Blogging | Forum « Tips for building a high quality blog following

Tips for building a high quality blog following (24 posts)

Topic tags: traffic

Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Great article today on Mashable, providing 6 tips that are sure to help building a high quality level of blog followers and engagement.
1. Turn existing customers into readers
2. Skip the misleading traffic-boosting techniques
3. Speak to a very specific audience
4. Guest post and use guest-bloggers
5. Encourage loyalty through consistency
6. Be timely and relevant
You can read the whole article here: http://mashable.com/2012/01/02/quality-blog-following/
What other tips would you have to complement these ones?
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
Kristi Hines said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@fredericgonzalo Can’t agree more with #2. Some people want to drive traffic to their site so badly that they don’t care what kind of traffic it is. Same with enticing people to sign up to your list for a freebie that doesn’t relate to your niche – the subscribers won’t be relevant and might not care about your future content.
@kristi-hines | # | Top
Leif Martinez said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I feel the same way about folks trying so hard to get Facebook “Likes”. These folks don’t care who, where, what, etc. They are so focused on the number, they lose focus of what building a community is all about.
I’m a little disappointed at the Like exchange thread in the Facebook Forum. I was hoping the SME community would rise above those kind of tactics.
Sorry for the rant. It must be from a long days work followed up with a work out.
I hope I didn’t just pull a Jerry Maguire! Doh!
@leifmartinez | # | Top
Fawn Morgan said
1 year, 4 months ago:
#2 is the reason that I began reading articles through Social Media Marketing. I saw all the spamming and irrelevent information and wondered where the “social” was. I want to connect with like minded people to share what I know and learn new things. I am excited to participate here as the focus is communication and social interaction. I’m still trying to figure out how to reach my target audience, but I’m sure that I will get some good information by participating in these discussions.
@fawnmorgan | # | Top
Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@leifmartinez I agree with you 100% on the Facebook thread going on. Like my page, and I will like yours… WTF? Never understood the concept behind that scheme, other than boosting artificially your number of fans or followers. I mean, if your brand page is about selling beauty stuff in Michigan, US, what do you care about having a French-speaking fan in Belgium?
I saw these threads going on in various LinkedIn groups, and it always baffled me. Was also a bit disappointed to see this happening in SME networking clubs…
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
patricia troyer said
1 year, 4 months ago:
No matter what, there will always be the Look At Me!! groups. Unfortunately, part of human behavior. I’m actually heartened by the number of people in this group who don’t suffer from that genetic disorder, who just want to learn and really be social. What good does “liking” do anyone when it isn’t real?
On the same page, slightly different note, more and more real people are going for the Share button in addition to or in place of Like. Course that would mean there would need to be something of actual value there, not just – you know.
Thanks @fredericgonzalo for staring this one…
@stonepeople | # | Top
Dexter Eugenio said
1 year, 4 months ago:
another tip? stand out!
it could be in your writing, using other mediums (podcast, video, webinars), or just attitude.
these days original content and original concepts are hard to come by and so we tend to read the same “stuff” over and over in different formats.
so dont re-write the same dribble, put your own spin on it and make it yours.
and try not to dilute the message in trying to be different!
@dextereugenio | # | Top
Alexa Chipman said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I agree—I subscribe to a lot of blogs and many of them are starting to sound the same. I think it is important to be consistent, but I also think if you just don’t have a good concept for a post that rehashing the same thing doesn’t qualify. I’d rather wait an extra week for new fresh content than see yet another “gamification” post.
@alexachipman | # | Top
Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@alexachipman Good point! Rehashing content seems to be a plague these days, but if it fits with the content of your blog, and you treat it according to your personality and blog style, it should not matter to your audience. Your take on things will be original, or else it’s better not to write the post at all, as you say.
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
Judith Gotwald said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I’ve been working at this for 10 months with a small nonprofit and grown readership from 0 to an average of 34 readers per day, peaking at 51 last week and 82 this week. That’s progress!
I was skeptical about linking to a Facebook page but when I did, I suddenly had 58 FB followers and it helped the blog. I know I need to do more of this.
I’m trying to find a way to use Twitter without being annoying. I find that most incoming Twitter messages are trivial or self-focussed and so I’m having a hard time taking it seriously. But I intend to start using it, meeting my own criteria that a Tweet must somehow benefit others.
I have concentrated on blogging on topics no one else is discussing within the blog’s topic, doing so daily, and commenting on related sites (however few they may be). I get ideas from other blogs but always from blogs that are totally unrelated to my field which forces me to find my own spin. I know my readers aren’t reading these ideas elsewhere and generally haven’t a clue that these ideas have relevance to their work. What is old is new to them.
All of this is in the nonprofit realm, so the “product” is the organization’s mission.
I have had little success at generating dialog and welcome other’s experience at this.
Generally, results follow quality of content, I find. My advice, for what it’s worth, is to concentrate on good content, follow the general advice of blog experts, and have fun.
@judithgotwald | # | Top
Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@judithgotwald Judith, I have only one thing to say after reading the last paragraph of your comment: AMEN!
