A million blog posts are uploaded every 24 hours. Why should a reader choose to read yours? What makes you special enough? If you don’t have the answer to this question, you may as well close up shop. Here are 12 ways to make your blog eminently read worthy.
Study your niche and learn as much as you can. Know everything you can about it – such as how your niche topic has grown; what are the latest advancements, what are the top grievances and so on. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to blogging.
Even if you are not a subject matter authority, it’s important to come across as one. We don’t mean that you should pretend – we’re only saying you need to blog with a certain authority that’s hard to question.
Use everything you’ve learnt so far, along with your inner wisdom, your expertise and industry knowledge to help your audience with their issues. Be generous with your advice, tips and assistance. Earn your audience’s gratitude. Slowly your readers will come to you for all their niche-related issues.
Find your own unique voice so that you really stand out. Don’t be satisfied with just a few passing glances. Learn from blogging greats like Darren Rowse – he speaks from his heart and shares his personal experiences freely. Be caring, informative, funny and vulnerable.
Many bloggers charge for valuable information. That’s because these bloggers are in a position to monetize their knowledge. If you’re not there yet, offer valuable information for free; this will build audience loyalty.
Focus on community benefit, not just the benefit of your own blog. Promote other bloggers, re-tweet their tweets and link to their posts from your blog. Create a positive and sharing web presence – provide useful and insightful comments on other blogs and network positively. Earn your share of linkbacks and trackbacks.
Encourage your readers to comment and then respond to their comments in real time. Listen patiently to their feedback, ask questions, and show sincere interest in what they have to say. Share something personal, and come across as receptive, observant and intelligent
A great headline can grab even reluctant eyeballs for the second or two it takes for that person to click your link. Your subscribers see it in email previews, your Twitter fans see it in your tweets – your headline is your first and greatest chance to make an impact.
Use a pleasing color scheme, reader-friendly font sizes and structured, good-looking formatting style. The idea is that once someone comes to your blog, they should be pleased with what they see. Many bloggers upload great content but not all of them have great looking and yet reader-friendly blog themes.
Think of your blog as your home – broken links are trash, dead links are dead rats lying around and bug-infested plugins are last week’s dishes. Clutter, navigation issues and slow loading time are peeling walls and stinking garbage. You get the idea.
You may have a fabulous blog but maybe not many know about it. Use social tools like Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Splashpress Blogosphere News and others to get word about your blog out. Spend several hours expanding your reader base each week.
Set the right expectations with your audience and stick to them. A consistent, steady blogger who provides quality content when promised has a sure fire chance of winning. Your reader’s interest is a plant that you must care for tenderly. Be sure not to lose it.
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