Here are some tips for attracting more visitors to your site: 

Tell people in your social networks.

Promote your posts across your social networks with 24/7 Press Releases or a social media syndicate like Hootsuite, which will automatically tell your Twitter followers, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, and more as soon as you publish a new post. Make your website pleasing to the eye and on one accord. View other successful websites and get pointers on designs, fonts, etc to get your message across. Have multiple avenues or revenue streams as a backup. There are so many now, that you can become successful on any of them and not necessarily the “tried-and-true” channels. You can have a completely ugly website and make plenty of money, but a little aesthetics go a long way, sort of like a doctor’s bedside manner. 

Make your content visible to search engines.

If you want your post to be indexed by search engines such as Google and Bing, make sure that “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is not checked at Settings > Reading in your site’s Dashboard (WordPress Users). The internet is full of theories as to how you can raise your post’s visibility in search rankings: none will contest that original, high-quality content with a few well-chosen titles and tags is the best way to get started. 

Pay for traffic to your site.

Web applications like StumbleUpon can bring visitors to your posts with rates starting at $.10 per visit. If you’ve published a great post and you want some feedback from visitors, this can be a good way to get the ball rolling. Companies looking for broader distribution of their posts, including getting their content in front of journalists, may want to try services from companies such as PR Newswire. Read more on paying for traffic. Make all traffic targeted to your specific audience. The web universe is pretty big so you can develop many fans and plenty of cash flow for years to come. It all depends on your ability to work hard for what you want. 

Link to other bloggers.

Maybe? We discovered hooking up with other bloggers, content creators, groups and websites is the best way. Encourage friends and family to read your blog: send them reminder emails when you update and talk to them about it when you meet in person. Better, encourage them to sign up for updates using the Subscriptions feature. Having a small audience of people you care about is better than having a million visitors and not knowing any of them. Blogging is all about engaging with others and interacting in online discussions. When you link to a blog post, the blogger will likely find your blog through their stats or a pingback, and come to see what you had to say. They may even subscribe to your site. Do not be a spammer! ASK.

Blog regularly.

Blogs that have more frequent and regular posting schedules tend to develop an audience quicker. If you need inspiration, check out resources, like how-to’s on editorial calendars or serial posts. Schedule your posts and use the calendar for special holidays and newsworthy content. Check out the article on Email Marketing

Hard work pays off.

Even if you do all the above, you won’t develop a huge following overnight. Building a sizable audience of engagement and loyal readers takes time. Many of the bloggers you admire have likely been at it for years. Stick with it, and don’t get discouraged by a slow start. Then one day you look up and viola! People come from all over the world. Find ways to give back to your local community with free stuff and opportunities. ie: advertising specialties, reports, cups, tees… Thank them for their time, purchases, and loyal readership. 

If you’re interested in learning the ins and outs of blogging, take a free course at Blogging U.Blogging 201: Branding and Growth is a two-week course focused on growing your blog and online presence. Our current audience