Your Blog Doesn’t Need Traffic.

If your goal isn’t to get readers then you’re doing it wrong. Here’s how you can get people to subscribe and follow your blog:

Write About Topics, Not Keywords

This should be a no brainer but if you’re hanging on to 10 year old SEO strategies then you’re still looking at search phrases that would bring you targeted traffic. That simply won’t do any good, in fact it will probably hurt more than it will help.

Instead, choose topics that ignite emotion and interaction with your core audience.

Master Social Media

Hint- it doesn’t matter how many fans or followers you have. The only thing that matters is how many fans or followers are engaged with you. Social marketing is a powerful tool that can help you get the biggest value from your blog… and vice versa.

Search Engines Still Matter

The only thing… it’s not about keyword optimization. Connect your WordPress author account with Google Plus to add more authority to any of your blog posts.

Guest Blog

Publishing to a targeted audience on a relevant blog is still a great way to introduce your brand and obtain new subscribers. Of course you have to look at natural authority and relevance as a top priority. Half-assed topics defeat the purpose.

Make it easy to subscribe

MailChimp offers a great email marketing solution that is very low maintenance. It will automatically send emails to subscribers showing the RSS stream for your blog… all you have to do is set up the subscription box and provide the option… without being too pushy. Nobody subscribes to a pushy opt-in box. Don’t be that guy.

Open Discussion, and Listen

A great blog does not end with the article itself. Open up the comments (using a 3rd party tool like Disqus is recommended) and listen to what your readers are saying… respond to them and engage your audience.