By Chris Taylor of The Forgiven Wife
So you have a new marriage blog. Congratulations!
You’ve written a few posts. You’ve even gotten a few comments from friends or family. Even a stranger has found you by accident.
But now what? How do you help readers find your blog?
- Write material that matters. Attracting lots of readers is nice, but it’s even nicer when they keeping coming back to see your new posts. Focus on developing your content. It is easy to get caught up in the bells, whistles, and bling of blog design. (There is a LOT of cool stuff out there.) If you don’t have good content, though, none of the cool stuff will make much difference.
- Invite people you know in real life to read your blog. (If you blog anonymously, this isn’t likely to work well.) Some bloggers begin with an audience of their relatives. Eventually, though, a mother-in-law is going to share the link with a distant cousin, who will share it with her neighbor, and so on.
- Comment on other blogs. Blog commenting systems have a spot where you can include the URL of your own website. Respond to what other marriage bloggers have written, and other readers who like what you say will click on your name to see if you have a blog. Commenting on non-marriage blogs will expand your reach some, but if you write about marriage, commenting on other marriage blogs is one of the best ways to come to the attention of people who want to read what you have to say.
- Make a Twitter account. Once it is set up, Twitter requires very little time and is an easy way to grow your blog without much effort. Use Twitter to follow other bloggers (who will often follow you back). You can even set up your blog to automatically share your new posts to Twitter. It is a quick and easy way for other bloggers and readers to share your posts with their own followers. You can do a lot more with Twitter if you want, but if your time and attention are limited, Twitter can still work for you.
- Add your blog URL to all your profiles. If you regularly participate on discussion forums or social media, add your blog link into your profile. People will click on it to see what you have, and you’ll get some new readers.
- Develop a relationship with other bloggers. If you are stuck in the middle of writing a post, email a blogger whose writing you respect to ask for insight. Join CMBA and participate in the discussion forum. When you notice another blogger do something effectively, send an email with some encouragement or ask for advice as you try to work on that same area.
You may find that your readerships grows slowly, or you may experience an overnight explosion the first time another blog links to yours. Each little bit helps, and before you know it your blog will be nicely growing.