The Ways Of Improving Your Blog
Everyone seems to have the same advice. To maintain a great blog that attracts visitors, you have to do the following:
- You must be an expert in your niche who can educate visitors and solve their problems.
- You can also entertain and inspire readers in between those educational posts
- You must have great original content
- You must publish on a set schedule
- You must drive readers to your blog through social media and have sharing buttons so that they can share and like your posts as well.
- You must use simple conversational language and break up text with sub-headings and bullet points, as well as media and graphics.
- You must have “killer” titles and grab attention with the first sentence.
- You must use long tail keywords but not too many
And some additional helpful hints have come along too, like using Buzzsumo and Ubersuggest for topic ideas, and make use of Google keyword planner for those keywords, or, to find ways to re-publish your great posts on other blogs to get more “coverage.” And, don’t forget, those posts now need to be much longer than in the early days – research shows that they are more often shared.
So now you have the basics, and you are wondering what’s next? What more can you do? Fortunately, the helpful tips do keep coming, and here are some that you may not know about yet.
Fine Tune Your Personality
One of the things that can keep people coming back and recommending you to others, as well as sharing your content is that they just like your personality. Maybe it’s your writing style; maybe it’s your ability to inject humor into an otherwise serious post. You want to be seen not just as an expert but as a friend who really wants to be helpful. You further your personality by responding to the comments and questions that readers leave for you.
Here’s a twist that will develop “you” a bit more. Every time a new reader leaves a comment or asks a question, how about trying to finding that individual on Facebook or other social media venues and leave a personal message, thanking them for their comments, contributions, and providing a personal answer to their question? If you really want a personal connection with your readers, this will go a long way.
And, of course, do not forget to leave a question at the end of each post to stimulate those comments, contributions and feedback. Constant conversation with your readers keeps your personality front and center and this relationship-building mission.
Participate on Other Blogs
Often, it is suggested that you try to submit your great posts on other blogs, because you can get a backlink to yours, or that you set up a reciprocal arrangement with another blogger with a business that is related to yours. But participation can be achieved in another way too.
Get on the blogs of related businesses, read the posts, and leave comments, ask questions, and, most important, provide some valuable contributions to the discussion. If you keep doing this, those readers will get to know your name; they will begin to see you as the expert you are, and they will then come on over and read you blog too.
Mention, Quote, and Refer to Other “Influencers”
Others with well-established reputations as experts (as long as they are not direct competitors) should be given some “coverage” in your posts. Why? Because it tells your readers that you “know” these people and “associate” yourself with them. This raises your stature as an expert as well.
Quality Not Quantity is the Newer “Recommendation”
When you start out with a blog, you may have a goal of posting every day. This is pretty ambitious and soon you find yourself scrambling for topics, figuring out which posts you can re-purpose, etc. You may end up with lack of quality, and, if readers don’t find you helpful, entertaining, or inspiring anymore, they will leave. Get a manageable schedule for yourself, maybe once a week, and write an absolute killer of a post. You can publish your schedule on your blog, your site pages, and you can announce each new blog as it is published.
An Email Subscription Option is a Must
Lots of folks really like to have their content delivered to their inboxes rather than accessing your site and blog. This way, they never miss a post, and they can read them when they have the time. It’s a convenience thing for many, so honor that desire and encourage readers to sign up.
Allow and Encourage Re-Publishing of Any Post
On your sidebar, along with the other sharing buttons, give permission for people to re-publish your post on their sites or blogs, so long as they reference you of course. This can give you lots of visibility in places you might not have considered or taken the time to find. And if you find great content from someone else, be sure to ask for permission to re-publish on your blog.
Stagger your Social Sharing
Instead of publishing your posts or announcements of your posts on your social media accounts at the same time and day, stagger them. And don’t forget about them. In a month or two, you may want to re-publish to capture some new readers. You can simply announce that you are re-publishing the post – back by popular demand!
There will no doubt be a continued flow of new creative tips to increase traffic to your blog.