14 Tricks You Can Try If You Want To Get More Blog Readers
You put all your heart and soul into writing posts on your blog, and yet it seems you get hardly any readers.
This doesn’t seem fair. Especially when other blogs seems to produce (in your opinion) inferior posts and they seem to have thousands of readers. What is it that they’re doing right and you’re doing wrong?
First of all, are you sure they have thousands of readers? And even if they have, there are some simple tricks you could start doing to edge your blog up to their lofty heights.
Take a look a this Infographic I created about getting more blog readers:
1. Have you got an ideal reader ‘avatar’?
One mistake bloggers make is that they think they have to write for all their readers. This is not so. In fact it is extremely difficult to write a post that would appeal to every kind of visitor that lands on your blog.
So you write for just one – your ideal reader. And if you’re worried about neglecting the other blog readers, fear not. They will adapt themselves into your ideal reader for you. It’s much easier for them to do the adapting than for you to do it for them.
Therefore it’s worth taking the time to write down exactly who you think your ideal reader is. Include every aspect, such as age, gender, profession, as well as what they want, need and like. If you truly understand everything about them, then you’ll find it much easier to write posts they would like to read.
2. How attractive is your content to your readers?
You’re not going to get many blog readers if you write content they do not want to read. This may sound obvious to you, but it is surprising how many bloggers write for themselves to satisfy a need and not for their audience.
Since the principle of blogging is to provide content for your blog readers, make every effort to find out what interests them, which subjects they are attracted to and even what they read elsewhere on other blogs.
You’ll find this out from the research you did to work out who your ideal reader is. Having acquired this information you might as well make good use of it.
3. Have you used the same vocabulary as your readers?
If you want your blog readers to feel comfortable and more at home reading your blog, this will be much easier if you use the same words that they would use. You won’t do yourself any favours if you write at a level that is higher or too intellectual for them.
Believe it or not, this is something that beginner bloggers have trouble with. They harp back to their school or university days when they had to write formal essays or reports, when you achieved a better mark if you showed off your skill in how to use a thesaurus properly.
Blogging is not like that. You want to have your blog readers on your side, not distanced by your attempt at being superior to them. Make an effort to understand how they speak, think and are what they are happy reading, and adapt your writing to suit.
4. Do you write with your readers in mind?
Since your blog readers are absolutely vital for your blog, it is imperative you write content that they would want to read. This means taking a good look at the subject matter first and assessing whether it would be interesting or not to them.
Again this may sound obvious, but in your desire to get your blog post written, you may get caught in the heat of the moment and forget about your readers. This subject may seem so interesting to you, but you haven’t considered whether anyone else would be as enamoured as you about it.
Try to find a particular twist or different slant to present this subject in a way that would suit your blog readers. If you are successful, this will make a much better impression upon your audience. It makes them feel part of your blog if they know you are writing specifically for them.
5. Does your content mean anything to your readers?
Part of writing content that is specific to your blog readers is to consider how it will make a difference to their lives. After all, your readers are only concerned about themselves (naturally), so they need to read something they can relate to and gain value from.
And the process of adapting the information you wish to share is realising which elements would be most helpful, and what would make them sit up and take note of what you write about.
Always have your blog readers’ point of view in mind. You may have something that is really worth while, but to guarantee in getting it read and acted upon, you need to deliver it in the best way your readers can easily understand and appreciate.
6. Are you having a conversation with your readers?
Blogging is all about communicating with your readers. And the best form is conversation. This is because it is something we do naturally: talking to each other.
However, getting this form of communicating into our writing is a different matter. We have been taught at school how to write in a certain way. This is usually stilted, constrained, careful and dull. Nowadays when we converse we don’t speak as if we are reading out an English essay to each other!
Successful content is so because it is easy to read. It flows naturally like two friends gossiping in a coffee shop, or a child telling her grandmother about her first day at school. Your writing style should emulate this kind of conversation. Make it easier for your blog readers to read what you write.
7. How much do your readers love a story?
Ever since the dawn of time people have loved listening to stories. And at any age too! It is a superb way of getting information across in a way that an audience can relate to and enjoy.
One of the most popular part of a story is the human element. People relate to people and their experiences. You need to reach out to your blog readers by making you seem more human, transparent, relatable, approachable and realistic.
This can be difficult for some people. Especially if you are particularly quiet or an introvert. But if you are able to make this leap, it could spark new life into your blog posts and make a huge difference to how your readers appreciate your writing.
