Not everyone has something to say, but those who have been given the gift of a voice should share it! However, just having something to say often isn’t enough – you could have the best advice or content in the world, but if no one views it, you’ve missed the point.
Let’s be honest, it’s really discouraging when you check your traffic stats and discover that nobody is visiting your blog, especially if you really believe in what you’re putting out there. But take heart!
This is one of the most common problems bloggers have, and it doesn’t mean what you have to say isn’t noteworthy! Of course, time is always a factor. A high-traffic blog requires great content for sure, but it also requires time. Organic traffic is noxiously slow to grow and you’ll need to be patient.
By the end of this article, you should have a clear idea of how to package and promote your content in a way that encourages long-term traffic growth.
Here are some tips on how to get people to read your blog.
10 Ways To Get More People to Read Your Blog
There are tons of methods for improving your blog and revving up traction on your site. Sifting through an endless supply of tips and tricks and playing the trial and error game can cost you precious time.
Luckily for you, most of the tried-and-true techniques that will help you grow a successful blog are already well established. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top tips that will help to get your blog rolling in no time.
1. Write Content That Your Readers Will Love
Before you even start writing content for your blog, consider who you’re writing for. Being crystal clear about who your audience is will be an essential first step. If you understand both your niche and your audience, you’ll save yourself a massive amount of time.
Neglecting to understand either your niche or your audience is almost guaranteed to result in less traffic. Even if a reader initially finds your blog, they are unlikely to return if you get your messaging wrong.
Conduct market research to understand not only the topics that your audience might be interested in but also the tone and style of content they find most appealing.
The key is to write content that either entertains, enlightens or solves a problem that your audience faces. People read to either learn something, feel validated about something, or find a solution to something.
They also sometimes just read for pure entertainment. Decide what purpose you want your blog to serve before starting to write. If you don’t have a clear direction for your content, it will be harder to meet the needs of your audience.
It’s the same concept as stores that dabble in too many product lines: The more specific and targeted your content is, the greater your odds of success.
2. Write Amazing Headlines
Years ago, before mainstream technology was available and our attention spans shrunk, writing was easier. Fluff and extra adjectives were commonplace and readily accepted. Now, with our attention span is about the length of a tweet, things have changed.
How does this affect you?
It means you have a very limited amount of time to capture and keep your reader interest. It means you need to not only be on point but you also need to create content that is easy to read.
Some might see this shift as unfortunate, but there is no sense in fighting the trend — it won’t be changing that anytime soon. You’ll simply have to adapt. On average, you have just a few seconds to grab your readers attentioin or somewhere around 140 characters.
You either hook them or you lose them to the dreaded thumb swipe. Your headlines are a great place to start this process.
It may seem like it shouldn’t matter as much – the content is in the body, after all! But very few people have the time or patience to commit to reading a whole blog piece if the headline didn’t even interest them.
If you have a wowzah headline, people will be compelled to at least peak at your content. And then, hopefully, your content is good enough to keep them reading.
To write an amazing headline, try saying something controversial, bold, and exciting. You can even say the stark opposite of what your content is about – draw them in with a question and enlighten them with your content later on!
3. Publish Content Consistently
Humans are creatures of habit and routine. Most people thrive when they have a consistent schedule to adhere to and too much free, un-scheduled time can lead to a decline in productivity. You can use this to your advantage quite simply by posting content on a regular basis..
Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t have to be every day or even every week. But as long as it’s consistent, people will learn to follow your schedule and look forward to upcoming content.
Think of your favorite TV show (on cable, not binging on Netflix). It probably hits the airwaves at the same time and on at the same day almost every week.
Set a schedule for yourself and make a goal to post content consistently.
Pro Tip: The thing that usually gets on the way of creating content on a regular basis is the flow of new ideas. Consider having an “idea space” where you can write down ideas as they come to you. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, jot down some notes about ideas that you can return to later.
4. Write Guest Posts
Once you start to get some momentum on your blog, think about writing guest posts. These are, simply put, “cameos” on another person’s blog or site written by you. Find another blogger that’s relevant in your niche and see if they’ll accept a guest post on their site.
If their site has more traction than yours, this can be a great way to bump views on your own content.
Having a guest post on a sister site makes it possible to attract targeted traffic. Guest posting is a great way to bring fresh, new readers to your website.
People rarely seek out new content – it’s usually happened upon as a result of a mention from someone they’re already following. Piggybacking on someone’s blog by providing an engaging piece of content is a sure-fire way to increase readership on your own blog!
5. Start An Email List
People have been talking about the death of email for as long as I can remember. Yet it continues to be one of the most reliable communication channels available.
But being a reliable channel for communicating with your audience isn’t the only reason you should consider starting your own email list. You should also think about the idea that you will own an asset that can’t be easily taken away. Here are a few rock-solid reasons why you should start building your email list today:
- Google updates its algorithm on a regular basis and having your top content move from page one to page three can have a dramatic impact on your traffic numbers. Your email list is a hedge against unexpected negative changes in your rankings.
- An email list makes it easier to keep people returning to your blog. There are a lot of distractions out there and just because someone visits your website once does not guarantee that they’ll return. An email list opens up a direct line of communication between you and your community.
