How To Build Traffic on Your Blog (Part 1)
A Guest Post by Jennifer Fulwiler
A lot of writers have mixed feelings when they hear about the importance of using blogs to build platforms. On the one hand it sounds nice to have a popular blog, but on the other hand it’s daunting: How do you go about getting traffic? Isn’t it mostly just luck anyway? I have good news: Attracting a loyal readership to a blog is not just blind luck. After more than a decade working as a web developer, I’ve learned from some exciting successes (and a few spectacular failures) that there are concrete steps you can take to grow traffic to your site.
When I give advice on this topic I usually spend most of my time talking about how to write well; after all, if a blog is not well-written there are no tips or tricks that will make people want to read it. But since most of you probably have that part covered, here are some practical steps you can take to make sure your blog effectively highlights your writing and draws in a loyal audience:
It’s all about generosity.
If you only remember one thing from this post, make it this: It is a spirit of generosity that brings traffic to a website. As I know from personal experience, having a blog can tempt you to become a black hole of attention. However, the more inwardly-focused you become, the fewer readers you will have. Ironically, it is when you stop asking questions like “How can I get people to link to me?” or “Why don’t more people comment on my posts?” and start asking questions like “Who are some other great bloggers I can link to?” and “How can I better serve readers through my blog?” that your traffic will begin to grow.
Write scannable posts.
Internet readers have notoriously short attention spans, and they tend to briefly scan a post first to assess whether it’s worth their time to read the whole thing. Use things like pictures, bolded section headers, varied paragraph sizes, bulleted lists and indented quotes to make your posts appealing from the first glance.
Make your blog easy to read and follow.
I believe that a lot of blogs don’t have the readership that they could simply because of design problems. You don’t have to hire a professional designer to do anything fancy, just make sure that you keep an eye on these things:
- Value prime real estate: The part of your blog that is “above the fold,” i.e. what first appears in a reader’s browser without him having to scroll down, is precious space. Avoid mastheads that are so tall that a reader has to scroll down to see your content (Rachelle’s is the perfect size, for example) and put the most important sidebar elements at the very top.
- Use a readable font: Use one of the standard, easy-to-read fonts; make sure it’s big enough (a good rule of thumb is to look at the size of online newspapers’ text); and watch out for harsh color combinations like white font against a black background.
- Check your blog in different browsers: Your site will show up differently in different browsers. You don’t have to go crazy checking all possible options, but just take a glance at your blog on friends’ computers to make sure it doesn’t look strange.
- One of the best ways to build a loyal readership is to encourage people to subscribe to your RSS feed. Check your blogging platform’s support documents to find out how to add a “Subscribe to my RSS feed” link in your sidebar. (If you’re not familiar with RSS, here’s an informative video.)
Decide on a theme (but don’t stick to it rigidly).
It’s important to identify a loose theme for the subject matter of your blog. If you write a description of a family picnic one day, an analysis of the stock market the next day, and a lesson on Chinese history the day after that, readers are going to get whiplash from so much jumping around. A good litmus test for how well you’ve clarified your theme is if you could summarize your blog within the 140-character limit on Twitter.
That said, don’t forget that what draws readers to blogs is not just the information itself, but the unique personality behind the great content. Don’t be afraid to throw in some posts about topics near and dear to your heart, even if they’re off-topic from your usual subject matter.
Help people get to know you quickly.
- Introduce yourself: New readers immediately want to know who is behind the blog they’re reading. Put a two- to three-sentence bio in a prominent place on the front page of your blog.
- Remember that every post you write will be the first post someone reads: The other day I stumbled across a blog with a stirring post about how life was different after Sara left. You’re probably wondering the same things I did: Who’s Sara? Where did she go? I spent a few minutes looking for the answers but eventually lost interest. Make sure that in every post you either explain necessary backstory or link to where it’s explained elsewhere.
- Include a “best of” list: I can’t recommend strongly enough that you list a few of your best posts as permanent links in the sidebar. (If you’re uncomfortable self-identifying which posts are great, just do a “most popular” list.)
Don’t give up.
