Have you ever tried to get more people to read and comment on your blog? If so, you know how difficult it can be! Many people read but don’t comment, stay only for a mere thirty seconds before moving on, or RT or share without ever visiting at all (which is lovely but we’re wanting more comments, too. Right?).
So…what to do?
Many people have found success using different types of methods – incentives, contests, some kind of tease. But, how effective are they? I use a much more straightforward approach.
Let’s deconstruct.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy fix to bring droves of people to read and comment on your blog, I’ll tell you now: there is no magic bullet. However, I’ve got a few methods that helped me get you here:
- Make sure your blog is easy to find. If it’s not, well, the answer is pretty obvious. How do you do that? Three ways. Wait, no four.
- Add your website/blog URL to your email signature (I use WiseStamp), Twitter profile, Facebook page…basically, wherever you are, so should your URL be.
- Be sure to shorten your link using bit.ly. Why? Obviously, it’s shorter! But more than that, bit.ly allows you to customize your URL as well as track every click! You can even create a QR code.
- Ensure you’ve optimized your website/blog for maximum traffic. Any good website designer can help you or simply use a WordPress.org (not .com) social media plug-in that does it for you. I like Yoast.
- Include your social media buttons EVERYWHERE including on your dang blog. Do you know how many sites and blogs I see daily without them? Do it now. Even before you read the rest of this article.
- Why is it important to optimize your site? Without getting super technical, it’s basically using the tools available to allow people to find you on Google and other search engines. There are two ways to optimize: SEO (search engine) and SMO (social media). You need both.
- Bringing up WordPress again: I’m a huge advocate of this platform, though I came kicking and screaming to it. Blogger is easy for newbie bloggers and I felt it was good enough. Wrong! While they’ve made improvements, it’s crucial to own your own domain as well as content. By going with WordPress.org (again, not .com which is free), you own your domain, site, and blog. (You pay a few bucks/month for hosting.) Google is shuttering many of its apps, also. Even one more reason to go with WordPress.
- By using the SEO/SMO tools available, you increase your chances of people finding you exponentially. While not necessary to get your site up and going, making sure you optimize your site does increase your chances of people discovering you!
- How does all this result in more comments to your site? A few ways:
- By providing your site/blog URL basically everywhere, people can easily check out your site organically. Say, it’s on your Twitter profile, that’s a way to passively sell and bring in more readers.
- By SMO’ing your site, you make it easy for people to share your content, which in turn brings more people to your site. This means adding in the sharing buttons you see here: Twitter, Facebook (like and share), Pinterest, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit are the most popular.
- By creating interesting content (provide solutions, information, resources, humorous or involving essays), people will visit more often and the more people who visit, the greater the likelihood of comments.
- Be sure to ASK for comments! SO many people don’t. This ensures more interaction, engagement, and sharing, ergo, more people discovering you!
Okay. Now that you know how to get more people to your blog, how to optimize it, and why all that’s important…you should have a greater chance at more interaction and comments!
Send me a link (on Twitter or Facebook – not here) and I’ll RT/share you. Do you have any tips and tricks to share here? Please tell me below.
