As bloggers, we all want the same thing. To share our thoughts, opinions, photographs, and giveaways with others. And, as bloggers, we all ask ourselves the same question: how do we do it? How do we reach new readers and encourage them to come back again, and again? Do you often ask yourself how you are improving your blog each day?
- Blog Design – Be sure that your layout is organized; make it easy for visitors to search, to follow you, and to comment. No matter how cool you think it looks, dark backgrounds with white text is not cool. {And turn off captcha. No one wants to decode a secret word to leave you a comment.}
- Blog Content – Writing fresh, engaging content is important. But, don’t commit to posting daily if you know that isn’t a realistic expectation for you. There are many bloggers who post only four days per week – some even less. Whatever posting schedule you decide that works for you, stick to it. Your readers will come to expect a new post from you every Thursday, and will wonder what happened to you if you haven’t posted.
- Guest Blogging – Offer to write a guest post on a blog that you admire. Guest posts often include links back to your blog. You can learn more about guest blogging for Nap Time is My Time by clicking here.
- Leave Quality Comments – When visiting blogs, leave a quality comment about the article you read. Typically, there is a space for you to include a link to your blog – fill it in! If your comment is genuine, other readers are likely to click through and come check you out!
- Respond to Comments – I want to improve in this area, too! It is important to acknowledge the comments that are left by your readers. Feeling that they’ve been heard is going to encourage a reader to come back over and over. A simple “thank you for visiting” is fine if they’ve left a short comment, but if someone has poured their heart out be sure that your return comment shows genuine appreciation.
When you think about building traffic, think about how you’re networking. Are you sharing your posts on Twitter and Facebook? If you need suggestions for networking, check out this post that I wrote a few months ago.
What are some techniques that you have used to drive traffic to your blog?
Thanks for sharing these ideas! I am always looking to learn more about the blogging world and this is a topic I never would have thought of!
So happy that you came by for a visit! I am glad you found these tips helpful. You may be interested in this post as well:
https://emilystephens.com/2011/11/improving-your-blog-how-often-to-post.html
Have a great day!
Oh my gosh, the content is so important! I had an a-ha moment last year when I realized that I wouldn’t want to read a lot of the stuff I was posting on my blog. When I started posting things that I would read on other people’s blogs, that’s when my traffic really started to increase!
I agree, Kiersten. Some days I feel as though my content is lacking – and those are typically the days I am not feeling creative or inspired. I am playing around with various topics right now, to see what my readers appreciate most. It has been an interesting experience/experiment so far!
I know the feeling–there are days when I need to write something and I sit and sit and nothing comes to me. I’ve been trying to write my posts a week or two in advance to help with that. It’s funny because sometimes it will take forever to write one little post and other times, I’m feeling inspired and I write three in one sitting. I try to take advantage of those times. 🙂
this series has been very imformative, thanks for writing it! i have struggled with getting more traffic for the last 6 months! im doing a few of the things already, time to kick it into high gear! LOL
i dont have a blog myself but i know that when i check my blog emails it is important what pops up first and what the topics are, thats what makes me click and read more. my sister is trying to build a blog for her tutu business i am going to pass this on so she has a few tips. thank you
Blog design, blog content and responding to comments are really important. We all like having our comments being acknowledged,, it makes us feel good 🙂
Those are really good ideas. I’m new to blogging and haven’t quite figured everything out, but I am learning thanks to posts like this! I don’t have many followers, but I do respond when people write! It would be hard if I had 100’s of comments per day though! Thanks for the hints about turning off captcha. I’m gonna have to figure that out! It is a pain!
I’m glad that you’ve found this helpful, Christy. It’s great that you’re responding to your comments now, as your blog grows it will be like second nature to you and you won’t feel overwhelmed!
Best wishes for a successful blogging career!
where can you find a great blog design?
Alicia,
The best way is to click through the “this blog designed by so & so” buttons/links on blogs that you like. From there, you’ll see examples of the designers work. That’s how I found the gal who did the current design (though it’s been modified as she originally designed for blogger & I transfered to WordPress.) and the gal who is working on my redesign.
good advice, thank you!
that is my problem. keep writing. i get so busy!
This is gonna really help out! I just started a new blog and was having trouble gaining followers
A posting schedule. That’s what i need
“leaving quality comments” I do not have a blog, but I have checked out new blogs after reading comments bloggers left on other peoples blogs. Never really thought about it before, but it works 😉
Good point about blog design. It just isn’t worth the time to sort through a disorganized mess. That applies to cloth diapering seller websites. A couple that came highly recommended on the Diaper Pin were surprisingly not user-friendly. In my very limited, non-business owner opinion, using Facebook daily doesn’t make up for a complicated website-as-store.
great tips! the hardest thing for me is to write regularly…hard to find the time!
I don’t have a blog, but as a frequent blog reader, I agree that the captcha comments are really annoying! Half of the time I can’t make out the number/word and have to type in my best guess.
I also agree about the formatting and easy to read text. It really does make a difference.
I hate Captcha!!! So obnoxious. I totally agree with the organized blog…clean and simple is the way to go. I find messy busy blogs downright hard to read, even if the text is normal…almost a sensory overload!
These are great tips! I think giveaways also help to increase traffic! Who doesn’t love a giveaway
??
I definitely agree with having a clean tidy blog. If I have to wait for my computer to load your page, you have too much stuff.
If the sidebar isn’t to help me, the reader, then you need to cut back. 🙂
I love the tip about guest bloggers. I think that is really helpful, because you can promote their post on your site, which brings people to your site. Hopefully, once they are there, they’ll come back. Plus, opening that channel with other blogger helps open the door to further collaborations. Great tips.