I sent out a dangerous tweet.
It read, “I will write an entire blog post about whatever the first person to respond wants.” The first reply was a total misfire – @amoldkevin said, “me.” While I appreciate his tenacity, I can’t write about someone I don’t know. He graciously passed the torch to @brendasarg who asked, “How about how to get your blog out there without spamming the shit out of everyone? Upping readership?”
Okay, this is a topic I know.
If you’re goal is to get a ton of traffic, you have to do three things:
- Recognize What You Already Have
- Design a REAL Marketing Strategy
- Become Excellent at Writing
The first to do is appreciate your current readership. When I started it was just my dickhead friends. I called them often and thanked them for reading. Then, as I started to get blog comments, I made it a policy to reply to each. Thankfully only 1% of you comment and this is still manageable today. Make sure you reply to everything including comments, emails, and social media replies. It’s a way of thanking people for taking time out of their day to read your crap. Trust me, they have better things to do.
Now, to get in front of new eyeballs, here’s what has worked for me. First, read other blogs. Comment on twenty a day. You’ll be shocked how many people will see your comment and check you out. Next, join Facebook and Google+ blog networking groups. I’m in several and we read, comment, and share each other’s stuff. Join Triberr and find like-minded bloggers where you promote each other. Learn about bloghops and Twitter chats. Find websites that accept submissions. I guest posted on AimingLow for a year before they put me on staff. Finally, master one social network. Twitter is my drug of choice and I use it well.
The most important thing – write stuff worth reading. And yes, you need to take classes. I go to every seminar and conference I can afford. If you’re broke, find free writing workshops online. Read at least a book a month about your craft. Invest in your creativity. You’re worth it.
You MUST write all the time. Like every day. Yes, this sucks, but it’s true. I know you’re busy. You have a family and/or other jobs. Assume that you need to put in 10k hours (like Malcolm Gladwell determined) before you’re any good. That’s ten years. Are you willing to do the heavy lifting for ten years while you perfect your craft? You have to be willing. No exception. I wish there was an easier way. They’re ain’t.
And, guess what, over the ten years you’ll become better at writing and better at marketing. You’ll retain your current readers because you’ll connect with them and build personal relationships. You’ll learn how to create outstanding content with all the hours of practice. You’ll pick up sponsorships and eventually get paid for your work.
People ask me why I have high engagement on Twitter. It’s simple. I spend at least an hour every day writing jokes and tweeting them out. If I didn’t people wouldn’t continue to follow me. I’ve been tweeting since 2009. It takes time.
So, the bottom line is – make a ten year plan. Stop looking at page views and judging the number of comments you receive. I pour my heart into posts that receive zero comments. It happens. Just plan on writing and marketing for ten years before anything substantial happens. If you are willing to put in the time, you’ll get there. I promise.
And even if you never achieve TheBloggess or Dooce numbers, it won’t matter. You’ll have pride and satisfaction from all the hard work and sacrifice. And that lasts a lifetime.
