Would you like a step by step checklist to get 1,000 views of your new blog post? Then read on…
Here are the strategies I’ve personally tested and used to hit 250,000+ page views a month on my blog.
1. Write with Your Goal in Mind
Most traffic and promotion checklists skip over this step entirely – but it’s KEY to getting the traffic and readers you want.
This step alone has been responsible for easily doubling the amount of traffic that hits my blog posts.
If your goal is to get your post noticed and shared, you’ve got to do three things:
- Create remarkable content (something that’s insanely useful)
- Give it a title that makes people want to click (here’s how)
- Make it super easy to share (and ask for the share)
Some of the steps you should take to be sure your post is super shareable and gets attention and clicks when it’s shared:
- Set a featured image and attention-grabbing blog post excerpt (it’ll show up on Facebook when your readers share)
- Include a “Pinnable” image (here’s how to make one with Canva) and be sure it’s got a “Pin” button
- Sprinkable “Tweetables” throughout your post (this is the BEST plugin for tweetables if you’re on WordPress self-hosted)
- Include a call to action like… “Hey if you found this post useful/funny/etc please share it with your friends”
- Be sure you’ve got social media sharing buttons enabled on your blog that show up on the side of your posts and/or at the bottom
And as you write your post, keep in mind that your goal is to get this post noticed & shared!
2. Email Your List
You are building a list, right? Great!
Be SURE that every time you publish a new post on your blog, you email your list and let them know.
Don’t include the entire blog post in the email. Your goal is to get them to click over to your blog and read it there (then comment and share).
3. Kickstart the Sharing
If you don’t have a following yet this step is how you can kickstart your social media sharing and traffic.
Use sites that allow you to collaborate with other bloggers and share each others content:
- Triberr – Triberr allows you to join groups based on the topic/interest and share content from other blogs in return for your content being shared. I recommend the Premium Membership for even better results and more automation.
- JustRetweet – Works on a points system. Share others content and then yours gets shared.
- SocialBuzzClub – Paid only, but a very cool points based sharing system for business bloggers.
- ViralContentBuzz – Also point based sharing. I’m testing this one out and it looks cool so far.
4. Post on Facebook
I get a significant percentage of my blog traffic from Facebook. Here’s an example of what I do:
- Post to my blog fan page, and tag anyone who I mentioned/featured/reviewed in my post (example, I might tag Tim Soulo of Blogger Jet whenI promote this post, because I mentioned his TweetDis plugin as indispensible)
- Share the post in groups I’m active in (where allowed/encouraged)
- Mention it on my personal page and invite my friends to share it
Power Tip: If you’ve got a solid lead strategy from your post and you know your numbers, consider doing a dark post to promote on Facebook.
5. Tweet on Twitter
Twitter can be a great source of traffic for your blog if you approach it in a smart way.
I shared about this last week on Online Empire A to Z. In a nutshell…
- Tweet out your post (be sure to include relevant #hashtags)
- Write up 5-10 tweets with different text and schedule them out 1-2 tweets a day over the next week
- Search for people asking questions on Twitter related to your blog post and share the link with them
6. Share in Blogger Communities
Get connected and active in blogging groups and communities. There are lots of options so you can find some that fit you.
I’m a big fan of Triberr.com personally (shared more about in step 3). I’m also active in some challenge groups and Facebook groups.
Here’s a list to help you get started:
- Triberr.com
- BlogEngage.com
- Inbound.org
- BizSugar.com
- LinkedIn.com Groups
- Google+ Communities
Don’t just pop in to share your content and expect others to promote it for you.
Take time to comment and share other bloggers posts as well, and get to know them. Look for ways to be of service and deliver value first.
7. Personal Outreach to Friends/Clients/Colleagues
Next go through your blog post and ask yourself the following questions:
- Who did I mention (bloggers, friends, colleagues, products/services, etc)?
- Who would be a great resource to add in my post somewhere? (Add them!)
- Who do I know that could really use the information in this post?
- Who have I recently talked with about this topic that would be interested in it?
Now go email, tweet, or FB message everyone from your list above with a personal invitation to check out your post.
