SIMPLE TRAFFIC SOLUTION

Blog Commenting, Blog Hopping and Blog Guest Hosting Starting a collective of “fans” is what is meant by the term blog hopping. Like any niche market, you may find that the people who do discover you will remain loyal—and perhaps even befriend one another—as bonds form easily when there is a common thread. Take full advantage of this and make every attempt to be accommodating.

We are going to consider social media marketing in the next chapter, and this is where we will really discuss being very outgoing. That said, even in the context of a blog, where your main concern is creating valuable content, do everything you can to encourage the creation of a community.

Always create posts that ask questions of the audience and encourage interaction.

When someone replies to the post, make an attempt to follow up on that person’s thoughts. Always remain respectful of others, even if you plan to use controversy and disagreement to your advantage. People actually love to argue…they want to feel as if they have a voice in this public forum. They can earn publicity through your blog while also showcasing their own abilities. (The only exception…don’t be so generous with spammers. Spammers leave nonsensical comments in the hopes of establishing cheap links...they do no one any good and may actually chase away your real readers.)

Not only should you try to follow up on comments, but you should also try to reach out to the blogging community and comment on your visitors’ own blogs. If you use a system like Blogger, or even WordPress, you can easily link your site to the other bloggers’ sites, and everyone can benefit from the mutual exchange. Before you know it, friends of friends bookmark your blog (or simply click their way to it through mutual friends) and you have a big party line.

Make no mistake; this is the secret to blog traffic—not simply writing great content. Do you ever notice how all the top blogs on the Internet (that is, quality writing blogs…not celebrity blogs!) are filled with comments? They are on top because they stimulate conversation among a devoted audience.