How to Build a Blog Following

Many businesses will eventually journey into the world of blogging, but there are two big reasons that it can fall flat - 1. they can't keep up with the time commitment, and 2. they get discouraged and give up. It's fairly easy to get discouraged with blogging because it's not an immediate fix. If you are only looking for an immediate fix, you'd be much better off utilizing pay-per-click advertising than blogging. Blogging is meant to be part of a longer-term strategy that provides your visitors with educational and entertaining content that helps establish your brand as an authority in your industry.

One of the most discouraging things about blogging can be the struggle of building a following. Let's take a look at a few tips on how to build a blog following for your business!

1. Utilize forms throughout your site

Utilizing landing pages with forms and even pop-up subscription forms will give you the ability to capitalize on the traffic that is already coming to your site. You want to give your visitors and readers every opportunity to subscribe to your blog. The most successful blogs make sure that no visitor leaves their site without at least a couple of opportunities to subscribe.

2. Be interesting

No one wants to read your "blog posts" about how great you are, what you're selling, or the award that you just won. Your blog should be focused on great content. Whether your readers demand more educational, entertaining, or technical content, give it to them! You have to give them a reason to subscribe to your blog and to come back for more time after time. To do this you've got to provide a great experience and even better content. If you don't enjoy reading it, neither will your readers. BE INTERESTING!

3. Be consistent

We're all creatures of habit. If your readers can expect a new blog post from you on Mondays and Wednesdays (for example), they'll learn to look for them then. You really start to alienate your readers when they can't get an idea of when to expect new content. Inconsistent content is one of the biggest reasons for declining traffic and readership. Be consistent, and you'll see your subscriptions and interactions increase.

4. Use CTAs

You'll have people reading your blog that haven't subscribed or filled out a form. Utilizing a call-to-action at the end of each blog post, in your sidebars, and even slide-in or pop-up CTAs will give your readers the opportunity to get additional content and also join your blog subscription lists. Utilizing calls-to-actions throughout your site, not just on your blog, will give your business the opportunity to convert visitors to leads and will also help build your blog following.

5. Share your content

I think we've said this approximately 1,349,985 times throughout our blog posts, but this is not the Field of Dreams! Just because you put out content doesn't mean that all of a sudden, your site is going to be flooded with readers. You have to promote your content everywhere you can. That means through email, social media, word of mouth, search engine optimization, offline advertising, and even pay-per-click. Traffic doesn't just magically show up. You have to promote your blog and put out great content that makes your visitors want to come back.

There is one thing that you've got to understand and accept when starting on your blogging journey - it's going to take time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears, but in the end, it'll all be worth it. Blogging is a long play, and each post that you push out will continue to have an impact on your business for years to come. Your time and effort will pay off if you stick with it and follow these tips.