You summarized it very well, and it’s the essential aspect of any blog. First, quality content. Second, content that is original – you implied this by saying you target your content according to your audience, and by giving your own twist. And last but not least, having fun!
As for twitter, it’s true there is a lot of noise out there but many non-for-profit organizations seem to carve their own space out there, and it can boost your blog readership as well. Here are two articles I found, that you may enjoy:
http://www.communityorganizer20.com/2009/07/30/five-ways-nonprofit-organizations-can-really-connect-on-twitter/
http://mashable.com/2011/10/14/how-non-profits-use-social-media/
Cheers,
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
Judith Gotwald said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Thank you for reading so far! . . . and also for the links. Very helpful.
@judithgotwald | # | Top
Judith Gotwald said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I’m going to send those links you provided to my clients. Good stuff.
I guess my dilemma with Twitter is wondering if the site is strong enough to support dialog. The client is somewhat of an underdog with people looking to find fault. After six months of good growth, I’ve had only about 10 comments and none of it inspiring more dialog. Any tips for overcoming pariah status?
@judithgotwald | # | Top
Alexa Chipman said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I think Twitter depends on how many of your readers use it a great deal. Twitter is a great interaction tool and also for interacting with people interested in your product. I’d say it is more helpful to product support than marketing some of the time.
If customers are upset with the service I received or the product they will often tweet about it, and if the company responds to that right away it can help smooth ruffled feathers in a proactive way, building a trust and loyalty to the brand.
@alexachipman | # | Top
Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@judithgotwald Ahhh, the good old “comments” issue… it seems to be a pretty universal concern, even with seasoned bloggers. At least, according to discussions I’ve witnessed, since I am not at all in this club.
The most I ever got was 8 comments after a blog post, and it was after I joined a group (right here, on SME clubs) where we exchange favors: folks in the circle go and read others’ blogs and comment on them. You can join as well, follow the link here: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/clubs/blogging/forum/topic/helping-each-other-to-get-blog-comments/
Other than that, there is no silver bullet. The more you post quality content, link it to your Facebook page and tweet about it, the more you interact on other blogs, or retweet other people’s stuff, that’s how your name gets “out there” and increase odds of people following or commenting on your blog posts.
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
Alexa Chipman said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I’d rather have a few intentional comments from loyal readers than a large number casual remarks. It is easier to connect with people commenting who are serious about wanting to start a discussion.
@alexachipman | # | Top
Durk Barton said
1 year, 4 months ago:
I am increasingly impressed by those who can say they have gotten substantial, favorable responses from FB and twitter. It let’s me know that it is possible. I need to work on getting exposure for my artwork. I suppose that direct solicitation is a bit rude, of course. Yet groups such as this are about letting others know who you are, what you do. I like the idea of being active and truly, “sociable”, in this society. When we all truly learn what it means, most of our troubles can be dealt with.
@durkbarton | # | Top
Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Awesome post on SEOMoz blog recently, aptly titled 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic. This is a definite guide to what should be done to increase readership, engagement and overall quality of interactions on & around your blog.
A must-read, in my humble opinion.
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
Don Purdum said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@kristi-hines – I couldn’t agree with you more!!!! Problem is people want to take short cuts to have impressive numbers that mean nothing. I would rather have a small audience that is interested and engages us than a large one with really high bounce rates and no engagement.
@durkbarton – for us getting Facebook comments has been about engaging the right audience, quality posts, asking questions, and always answering or recognizing a post. Never leave a post or Like unattended!
@judithgotwald – when your article is completed, are you asking your readers to comment and leaving them with a question? I find that when we ask, they answer. It really made a difference for us and we have good interaction on our blog. I will say it does depend on the subject material as well.
@fredericgonzalo – thanks for link. You always have some great resources to send us too. I appreciate your willingness to share and help all of us become better at what we are doing!!!
@donpurdum | # | Top
Dea Irby said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Thanks for this link. I’m going to study it and try to apply as much as I can. @fredericgonzalo
@deairby | # | Top
Frederic Gonzalo said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@deairby @donpurdum You are both very welcome. Have a nice Sunday!
@fredericgonzalo | # | Top
Heather Wright-Porto said
1 year, 3 months ago:
I think that a few keys to building a following are:
- post consistently (at least 2 to 3 times a week)
- remain focused on ONE topic (for example, mine is focused mainly on how-to blogging articles, but I do throw in other related content)
- find your niche
- be passionate about what you’re writing
Heather
@blogsbyheather | # | Top
Glen Gorham said
1 year, 3 months ago:
This thread should be made sticky. It has all the right components of doing things the right way.
@glengorham | # | Top
Lynda Goldman – Copywriting said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@blogsbyheather I agree completely with Heather about finding your niche and being passionate about it. I used to send out a general newsletter on copywriting for business, with 3000 people. I would get, on average, a 5%-10% open.
Now that I have a niche and blog, I have a much smaller audience but a 60-80% open on most of my posts. Having a niche and knowing your audience is the best way to build a high quality following. The number of followers isn’t as important as the interest of the followers.
@lyndagoldman-copywriting | # | Top