How to Get More Traffic to Your Blog and Keep It There

It happens to the best of us. At some point, each blogger faces the same issue. It’s the bane of our existence. We’ve set up our blog, crafted our message, and now we ask: How do we get more traffic?

The blog traffic jam. We’ve all experienced it at some point. That sudden halt of visitors to your site that has you wondering, “What did I do wrong?” It may happen at the beginning, middle, or end of a blog’s life, but it’s inevitable.

If you’re just getting started or have been blogging for a while, you’ve faced this nemesis. And you’ve asked yourself,

How do I get out of this? How do I get more traffic to my site?

To help answer that question, I came up with a simple list. But before that, let’s talk about motives…

Why do you want more traffic?

So, you have a blog, but want more traffic?

First, check your motives: Is it help people, be a resource, and make a difference? Or to make you famous?

If the latter, quit blogging now. If you’re blogging for self-serving reasons, then that may be the real inhibitor to your blog’s growth. Because here’s the truth:

People want you to talk about them, not you.

It’s okay to write about personal experiences and share what you’ve learned from a first-hand perspective, but be careful of making yourself into some kind of blog rock star. Instead, aim to be a resource and help to others.

The irony is that if you do that, you’ll end up becoming a star.

So if you want more traffic to your blog, don’t focus on the traffic. Focus on the people.

23 tips for getting more traffic to your site

Here are some ideas for how to get more traffic to your blog (click the links for more helpful resources).

1. Leave thoughtful comments on other people’s blogs.
2. Write shorter posts.
3. Blog consistently.
4. Write less.
5. Be a resource.
6. Use trackbacks.
7. Organize your posts with lists and subheads.
8. Get on Twitter. Tweet links to your posts and other useful content.
9. Link out to other sites (but only ones that will help people).
10. Share your content on Facebook (and ask your friends to share it, too).
11. Write stuff people will want to link to.
12. Ask questions.
13. Be funny.
14. Be clever.
15. Be remarkable.
16. Request a link from someone else to a blog post.
17. Do some public speaking.
18. Write attractive headlines.
19. Optimize your site for search engines.
20. Deliver killer content.
21. Guest post on someone else’s blog.
22. Write in the second person (“you” not “me”).
23. Tell stories.

Any serious blogger will eventually hit a plateau and need some help extending her platform beyond its initial reach.

This happens to all of us. And there’s nothing wrong with asking the question: “How can I get more traffic?” (Just make sure that your motive is to help and not merely to make you famous.)

We all get stuck some times. This is where using a “jump starter” like this list may come in handy. (Thanks to Seth Godin for inspiring this post with his own list of tips for how to get traffic for your blog.)

If you want more help on building a blog, check out my free training on launching a blog and monetizing it.