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<\/a><\/p>\nThis is the second part of a series of guides on how to succeed with blogging. This guide was written by the team at FastWebHost.com who have helped thousands of blogs setup and achieve success over the last 10 years. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n In part 1 of this series (link) we\u2019ve covered how to build your blog, and how to create pages and posts. Today we\u2019ll show you how you can get more people to start reading those posts and pages on a regular basis. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are 2 general ways to grow your readership – the organic or natural approach where people find your blog, and the paid approach where you pay someone to help them find your blog. We\u2019ll go over both. <\/span><\/p>\n Quick! You need to learn to fold a shirt the fastest way. What do you do? You googled it didn\u2019t you? Some of you also searched for it on youtube, but most of you googled it. <\/span><\/p>\n Search is the core of the internet. Anytime someone wants to learn something new, it starts with a search. So if you\u2019d like to be known for something, you need to make sure you\u2019re showing up in searches. <\/span><\/p>\n We call this optimizing for SEO, and we\u2019ve got a lot of resources on this here: <\/span>https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/tutorials\/cat\/search-engine-optimization\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The other natural ways for people to find out about you is if someone told them about it. That\u2019s the social aspect of blogging, or word of mouth. <\/span><\/p>\n So how do you get more word of mouth traffic? Get on social media. People are already on social media, and they will see it. Your current readers and followers will see the update on their news feeds and click to come to your blog. Some will share the post with their own personal networks. <\/span><\/p>\n To get shares you have to do more than just post the link in a status update though. Each platform is different, so you\u2019ll need to optimize your post for each. <\/span><\/p>\n For example, we\u2019ve found the most effective way to share on Facebook is with a commentary or a related thought that brings people in and makes them want to learn more. On Pinterest a more descriptive image and tags are far more important. <\/span><\/p>\n Now in order for people to share your content and show it to their friends it has to be one thing above all else: I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-I-N-G<\/span><\/p>\n There are 3 ways to achieve that in a blog. <\/span><\/p>\n The title is the first thing people see and yes we do judge a blog post by it\u2019s title. A boring title means no one will click it to read the whole thing, while an exciting title will. The same applies to your feature image – the one that shows up in your archives and your social media shares. <\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a great example:<\/span><\/p>\n See that? Great title and great image. The number of social shares in the corner is an added boost. <\/span><\/p>\n The title is the last thing you should write. Finish the entire post, then come back to write a title. Think about how you can make it more engaging so the readers are compelled to click. <\/span><\/p>\n Interesting content gets shared more often, but the most shares come from practically useful content.<\/span><\/p>\n It makes sense. The latest celebrity gossip is fun and all, but if you\u2019re going to take the effort to share something it\u2019s likely to be something that others in your network will find useful. <\/span><\/p>\n So how do you become more useful? <\/span><\/p>\n Again, people are reading your blog because they care about what you think. Now some people don\u2019t care about what you think, but what if someone they cared about did? Or what if you were writing about someone they cared about. <\/span><\/p>\n Here are some ways to get exciting people on your blog. <\/span><\/p>\n When Elon Musk said he was reading Twelve Against the Gods, it sold out on amazon within a day, and prices of used books jumped up from $.99 to $99.99. Clearly, we care about what important people think. This presents a great opportunity for you to get in on the action and drive traffic to your blog. <\/span><\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s already written everything about the latest iPhone, and the latest Elon Musk book. Adding your voice to the noise is just that – noise. <\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to stand out you need to say something no one else is saying. Take a unique stand on an issue, or voice your opinions differently. <\/span><\/p>\n Have a unique way of saying things. For example Oliver Emberton likes illustrating his points, while Mark Manson enjoys swearing at them, and David Wong mostly makes fun of them. <\/span><\/p>\n The important thing is to have a solid stand on a topic that people care about, and expressing it with style and force. <\/span><\/p>\n The Paid way of getting traffic is easy. Post to social media and boost your posts. Add to a content aggregator and pay them to spread it around. <\/span><\/p>\n The trouble is, you might get some readers this way, but you won\u2019t keep them for very long. And if you can\u2019t hang on to them then what\u2019s the point? <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why you need to start getting readers the natural way, and only use the paid way to amplify your reach. <\/span><\/p>\n And now you know how to write better blog posts and get more regular readers. Now it\u2019s time to get back to writing again.<\/span><\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Next up on the <\/span>How to Succeed with Blogging <\/b>series: <\/span>How to make money from your blog. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is the second part of a series of guides on how to succeed with blogging. This guide was written by the team at FastWebHost.com who have helped thousands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,13,1,12,67],"tags":[155,152,151,153,154,27],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2643"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2650,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643\/revisions\/2650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastwebhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to Grow your Blog Readership<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n
The Natural Way<\/span><\/h2>\n
Search Traffic <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
Word of Mouth<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
Be Interesting <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
Exciting Titles and Feature Images <\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBe Useful <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Exciting People <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
\n
Exciting perspectives <\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
The Paid Way<\/span><\/h2>\n
Back to Work<\/span><\/h2>\n