How to grow you blog

I’ve found the best way to grow your blog is to be consistently plugging away at it. I’m not saying you have to write a post each and every day; sometimes that’s just not possible. But, it is wise to do something for your blog just about every day. I do suggest getting away now and again to unplug and rejuvenate your creativity. But on those other days, keep plugging away, here is what you can do.

Write a post

This is the most obvious option, but also the most important. Your readers want to be consistently fed with new stuff. It’s just a natural progression of an information-driven society. If your blog becomes stale, your readers will throw you away like an old bag of potato chips. I try to write a post everyday, but because of time constraints I’ve found that around 4/5 per week does the trick. Every blog is different, but feeding your readers quality new posts is the only way to keep loyal readers

Improve the design of the site

It’s real easy to become complacent with your site design. You shouldn’t change it so often that it’s unrecognizable each time, but there are always some tweaks that you can do to improve the look. Just be careful you don’t screw up the identity you’ve worked on. Familiarity can breed loyalty. So, if you’ve got a logo that works and colors that are consistent, then let that be. You can still improve headers, footers, line-spacing, lists, images, and the list goes on and on.

Improve the site’s Navigation

Is your navigation easy to follow? If not, change it so that it’s less confusing. Scattered navigation can lead to frustration, which will lead to a reader not coming back. Consider adding related posts to the end of each post, or breadcrumbs at the top to help readers know where they are on the site.

Add some interactivity

Here at My Ink Blog the community is growing, and I hope it continues to do so. Your readers should have things that they can do or contribute to the site. Right now I’ve got a User Community Link Feed, so that readers with relevant links can post them on the site. I also plan to add a Flickr group, so that people who have work they want to showcase can post that to my Flickr group. You could also add polls, or a suggestion box. The options here are numerous; this is a great way to improve your site.

Network and socialize

Send out emails. Ask to exchange links. Respond to comments, write comments on other sites. Contribute to social media sites like twitter, digg, facebook, etc. You can find me on Twitter now, this is one of those things that I did for my blog. It’s by networking in with a like minded community that you’ll develop beneficial relationships. You’ll also learn a lot, and stay informed about the latest news and trends.

What about you

Honestly, this is the tip of the iceberg. There are so many things you can do to improve your blog on a daily basis. What’s been your experience? What would you contribute? Drop me a comment using the form below.

About the Author

Andrew is the founder and primary contributer for MyInkBlog. He is a full time web developer for Niagara University. When he's not working there, he's a blogger, twitter'er, wordpress'er, silverstripe advocate, blessed father and husband.

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