Traffic! It’s one of those words that I do not like much, for it almost begs us to forget that those stats represent actual people.
But… but… I know that one of the main reasons we blog is to be read by other people, so this makes it important to gain more followers, to receive feedback, to feel as if what you blog about truly matters to other people.
That’s why I compiled a list of the eight best ways to increase traffic and gain more followers for your blog.
1. Write better content
This is usually skipped by most of those who write about gaining followers. As if the actual quality of your content is not that important.
IT IS!
The best decision you can make regarding your blogging is to focus 90% of your attention on the quality of your posts. Don’t be lazy, don’t rush it. Do your research. Sit down and write the best possible post that you can write. Every single time.
Mindset tip: Sometimes, when we’re not receiving the type of feedback we expect, we tend to slack off. After all, why spend an insane amount of time and energy to write the best possible post for it not to be read by other people. Don’t do this! Please. Do your best even when it feels as if no one reads your posts. It’s the biggest difference maker, for a lot of people give up way before they quit blogging altogether. They give up in the mind, they lose hope, they lose motivation.
2. Be consistent
Consistency is one of the most important aspects of blogging.
It’s important to give your readers a reason to come back. Also, being predictable is actually a good thing. Figure out what your readers like most, and update your site regularly with new, unique, and useful content that will interest them. Don’t forget to make your content interesting by:
- Using videos, infographics, or photos related to your post.
- Using whitespace. Most people don’t read; they scan. They want instant access to the information they are looking for. So make your posts easy-to-read by using short paragraphs and lists.
3. Social Media
There are two different aspects to this:
- Social Sharing
- Social Media Platforms
Social sharing is a fantastically effective strategy that can get you more readers for your WordPress blog. You should allow sharing of posts on all social media platforms available, whether you have a presence there or not. Let people reblog your posts, share them with their friends.
Word of mouth is still the best way to increase your readership.
Social Media Platforms. Figure out what are the platforms you enjoy most, and create a presence there. Share your posts on your pages. Build that online presence, offer people an incentive to follow you there as a means to staying in touch with you.
4. Add A Newsletter Signup Form
A newsletter is a fantastic way to bring repeat visitors to your site. It allows you to grow your relationship with your readers by sending new updates with a personal touch, and sharing valuable content.
However, keep in mind that it’s important to send something useful and interesting rather than just distributing a newsletter full of advertisements.
Newsletters should be sent out on a regular basis to familiarize your target audience with your site.
You shouldn’t send an e-mail every time you post new content. A weekly e-mail should be more than enough. Possibly share a “Best of the Week” from your blog, sharing the best content of the week with your newsletter subscribers.
For my newsletter I use MailChimp. It’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. Of course, there are different options out there, such as:
5. Use Categories, Tags, and Enable Related Posts
By far, my most important referrer is the WordPress.com Reader. A lot of people follow certain tags in order to find relevant content among the 20 or so million WordPress.com blogs. Using tags makes it easy for new readers to find your post.
You can use up to ten tags in order for your post to appear in the Reader.
Do no underestimate this. A lot of people spend a lot of time there. A lot.
Also, categories make it easier for your followers to spend more time on your blog. Possibly find that amazing post and then want to share it with everyone they ever met. Also, you should enable related posts, which can be done in Settings – Reader – Show Related content after posts. This way people will spend more time reading your posts, while also ensuring you still drive traffic to your older posts.
6. Be A Guest Blogger
Although some say that guest blogging is not the best of methods, it’s still a great way to encourage more readers to your site. In order to maximize its benefits, you should only guest blog on sites relevant to your blog’s topic and make sure the site you’re writing for provides quality content.
Sometimes, when asking other bloggers to guest post on their site, you may receive a negative response. Or no response. Don’t be discouraged with early rejections. When it comes to Internet marketing, persistence does pay off.
7. Make friends
This is probably the most misunderstood advice. Finding a way to network with fellow bloggers and build rapport with them in the hopes of influencing them (and some of their readers) to visit your blog.
