This is a guest post by Yolanda A. Facio.
Getting readers to your blog who stick around isn’t enough. You want them to keep coming back and you want them to tell other folks about you. Here are a few ways you can start to attract more attention and get people talking.
1. Consistency
This is a big one because people like things to be consistent. Think about McDonald’s for a minute and you’ll realize that wherever you are you can pretty much expect the Big Mac to look and taste the same as the one you had last week in your neighborhood.
I’m not particularly big on fast food, but anytime I travel by road I stop for something to eat at a McDonald’s or Starbucks. I simply know what to expect. For the most part there will be no surprises and I like that.
Your readers want the comfort of knowing that if they come to your site they will get what is promised and get what they remember getting the last time.
Make a posting schedule and do your best to stick with it. Keep the content on topic. Show up and respond to comments. Respond to emails. Be consistent.
2. Be Bold
Once in a while, just step it up a bit. Be a little bit bold; let it hang out a bit.
I remember hanging out in a skybox at the local stadium one night watching a Mega Death concert. There were five bands playing that evening and it wasn’t until Mega Death got on stage that the crowd really went wild.
From above we could see the mosh pit forming. The whole mosh pit was moving like a hurricane, very small eye with lots of bodies fanning out, moving in a circular motion slow but steady. Looking down at the crowd I became mesmerized by this community motion and then suddenly there was one guy moving steadily through the crowd…going the other way. Spiked hair, black t-shirt, dog collar…yes, I remember. Why? He was the one guy doing something different.
While I don’t recommend going the opposite way in a mosh pit – the consequences didn’t look too comfortable – I do recommend doing something a little different. Don’t scare your readers away by one day proclaiming you have some sort of fetish; but do fight the fear and inject a little controversy or fun or something you don’t normally do.
3. Solve Problems
It isn’t enough to tell someone how great your traffic is; show me how to get more traffic. We’ve all got problems. Some are big, others small. We all want solutions; in fact we will shell out big money for solutions.
A couple of years ago I was playing general contractor and trying to get a concrete pad poured for an addition on our property. We had very detailed drawings and very specific requirements. We hired a sub-contractor to get the concrete pad done. Basically – dig, rebar, put in some forms, and pour concrete all to the measurements on the drawings.
By the fifth day I would have signed over the title to my house just to have someone get the work done right. I spent more time, myself, directing workers than the supervisor did. They sized it wrong. They missed an entire corner. They scratched their heads a lot. I was frustrated and exhausted; worse yet, I got no work done. So much for hiring a professional to get it done.
I would have paid anyone during those days if they could just solve my problem.
If your blog is designed to show and teach, then do it. Step by step, clear and simple. Concepts are great and they help people think and formulate. But greater success comes from having an actionable plan people can follow to get results. Do that and your audience will throw money at you.
4. Know Your Reader
“I want to attract people who want to learn how to build a WordPress blog.” Sounds simple. But “people” is so broad and so big it’s like trying to reach and bond with every strand of straw in a bale. However, if you take just a handful of straw and spend your time reaching just those, you’ll spend less time and less money attracting their attention.
Sure we all want to get the A-Lister’s to notice us. We want all of them to notice us but we can’t possibly resonate with all of them. John Chow is not Brian Clark. Both are bloggers but with different styles, different markets, and different products. Your readers are the same way.
It is very hard to reach them both successfully and thoroughly.
The strategy here is to separate and conquer. Look at the people who comment the most. Review the people who re-tweet your stuff the most. Who are they? Visit their blogs, Twitter pages, Facebook pages, and begin to make a profile of the people who already connect with you. How are they alike? How are they different? Then, go find some more folks just like those ones.
5. Be Clear
Read and re-read. Proof and proof. Make sure that what you are writing is clear and actionable. Every post should have direction for the reader. Maybe you want them to leave comments, then you must ask them to or ask an open-ended question. Perhaps you want them to sign up for something, put a link right next to the request, don’t expect the reader to go find the link.
Be clear. If you want the audience to act in any specific way, tell them. You must be clear at all times because it is the most effective method for getting your readers to act. If I have no idea why I’m at your site, I’ll leave without doing anything.
If you are intending to make a living with your blog, then writing great stuff without a request of your reader to take action is a negative profit proposition. If your intention is to send your great content out into the universe for nothing in return, cool. But if you want to support your family, you’ve got to ask for the action, you’ve got to be painfully clear.
Your Task…
Take at least 30 minutes to assess your site. Click all the links, review all the pages. Now does everything fit together? Is everything clear? Are you stepping out a bit and being just a little bold? Try to hit all the points listed above in the post. If you aren’t sure about something then ask in the comments. If it all seems overwhelming then do one item a week until you get it done!
About the author: Yolanda A. Facio specializes in showing business owners how to get the customer and skip the boring stuff. Learn how to make marketing fast and easy with her free 10 Minute Marketing Motivator at MarketingUnhinged.com.