Website traffic grows geometrically; it’s much easier to go from 1,200 to 1,400 visits per day than it is to go from 200 to 400. There will be periods where it seems like it’s taking forever for your traffic to increase, but don’t give up. Just keep having fun and pouring genuine love and passion into each post; before long, you’ll find that you’ve been too busy engaging with readers and practicing the craft of writing to notice that you finally have a platform.
Next week: Part 2 with more ideas for bringing readers to your blog.
[ Next Post → ] [ ← Previous Post ]
70 Responses 
If you're new to publishing, please start here: How To Get Published.
You may also want to watch this 14-minute video: Advice for New Authors.
My Twitter name is @RachelleGardner.
My passion is partnering with authors to bring worthwhile books to publication. I started this blog as a way to create a community of writers, both published and seeking publication. I write about a wide variety of topics of interest to writers, and I consider the reader comments even more important than my own posts.
Click photo for my full bio.
>Thank you Rachelle. This comes at a time when I'm in the early stages of both a writing blog, and a review blog. Slowly I'm getting more interest in both, but I've found myself asking 'how to improve it?'
I then got reminded about something from an award a friend gave me. At the end of the day, I started the blogs not to have hundreds of followers (eventually that would be nice), but to convey information to the world. Even if only 1 person just read my blog and took something away, that would mean more than hundreds of followers. Not sure if I'm getting the meaning across in this post
You've a great blog!
>This post just inspired me to post a "best of" list on my site– thanks! It was really interesting to try to select posts… I had a pretty good sense for the slant of my blog before, but this made me think about the list of funny/serious that I go for, and that I don't focus on the more sublime side of living in Israel in my post titles but often go there in my posts themselves. Check it out here if you're interested:
How to Be Israeli
My word verification is "corni." I hope that isn't trying to tell me anything about my blog.
>Thank you, this is a great article.
I particularly like the reminder that although a blog needs a theme, letting go and writing about other topics here and there adds character and makes your blog more personal. Good advice.
And I also hadn't thought to add a 'Best/Most Popular Posts' list in my side bar. I'm definitely going to impliment this!
>Thank you for a very informative post. I've been blogging irregularly for a few years with practically no readership. At times I've wondered what was the point, but like gaining that publishing contract, blogging and building a readership do take time. I'm working on a schedule that works for my lifestyle and hope to stick to it.
>Thank you! What a helpful post.
>Excellent advice! Another thing I might add, is that if we want to build a readership, then we have to read and comment on other people's blogs (unless we're a popular agent like Rachelle!). We can't expect to build a large base of followers if we're not genuinely friendly.
When someone visits my blog, I try to make a point of visiting theirs and commenting. As the saying goes, if you want to have a friend then you have to be one. Same is true in blogging. If you want someone to read your blog, then you have to make the effort to read theirs! (In fact, I'm blogging about this very thing this week. Stop on by!)
>Jody -
Another thing I might add, is that if we want to build a readership, then we have to read and comment on other people's blogs.
Just wanted to highlight that point because it's such a great point. I had that (as well as quite a few other similar ideas) in mind as part of the first point about generosity, but didn't go into detail because of wordcount concerns. Commenting on other people's blogs is not only a nice thing to do but a great way to build traffic.
Thanks for the comments, all!
>Hey Jody & everyone,
Great point about visiting other people's blogs. I'm planning a second post on building blog traffic, where we'll go into some more pro-active ways to bring people to your blog. (Jennifer, you up for this one?)
>Excellent tips. Thank you both. I'm looking forward to the next installment.
>First, I'd be THRILLED to have even 200 visits a day! *grin* Best of on the sidebar… I've been meaning to do that but it means that I have to pick which ones are best! AH!
And I ditto Jody. I think about 80% of my blog readers have come from either seeing me comment on other's blogs or linked from a comment I put on their blog. Rachelle, I look forward to your post about "attracting" visitors!
>Thank you for all the great information.
>Great post! I'm looking forward to part 2.
>Jennifer:
Thank you for sharing these tips for us newbies in the blogging world. The whole "creating a following" thing can be daunting; it's helpful to have some practical ideas.
