9 Ways to Get More Visitors to Your Blog

When most people start a blog, they assume they’ll have automatic subscribers, or at least frequent readers. If that doesn’t happen right away, they may get discouraged and stop blogging. That’s a mistake, especially for people in the business world.

Blogging should be an important part of your marketing plan. If done right, it can lead to an increase in web traffic and ultimately an increase in business. I started my blog (hilarytopper.com) in January 2008. Today, it has more than 17,000 unique visitors per month.

How did I get there? Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way:

Get the word out

The best way to build your community is through your existing social networking sites. Tell your clients, family, friends, and business community about your blog and ask them to subscribe.

Whenever I post a blog entry, I use an aggregator like Ping.fm or Hellotxt to spread a teaser about it and post the link. The aggregator takes my message and spreads it out to my 30-plus communities.

Link to your business website

Some small businesses are actually using their blog as their website, on the theory that this will create more interaction with their community. My blog is linked to my website and vice versa, but they are two separate URLs. This gives me greater flexibility, and gives me the freedom to post content that is not only business-related (see #5).

Enable subscriptions and RSS

Make sure you have a subscription button on your blog so your readers can get your post in their email, or a notification via AOL Instant Message, Twitter, Skype, or Facebook. (Note: This service, powered by feedblitz.com, is not free.)

Also, put an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed button on your blog. This can be added through a plug-in on either WordPress or Blogger. The RSS feed pulls your blog into an aggregator like Bloglines, iGoogle, or My Yahoo!.

Be consistent

Determine whether you want to blog once a week, once a month, or even every day, and stick with your schedule.

Show who you are

Don’t only blog about your area of expertise; blog about yourself from time to time. Remember, people want to do business with people they know and trust. On my blog, for example, I write about social media, marketing, and PR tips and strategies. I also write about being in business. However, I get the highest number of comments from blogs I’ve written about personal stuff, such as trips I’ve taken or running with my kids around the middle school track.

Invite guest bloggers

You may want to invite your business colleagues and even competitors to guest blog on your site. Make sure they provide you with strong content that will teach viewers something. Once the blog is up, make sure they know to send it to their community. This will help you grow your own community.

Find ways to make your blog interactive

Ask questions. Take a stand for something, or post about a controversial topic. If someone writes on your blog, write back. Try to get as much conversation going as possible.

The other day, I wrote a blog post about something funny that happened to me at the gym when I was working out. One of my community members wrote in about a funny story that happened to him, which in turn sparked conversation on my Facebook page and other sites.

Recently, one of my guest bloggers talked about the Tea Party in New York City, which provoked a variety of responses. It made for an interesting blog post and interesting debate.

Learn to vlog

Like photos, vlogs (brief video blogs) add another dimension to your blog. With a Flip Video, or any other HD digital camera, you can shoot a short movie, put it up on YouTube, take the embedded code, and put it directly on your blog.

Try to keep the length to one minute or less to keep the pace fast and interesting. Some of my recent vlogs included a review of the new iPad and a report on the traffic in New York City. I try to be as animated as possible to keep the audience engaged.

Evaluate

It’s important to check your statistics every month. See how many people are visiting your site. Specifically, focus on unique visitors and individual posts. Which topics are most interesting to your community? Then, tailor your content accordingly.