David has been blogging for 15 years, and generating a six-figure income at it for the last 12. He is the founder of Blog Marketing Academy. 
David Risley has been building and operating authority blogs for 15 years, and operating a six-figure business doing it for a decade.
Once your readers know how commented you are with your content, they will be more active and responsive to sharing your content. Try to have an engaging community and just be yourself.
“TrafficColeman “Signing Off”
Righto! Spend the extra time to make sure the content is clear and engaging. Try to cover all the angles if possible. I definitely agree that with your comment that once your readers know how committed you are to your content they will be more active. It’s very true. I find that the more of my story I tell the more I engage.
Thanks for you comment!
Building a solid relationship with your readers is a really good way to stand out because too many people are in it for the money and nothing else. If as you said are in it to help solve real problems, people appreciate that and will be crawling back for more.
I think that a lot of bloggers are afraid to give out their best stuff, but I learned from Dan Kennedy a long time ago that you can give all your great stuff away and still have paying customers who want more. And by being available and building those relationships, when your prospects need something and are ready to spend they think of you. That’s the way to build a solid business.
Thanks Eric!
Well, that’s something to also remember is that there’s always something more you can give away that is greater value or the same value as before. If you’re constantly connecting and sharing and helping and then at the last minute you put things together, people will be more than interested. I’m learning that quickly. After all, each day provides a new opportunity; especially for bloggers and Internet marketers.
Big Shout Out to David for letting me write for his awesome site and for his awesome audience. You guys all rawk! Thanks Dave!
Thanks for the post, Yolanda.
Having worked as a framer for years, I totally get problems induced by bad slab work.
It’s even worse: problems in the slab propagate through the framing, into the trim, and even the wallpaper. If the foundation isn’t right, the whole structure goes up out of whack.
Hrm. Might be something there for blogging as well…
Sounds like a blog post idea.
What’s megadeath?
I can definitely vouch for checking all your links – I just discovered today that my contact form had an invalid link in it (created after I had nested my pages). It’s the little things that like that can really mess one up….
Right and the worst part is not knowing! I’m glad you found it tho’!
Right and the worst part is not knowing! I’m glad you found it tho’!
Megadeth is a metal band. They were more popular back in the 90s, but they’ll always be one of my faves!
Yikes! Glad you caught that bad link and were able to fix it. I’m pretty obsessive with the previews before I post an entry.
Great Post Yolanda,
I have been reading this same stuff for a very long time and as you said in a comment give your best stuff away it will do nothing but help you. There are still people that act to the contrary and believe they have a secret trick or method that they only know about. The truth is out here there are no secrets. Then there are the others that think it’s all magic and done with mirrors or something so they don’t even take action. We work 7days a week and just as many hours as possible paving the road to success. I always refer to the successful 4 hour work week that took massive hours every week to promote it just to be successful.
David I do understand your construction frustration, being a general contractor for some 18 years I picked up more than a few of those half finished jobs that were messed up and unfinished that ended up costing the owners more in the long run, competence and quality there is no real substitute for.
Thanks Dave
Brad, it is funny how lots of folks thing that magic happens somehow. I work 10 hours a day and still find time to spend with family and do the things I enjoy, it’s all about management. Learning to be productive is more discipline than anything else isn’t it! I also find it funny about the holding back of information. Not sharing your best stuff. What amuses me is the idea that you can share bad stuff and build a business out of it! Thanks for your comments!
Consistency is key. Without consistent new posts there is no reason for readers to come back. With consistency you have a great chance of building a community around your blog.
I post a minimum of one post a week to m blogs, and I’d like to get that number unto at least one post a day.
I believe that fewer high quality posts are a better approach to blogging than many sub-par posts, since quality posts have a much better chance of going viral.
Cheers,
Garin
Plus, its less burn-out. I see too many bloggers get caught on the hamster wheel. You should blog when you have something to say, but be consistent. And keep in mind that a post doesn’t have to go “live” right after you write it. It can sit.
Plus, its less burn-out. I see too many bloggers get caught on the hamster wheel. You should blog when you have something to say, but be consistent. And keep in mind that a post doesn’t have to go “live” right after you write it. It can sit.
I agree with you as well Garin. I’d rather post something good than post a whole bunch of mediocre. Some weeks I’m more productive and other’s not. But like any kind of business, you need to stay in front of your customers.
Thanks!
Yolanda,
Thanks for this great article. As a relative newbie to the blogging world, I find that tip #4, “Know Your Reader”, can be particularly challenging. In my chosen blogging domain, there are many potential readers based on the actual topic of the post, so I find it tough to narrow it down to specific types of readers. I also know the importance of tip #1, “Consistency”, in order to attract and keep readers. Would you suggest narrowing down the potential topics in order to help grow the reader base, then expand to different topic areas as my reader base grows?
Thanks for your insights!
Knowing your reader is pretty easy if you use surveys.