Power Tip: Before you write a blog post, reach out to 5-10 experts and see if you can get a quoteable from them (their “best tip”, “favorite tool”, etc) so you can feature them in your post. They’ll be even more likely to share your content.
8. Build Links from Relevant Blogs
Now, set your timer for 20 minutes, you’re going to go on a commenting spree. The goal is to leave at least 4 comments on related blog posts, that link back to your own post.
For example, if you had a blog post about how to get more traffic to a blog post, it would make sense for you to leave a comment on this blog post… because people who are reading this one, are likely interested in your, too. Make sense?
Here’s the process:
- Figure out what your top three key phrases are for your blog post
- Search the CommentLuv search box for your key phrases (if you aren’t a CommentLuv member, you can use this site to find CommentLuv blogs or search Alltop.com)
- Quickly choose 4 blog posts to comment on
- Read through the post and leave a comment, being sure to click CommentLuv and that it brings up your most recent blog post
- That’s it!
This tactic will help you build valuable links back to your new post.
Power Tip: Remember that your headline is the only thing that will show up with your content so be sure it makes people curious enough to click!
9. Link Within Your Blog
Take 10 minutes to do the following:
- Search your blog for any posts about similar topics
- Of similar posts choose the three that get the most traffic
- Add in a link from your three older posts to the new one you just published
- Schedule some social media promo for the three older posts
Also think of any other places on your blog that might make sense to include a link to your new post. Do you have resource lists or pages it could be mentioned on?
Power Tip: Who did you link to in your blog post? Or, who has great content on the topic you could link to? Link out and then let the blogger know (they might link back to your post, or share it).
10. Be Intentional About Building Your Community
This final step is the other item that often gets forgotten in traffic and promotion checklists, and like step 1, it’s key to getting results long term.
You’ll discover that popular bloggers easily get 1,000 views on a new post by doing just one or two of the things on this list. It’s because they’ve been intentional about building their community – their mailing list, their social media connections, their group of blogging friends.
So how can you cultivate this for your blog? Simple actions go a long ways.
- Respond to reader comments
- Thank readers for social shares
- Thank bloggers for links
- Reach out to readers and personally interact with them
- Spend 10-15 minutes a day making new connections on social sites and in blogging communities
- Actively comment on blog posts and share content from other bloggers
- Guest post on other blogs
- Host guest posts on your own blog
Look for ways to help others through the content you write and through what you do on social media every day. Be of service and watch what happens as a result.
P.S. Hey, if you found this post helpful, would you share it with a friend? ;)
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All these things are so easy to do and implement. Now it is just being consistent with the blogging and the sharing. I find that when I hit the “publish” button, my fear of being seen suddenly kicks in and I just stop. GAH! But it’s time to stop that! Just STOP IT! It’s time to embrace the being seen and shine. I have awesome inspiration <3 Thanks for sharing your fabulous wisdom, as always!!
Yep, absolutely – they’re simple, we’ve just got to be consistent with them. And I get it on the fear of being seen, it can be tough to push through that. I think that’d be a great topic for you to blog about… (hint, hint)
Hey Michelle,
Great stuff here. I’m always looking for ways to increase my traffic and views. With the summer slump I’m feeling the effects now. I find I get a bump in some views when I start doing blog commenting :-)
This just takes time though! I’ll be looking over your Canva tutorial (I like watching tutorials even though I don’t use Canva!) and your headline post :-)
Thanks for these awesome tips.
Hey Elna, thanks for reading and commenting.
The “summer slump” – haha! Hadn’t heard it called that but that fits well. I’m certainly looking forward to fall and everyone getting back into the swing of things.
These are such great tips. Some I already knew (but am horrible at implementing), but many are new for me. This post has given me a new motivation to do what needs to be done. I totally took notes and wrote it all down! Thank you!
That’s the key, isn’t it? Gotta implement what we know.
Glad this gave you some motivation to get it done!
Appreciate you commenting, Nicole.
Hi Michelle,
A lot of Blogger’s that I’ve met at Blogging meetups and other formal / informal meetups at Starbucks over coffee have asked me a common question.
Okay, I’ve crafted and published a terrific post, Now what?
