How to Get Your Blog Read
Everyone and their dog (literally) has a blog now. This is great, as everyone’s a publisher suddenly, everyone has a voice. However, what there is a lack of is time – no-one can read every blog going, so people tend to have a quick scout about and then stick to the blogs that speak most to them. How do you speak to people so that they listen and remain loyal? How to you get your blog out there and read by as many people as possible?
Here are a few pointers to help you to find and keep subscribers.
Define your blog’s purpose and stay with it
Who are your readers? What do they want? Once you’ve worked this out, you can build your strategy to reach and retain them. Do you want to inform people? To start debate and conversation? There’s no one approach that’s worth more than the others, but you need to work out which one is most useful for your particular audience. If your audience doesn’t want to read or share a post, you don’t have much of a hope.
Use social media wisely
That’s what the “share” button is for! Share your posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and whatever other platforms you use. If your content is easy for others to share, too, then your reach will widen, so make sure that share button is visible!
Get SEO-smart
Learn as much as you can about SEO. Find out what the best keywords for a particular blog post or topic are and then incorporate them into the title and main body of the post.
The earlier in a post the main keyword appears, the better, especially if you can use it in the title as well. Don’t force it though – some posts and keywords are easier to fit together than others. Keep it natural.
Speak to – and with – your audience
You need to sound less like a press officer and more like a friend when you blog – it’s a different way of communicating. You’re not addressing a conference, you’re building a community of likeminded people. Don’t be too formal, don’t use long-winded sentences or reference obscure 1970s TV shows on your slow-cooker blog.
You’re part of the conversation, not monologuing. You’re also part of a network of blogs, so namecheck other blogs as well, and ask if they’ll do the same for you.
You also need to respond to comments, even the negative ones – people will talk about you and your products even if you don’t allow comments on your blog. If you respond to a complaint with a refund or advice, you’ll be earning serious Brownie points.
