6 Surefire Ways to Grow Your Blog

Oh snap! You’ve finally put all procrastination aside and have finished that blog post that’s been sitting in the back of your mind for days, weeks, months. No doubt, you’re extremely impressed with your punchy metaphor and lyrical flow. This isn’t just any blog post; this is a work of art.

So, now, the blog post just sits on your website, with all of the blog posts you’ve written over the past year. And, with an estimated 2 million blog posts being published to different websites every single day, surely someone will happen to stumble across yours, right? I mean, you’ve noticed that you’ve picked up a handful of website visits from China and Russia. Now, that’s pretty cool!

SPOILER ALERT: Before you start applying for the blue checkmark on Twitter for your Chinese celebrity status, the Chinese and Russian hits are most likely bots. And, while we appreciate your Internet optimism, you need to be proactive to make sure people find your diamond in the rough.

You need to drive some traffic and build your following. And the really cool thing is this — as you create more quality content and keep pushing people towards that content, people will start subscribing to your blog. And as people subscribe to your blog, they will automatically get updates when you post new content! And your audience begins to grow...

BOTTOM LINE: Your blog site deserves to be seen!

Well, we are very glad you asked. In fact, we are so glad that we pulled together 6 ways that YOU can start driving traffic and building a blog following TODAY.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s really easy to lose sight of this one — or not get a handle on it at all! And missing the mark on your target audience could be a fundamental error that could make or break a blog site.

Find a specific audience. Learn what they care about. Write in that direction.

In the midst of all of the “noise” on the Internet, a blog site specifically dedicated to underwater basket weaving techniques may ironically garner more of a following than a general blog site about life, as long as you understand who your readers are and what they find interesting.

FACT: You’re most likely not the only person that blogs on your specific topic, no matter how niche it is! If you’re all trying to add value to the same conversation, why not work together for the common good?

Enter guest blogging. By inviting other bloggers or subject matter experts to write for your website or by volunteering to guest post on others’ websites, you can a) garner free content for your own blog, b) expand your reach and influence and c) ultimately (hopefully) convince some people who wouldn’t normally read your blog to jump on board.

As an added bonus, links back and forth from blogs are great for everyone's search engine rankings. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Really simple idea that is not so simple to carry out — create consistent content. This pro tip goes a long way in building a blog audience. If you’re creating great content on a reliable schedule, people will be more likely to revisit or subscribe to your blog.

Be consistent in your publishing frequency, and traffic will start to arrive. And, over time, maybe guest bloggers will emerge from your normal subscriber base. And, when that happens, that means free content. And free content equals more consistent content. And more consistent content eventually equals daily content…

… But, of course, none of that matters if you’re not creating engaging content.

Again, seems like a no brainer, but the fact that terrible content is rampant across the Internet isn’t fake news. Find some ways to help your content rise above the noise.
What are some of those ways? Here are a couple of tips.

• Create timely and relevant content. Is what you’re writing relevant to your audience? Is it outdated? Does it feature something that our audience would find useful?
• Use (compelling) images. If a picture is worth a thousand words, why not include one (or two) in your blog content? However, use discretion. While high quality images can raise a blog from good to great, low quality images can do more harm than good.
• Make informing — not selling — your primary focus. If you (or your business) are an expert in your field, let your content do the talking! No need to sell yourself or your product or your service; let the bulk of your content be an informative value-add for your audience. Then, if you feel a need to insert a shameless plug, tack it on at the end.
• Draw readers in with your headlines. Just as with images, misleading or low quality headlines can produce mistrust with your blog and can force readers away. However, when used correctly, headlines can be an invaluable resource to draw in readers and, ultimately, build your blog audience.

Something that goes oft forgotten when writing blog posts is that blogging is a two-way street. If you want one-way information distribution, go read a newspaper. However, most (if not all) blogging platforms offer readers some sort of ability to interact with the author by leaving comments. Show your readers that you care by responding to their comments and continuing the conversation that you started with your blog post.

Further, social media is an excellent way to a) amplify your blog post and b) facilitate that two-way dialogue about your blog. Be sure to take advantage of social media to make sure your blog content is seen and to ensure that your audience is able to chat with you wherever possible.

With email lists, hundreds of people can be automatically notified when a new blog has been posted. But how do they start? Where do you find people’s email addresses who are interested in reading your material?

On most blog platforms, people can volunteer to enroll or “subscribe” into email lists, but more often than not, this personal information is the result of an exchange — an exchange where you, the blog writer, offer your readers something of value in exchange for a small piece of personal contact information.

This “offer” can be anything from an infographic to an eBook. In fact, a popular tactic of bloggers is to take the pieces of a blog series, form them into an eBook as chapters, then release these stylized, consolidated posts in exchange for an email address.

Whatever the strategy, having some sort of offer for your audience is a great way to capture reader information and, slowly but surely, build an audience of loyal followers.

At the end of the day, the Internet wants more good content. So, yes, 2 million blog posts are published to different websites every single day. But, while true, this doesn’t necessarily mean that 2 million quality blog posts are being published every day.

It’s time for your quality content to be seen. Building a blog audience is just as important as writing the blog itself, so be sure to allot time to do the good work of amplifying your content and growing your following.

Got any tips to add? Let us know in the comments.