How to Build Blog Traffic the Smart Way – Part 2

In the beginning of your blogging journey, you most likely won’t have anyone but your mom reading your posts and commenting on them. That is, if she’s Internet and tech-savvy. Otherwise, a blog can be a lonely place. Unless you know how to let people know about your posts and how to find other bloggers.

Here are three techniques you can try to make your blog less lonely and to increase blog traffic.

4. Get Linky with It!

Add your blog’s URL everywhere you have a social media presence and in all of your profiles:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Goodreads
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Amazon Author Profile
• Email Signature

• Add your blog’s URL among your links with your bio when you do a book blog tour or guest post on another bloggers site.

• Add your blog’s feed to your Goodreads and Amazon author profiles so your newest posts will be visible in those places as well.

• Add your blog’s URL to blog directories. Check out this site: 131+ Manually Verified Free Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog

5. Share Away

The most important thing to do after writing a blog post worth publishing is to share it. That’s the easiest way to reach people. So, share your blog post to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. When you do this, include a hook or the first paragraph of your post to entice people to click.

You can also create an image quote featuring the title or a short, catchy quote from the post. These images can be used on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

On Instagram, when you share those images, you can insert the direct link to the post in your Instagram profile with a tip in the image’s caption for viewers to find the link there.

Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags whenever you share a post to social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram. The most used hashtags come up when you insert # and start typing immediately after it, without inputting a space.

On Facebook, search for and join groups where your target audience can be found. If they allow promo—check their rules first—share your post.

6. Join Up

In the blogosphere there are several monthly blog hops that you can join that’ll guarantee increased blog traffic. The key is to not only sign up for a hop and post on the designated day, but to participate. Visit 10-20 other bloggers and comment on their posts. And if someone visits you and leaves a comment, return a visit and give their post a thoughtful reply back. This is how you can develop friendships in the blogosphere and get actual followers. Trust me, this is the best, assured way to get traffic.

Check out these recurring blog hops:

• Insecure Writer’s Support Group Blog Hop takes place every first Wednesday. Over 200 writers share their insecurities and talk about writing writing/publishing. They also offer an optional question that changes each month, in case you struggle with what to post.

• #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop occurs on the third Monday of every month and is for authors to share their expertise on anything they want to share with other authors.

• Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly blog hop that happens every Friday and is a way for you to get to know other bloggers in your community by sharing what brought you happiness throughout the week, anything big or small.

• Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is a once a year blog hop that occurs for 30 days in April, except Sundays. Participants choose their themes.

• Weekend Writing Warriors occurs over the weekend whenwriters share 8-10 sentences from their week’s writings.

• Write…Edit..Publish posts the third Wednesday of every other month, participants share short stories/poems (up to 1,000 words) on an assigned theme.

There are also occasional blog hops that bloggers put on randomly. I’ve done fun hops related to my books. Keep an eye out for these hops by visiting and following many blogs.

What makes any of this matter is, of course, having a blog to begin with (check out my post Blogging 101) and…well…doing these things. You can’t just wait for traffic to come to your blog. This isn’t a “if you build it, they will come” scenario. You have to be proactive. Take your time, challenge yourself, and think outside the box.

The blogosphere is waiting for you. Welcome!

Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. Fey is an editor for Dancing Lemur Press and runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, www.WritewithFey.com, for more tips.