5 Best Tips for Beginning Bloggers to Get Readers Quickly

I'm by no means a successful blogger.  But I have been writing on and off again on this blog for five years, and I've had multiple other blogs over the last ten years.

If you do a Google search for tips on how to get readers you will almost certainly get an article written by a mega-blogger. That's all fine and dandy, but their story of success is unlikely to be the same as yours. If you're a mega-blogger in 2013, then you've almost certainly been blogging for a long time, and grew your base in an different era of the blog world.  Or they have a platform which gives them a built in reader base.

While I may not have a massive following I do know which practices have helped me increase my readers. None of these are super sophisticated. This is intended to be beginner level stuff.

TIP #1 - Post Your Blogs on Social Media Sites

In the year 2013, this might be the most basic way for you to increase your readers.  Simply take the link for each article and post it on all of your social media platforms.  Depending on your number of friends and followers on Twitter this might give you an instant reader base.  I work at a church so I naturally have several hundred people who might be interested in what I have to say on a topic.

Right now my blog is connected to my Twitter account. As soon as I post a blog the link shows up in my Twitter feed...and my Twitter feed is connected to my Facebook account.  It requires no effort on my part, and it spread the word very quickly.   I'm strongly considering breaking this connection in the near future.  As I am starting to blog more I don't want to over-promote my blogs to my Facebook friends. Of course, there are other ways to connect to Facebook which I will likely explore.

The limitation of this method is it limits you to people you already know.  If you write a really good post, you may get a few shares, but overall you're pulling in friends, family, and co-workers

TIP #2 - Follow & Comment on Other Blogs

Blogging is a communal activity.  Aside from mega-blogs, most bloggers interactive heavily in the comment section.  Very frequently if you comment on someone else's blog, they will return the favor. If they find vibrant content, they may stick around.

TIP #3 - Use the Share This App

I can not over-state the importance of being able to share your posts at this point in human history.  A couple of years ago Apple redesigned both iOS and OSX to make it as simple as possible to share anything on social media.

If you want to increase your readers, you need to make it as simple as possible for your users to share your content.  The "SHARE THIS" app is easy to install and has nice big professional looking buttons.  You get to select which social media sites you want to include, and they install the widget for you.

TIP #4 - Schedule Posts in Advance

At this moment I have about 10 posts scheduled in advance ready to be posted.  This gives me the ability to map out what's coming in advance and plan for busy weeks.  You don't always know when you're going to be inspired so it's good to stay ahead.

Scheduling also always you to post blogs at better times of day to catch readers.  Depending on whether I'm posting a blog which is intended for blog readers or Facebook friends, I will change the time of day.  Studies show most blog readers play catch up around 9:00 a.m. However, more people are on Facebook in the evening.

TIP #5 - Bring in Guest Bloggers

This point is simple enough.  When you bring in a guest blogger, you get their readers to check out your blog.  I've had my wife guest write a couple of blogs on here.  Each time I have done so, her blogs have far more readers than mine, but my blog in the series also gets a boost in readers.

Likewise, any break from the ordinary is reason for people to pay attention at a given moment.