You’re working your socks off.
You write compelling headlines.
Your blog posts are conversational. Your content is uber-useful.
And still … just a handful of readers turns up.
It’s sooooo frustrating. What should you do?
Throw your computer out of the window? Wait for traffic to snowball? Or work even harder to build a social media following?
In this post you’ll learn the technique I’ve used to drive traffic to my blog, but let’s briefly side-step in the offline world first …
Imagine launching a new glossy magazine
Let’s say your magazine is about cycling holidays.
You write an article about airlines and transporting bicycles across the world. You write about about cycling adventures in Thailand, Spain, and the UK. And of course, you source great photography.
Your magazine is going to be a fantastic hit among cycling enthusiasts. You’re feeling good about it.
The magazine is rolling off the press.
And then?
Nothing happens.
Of course not. We all know you can’t launch a magazine without promotion and distribution.
But why do we think that our blog posts can go viral without any effort? Without distribution? Without promotion?
Online marketing mimics offline marketing more and more
Just like in offline marketing, you have to know who your audience is and put in the work to connect with them.
But how do you reach readers online and tempt them to browse and read your blog? And then sign up to your newsletter?
Social media can work. But if you don’t have an engaged audience yet, it’ll take a long time to gain traction. And counting on Google to send you traffic is tricky as you need to establish your site as a quality source of information first.
The smartest strategy for a new blog is to find readers by guest posting.
How?
Start with marketing basics
To gain readers and clients through guest posting, decide who you’re writing for and what they’re reading online.
With my guest posts, I want to reach small business owners and marketers who understand the value of great copywriting. They might want to hire a copywriter or improve their own writing skills – in both cases they’re a great audience for me. And I can find smart people like you on blogs like Copyblogger, KISSmetrics, Shopify, and Unbounce.
Your guest blogging strategy will only be effective if the readers of your guest post match the target audience of your business.
Now, let’s go back to your cycling magazine.
Imagine you’d like to sell it at the biggest chain of cycling stores in the UK. Would you just ring up the buyer and say “Hey, we need to talk!!”?
Of course not. You try to get to know the buyer first. You might engage her on social media – you both love talking about cycling so that should be easy.
Before you pitch your guest post idea, you interact with a blogger
When a blogger recognizes your name, you have a better chance your post idea will be accepted.
Don’t become a stalker, but follow them on social media and make meaningful comments. You don’t need to tweet, like, and plus all their posts. You don’t need to comment on everything.
Add an insightful question or an additional thought. Show you know what you’re talking about, and don’t give the impression you’re just buttering up a blogger. Just be good and helpful.
Before I picked up the courage in December last year to pitch a blog post idea to Mark Schaefer, I’d followed his blog for a year. I’d left a few comments, I tweeted some of his posts (always including his Twitter handle!), and I had even quoted him in a couple of guest posts – each time I sent him an email to let him know.
I didn’t connect just to pitch a guest post. I wanted to build a relationship and get to know him a little.
Once you’ve established a connection with a blogger and you’re sure you have a blog post idea that his audiences will love, you’re ready to sell your idea.
That’s right.
You have to *sell* your guest post idea
You might not like the idea of selling.
But as bloggers, we’re all selling ideas.
Influencing people means selling ideas.
Think about your cycling mag and the buyer at the cycling chain. How would you sell your magazine idea?
You probably point out what you’ve learned when researching the market. You tell her how excited you expect her shoppers to be; and how she can sell more cycling gear if her shoppers take up long-distance cycling.
Now, think about a blogger and selling your guest post idea … What would make him or her say yes to your post idea?
Like a buyer cares about her shoppers, a blogger cares about his audience. He’d like a post that helps and inspires his audience. He’d love a post that will be popular with his readers.
You need to demonstrate to a blogger how much his readers will love your post:
- Graft a deliciously seductive headline — it’ll make a blogger curious, too
- Briefly explain the content of your post and why it’ll inspire his readers and solve their problems
- Prove your idea will resonate with a blog’s audience – you may want to refer to a similar post that received a great number of comments or social shares
- Show your credibility, such as other guest posts you’ve written
When I pitched my first guest post idea to Mark Schaefer, I referred to a comment I made that received a lot of up votes, suggesting that his audience would like my idea.
Guest posting can bring many additional benefits … You’re building relationships with other bloggers. They’ll help you with social shares or links to boost your search engine rankings. They may even write an awesome recommendation for your latest book.
The truth about your blog traffic
Don’t expect your blog traffic to snowball.
Don’t think just tweeting and sharing and plussing your own posts will lead to masses of readers.
