5 Simple Ways to Get Better Traction with Your Blog
If you’re fairly new to blogging, it can sometimes feel like you’re not getting anywhere with your blog. You’ve got very little traffic, almost zero interaction, and not much hope it will get any better any time soon.
I started my latest blog roughly around October/November of 2009. (I think!) So around about six months ago. Today it’s currently a PR 3, with an Alexa ranking of 478,175 and climbing. In the last six months I’ve had roughly 22,165 visits and 57,129 page views.
Now that is fairly modest in comparison to many more established blogs, but I’m pretty proud of the traction I’ve gained so far and am excited about its continued growth. And I feel there are a handful of simple things I did that really helped to propel that growth fairly quickly.
1. Killer unique content. I’m a freelance ghostwriter by trade, and writing is a bit fun for me, so it might be a little easier for me than perhaps others. But killer unique content is vitally important if you really want your blog to shine, to gain readers and interaction, and please Google.
Experiment with your content, take risks, and see what kind of response you get. Also, pay attention to post length… it depends on the niche, but sometimes longer posts are more suitable and sometimes shorter posts. Sometimes a nice blend is preferred by your target market.
2. Take advantage of social media. I’m fortunate in that I have quite a large Twitter following that I make a point to interact with regularly. So when I post something new, I automatically Tweet about it, sometimes several times throughout the first day and the next.
I also pull my content directly to my Facebook FanPage, as well as often post new content to my wall for my other FB friends. If you cultivate those relationships, you’ll find your content gets ReTweeted and shared if it’s good… which means more eyes and traffic for you.
3. Schedule your own ReTweets. I primarily use Su.Pr to schedule these. I do an initial Retweet, and then I schedule a few more throughout the day and into the next day. I also make sure that if it’s a really good post (IMO) to Stumble it through the Su.Pr interface as well.
I firmly believe this has been a really large part in my blog gaining more traction. I also schedule a few ReTweets here and there using Hootsuite as well. Just be sure to mix it up and make the times a bit random. ReTweeting the same stuff at the same times every day won’t win you any favors with your followers.
4. Post frequently and on a schedule if possible. The most successful blogs usually post every day and sometimes several times a day. However that’s not always possible for some, so just simply choosing to post on a regular weekly schedule, such as 1-3 times a week could work equally as well for your blog.
I’d recommend starting off with posting at least 5 days a week to start, and then if you want to taper off as you gain a readership, you can. I’d also recommend that if you only post 1-3 times per week, really make those posts quality with a lot of shine and sparkle, as well as slightly longer than the typical 500 word article.
5. Finally? Guest post. This is actually only my third guest post, my first was on ProBlogger and the second on a paid forum, but I’ve seen a huge increase in readership, interaction, and traffic just from those two things.
So I’ve decided to make guest posting a regular part of my schedule for awhile, and this makes my third. Guest posting can be a huge benefit to your own blog’s traffic and readership, and it’s a win-win because you get to give the blog owner you are guest posting for a nice day off from posting themselves. Not to mention you are building a quality relationship with a fellow blog owner, which is an excellent way to network in my book.
There you have it! 5 simple ways you can improve your blog and it’s traction on the web, and see a marked increase in your traffic and readership. It might not be a perfect strategy, and it does involve work on your part, but it’s working well for me and could potentially work well for you too. Now get to blogging!
Cori is a freelance ‘ghost’(as in writer/blogger) and the creative brains and dubious brawn behind her own blog Big Girl Branding. She’d also like to note that ‘big’ does not mean what you think it means. It was meant to indicate being a grown up. Sigh… Of course you probably didn’t get that, and it totally loses its effect when she has to explain it. So I guess she’ll just have to put on her ‘big girl’ panties and deal with it. She’ll feel better about the whole misunderstanding though if you stop by and say hi.
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27 Responses to “5 Simple Ways to Get Better Traction with Your Blog”
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[...] 5 Simple Ways to Get Better Traction with Your Blog (at Howto Spotter) – Cori of Big Girl Branding shares a handful of simple things she did that [...]
Thanks for the great tips. They’ll go a long way to make my blog more ‘sticky’.
Well, it’s a long process to get your readers, and I totally agree with the tips. All of this is hard work, but we love doing it!
Elena´s last blog ..10 Reasons Why People Digg Bruce Willis
Hi Spotter
You could have written this post for me.
I’ve got a fairly new blog and am doing OK for pagerank – pagerank 3 – but struggle to get comments.
Seems like lots of hard work but I’m not in any great rush.
Thanks for this post.
I’ll pretend you wrote it just for me. LOL
Keith Davis´s last blog ..A helping hand…
I guess you need to be ready to put in some serious work to make blogging really work. Thanks for the info.
Nice tips Cori. Personally I don’t believe all that much in the schedule hype, but it seems to help some.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..UPDATED: Theme Customization Part 3 – Banner Advertising NOT for Sale!
Thanks for such nice post;)
Poor Student´s last blog ..День 4: Палю источники уникального контента (которые знаю сам)
Hi Alex,
I like big girls and I do mean ladies and I also like this article. I am always looking for ways to gain traction in my market place.
Thanks for this content,
Mark Edward Brown
“The Marketing Professional”
Mark Brown´s last blog ..Mind Control vs. Mass Control
I agree. Blogging takes a lot more time and effort than most people imagine. It’s kind of like going to the gym, if you don’t enjoy it then you’ll tail off after a while. As with most things, consistency is king!
Ann McLaren´s last blog ..Famous Women Entrepreneurs. Why So Few?
I recently launched my blog, and it has been a confusing battle between getting a lot of content up, getting good content up, and also working on SEO – let alone trying to find time for facebook and twitter. Working full time doesn’t leave a lot to build the website. But all in due time i suppose. Did you actively work on getting backlinks or was there some other method you used?
