The Hostpapa Blog

12 Tips to Jumpstart Your Blog - Part 1

By HostPapa

• January 4, 2013 10:30 am
• Social Media Marketing
• 0 Comments

Is your blog languishing in the dust, neglected by all but a handful of dedicated readers?

Are you having trouble getting potential followers to visit your blog?

Are you new to blogging and need some ideas to get started?

HostPapa is here to help! Here are the first six tips to help get you started:

Tip #1: Connect elsewhere on the web.
Seek out other blogs, forums, and sites that have a similar subject niche and target audience as your own. Connect with people on these sites, comment on blogs, and interact on forums. You don’t have to overtly advertise your site, but people will want to learn more about you, at which point you can slip in a word or two about your own blog. Just like in the real world, making connections takes time and effort, but this is a tried-and-tested way to eventually find some loyal readers.

Tip #2: Ask questions of your audience.
Whether your audience is large or small, top bloggers effectively engage with their audience as much as possible. Ask your readers questions at the end of your blog posts to invite them to comment and share their views. Show them that you want their opinions, and make sure that you interact with your readers when they do comment.

Tip #3: Take a stand.
When you discover newsworthy events that have a connection to your blog’s niche, write about them. Even better, don’t just write about what happened - give your own opinion on the subject. Sharing opinions and opening up debate can be a great way to engage your audience interactively. Your blog could become a whirlwind of activity in no time!

Tip #4: Upload photos and graphics.
People are visual creatures. Pictures and graphics make your blog more personable and your posts more interesting. As an added bonus, when you tag pictures, they will start to show up in search engines as well, which is good for your blog’s ranking.

Tip #5: Create a tutorial or “how-to” article.
Blog posts that teach people new things can attract a wider audience and even rank higher in the search engines. Everyone is good at something, and if your blog follows your passion, chances are you have some skill or expertise that you can share with your audience. Be creative here!

Tip #6: Post on your blog more frequently.
Even if you don’t have a lot to say, shorter, more frequent posts are better than longer, infrequent ones. This is true for both followers (it keeps them engaged!) as well as search engines (they love new content!). Try to post at least once a week if you can. The more current, quality content you are able to post, the higher your traffic and search engine ranking will be.

Next week, we’ll bring you the other six tips. Until then, happy blogging!

Social Media, Viral Marketing, Online Marketing Campaign, Blogging