Ten simple ways to boost blog traffic – really!

NOTE FROM RON: Since I’m in Miami Beach getting ready for a Freelance Success conference cruise in the Bahamas (not kidding—what a life!), the esteemed Jane Boursaw has graciously offered to fill in for me today—with one heck of a great post!

Hey there, Blog Salad Readers! Jane Boursaw here, filling in for Ron while he’s off doing something fun. I happen to know he’s combining work AND fun, so I’m sure he’ll come back all revved up with plenty of awesome new info for you.

In the meantime, I have a new 6-week blogging class coming up on Monday, Oct. 26, so what am I doing? Promoting the class, of course! But, hey, I’m not going to tell you to just hop over there and sign up, because that would just be wrong.

You probably want to know what you’ll be getting for those hard-earned dollars. You can check out the full syllabus at Blogging for Passion and Profit, but in the meantime, here are ten of my favorite tips for boosting blog traffic and creating a warm, inviting community where your readers can hang out and have fun.

1. Write great content. It’s a simple thing really, but just putting some time and thought into your blog posts is important. If you get sloppy with facts, grammar, sentence structure, and all those basic writing rules, you’ll just end up looking like an amateur. Write your post, then read it over and double check for errors and typos.
2. Be reliable. As with any type of writing, make sure you know what you’re talking about. If you’re blogging about a breaking news story, make sure you’ve got the facts right. Link back to the original story, so that people know you’re not making it up as you go along. On the flip side, sometimes it’s ok to NOT tell the full story, because it leaves something for the readers to comment on. A friend who edits an alternative weekly newspaper says he likes to leave “a hole big enough to drive a truck through,” because it gets readers talking. Ok, so I’m not sure I’d go that far — you don’t want to look dumb, after all — but there’s some truth to his philosophy.
3. Write lists. There’s something about lists that readers and other bloggers love. They contain a lot of information, they’re neatly ordered, easy for readers to skim through, and easy for other bloggers to link to. While you don’t want to overdo it on the lists, adding them into the mix now and then is a great idea. You could even create a brand, like the “TV Squad Ten” (example here) and “Film Gecko Five” (example here).
4. End your post with a question. That’s a call for immediate action, and when a reader sees it, they automatically start thinking of an answer and are more inclined to leave a comment. It can be as simple as asking readers for their thoughts, as I did in this review of “Glee.” Or you can get more specific, like this post where I ask readers if Justin Chambers from “Grey’s Anatomy” has the best girly scream ever, and what other TV guys have great girly screams.
5. Create a faux chat room. Film Gecko isn’t set up to have a chat room, and most blogs aren’t unless you’re part of a bigger network which offers that option. But sometimes people just want a place they can come and interact with other readers. Example: “New Moon,” the upcoming sequel to “Twilight,” has caused quite a stir among fans. When the movie was first starting to gain some buzz, I realized that there were no good sites for folks to talk about it. So I created a post called, “New Moon Casting News and Rumors — Discuss!” and promoted it around the Web via social media sites. Within days, “New Moon” fans flocked to my post and were talking amongst themselves in the comments section. At this writing, there are 2808 comments on that little post. Check it out here.
6. Link out. The more you link out, the more notice you’ll get from other blogs and sites. Every time you link to another site, they see those incoming links and, more than likely, will check you out in return. Be generous with the linking, but space the links out within your text, so the reader isn’t reading through one link after another. Also, it’s important to link not just to the big sites like CNN or Variety, but also to smaller blogs where you know that a real person will see your link. I can’t stress enough how important it is to interact with other bloggers, because if they link back to your blog, all of their readers, in turn, will probably come check you out, too.
7. Pay attention to your stats. If your blogging platform or host includes a stats tool, check it regularly and see where your traffic is coming from, what they’re searching for, and which posts are more popular. Use that as a go-by for future posts, writing the content that people are searching for. On Film Gecko, I try to include at least one post a day about something a little racy, a celeb’s sexy photo shoot, a controversial comment they made, or an offbeat video. Of course, it always has to pass the “will my Mom be offended by it?” test! If your host or platform doesn’t have a stats tool, sign up at Google Analytics and download the Google Analytics plugin for WordPress (for easy installation, use your Plugin Browser/Installer at the bottom of your Plugins page).
8. Include polls. Most blogging programs and offline editors have a tool or plugin that allows you to easily include polls in your posts. Polls encourage instant interaction from readers, and they only take a second to complete. Here’s a great example of a funny poll that encouraged people to vote on whether they watched “According to Jim.” Check it out on TV Squad.
9. Do interviews. The cool thing about posting interviews on your blog is that not only are you hosting a cool new guest on your blog — whether they’re an expert in your niche or a rising star — but you’re also bringing all of THEIR traffic in, all of their friends, family and fans. And sometimes it pays off in unexpected ways. Last year, I did an interview with the three stars of a grindhouse movie called “Bitch Slap!” A link to the Film Gecko interview got posted on the official movie site, so whenever people go to that site, they’ll click through back to my blog. If you go to the official site, my interview is the top link on the right-hand side, titled “Lead Girls.” (This just barely passed my “Mom test.”) How to find good interviews? For actors, check with the Screen Actors Guild and the “contact” section on actors’ pages on IMDB Pro. Post searches for interviewees in all niches on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LiveJournal, or on Profnet (register as a journalist) or Help a Reporter Out.
10. Create a playground. People like to have fun, so think of your blog as a big playground where folks can relax and be themselves. And that applies to you, too! Be yourself when you’re writing. Don’t try and be someone you’re not, because readers will pick up on that right away. Also, use your brand wherever possible. On TV Squad, I have a weekly column called “Jane After Dark,” where I ruminate on all the DVDs I watch at night while covering the TV Squad queue. And my name, Jane, is part of my brand across all my blogs. Check out this example.

BONUS TIP: Post often! Don’t go too many days without writing fresh content. Readers will find it elsewhere and not come back. If you’re posting more than once a day, time your posts so they’re not bunched up against each other. My daily goal for Film Gecko is five posts a day, and I try to span them out every few hours during the day. This also helps to give your RSS subscribers fresh content on a regular basis. Another reason to post often: search engines (a.k.a. search spiders) love fresh content.

Jane Boursaw blogs at TV Squad, Film Gecko, CliqueClack, and Ruby Shoes. Home base is Reel Life With Jane. And oh yeah, there’s her online class, Blogging for Passion and Profit. You can sign up here. Next 6-week class starts Monday, Oct. 26, 2009.

You’ve read this post, you’ve signed up for Jane’s class, but you still want more blogging advice? Good news! There’s still plenty of time to enter the Small Business Blogging Blueprint ebook giveaway contest! Click here to enter!