Jun 18 2009
10 Tips To Bring More Visitors and Keep Them On Your Blog
1. Choose a clean and attractive template, and keep your navigation structure simple and intuitive. So many times we come across blogs with promising content but then we get lost among unwanted ads and widgets and it takes us a while to figure out what to click next. Your visitors might not be willing to waste their time playing hide and seek with your links.
2. Make sure you give people the option to subscribe to your feeds or bookmark your site. You can also put a button that allows them to add your blog to Social Bookmarking websites such as Digg, Reddit, Technorati, etc. If you give them the possibility, there is a chance they might do it. If you don’t, you’re like the man who wanted to win at the lottery but didn’t buy a ticket.
3. Don’t clutter your blog with too many banners and ads, as they can put people off. Change the colors of the Google Ads so that they match the theme of your blog. Try to make them look like they are part of the whole.
4. Write a comprehensive and clear description emphasizing the points that make you original and the reasons why people should read your work. Remember you have thee seconds to grab your visitors’ attention. Think of the things you would like to see on a writer’s website and try to implement them on yours. Be honest about yourself and your work.
5. Take time to read other people’s stories and comment on them. Look for writing sites or forums and get involved in discussions with other writers. Find a way to relate to their ideas and perspectives. End your comments with a link to your site, but do it with subtlety, so that people don’t think you are a spammer. Find writers who focus on the same topics as yours, but from a different point of view. They are more likely to understand you and start a passionate debate.
6. Give your visitors the opportunity to leave comments on your site, to express their opinion and get engaged in discussions. Use polls. Visitors come and leave, and too many times they never return. Interaction is a way of making them stay longer and maybe even come back at a later date. People like to be active, to have their voices heard.
7. Choose one of your hottest topics and write an article about it. Publish it in different article directories, with a link back to your website. Create a video or a presentation related to your work and upload it on sites like YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Don’t forget to add a link at the end.
8. Use social platforms such as Twitter, MySpace, Facebook to build traffic. Some big players swear on them. Give them a try, but before doing that, make sure you understand how they work, so that you can get the best of them. There are plenty of free resources, guides and manuals available on the Internet.
9. Attract people by offering them free stuff for download such as images, backgrounds, templates, e-books, videos, mp3 files, etc. You can also start a little contest, offering the winners a little reward at the end.
10. Last but not least – and I know you’ll hate this – be patient. Patience is a virtue even in the virtual world. Don’t give up. Traffic builds gradually, miracles are quite rare. You’ll get there in the end!
