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Five Simple Steps to More Blog Traffic

October 26, 2009


Every time the Home Accents Today comes out with its yearly list of Top 50 Retail Stars or I look at the nominees for the ARTS Awards, I check out their websites.  I'm especially tuned in to interior designers I come across.  I look to see if they have a blog.  If they don't have a blog, I look to see if they can be followed at Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.

I have said if you have to choose, get a blog before you get a website.  A website is static, generally requires an expert and it costs money.  $1,500 and up or as high as your budget will allow is typical.  A blog is free, requires a time committment not money and you can share and receive feedback in real time. Today, I would add a Facebook page for your business along with the blog.

I want to thank you, my loyal readers for making this blog a success.  August was a record month for The Landfair Retail Focus, more than tripling the traffic from August of 2008.  However, I think there is a whole other world yet to read this blog and visit the Home Accents Today website.  I'm always looking for ways to increase visits. 

Jane Friedman at Writer's Digest has written The First 5 (Simple) Steps for Growing Readership on Your Blog. The one step that stood out most for me was

1. Comment on other blogs—blogs that you actively read and/or truly enjoy. 

This is the hardest for me.  Let's face it.  My stuff is more interesting than your stuff.  I read things in bursts, get the gist and move on.  To actually follow this rule, I can't just say "great post" to the writer.  I must get into the material and have a conversation.  Think of blogging as a cocktail party.  You can't just move into a group, drop a bon mot and move on.  I guarantee, if you want visits to your site, you must engage other bloggers in conversation.

Friedman suggests clicking on 23 Essential Elements of Sharable Blog Posts by a fellow named Chris Brogan.  "Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency, and home of the Inbound Marketing Summit conferences and Inbound Marketing Bootcamp educational events. He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR through the use of social software, community platforms, and other emerging web and mobile technologies."  Chris is co-author of New York Times bestseller "Trust Agents", with Julien Smith.

If you want more traffic to your blog, you strive for readers to quote you and share your URL with others.  Brogan offers 23 ways to make that happen.  One blog tip he offers is

It’s easy to read, and not a big clump of text. 

I can't count the posts I come across that are just one paragraph three inches long.  I can tell the author has a lot to share from the title and the first sentence, but it's daunting to face all that text.  In the end I move on.

Friedman has one more important link.  A post by gary Kawasaki, The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog.  In this post his number one suggestion is think of each post as a chapter in a book

... think “book” not “diary” and market the heck out of it.

Here's my tip to increase visits.  Drop a line to those you quote or say something nice about.  Tell them you quoted them or referred to their blog or business.  Ask them to visit your blog and website.  Everybody likes free publicity.

What have you found that increases traffic to your site or blog?

You can comment directly, email me at landfair3554@comcast.net or follow me @landfairfurnitu. 

The "Blog" picture comes from She Writes.

Posted by Mike Landfair on October 26, 2009 | Comments (9)