photo credit: YIM Hafiz
This is another blogging question I received from one of my subscribers.
In full, they stated/asked:
In my blog I write pertinent articles, have a pretty good style (those that read and respond give me accolades).
I practice SEO as much as possible, without cramming keywords in everywhere and making the article disjointed. Yet my numbers are stagnant – no real growth!
What can I do with an established, but stagnant blog, to raise audience numbers?
This is a very common situation.
Your blog gains momentum and you quickly reach 500 or 1000 visitors a day.
But 1 year later you see no improvement.
I believe the majority of bloggers experience this.
In order to answer this question, I am making two assumptions:
- Your content is top notch. You say it is…so this is more than an assumption but I felt it needed saying. You need to be providing great content that your visitors want.
- You are very happy with your headline writing.
You see, the headline is viewed in a number of places like “readers”, search engines and ‘alltop’.
If the headline is not enticing, then no-one will want to clink on the link and read more.
Here’s a great post from CopyBlogger about headlines – it’s certainly worth viewing (does the headline entice you to click?):
7 Headline Writing Links That Will Revolutionize Your Content Marketing
Having mentioned my 2 assumptions here are some steps you could take to gain more traffic:
1. Continue to publish great content that your visitors want.
This is a given, I know but it really is the ‘greatness’ of the content that drives more traffic.
2. Social Media.
Love it or hate it, social media is here and working. There are numerous social media accounts available but I would stick with the main 3:
G+
Create accounts with these 3 and ensure people can connect with you via your site.
Make sure you connect with others.
Share other blog owner’s posts.
Also ensure your visitors can easily social bookmark your blog posts with one click.
The amount of traffic this could generate varies by a huge amount. It really depends upon how many followers you have, the content, the title…
3. Blog commenting.
Add valuable blog comments at 10 different blogs in your niche, daily.
You may not get much traffic from this so you may think it’s not worthwhile. The amount of effort required may not provide the traffic results you want.
But commenting is not just about direct traffic. Depending upon where you comment, comments can provide backlinks which, in turn, can help with your ranking in the search engines.
Plus it gets your brand published around the internet and that’s a good thing…assuming you are adding great comments.
4. Allow people to subscribe to your blog feed via a reader AND email.
Subscribers have preferences. Some like “readers”, some like email. So make sure, you offer both options. Then each time you publish a post, they will be notified and the majority will visit your site.
5. Send an email to your list about your latest blog post.
What do you mean you don’t have a list?
I don’t actually know if the person who asked this question does or not but if YOU don’t, start building one now. Use a service provider like Aweber.
Then write to your list enticing them to come over and visit your latest blog post.
6. Ask your ‘personal network’ to help generate some traffic by Tweeting or ‘liking’ your post.
Don’t do this for every post – you could become a nuisance. But asking them once a month is no big deal. You’ll be surprized how many are willing to help…especially if you make it easy for them to do with one click!
Ensure you return the favour!
Related post
Create a ‘blog pack’ to Build Traffic
7. Use Blog Carnivals.
Not a big traffic generator this one but I use a submission tool each week to add one of my blog posts to numerous Blog Carnivals in minutes. It generates some traffic and it also provides some great backlinks.
8. Guest posting.
This could be, by far the best way to generate more traffic.
Do you guest post?
Do you have a guest post plan?
9. Interview.
Create a podcast where you interview the most important person possible in your niche.
Not only will you promote the post but they will as well.
This does take time, preparation and effort but depending upon who you interview, it could create a lot of traffic.
10. Try videos.
Instead of just writing blog posts, try some videos. See what reaction you get. It may work for your type of visitor.
11. Encourage visitors to return.
Your awesome content will entice them but don’t turn them off with an unprofessional blog. De-clutter your design, reduce the number of ads, and show lots of white space.
Also try doing a “series of posts” so people will want to return so they don’t want to miss what’s coming next.
That’s it…11 ways to generate traffic to an established stagnant blog.
Having Said That…Your Content Needs To Be Improved
If you are doing the above but still not gaining traffic…it could be a content issue.
Many people assume their content is good and many still have traffic problems.
