I wish all of those people did subscribe to the blog, but at least it's reaching a lot of writers/readers which makes me grateful beyond belief. But don't we just love seeing that number of subscribers go up? It's something about numbers that writers love. And blog statistics are no different.
Unfortunately, getting people to your blog is the easy part. The hard part is where they commit to receiving all of your updates by subscribing. You have to make sure that once you have the people visit your blog, that you have the stuff that keeps them there.
Here are the steps that got me there:
1) Design
You've heard that the first impression is the most important, it is no different with blogging. Yes, I have light colors, whirly twirlies, a bird or two, but it's not overpowering with bright colors and jumbled up.
Your blog should be easy to navigate, clear and concise.
2) Unique
There were over 164 million blogs, according to invesp.com.
As you can see, readers are eating the blog world up. They are using more mobile devices and tablets more than ever.
This is great if your blog is UNIQUE enough to stand out. You have something different to offer! It's up to you to figure that out and stick with it. Your blog numbers will grow if you stick to what makes you unique in the blog world.
3) User Friendly
Your blog has to have the right buttons. Is your Facebook, Twitter, SUBSCRIBE button easy to see and easy to use?
There are so many cute buttons out there, but does it get the job done? Is it clear that you take subscribers?
4) Content
This is MOST important....
All the points above make it easy for the reader to join and to enjoy your blog, but the ultimate aspect that will cause them to join is what you are blogging about.
Your content has to be geared toward your reader, NOT YOU! It's great that you want to showcase your novels. I do that, but not in a BUY MY BOOK way (you can here if you want....just joking...um...not really!)
If you tell a story that you feel is necessary, your story should inspire or help your reader in some way. That is what this blog was built on. This blog content is about helping other authors to stay positive on their career path of writing no matter what stage of the game you are in, as well as how to effectively market your novels.
If you have too many stories that don't give back or you post your scenes from your novel (which I don't think you should EVER do), you are going to loose your audience. They come to a blog to get something from it. Know your audience, give them what they want.
Strategies:
* Create author swag, like business cards, that have your blog URL that you can hand out at conferences. Conferences are always asking for authors to send swag in for their conference bags. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS!!
* Offer to guest post on other sites. In order to ask the site owner if you can do this, you should visit the site regularly and leave comments. Let the blog owner see that you do come there and participate in their blog.
* Visit blogs that are similar to yours. Comment, comment, comment and use your blog URL when you fill out the form while leaving a comment. The other commenters will see your value in your comment and click on your name that will take them directly to your blog.
* Host bloggers that have similar blogs to yours. You will be attracting their readers. More time than not, once you have a new reader on your site, the reader will click around and read some of your post. Hopefully you have done your job and hooked them.
Ultimately it's up to you to try strategies to get that subscriber count up. Some will work, some will not. Try, try again, don't give up, and watch your count grow.
I'm going to give away a copy of THE TRICKED OUT TOOLBOX~PROMOTION AND MARKETING TOOLS EVERY WRITER NEEDS to one lucky commenter. I want everyone to succeed in their efforts to market their career.
What tips and tricks do you use to help drive traffic to your blog?
Already have both editions on my Kindle. This is must reading people!!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Tonya. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, PJ! Good to see you!
DeleteAwesome info Tonya...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour so welcome, JT!
DeleteFabulous advice, Tonya. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have a weekly series on my blog called My Place where authors talk about the location of their book. This leads to many different bloggers sharing and visiting, widening your circle.
Posting snippets of your novel, hosting other authors, commenting regularly on other blogs, being polite and respectful wherever you visit - it all helps broadening your audience.
I'm going to share this post, as I know a few people who might find it helpful. Thanks!
Great way to get hits, Cathie. My Place sounds like great fun. That is an awesome way to get their readers to your site. I call that PR buddy system too! There is nothing better than good Karma!
DeleteGreat advice, and I obviously NEED it! Thanks, maybe now, I will be able to build up a better audience.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what works for you!
DeleteBeen thinking of re-vamping my blog! You have just given me the motivation to do it today! Thank you~ very helpful post!
ReplyDeleteOh, good!!! Let me know how it turns out!
DeleteWhat I did was I started to interview authors to help drive traffic to my site and get a chance to meet some new and interesting people~ I have been in class the last few weeks and haven't been able to devote the time to it lately. But thats what I did. It was fun!
ReplyDeleteAuthor interviews are great! Not only are you dipping into your pool of readers, but you are getting the author's readers. Great idea!
DeleteExcellent advice, as usual. I have to admit, I have read blogs of all types and it never ceases to amaze me that some people promoting themselves as authors have blogs full of spelling and grammar mistakes. Not only should content be interesting, it should showcase your writing talent. You might want to add editing to your list of ways to gain subscribers. Now, what will I blog about this week? Thanks for taking the time to help others.
ReplyDeleteEECK! Edward....I'm awful at mistakes! I'm sure mine are riddled with them but I try to keep it simple and mistake free. Too bad I don't have my editor look over my blogs first.
DeleteI do like to help others, so hopefully my mistakes are taken with a grain of salt and they see what I'm trying to accomplish.
So glad you see you!
Excellent info and tips, especially to those just starting a blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth!
