Today’s blog world is highly competitive. A quick check at Blogging Statistics – Worldometers shows over 2 million posts (and counting) for July 14, 2016.
With numbers like that, our blogs can get lost sea of options.
So what can we do as bloggers do to attract readers?
I suggest these five things.
An Irresistible Title
Something catchy that piques interest. Try one of these ideas:
- Ask an open-ended question
- Include who, what, when where, or how to
- Make ’em curious– tease, contradict, challenge a belief
- Offer a solution or benefit in the content
Plenty of White Space
Keep paragraphs short – no more than four lines is the guideline. Many readers use their phones and tablets. Lines and lines of text are boring and hard to read.
Captivating Graphics
What’s the quote: “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Include visuals that pull the reader into the blog.
But, always be sure to use legal-to-copy images. Last thing, any blogger needs is a copyright troll targeting your image.
Keep Your Posts Short
People are busy. Even 500 words can push a reader’s attention. I suggest my guest bloggers keep their posts under 500.
If your topic requires more than a 1,000 words to communicate the idea, maybe cut it into two posts by ending on a hook that will make the reader return.
Write Succinct Posts
Write posts specific to your target audience. Miller Farm Friday is a great example. Chicken Wrangler Sara’s posts are all about life on their urban farm. And, they are short!
Will these suggestions guarantee of success? Unfortunately, no. There are too many variables for guarantees, but I do believe these five things are extremely important to gain a reader’s attention.
If you want more ideas just Google “How to build blog readership.” I did and in .80 seconds, 341,000 results appeared! Lots of ideas on things to try to find readers.
Do you have ideas of your own? If so, please share in the comments.
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