Why does it seem that some bloggers have all the
traffic and others are lucky if they have about 10
visitors per day? You may write regular content
for your blog but because no one reads it you feel
like you are wasting your time.
All blogs are not created equal. Guy Kawasaki
started blogging and a few weeks after launching
he had over 4000 daily readers.
Guy is a famous author and business speaker so he
had the benefit of lots of other bloggers and
media spreading the word for him. Chances are you
don't have this advantage. I didn't, I had to earn
my traffic the hard way.
Blogging is like starting your own print fanzine.
First you put the hard work in, gather a
collection of articles, images and other content
and launch your new publication. Once the first
issue is ready it's time to get out there and show
it to everyone.
You won't have a marketing budget or the benefits
of a public relations officer drumming up free
publicity for you. You have to do all this for
yourself. You wear all the hats for your blog -
author, publisher, marketer and public relations.
This is where a lot of bloggers fail. Often they
produce good content but they don't know how to
market their blog. They don't know where the best
places are to drum up traffic and use "shotgun"
tactics - haphazardly shooting for traffic all
over the place using as many random methods as
possible with no thought into exactly what is the
smart way to get traffic. No methodology. No
process.
START AT THE BEGINNING
The first step in blog traffic building is
accepting the fact that you will have to work for
your traffic. No one is going to do it for you. No
one is going to help you. Your blog is your baby
and you are a single parent, solely responsible
for it's growth.
Are you okay with that? Do you accept the burdens?
Yes? Good! Okay, let's move forward.
Blog traffic building begins, just like a
magazine, by creating something worth reading. You
would never go out and hand out copies of your
fanzine if it had only one or two articles in it.
Before we even talk about finding readers for
your blog you have to ask whether the readers you
are chasing will read your blog once they get
there.
Is your blog AMAZING? Do you have great content?
Do you even know what great content is?
Take a good look at your blog and review whether
your starting content is worthy enough to capture
and retain the attention of readers.
If you just switched the "on" button for your blog
then there is only one thing you need to worry
about. Forget about traffic. Sit down, get your
writers hat on and start writing articles.
If you haven't done so already, cover at least
these topics before properly launching your blog -
1. Your About Page
Who are you? What you are blogging about and what
would a reader of your blog benefit from?
2. Your Contacts Page
Be certain to make it very easy to get in touch
with you and if possible include a nice smiley
picture of your face. Include a very clear
'contact me' link on your blog or list your email
address on your front page and offer more extended
content details in a specific sub-page.
Other possible contact details include phone
numbers, mailing addresses, Skype, MSN Messenger,
AOL, your Linked-In or MySpace account - anything
you feel comfortable making available to the
public.
You can see one of my contact and about pages here
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/about/
3. Pillar Articles
I'll introduce you to the concept of pillar
articles soon, but for the moment you need to
start working on some nice fat juicy meaty...okay,
you get the picture....solid articles. Something
substantial. Something worth reading that teaches
your audience about the subjects relevant to your
blog topic. Not just news reposts from other
websites. This is original content from your
brain.
Here's to your blogging success,
traffic and others are lucky if they have about 10
visitors per day? You may write regular content
for your blog but because no one reads it you feel
like you are wasting your time.
All blogs are not created equal. Guy Kawasaki
started blogging and a few weeks after launching
he had over 4000 daily readers.
Guy is a famous author and business speaker so he
had the benefit of lots of other bloggers and
media spreading the word for him. Chances are you
don't have this advantage. I didn't, I had to earn
my traffic the hard way.
Blogging is like starting your own print fanzine.
First you put the hard work in, gather a
collection of articles, images and other content
and launch your new publication. Once the first
issue is ready it's time to get out there and show
it to everyone.
You won't have a marketing budget or the benefits
of a public relations officer drumming up free
publicity for you. You have to do all this for
yourself. You wear all the hats for your blog -
author, publisher, marketer and public relations.
This is where a lot of bloggers fail. Often they
produce good content but they don't know how to
market their blog. They don't know where the best
places are to drum up traffic and use "shotgun"
tactics - haphazardly shooting for traffic all
over the place using as many random methods as
possible with no thought into exactly what is the
smart way to get traffic. No methodology. No
process.
START AT THE BEGINNING
The first step in blog traffic building is
accepting the fact that you will have to work for
your traffic. No one is going to do it for you. No
one is going to help you. Your blog is your baby
and you are a single parent, solely responsible
for it's growth.
Are you okay with that? Do you accept the burdens?
Yes? Good! Okay, let's move forward.
Blog traffic building begins, just like a
magazine, by creating something worth reading. You
would never go out and hand out copies of your
fanzine if it had only one or two articles in it.
Before we even talk about finding readers for
your blog you have to ask whether the readers you
are chasing will read your blog once they get
there.
Is your blog AMAZING? Do you have great content?
Do you even know what great content is?
Take a good look at your blog and review whether
your starting content is worthy enough to capture
and retain the attention of readers.
If you just switched the "on" button for your blog
then there is only one thing you need to worry
about. Forget about traffic. Sit down, get your
writers hat on and start writing articles.
If you haven't done so already, cover at least
these topics before properly launching your blog -
1. Your About Page
Who are you? What you are blogging about and what
would a reader of your blog benefit from?
2. Your Contacts Page
Be certain to make it very easy to get in touch
with you and if possible include a nice smiley
picture of your face. Include a very clear
'contact me' link on your blog or list your email
address on your front page and offer more extended
content details in a specific sub-page.
Other possible contact details include phone
numbers, mailing addresses, Skype, MSN Messenger,
AOL, your Linked-In or MySpace account - anything
you feel comfortable making available to the
public.
You can see one of my contact and about pages here
http://www.entrepreneurs
3. Pillar Articles
I'll introduce you to the concept of pillar
articles soon, but for the moment you need to
start working on some nice fat juicy meaty...okay,
you get the picture....solid articles. Something
substantial. Something worth reading that teaches
your audience about the subjects relevant to your
blog topic. Not just news reposts from other
websites. This is original content from your
brain.
Here's to your blogging success,
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