The 4 things I think are most important (in this order) are:
1) Writing great posts. If you are writing lousy posts then nothing else matters. No one is going to waste their time returning to or following a blog that is horribly written, hard to comprehend or full of typos. On the flip side if you write something so masterfully crafted that 100% of the people who read it are compelled to share it with their friends then nothing else matters either. It will go mega viral in a week. Of course most things we write are somewhere in between. A great post can be many things but usually it is funny, entertaining, educational, emotional or helpful. Ideally it will combine a few of these. It also has to resonate with more than just the people that personally know you. If you are limiting your audience to only the people you personally know, you are eliminating 7 billion potential viewers.
2) Catchy Titles & Photos. You may have written an amazing post, but if people fall asleep reading your title then they’ll never click on it to know it was great. This primarily applies to gaining new readers. Once people know you write good stuff they will cut you some slack about your title; but what about your friends’ friends’ friend who just saw your post scroll across their news feed because someone “liked” it. They don’t know you. Will your title be compelling enough to make them click? If you really want to gain new viewers you must think about your posts’ title as a very important part of your post.
3) Make it as easy as possible for people to find your posts. I’ll give this section 3 subsections:
i) Post to as many social media, blog network places as you can find. The more places your posts are plastered the better chances someone has of stumbling across it. If you can set your posts up to auto post on social media then do it.
ii) Make it easy for people to find your posts while they are on your site. You already got them to come to your site, you might as well try to get them to stay for a while. Make sure readers can easily access other posts when they finish reading one. Some mobile optimized layouts strip off “recent posts” and such so the page loads faster. Don’t assume people will spend time trying to navigate your site looking for more posts to read. Gently put posts right in front of their face.
iii) Make sure search engines can find you. Learn some of the SEO tips and tricks to increase the chances your website will pop-up when people are searching for stuff. Remember you are trying to grab a small slice of the 7 billion people in the world you don’t know.
4) Read and comment on other blogs. It is obviously very time consuming to read a dozen or more blogs a day and comment on them but if you are able to do so you will find after a while many of them will begin to come over and check out your blog too. In the end you will not only have gained a regular viewer but likely a friend. When you leave your comments sign off by leaving your blog address, this gives the blogger and anyone else who reads your comments an easy was to find your blog.
Do you have anything to add? What do you find helps you gain viewers?
Great tips and advice, as you and all of us bloggers know our little “hobby” turns into a full time job with all the behind the scenes stuff that goes on!
You aren’t kidding!!
Another great post my friend. Some things here I need to put to use. You’ve gained a lot of knowledge about the blogging game since you got in. Thanks for sharing it with me.
I do lots of this stuff, but readership is still pretty low. It’s cool though, I’m playing the long game with the blog and am focused on publishing great, authentic content.
Somewhere I should have added perseverance and luck. Keep up with the great authentic content and the rest will come. Thanks for the comment.
Yep. Following your blog now. 🙂
Great tips, thanks for sharing them. Let’s hope 2015 is the year all of our blogs become really successful 🙂
I can agree to that!
Great helpful advice ! I completely agree about visiting and commenting on others’ blogs…I’ve often looked through comments left on someone’s site and then I’ll be intrigued who the commenter is… Most times their blog is just as interesting as the one I follow since it’s a genre I like as well… I’ve gained many new blogging friends that way!
It is nice when you can consider people blogging friends as opposed to just viewers.
Yes, I feel lucky to have such a friendly and supportive network via the blogosphere 🙂
Happy Friday!
These are really great tips for bloggers of all levels. I often have to remind myself that my titles need to grab a new readers attention… The worst part is that I’m a former newspaper reporter! Hahaha! I totally know better and not only do I know better I can do better too!
Thanks for opening my eyes to a few new tips and for reminding me of the ones I know and should already be doing!
Wishing you a terrific Monday!
Lysa
Welcome to My Circus
Newspaper reporter! You could be giving me pointers!
I know right?!?! It is still one of the most difficult things I have found in regards to blogging. With news articles people just want the facts with a blog you have to really keep them guessing and give them more of an incentive to read what you have written. I have been putting more effort into the titles lately though and it is definitely paying off!
If you get a chance please stop by our NEW Blog Hop/Linky Party called Party Under the Big Top and share a few of your posts. We went live for the first time EVER today and would love to have you link-up!
Wishing you a fabulous day!
xx
Lysa
Great tips buddy! I love them. They’re all completely true. Since I worked this out before Christmas the affect it has had on my blig has been amazing and it’s still growing. Let’s hope that this gives us all successful blogs this year!
Let’s hope for success indeed! Thanks for the comment. You’re doing a great job on your blog.
Thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome, thank you for stopping by.
Well, I just saw this on my twitter feed! Good points. I’m struggling with balancing the time needed to write good content, make good pictures, spread the news, participate in linkups, and then comment on other blogs; it is quite a juggling act.
Well, one keeps trying and hoping, hey!