Pretty Blog - No Traffic?

Do you have the hottest looking blog on the planet? And you post to it every single day, right? You wait and you wait, but no traffic.

Are you going about things the right way? Check out these tips. They may help you:

Write What People Want to Read

So what if you aren't the best writer since Shakespeare? Maybe you haven't done much writing in your life and you're afraid that people will judge you for your style. Unless it really and truly sucks (and they'll be the judge of that, not you), people generally don't care. Only pro writers and editors care about placing each comma and semicolon where it belongs. You don't have to worry too much about that. People just want to be entertained. They want information. That's what they're searching for when they find you on a search results page or stumble on you by accident. Write something from your heart. That's where the best writing comes from.

But if you're just unsure of yourself so much that it stifles your progress, don't let it! Take a look at a blog called BoingBoing (http://boingboing.net). All kinds of stuff goes on there, usually funny or interesting stuff in quick bytes that people love. Post funny or interesting pictures, videos, podcasts, etc. Then, just use a few words to describe what people are listening to or seeing.

Readers Aren't Monkeys

If you want folks to read your writing, first and foremost, it has to be readable. Has anyone told you yet that keyword density is going the way of the Oldsmobile? Though there are some keyword stuffers still around, keyword density is pretty much obsolete. Why? Because search engineers are very, very smart people. They are leaning toward a technology called "latent semantic indexing," or LSI. What that means is that when they see a post laden with keywords that doesn't make a lot sense, they'll just disregard the results. So, if you're still writing for search engines and not an audience, you're stuffing the wrong turkey. Write for people and more people will come to read your blog.

What's Your Theme?

If you think that you can just blog indiscriminately about things and that people will read your blog, you're wrong. First, there are too many blogs like that and most of them are teenagers writing on MySpace. You need a purpose! What do you love? Maybe it's parenting. Writing about teenagers and the way of the teenage world may be the perfect blog for you. Or if you're into macrame, maybe you should write a blog about that. Or it can be religion, politics, or history. It doesn't matter. What does matter is what's important to you because that shows in your writing. If you show that corner of yourself, people will come to read.

Let People Know You

Aren't some blogs just boring? I mean, without personality involved in them, they're flat and just well... boring. What makes a good read is when you find someone passionate about their topic, enough to let themselves show through. Tell people how often you have to run to the grocery store because you forget the milk in a blog for baby boomers. Or, if you have a knitting blog, tell people about the time you dropped a stitch and never noticed until whatever you were working on was done and had to rip everything apart. Whatever. Always try to put some of yourself into what you're writing so that other human beings can relate.

No Soliciting Allowed!

If you're reading this and are a Internet Marketer, I have just one thing to say to you: Never try to sell things in every post you make. Oh sure, once in a while, you may have something great to tell readers about, but if you try to sell them something in every post you make, people will soon tire of it and just shy away. If you've ever read my blog, you'll notice that it's mainly pure information. Oh sure, once in a while, I'll recommend a product, but basically, all I want to do with that blog is provide information for people. You may notice the links at the side or the anchor text that finishes every post. Yes, those are links to my products, but by-and-large, I rarely try to sell anything in the post. Just don't do it. People don't want to read sales pitches all the time.

Hopefully, these simple tips will help you to increase your blog traffic. Just remember to treat your readers the way you want to be treated when you go to someone else's blog. What do you like to read? Isn't a good blog a place that you can learn or be entertained? Don't let the lack of traffic stifle your progress. Just keep writing and people will come.