How to-get-blog-followers-the-basics

Visit http://bit.ly/1S6lQxs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Niche blogging is easier then you think - 6 figure blogging ,SEO Plugins for Word press http://authl.it/4jf

Traffic is not the same as followers Traffic measures the number of people that visit your website. Followers are people who regularly read your content. You can have high traffic and no followers (think of a spam site that uses a misspelling of a popular URL to drive followers to lists of meaningless ads. They will have a lot of traffic – people make mistakes often – but no one is following that website and reading it regularly, on purpose). Why followers are more important than traffic. Traffic is good because more people see your pages. However the only thing that counts is that the right people see your pages and they are driven to take action of some sort. That action might simply be to mark your site so they can remember it and come back ie: that they become followers. Followers like your work enough to want to see more. They know who you are and what you are about and they look forward to your next blog post, email, or thought, in whatever format that is delivered. Traffic alone is fairly meaningless (though it helps!). Your conversion rates are more important: how many people who come through your site stick around to become followers?

http://bit.ly/1S6lQxs

http://authl.it/4jf



Having 1000 dedicated people who are guaranteed to read your next article, who forward your stuff and tell their friends, is better than a million who think you are just alright. Here is a good article about this http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php So how do you get followers? The following pages outlines the best ways to get started now. (BTW if you’re wondering whether now is the right time to do this, if you have started a blog then it is definitely time applying these techniques to get followers. Otherwise you’re already losing potential fans. Simple).


http://authl.it/4jf

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php



The three core ways of getting followers for your blog There is a lot out there about getting more followers, but it all boils down to three simple things. The three things you need to do to turn traffic into followers are a) generate good content people want to engage with and b) make it easy for them to engage and c) make it easy for them to see more of your posts. Here is a basic overview of how to get started.

a) Generating good content This is your FIRST port of call, else the rest of this falls down. No one says “you have to read this blog post - it has great technical wizardry, but crap content’. The content quality and value comes first. That will be covered elsewhere – but for now, get started with something you’d want to read!


http://authl.it/4jf



b) Allowing readers to engage Essentially commenting. This will grow people’s loyalties – some blogs are built off the back of a community that has gathered around it. At the start, this means enabling comments and having a decent comments system installed. There are a lot of commenting systems but the one Marianne recommends is Disqus.

If you are on Wordpress.org get Disqus here http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/disqus-comment-system/

If you are on Wordpress.com (the one where you have a separate hosting account), go into Plugins and search for Disqus for an automatic install.

c. Make it easy for people to follow by whatever means they choose. The channels you should cater for include: Social Media: Include easy to find options for following you on Twitter or Facebook if you have a dedicated page for your offering. (you also want to encourage people to share on Social Media, as covered in the driving traffic to your blog section) RSS feed: Get a working link that is easy to find. But do not make this more prominent than the email signup option (below).


http://authl.it/4jf

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/disqus-comment-system/

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/disqus-comment-system/



Email: enabling subscriptions to new posts by email is good, but a better way is to capture people’s addresses on your system (see below) so you can send out posts when you choose. In the long run, this allows you to email people directly with content other than blog post – you’re building up your database! For now the aim is to gather email addresses so you can send out your blog posts (and other relevant content) via email, with links back to the blog if you choose. This is the MOST IMPORTANT approach. People check and pay attention to email more than anything else. We recommend that if you want followers, you should get started on the email strategy now by following the three steps below.


http://authl.it/4jf



1. Gather your followers by email

Subscribe to a newsletter service.

o John suggests Constant Contact - www.johnlinks.com/newsletter which he uses.

o Alternatively as a freebie mailchimp.com gets good reviews (although we haven’t used Mail Chimp so we can’t offer any technical how-tos for this – be warned!). It is a good idea to sign up to a decent newsletter service upfront as it is very difficult to move your subscribers at a later date.

Create an enticing signup incentive. A good signup incentive is something your target market really wants (ie addresses the problem you identify). Examples are a free report / ecourse / how-to guide / white paper / assessment tool or score-card. o Note: don’t shy away from giving something good away

for free – the more enticing it looks, and the better quality it is, the more people will want to come to you. Generosity marketing pays off.

At the end of your incentive document, put an upsell to your product – with a link to its sales page on your website. Eg “To find out how to get personal help with these steps, go to www.mysite.com/product”

Put the signup box for Constant Contact newsletter in a prominent place on your blog (the more UPFRONT the better. Don’t make people work to find it). Also put it at the base of each post.

o Ideally it will be on every page of website, but at least ensure it is on the front page and “free stuff” page (below). Don’t call it “Sign up for my newsletter”, say “Get my free guide to [name of incentive]” and then


http://authl.it/4jf

http://www.johnlinks.com/newsletter



mention that “you will also get further tips by email” (your newsletter).


http://authl.it/4jf



2. Notify your people of posts. A weekly email with a roundup of your posts will keep people in the loop. Or if you blog once a week make that your weekly email. Your aim it to make it easier for people. 3. Take care of your list. See the section on ‘how to love your list’ to make sure you are engaging, not spamming. We will provide a lot more on this topic in Stage 3. As you develop you can use your email list in different ways rather than just for blog posts (ie: your content will get richer and you can develop a stronger relationship with your list). For now, this is a solid starting point to ensure you capture traffic and convert passers-by into followers starting now.


http://authl.it/4jf

http://www.screwworkletsplay.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/swlp-membership-love-your-list-b.mp3