I wrote that sentence and felt like my soul was leaving my body.
No. Just make friends. Read the kind of stuff you genuinely enjoy, follow blogs you find interesting, and comment if you have something to say. And never, ever, ever, ever ask people to visit your blog or add links to your blog in your comments. That’s called spam and even though not illegal, it is frowned upon.
I almost never approve comments that include links to the author’s blog. I could edit the links out, but I prefer to just delete the post altogether. Why? Because they simply commented on my blog in order to get met to visit theirs. It’s disrespectful.
8. Perseverance and Patience
Some of you are going to be mad about this, but these two are valuable tools in gaining more followers. Manage your expectations, and if possible, let them go altogether.
And then persevere, have patience, do your thing over and over again, write quality posts for a long period of time, longer than others.
Going viral is one of the most harmful concepts. Overnight successes rarely exist. And the odds are so low, that… you shouldn’t even count on it.
What you can count on is you slowly, ridiculously so at times, growing your audience. And for that you need patience.
This is not a sprint, but a marathon.
Excellent stuff! Very insightful and helpful for this new blogger! I enjoy reading your posts and learning. Thank you.
Helpful reminders! It is important to keep these in front of us. I liked the soul leaving the body part. We need to be there sincerely for others, that seems to be what is best for our own blog.
Number 7 I think is super helpful especially to new members. I’m still new to blogging, but fell into this trap for the first couple weeks. I find now that way more people are interested in my blog when I’m genuinely interactive on theirs, instead of just dropping my link at the end of each comment.
Humans are curious creatures anyway. I mean, they’re going to check out your blog no matter what you comment, but you’ll also earn their respect and admiration if you comment something smart/useful/funny/ask questions.
This is a really good advice thank you for sharing it’s really helpful even though it’s a lot to remember and take in its a really good advice in other to get good at blogging .
Very good advice. Most of your tips I already do, but you made me realize others I wasn’t aware I should be doing. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading, Claudia!
What do you do (or any of the other commenters do) to direct people to sign up on the MailChimp link? Does WordPress have a pop-up option?
Hi Tim,
Yes. There is. You can set up a pop up, let other subscribe to your newsletter. It can be found in Settings, Widgets.
I’d also recommend adding a call to action at the end of posts, urging folks to subscribe to your newsletter.
Add a link in your blog’s main menu can also help out.
Very nice! 🙂
Great post – very good advice! 🙂
Great tips! Related posts in setting?! Let me see if I can find a way to do that.
These tips are super helpful! Thanks!
Great tips.
This is something I really like about the blogging world that people are so ready to share good advice.
I particularly liked the last sentence
It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Since I started my blog, I have made many new friends in far away parts of the world.
I value their good option far above their “traffic value”.
Some really good advice. I’ve definitely found that whenever I read and comment on others blog posts I get comments on mine as well. Or I have been lately so I guess I’m doing something right.
It’s not a sprint but a marathon. I have to always remember to keep my pace. I forgot to ask you this… do you experience burnout? What do you do to overcome this? Many thanks and once a again, I had a good read.
Eva
Not that often. I have a rather different mentality: there’s plenty of time to rest when I am dead. I also enjoy doing this far too much to get tired mentally.
I think it also helps a lot to take care of one’s body, exercise, all that. I get some of my best ideas while running in the morning. I also read a lot, accumulate ideas. If you put a lot of content into your brain on a daily basis, it’s very easy to write stuff.
It’s not like I a chopping down trees for a living.
And because of that different mentality, you are who you are today. It’s different but effective. I think you exemplify the word YOLO.
I better start taking care of my body if that is the case. Exercise
I haven’t reached the point where I got mentally burned out with regards to my writing. I did however experienced burn out in my other work. Maybe that is where all the fear is coming from.
I shouldn’t compare two separate things. Again thank you for the advise.
It’s all mindset. It’s also learning to love what you do. If you do something that stresses you out, then, yeah, you burn out. Hence the exercise part. It’s supposed to stress you out to the point that nothing else stresses you out anymore… that’s the idea behind it anyway.
