7 Ways to Get More Blog Followers

By nsndm001 | June 4, 2012 |

“If you build it, he will come” does NOT apply to business blogging

Remember that Kevin Costner movie, Field of Dreams? Remember the line, “If you build it, he will come?” Sadly, that sentiment just doesn’t apply to business blogs. If you want people to follow your blog, you can’t just build it and then sit back and relax while the followers pour in. Here are a couple of things you can do to help build your following:

Contact! Add your blog URL to your business card, marketing materials, Facebook profile, LinkedIn profile, Twitter profile, email signature, anything you can think of. It’s as important as your phone number or email address.

Take Advantage of Social Media Every time you post, alert your social network via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Your blog content will give them a reason to follow you.

Be Visual Include a photo within every blog post. That way when you (or anyone) posts a link to your blog from Facebook or LinkedIn, the link will appear with a photo next to it; making it stand out from the rest. Pick a photo that looks good even when it is thumbnail-sized.

Use Your Words Improve your search engine optimization by making use of tags and categories. Use key search words in your titles.

Link Back If you are quoted or published online, ask the publisher to include a link back to your blog. Look into getting published by third party websites that cover your industry. Feature guest writers and be a guest writer on other blogs.

Reciprocate Leave comments and likes on other blogs so that those bloggers check you out. If other bloggers leave comments and likes on your blog, return the favor and check them out.

Invite Constantly build your subscriber list. Have an opt-in form on your blog so that people can submit their email address and get your posts sent directly to their inbox. NEVER sign someone up for your blog without their permission and always give them an opt-out option.

Having tons of followers is great, but if you are blogging for business, keep in mind that the quality of followers is more important than the quantity.