Make your blog known: 50+ simple tips for more readers

Whatever reason you started – you have one thing in common with all bloggers or aspiring bloggers: you need readers. That is, you need to make your blog known.

Because if nobody reads your blog – what’s the point of writing it?

If you have too few readers or fewer than you’d like, you’ll find more than 50 ideas on how to make your blog known and get more traffic in this blog article. And don’t worry if my list makes you feel like you can’t even work through it all. The best way to promote your blog is explained at the end of this article.

The preparations

At this point you are probably expecting a list of sites or services where you can submit your site and they will magically make your blog popular? That comes. But a little further down. And there’s no magic involved either. But more about that later..

Before you can start promoting your blog, you need to make some preparations.

1. Know your readers

The most, most, most important thing comes first: you have to know your readers. You need a blog concept, where you think about the basics of your blog: what is the topic of my blog, so what do I actually write about? How often do I want to write about it, what is my goal, … and most importantly: who are my readers?

Readers are the key to a successful blog and if you know them, you’ll have next to no trouble getting the word out about your blog. Ask yourself what your readers’ problems are, their worries, fears and hopes. Because blogging = solving problems. And if you don’t know what’s on your readers’ minds, you can’t write blog articles that they want to read.

So, get to know your readers. How? Simple:

Ask questions! In Facebook groups, surveys, on your social media channels, in emails, … there are so many possibilities!
Listen to your readers! Read between the lines. Your readers are constantly telling you what they are looking for and what they care about. You just have to listen right.
Put yourself back! Were you in the same situation a few years ago that your readers are in now? Then ask yourself what was on your mind at the time and what articles you wish you had read back then.
Ask Google! If you can’t connect with your readers, then do keyword research and find out what they are Googling for often.

Knowing your readers is the key to brilliant blogposts. If you don’t take this into account, your blog is nothing more than a personal diary that is read by others. And to really get a lot of readers, your life should be as exciting as Kim Khardashian’s..

2. USP& Niche

Just as important as knowing your readers is having a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that sets you apart from other blogs. Or at least a niche that also helps you stand out from other bloggers.

But more importantly, by doing this, your blog topic will be very clear and it will be easier for you to promote your blog. Because..

In a niche you can Easily position yourself as an expert. And we all want to know what the expert has to say about topic xyz (that’s you), right??
It is easier for you to gain regular readers. And if you’re going to put in the work to get new people to notice you, then they’re welcome to become readers who keep coming back to your blog (and eventually become paying customers).
By having the topic set, you will have an easier time Choose the right channels to promote your blog on. If you’re writing about photovoltaic systems, z.B. a forum is better suited than an eco-Facebook group.

If you don’t have a niche yet, read this article that will help you find your niche.

3. High quality content is the foundation

And another 3. Prerequisite missing when it comes to making your blog known.

Write. properly. good. Blog articles.

What distinguishes a "normal" blogger from a really successful blogger? Well, of course: the texts. They are aligned with the readers, deliver value and fit the blog theme. Your articles have to be so good that your readers can’t help but share them and recommend them to others. This is the best search engine optimization, the best means to get linked. Very simple: the secret recipe in blogging.

If your time is short, then choose to write less often, but produce higher quality articles. You don’t have to publish 2 articles a week, in blogging it’s the quality that counts!

If you need help writing awesome blog articles, check out my blog coaching offer.

The traffic sources

It might surprise you, but in principle, all the traffic sources your readers come from can be broken down to 4 (free) traffic sources:

The organic search
Links from other pages
social media channels
Direct calls to action

Maybe you’ve heard these channels before or – if you use Google Analytics – stumbled across this graphic:

These are the 4 traffic sources we will focus on in this article. I will explain you what the traffic sources mean and how you can make your blog known or. How you can increase traffic through each channel.

But first I want to tell you one thing:

The distribution of traffic sources is incredibly important!

You should look that 3 or 4 of your traffic sources are about the same size on the chart above. That is, it should not be the case that one traffic source takes up almost the whole circle. If you have only 1 or 2 traffic sources, then you should focus on building up or expanding another one. Because it’s always possible that one channel will be dropped: maybe Facebook will be discontinued tomorrow and your traffic from social networks will be dropped? Or, and this is the scenario that is even more likely, there is yet another algorithm change at Google and your site is no longer found as well as before?

So make sure you don’t focus on just one traffic source, but that there is a good balance.

