Creating a blog has become a lot easier today than it was a decade ago. The most popular platform is WordPress, which boasts over a third of the entire Internet. Every day, a new set of WordPress-based blogs is created, and yours could be one of them today. However, building a blog is one thing, and making it profitable is another. Watch this video for more information on how to create a blog on WordPress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itjqGsX0gCo
It goes without saying that for any blog or website – for that matter – to convert, it should attract many visitors. The first step is to decide the industry on which you want to base your content.
The best thing about blogging is that there is always something to write about in any sector. So, you need to be creative and find a subject that might interest many people.
Once you have your thoughts organised, the next thing is now to create your blog. There are several blog platforms, but WordPress remains the undefeated champion. So, what are the best ways to build and make your blog popular? This article will provide detailed answers to this question.
Be Specific
Being a jack of all trades and master of none is the biggest mistake you could make at the beginning of your online career. As earlier stated, the first thing is always to decide what your blog will be all about.
Even if you’re an expert of many areas within your field, a little bit of research is always important to determine the most ideal topic.
Of course, you can have two or three topics at most on your blog. However, these subjects need to be related to get more targeted followers. For instance, writing about kitchen appliances, healthcare, and politics all in one blog may not appeal to most of your target audience. The first article you write may go viral, but you might not get returning readers.
You might be asking yourself why there are several successful blogs covering various topics out there. Well, it’s all about strategies. When creating a blog on WordPress, your firstgoal is to make the blog popular. Therefore, having a specific topic will make your website a go-to content source for most readers interested in whatever you are discussing.
Once you have generated enough traffic, which could take you months, you can now take the next initiative. Start broadening your ideas to cover more topics. However, remember to do this gradually to avoid losing your followers. Again, make sure all your topics are related in one way or another.
Write About What You Know
Yes, there are lots of topics to choose from in any field.How many of them are you conversant with?
One mistake that new bloggers make is trying to copy what someone else has done. Remember, success is never copied; it is created, and this applies to online business too. Before you can even decide to specialise in one topic, make sure you know enough about it.
Writing about what you love always adds something to your creativity. Your passion will be clearly shown in your work as you’ll be expressing yourself rather than just listing points from another website. However, this isn’t to say that your blog should be entirely about what you know.
If you feel like you should add a new topic to your series, it’s usually better to hire an expert in that field. There are several ways of employing the services of a freelancer ready to complete your articles. The best thing is that you can create WordPress user accountsfor editors and limit their access if you don’t want them to have a free reign over your blog.
Engage Your Readers
Another efficient way of ensuring that your new blog becomes popular is by engaging your readers. As they say, content is king! Therefore, the first step towards audience engagement is by creating relatable content. For instance, if you've decided to focus on football, try and write about the current issues affecting the sport.
Now, it’s always beneficial to see what the readers think about your content. There are several ways to receive their feedback, one of which is to add a comment section. You might have seen this section at the bottom of many blogs. This is one of the best techniques used by most bloggers, and it’s quite fruitful.
However, just adding a comment section isn’t going to cut it. You need to compel the readers to provide their feedback. End the blog with questions like “what is your best experience in this field?” or “what do you think about the new technology?” It might seem like a simple addition to your blog but could go a long way in engaging the audience and increasing the popularity of your new blog site.
Another way to do this is by including links to your social media pages. Once the reader is done reading your content, they can contact you through these accounts. Once you have attracted the audience's attention, it’s now up to you to keep them coming for more. Read on to find out you can benefit from social media platforms.
Make Use of Social Media Platforms
Perhaps the most engaging forms of communication are today's social media channels. With smartphones becoming more affordable, many people are visiting these platforms to stay up-to-date with the current matters. Today, it’s rare to find any successful online business withoutFacebook or Twitter accounts.
As a content creator, one of your main objectives is to get online exposure. Remember, every one of your competitors is looking to attract readers through this method. Therefore, you need to come up with a smart social media marketing plan to make your blog popular. First, it’s important to understand your target audience.
Although it might seem like a simple technique, lack of a good strategy could be costly. For instance, which platform do most of your potential readers use? Twitter and Facebook are known for their diversity; which means you can engage almost all groups of people via these platforms.
