Blogging Advice! Part Two – Increasing traffic

And I’m back with more blogging advice! I hope you all enjoyed part one (click here for that post) where I talked about advice for beginners. Now this post is directed to everyone in general, but still more for beginners. We all want to increase our followers. Followers are part of the reason we blog! Here are a few ways that you can maybe increase your blog traffic. Now just remember – I am not a blogging professional! I am quite an amateur but these are the things that have helped me personally and a few other bloggers I have talked to 🙂

TAG YOU’RE IT! BOOK TAGS HELP!

I don’t hide the fact that I don’t enjoy book tags. They’re fun every once in a while but, for me anyway, I don’t enjoy them on a regular basis. They take me forever to think of answers and formatting and editing takes longer than any other post. BUT!  When you want people to start following you – they need to know who you are and what you like! The best way to do that is do tags and lists which will give your reader an idea of the books you like to read and books you’ve enjoyed/disliked in the past. Tags and lists are a great way to let people know what you’re into and what they may see from you in the future.

LOOKS ARE EVERYTHING – GET GRAPHIC!

This subheading is misleading…… looks aren’t everything! But they don’t hurt. When scrolling through your reader or looking for posts, if you have a pretty/appealing graphic, it’s an easy way to catch the eye of a potential reader. If you’re like me (computer stupid) this element can be TERRIFYING!! This was the number one thing I struggled with when I first started my blog because I don’t know what the hell i’m doing on a computer. Someone suggested the app Canva and it has been the BIGGEST lifesaver!!!!!! The app itself is free and so are the majority of the layouts, but there are a few that cost money. But you can always change the background photo of those and it automatically becomes free. You can use different sizes for different sites, change/add font, add custom pictures. Best of all, it’s pretty fool proof once you get used to it!

BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND START TALKING!

This is a very important one and one that I least expected. When I first started the blog I didn’t anticipate spending so much time blog hopping or talking through comments (both on my own blog and on others) But I quickly realized that this was a HUGE part of blogging!! And it was also my favourite part! Talking to others about the books they’re reading or have already read, sharing in the excitement, adding your two cents into a discussion – it’s all getting yourself out there. And don’t ever be afraid to comment! All bloggers love comments! You may not think your comment with contribute, but it does, and will not go unappreciated. And HOP HOP HOP little bunny! Do some blog hopping and show other bloggers that you are willing to take the time to share the love!!

POST FREQUENTLY!!!

By this I don’t mean daily – unless you want to then, even better! But I highly suggest doing at least a few posts a week. It’s hard for others to see your blog when you don’t have consistent content showing up in the reader feeds. The more you post, the more you’re putting yourself out there to be seen. It also helps to have a schedule if you’re not posting daily. Find a few days a week that work for you and make sure you always have content going up on those days.

SOCIAL MEDIA = YOUR BEST FRIEND!

Let’s face it – blogs are hard to find sometimes. It’s not like YouTube where your video may show up in a suggestion to someone who is watching a similar video. So finding your blog may be hard. BUT, if you’re active on other social media platforms, your maximizing your opportunity of being seen! Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads are great places to post content, pictures and links that will bring people to your blog. Every little bit helps!

Like I said at the end of the last advice post, please feel free to share your advice in the comments! I will be doing a post in 2 weeks showcasing all of your advice for fellow bloggers. Next week I will be doing the last post in the series where I give you tips and tricks on making blogging easier!

Until next time, happy reading!