Jody is a sterling example of a blog friend; I see her on so many bogs, and she always offers kind, uplifting comments. She has helped increase my blog by linking to me, and I'm sure she's "reaped what she's sown" many times.
Blessings,
Jen
P.S. Love your hair color!
>Rachelle, thanks for bringing Jennifer here. This is great information! Much appreciated.
>I find blogging to be a worthwhile, but daunting challenge. I love creating mini-essays on teaching, faith, family and writing. My blog has put me in touch with many great friends and honed my craft.
I admit it though–I sometimes get overwhelmed by the vast and diluted blogosphere. I want to increase readership, but some tips for doing so aren't suggested in all circles. It's tricky to find your blogging method and stick to it–or know when to change it!
That said, Jennifer, you gave me some fabulous ideas today. You inspired me to play around with my blog, and I like the changes. I can't wait for the next installment, Rachelle!
>Great advice,Thanks.
>I'm planning a second post on building blog traffic, where we'll go into some more pro-active ways to bring people to your blog. (Jennifer, you up for this one?)
You bet! I could talk about this stuff all day — it's one of my favorite subjects. (And I have a lot of tips in my back pocket in terms of more pro-active traffic building.)
>Thank you for these great tips!
>Thank you! There was one thing in particular you mentioned that I'm going to go take care of on my blog right now!
>Bless you for this series on blog traffic. I have set up a couple of blogs for Christian writers on WordPress, and I'm seeking subscribers. Right now, I have some drawings and giveaways going on.
I invite everyone to take a look:
http://www.wired2write.wordpress.com
http://www.grmarketing.wordpress.com
Again, thanks for this topic!
>I'm in the process of learning how to creat a blog so this information is timely!
From the blogs I follow, it seems important to invite participation. And then when Rachelle allows us to talk about ourselves, the comment section goes out of sight!
I hope that says something good about us…how eager we are to participate rather than how egotistical we are.
>Wow, what great timing! I am beginning to think through and create my writing blog (coming in July!), so this is exactly what I needed at this moment! I have a feeling I'll return to it often!
>Wow, what great timing! I am beginning to think through and create my writing blog (coming in July!), so this is exactly what I needed at this moment! I have a feeling I'll return to it often!
>Thanks so much for your great advice…I've started a new blog and I've been wondering how important it is to submit the blog to various blog directories. I have submitted to google and yahoo, but I've noticed that some of these directories charge a fee.
>This is a great post. I've heard advice from others that one way to get a lot of traffic is to visit other blogs and leave comments. I have a problem with this – I visit tons of blogs and leave comments, and either get no one coming back to visit, or they visit but don't leave comments. It's very discouraging. I've also read that you should ask questions at the end of your post to invite comments. That rarely works for me (unless someone stumbles upon the blog) because of little to no readership, or I have lurkers (people who read but don't comment). It gets frustrating, but I'm keeping at it. I'm going to make some changes in my blog(s) and hopefully that will help.
Thanks for your advice.
>That was really helpful and well written.
Thank you!
>Great information! I'm still relatively new to the writing/blogging world, so this helped me so much!
>Hello, Jennifer. Welcome! Thank you for this post. I've been blogging faithfully for the past six months and I'm just now getting to the first "phase" of having people I don't know follow my blog! A small following, mind you, but exciting. Blogging, for me, has been a huge boost in self-esteem and discipline. The more I post, the more encouraging comments I receive. The more comments I receive, the more I write because I know there are others besides myself who are interested in what I have to say. It's a great motivator, just knowing other people take interest in what you say.
I agree with the comment about taking the time to comment on other's blogs. Not only does it help those blog owners know someone's listening, it also is polite, especially if they commented on your blog first! And I ALWAYS make it a priority to thank those who follow my blog. I understand where this could be daunting if there were, say, 1,000 new followers a day. But right now, it's just a little something I can do to make the internet a friendlier place.
Have a great day!
~Jennifer
>Great post!
>Rachelle, thanks so much for inviting Jennifer to give us some tips in this area. It looks like I'm doing some things right already, but I've seen at least three things I can do right away to make improvements.