- If you ever sell your blog, an email list is an asset that will make your website easier to sell.
- Emails are quick and easy to share. If you’re creating great content and then sharing it via email, it incredibly easy for people to share your email with their friends.
6. Create an Above Average User Experience
Your visitors want content that is easy to access and free from as many distractions as possible. You’ll notice a distinct lack of ads here on Blogelina and that’s for a good reason.
We believe that display ads, while providing a source of revenue, also result in a less favorable user experience. People visit your website to read what you have to say or to learn something, not to view ads.
Look at it from your visitors point of view: If your website is converted in ads, it very clear that you’re more interested in making a few dollars that providing great value.
Getting more people to read your blog also requires creating a website that’s easy to navigate, clean, intuitive and clutter-free. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this site is minimalistic, but we definitely do our best to minimize reader distractions.
Each page and each blog post that you create should serve a single, primary purpose. Help your reader to achieve or learn one thing. If your content is meant to be entertaining that make that your purpose.
If your visitors arrive on your blog and find what they are looking for, achieve their objective and then leave happy, there is a much greater chance that they’ll return or even share your content.
7. Write Content That Encourages People To Share
Let’s talk a little more about sharable content, shall we?
Do your best to make sure your blog a chock-full of highly sharable content. Include fun images and graphics that are interesting and engaging. Maybe include a gif with a pithy quote that creates emotion. Emotional readers (both positive and negative) are more likely to share what they read.
Make sure you’re creating content that is appropriate in length, to the point, and even intriguing. Spend adequate time ensuring that your content is effective.
Remember: use an attention grabber upfront, and then keep them engaged, interested and entertained. Great headlines should be followed by equally great content.
The best way to increase blog readership is to make sure your readers feel fulfilled. Like an amazing meal, if people feel like your blog or a specific piece of content was above average, they’re more likely to share and recommend it.
8. Always Be Marketing
In the beginning stages of your blog, no one will be as excited about sharing your content as you are. If you’re putting in adequate work and creating good quality content, you should be proud and excited to promote it.
Resist the feeling that you’re annoying or overbearing on social media—who cares! This is your time to shine and get the word out about your awesome content as far and fast as possible.
If you have an email list (even if there are only 5 people on it) let people know when you publish something new. Ask your subscribers to share it!
Include an email signature at the bottom of every email with a link to your blog. Make it easy for people to find your site.
Last, but not least, build relationships with other bloggers by engaging with them content and sharing their content. People are likely to reciprocate your efforts, so if you show goodwill to your peers, they may help you out in return!
There’s nothing wrong with asking for a little bit of help to get started — no one made it big on their own.
9. Don’t Forget About SEO
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably read at least something about SEO. It stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” Basically means creating content that people are already searching for and also making sure that search engines are able to crawl your website efficiently and understand what your content is about.
That’s a very simplistic overview but it should be enough to make it clear that SEO is vital to your long term success.
You’ll need to understand the primary topics, questions, concerns and interests in your niche. While you’re writing for your audience, you need to spend just as much time making sure that search engines can find and interpret your content.
Personally, I’ve worked on websites where the founder had the viewpoint that simply writing for people was more than enough to get your content ranking on page one. Nothing could be further from the truth.
10. Learn to Repurpose Your Content (Be Everywhere)
You’ve finally created your blog, published some content and are starting to see the beginnings of traffic. Hooray and congratulations! But, now what? How do you amplify those efforts without amplifying the workload?
As if creating content for your blog wasn’t time-consuming enough. What about the content needed for social media, email and video.
The answer is more simple than you might imagine. By learning to repurpose your content, you’ll be able to exponentially grow your traffic generation efforts.
Here are a few ideas for content repurposing:
- Distill your blog posts into a few key points that can be used on social media platforms
- Have videos transcribed into blog posts
- Use your existing blog post topics to create video content
- Combine your top content to create a detailed guide or ebook
- Share testimonials across different channels
- Use blog posts to create email content
By repurposing your content and then sharing it across different platforms, you be able to meet your audience where they are. The more easily you can be found online and the more platforms you engage on, the faster your audience will grow.
This comes with a caveat however. Don’t make the mistake of participating or engaging on platforms where your ideal audience is not located. If your audience isn’t on Twitter, then you shouldn’t be either.
Some Final Thoughs
Launching a blog, creating content, and building an audience is simple but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Assuming you’re not just writing for fun and your goal is to build an audience and generate revenue, you’ll need discipline, effort, time, the ability to plan, and a healthy dose of creative brainstorming.
We’ve covered a variety of ideas that will not only help you to attract new readers to your blog but also keep people coming back for more.
Blogging isn’ that different than any other business. Every single reader (or customer) is valuable. Treat them with respect, help them and meet their needs. Chances are, they’ll come back for more.
Compounding your traffic growth over time is essential. The easiest way to achieve that is by making sure that new visitors become repeat visitors.
Take the suggestions we’ve offered you here with a grain of salt. These strategies have been proven to work for many bloggers, but you don’t need to apply them all. At the end of the day, this is your blog and your content. Figure out what works for you and do more of what’s effective.