If you’d like to gain more traffic to your new blog and don’t know where to start, consider reading this article. In my first full month as a blogger I received nearly 2,000 visitors and 5,700 hits and I’d like to share with you exactly how that happened.
Before I begin I want to tell you that I’m incredibly passionate about the subject in which I write. This motivates me to work hard, yet at the same point, it’s not work at all since I’m doing what I enjoy. Whatever you blog about, it needs to be something you can’t wait to speak to people about everyday because essentially as a blogger you’re creating dialogue and active communication on a topic you believe you can help others with.
My blog discusses personal finance, but also how you can achieve your dreams through proper money management. I get to talk to people about bettering their lives and using money effectively. Each day I discuss with people the concept of being Financially Free along with their passions, which motivates me. What motivates you?
Quickest way to build a successful blog
So if you feel comfortable that you have a niche that you’re truly passionate about here’s how I got 5,700 hits my first month blogging.
1. Search for the Competition
No matter which niche you’re in you’re going to have competition. There will be other bloggers writing similar content as you, but you need to be aware of who is doing this so that you can understand why people read these blogs. Ask yourself what you can do better and how you can provide more value to the readers of these blogs. How you win online is providing better, more useful, information. The only thing the competition doesn’t have are your experiences and your unique voice. Use that to your advantage by showing your readers your true self, not just another generic anonymous blog.
2. Discover common patterns of the most successful blogs in the niche
I found that most successful personal finance blogs in my niche wrote at least one post a day and were actively replying to comments and guest posting on other blogs. This helped me decide what actions were best for creating success. What are the top bloggers in your niche doing?
3. Write 20 high quality articles
Start writing about the things you enjoy. Write, write, write, edit, edit, edit, and actively seek feedback on your writing. Write at least 20 quality articles to give yourself a base before you go out and introduce yourself to other bloggers.
4. Once your site has a base of about 20 articles, go out and market it
By marketing I mean comment, guest post, and email other bloggers. I literally spent whole weekends commenting on blogs to get my name out there and offered to guest post a ton. I would email bloggers directly, introduce myself and see if there was any way I could help them. Make everything you do about helping others, not just helping yourself.
5. Make friends
Blogging is all about networking. Therefore, treat your competition as friends. It sounds a bit weird, but each niche has groups that collaborate together around a common theme. Email and comment back and forth with these niche bloggers so that you become recognized in the group. If you have powerful friends with high traffic sites, they’ll most likely link to you in the future which will bring you a ton of high quality, relevant traffic. Remember that it takes the average person about 8 impressions before they’ll remember you. If you feel like you’re over marketing your site… you’re not.
6. Keep posting quality content
Post at least once a day and post things that matter to your readers. You readers don’t want to hear about your crappy day at work or what you ate for dinner. When you write, address your audience and ask them questions. Provide relevant links in the article and even links to related blogs in your niche so they see the trackbacks and are reminded of you again.
7. Guest Post
This was the biggest factor in my early success. I guest posted on 7 blogs with alexa ratings over 500,000 and gained a ton of traffic because of it. One guest post in particular brought me 200 extra visitors in a day which resulted in 11 new subscribers and dozens of new comments. If you take nothing else away from this article, realize that guest posting is the best way to secure a high ranking backlink and gain a ton of exposure for your blog.
8. Rinse and repeat
In the end all you really need to know is that writing good content, addressing your readers, marketing it via commenting and guest posting, and being passionate about your subject will pull you through and build you traffic. Keep writing good content, keep commenting, and keep guest posting.
9. When you’re starting don’t even think about the money
I’m still not making any money from my blog, but that’s not the point when you’re starting. When you’re starting you need to build traffic, then after you have traffic you’ll simply have to decide the best way to make money from that traffic (that’s the easy part). Don’t get ahead of yourself by barraging your small amount of visitors with a ton of ads. If you do that you’ll have a harder time growing trust with your readers and and growing your site.
If you want a successful blog, especially early on, it’s going to take a ton of work. However, picking a topic you love to write about will make it seem like you’re not working at all. Create value for your readers, follow the advice above, and you too can have 5,700 hits in your first full month of blogging.
This is a guest post by Ryan Schmitz of Planting Dollars.com where he writes about personal finance, mobile living, and personal development. You can also write guest posts and share your blogging tips and tricks with our readers.