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Driving traffic to a new blog can seem overwhelming at first glance. However, it’s not as daunting of a task as it seems. This step by step plan to drive traffic to your new blog will give you the steps to make a new blog thrive.
Step by Step Plan to Drive Traffic to Your New Blog
1. Know Your Audience
Before you write your first post, it’s vital that you know who you’re writing for. It’s important that you know as many details about the person you’re trying to reach as you can figure out.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Are they male or female?
- What is their rough age?
- Do they have kids?
- What do they do in their spare time?
- Where do they do most of their shopping?
- Why should they read your blog?
- What are you going to do for them?
Once you have answered these questions, you have a solid base line for what topics you should write about. Honing in on a niche for your blog will help you to attract the exact visitors you want! This is key in not only building first time traffic, but also in turning those visitors into regular readers who provide consistent traffic to your blog.
2. Keyword Research
I can’t say enough about how properly following SEO practices can help you drive traffic to your new blog and increase your pageviews. If you can obtain organic reach, then you stand a solid chance at creating a loyal fan base.
However, the first step for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), is to get the right keywords. I highly recommend that you check out this Learn to Blog Hangouts post on how to use Webmaster Tools for Keyword Research.
3. Gain Newsletter Subscribers
Please, please, set up your newsletter right away. Think about a printable, small e-book, video, or something that you can give your audience for becoming a “member of your VIP audience.” Then write to your subscribers at least once a month (many people suggest once a week). Nurse your newsletter BEFORE you nurse your blog. In other words, if you have limited time and have to choose between writing a newsletter or a blog post, always choose a newsletter.
Your newsletter subscribers are your LOYAL fans. They are the ones who will stick with you through the good and bad times of blogging. They are also the ones who will help you share your blog posts faster than anyone else (and yes, that sometimes includes faster than your personal friends and family members).
4. Pick One or Two Social Networks
I recommend that you get social media channels set up across ALL of them with your blog branding ASAP. Although, it would be nice to do something on every social network, I encourage you to only pick one or two social networks to focus on growing and interacting with your audience on to start.
Every social network has advantages. Look back at the questions you answered above when you determined who your audience is, and focus on the social platforms where your reader is going to be. Be sure to learn how to grow it the right way, so you can build community on social media.
5. Visit Related Niche Blogs
I know there are some people who will tell you that commenting is a dead thing, and there are a lot of blogs who no longer have comments enabled, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to connect with the authors of other blogs in your niche. If you can’t leave a comment on their blog, reach out on social media and connect with them there.
These ideas are sure to help you increase your traffic in a lasting manner. Keep in mind that you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. This will help you get started, but the quest to nurture and drive traffic to your blog will continue forever. It’s important to connect with other bloggers and test new things to keep your blog fresh.
What are some tips to drive traffic to your new blog that have worked for you?
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Really good post… I needed this today… and everyday! Thanks!
I’m glad you found it helpful.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.
Hi Crystal
Great post! I also believe in focusing on just one or two key social networks. Too often I see new bloggers try and cover them all. In the end they just get spread way too thin and can’t keep up. Soon they stop blogging all together because they a) aren’t seeing results b) find that it takes a crazy amount of time to manage it all.
With my task management blog I just focus on Twitter and Facebook. I find that drives a decent amount of traffic for the amount of time I put into it.
Paul
Paul,
You’re right bloggers do tend to get burned out quickly and not see much of a return on their time invested when they try to do too much online. I’m glad you shared what is working for you with us too.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. We hope to see you again soon.
-Crystal