Teach Teach

New bloggers often feel isolated. You write and you write–yet no one seems to be reading any of it. So how do you increase traffic to your blog?

True blogging actually involves three distinct activities. If you participate regularly in all three, your blog will get noticed (and read).

• Write well and often. You need to update your blog on a regular basis, at least once a week, but once a day (or more) is even better. However, make sure that each post is well written and has content—frequent posts with nothing to say won’t really pull in readers.
• Read other blogs, especially those that share your interests or topics. Some of the material for your own posts will be sparked by what you read on others’ blogs. And of course, the Golden Rule applies here: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Bottom line, good bloggers read a lot of blogs.
• Comment on others’ blogs. Again, the Golden Rule applies. It’s not enough to just read what others have to say. You need to join in the conversation. Commenting helps you in a number of ways:

1. Commenting can be a form of reflection, causing you to process the post you just read.
2. Commenting adds to the content on that blog and contributes to the discussion.
3. Well written, thoughtful comments can drive traffic to your own blog, especially if you comment on already popular blogs. For me, commenting has been the BEST way to promote my own blogs.

Other useful strategies for driving traffic to your blog:

• Include relevant links to other blogs in your posts. If someone else’s post inspired you to write yours, be sure to mention it AND include a link back to it. Sometimes, this courtesy can get you added to the other blogger’s blogroll, which is also a sure way to increase traffic.
• Specialize. Focus your blog on a particular topic or interest. Specialized blogs draw those who share your passion, vocation, hobby, etc. Specializing doesn’t mean your blog cannot contain the occasional off topic post–some of the best blogs mix the professional and personal. However, your blog should be MOSTLY focused on a particular topic, industry, hobby, etc.