How do you get more page views to your posts? Along with the great efficiencies the internet has created, there have been some downsides. Top among them is the information overload. Before the internet, television, newspapers, physical mail and talking to friends and family were the ways to get news and information. Now along with these channels, you have numerous sources online – your social networking connections, blogs, and online newspapers to give you news and resources. What a mess. How do we sort and make sure we are reading what matters to us and our business? How do you help your blog readers also pay attention to your posts? Here are some tips to consider:
1) Email is back
Every blog should have a RSS feature for people to subscribe. You can use the native RSS /Atom feature that comes with most blog software or choose to use FeedBlitz or FeedBurner to manage your RSS.
- TIP: It is important to make sure that the ability to subscribe by email is prominent and try to change the text to make it more attractive to people to subscribe by email. For example, ” Wake up with the latest blog post in your email box.”
- When people look at a blog they look for validation on others reading the blog. Feedburner will give you a badge on the number of subscribers. Adding that to your blog may help persuade anyone on the fence to subscribe.
2) Search and Social
As you post on your blog you should make sure you let people know about the blog post. Have a work flow process for post-publish activity. Some examples are:
- Use browser buttons to share on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin
- Use WordPress plugins for SEO to customize your title for each blog post
- Look for niche bookmarking sites where you can share your posts- Bizsugar, Bx.businessweek.com
- Check sites like SocialMediaToday.com or http://www.business2community.com/ for syndicating your content
3) Google Alerts /Ping backs
Setup Google alerts for your name and title of your blog so you will know if it is quoted by another blog or site. If you are using it, pay attention to ping backs to your post in your WP dashboard.
- If your post is relevant to a existing hashtag , you can consider adding the hashtag to the status update on Twitter or Facebook
4) Create your own newspaper
- If you blog on a niche topic, creating a Paper.li version maybe good for intelligence gathering on your topic. While Paper.li issues can be automatically tweeted you don’t have to enable that feature. Just ask for it to be delivered into your email box and check to see what are the sites that are coming up in the social networks for your topic.
5) Be your own publicist
- Many times we assume everyone has alerts and is reading our content. It is a good idea to send people you interviewed or mentioned in your post a quick email with a link to your post as an FYI.
- Consider having a link in your email signature to your blog.
This is just the beginning and you may have other resources to increase the visibility for your content.
About the Author:Shashi Bellamkonda is senior director of social media and public relations — employees call him Social Media Swami — at Web.com, a company that helps small businesses establish an online presence and conduct online marketing. Shashi currently oversees all social media activities at Network Solutions, a Web.com company. Network Solutions is a firm that helps small businesses start and market their businesses on the Web. Shashi is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and serves as a member of the Marketing Advisory Board of SCORE and Advisory Board Member for the Capitol Communicator, a Washington D.C. based online magazine for PR and Communications.
Image credit: Flickr: Beantin webbkommunikation
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