Chances are people are not reading your blog. That’s not because they don’t like you, most likely they don’t even know you exist, and that’s your fault. There are a gazillion blogs out there, and most of them are bad, to be honest. Yours might not, though, so I’m willing to have a look. But how am I to find it? And why should I stay along at all?
Steps
- Comment on other people's blog posts. That works, you know, don’t be shy – tooting your horn is something you need to learn. Sometimes reading other people’s blog is the best way to get lots of traffic in the long run, since it can award itself with links, trackbacks and the like.
- Submit your posts to social tools, like StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, and Splashpress’ own Blogosphere News. That’s a very natural way to reach your niche, and if they're interested in it they might end up reading something on your blog.
- Write great headlines. If people see a link with a true eye-catcher they're more likely to click it, than something boring like “New plugin out now” – now what’s up with that? Writing snappy headlines is an art by itself. I admire people who can do that.
- Does your blog look poorly put together? And have people seen it a thousand times before? Content may be King, but if you present it in a bad way people just won’t read it. Small fonts, lousy contrast, crappy design – they’re all turnoffs and they won’t make anyone subscribe to your RSS feed, read your posts, or get active in your comments. Looks is important, because first impressions last.
- Actually, does your blog even function like it should? There are too many blogs with dead links, plugins that bugs out, and other problems. It doesn’t even have to be a bug in the code, it could be your lousy implantation of functionality that people don’t want or need. Don’t clutter it with widgets and thousands of “cool things”, or they’re gone.
- Don’t clutter it at all! Seriously. Less is actually more.
- Explain somewhere what your blog is all about, why you’re blogging, and what the reader can expect from it, or they'll be bored and leave. Surprising your readers is fine, but if the turns are too sharp you’re sure to lose a bunch in the process.
- Be consistent with your updates. You know, you should post more or less the same amount of content all the time. If not, your readers might wonder where you are (if they're an avid reader), or forget about you (if you haven’t impressed them yet).
Tips
- At least if you’re a good writer. You know, content is still King, after all…
Related wikiHows
- How to Start a Blog
- How to Write a Famous Blog
- How to Write a Deep and Thoughtful Blog Post People Will Want to Read
- How to Add a Sudokus Puzzle to Your Blog
Sources and Citations
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Get People to Read Your Blog. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