Thanks, Jennifer & Rachelle! Look forward to part 2!
>BIG THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I needed to hear this today…probably as much as I needed to hear that there is enough coffee left for another round.
>Good tips. I definitely need to go introduce myself on my blog. I don't think I've ever done that.
>i have to agree about the generosity statement….once i figured out how i could start helping others, traffic picked up. For me, it was when i started offering my therapeutic services for writers for character assessments.
>Great post. Thanks, Jennifer. Very helpful. Looking forward to part 2.
>What a great way to start my day with all these lovely comments! Thank you!
Matilda -
I've been wondering how important it is to submit the blog to various blog directories.
Great question. It couldn't hurt, but I've never gotten significant traffic from that sort of thing. Bottom line: Go ahead and do it if you have a free moment, but don't spend a whole lot of time on it. Definitely not a requirement for building traffic.
Shelley –
I've heard advice from others that one way to get a lot of traffic is to visit other blogs and leave comments. I have a problem with this – I visit tons of blogs and leave comments, and either get no one coming back to visit, or they visit but don't leave comments. It's very discouraging.
How frustrating! The good news is that I think I might have an idea of what's been going wrong:
I clicked through to your profile to leave you a comment, but since you're involved in so much good stuff with the five different blogs listed there, I got stalled trying to figure out which one to leave a comment on. I ended up getting distracted before I made a decision and, if it weren't for this discussion, might have forgotten to follow up.
If you go to the Blogger dashboard and click on Edit Profile there's a box that says "Homepage URL." You may want to put the address of your *main* blog there so that when people click on your profile there's an easy decision about which blog to visit.
Thanks!
>Thank you Rachelle for another great post of such practical helps for us all! Thank you Jennifer. Great info! I look forward to part 2!
>Fun info. I never thought about a bio. I just figured friends and family would read my blog and maybe some cyberfriends. But I love these tips. Thanks for sharing them.
>This is the most concise and useful information for beginning bloggers I've seen yet. The next time someone asks me about start a blog, I'm sending them here.
>Great post! Thank you, Jennifer.
>I have gotten very lazy about commenting on other people’s blogs. I used to keep a list of blogs that I would visit every day and I would frequently comment on each one, but Shelley, the method I have found that works best for attracting readers from other blogs is to write a comment of reasonable length that adds to the conversation. Then, rather than include everything I would like to say on the subject, include a link to a related blog post. For example, Jennifer talks about writing posts that are easy to read, so I might have said something like that and mentioned my post on blog reader attention span or because she mentioned following a theme, I might say something relevant about that, but include link to my post on finding the focus of a blog for readers who may be interested in learning more. At the same time, it is important to avoid making comments of the form “Loved the post. Check out my blog.” Doing this makes people wonder if you even bothered to read the post, while the other method adds value, both in the form of a comment on the post and additional information on another blog. Once those readers click through, they are more likely to comment on your blog because they have already been thinking about the subject and they are more likely to have something to say.
>Wow. Great post. Very helpful. Looking forward to part 2.
>Jennifer,
Glad to finally read this much anticipated post. I feel very affirmed in what you've said here, and am eager and ready for Part II. The one thing I haven't done is a "best posts" section. Guess I'd better get on that. I'm curious about traffic from BlogHer and such as well. Perhaps you'll cover that next. I am on a waiting list for that.
Rachelle, thanks for hosting Jennifer. I read you both regularly and always come away with something. Thanks for all you both do to give us great food for thought.
Roxane (Peace Garden Mama)
>Wonderful post. I'm excited about the blogging journey. Loving the learning process, too. Thank you!
>great, informative post! I've been frustrated by the slow up of my blog's readership. I'd definitely be interested in a follow-up post to this, Jennifer!
>Going to print this one to study later!
Great tip to look at your blog using different servers. My looked like a smeared Monet in one browser.
>I love the hair, too!
This advice comes at the perfect time when I was asking myself this very question.
Thank you so much for the information and taking the time to help! We appreciate it
.
