7 Steps to Build a Blog Subscriber Base
(This is part 2 of a 2-part blog series on building readership for a new corporate blog)
Just 12 years ago, the word “blog” didn’t even exist (It was coined by Peter Merholz of Peterme.com in 1999 from the word Weblog.).
Today, professionals, companies and organizations alike are using blogs to effectively reach and influence their audiences, build inbound links, boost search-engine rankings, drive Website traffic and position themselves and their organization as an industry thought leader.
In fact, a recent blog study by HubSpot showed that the Websites of companies that blog receive 55 percent more visitors, and have 97 percent more inbound links and 434 percent more indexed pages than the Websites of companies that do not.
But a blog is only successful if it has an audience to read and share the information with their networks. Again, think content + community. The key to driving traffic and building a strong subscriber base is to continually publish fresh, relevant and link-worthy content that is optimized to get found.
Once you complete the steps to promote your blog, which are outlined in the first post of this two-part series, “6 Steps to Promote your New Blog,” follow the actions listed below to start driving traffic and building subscribers.
Step 1: Optimize blog posts to get found.
A blog is one of the greatest tools for your Website to rank better for key terms on search engines through regularly publishing keyword-rich content. Below are crucial steps to follow when optimizing each post.
- Optimize Post Titles: Make sure to use priority keywords in blog post titles whenever appropriate. In most blog platforms, the post’s title will become the main headline (<H1> tag), URL and page title of that post’s page — some of the main aspects of keyword optimization that search engines evaluate.
- Integrate Keywords in Copy: Priority keywords should be integrated into each blog post’s body copy and bolded, if appropriate. Search engines give a little more weight to terms that are bolded within a Web page or blog post.
- Create <H> Tags: Create subheads, or <H2>, <H3>, etc. tags, within each post using priority keywords. <H> tags are weighted more heavily than other page copy by search engines.
- Include Tags and Categories: If possible, tag each post with the topics that describe it best, using priority keywords. This way, more content will be associated with these keywords, and search engines will better understand what each post is about.
Keep in mind that readability should always be the main priority — if a keyword does not make sense for a particular section of the blog listed above, don’t use it. In other words: always optimize for readers first and search engines second.
Step 2: Include a clear call to action to encourage subscriptions.
Once you can successfully drive traffic to your blog, keep them coming back for more. Include a clear call to action on your blog homepage and each individual post to encourage subscriptions. Some examples may include: “Subscribe by Email” or “Subscribe by RSS.”
To enable RSS subscriptions, you’ll likely need to set up a feed for your blog. For a reliable free option, check out Feedburner for step-by-step instructions and additional information.
Step 3: Link to additional resources in each post.
Within each post, be sure to cite and link to additional resources, as well as other blogs that cover topics relevant to your readers. It will help establish your blog as a trusted resource and help other influencers become aware of your blog. Remember, when linking to other sites, use descriptive anchor text.
Step 4: Identify and encourage guest blogging opportunities.
More than one blog author to plan and write posts can keep a blog from sounding exhausted. Consider using multiple contributors at your organization, and invite relevant authors of other blogs, thought leaders in your industry or professionals in your network to write guest posts. Not only will it bring in new readership from the guest authors’ networks, it will establish goodwill and relieve internal pressures to write a post each week.
To stay on track and manage several bloggers, consider appointing a blog editor or someone in charge of the blog’s content and posts.
Step 5: Interact with your audience.
Don’t ignore your audience. Respond to your readers’ comments and engage with them socially. Add a ReTweet button on each post, and use your Facebook Wall to interact with your fans and blog readers.
Step 6: Drive traffic to your blog.
This step alone is worth an entire blog post, and SEOmoz has a great oldie but goodie: “21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic.”
Executing a combination of tactics from this post, as well as the steps outlined in this two-part blog series, will be a surefire way to drive traffic to your blog.
Step 7: Install analytics tracking codes.
Install analytics to track your blog’s traffic, referrers, search engine rankings and more. Pay attention to those blog posts that result in traffic spikes so you can better tailor your content to your audiences’ specific interests.
Google Analytics is a great solution to dig deeper into your site’s traffic patterns and blogging effectiveness, and better yet, it’s free!
What steps have you taken to encourage subscriptions or to drive traffic to your blog? Use our comment section to offer additional information and resources that you’ve found effective in promoting your blog.
Additional Resources:
Blog.grader.com
Hubspot’s Blogging for Business kit
Technorati’s 2009 State of the Blogosphere
SEOMoz’s 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic
Blog Series: Extending your Reach Through Blogging
6 Steps to Promote your New Blog
7 Steps to Build a Blog Subscriber Base
Lyndsey Frey is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Lyndsey on Twitter @lyndseyfrey
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