Breathe Life into Your Blog

So you fancy yourself as a bit of a blogger?

You’ve set your blog site up, added in all the plug-ins you need and chosen a design that is perfect for you.

Writing your posts is coming fairly easy and you’ve had the odd comment left now and then but nothing to shout about.

But you begin to notice your stats. You only seem to be attracting a few readers, not the shed loads you’d envisaged when you started out. Not only that but numbers seem to be dwindling.

What’s going on?

You’ve got a problem, that’s what’s going on. Your readership is dropping and people who do find your blog are not staying.

The problem is you’re not being effective – your posts aren’t grabbing them anymore.

Learn to become effective

Lesson 1:

First off read one of your posts.

Forget the fact that you wrote it so you’re obviously going to think it’s brilliant. Is it speaking to you?

Are you talking to the reader or at them? Using ‘you’ and ‘your’ in your posts rather than ‘I’ and ‘we’, will make a huge difference. You’re immediately involving the reader in your post. You’re building rapport, drawing them in, gaining their trust.

Lesson 2:

What does your post look like?

Is it one solid block of text, or is it broken into small paragraphs and sub headings like this one?

No one wants to read something that looks like War and Peace. For a start, very few people like reading from a screen and so, if faced with a solid screen of text, won’t bother reading it.

Using features such as:

• Headings
• Sub headings
• Bulleted lists
• Images

Will add interest to your post and make it look more welcoming.

Lesson 3:

What happens when you get to the end of your posts?

Do you ask your reader to do anything? Or do you just let them wander off?

Adding a call to action makes a huge difference. It doesn’t have to make a sale, it could ask them to sign up to your newsletter or even leave a comment. Asking them to take an action is involving them in your blog – it shows that their opinion matters to you.

Lesson 4:

This is where your subject matter comes into play.

As you’ve probably guessed I’m a copywriter so when I started this blog I made the decision that all my posts would be related to copywriting, marketing and social media.

So when someone comes back to my blog they have a fair idea of the kind of information they’ll find here. If they want to find out about website copy or SEO, they know they can search for that term or check out my archive list and they’ll find the information they need.

My blog acts like a mini directory for all things copywriting and marketing.

But if you have posts covering all manner of subjects on your blog how are people going to know what they’ll find? Find your niche and stick with it – make yourself an authority in your own field and people will flock to you for your help and advice.

Lesson 5:

This one doesn’t have anything to do with your writing; it’s more concerned with the look of your blog.

Create something that’s multi coloured and full of ads and you’ll scare people away. Make yours a memorable brand by sticking with a couple of complimentary colours. It’ll become instantly recognisable so when your readers return it will be like slipping on a pair of comfortable slippers.

Blogging is a great way to help your SEO and to make a name for yourself on the internet.

Are you blogging regularly? Do you have a unique way of attracting visitors? Share your experiences by leaving a comment – go on, I’d love to hear what you have to say.