Have you ever admired a successful business blog and wanted to follow in its footsteps, but just didn’t know how to become a blogger that had such a devoted and large following?
If you’ve been on the internet at all lately, you may know that blogging can be highly lucrative and fulfilling—whether it’s your full-time job, a side hustle, or just a fun hobby.
However, with so many bloggers getting their start years ago, you may also think that the blog boat has sailed and there’s no room to start your own anymore.
While the blogging sphere has gotten a bit more complex and challenging in recent years, it’s by no means impossible to start your blog now. In fact, with 77% of internet users regularly reading blogs and a slew of smart engagement-building strategies available at your fingertips, it may be the best time ever to start a blog.
But, unlike the early days of blogging, it’s not as simple as writing content and hoping it catches on. Keep reading to learn the seven things successful bloggers do to build engagement and attract readers.
1. Share Your Posts on Social Media
One of the best ways to get eyes on your content is, unsurprisingly, through social media.
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are great for sharing blog posts—but only if you do it right.
To start, look at your social media following and do an inventory of how relevant your blog would be to each audience. If your blog post is work-related, for example, you might be better off skipping your personal Facebook page and heading straight for LinkedIn.
On the other hand, if your LinkedIn has only five active followers, you may have better luck on Facebook, where you have a few work friends who may find your posts interesting.
If people don’t think your content is relevant to them, they won’t engage with it. So give people a reason to click on your blog. Don’t just throw out a link with no context and call it a day—say something about how it may relate to your followers and their lives.
2. Shrink the URL of Your Post
This may seem like a small detail, but it makes a world of a difference, especially because platforms like Twitter have character limits on status updates.
Include both your link and some information about why people should click on it, but don’t just leave your URL as a long string of words and numbers.
Instead, run it through a URL shortener like Bitly or Rebrandly to condense it. Not only will this make it possible to include more information in your post, but it will also make the URL easier on the eyes, which encourages engagement.
Link shorteners like the ones mentioned above also let you track clicks and shares, which can give you valuable insights into your post’s performance.
3. Optimize Your Post With a Keyword Phrase
If you want your post to appear in search engines like Google and Bing, it’s important to optimize it with an SEO keyword phrase. This is the word or group of words someone would type into the search bar if they were looking for content like yours.
Try using a keyword finder. Examples include Moz Keyword Explorer, Semrush, WordStream, and a free Google Chrome extension called Keyword Surfer. Choose the keyword or phrase that’s most relevant to your blog post. Then incorporate the phrase into your headings and use it a few times in the text.
You should also run your blog post through a keyword analyzer after you’re done to ensure the content will perform well. If you’re using WordPress, you could activate a plugin like Yoast SEO or SEOPress to do this. A keyword analyzer will make sure your post contains just the right number of keyword mentions—not too many to be overoptimized and not too few so your SEO efforts fall short.
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4. Bookmark Your Post on Relevant Platforms
You’ve heard of regular bookmarking, but have you ever heard of social bookmarking?
Social bookmarking is the act of tagging a link or a piece of content on a social platform (think Reddit or Pinterest) that allows people to view, share, comment on, or add to it. Regular social platforms like Instagram and Twitter can also be used in this way, such as with accounts that aggregate content instead of producing their own.
The trouble with social bookmarking is that self-promotion is easily spotted and discouraged by users. If you don’t already have a Reddit account that frequently posts and engages with content that isn’t yours, don’t waste your time linking your blog. It won’t provide much value and will come off as obvious self-promotion.
The only way around this is to have a unique justification for why you think your blog post will add value to the community you’re posting it in. Include several other relevant, helpful links from outside sources and explain the value of each of them. Or, if you notice a discussion that’s highly related to your blog post, you can suggest your post as a resource.
5. Link to Other Posts on Your Blog
If you’ve made all your posts stick to the broader theme of your blog, you’ll probably have several old blog posts that relate to your newest one. If this is the case, link to them throughout your new post.
This will do several beneficial things at once.
- To begin, it will revitalize interest and engagement with your older posts, which can help them rank higher in search results.
- It will also help you build more credibility and make your new blog post more thorough and engaging because it helps to establish your breadth of knowledge on a subject.
- Finally, it helps to keep people clicking within your blog rather than going to Google to find more information.
6. Comment on Other Relevant Blogs
To get people interested in your blog, you have to show interest in other blogs. This is the law of reciprocity, or at least an approximation of it: If you want something, you have to be willing to give first.
The best way to do this?
Leave thoughtful comments on other relevant blogs. This will show that you’re knowledgeable and engaged in your industry, and it will help you build relationships with other bloggers. These can eventually lead to opportunities like guest blogging or cross-promotion.
You can find relevant blogs by doing a quick search for the top results of your post’s keyword phrase. Go to the highest-ranked two or three blogs and leave a comment on those posts.
Caution: Leave comments only if you’re going to add something meaningful to the conversation. If possible, you can also include a link back to your blog so people can easily find and follow you. Just be careful not to come off as spammy—link to your blog only if it’s relevant to the conversation, and don’t link to the same post every time.
7. Write a Few Personal Messages
The best way to get someone’s attention is by talking to them directly. This is especially true when you’re competing with hundreds of thousands of other digital creators for someone’s attention.
While it’s great to have an auto-notification system that alerts subscribers when you create a new post, go the extra mile and seek out some extra-personal connections.
Look through your contacts and identify at least one person you believe would truly find the subject of your new blog post helpful and interesting. Send them a personal message, along with the link to your blog post. If they find your post valuable, they will likely share it with others.
Let’s Work Together!
Now that you know how to become a blogger that gets readers and engagement, it’s time to start writing. But before you publish, always make sure you proofread—even a small grammar mistake can make your writing look unprofessional.
If you need help getting your blog posts publication-ready, reach out to Super Copy Editors for help with proofreading. With our years of experience, we can fine-tune your content to ensure it’s clear, presentable, and easy to understand for your readers. Get in touch now for a free quote.