Make your blog known with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Organic Search

Have you ever asked yourself: "How will my blog be found??"

By someone searching for it. On Google. Normally, users don’t enter the name of your blog, but a keyword. So a search term, a question for which they are looking for a solution.

And that’s where you come in: by writing helpful articles, people will find you, resp. your blog, if they enter a certain keyword (which you have chosen intentionally or unintentionally) into the search field. The biggest search engine is Google, but in principle this also includes hits from readers who search for your blog via Bing, Yahoo and Co. have come in, into.

If you haven’t done SEO (search engine optimization) yet, you should start now. This is not as difficult as many people think it is!

You can do this to get more visitors through SEO:

Use a Caching Plugin, to improve the loading time of your blog (z.B. Comet Cache)
Download Images put only as big as necessary on your blog and compress them with tinypng.com – also because of the loading time
While we are on images: change the File names and use a ALT description, in which your blog topic appears
Make sure that your readers get to know your blog find your way around, by using z.B. have a clear menu structure
Your readers should also feel comfortable. This means that the screen must not be covered by 10 pop-ups (keyword: Usability)
Make sure that your blog mobile optimized (i.e. responsive)
Don’t use cryptic links for your posts, but "Talking permalinks". Instead of meinblog.com/p=240 your links should look like this: meinblog.com/new-blog-article
Make a Keyword research, before you write a new article (e.g.B. with KWfinder* or Ubersuggest) to find the best keyword and include it in your text
Structure your text with subheadings, paragraphs and bullet points
Use Yoast SEO to Snippet edit your articles (so you can determine how your blog article appears in Google search)
Set internal linking. So link to older articles of yours that fit the topic of your new article
Create a (free) account at Google Search Console and submit your sitemap there
Write long texts, because Google loves long texts!
Make sure that you no dead links have in your texts that link to error pages
Direct Redirects for 404 pages pages that are no longer accessible because you have z.B. changed a link

If you want more tips on the topic, read my article on SEO basics for bloggers.

Make blog popular with referrals from other sites – Referral

The Internet thrives on networking – that is, on bloggers linking to each other. In Google Analytics, the link is also called "Referral". The more people come to you via a link on another site, the better.

This will not only increase your page views and help you to make your blog known. But it also has a positive effect on search engine optimization. The more links pointing to your blog, the more important you are in Google’s eyes and the higher your ranking will be.

Here are a few things you can do to get more referrals from other sites:

Write Guest articles and benefit from the reach, but also from the credibility of the other blogger. What you have to pay attention to, you can read in my guest blogger etiquette guide
Accept Blogparades or link parties share (or host): a blogger sets a topic and invites others to write about it as well. You can leave the link to your article mostly in the comment section. And that brings traffic – especially if you are among the first to link their article!
Write really good texts, because only those will be linked (e.g.B. in collective posts or recommended reading lists)
Write long articles – not only Google but also other bloggers love long articles and are more likely to link to them
Submit your blog to Blog directories a – which today are often more than mere collections of links. Two popular examples in German-speaking countries are Bloglovin or Trusted Blogs
Use bookmarking sites like Digg or Reddit. These were originally highly regarded, especially in the technical blogging community. But in the meantime you can find all topics there. Most services allow easy bookmarking via browser extensions.
Submit your blog to Submission Sites a like z.B. Foodgawker. These are websites where you can submit your blog, or. individual articles. Submissions are moderated, meaning there is no guarantee that a post will actually be published. You should definitely try it! You can find a list of possible submission sites for the different topics in this freebie.
Look for thematically relevant Forums where your target audience hangs out and interact there
Leave great, content-worthy Comments on other blogs. However, when commenting, you should hold back on advertising your own blog.

Make your blog known with social media channels – Social

Social media channels still belong to the up-and-comers in terms of making your blog known. The advantage is that you are in control of it yourself and don’t have to depend on other people linking to you or Google.

People who come to your blog through social media channels include anyone who clicked on a link on a Facebook fan page or in a Facebook group, for example. But also clicks on tweets or pins that contain a link to your blog are included here.

If you’re not getting much traffic from social media channels, ask yourself if you’re sharing your own posts often enough? Share them more often? Or can you make it easier for your readers to share your articles in?

Maybe there’s a social network you haven’t tried yet, but which has great potential? Then dare to experiment and create an account for this social network!

