How To Increase Your Blog Readership
One of the most popular questions I receive on blogging is how to increase traffic and readership. In a sense, those can be two different subjects! Today, let’s focus on some basic logistics on the back-end as well as what keeps readers (and fellow bloggers) engaged and coming back for more.
First of all, have you read these tips for beginners?
Blogging FAQs: Tips for Beginners
Blogging FAQs: More Tips for Beginners
There is a lot covered there that I could have easily included in this post as well.
Past all of that, how to increase your blog traffic and readership is one of the hottest topics amongst blogger conversations. You work hard to produce interesting and informative content, so what can you do to get the word out?
Here are some of my personal tips on how to increase your blog’s readership!
• utilize all of your social platforms
Are you on Facebook, Twitter, Google , Instagram, Pinterest, Linked In, You Tube, Bloglovin’ and Vine? There’s probably more platforms to get on, but those are the big hitters I see being used every day.
I have been on the platforms I mentioned above for years, but I know I could do a better job at logging on and using all of them more often. (By the way, are we friends? You can find and socially follow Life In Leggings here.)
After finishing a blog post, your sharing could go much further than hitting “Publish”. You can easily alert your readers a new post is up by sharing the direct post link URL on Facebook, Twitter, and Google . Pick a featured image, type up a description that includes the direct post URL, and share it on Instagram and Pinterest. If you’re on Bloglovin’, your post should automatically upload there, but it wouldn’t hurt to manually go in and see if it’s there!
I share every single post on my Life In Leggings social media pages, and share certain subjects (big giveaways, or posts I think my friends would like to read) on my personal Facebook page, too. It’s shocking to see how much blog traffic comes from social shares. Take advantage of those platforms every single day!
• read, support, and comment on other blogs
As a blogger, it’s important to follow other blogs and channels that interest you.
Not only can you get inspired from their content, but you can network with them and even more bloggers through their channels and comments section.
While sharing is nice, I’m not saying you should simply log on and link your latest post in their comments. Don’t be that person. Find a group of blogs you genuinely enjoy reading, and if something sparks you while reading a post, share your thoughts in the comments after you finish! All blogs allow you to leave your name along with URL, so I always comment on other pages as Heather @ Life In Leggings. More times than not, that name also links back to my main homepage.
I love reading comments on my blog posts. I make sure to take time to answer any questions, and I like to comment back to most if my day allows. It’s a neat little community that always brightens my day!
• use tags and label your photos
There’s much more that goes into writing a blog post than an outside eye sees. After your content is finished, make sure it’s searchable both on your site and throughout the Internet by labeling. Each post I write is filed and labeled under both Tags and Categories.
You can search these on my site by browsing the sidebar.
Also, make sure you are labeling your photos. I started doing this to help me access photos from the past, but I also realized it was helping me rank in Google image searches as well.
Instead of uploading a photo and leaving it blank…
Label it!
• share the blog love
While following other blogs or stumbling upon articles in the blogosphere, you’re eventually going to find a piece of content that helps you in some way. If you found that content helpful, why not share it with others?
This is something I will admit that I could put more effort into. I read and comment on blogs every single day, but it takes something pretty awesome to get me to actually share it. I definitely need to step-up my game!
Sharing the blog love never goes unnoticed. Any time a reader or fellow blogger shares a post of mine, I will always tweet and/or comment back to them there and most likely re-tweet their share. I love promoting blogs that inspire the same goals I do, so it’s a win-win for both the writer and my followers.
• install a SEO plug-in into your posts
SEO (search engine optimization) (making your content searchable) is an important part of blogging!
While there is plenty on this subject I could learn more about, one thing I can pass on is to download a plug-in that allows you to enter a description of the post as well as searchable keywords and tags.
Words like blogging, blogging tips, and blogging convention will eventually help this post rank in those search terms on Google. Sneaky, sneaky!
• realize blogging isn’t a competition and lift up your readers and fellow bloggers!
I have only experienced positive things when stepping out of my comfort zone and connecting (either online or in person) with new bloggers. I will occasionally receive emails or questions in the comments section about blogging, which is why I started the Blogging FAQs series.
I don’t consider myself a blogging expert, but I do consider my blog a success and main source of income. I’ve pretty much been an open book with how I got to the point of monetizing my blog, and any blogger I have ever reached out to on the subject has been the same way!
While the blogging market has become more saturated than ever, you’re still going to shine if you’re passionate about what you do. Find your voice, share your tips, and please don’t be that person who is “too good” to leak helpful information with readers.
• attend networking events and conferences
I am thrilled to announce that I will be attending the second annual IDEA BlogFest as an IDEA Inspired Advisor this summer!
I have attended a few blogging conferences in the past, and each day of each one provides more take-aways than I can even sit down to write and share. I always leave blogging and networking events loving what I do with a fire to get home and apply everything I learned.
IDEA, in particular, excites me more than most because it ties two of my passions into one amazing conference: fitness and blogging!
Choosing to put forth the determination and investment to attend the IDEA World Fitness Convention last year was – hands down – one of the best decisions I have ever made.
After two full days of connecting with other fitness bloggers, I got the opportunity to work on my CEUs for my CPT (certification in personal training) and join hundreds of personal trainers and fitness professionals in attending sessions at the IDEA World Fitness Convention. I signed up for a variety of classes, some that included workouts and some in the format of lectures.
I had an absolute blast with my blogging co-hearts and learned so, so much!
Here are the recaps from last year’s experiences:
• IDEA BlogFest 2014 – Day One
• IDEA BlogFest 2014 – Day Two
• IDEA World Fitness Convention
• The Do’s and Don’ts of the IDEA World Fitness Convention
This year, I am very grateful IDEA brought me on board to share the word with you all. If you’re thinking about attending the conference, make sure to take advantage of the early bird special pricing available until June 5th!
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I hope you enjoyed reading these tips, and if you are a blogger, please feel free to share yours in the comments!
*Disclaimer: While this post it not sponsored, I was comped a ticket entry to attend the 2015 IDEA BlogFest in exchange for sharing my experiences with you. I’m excited to bring back a new set of learning tools and report the highlights later this summer. Hope to see you there!
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