The success of a blog relies heavily on the loyalty (or lack thereof) of its readers. If visitors feel a connection with the blog, they’ll return to it regularly to check out its new posts and articles. But how do you develop a strong following of loyal readers?
Be Consistent With Your Blog’s Content
You won’t develop a strong following of loyal users unless you are consistent with your blog’s content. Google has said that publishing high-quality content is the single most important thing webmasters can do. Content is the force that drives people to visit websites, and it’s the force that encourages them to return. This is why it’s critical that you publish high-quality content to your blog on a regular basis. Without content, there’s simply no reason for people to visit your website.
Focus on a Niche
One of the most common mistakes new bloggers make is trying to cover a broad range of topics. This may work if you have an established blog like HuffingtonPost, but for the remaining 99.9% of blogs out there, this tactic is a recipe for failure. In order to attract readers and keep them coming back, you need to narrow down your blog’s topic to a specific niche. Doing so will prove beneficial for a few different reasons: for starters, you’ll have an easier time ranking in the search engines by targeting a narrow niche. But the real benefit comes from the increased level of engagement it offers. Visitors who are searching for specific information on a narrow topic will likely choose your blog — assuming it covers this topic — as opposed to a larger, broad blog like HuffingtonPost.
Don’t Overdo Advertising/Marketing
There’s nothing wrong with sprinkling some advertisements in your blog to generate revenue. On the contrary, most successful blogs engage in some type of marketing practice for this very purpose. However, you should keep them to a minimum. Flooding your blog with an excessive amount of ads may discourage readers from interacting with your blog — and that’s a best case scenario. At worst, it could send them away from your blog and over to a competitor’s website, at which point they are never seen or heard from again.
Reward Loyal Readers
How can you reward your blog’s loyal readers? There are several different ways to accomplish this goal, one of which is to offer them an incentive for visiting, such as a monthly contest where the winner receives a gift. You don’t have to necessarily give the winner a free iPad, but instead choose something that’s relevant to your blog’s niche. If your blog is about health and nutrition, then perhaps you can give away a box of protein bars to a selected reader at the end of the month.
Have any other tips for building a loyal blog following that you would like to share with our readers? Let us know in the comments section below!
Image attribution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/getdown/
Make sure you offer content that is original and differentiates you from other bloggers in your niche. If your content isn’t offering a great deal of value to your readers, you aren’t going to build a strong following.
Content must be fresh and relevant or people will go elsewhere.
I like the rewards program. I’ve got some ideas to incorporate this into my strategy. However, I agree with others who think content is the most important factor of building a loyal following.