>Thank you for this post. It's encouraging to hear the info in the Don't Give Up section. When I hit a plateau in my blog traffic, I tend to get discouraged.
>I do appreciate this post and the helpful insights. I am afraid I am one of those smorgasbord bloggers.
>I can't believe I missed this post this morning. It is normally the first thing I look for when I sit in front of my computer.
Thanks once again Rachelle for a wonderful lesson. I will be eager for the follow up next week to improving my blog.
>Thanks, Jennifer. This post was perfect timing for me. I just started blogging again after taking a break to work on a couple of manuscripts. Thanks for the tips.
I popped over to your site as well. Your book sounds great. I just subscribed to your blog. Looking forward to reading more!
>Thank you Jennifer (and thanks to Rachelle) for this informative post.
I’ve just restarted blogging after an absence from it, so it’s great to have these timely tips. I look forward to Part II and more!
>Your tips are timely as well as practical. Even though we seek new perspectives via blogging, we have a limited tolerance for drivel. Skillful bloggers understand their audience, balance the fear of insignificance with the courage to proclaim, and humbly take writing risks.
>Thanks for posting this! I'm just starting my blog, so this has been a big help, and I look forward to your next post!
>Thank you so much for the information. I was just wondering about the question to ask, "Who are some other great bloggers I can link to?" I don't see this happening. Do they put a link on their side bar to visit our site?
I really appreciate your last comment about not giving up and "just keep having fun and pouring genuine love and passion into each post." Thank for the encouragement.
>Thanks for the information! I have a papercrafting blog where I showcase some of my work and the stories behind it. I want to attract both papercrafters for constructive criticism and also "regular people" for possible sales of my products. I also have been wanting to incorporate more of my "life" in my blog instead of starting a second blog. I think I will follow some of these tips to get my blog more interesting!
>Hi, thank you for the infos. I was able to get some tips in increasing my blog traffic, its pretty hard than I thot..
>great information..
thanks so much
http://www.liveyourdreamsindia.com
>I recommend BrowserShots.org — it allows you to view your blog in dozens of different browsers. The site is sluggish sometimes, but this method is much more efficient that checking friends’ computers, or downloading a bunch of browsers to your own machine.
>Thanks for the tips.
>Thanks for a great guest post! Very succinct and practical advice. I'm going to check out my own blog with an eye to these suggestions.
- Liz
Really valuable and readable post,I seen awesome post here today.Thank for sharing such valuable and helpful information.
The information so clearly illustrated in this article is very helpful. Thank you for sharing this with us, Rachelle.
Great nice post on traffic,Good Readable.
Thanks for sharing.
your blog is really helpful. M just looking for such fine stuff for a very long time.
i love to leave a comment in every topic so i can share my ideas to everybody
That was really gold mine article. Strategics in driving traffic to one’s website have been an indispensable one for social media marketing. Got a handful of tips and learning here. Now its time for applied learning.
software development
Having a Twitter account will help increase traffic to your blog. You can use tools such as Tweet Attacks (http://tweetattacks.com) to connect with large numbers of followers, post tweets that interest them, and then link those tweets to your blog.
Great post. Keep up your work! Best things for you. I have an idea of viral osphere to build targeted traffic together, it’s free for all people who have same interests to join. Try it out guys. God Bless You
Wow Jennifer very nice I must say. My story if kinda funny. You see although I have been a webmaster @ designer for decades I am a newbie to the whole blog world. My church asked me to build a website to help share our faith and love of Jesus. I was attempting to add a guestbook to our church site. I actually created a word-press blog by clicking the wrong button in my C-panel by mistake. Then I went to http://ebcmodesto.com/blog where the page was mistakenly created and it blew my mind. I liked it and so does the church. Perhaps this was God’s plan all along? Regardless I have decided to keep it and see if I can build some traffic. After reading your post as well as all visitors I must say I am inspired. You have a wonderful blog and I wish you and your blog the best. May God bless your life and extend His gracious favor upon you.
Hello there, It truly is a exceptional find for the very good website such as this. My partner and i enjoyed the concept. Congrats for you. Employ a nice day!