There are well over 150 million blogs on the web.
If you’re looking to start a blog or you’re already an active blogger, one of your biggest worries is how to make your blog popular. Although more than 4 billion people now go online, there’s no guarantee that your blog will attract lots of traffic.
The good news?
It’s entirely possible to build a popular blog. Just get the basics right, then leverage the power of social media.
Not sure how to do that?
Continue reading as we explore the various ways to build and promote your blog like a pro.
Take Care of the Basics
Before we delve into how you can use social media to your advantage, let’s tackle how to set up your blog for stardom.
You see, even if a giant social network like Facebook offered to promote your blog for free, the vast majority of the visitors won’t hang around if the blog isn’t exciting. In fact, it could even crash if it’s not built to handle a surge in traffic.
Here’s a lowdown on some of the vital elements of an effective blog.
A Catchy Domain Name
A domain name is more than a web address. A domain name contributes to your blog’s identity.
A short, catchy name is easy to memorize. Considering that most people are experiencing declining attention spans, you don’t want to skimp on this bit.
Even aesthetically, a short domain name wins. Consider the following examples:
- www.catchx.com
- www.welcometomycatchyxblog.com
Which looks more appealing? The first, no doubt.
Choose a Great Blog Platform
There are more than a dozen blogging platforms. You could choose from WordPress.Org, Wix, Gator by Hostgator, Blogger, Tumblr, Medium, and Squarespace among others.
If you’re a blogging newbie, you might be tempted to try out the various platforms, but there’s no need to do that. WordPress is by far the most popular platform, powering over 30 percent of the web.
WordPress is easy to use, 100% customizable, there’s no HTML editing, and you can try out various plugins. Really, with WordPress, your blog is ready to go!
Choose a Reliable Web Host
A web host can make or break your blog.
If you choose an unreliable host, you’ll have to make do with slow page speeds and frequent outages. This isn’t how to set up your blog for success.
What you need is a reliable web host with a reputation for offering 99.9 percent uptime and quick load speeds. Sure, such a host will cost you a pretty penny, but the benefits are worth it.
A Great Design
Ever landed on a blog only to be left in awe by its design?
That what a great design will do to your visitors. Beyond that, a great design improves content readability and overall user experience.
Also, a quality design goes beyond aesthetics. An effective design ensures your blog is responsive, meaning it can render smoothly on any screen size.
Great Content
The purpose of creating a blog is to share content with your audience.
However, creating web content is quite different from creating content for other media. To create effective blog content, you must understand the consumption habits of internet users.
Most online readers are a picky lot. They rarely read articles word by word. They will typically read a bit of the intro and have a look at the headers and sub-headers before deciding whether the blog is worth a full read.
Be sure to gather more details on creating scannable content before crafting your blog posts.
Another aspect of great content is relevance.
Does your content resonate with your audience? Are you giving them want they want to read?
How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Blog
Now that your blog is well set up and you’ve already published a couple of great blog posts, let’s look at how you can use social media to make it popular.
Identify the Most Effective Social Networking Sites
There are now over 60 social sites, but that doesn’t mean you should use all of them to promote your blog.
The first step is to identify sites that will be the most effective in sending visitors to your blog. In other words, you want to promote your blog on social sites where your audience hangs out.
If your blog targets boomers, for example, you’ve no business promoting the blog on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or any other site that’s popular with millennials and Gen Zers. 68 percent of boomer adults in the United States use Facebook.
You should also consider the general theme of your blog. If it’s career-focused, LinkedIn should be your #1 social site.
Create Social Pages for Your Blog
After identifying the social sites to use in your blog promotion strategy, create pages on those sites. Be as detailed as possible and optimize the profiles accordingly. For example, instead of using a random profile picture, you can create a logo for your blog and use it.
Be sure to include your blog’s web address on those pages, too.
Start Sharing Content
With your blog’s social pages all set, the next move is to start sharing your posts. Depending on the site’s policies or tools, you can share entire blog posts or snippets that redirect back your to blog.
You should also utilize social plugins. These make it easier for you and other readers to share your posts to social sites straight from your blog.
Engage with Your Audience
Gradually, your blog’s social media pages will gain traction. More and more people will become followers, and the number and frequency of comments will increase.
Make engaging with the followers part of your social routine. Respond to commenters, even when a response isn’t necessary. A simple “thank you for reading” will go a long way in turning a first-time visitor into a loyal reader.
That’s How to Make Your Blog Popular!
A popular blog won’t just thrust you into blogging stardom. It will also earn you lots of money.
However, popularity doesn’t come overnight. You’ll have to get the basics right and put in the hard work. And with this guide on how to make your blog popular in the age of social media, you’re not in a better position to launch a blog that will become a success.
Keep tabs on our blog for more blogging tips and insights.