I exhaust myself early in the morning, work out close to one and a half hours, then I’m pretty chill.
Working out close to one and a half hours is crazy. Well crazy according to my standards. But your body is used to by now and wouldn’t function probably without it. Am I right?
I’m a couch potato looking for change. For the past 3 months I spent more or less 10 hours a day to study. That probably explains the burn out.
I have another personal question if you don’t mind me asking. When it comes to my writing, how could I improve myself to reach out to my readers and to encourage them to be more interactive and dynamic?
Many thanks
Yeah, it is. But you get used to it.
Well, your blogs need to make people feel. That’s what makes them want to interact with a blog post. What do you want your readers to feel? How do you want them to feel? Write in such a way that you exaggerate those feelings in your readers.
That’s one way to do it.
When I write I want them to feel what I’m feeling. When I’m happy, I want them to feel the same happiness I am feeling.
Exaggerate. That method never crossed my mind. I think I’m a better speaker than a writer. I know I do quite well when it comes to public speaking. Usually at the end of my talk, my audience would say I have a way with my delivery.
But blogging doesn’t express those certain strengths of mine. So I have to exaggerate more to deliver the message.
Thank you for the homework. Hopefully I can translate all these pent up emotions into my writing. Is it okay to ask if I could continue to update you with regards to my progress?
Of course.
But there’s a lot more to that than just emotion. Lots of questions to ask yourself.
Why do you want them to feel what you feel? How does that help them? What do they learn from it?
Oh wow. Thank you very much for taking the time. Your efforts are very much appreciated.
I want them to relive my emotions.
However I’m am stuck and I don’t know the answer with regards to the 2nd question on how it would help them.
What do they learn? Something new. I want them to feel that it was a time well spent that they read my blog.
So I have to research more and give them facts they have never heard of. Or I should write about something more relatable but with a fresh twist to it? Or i could put both together?
Both. It’s not just the information, but also the angle, the perspective. After all, why write anything, if not for the chance to put a bit of yourself into your words and ideas?
I’m very overwhelmed. I have a lot of ideas I just don’t know how to paint the picture. Words present themselves but I can’t manage to put them in order.
Can you feel my frustration? Or not just quite yet?
I think I’m also quite guarded when it comes to writing. Do you feel that I only touch the surface and never go too deep? I think I need to be more vulnerable?
My advice is to not take any of it so seriously. Any of it. Life itself. You’re not going to come out of it alive, so you just might enjoy yourself while you can.
Life is short. Live it while you can. Thank you.
I took your advice and wrote what I knew about. I hope you could enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
This is really helpful. I couldn’t help but read all the comments 😂
Reblogged this on Cristian Mihai.
Enjoyed the really good tips. I too try to exercise most days for 60-90 minutes as my brain is clearer and I can keep typing without my back or wrists giving up on me. Will try to implement ones I am not yet doing.
Some really useful information, thank you. 🙂
I find your posts so easy to read! They’re written really clearly.
Thank you so much. That’s the goal. To write in a clear and concise manner.
Reblogged this on Writing for the Whole Darn Universe.
Your last line is a great reminder. I haven’t tried using tags yet. Those would just be words that describe he content of the post? I’m trying to build community with people who blog in my category, like you said, and I’ve actually found it very rewarding and encouraging!
Yes, tags are like.. hashtags. People can find your content by them though in the WordPress Reader, where everyone’s posts are showcased based on tags. If you do not use tags, then your posts will only appear under blog in the WordPress Reader.
Okay, thanks Christian! I’ll add some tags to my posts.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
This is the third post of yours I have read in 10 mins! I love that you focus on making friends and simply writing great content. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the tiniest of details, just like you said, instead of focusing on the content. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of the help, encouragement, and support that your blog has given me! Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you. And I hope to keep providing great content to you.
Reblogged this on The Holly Journal.
Great tips! 🙂
Thank you for posting this! Just what I needed.
Hi, Christian. Thanks again for another informative and useful post. Very helpful. have a great day. Goff
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Goff.
