11 Point Checklist To Drive Your Blog Traffic
I think if I put together the hours and hours I’ve spent over my lifetime writing blog posts, I could walk to the sun and back. Girl, I hear you. It’s A LOT of work and when you’re pouring your heart and soul into your writing, photographs and resources— you want your work SEEN!
Let’s cover some basics first. Before I even dream of spilling 4+ hours on drafting, creating and writing a blog post—I need to make sure it’s information my audience actually wants to read about. I call this Market Research (my Corporate America days coming into play here). This research helps me to better understand what you, my loyal readers, are really looking for. Where do I even start? My friends, duh. No joke. My close girlfriends, who are avid supporters and in the blogging business, are my first voice of advice for content. For you, that might be your most engaged followers on Instagram or your blog subscribers. Don’t be shy to ask people, in poll form, what they would love to read about. Open ended questions like “What do you want to see from me” typically don’t get much engagement. Give them options. Make it simple. Go with the most popular answer. Here is a fun and easy way to ask on Instagram stories—
SEO & Keyword Friendly Title
This can’t be anymore important. (Everything on this list important) — However, your blog post title is going to be the very first thing readers will notice. From a title alone, I can tell if the topic interests me or even intrigues me to continue reading. As much as we love talking about ourselves, and perhaps you have an audience who loves reading about you, more than likely they want to be able to take something away from their time reading your post. (We’ll talk more about resources later), but this can all be judged by your title. Make it sharp. Make it catchy. Be creative.
SEO, or search engine optimization, is critical in the way Google and other search engines (Like Pinterest) pull your information when outside readers are looking for specific information. Using key words throughout your post, tagging SEO words to your blog and making sure you understand how keywords work, is critical to the success of your blog being noticed outside of your typical readers. Key words help to ensure that your post and website is accessible to a search engine and improves the chances that the site will be found via search by the real people who are looking for the content you publish. You want all the changes possible to be noticed.
Pre-Publishing Advertising
Does anyone know what’s coming? Ever wonder why TV and movies can predict success by previews? This is true with blog traffic as well. The more you hype it up, the more your audience knows what to expect. Hop on IG stories or create a “coming soon” graphic for your business Facebook page. Thinking outside the box is key. The more anticipation you can create, the higher chances you have for your cross audience to actually show up when its game time, baby!
Cross Promoting on Instagram
Cross promoting on Instagram should be one the first things you do, especially if the majority of your audience and readers are coming from that specific platform. I say this often to my clients— you can’t be too shy to ask people for support. There’s a chance that at some point or another, I may have even asked you to share a post, comment or help me spread the word. I credit my growth for both my platform and my business to my boldness in asking for support!
Your supporters are there for just that, support. Those relationships mean the world to anyone looking to grow.
Here are the top 5 ways to cross promote on Instagram—
Dedicated IG Post
For every new resource-related blog post, you should have a dedicated IG feed post that aligns with your blog. This should include a captivating caption and a call to action that includes asking your audience to go read your blog. One of my favorite things to say is “Go check it out, then come back & tell me what you think!”
Stories
If you know me, you know how much I love a good story! I promote it heavily with my clients when discussing growth, because the numbers speak for themselves. People spend on average over 80% of their time on the platform watching stories—so why not use that feature to capture the attention of your audience. Whether or not you have access to the swipe up feature, you can leverage stories to share your hard work. Grab that lip gloss, swipe a comb through your hair (or don’t) and let your viewers SEE you talking about your blog post, what they can expect and why they should go take a read. I promise, it works!
Hashtags
Whether in your stories or in your feed post, don’t forget to use topic specific hashtags (like your SEO keywords) in your captions and stories. Give yourself as many opportunities as possible to be seen by people outside your typical audience. Consistent new exposure, in any situation, is how we grow!
IG Groups / Close Accounts
You know, that I know, that you know— that you’re in Instagram pods, groups, and chats with friends. If not for support & encouragement, what else are you in these for? Drop you blog links and ask your fellow chatters to support your new post (and make sure you’re always supporting back!) You can also do this outside of groups, and with other accounts you engage with often by sending them a short and sweet DM with you’re new blog link and a simple— “I thought you might enjoy my new blog post and I’d love your support! Check it out!”
Link in Bio
Swipe up link or not, either way, anyone should be able to access your blog post easily by clicking the link in your Instagram Bio. Some people switch their links to lead to their most recent post, some have Link pages where readers can find all their resources in one place— whatever route you choose, make sure you website and posts are accessible at all times.
Cross Promotion on Facebook
Sorry little lady, I know we think Facebook is sooo 2007, but it’s not. Maybe it’s not TikTok, but it’s a landmine of readers that you can’t forget about.
