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5 of the Best Tips to Get More Traffic to Your Blog

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Article by Wendy McCance

I get asked quite often what tricks are available to get more traffic to your blog.  Really, there are no special tricks, just a strong understanding as to why your blog is a valuable source to others.

I spend on about 10 hours a day on my computer.  On days when I can’t get much work done, I still get in about 3 hours (this might happen once or twice a week depending on my schedule that week).

To break it down for you, this is what I do on my computer all of those hours.  The higher it is on this list, the more hours I put into it.

1.  I spend the most time reading.  Yep, I read everything I can find.  I have questions and need answers so I will research a subject until I am happy with the answers I get.  If you ever visit Searching for the Happiness on our Facebook page, you will see that whenever I find quality articles on different subjects, I post them so that you have the advantages of reading the same stuff I’ve been reading.  You can also tell just by looking at the page what I have been interested in knowing about by what I post.

https://www.facebook.com/searchingforthehappiness

2.  The second thing I do more than most other things is prospect.  I am not happy with my day until I have touched on 30 potential customers.  Yes, I do this just about every day.  I will email companies, connections I have on different social media sites and people I know all with the same question, Do You Need A Freelance Writer?  I tailor each email to the specific person letting them know what I feel I can do for them and their company.  I also only email the person I believe might be the decision maker.

3.  The third thing I will do is write.  Hard to believe that a freelance writer would put writing 3rd on a list, but it’s true.  I don’t write as much as I do the first two things on this list.

4.  Finally, the last thing I do is spend time connecting with people on social media sites.  I just don’t have the time to put in long hours commenting on all that is out there to comment on, so I will grab some spare moments and check out what I can.

This brings me to the question of more traffic.  How could I get more traffic if I spend the least amount of time using social media?

  • I use Comment Luv which is a plugin that I use here on WordPress.  People love to advertise their own site.  When you leave a comment, if you are a follower on my blog, you will have the opportunity to leave a link to your own site.  The plugin is genius.  The best part is that since you have to follow the blog, not only do I get more followers, but I get very little spam links.  Spammers don’t want to sign up to follow a blog.
  • I use several plugins that will push out content to several social media sites once I have written an article.  There are about 15 sites that get my content automatically each time I publish an article.  My favorite plugins for this task are:   Nextscripts: Social Networks Autoposter and All in one Social Lite.
  • I recently found a way to repost old material to keep it relevant.  I use a plugin called Tweetily.  Tweetilty is awesome because you can set how often you want to send out an old article to Twitter and it grabs random articles under that time schedule.  Instead of spending more time on Twitter, your posts go out several times a day to the site.
  • When I do engage in conversations, my favorite places to go are the places that are relevant to this blog.  I like the Linkedin groups and will also spend some time reading and commenting on blogs that have done a fantastic job of clearing up whatever information I am in need of.
  • Finally, and most importantly, I try to give my readers a reason to come back.  If I’ve done my job here well, not only will I get those return visits, but I will also get some free advertising by way of shares of my articles.

The main goal is to give the readers a reason to flock to your site.  There should be something unique that makes you stand out from every other blog.  Once you have decided what your blog will be about the fun begins.

You can experiement with a variety of ideas to see what readers like and what doesn’t move them.  Granted it is daunting when you first start out, but once you are in full swing, you begin to see a pattern of what your readers want to see.

The one thing I try to do as consistently as possible is to show my support for all of the readers who stop by.  I am happy to answer questions, put the spotlight on another blogger through a guest post and create opportunities for my readers to gain more exposure for their own blogs by allowing them to share their links.

I’d love to hear from you.  What have you seen as a good way to get more traffic?  Let me know in the comment section below.

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Wendy McCance

Wendy McCance is a Michigan based freelance writer and social media consultant. Wendy has gained attention as the founder of the popular blog Searching for the Happiness which can be viewed in 9 local papers online, including the Oakland Press. The combination of writing skills and social media knowledge is what makes Wendy such a powerhouse to work with. Stay tuned for opportunities to advertise, guest post and as always, have your questions answered.

To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]

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25 thoughts on “5 of the Best Tips to Get More Traffic to Your Blog”

  6. Pingback: Get more comments on blog | Classi Blogger

  7. Wendy, these are such great tools for any blogger. I too read so much of my day. It is a way to connect with other bloggers that I can learn from. I love the idea of connecting with 30 potential clients each day. 🙂

    Reply

  8. Hi Wendy, as I have said. It seems as though you are the person that seams to be helping me get my bearings so that I start writing that I find that it is very tempting. To tempting as it is doing things that I love doing reading as well as research.
    It is far to tempting to pass up. Thank you for the jump start.
    Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend. I am not supposed to be on the computer due to all of the stress that I am under due to the stress that it has caused me. I agreed but explained how important it is for me to start writing because of what happened to me with the Identity theft as well as the fact that just before it happened. Someone that I once knew Said: If you are a writer write. That is precisely what I am. And what you described what you do it is something that I love doing
    reading as well as researching. I do believe it is and away I go.
    Thank You. Happy Friday. Peace and be well as in enjoy your weekend as I now know that I will now.
    You strike again on your nice little gentle nudge. You are fantastic. Well done.
    Jackie.

    Reply

  9. Well I spend hours on the computer as well. I didn’t realize that social media takes a lot of time. I am starting to see that joining blogging groups and having people comment on yours and I reciprocate and comment on theirs is making this time consuming job worth while

    Reply

  14. I find participating in a “Blog Hop” generates a flurry of interest on my site, and often they sign up to follow, too.

    Nice article, Wendy. I appreciate you finding all of this wonderful information for us!

    Reply

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