Whether it is for business, or personal use, many people are choosing to start a WordPress blog.  However, with all of these new blogs cropping up, it’s getting harder and harder to market effectively, as so many people are vying for the same market.  Look around, and you’ll certainly find plenty of blogs that have been abandoned by disheartened owners.  To stop this from happening to you, keep reading.  We’re going to provide you with some tips to help you market your blog, and increase your traffic.

Target a Specific Readership

No-one can please everyone all of the time, so instead of wasting time and effort trying to do so, target a specific demographic.  Think about who your audience is, and what they want to read about.  Then, cater your posts to this market.  Whether you want to target stay at home mums, extreme sports enthusiasts, or entrepreneurs, keep this readership in mind every time you write a blog post.

Photo by Christian Schnettelker

Don’t Be Afraid of Controversy

You don’t want every post you write to be controversial, but one post every now and again is a good idea.  Controversy sells, and just one controversial post can receive a lot of traffic, especially if it’s shared on social media.  You will need a thick skin to use this marketing technique, however, as you will receive comments from people who don’t agree with you.  Controversial posts also often bring out trolls.

Guest Blog

To build credibility for yourself as a blogger, and to get some links pointing towards your site, approach some blog owners and ask if they will let you write a guest post for their site.  It’s best to do this on sites in the same niche as you, as your post will then be read by like-minded readers.  Guest posts are also, usually, shared via social media, giving your article, and your blog, even more exposure.

Make Subscribing Easy

Once someone has subscribed to your blog, they will receive notifications every time you write a new post.  Because this gives you the chance to market to people directly, you want to make it easy to subscribe to your site.  Don’t hide your RSS button at the bottom of your WordPress theme and hope people will find it.  Instead, add it in the top right hand corner of your site, and make it visible to readers, no matter which page they are on.

Utilise Social Media

Social media marketing is much easier to understand than SEO, so it pays to have a few social media accounts for your blog.  The social media sites that are best will depend on the topic of your blog, but it’s definitely worth setting up a Facebook, Twitter and Google+ account.  A few of the others you may want to consider include Pinterest, Stumble Upon, Reddit, LinkedIn, and MySpace.  An internet marketing agency can help you with SEO, and make it much more easy for you to understand.

More and more people start blogs every day, so don’t wait to put these tips into action.  The sooner you start to market your blog, the sooner you will start to be noticed by others in your niche.