Personal Page
Your personal Facebook is important. I know, I know— maybe you don’t want your middle school math teacher or Great Aunt Carole Baskin reading about your postpartum journey— but if you are open and comfortable with your blogging journey, overcoming the fear of judgment starts first with those closest to you. Not your jam? Pick and choose which to share to your personal page, but don’t go full ghost.
Business Page
If you have a blog, a business or any online presence, you should absolutely have a business Facebook page. Why? Exposure, exposure, exposure. Don’t cut yourself short from all the different ways people choose to get their information. Hard to believe, but there are plenty of people out there who’s primary form of communication and social media is still searching Facebook. (Bonus: it’s an added platform you can offer brands when negotiation campaigns)
Blog Communities
Blog communities on Facebook (like engagement groups) can be pretty hit or miss but when you find a solid, engaged, community of niche specific bloggers—they can also be some of your biggest supporters for blog traffic and driving views. You can search for Facebook groups specific to your niche, geographical area—just about anything. You don’t want to lean heavily on these, but they can be a great resource when used properly.
A blogger’s holy grail. I have to admit, I’m behind on this party and kicking myself. But if you are just dusting off your college days 2008 Pinterest boards—then I’m right there with you. Let’s talk about WHY Pinterest is so important. There are over 250 million monthly Pinterest users—that’s a lot of potential traffic to your blog, and that’s exposure you do not want to miss out on. If you’re anything like me, you check Pinterest before even Google and others are doing the same. The lifespan of a Pin is much longer than any other platform as well. Meaning, the length of time your pin can stay in top circulation is much longer than, for example, landing on the Instagram explorer page.
If you’re looking into tapping into Pinterst marketing, make sure you set up a business account & remember that Pinterst is VISUAL. Focus on attractive and clean graphics to go along with your blog post. Just switch places with your audience. What type of graphics make you want to click, re-pin or download a pin? My favorite easy and creative way to design my Pins is through Canva. (Tip: Canva Pro is worth every penny, so when you’re budgeting for your business, keep this one in mind!)
Keep Blog Fresh. Post Often.
Post and post often. Keeping your blog fresh and active is the best way to keep people coming back. The more you post, the more you’re checking off everything on this list and that exposure will keep people coming back for more. Wanna know a real secret (ask my clients, this little trick is catching on fast!) — post your Instagram feed post as blog posts. Yes, you read that right. Keep your blog fresh in between your bigger posts by using your IG content as a great filler. (Tip: This is also a great way to safeguard your content. If anything were to happen to your IG account, you are safeguarded with another platform that is housing your content). Genius, huh?
Here’s an example. The IG post below—can also be found here…
Easy and simple, yet effective!
Offer a Resource & Freebies
Who doesn’t love a good freebie. If your blog post is highlighting yummy toddler recipes, how about designing a meal planning PDF file that your readers can download. Sharing the latest in spring fashion? Include shopable links where they can find all your stylish suggestions. Let’s never forget that the whole reason we began this journey was to share with others, that includes giving back and giving your audience a reason to stick around.
Produce Evergreen Content
This means you want to produce content that can be reliable and relatable to stand the test of time. Tips, tricks, How-To’s, personal stories are all evergreen content that won’t go out of style.
Inter-Linkng Content
Any chance you get to lead your readers to other pages or posts on your website is one of the best ways to drive traffic. Every time you refer to a past post or a topic you’ve covered before, or a totally different page all together— you should be linking that post to your new one. You’ve seen these links several times through out this post & have probably even clicked on one or two of them.
If I wanted to highlight the importance of understanding your niche, I would link my previous post so it’s easily clickable and my readers can toggle back and forth. Like this…
You can also do this to drive traffic to others platforms you use like Reward Style, Amazon Store Front, your Facebook page or Pinterest boards.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing is, arguably, one of the most important ways to drive blog traffic. Why else are you collecting subscriptions or giving readers a chance to follow your blog, if not to let them know when you have something hot off the press? That fancy graphic you just created for Pinterest—use that for your email marketing! Don’t forget your subscribers want to hear from you every now and then. If this isn’t a feature automatically coded into your blog— doing it manually is just as effective.
Engage With Other blogs / Respond to Blog Comments
Last but most definitely not least, engagement. If you’re a coaching client of mine you know my favorite thing to say is— You have to give love to get love. Not only does it feel great to support others, but you can’t (sorry, you just can’t at this point in your career) expect to receive engagement that you are not giving. Be active with other blogs you love, and make sure you are responding to comments. This lets your readers know you are paying attention and you appreciate them for reading and supporting.
There it is, babes. Phew. A whole enchilada of information, but if you find yourself thinking how you can drive traffic to your blog or website, make sure you are keeping this checklist in mind. As with everything is— consistency is key.
Create solid habits for your business and there’s no way but up!
All my love,