Amos´s last blog ..Miami Herald Reports Push for Small Business Loans
I recently launched my blog, and it has been a confusing battle between getting a lot of content up, getting good content up, and also working on SEO. Working full time doesn’t leave a lot to build the website. But all in due time i suppose. Did you actively work on getting backlinks or was there some other method you used?
Amos´s last blog ..Miami Herald Reports Push for Small Business Loans
I could,’t have agreed more with your points here. I’m glad to see that you have mentioned the importance of quality unique content as your first point.
Incidentally, I do get my second largest amount of traffic from social media (twitter and facebook).
Great post, altogether.
TechChunks´s last blog ..SEO Myths: The 5 Biggest SEO Myths Debunked
I have had my blog onling for about 4 months. I post about 1 time each week, I guess I need to post more often.
Copyblogger advice: Write at least 1000 words a day. This is very important especially to those who are just starting.
Vince´s last blog ..Helping Your Audience- The Key To Blogging
I agree with most of what you had to say, but when it came to Number 3, I find myself slipping. I’ve tried several different tactics, but for whatever reason, I just can’t get much return on Twitter.
Ryan Cowles´s last blog ..Mt. Baldy California – Photography
SOOO sorry for taking so long to respond guys… I thought I had notifications turned on, but guess I didn’t!
Thanks so much for everyone’s positive feedback!
@Linda You’re very welcome, glad you enjoyed the post!
@Elena Agreed, it is hard work. But you’re right, if you love it it’s more like play time! LOL
@Keith Yes, stick with it and be patient. That’s the biggest reason people fail, not just in blogging but in anything… they give up too quickly before results really start happening for them.
@James Yes it’s a bit of work, but well worth it IMHO.
And there’s always outsourcing! 
@Dennis Thanks so much hun! Seems to work well for me, so I can only report on what I know. lol
@Poor student You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it!
@Mark Thanks Mark, glad you enjoyed the post.
@Ann Totally agree… I love the gym analogy! Probably because I’m on just such a mission lately and trying to stay consistent with my work outs. LOL
@Amos A. I outsource content on occasion if I am really strapped for time, or I pray for a guest post.
B. SEO is great, but I don’t go out of my way to SEO my content or kill myself with it. I have been using that SEOScribed plugin which seems to be quite useful though, but again… it’s not my primary concern.
C. I’ve gotten backlinks by doing my own thing, getting involved with other bloggers and their community as well as outsourced some backlink building using ‘Angela’s Backlinks’. You can look those up on the Warrior Forum for more details. Hope that helps some!
@Tech Thanks hun! Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, quality unique content is definitely a key to good blog traction. I learned that the hard way! LOL
@David.. I think initially that could help you. Or you can just post one long article per week.
It really depends on your audience and what works best for your blog.
@Ryan I find I don’t get as much Retweets from other users on Twitter, but I get quite a bit of traffic and clickthroughs. And actually RT’s have gone down this past year as well as overall interaction on Twitter in general which is kind of sucky.
But it still drives quite a bit a traffic for me, so until it doesn’t… lol 
Thanks for the tips. I’m going to check out Su.Pr and Hootsuite!
Hayley Keen´s last blog ..A Network Marketing Internet Business And Your Gut Feeling
You’re welcome Hayley! Glad I could help out a bit.
C
Content is the most important part of your blog. Without good content, you’re just not going to get ahead. I’ve also found that posting on a schedule, as you state above, is good for readership.
What have you found is the best way to get guest blogging spots? Do you just find blogs you would like to post on and send a request?
Jared Detroit´s last blog ..Get More Traffic From Local Search Results
Jared, that is pretty much the strategy. But if you are interested, Ann Smarty just launched the new forum that helps bloggers find Guest Blogging Spots and get posts, it is all described in this post:
http://www.howtospoter.com/web.....t-bloggers
Thanks for the link and the quick reply. That looks exactly like what I’m looking for and a very interesting concept. I’m signing up right now!
Jared Detroit´s last blog ..Get More Traffic From Local Search Results
Unique content is important, but I also think that if you go with the flow and write a post about something that everyone is talking about, whilst introducing your own touch and insight, it is more likely you will get immediate response.
Thanks for the tip. Blogging really takes more of your time on thinking what you will going to write about or thinking on something that is very interesting to the readers. Thanks you for sharing it. This would really help others also to have the ideas while they are still new to blogging.
Madeline´s last blog ..Bay Window Curtains: Don’t Forget About Curtain Rods
Thanks for the tips, and your whole blog is packed full of great content. I will be bookmarking this and telling friends about this great blog
@Jared.. Hey hun! Sorry for the late response..
For some reason I’m not getting notifications of new comments!
The guest posts I’ve done, I’ve written specifically for the blog I wanted, and then sent it as a request to the owner, all formatted out and everything. The other guest posts I’ve done, are because I’ve been invited.
I’d say go for blogs within your niche, that are fairly well trafficked and it can make an impact. And as suggested, Ann Smarty has a great forum that I’m a member of as well.
@John.. Yes, you can definitely write about hot topics, what I mean by unique is putting your own style and spin on a piece, so it’s not just re-hashed junk.
Definitely go with the flow and write in a way that reflects your own personality.
@Madeline… You’re welcome Hun, glad you found the post useful.
@Muhammad.. aww thanks hun!
Glad you stopped by and that you’re enjoying my stuff! Makes my day to hear that sort of thing!
I’m new to this blog. I’d love to see you write a post about possibly the biggest problem I suffer from, and that is not being able to focus on writing.
Dean Saliba´s last blog ..Adsdaq A Reliable Network In An Unreliable Market
I will definitely try the guest post method! Thanks for the tips!
John´s last blog ..Earn and Make Money Online