Since you want your blog to gain more visitors, the first impression will always matter. On Facebook, for example, your profile picture, your description, and whatyou post are among the main factors to consider. Make sure they are all campaigning for the same goal. Also, be genuine and as unique as possible to stand out from your competitors.
As earlier stated, it is important to include links to these channels at the end of your blog posts. Once the audience ask questions regarding your content, always be ready to answer. The more responsive you are, the higher the chances of building a relationship with potential fans. In the long run, it will prove crucial to the polarisation of your WordPress blog.
Utilise Blog Communities
Apart from social media platforms, a blog community is another way of making your blog known to the world. Most bloggers always visit these websites for networking purposes. Also, and most importantly, there are several web enthusiasts who constantly check these websites for new information on a specific topic. Therefore, you won’t be working in a vacuum since you’ll have both potential audience and competitors.
However, don’t be someone who just posts their work on these community arenas for the sake of it. Inasmuch as people will gain access to your website, you won’t be visible enough to the users.
Being active on these platforms is the best way to gain exposure to the community. Comment constructively on other blogs in your niche.
Once the members see your activity, they’ll also possiblyfollow your blog, if they enjoyed their first read. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to make all your articles as interesting as possible. Make the readers come back for more after their first visit.
Pillar Articles are The Best
We have talked about choosing a specific niche and writing about what you know best. However, which format is the most effective one? Well, pillar format articles tend to generate traffic for a very long time. This set of content include the “how-to” articles, which teach the reader about something in a step-by-step manner.
As a rule of thumb, you should have at least five such posts on your website. The best thing about such articles is the fact that the idea rarely gets old. As such, the reader will still find it useful even five years down the line. Apart from marketing these articles, you can include a backlink in other posts to drive the readers back to your “how-to” content.
Optimisation
Most web searches are done via a mobile device today. In fact, you might be using one to read this article at the moment. So, imagine if your blog is not optimised for mobile gadgets. Of course, you’ll lose a lot of potential audience who would have generated more traffic. Apart from a comfortable mobile view, it should also be able to load as fast as possible even on slow internet speeds.
The first impression is what usually matter, and this is where it all starts. One thing that makes some of the websites incompatible with mobile devices is the design used. Make sure you choose those that scale well. Pick the designs tagged as “responsive” then test them on an emulator to check the performance.
So, once you’ve built your blog, how will you know if it is mobile optimized? Well, the best way is to test it on various mobile gadgets. How long does it take to load? Remember, if it is more than a few seconds, then visitors might go back to the search results and click on your competitor's links. On the other hand, a responsive website will attract many visitors more than once.
The Design
Yes, it’s not only the content and its marketing that will make your blog popular. The design also plays a vital role in attracting new visitors to the website. However, this is something that many bloggers ignore since they’re convinced that the main thing to worry about is the content.
Your blog's design should be both interesting and unique as compared to others within the same niche. As earlier stated, the first impression always matters.
So, how can you take the mostadvantage of this unwritten rule if not through visuals?
Readers will even enjoy reading articles arranged in a uniquely interesting way. In fact, if your articles are not smartly arranged, the visitors will rarely spend more than a few minutes on your website.
How can you make your blog’s design fun?
Well, this is a question asked by many newbie bloggers, and rightly so. It is worth noting that there’s no single design that is ideal for all websites. You will need to dedicate your time into trying various designs. Remember, your main focus here is to improve the user experience while maintaining high quality.
The good news is that you don’t really need to create your design from scratch. WordPress offers several templates you can use in the process. Again, you don’t have to pay for these services since there are lots of free designs. However, WordPress also offers premium templates that you can purchase at affordable prices. There is something for everyone; therefore, you don’t need to be a coding expert to use these themes.
Frequent Blogging
There is no shortcut to gaining popularity over the internet. You will need to write an article or two very frequently to keep the readers coming for more. It’s recommended that you create a timetable. For instance, you could decide to post new content after every two weeks. As such, the returning visitors will be looking forward to your articles on specific days. The same goes for social media platforms linked to your website.
Conclusion
There is a lot of effort that goes into making your blog known by many readers. Choosing a topic to cover can be easy but implementing your ideas is where you need to be wise. Make use of social media and blog community platforms to attract readers to your website. On your blog posts, ensure that you create engaging content.
As we wrap up this post, remember that online popularity – especially for bloggers – is not built within a few weeks or months; it demands patience and determination.