Just like in real life, the online world is built on meaningful connections.
Go out to find your readers.
Captivate them. Inspire them. Entice them to read your blog.
Recommended reading on blogging:
The tricky truth about viral content
How to write a blog post super-fast
How to make money with your blog
Hi Henneke,
Amazing and insightful post–as usual! And the bonus of the cupcake lady? Priceless!
It feels like this blogging is such a juggling act at times. I also had a major life crisis that caused me to stop writing for about a month. As you did with your neck injury, sometimes there is nothing to do but heal–and wait. Sometimes life will deal you a hand that forces you to just step back at times. And there is nothing wrong with that.
I so appreciate all of your great advice. I sped over to snap up my syllabus of your Enchanting Blogging course. It’s waiting for me on my desktop! 😉
Hi Penelope – I’m sorry to hear about your life crisis. It’s so true what you say – sometimes we just need to take a step back and heal. I hope things are looking up again for you. Let me know if I can help?
Thank you for stopping by again. I appreciate it.
PS I’d love to hear your thoughts on the syllabus once you’ve had a chance to browse through it.
Thanks, Henneke. Things are looking up. Glad to hear you are on the mend as well! I will absolutely let you know my thoughts on the syllabus. I’m sure it’s wonderful. Have a fantastic week!
Well, Henneke you simply did it again, i could not imagine it, but i spent more than 10 minutes reading this post over and over again. SO it’s not about blogging and wating for the traffic, right?
It’s about taking the bull by the horn! Nice illustration about the Magazine, it’s so merging with the blogging world. Thanks for this excellent post Henneke.
You’re welcome 🙂 And yep, don’t hang around waiting for traffic to snowball.
Hi, another awesome enchanting post.
I’m scared of guest posting, afraid whatever I write will never be good enough. Maybe some day I will venture into it (by reading more here and polishing my writing).
I have (many times) mentioned other blogs I admire on my blog, but never thought to e-mail them to tell them that I mentioned them (is that bad?)
By the way, I finished your book. It was so full of helpful information, it would have been awesome if I could highlight all the important things on my screen (so in other words, I need a written copy to print, highlight and read every day to absorb all the useful info)
Thank you for inspiring us with all your enchanting, lip smacking, delicious posts.
Keep well
Linda
No, it’s not bad at all if you haven’t emailed people when you mention them on your blog. I’ve not emailed people either when I mentioned them on my own blog. I have only done this when I mentioned them in a guest post on a well-known blog. But I’m probably not assertive enough in my self-promotion!
You can start slowly with guest posting. Perhaps exchange a few posts with a fellow blogger first? And as you say, continuing to improve your writing skills helps and you can slowly target bigger blogs.
Thank you for stopping by, Linda!
PS I forgot to mention – I might do a print version at some stage, but in the mean time, I can send you a PDF version and you can print out the most useful parts and highlight as much as you like. Just drop me an email: Henneke [at] EnchantingMarketing.com
Hi Henneke,
A new fan of yours here… I find your style very inspirational. I have recently finished your book and I’m now on the second read. 🙂 And of course working on implementation.
As a fellow Guest Blogging Apprentice, I’m curious to know your experience with how much time you put in writing your guest posts when you started out? I’m really struggling to put the time in I’d like to, due to working full time hours. I tried sleeping less, but that wasn’t good for my health…
Thanks 🙂
Hi Ash
Initially, it probably took me 3 to 4 full days to write a guest post. But my very first one took me much longer (partly because I didn’t dare to submit it and kept polishing it).
I was also in a full-time job while doing Jon’s guest blogging program, and I had to do almost all the work during the weekends. It’s tough, but you can only take it step-by-step and keep heading to your goals. From starting the program to getting my first post live, it took me 6 or 7 months if I remember correctly.
Let me know if there’s anything I can help with?
So glad to hear you’re enjoying the book! 🙂
Hi Henneke,
Thanks for your reply.
It’s always interesting to hear how others made it! Sounds like your success is well earnt – you put in a lot of effort to be where you are.
I’m 3 months into the course now and should get first guest post live in a few weeks! So exciting. 🙂
I’m learning lots from your book, boy, do I need improve my writing!!
Congrats on your first guest post!
I still remember well the excitement of seeing my first guest post live – enjoy it!
Great article! Explains clearly the importance of connecting with your audience.
Thanks for sharing.
Yep, that’s what blogging is about.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Brian.
Henneke, I think you’re doing an excellent job at getting to know your readers! There is no coincidence that you’ve built a community of highly encouraged readers on your blog.
