Blog It and They Will Come: The Good, The Curious, and The Unusual

Day Something of 31DBB

photo credit: jmhullot

How do you get people to read your blog? Or listen to it? Or even look at the pictures?

Back to playing around with 31DBBB, after schlunking around in a funk for a week.  But that’s another story.

What are some great ways to get traffic to your blog?

Relatively new to the game, I decided to look around the web for ideas.  Here are some of the best I have come up with.

• Connect, connect, connect.

• After looking at a lot of twentysome ways to get traffic to your blog, one of the most common is simply to both read other blogs and make relevant comments on them.  In the short time I’ve been blogging (less than a year) I have noticed that many of the unique visitors come from being listed as a commenter on other blogs.  Important Point: The key words here, in my less than humble opinion, are “relevant comments.”  I don’t think it matters if you are giving feedback or criticism, the key is not to say, “Great post, Joe, I think I will subscribe.”

• Be yourself, write as yourself, be honest -
  • even when you are writing fictional pieces.  Even if what you are writing is all about BS, be honest in your BS.

  Charisma is a valuable quality, both online and off. Through a blog, it’s most often judged by the voice you present to your users. People like empathy, compassion, authority and honesty. Keep these in the forefront of your mind when writing and you’ll be in a good position to succeed. It’s also critical that you maintain a level of humility in your blogging and stick to your roots. When users start to feel that a blog is taking itself too seriously or losing the characteristics that made it unique, they start to seek new places for content. SEOMoz

• Write, video, pod about what you want to write about.
  • In doing so, be timely, be relevant, give it your own slant.  If people are reading you blog, they are reading you.  Make sure you are in there.
  • In any relationship, if both people think exactly the same thing, one of them isn’t necessary.

• Cover Topics that Need Attention

  In every niche, there are certain topics and questions that are frequently asked or pondered, but rarely have definitive answers. While this recommendation applies to nearly every content-based site, it’s particularly easy to leverage with a blog. If everyone in the online Nascar forums is wondering about the components and cost of an average Nascar vehicle – give it to them. If the online stock trading industry is rife with questions about the best performing stocks after a terrorist threat, your path is clear. Spend the time and effort to research, document and deliver and you’re virtually guaranteed link-worthy content that will attract new visitors and subscribers. SEOMoz

• Get to Know Your Readers
  • Once you start getting some readers or subscribers, then begin to develop a relationship with them. This from a blog that drives right through my alley and pulls up by my house – Idiot’s Guide to Blogging –
    

  Get to know your readers, and allow them to get to know you as well. Building a strong connection with your audience is very important, because when a blogger develops a bond with his or her readers, they are much more inclined to recommend your blog to others.

The Curious

Here’s one that is new to me.  I have seen blog carnivals, but guess I didn’t really know what they were.

Originally posted 2009-08-12 10:52:18. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Tagged as: Complete Idiot's Guides, Directories, On the Web, Unique visitor