture (“Here I’m wearing red shoes”). In the end, we end up with a jumble of different ideas that don’t do much for our search rankings and, as a result, dash our hopes and dreams of getting more blog readers.
To increase blog traffic, you need to focus on building out informative and detailed articles with plenty of specific keywords! Long-tail keywords are 3-4 word phrases that focus in on something specifically related to what your subject. I.E. instead of focusing on keyword “shoes” you focus on “block heel lace-up sandals.” That allows your site to rank higher for a keyword that might not have as much competition as “shoes” does.
Related: Check out my keyword research tutorial in the blogger resource library.
3. Build relationships with your readers by responding to them thoughtfully.
I always talk about this! I mentioned this in my 6 Biggest Blogging Tips article, and I’m going to mention it here. Communicate with your readers like they’re people, not pixels on the screen. I know it’s easy to get removed from the humanity aspect when you’re working online, but you need to realize that you should be speaking to your audience like you would if you met them offline.
Would you honestly approach someone, blurb out “Cool! I’m Amanda xo” and leave? No, probably not- because that’s weird. So give your readers something to work with. Give them thoughtful comments and responses.
4. Ramp up the quality content you produce on a weekly basis.
You need to write CONSISTENTLY, even if you can’t write often. If you can commit to three times a week, do it consistently. Same goes for once or twice a week. If you can’t even do it once a week, or you’re sporadic with your schedule, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you might as well just let go of your dreams of striking it big. It’s like going to work once in a while based on how you feel and expecting not to get fired.
[x_blockquote type=”center”]If you can’t even do it once a week, or you’re sporadic with your schedule, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you might as well just let go of your dreams of striking it big. It’s like going to work once in a while based on how you feel and expecting not to get fired. [/x_blockquote] Blogging is a business, and if you aren’t running it like one, then it’s a hobby that you might as well print the pages of and stick on your mom’s fridge. Not trying to be mean here, just giving you a dose of tough love.
You need to make blogging a priority if you’re serious about it taking off. I often don’t have time to do fun things because I prioritize blogging as a job- and I ALWAYS have something to do on the blog. When you love something with a passion and you want to live and breathe it, you’ll always have the time to do it.
5. Making sure you always write about something you love!
Readers can tell when you write lifeless content. There are so many instances where I arrive at a blog only to find that the few words written on the screen were done with absolutely no passion.
If you’re finding that your posts are becoming a chore, you need to re-evaluate your topics! You should be excited about relaying the information in your articles.
6. Ask your readers what they’d like to hear about and then address their questions in a blog post!
It’s safe to say, that if your readers are asking you about something, this is information that more people in your audience range are looking for the answer.
7. Scratch your readers’ back. Aka, comment on their blogs first.
Insert the pervy face emoji here. Self-explanatory point. More often than not, the bloggers will come back and read what you have to say on your blog post as well.
8. Offer a free value item, like an eBook that helps your readers.
An eBook can be promoted forever! Something as big as an eBook assumes loads of evergreen content that can apply to multiple places, not just your blog. Which means, unlike some blog posts, it can be promoted months on end as an incentive for new traffic to come to your site (and sign up for your mailing list)!
9. Allow relevant guest posts on your blog.
You should be actively working with other content creators and having their thoughts published on your blog. Obviously, the content needs to fit your blog’s theme and needs to provide your readers with added value. They’ll receive a promotional link and the trickle of traffic from your promotion of the article, and you’ll have more time to spend on promoting the article and blog instead of writing it.
10. Spend most of the time promoting your content!
The majority of your day shouldn’t go toward content development; it should go toward promotion! Make sure to stick to a marketing schedule for yourself and utilize social media effectively to drive traffic to your blog.
