Grow Your Blog Audience

By: Kelly Beall. Image: K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union Tribune.

You've chosen your blog's awesomely catchy name, you have a cool design you love, you've been posting for a few months and now what? Growing your audience of course! Now brace yourself for what I have to say next, there's no one right way to build your readership. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but there's no magic formula because each site's readership varies in every possible way. What works for Design Crush might not work for your site, but I prefer to liken this side of blogging to a science experiment – a little of this, a little of that, record the results. And if the outcome isn't awesome enough back to the drawing board! No harm, no foul.

Social media is definitely a big part of the formula you should be using to achieve success. I love this article full of Social Media Dos and Don'ts by some of your favorite bloggers. (Psst... if you don't have a Twitter account or Facebook page dedicated to your site I suggest you set one up. Now.)

Install Google Analytics and pay attention to what it's telling you. Here are the Top 7 Google Metrics to Monitor.

Write about topics that are already hot. They're popular for a reason and consulting Google Trends is a fantastic place to start.

Your post's title is the first thing a potential reader sees, learn how to write Magnetic Headlines to pull people in from the get-go.

Get to Know Your Readers! Finding out what they want will only contribute to your success.

Plan ahead using something like this free printable blog planner. It will help you stay true to both your site and your ultimate plan (mwahahaha).

Want more? Be sure to sign up for Kelly's class, Expanding Your Audience, on Alt Channel later this month!

Comments

[Amy]

So helpful for a new blogger like me! Thank you!

[Michael]

I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary this fall, but growing your blog is something to keep in mind at any stage. Thanks for all these links! I plan to check them all out.