Bloggers, being writers indulging in a passion, hardly ever think in terms of ‘Marketing’ their post. I’ve even encounter some that even feel a teeny tiny bit offended that they have to ‘Market’ their posts.
What a laugh.
This Blog post is a terrific – How To Market – your Blog post after you’ve published it.
Its beautifully detailed.
If any Blogger creates a bulleted check-list from its contents, and does everything that you’ve explained, they will see a real increase in post readers happening. I don’t doubt this at all.
I’ve been using all the processes you’ve described about and I’ve seen that they work beautifully.
My Blog visitors have increased tremendously since I planned what I must do market my post and I follow the plan.
Thanks for publishing a real value add, how to, type of Blog post Michelle. It confirmed a lot of what I do and it definitely educated me as well.
Warmly
Ivan Bayross
Yep that’s very true! Many bloggers don’t yet realize how critical the marketing/promotion of their blog posts is.
And it’s great to hear you’ve seen good results following these strategies, too.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. :)
Great post, Michelle,
I pinned it on two boards on Pinterest and shared it on all the major sites. If you ever have the time, you could write a guest post for GrowMap and link it to your best content here.
I increased my traffic recently by having an offshore VA schedule all my posts for the last couple of years to go out on Twitter and Facebook periodically. They’re all spread out so they don’t annoy people (although she didn’t totally understand and first and she sent too many at once a couple times). That is all straightened out now.
The other strategy that really works for me, but that I rarely have time to implement anymore is to go out and comment on other CommentLuv blogs. We have a great community, and commenting on any other site will bring people back to yours.
We’re already connected on Skype, so I’d love to hear from you one of these days. We should catch up and see if you’re interested in collaborating with the other writers I work with regularly.
You rock, Gail. Thanks for sharing this on social media.
Would love to brainstorming a kickass guest post for your site, and look at how we can collaborate. Love what you’re doing over at GrowMap.
The commenting strategy is definitely more time intensive, and works, I agree on both counts.
Good use of a VA, too – just gotta have that system clear and a VA can be a huge help in promotion to get more traffic.
I am about to reboot my blogging this week and I was actually on the fence about it. But after reading this post, I’ve decided to just go for it and implement the strategy you outlined here! Thanks so much for the kick in the pants I needed with this! Loved it so much I shared it on Twitter and LinkedIn!
Hi Michelle – Thanks for mentioning Triberr. I would specifically like to reinforce your point of “Don’t just pop in to share your content and expect others to promote it for you” Building relationships is part of the blog marketing engine so it should be a two-way street. Kudos!
Incredible checklist for the steps to take to get 1000 views on your blog posts. This is really good Michelle as you lay it out in a simple to follow format. But as others have mentioned above, its that consistent activity that is key. We have so many resources to help us win when it comes to sharing our content, especially with today’s technology. Appreciate you sharing your insight and valuable tips!
Hey, Michelle! I don’t even think about getting 1000 views is simple and easy as what you said.
However, you did and very awesome!…
Well, the most amazing thing is always simple. I must agree with you!… writing a remarkable content for blog post is one of the most important for getting traffic. The inspired content increase more traffic and encourage more social sharing. Optimize the title and image for post is single ways to attract human emotion and get more sharing.
Despite from writing and optimizing, distributing the content to readers is one significant important task which need to be done in order to get traffic. Well, honestly, I did it but not in the same to you.
I might have to say thank you for sharing your community and tool. I registered Triberr and Inbound a long ago, but not active on those community. I think that it’s time to get active.
Thanks for sharing a great stuffs here
all things very simple to do. just build them into your routine and go from there.
I know it is common knowledge to use big social media sites like Twitter and Facebook but the lesser known ones like you mentioned, is it worth the focus? Everyone always says to focus mostly on the big 5 (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, and Instagram). Also, what about Youtube? I would love to know if you posted on that at all. You information is great!
I know this post is older, but with Google removing the G+ option from Blogger options, it may be beneficial to re-post this article. Since I have 13 Christian blogs, I always appreciate your tips, especially those those that relate to bloggers that aren’t selling things. Thanks! Debbie