8. What style of posts do you write?
There are a myriad of methods of writing a blog post. Do some investigation (by reading lots of other blogs) and see which ones take your fancy, or you think you could attempt a try.
The list of post styles is a long one. The ones that come to mind are numbered lists, how-tos, roundups, epic posts, ultimate guides, recipes, as well as opinionated, controversial and comparison posts. I’m sure there are many more you could think of too.
Combine these with a clever use of headlines to draw your blog readers in, which could include incentives, promises and suggestions to solve problems, and you’ll have lots more readers eating out of your hand.
9. Pingbacks and trackbacks – what are they?
Whenever you include an outbound link in your post, not only do you attract the attention of the search engines (especially if the link is particularly relevant), the source will find out as well.
This is a pingback. The linked-to blog will receive a notification with their comments that another post has linked to them. A trackback is when a portion or quote of another post is mentioned and picked up by the spiders and shared with the original source.
Pingbacks and trackbacks are a great way of showing your appreciation of other great posts and gaining the attention of their authors. And who knows, if you’ve created the correct impression, that author could become a regular reader and write about your blog as well!
10. Do you hang out where your blog readers are?
If you want more blog readers for your blog, you need to go and find them. They’re not necessarily going to start searching for you. Why should they, when they don’t know anything about you?
Once you’ve arrived at the mostly likely place where your ideal reader is hanging out, now’s the chance to get yourself noticed. It’s not just a method of jumping up and down making a loud noise. You have to be clever and get your potential readers to become aware of you for the right reasons.
You need to make a good impression by saying what they want to hear, and answering their questions by being helpful and constructive. Be a valuable resource, combined with empathy, expertise and entertainment. Turn yourself into a must-read blogger.
11. When did you last comment on a blog?
Another way to attract the right kind of attention to yourself is through commenting. There aren’t many bloggers who wouldn’t value a worthy comment on their blogs. So you need to get out there and start contributing.
Choose a blog that has a good community of commenters, which proves it contains some excellent content. Or a blog you know has a lively readership, and of the kind you would like to attract to your blog.
Commenting on blogs is a great way of getting noticed. Here’s a way of showing what you’re made of, exhibiting what you know, and revealing your writing charms. And the natural links created through commenting will channel interested blog readers back to read what else you have written.
12. Have you formed a relationship with your readers?
Definitely encourage your readers to comment on your blog. Open up your channels for extended conversation. Encourage further discussion to continue what you’ve written and allow them to express their thoughts and observations.
Such activities enhance the community feel of your blog. A blog that is open to comments allows you to create proper relationships with your blog readers. And if you make them feel special, they are much more likely to return to read more, and even invite their friends over as well.
It’s so important to work on how you communicate with your blog readers and encourage them to have their say. Your blog should become a hub that is open to anyone that enjoys it, not just you as the writer.
13. Have you considered guest posting?
As a result of your research into your ideal blog readers, you will have come across some excellent blogs you could aspire to. Or you could even write guest posts for.
This way you will be able to extend the reach of your writing skills to a much larger audience. Ideally you should be producing your finest work here, giving the best impression aimed to attract as many new readers as you possibly can.
Guest posting is a worthy method of promoting your writing and spreading your message over to a much larger readership than before. And if you are successful, these blog readers may well be happy to share their allegiance with you and your blog.
14. Do you know the power of repurposing your posts?
If you focus on just writing your posts, you will attract one sort of reader. However, if you are able to diversify how you produce your posts, namely in different kinds of media, you will attract many more.
Not everybody responds to words. There are many who react better to pictures, such as Infographics (that’s why I always include one in my posts), and also video and SlideShare presentations. Anything visual will capture the attention of blog readers who prefer imagery to explain, educate and entertain them.
And another medium is the podcast. This follows on from the conversational element of blogging. I know a few bloggers who would much rather speak their posts than write them, as this process comes much easier to them and has a more worth while effect on their ‘listeners’.
And what about you?
If you have any more suggestions on how to get more blog readers, why not share them in the comment box below. We could all benefit from your wisdom, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Also, if you would like me to look at your blog to see how it could gain more readers, check out my complimentary blog review. It might make all the difference to the tally of your blog readers.
Additional images: Copyright: ‘http://www.123rf.com/profile_aurora72‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
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