Once upon a time, bloggers shared interesting concepts and ideas, which were embraced for their merit; drawing loyal readers online. But as the medium explodes, with new interests emerging for personal and professional bloggers in just about every imaginable niche, further reinforcement is required to maximize your audience. Today, increasing traffic to your blog still requires engaging content, but success also calls for actively promoting and marketing your posts.
Fortunately, the widespread acceptance and use of blogs to promote personal and professional goals makes it easier than ever for bloggers to reach audiences, using a few simple marketing techniques.
Social Media
Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and other social media site support blogger’s efforts to increase traffic, furnishing forums for spreading the word about content. LinkedIn, for example, once drew interest from professionals seeking to connect, but serves a more general networking role today. Sharing updates about your recent blog posts with members of your LinkedIn network; including descriptions and images related to your articles, brings readers on-board and increases the odds colleagues will share your work with others.
Twitter is a blog-friendly platform, supporting your main mission of increasing blog traffic. You can even include the familiar little Tweet button directly in your posts, making it effortless for visitors to do your bidding through Tweets about your blog posts. And there is nothing wrong with directly asking others to share your blog with others, directing them to the easiest ways to do it.
To gain traffic using Pinterest, create a board for your blog, and then pin each of your blog posts. Obviously images are essential to your success here, so use appealing visual content to invite others to repin your images and blog post descriptions.
Facebook is extremely pervasive, so it yields prime opportunities for marketing your blog, but only when you align your presence there to support your blogging goals. Start by keeping your profile and updates professional, projecting the right image for your blog niche. Mix content between blog promotion and interesting personal updates.
Solid Network Connections
No matter what you are blogging about, there are interested readers out there waiting to digest your content; the key to success is finding them and keeping them interested in what you have to say. Making solid network connections within your niche is essential for spreading the word, after all; these are the readers likely to share your content and increase traffic to your blog.
In addition to social media outlets, online clubs dedicated to your subject matter provide targeted audiences for your blog posts. Whenever possible, make comments on other blogs written in your niche, to incite reciprocity and establish yourself as a team player. To go a step further, write guest posts for other blogs in your niche, perhaps trading that opportunity with other bloggers whose work you respect.
Other techniques for increasing traffic include YouTube videos, which can be linked back to your blog. Tie the subject of your video to what you write about, so viewers are most likely to have an interest in your site.
While engaging content is still at the heart of blog promotion, marketing through social media and solid networking are important ways to get the word out about your posts.
