Writers start blogs to express their personal ideas and opinions, to market products and services, to communicate with like-minded people, and for several other reasons. No matter what your initial motivation is, your goal is to cultivate a readership. Millions of readers search for worthwhile material every day on the Internet, and utilizing these simple tips can help draw plenty readers to your blog.
Create Dynamic Content
The heart of a blog is its content. Decide on the focus of your blog. Target a niche audience that will come to you for information and insight. Every post should showcase the best work of which you are capable, so you’ll want to proofread and spell-check every article before you upload it. You want your readers to be able to expect quality writing every time they visit your site.
Additionally, post regularly. Decide on a schedule and stick to it. Your readers will want to count on seeing new content at regular intervals. Use graphics, photos, illustrations, and videos to enhance the appearance of your posts.
Optimize Search Potential
SEO stands for search engine optimization. This is a marketing strategy on how search engines work and the use of tools such as titles, tags and key words to help your blog show up on major search engines. Use accurate, descriptive titles on your blogs. Choose specific tags that reflect the content of the post.
Key words are phrases your potential readers type into a search engine, and you might need to do some research to come up with optimal keywords. Google has a keyword tool you can use to plug into your topic and find out how people search for it. Incorporate these key words into the titles and headings of your posts.
Utilize Social Media and Forums
Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn all have hundreds of millions of users. Create personal accounts at each of these sites, and fill your profiles with relevant information, descriptions, and photos. Link your blog with these sites, and post notices every time you create new content. Interact with other users, and invite them back to your sites. Include your family and friends in your followers. If appropriate, host events such as a question & answer session or regular contests. Join online forums and communities, and post links to your blog in your profiles.
Guest Blog at Other Sites and Accept Guest Posts
Seek out blogs that have similar interests to your own, and offer to write guest posts. This introduces your name and blog to a new audience. Include links and references to your blog and reciprocate by inviting guest bloggers to your own site. Be sure to specify to the guest blogger what type of post you would like to publish, to ensure that it is relevant to the theme of your blog. Another way to initiate blog interaction is to write relevant comments on the blogs of others.
Start a Mailing List
Enable subscriptions on your blog, so that those who like it can receive notices when you post new content. Make it possible for visitors to register for a regular email newsletter. The newsletter can include links to your posts and summaries of their main ideas.
Keep in mind that it takes time to build an audience from scratch. Keep creating quality content, maximize its search potential, use social media, forums, and other blogs to spread the word, and eventually you will have a solid base of readers that will only grow.
This article was written by blogger Ryan Stewart. He has an enthusiasm for sharing is knowledge of blogging with others who are new to the game of blogging. If you don’t have time to blog yourself then click here, for all your banding, advertising and website needs.