three good ways to get readers

1.  Format your posts for skimmer

There’s no bigger turnoff than a 400-word blog post that’s one endless paragraph. Well, maybe one bigger turnoff:
Forget what your high school English teacher taught you about writing lengthy, detailed paragraphs. Instead, write like a journalist. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. Short words. Axe the jargon.
The white space between your paragraphs makes it easier for readers to hone in on subheads and other key words you want them to notice.
Include a graphic element in every post. Readers’ eyes are drawn to images; a visual that illustrates your point, placed in a consistent location in every blog post, will capture readers’ attention and draw them into your article.

2.  Give ‘em your best stuff

Some bloggers – particularly those who blog to sell a product or service – believe in teasing their readers with juicy tidbits.
Then, just when their blog post starts to get interesting, they stop delivering the goods and start pitching their product.

“Sorry folks, you don’t get the rest of my earth-shattering information unless you spend $49.99 on my e-book; or $999 for my amazing, life-changing workshop.”

These shysters aren’t really sorry at all, are they? They’re evil, scheming marketers who only want our money.
To them, I say: You won’t hold me hostage. I’m boycotting your blog, your e-newsletter, and I’m blocking your e-mails.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel more inclined to buy from bloggers who give me useful information for free. They don’t have to give me everything – I understand they have to earn a living – but when they give me something, I begin to trust them. And once I trust them, I’m much more likely to pull out my American Express card when they ask me to buy.

3.  Don’t check your visitor stats

Wait a minute, Laura. Did you just say, “DON’T check your stats?”
That’s right, I did. I know it sounds counterintuitive… how can you grow your blog if you don’t know how many people are visiting? But hear me out on this…
Too many bloggers obsess over their stats, checking them daily – or multiple times per day. If you’re like most bloggers, checking your stats daily will only discourage you (because most bloggers get fewer than 100 page views per day).
Why bother? Channel your energy into something more productive, like… say… blogging!
If you blog because you get a kick out of sharing what you’re learning or you love to entertain people, you’re on the right track. Don’t let the numbers (or lack of them) get you down. Focus on the craft of blogging, and you’ll soon discover that you have five loyal readers… then 50 loyal readers. And most bloggers would rather have 50 intensely loyal fans who anticipate every post than 5,000 ho-hum visitors who drop in every once in a while.
I challenge you to avoid looking at your visitor stats for a full month. Not even a peek!

For the next month, just have fun with blogging. Work on writing interesting, entertaining, easy-to-read articles formatted for skimmers. I’ll bet that after a month, you’ll notice a bump in traffic to your blog.

Laura Christianson, aka The Blogging Barista, owns Blogging Bistro (www.BloggingBistro.com), a Seattle-based social media marketing company.