Jen Phillips April
Have you ever written a blog post sure that it’d resonant with a lot of people and you’d get a ton of comments, likes and shares and instead….
…crickets…
No? Then you’re probably not making enough posts.
Seriously, because it happens to all of us from time to time.
Me, you, even the headliners at the big conferences.
And I know *most* people struggle to get their blog read these days because there’s a lot of noise out there. And because some of you ask me, “how do I increase my blog traffic?”
Everyone wants more traffic, more customers, more revenue.
Heavy hitting marketing sources like Moz and MarketingProfs say there’s over two MILLION blog posts published DAILY.
Yes.
DAILY.
Of course, a lot of that stuff is drivel or rehashed material cobbled together from a variety of sources –some of it pretty spammy.
Of course, that’s not your problem, you write fantastic and informative blog posts.
I know you do.
So why aren’t people flocking to read your latest missive?
Probably, because they don’t know about it.
Too many people write a post on their blog, hit “publish” and call it done.
Maybe you’re one of them. You think your audience will magically materialize and appreciate your words of wisdom.
Sound familiar?
Hey, it happens to everyone. Even highly prominent bloggers are getting the heebie jeebies lately. One’s taken to airing his concerns on Facebook and even blogging right there in his status update.
You know what? He has a point.
No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, “I need to check out Sue’s blog!” However, you know where they do go?
They go to Facebook.
That means it’s a good idea to post a link to your blog on Facebook. However, if you post something like, “new blog post” with a link, you’re going to be disappointed.
The first rule of marketing is you have to grab attention. That’s what you’re doing with your blog post title so make it interesting.
I mean, tell me if you think I’m crazy but which is more interesting: “click here to read my latest blog post” or “21 Ways to Drive Your Man Wild in Bed That You’ve NEVER Thought Of.”
(Oops, sorry, I was reading Cosmo for inspiration)
But seriously, check out the magazine rack next time you’re in line at the grocery. Those short headlines on the cover? Those are called “teasers” in the industry.
Think about it, you’re “teasing” people to click your link and read your post. There’s no shame in it. You’ll deliver.
Your goal is to grab their attention so they’ll click the link.
Here’s help in crafting interesting headlines if you need ideas or go read the cover of Reader’s Digest or any other popular magazine.
Pictures Are Attention Grabbers
Next, use a good picture in your blog post – that also helps you capture attention. I mostly use stock photos from 123rf.com. They’re about a $ 1 apiece, legal for me to use and I just download the image and pop it into my post.
Don’t Forget to Share Your Post
Next, I share part of it on Facebook and sometimes in relevant Facebook groups if given the opportunity. Several groups I’m in offer one day a week to share your latest blog post or other thing you want to promote. Take advantage of those opportunities.
Next, where else are you online?
LinkedIn for sure. So, post the headline and link on LinkedIn in your updates section. In fact, for extra credit, you can cut and paste your blog into the LinkedIn long form publishing section. (Here’s a video on how to do that). Just wait a few days after you’ve posted it on your blog, ok?
Do you tweet? Tweet it out. Schedule a few interesting teaser tweets with a link over a period of a few weeks.
And don’t be afraid to recycle old posts. They’re still relevant aren’t they?
There are lots of other ways you can promote your posts but that’s a start.
Promote Your Post
Most prominent bloggers recommend spending at least 50% of the time you spent writing the blog time promoting it. So if you spent 90 minutes writing it, then it deserves another 45 minutes of promotion. Others say spend twice the amount of time promoting as you do writing.
After all, if you don’t let people know about the great stuff you do, how will they hire you?
Another tip is to network with other bloggers and your strategic partners online. Promote one another’s posts. That’s how you grow.
So to recap how you can get more eyeballs on your posts:
1– Craft an interesting headline
2– Post a link on Facebook to your post with teaser copy
3– Use an eye catching image that will show up on Facebook in your link
4– Tweet it
5– Share old posts
6 — Spend time promoting your posts
7– Make friends with other people and promote one another’s posts.
Sound like a lot of work? Well, work is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. But I have good news.
Once you streamline the process, a Virtual Assistant could totally do a lot of this for you.
What will you do today to increase your blog traffic?
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