This post is by Ms. Treacle
One of the first questions any blogger asks when starting out is “How can I get people to visit my site?” Of course, that makes perfect sense because readers are a humongous part of the blogging experience. Traffic is a little bit like a drug; once you get that first hit of visitors, you’re always looking for more.
Unfortunately, some of the more popular methods of getting traffic are extremely time intensive. Visiting hundreds of blogs, leaving scores of comments, and sending dozens of e-mails with your link takes hours…hours that would honestly be better spent on your blog.
So what’s a fashion blogger to do? Well, keep reading, for starters! In this article, we’ll talk about 3 time-tested strategies that will not only give you a huge traffic increase, but will also net you the links, visitors, and comments every blogger craves.
Guest Posting
Guest posting is one of the most overlooked yet most effective ways of getting traffic. It works so well because of 3 main reasons. One, a guest post introduces you and your unique perspective to a brand new audience. Two, guest posts make you look like a credible authority (don’t we all trust things more when they come from our friends?) And three, guest posts gives you permanent backlinks, which is great for both referral and search engine traffic.
If you’re thinking of writing guest post for a particular blog, take the time to look it over first. See what articles have been published lately, read their guest post guidelines (if there are any), and do a quick blog search to make sure the topic you want to write about hasn’t been covered already. When you pitch your idea to the blogger, keep it short, simple, and straight to the point. And always remember that your guest post should be both completely original and incredibly valuable. Finally, when your guest post is accepted and published, don’t forget to promote it on your own website or social media. That’s all part of building relationships and it may even get you invited back.
StumbleUpon
Though I was never able to figure out Digg or Reddit, I have gotten the hang of StumbleUpon and it’s an excellent way to get recurring traffic with minimal effort. As an added bonus, StumbleUpon can teach you to be a better blogger by exposing you to the kinds of posts and articles that tend to go viral.
But as with most things, you shouldn’t expect instantaneous results. StumbleUpon does require a small investment of time (in the form of stumbling other people’s articles) before it begins stumbling yours. I’ve found the best thing to do is just select the topics you’re interested in and use those first few Stumbles as a learning opportunity. Finally, don’t make the mistake of stumbling only your own blog posts or of stumbling everything you write. Only Stumble your very best posts…things that are scannable, catchy, and on-trend. Once you get the hang of it, you’re rewarded with a steady stream of new visitors to the best stuff on your blog.
Post Titles
Speaking of search engine traffic and going viral, one of the most important things you can do to increase your traffic is write better post titles. Your blog post title should not only give visitors an idea of what your article is about, it should also include the words people are searching for when they want answers to a question. That’s not to say you should start writing for the robots, but if you think about the question someone would ask to find your blog post (such as “How to Wear Leggings This Winter”) and phrase your post title accordingly, Google will reward you by sending more traffic your way.
If you’re a bit stuck about how to create great post titles, I recommend just going to the bookstore and sitting down with a stack of magazines. You’ll see very precise, keyword-laden teasers on the front which promise the answers to a question (sometimes one you didn’t even know you had!). Best of all, once you’ve established yourself to Google as an expert or authority on a particular topic, you’ll find that traffic on that topic keeps coming your way.
I hope these three tips help you with increasing traffic for your blog. I’d love to hear about your strategies in the comments!
I once got my highest number of readers but asking a well-known blogger, Smart Pretty & Awkward, to do a post on my site! She was willing and we both promoted each other, a great partnership.