Why?
Because their content is not as good as they THINK it is.
Now before you get all offended, keep this in mind:
Nobody is as good as they THINK they are…including me!
How would you answer the question?
“What can I do with an established, but stagnant blog, to raise audience numbers?”
Please share your views in the comments below.
Andrew is a website builder and helps small businesses with their on-line presence…so they can grow their customer list and increase sales. That’s it! That’s what we do each and every day.
Thanks for the roundup Andrew, following these simple steps is a great place to start. Time is always of the essence but this is good solid advice.
Nice advice for those wanting to start their own online business venture. Your tips are easy to digest and realistic.
Keep on inspiring!
Best,
Andrew,
Great post. I’ve found myself in that exact situation on several occasions.
Guest posting on other blogs is huge, but also invite guest posters in your niche to GP on your blog, too. Tr to make sure they are not just other marketers, even if they can write. Youwant GPsters with established blogs, and just as important, a strong social media following. Make sure they support their GP on social media.
On blog carnivals, I used thoseyears ago to great effect, but in the last few years their effectiveness has diminished significantly. There are a few niches they work for, and any additional excposure is surely welcome, of course. The backlink is definitely worth it for both direct traffic and SE results, but the days of getting 500 – 5,000 visitors in one day from a blog carnival post are probably gone for good.
Great post, though!
Steve
I agree about guest posts. I must only accept 1 in every 20 I get sent to me for publication.
Re: Blog Carnivals. Again I agree but with software it only takes me about 5 minutes to submit my post to several carnivals…so I just carry on doing it!
Great tips you shared – thanks.
Andrew
Great post Andrew. I get the feeling you are nuts about social media? I subscribe to the 3 social media sites that you mention here. What is your take on Stumble and how do you feel about converting blogs to PDF and submitting them to sites such as Scribd?
Wade,
I used to love StumbleUpon – gave me a lot of traffic. But, long story, my site is banned by StumbleUpon.
I think it really depends upon the niche you are in and how much effort you put into building relationships.
Re: PDF and Scribd. Never done that myself but I know a few bloggers who have and got good results.
Perhaps create a PDF from a series of related blog posts and try it?
Andrew
I like your tips Andrew for getting more traffic. The one that i have the most trouble with is asking for help. I am so use to trying to do everything myself I forget get or ignore the asking for help. OOPS! Big no no!
The headlines are a big one like you say. If you can not grab the readers attention with them, your pretty much going in the ‘not exciting’ catagory.
What i have also found is your articles have to keep people up at night or they like them so much they want to spread the word. Also I am learning how to solve other people problems like you are doing in this article Andrew instead of just posting my thoughts.
People go to a blog because they have a problem they are trying to solve, find out what your niches problems are by reading forum from your niche and talk about them.
That is my take on answering your question Andrew, but we do have to start with your tips. You have taught me a lot and I am very thankful.
blessings to you,
debbie
Debbie,
Sharing your thoughts and opinions on your blog is also a good approach. You have to mix things up…sometimes advice, sometimes opinions, sometimes funny…
Andrew
Many good advices Andrew, especially the ones on commenting and killer headlines, but I think the biggest problem with traffic is due to Google continuously mixing up the cards every other day. 🙂
Andrea
I am going to have to disagree. If you publish great unqiue content…whatever Google are doing, you will not be penalized.
Andrew
@Andrew: Yup, stagnation is indeed something that every blogger (and business) may face. The methods you are highlighted are rather simple and won’t even require full-time effort from bloggers.
Killer titles for blog posts and blog post series are my favorite points from this post. Though you sold blog comments short. Blog comments will get your name and your brand out in the market and would help you build partnerships with other bloggers. If you regularly visit a blog and add real value in your comments, bloggers would pay you back by writing posts inspired by your comments, they may also link to your site and may invite you to contribute to their blog.
With FeedBurner’s future in limbo, FeedBlitz is probably the only ‘good’ alternative, but I will still encourage bloggers to use email delivery for RSS feed because everyone doesn’t use RSS readers.
Jeet
You say the points I raise are simple…and they are!