And its fine if you have readers with varying interests as long as they’re related. Not every post you write needs to be ideal for every reader.
I agree with Dave, not every post needs to be the perfect match. And I think if you don’t have a total and complete picture of your reader that you will gain that insight as you get comments and emails. Start somewhere even if it’s with the most general of definitions. Maybe at this point you know your readers are male or female, maybe you already know that they are young or old. Even these kinds of wide generalizations can help you. The biggest key is to not write for everyone…there’s just too many of them!
Yolanda,
From that list I think that solve problems or in another word bring value is the most important thing. I noticed that such posts are shared the most by my blog visitors
Absolutely. Add value as much as possible. And value can come in the form of a new perspective on an old problem.
All makes sense to me Yolanda but what really stood out is Solve Problems. People tend to search for help and advice hence why tips and list posts are very popular. Stick to that tried and tested and you’re halfway there (oh, and your other four take people the other half). This is a big-up blog post for me.
Thanks John! I’ve had to remember that although I’m not much of a list person these posts do resonate with people because they offer more than one idea, more than one solution. And I do generally tend to get a great nugget once in a while! Thanks for commenting!
I think number one is really important… oh and number 2 is a must, spark debate!… number 3 is difficult and often overlooked but the best way to get noticed… point 4 is sometimes what bloggers forget about and carry on with their own ramblings… and point 5, I hope what I have written is clear???!! I don’t know about you but a poorly written site with grammatical errors turns me off! Now we all make mistakes but I do try my hardest to make sure basic spelling and usage is right. The your and you’re argument! The their and there errors. I could go on but don’t want to take anything away from the great article. Thanks for the reminders!
LOL! Well we all make mistakes from time to time. I’ve read and re-read only to find something the next day HOWEVER, sites that a riddled with issues turn me off as well. When possible I have someone proof my posts before I put them up, generally a friend who feels the same way you do about grammar!
Don’t you think grammatical errors would help entice readers to correct them via comments? That’s one of David’s strategy by deliberately misspell or miss a point in his post and let his reader comment it out. This way, he knows that his readers were actually paying attention to his message and not just mindlessly read stuff found off the Internet.
The main key is consistency in doing all the other tips. Nice Post Yolanda.
Why aren’t you using a picture gravatar?
Thanks!!!
Great post! I think I’ve had the best luck by posting consistently and getting to know my readers. When I asked questions on Twitter and my Facebook page (such as “What questions do you have about Montessori education?”), I also found out what my readers wanted to know. That started a whole series, which was very successful. I got a lot of positive response from it, and I often link to posts from that series in my current posts. The series also gets a lot of traffic from search engines because I answer common search questions. I was mainly trying to help my readers, but the series had many benefits I didn’t anticipate!
Very cool Deb! Amazing how asking questions can really spark ideas for great content that your readers really want. I’ll admit that I occasionally write ‘advanced’ stuff for folks who have been at it for awhile and get reminded by my readers that some beginner info would be great too! A series would be a great response in that type of situation!
Thanks for for a great comment!
solving problems with your blog consistently is like hitting a home run.people don’t just read a blog because the design is great.they do because it helps with stuff to help them achieve their own goals or pleasures.when a blogger starts helping others,solving problems or thinking about what people will gain from his blog post- attention will slow come his or her sway.
True! Design is important in that it too is consistent across your site and it too must be clear but it is not the reason people come back. People really like to be thought of and when you answer their questions and needs you show you are thinking of them. Great points!
I’d like to add one more point of getting more attraction to your blog. It’s the “call to action”. Usually users of the Internet wonders around mindlessly and would say yes to any window that pops out. Kinda dangerous if its a yes to hack your PC. Either way, still there has to be an element of call to action to bring the users back to the blog. It may be through e-mail subscription, contest, contribute or comment to bring about more attraction to be in a blogging community of that blog. More people would enjoy their stay better if they can do more than just reading your posts.
My two cents.
IMO solving problem does brings lots of traffic and more important that nobody had solved that problem before.
Nice post.
Great points Yolanda! Just wanted to say that for someone who is quite new to the blogging world, you tend to get carried away by all the information that is available and you tend to get the impression that your readership is going to hit the roof over night! I guess a lot more needs to be said about being patient and perseverant.
Nice points….I am gonna use it for my blog….I like the point which says about being bold….Its the right way I guess….
#3 is what attracts me to blogs. It’s all good and well to describe a problem to me or some high level concept but I want actual solutions or at least a starting point. The blogs that give me actionable things to do (like this post by the way) are the ones that get my loyalty.
I think another major component that a lot of bloggers seem to ignore is leveraging videos and including their own personality in their blog post.
Good post, just in a few words: be consistent, know everything about your audience and go straight to the point.
By the way, is “Megadeth” LOL
Cheers.
Good content is really what readers are looking for. By leaving a question or topic at the end of the post is a way to ensure that there is someone listening to your article. Thanks for your article,I guess I’m one of you listeners. Keep posting!