Thank you, Lucy
I feel that getting to know one’s audience is the most important part of blogging.
Good to see you – as always 🙂
Hello Henneke,
I found this article really inspiring and must add that I got to know your blog from KISSmetrics. Great discovery 🙂 Oh and I have the Kindle version of your book, so will let you know my impressions very soon.
Happy Tuesday and keep up the good work 😉
Happy Tuesday to you, too 🙂
Yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book!
Thank you for stopping by, Virginia.
Enchanting as ever! Following people on Twitter that you want to promote and emailing them links to your posts in which you mention them is great advice. This is something I’ve been doing for a while now and it’s certainly paid off. Mark Hermann of RockandRollZen.com actually thanked me for tweeting links to his content. Such a buzz!
I really recommend this strategy to people, especially those new kids in town wanting to make an impact.
Yep, that’s absolutely true. It’s easy to forget the power of email, isn’t it?
I once gained a new client when I sent her a link to a post in which I had quoted her.
Thank you for stopping by!
Perfectly timed post, I am in the quiet blog stage. This is exactly where I was heading, thank you for explaining so well how to get guest posting. Who knows, someday I might have an article for you that you can’t refuse!
Thanks!
Ha yes, who knows!
For the time being I’m writing all posts myself – I like the personal connection.
Good to see you again, Blake 🙂
Thanks so much for such an insightful post. It can be disheartening to feel like your own;y noticed by others for reciprocal comments, But building relationships is so important online, and I like the way you use the correlation of ‘real life’ situations. It’s easy t forget that aspect .
Yes, we often forget about the similarities between our “real” and online life, but we’re connecting with people!
Thank you for stopping by again. 🙂
Thank you Henneke for this fabolous post. I am glad that you have healed as well. A lot of writers, bloggers etc struggle with understanding what type of posts generate comments.
Recently I have been struggling with the shares versus comments. I want comments yet a lot of my newer posts have more shares than comments. It made me reevaluate my writing strategy. Do you have this issue Henneke?
I was posting twice a week now I am down to once a week. Maybe I am overthinking this. Thank you for the relevant post on guest posting.
My feeling is that if you post weekly, you probably gain more comments per post than when you post twice a week – but I don’t have proof for this.
The types of posts that get most comments seem to be posts that resonate strongly with your audience or that aren’t definitive – if you tell the whole story, then what’s there for readers to add?
I tend to get more comments when writing about doubts and fears than when I publish a more straightforward how-to post.
Hey Henneke – good nuances here. I’m learning that when scoping out blogs and working to build a relationship its important to not be in a rush and to be genuine about what you’re doing rather than someone who’s just waiting to “pounce” on the popular blogger with a guest post idea. Guest posting is a really effective strategy, but with as with anything else, it is important to take your time to do it right.
Happy to hear your neck is better and you were able to get a ride in! Awesome!
Yes, that’s a good point. I guess it’s the same as in real life – it takes time to build relationships.
Thank you for stopping by, Sonia. I appreciate it!
PS I now need to be careful to build up strength slowly and not cycle too many miles yet!
You make an excellent point here Sonia. More and more I am seeing discussions about building relationships with fellow bloggers just like you would in real life. I think it is essential to really take the time to get to know them and their audience so that you can suggest post topics that will really appeal to the readers. We would never walk up to someone on the street and demand they read something so why should online be different? It’s all about making a connection with people in your niche and then when it comes time to look for guest blogging opportunities you have a network of people that you can connect with.
Yes, so true. Thank you for stressing this point again.
We’re not handing out business cards to random people in the street do we?
I think a lot of this comes back to our mindset. If we’re genuinely interested in other people, we connect because we want to learn and see how we can help. If we’re only interested in ourselves, we start pitching guest posting before we’ve said hello and shook hands.
Hey, Henneke!
Are those cupcakes? I’ll take one!
This is a great post, revealing new wrinkles of viewpoint for me. Thanks so much for it!
I think I’ve noticed that commenting and replying from the heart is a big factor for me. I can tell when a commenter is inspired and genuine. And when he’s not.
This means, more than not looking like I’m trying to butter up someone, it must be true that I am not trying to do that. Most people are not very good fakers. But when folks feel like commenting, it shows.
Anyway, thanks, again, and here’s my dollar–I’m hungry!
Yes, that’s absolutely true – you can sense immediately whether a commenter is genuine or just leaving a comment just for the sake of it.
I’m really lucky with comments here 🙂
Sending a cup cake across to you. Enjoy!
Hi Henneke! Great post! By the way, I just finished reading your book and I loved it. 🙂
That’s great to hear. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by, Joy!