Lately I've had a LOT of success using a tried-and-true method I discovered years ago. I get hundreds, if not thousands, of hits to my blogs every day now... Can you guess how?
**Note: This method is especially great for newer blogs that are still too young to rank high in the search engines.
1) Create lots of unique, quality content.
This is the most important part of growing your blog, and there is no way around it. You have to write lots of unique and useful posts, provide lots of quality photos that capture attention, and videos when possible.
Write for people, not search engine robots. Focus on user experience and build the best blog you possibly can.
You have to put in the time and do the work if you want your blog to grow. If you don't have the time or skill to do it, blogging probably isn't for you.
2) Submit your best posts to StumbleUpon.
If you're not already a StumbleUpon member, click the link and create an account right now! (I'll wait....) No matter how new your blog is, you can get TONS of visitors from this social sharing website. Even though it's not as popular as it used to be, it still works wonders for my blog traffic!
(Yes, I know there are tons of other article submission sites out there, but you will NOT get the kind of traffic that StumbleUpon can offer, and certainly not as quick!)
Submit your best posts, and Stumblers will rate content as they click through. The more thumbs-ups your posts get, the more people will see them.
Like any other social site, you have to do your work, too- complete your profile, add your friends, install the toolbar, and click through pages of any topic that interests you.
3) Lather, rinse, repeat.
This isn't a one-time thing. You must continuously write and submit, write and submit, etc, etc.
If people like what they see, they will vote you up and more and more people will see your posts. Keep writing. Keep improving. Pay attention to your traffic stats and get an idea of what people like, then keep writing more, and keep improving far beyond you ever thought you could!
You will be pleasantly surprised by how easy this is (considering you write stuff that people want to read), and amazed when you get more and more visitors! Granted, these people are more into Stumbling and rating pages than taking the time to comment on them, but when you run ads on your blogs, every visitor counts!
I like your post. I do the first two steps for every post I create! However, I think you missed one woefully critical fact that has to do with engagement. As a "Step 3" at least for me anyway) you need to comment daily on other blogs. Now I'm not talking about the same blogs everyday, but 30-60 minutes per day should be spent by a blogger (especially a newbie) leaving real genuine value-adding comments on other blogs.
ReplyDeleteSomething like "nice post" is garbage and will (or should be) deleted immediately by the moderator. I mean the blogger should take the time to write at least 3-5 sentences that are relevant to the content that was within the post. Then at the bottom of the comment, they can leave a link back to their website.
Truly I don't mind publishing comments that are left like this. It shows that a person took the time to read my content, form an intelligent thought or argument about said content, and leave a meaningful comment. In these cases, I think the person has earned the right to leave a link back to their blog in the signature because they've respected my blog enough to be engaging and intelligent.
I have seen for myself what practicing this a blog commenting strategy on a daily basis has done for my own traffic and has allowed me to build some great relationships with fellow bloggers. So yes writing great content and "Stumbling it" with StumbleUpon is important, but engaging with other blogs in your niche is equally important to just get your name, brand, blog, and voice out there.
Sasha
Confessions of A Fashion Stylist
Website: http://sashabowmanshops.com/
Blog: http://sashabowmanshops.wordpress.com/