All hail the almighty blog. Blogging has become one of the most powerful tools for collecting information and influencing large groups of people. Whether you maintain a blog for your business or your hobby, you’re likely facing a competitive market.
You need to maintain your readership, and you don’t want those people straying off to a similar blog that they find more useful. Your competitors are growing, and you need to grow at least as fast as them if you want to continue to see success in 2017.
Develop New Weekly Segments
People love predictability. You probably know off the top of your head what time, day, and channel your favorite shows come on. You expect them to follow a consistent schedule, and you’d definitely notice if something changed. Blog readers feel the same way about the themed posts or segments they like to read. Publish these segments around the same time on the same day every week. People will know to look for them, and they won’t lose interest due to erratic scheduling.
Plan to Cross-Promote
If you don’t already circulate links to your blog post via your social networks, you’re lagging behind. You should be keeping all of your followers –wherever they may be – up to date with your latest posts. Make sure that your posts are all equipped with share buttons that your readers can use to showcase your content to people within their social circles too.
Learn more about Marketing
This may seem like an unorthodox idea on the surface, but it comes with some surprising benefits. In order to grow your audience, you need to be able to promote your blog. Marketing your blog is tricky enough – but it’s even trickier if you don’t have any marketing experience.
You can take marketing courses online at your own pace in your own time. Once you’ve taken a few marketing courses, you will learn to promote your blog as though it were a product.
Get a Great Redesign
If you’ve been putting off incorporating mobile optimization elements into the design of your blog, it is imperative that you do this now. Google has already begun to dock the visibility of blogs and websites that are not optimized for mobile viewing.
Another thing you’ll want to consider is the way your blog has grown and changed with time. Your design might have been perfect for your blog’s initial launch, but things tend to take on a life of their own. Make sure your blog’s navigation is easy and intuitive for your readers. If things get too crowded, it may be difficult for people to find what they came to look for.
Create Content Based on Feedback
If you’re unsure of which direction you should take for your next post, hone in on your readers’ feedback. If you have comments enabled on your posts, make sure that you take the time to read and respond to them. Even negative feedback gives you a place to grow from.
Feedback will let you know what the followers of your niche want and expect from a blog like yours. You might even be able to use feedback to innovate faster than your competitors can. Just put on your listening ears and don’t take constructive feedback personally.
A blog with a solid strategy will work like a well-oiled machine. As long as you put in the effort, you’ll see the results. Just make sure you keep pumping out insightful original content as you’re implementing changes in order to retain the interest of your current followers.
