Will Blog For Traffic – 7 Tips to Increase Your Posts + Traffic – Part 2 In our Blogging Series

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on blogging.  Check back tomorrow when I’ll share how to make the most of your posts to increase your traffic.

Did you know that, according to HubSpot, sites that blog twenty (20) times a month receive five times more traffic than blogs that don’t?  FIVE. TIMES.  That’s a lot more traffic.  Do you want more traffic to your site?

This month on StartupPrincess.com we’re going to be talking about publishing.  Both traditional and digital publishing.  Though we’ll mostly be talking about helping you birth your books, we’re also going to talk about blogging for success.

Today I want to share with you some valuable tips that can help you increase the number of blog posts you have a month.  Before I share the tips, I want to ask, do you know what kind of traffic you are currently getting on your blog?  If not, you should get “in the know”.  It’s easy to set up a Google Analytics account for your site, and it provides a great 3rd party resource if someone is asking about your traffic (sometimes the traffic numbers from WordPress or Blogger are unreliable).

Now, onto the tips.  Here are the seven tips you can use to blog MORE to increase your traffic.:

1. Keep your posts short and sweet – There is no rule that you have to provide long posts in order for them to be good.  In fact, sometimes the short ones are more likely to be read all the way through.  When people come to your site and see a long post, they may think, “I don’t have time to read that now,” and they’ll skip it and move on.  It will also help you spread out your expertise over a number of posts instead of packing it all into one.  Now, obviously, you’ll have some long posts.  I’m not saying they all have to be short, but don’t be afraid to put out some quick tip and be done with it. Seth Godin is a master at this.  He produces one or two paragraph posts on most days, and they are super high quality.

2. Create a series of posts on a similar subject – Series can be a great way to get people back to your site for a continuation ofinformation.  For example, you could do a Four Part Series on ______ (spring fashion, blogging, marketing, discipling children, etc).  Tell your readers in advance that you are doing a multiple part series and how often you’ll be updating so that they make it a point to come back.  For example, this is a 2-part series on blogging.  Tomorrow I’ll be sharing tips for making the most of your blog posts to increase traffic to your site.

3. Invite Guest Bloggers, where appropriate – You don’t have to do all the writing yourself.  Invite other people in your field or closely related to your field to produce posts for you from time to time.  This has really helped the Startup Princess site.  We have 10 Fairy Godmothers that help provide posts and insights.  It’s great for us to fill our blog feed, great for our readers to hear from experts and it’s great for our Fairy Godmothers to get exposure through a new network.  We also take and post articles from guest bloggers from time to time.  (Note though that you will always want to take UNIQUE posts that haven’t been posted any where else.  Google will ding you for having duplicate content that appeared somewhere else first.)

4. Create a simple “Interview Series” where you can feature your readers or other experts on your site – We do this in our interviews section.  We have a set number of questions that we can ask other Startup Princesses and we feature them on our site.  It’s great to get to know and learn from other women entrepreneurs and because it’s a digital interview it’s easy to email off, and easy to upload.   Get creative.  It doesn’t have to be experts, but maybe a featured reader you can show some blogging love to.  I love Allison Czarnecki’s “What’s In Your Purse Series” on PetiteElefant.com (My purse is famous!  I was featured during week 50). Also, if the person you feature shares the post, it’s great for your site traffic.

5. Create “columns” that you can easily revisit on a weekly or monthly basis – Maybe you have a Marketing Monday, or a Wordless Wednesday (we’ll talk about this more in #6), or a Success Tip Thursday – you get the idea.  Create a couple that make it easy for you to create a schedule and will help you fill your blogging pipeline.   It also helps give you a framework so that you aren’t asking yourself, “What should I write about today?”

6. Use images – Images and photos will help you feel like your post is longer, and if a picture says 1,000 words, then it can help you cut down on your word count as well.  Though this doesn’t always work for Startup Princess and business blogs.  However, having a Wordless Wednesday where all you post is a picture and perhaps a short explanation, can be great for crafters and artistic type blogs.  AND, we’ll talk about this more tomorrow, but images should be included in almost every post, if possible.  Because of Pinterest, and the way people are sharing pictures online, you’ll want to have a visual that’s easy to pass around.

7. Schedule time in your calendar to write your blog posts – Set a regular schedule for writing your posts and uploading them.  If you can get strategic and focused you could write and upload your posts for a whole week in one sitting.  I know some power bloggers that blog a months worth of posts in one or two sittings so that it doesn’t feel like it’s something that overwhelms you each and every day.  Once you create a schedule and make it a habit, you’ll be able to breeze your way through posts.

BONUS: Number 8 – In all of this remember that quality is more important the quantity.  Don’t just produce a bunch of poorly written, inapplicable posts just to hit the 20 post count.  You’ll lose readers if you are producing low quality content.  If you can’t produce 20 posts a month without cutting corners, then create a consistent schedule you CAN stick to.

Want to take the 20 post challenge?  Blog 20 times this month, then share with us how your traffic increased!  The winner will receive a feature on StartupPrincess.com & 8 hours of Fairy Godmother magic for free!

Let’s connect!  Follow me on twitter.  Follow me on Facebook.  Check out my free video e-course on Working Smarter Not Harder here.

Michelle McCullough is the Managing Director for Startup Princess.  Michelle became a partner in Startup Princess  in 2008.  She is responsible for event planning, marketing, affiliates, sponsorships and partnerships. Over the past 3 years she has coached women entrepreneurs and helped them grow their businesses from “dream in development” to established thriving businesses.  Michelle is a speaker, strategist, success expert and a serial entrepreneur. She started Doodads Promotional Products when she was 19. And has also spent the last 12 years working in marketing and advertising. She’s worked in all aspects of the industry from production to creative and sales to management. On top of her full-time jobs, Michelle has cultivated her love for entrepreneurship by running Doodads as a successful side business.  Today it continues to thrive.  This year Michelle launched a coaching program called “The Life Balance Myth” to help busy entrepreneurs build thriving businesses AND meaningful personal lives.  She believes that life balance is a myth, but she provides practical tools to achieve personal and professional success.  You can learn more about Michelle at SpeakMichelle.com.  Michelle has two children ages 4 and 2 and lives in Utah.