But then you add they “won’t even require full-time effort from bloggers”.
That really depends upon if you do all the work yourself. If you do, then I feel blogging AND making an income via blogging is a full-time role.
Andrew
@Andrew: I guess we have to accept the reality that most people who fall in the category of a “stagnant blog owner” don’t blog full-time (or they don’t need the blog’s income to support themselves).
It’s essential that bloggers see some success and income before they let go of their day jobs.
Jeet
I totally agree…build an income via bloging before you leave your job.
It took me 3 years before I could leave.
Andrew
Awesome 🙂 I wish more bloggers and make money online gurus would include this type of facts as well.
Mailing lists, social media, and adding commentluv have helped my blog traffic. The next step for me would be to find guest bloggers, thanks for the tips Andrew!
Luis
Good luck with finding guest bloggers.
Do you advertise the fact that you accept guest posts?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Yet again another good advice from you. I actually have this website that I haven’t touched in about 5 months. It didn’t have much to begin with as most of the content came from the previous owner. I know I was impulsive when I bought it as it was fairly inexpensive anyways. Now, I want to do something about it and this post of yours seems to cover most of what I need to do. Thanks.
Felicia
I hope these points help and good luck. Let us know how it goes!
Andrew
Well done Andrew,
It is obvious that the most challanging task in the blogoshere is driving traffic just like in any other business.
However, as stated above, one of my best method of driving traffic is guest posting, i even wrote a well detailed post recently on this subject. Another method i can’t neglet is blog commenting, most people see it as a waist of time not knowing that its one of the best.
I think you have said it all though, all the above 11 methods counts but the best thing is to choose one or few method first and give it a trial. Focus on what works for you.
Thanks for sharing Andrew.
BTW: Do you accept guest post?
Theodore
I do accept guest posts…send one over and I’ll take a look.
Andrew
Well written Andrew,
You’ve have actually said it all, but just to recap. My best ways of driving targeted traffic to a blog is via guest posting and blog commenting.
Every other method you outlined here are equally ok and performs well, but the best thing is to focus on what works for you.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this great article. Actually i’ve been in the same condition on a couple moments. I’ve been trying to guest posting on the other blog and i found out it’s a bit hard to do although i know several people who become the visitors in the blog that i’ve guest posting in do check my blog after they read my post.
I really like your tips to get more traffics, i’d like to use it for my blog. And one of the best tips for you is where we should ask for help; to be honest i have a hard time to do it as i’ve been doing this by myself so long and almost ignore the idea of asking for help hahaha.
Overall, i’d like to see myself doing some of your interesting tips and i hope it will help boosting my blog’s.
Thank you for your sharing
Regards
Hi,
Having read many articles and posts on similar topic(obviously with different headlines..:)) this one was apt, brief, informative, and trendy all at the same time. It almost included every small or big tips depending on the reader to pick which suits him the best. All in one kind of post. Loved reading.
regards,
sanjib
Great tips and I can personally attest that you definitely need to utilize social media and a subscriber list to help get new and maintain the traffic that you have. It seems like most of us, including myself, are not really great at the whole guest posting thing, but the benefits are incredible when you do. The advice I would give to get into it is becoming an active commenter on the blogs that you want to be a guest writer.
Nice detailed post Andrew. New creative topics are very important for the audience. I’ve heard that every month there is an amount of 50% new searches in Google. That means that by using common sense, visitors will definitely find you if you’re posting newsworthy content.
Thanks for sharing.
John Mak
Thanks for the run down. I’m just getting started. While this post was about revitalizing a stagnant blog, I found a lot of useful ideas. Please keep them coming.
again some simple but yet effective tricks to make your blog much more than a blog. i am loving this blog. i always get something fresh and informative here
Hello; when I started reading this post, i fully expected to be horrified by how poorly i was doing. I was pleasantly surprised that I was already following many of your suggestions. The section on guest blogging was helpful as well as inspiring. It gave me something new to focus on. Many of the links mentioned will make following the suggestions much easier. And I’m most thankful for you reminding us not to give up. I have many good friends in my life who do that for me, but you can’t imagine how much that bit of encouragement will help keep someone taking that next step until their blog catches on. thanks again.