Here are more tips on how to promote your blog using social media channels:

Facebook Groups

In Facebook groups you can share with others network and help them. This is how you make an impression and build trust. But don’t make the mistake of only showing up there when you are allowed to post a link.
If you’re on Collective posts post a link, then reply to other people’s comments. This way, the likelihood of your article being seen is higher.
Don’t share your posts in several different groups at the same time but divide them into different times and days – once in the morning, once at noon and once in the evening.
Post your posts in thematically relevant groups, where your target audience hangs out. Like 4 Like – Groups where only bloggers can be found are usually not very targeted…

Facebook

Share your posts several times on your own site.
Don’t just post your posts as links, but also try to other posting types, z.B. a picture with the link in the posting text.
Try Facebook Ads out to give posts that resonate well with your target audience a little push. The budget does not have to be very high.
Offer your readers on your fanpage Add value and provide them with interesting content, e.g.B. small tips on your blog topic or motivating sayings.
Don’t just share your own posts, but also those of other bloggers. The only important thing is that the articles are interesting for your readers.
Profit from your fan page by turning it into a Pinterest board Network Uses: tag other bloggers when you link to a post of theirs.

For tips on how to best share your posts on Facebook, check out my article on Facebook basics you should know as a blogger.

Pinterest

Use a Company profile, this is free of charge and offers you more advantages such as.B. Pinterest Analytics.
Pinterest is less of a social network and more of a search engine. Therefore, build into your pins and pinboard descriptions Keywords that your readers would search for.
Pin regularly And share throughout the day, not all at once. This works z.B. with tools like Tailwind.
Create several different pins for your articles and try out which one is best received.
Share your pins in Group boards, because this way you have more reach available.
Don’t just pin an image that’s not very meaningful to. But write at least your Headline on the image.
Activate Rich Pins, this will make your pins look even more appealing and stand out more on Pinterest.

If you want to know even more about how to use Pinterest for your blog, check out my article Pinterest for Bloggers.

promote your blog with direct calls to action – Direct

You can probably already tell from the name: these are the readers who come directly to your blog, i.e. without another site linking to you or a search engine in between.

The scenario we think of first is that someone enters the URL of your blog into the browser.

But there are others: If someone has bookmarked your blog, that’s a direct call to action. But also include links in an email (e.g.B. if you have included it in your e-mail signature) are direct links.

To get more direct links, it’s also worth thinking a little around the corner and taking offline measures. Here’s what you can do:

Operate Branding, By mentioning your blog name as often as possible or being present with your logo
Send out regularly Newsletter, in which you point to new articles. This is how you reach your regular readers, who are more likely to look at your blog than someone hearing about it for the first time.
Build the link to your blog or to your latest blog article into your Email Signature a
Distribute offline Flyer with your blog address
Try to post in Offline Media be featured
Go to Networking events and distribute your business cards there
Attend a barcamp and give a session there, or. a Talk to your blog topic
Let bumper sticker make and decorate your car with
Print Stickers with your logo, that you can stick anywhere: your notebook, your phone case, file folders, …

A very important point here is that you stay in people’s minds – and that works well with a terrific logo and a consistent CI. So go ahead and invest in your blog design, it will surely pay off.

Here’s how you go about getting the word out about your blog

If you’re asking yourself: "Wow, that’s a lot, do I really need to do all this to get more reach for my blog??" I can reassure you: No, you don’t have to. But you should definitely try it out!

The key: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Because not every traffic source "works" the same for every blog. What brings in tons of traffic for one beauty blogger can be a waste of time for another. Therefore, it’s important that you not only try the measures listed above, but also check how effective they are.

I recommend Google Analytics for this, because there you have a good overview of all traffic sources. You can find it under the "Acquisition" section.

If you get (almost) no hits from one traffic source, don’t give up right away, but first try another posting time. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and think about when they might be online on which platform. If you still don’t see any improvement after a few weeks, you can safely leave this measure and do something else.

You still don’t really know where to start?

You don’t know how best to share the posts on social media channels? How to write really awesome blog articles that are optimized for the search engine? And how to fit all this into your daily work routine as a self-employed person?

I’m happy to help you get the word out about your blog. In a blog coaching we work out exactly the steps you need to take to start a blog. You have the choice between 10 different modules with different topics of focus, so that the coaching is tailored exactly to you and your needs. Click here and check out my Coaching offer to.