If you’re creatively-inclined in any way, shape or form, writing your very own blog is probably something that’s sounded pretty appealing to you on more than one occasion. That is until you start writing it of course. All new bloggers are left facing the ominous initial challenge of getting their content seen by the masses. There’s a heck of a lot of fierce competition out there, and although you might have found a way to separate yourself from the herd with deliciously fresh subject-matter, it can still be tricky to pull in an audience. All that lovely content and no one to see it. It’s a travesty isn’t it?
The trick is to not let the hurdle of building a blog community put you off doing what you love. You’ll be happy to learn that there are actually several ways you can increase internet traffic and assemble an audience who’re devoted to your articles. Four of the very best tactics are listed below:
1. Encourage Debate
When writing your blog, it’s always a good idea to get involved with something that has the potential to generate a little friction among an audience – something that will get them talking. You don’t have to be the next Katie Hopkins and write a load of unnecessarily controversial and provocative spiel, but encouraging discussion and debate on your blog is a great way to keep readers coming back for more. Asking your readers to comment on your blog is a simple request, but an extremely effective one. Just make sure you make it easy to comment, as the process of registering to write a reply is widely regarded to be an arduous one.
2. Social Media & Sharing
One of the very best ways to attract an audience to your blog is to get busy on social media. Every single post needs to be shared across all forms of social media on regular basis for it to be seen. Take your time to think up some killer headlines that’ll get social media-savvy internet scanners clicking left, right and centre, and make sure that everything that goes up on your blog can be spread easily by those who see it. A handsome selection of big bold “share” buttons will work a treat.
3. Grab Yourself A Guest Blogger
Do you know anyone who’s halfway famous or important? Get them to write a guest entry on your own blog. They don’t even have to be a natural writer – you can always perform some patch and fix work on the content afterwards to make sure it’s easy to read. If that proves to be a little tricky, why not conduct your very own interview?
The simple fact is that big names generate traffic, and if there’s someone in a position of power who has something important to say, people are going to flock to come and see it.
4. Care For Your Community
No matter how small your readership, you’ll need to make every possible effort to tend to their needs in order to allow its size to grow. Offer a shout out to anyone who’s made a comment in previous posts (people get a kick out of their name being pasted across the web) and hold a few Q&A sessions about a topic if your blog is picking up some momentum. Care for your community, tend to their needs, and do everything in your power to continue producing the kind of content that’s kept them coming back until now.