Great post. I thinks these are some of the necessary excercise, you need to do in order to pull some extra traffic on your blog.
I think we should focus more on developing high quality content that people love. This way, you will not only please your readers to share your content but search engine will also give rank to your contents & so improvements in traffic.
Hi,
A stagnant blog is a heavy burden for a blogger. It just results in sleepless nights and heavy mental load. Your suggestions are so worthy and so apt to let anyone kick start their jammed blogging site. It will surely work if learnt exactly the way you have tried to teach.:) It was great reading it.:)
Using videos nicely embedded in your blog really does the trick
I must say that content is “king” at the moment and there is no room for second-rate, and your point #11 is so important also that too much clutter, particularly a proliferation of ads is ruining your message! Try to keep it simple and easily read.
You’ve provided some other points here which are making me re-think my strategies, so thanks for the “wake up”!
Very nice piece. I would say to increase post frequency and double your willingness to use social media. Whenever I increase frequency I seem to get a lot more traffic. I must admit that frequent posting is not sustainable for me because I have days where I am working all day with clients, but perhaps other bloggers disagree.
Suzanne
I am similar to you…my clietns come first and that often means I don’t publish a post.
I suppose we could outsource the writing of the posts?
Andrew
Thanks a ton Andrew, Yet again you have hit the jackpot with your writing. The points that you have mentioned if followed is sure to work wonders for your blog but most of the bloggers do the mistake of not paying attention and hence end of paying for it.
Lucy
And why do ‘bloggers do the mistake of not paying attention and hence end of paying for it’?
Because most don’t have the patience required!
Andrew
Hi Andrew
You have given a great idea for us. Still I have not tried making the list and guest post. I had a doubt that how it helps to improve the traffic of my blog. But now I got a clear thought. Planning to follow all these 11 tips.
You have discussed awesome points, really useful. But I am confused with the 7th point “Blog Carnivals”. How to use this method, please provide some details.
Priyank
Check out this post of mine:
https://www.webuildyourblog.com/traffic-your-site-here-how-can-increase/
Andrew
Thanks, i will follow these points. My blog is stuck with 500 visitors.its a great place to start. I have not tried making a guest post or social media.
Pepe
Is that 500 visitors a day or week or…?
Social Media and guest posting will make a difference.
Andrew
Great shot, I have a blog that was sorely neglected over the past year, but I’ve been working on resurrecting it in the last month or so. I was still getting frequent hits while not posting, thanks to SEO friendly topics. I need to go back and update the older posts w/ better SEO and monetize!
Thanks for the tips. However, all the tips that you have provided will allow my blog to slowly gain traffic over time. Are there any ways to jump-start traffic quickly in less than a week?
Keane
Yes – do everytihing I say in this post, 24 x 7. Don’t sleep.
Andrew
What about paid marketing?
Anyway, I would like to try out some of the tips that you have mentioned. I have read the guest blogging guidelines for your blog and would like to post a blog post.
And, since I don’t think that writing any article and hoping for the best is going to get my blog post approved (of course it would be better if I meet your requests); I would like to ask if you have any topics that you are in need of articles now?
Keane
What do YOU mean by paid marketing?
Re: guest posting.
You can submit (with no guarantee of me publishing)…any topic on blogging / building a blog / blog security.
Andrew
Actuall guest posing is my #1 advanced link building technique because its the only one that makes you gain high quality backlinks!
Danilo
Good appraoch, I agree. How often do you get a guest post published?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
This is a real piece of smart writing as this is a very long post but i enjoyed it reading from start to end and that too without a break. your writing style made it interesting.
i read all 11 points. you wrote little about guest blogging but a signal is enough for a wise man and you gave it successfully.
🙂
Jess
Jessie
The reason I wrote a little about guest posting is…I hoped people would click on the related link.
Andrew
Hey Andrew,I’m not a SEO guy. So there is lots of things which I want to learn. I guess Your tips are best key for my lock traffic. The fifth point is totally new for me and now I also try “Aweber”. Thanks alot you make me more confident.