Tips to get long lasting blog traffic
If you want long lasting blog traffic then you have to stay in it for the long term. Have a long term goal that is more specific than “have lots of readers” and then stick to that goal for the long haul. Most blogs do not reach beyond six months and many are gone after two years. If you want long lasting traffic then you have to commit to a blog that is long lasting. Here are a few tips that are going to help you on your way.
Write on a theme and stick to it
Lots of writers start out with a theme and then slowly start to change it. This happens for a lot of reasons. One of them is because the writer slowly loses interest over the months with the original blog theme and wants to try other things. The most common reason is because people run out of things to write about on just one theme so they start to change their focus.
READ: Stay On Topic in Your Blog Posts
In a perfect world the writer would be able to change topics and themes as often as he or she likes, but there are few popular websites that are able to do this. A website has to have a draw, and that draw is often the theme. If people are looking for a blog on HTML programming then the target audience will be website programmers. They are unlikely to be impressed and are unlikely to return if your focus starts to shift to biomedical science matters.
Have a voice and use it in your blog
Having a voice means having a distinctive way of writing, but it also means something else. Having a voice is having something you write from. In many of Stephen King’s books he writes from a position of imagining himself as the protagonist. That is why so many of his books feature a young or middle aged man.
Edgar Allan Poe was part of the Romantic Movement, seemingly invented the modern detective book, and was credited for a science fiction slant to his work, but his voice was always more of a gothic element which is what he wrote from.
ALSO READ: 3 Tips for Creating an Effective Blog
You have to find your voice and write from that. If you are still unsure of what writing from your “voice” means then watch the season eleven episode of Family Guy called “Brains Play.” Where the creator Seth says a little about how having a voice is what makes writing more than just text.
Write about things you find interesting
If you do this then your content is more likely to remain engaging and you are more likely to put more effort in to your work. You are also less likely to become bored with your blog after a few months.
Have an RSS feed
This will help people to find your website and your blog again and will remind them when your next blog post has been released.
Have a blog post and RSS feed scheduling tool
As a long-term blogger you should have both of these. They help you to plan your blog posts ahead of time and help you ensure your blog is posted at the same time every week. Most of these are free, so you should grab one and start learning how to use it.
Give people links to other relevant information
If you can do this without the fear of losing traffic then you are setting yourself up as a long-term blogger. If people are going to come back to your website again and again then you have to trust that they will return again (even if you give them other websites to look at).
Have suggested reading sections at the bottom of each page
These help your readers to stay on your blog a little longer. They see your suggested titles and if they are interested in your content then they will stick around. They may even sign up for your RSS feed.
Do not allow low quality guest posts
They are going to damage your credibility as a blogger and will probably damage your search engine optimization too. Only allow high quality guest posts (if any).
Do not do any promotional posts
People write promotional posts in order to exploit the popularity of their blog. They do this at the expense of tarring their good name and annoying the readers. Such tactics are pretty poor if you want to keep your readers.
Do not have auto-start anything
This means no auto-start video or audio of any kind. Do not have popup adverts or social media items pop up on the screen. They are not as annoying as auto-start videos and audio, but they are still an annoying part of the users’ blog experience.
Authors Bio:
Kate Funk works at www.aussiewriter.com with a wide experience in blogging. In addition to web related topics she enjoys writing on technology news.
Write on a theme and stick to it
Lots of writers start out with a theme and then slowly start to change it. This happens for a lot of reasons. One of them is because the writer slowly loses interest over the months with the original blog theme and wants to try other things. The most common reason is because people run out of things to write about on just one theme so they start to change their focus.
READ: Stay On Topic in Your Blog Posts
Stay On Topic in Your Blog Posts
Stay On Topic in Your Blog Posts
In a perfect world the writer would be able to change topics and themes as often as he or she likes, but there are few popular websites that are able to do this. A website has to have a draw, and that draw is often the theme. If people are looking for a blog on HTML programming then the target audience will be website programmers. They are unlikely to be impressed and are unlikely to return if your focus starts to shift to biomedical science matters.
Have a voice and use it in your blog
Having a voice means having a distinctive way of writing, but it also means something else. Having a voice is having something you write from. In many of Stephen King’s books he writes from a position of imagining himself as the protagonist. That is why so many of his books feature a young or middle aged man.
Edgar Allan Poe was part of the Romantic Movement, seemingly invented the modern detective book, and was credited for a science fiction slant to his work, but his voice was always more of a gothic element which is what he wrote from.
ALSO READ: 3 Tips for Creating an Effective Blog
You have to find your voice and write from that. If you are still unsure of what writing from your “voice” means then watch the season eleven episode of Family Guy called “Brains Play.” Where the creator Seth says a little about how having a voice is what makes writing more than just text.
Write about things you find interesting
If you do this then your content is more likely to remain engaging and you are more likely to put more effort in to your work. You are also less likely to become bored with your blog after a few months.
Have an RSS feed
This will help people to find your website and your blog again and will remind them when your next blog post has been released.
Have a blog post and RSS feed scheduling tool
As a long-term blogger you should have both of these. They help you to plan your blog posts ahead of time and help you ensure your blog is posted at the same time every week. Most of these are free, so you should grab one and start learning how to use it.
Give people links to other relevant information
If you can do this without the fear of losing traffic then you are setting yourself up as a long-term blogger. If people are going to come back to your website again and again then you have to trust that they will return again (even if you give them other websites to look at).
Have suggested reading sections at the bottom of each page
These help your readers to stay on your blog a little longer. They see your suggested titles and if they are interested in your content then they will stick around. They may even sign up for your RSS feed.
Do not allow low quality guest posts
They are going to damage your credibility as a blogger and will probably damage your search engine optimization too. Only allow high quality guest posts (if any).
Do not do any promotional posts
People write promotional posts in order to exploit the popularity of their blog. They do this at the expense of tarring their good name and annoying the readers. Such tactics are pretty poor if you want to keep your readers.
Do not have auto-start anything
This means no auto-start video or audio of any kind. Do not have popup adverts or social media items pop up on the screen. They are not as annoying as auto-start videos and audio, but they are still an annoying part of the users’ blog experience.
Authors Bio:
Kate Funk works at www.aussiewriter.com with a wide experience in blogging. In addition to web related topics she enjoys writing on technology news.
This is a very good article. I will try it out
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