DeleteSuch great advice Tonya! I also love to "cross blog" with a friend of mine. The first Wednesday of each month we post blogs at each other's websites. Her readers are looking for tips on being prepared when life's hiccups come your way. Stopping by my blog, she brings fresh readers to my site. So many wonderful people have stopped by that would have never found my humor/family blog without her. I love that I do the same thing for her; introducing people to her passion for being prepared. It's a fresh way to "mix it up" a little.
ReplyDeleteIt's so important to network, Jen!
DeleteGreat tips, Tonya. I blog twice a week on Nights of Passion. I didn't create the site, but there are lots of subscribers. One thing I do in my blogs is I share part of who I am with my readers. For example, they all know I have two pugs. I think in this day and age of the "reality" show, the public thinks they have the right to know more of your personal business. I'm not sharing intimate details, just general things. One thing I did discover is that readers love recipes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that readers love to know some personal tid-bits about their favorite authors. I do this with my facebook and my street team.
DeleteHi Tonya,
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I belong to a Ning group that had a group called Blogmania, and I joined that group and we all blogged at the same time. I picked up a bunch of followers that way. They've changed their name now, I think, and are charging to belong to the group.
Also, I rarely promote my books (only once when they first come out), and I talk about things that are of interest to everyone. Animals are a good topic. lol I have lots of cat stories, but I love all animals.
I'm going to check it out, but I don't think I'm hooked to my blog when I leave a comment, so I'll change that. Thanks a bunch, Tonya.
Sandy~it's great that you have discovered what your readers love. Animals are a big hit for me on facebook. It's great to be able to connect on a personal level.
DeleteHello Tonya,
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing these tips to a fairly new blogger. I'm printing them off so they will help keep me on track as I work toward publishing my first book.
Thanks so much, Stephanie!
DeleteTonya,
ReplyDeleteThis was really great advice. I am definitely going to use some of the things you stated here. I am sure it will help. This book giveaway is a really great idea. If we don't win the book then is there a place we can buy it?
Thanks a lot.
Hi, J. Elle! Thanks so much for stopping. Yes, you can get The Tricked Out Toolbox from Amazon, Createspace, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.
DeleteI am a new blogger and enjoyed reading your tips. I recently read a blog that I wanted to share on mine. Would that be called reblogging and how do bloggers feel about that?
ReplyDeleteYou definitely want to track back to that blog. There are so many great blogs out there that help stimulate ideas for a blog post. You can certainly make it yours, but if you take something specific, it's good Karma to track back and add their link.
DeleteSome of your advice was total news to me. Thanks, Tonya. I made a mistake you warned against: www.Nexttimelucky.blogspot.com which is about dating, I have the occasional excerpt from my book with that name when I think it appropriate.
ReplyDeleteHi, Siggy! I'm not saying it's a no-no, but I think there is a fine line between self-promotion and being pushy. I'd say to offer other excerpts of other's novels in the same genre. Promote others, it's good stuff!
DeleteGreat advice! My biggest problem with reading and commenting on blogs is actually finding new blogs to read. I think 90% of the links people post on Twitter get lost between log-ins.
ReplyDeleteI agree Paul. When something I see on Twitter catches my eye, I favorite it and go back when I have time to check it out.
DeleteI need to work on providing more content on my blog. Maybe that will help me get over my shyness and fear.
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy. Luckily you can hide your fear or shyness by being behind the monitor. Go for it!
DeleteGreat post. I don't have any tips to share because my traffic is low and I'm still experimenting with content to see what works. As you said, it's hard to make a unique author blog, since there are so many of them. I find it hit and miss right now and have a lot to learn.
ReplyDeleteYour starting off great, Graeme! You are trying different things to find you niche. You will get there. Keep going.
DeleteI've been blogging about two and a half years. My blog is Under the Tiki Hut. My follower count is 300+. I haven't consciously done anything out of the ordinary to gain followers. I did one blogfest in February to introduce the characters of my debut novel releasing in July. I respond to all comments both on my blog and the commenters' blogs. I post on a regular M/W/F schedule, and I don't blog much about writing. Every Friday is a Top Ten list. I get most comments on Monday and Friday. I host guest bloggers from time to time. I think voice on your blog is very important. And I'll shut up now...didn't mean for this to run long.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Voice is so important in your total brand as an author and it should shine through in all your work. That includes your blog.
DeleteI have a page on my site where I list free books. So if someone is giving away copies of their book, I post it there and readers can find some good reads.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great tip. Thanks, Michele!
DeleteCool ... I hope I'm the winner! I like Home and Away posts where I team up with someone and I post on their blog and a couple days later they post on mine. Its a great way to drive traffic to each other's sites.
ReplyDeleteNetworking is so important Stephen! That's a great idea.
DeleteWe really haven't yet figured out how to make our blog attractive enough to keep people reading it. We do have subscribers but far less than we should considering the blog has been active for six months. I have more followers on twitter where I don't do anything at all! I am hoping the ideas you have listed here will be of help!
ReplyDeleteSandy, what is your blog url? I'll check it out and see if I can help. Everyone is click happy on twitter.....I have over 2k followers there and only 200 here. Here I think are the serious readers of my blog. Twitter is just a number game most the time.
DeleteI'm sorry....Sunday, not Sandy! My eyes are tired:)) And BTW...my son just drew your name out of the winning hat! email me through my contact page and I'll send you a copy of THE TRICKED OUT TOOLBOX!
DeleteSunday, you have one week from today to claim your book.
Delete