I really like that you address how a blog builds slowly over time. I think this is very valuable for us first time bloggers so we can get used to how things work and how to manage the ‘traffic’ as it grows. If the blog went viral overnight it seems that it would be very overwhelming to deal with it all for those of us who are just learning. Thank you for being so informative and brutally honest in your posts. This is exactly the sort of helpful information I need! 👩🏻💻
Got that right!
This was so helpful and wonderfully encouraging. Thank you.
An enlightening read for a beginner who is just three months into blogging. Thanks a lot. Found it really helpful.
More good advice for someone new to this scene. Thanks for sharing your experience and expertise.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Barbara.
Excellent advice! I have not been consistent with my blog and as a result have few followers. I loved what you said about the soul leaving the body! If we’re going to write it, should be to share worthy content rather than a race to gain followers.
Consistency is truly magic. It matters so much. After all, think of your favorite TV show. You’d hate it if they released episodes when they felt like it. No clear schedule. As a matter of fact, I think that no matter how good the show, you’d stop watching it because of that.
I never thought about doing the newsletter. This was just what I needed. Thank you.
This is practical and tangible and I appreciate this post.
I. Love. This. Thank you for setting healthy expectations for what it means to write publicly. I LOVE that your number one rule was focusing on good content (it seems like a duh! but at the same time you can get distracted by the hamster wheel of online marketing). Also, that patience is key – as I’m JUST starting out and exploring my OWN style and preferences in the blogging scene, I REALLY appreciate you encouraging others to take their time and not obsess over “going viral” which IMO is made out to be more common than it is. Oh, the internet lol. Thanks again for this 🙂
Thank you for reading.
Well, they do say patience is a virtue. Also, going viral right away would mean that you never get to truly appreciate blogging as an experience.
True – and part of it – at least I’m finding – is just having a space to explore your personal style: which probably means more inconsistencies at first, but that’s part of the process!
Really really awesome info. I appreciate this so much. Thank you, it means a lot that you even read my blog. Thank you
Thanks for the tips! I’m just starting out, so management of expectations is a big deal for me.
Well, expect it to take longer/be more difficult that your most pessimistic plan.
Yikes! Ok, I won’t give up.
Good stuff…thanks.
Great post, Cristian! And Specially to mention, I liked the soul leaving the body part.
I’ve had a blog for more than 4 years. The other day I went to my followers to see if they were still around. Most of them weren’t, at least from the first couple years. I haven’t checked the rest yet. They come and go. That is why thinking that how many followers you have determines if you are successful doesn’t equate. and most of my hits come from outside sources, not bloggers so you have to determine if what you write has an appeal for a wider market. If I looked at only how many likes i got on a post, I would have quite long ago.
This article was helpful for me as I just started writing. The points that you highlight will help me to pay attention on important aspects of blogging
Thanks, as usual, for great blogging advice. I make copious notes on your posts! Really appreciate you sharing your expertise.
Thank you so much, Leah.
Some great tips. Thank you for sharing
Keep Glittering, from TGA by Misha 👍😊
Thank you, Misha. Glad you enjoyed reading this post.
Another great post, thanks for the insights 🙂
My pleasure, Jo!
Thanks for this even though am still new to the art of blogging and find it challenging will definitely put all 8 ways in action to my blog
Yes, it’s been a 7 year marathon, but with the persistence you write about, a new follower every other day or so is actually happening. But, the handful of regulars are who I write for … and yes👍🏽 developing their friendships is the priceless reward. Thanks for the reminders!
I like especially this part of your post : And then persevere, have patience, do your thing over and over again, write quality posts for a long period of time, longer than others. Thanks for such great post!
Ridiculously slow. But growing none the less. Thanks for your continued encouragement.
Thank you for the tips! I have just started my blog 2 weeks ago so it’s good to see how others do it here 🙂
A great word. Thanks Cristian!
Thank you, John!
I didn’t even realize I didn’t have related posts enabled! Thanks for that!
My pleasure, Maranda.