Have you ever written a blog post? If you have, then you know the rush of emotions that comes with publishing your first post. With a single click of a button, you can simultaneously feel empowered and overwhelmed, excited and completely alone.
It’s hard not to feel that the post you’ve spent excruciating time perfecting is being launched into a black hole from where you’re not going to elicit a response.
The numbers are staggering – since 2002, Technorati has indexed over 133 million weblogs. And yet, finding and expanding a dedicated audience is not as cumbersome or out of reach as you might think. But it will take an investment of time.
1. Headlines – This is what your audience sees first. If you make your headlines catchy, pithy and entertaining, then your chances of being read and shared increase greatly from the get-go.
2. Timely Posts – Keeping your posts timely and relevant to the times makes sense because people are tuned in to the current trends. If social media is all the rage right now, talking about it when it’s no longer a start-up phenomenon is not going to position you as an expert on the topic.
3. Mix the media – It’s no secret that people like pictures. Augmenting your blog posts with pictures and videos enriches your content and makes the packaging more attractive. Read: more click-throughs, sharing and readability.
4. Network – Take the time to regularly visit other bloggers, write comments and participate in discussions. The key is to remember that you’re not trying to sell yourself. Keep the “hard sell” at bay and you’re bound to trigger natural curiosity and interest for your own site.
5. Diversify – Diversification isn’t just for stocks and investment portfolios anymore. To see more numbers in visitation, diversify your outreach through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and use bookmarking sites Delicious and Reddit.
Additionally, give your readers an easy way to share what you’ve posted. Widget services like ShareThis have easy-to-embed buttons that your readers can click on to share posts with their networks and friends.
Of course, none of these suggestions supersede the value of good quality content, posting regularly and staying honest.
Do you have a successful blog? How did you increase your audience numbers? Leave us a comment below!