It's amazing to me how much time your average blogger will spend promoting their site on other sites and forums, but fail to give people a reason to stay on the blog once they get there. I've always thought it was more cost effective to keep existing visitors and readers instead of constantly chasing new people. Here are a few ideas on how to do it.
It's a real pet hate of mine when I go to a new blog and the latest post is from 6 months ago. Instantly all confidence that I may have had in this blogger is gone, just because to me it's clear they don't really care about the site. If they don't care why should I?
It's not just how often you update your blog that's important but what you have to say. Every blog is part of a bigger market and if you're not up to date on what's actually happening in the market then why would people come back to your site, you have to give them a reason to come back.
One mistake I see time and again is bloggers overloading their visitors with too much content. Lots of content isn't necessarily bad but it is when it has no structure. There's nothing worse than landing on a blog with 40 posts on the homepage, show 5 at most on the index with a most popular posts section at the side to help people find your best work.
Interacting with your readers is a real must. People will always have questions when you talk about something complex so by answering a question in the comments section you potentially answer the same question for 100s of other people. Give back to your audience and you will be rewarded.
So those are my best ideas for creating a blog that really works (and hopefully makes money). Let me know if they worked for you.
About the Author:
I have more tips and ideas on how to create successful site at my new blog. Check me out when you get a chance.
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