Methods to Market & Grow a Blog and Sell your Stuff
Growing a blog and attracting a relevant target audience is a real bottleneck for heaps of businesses.
That’s why only a bunch of blogs ever succeed to disrupt the competition in their niche/industry and cement top places for the most searched keywords.
Like anything in business, growing a blog to attract a relevant audience and sell unique products/services to them requires cutting-edge strategies to outsmart competitors and enjoy top SERPs.
Without using street smart strategies, growing a blog is like pushing the mountain with bare hands and no technology at your disposal.
In this post, you’re going to see 9 amazing and elusive strategies to transform your blog, so does your business.
And achieve the actual purpose of your blog while doing so.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the 9 strategies to make your name in any niche…
1- Make it easy to understand the purpose of the website
Layout elaborates
If your customers or prospects cannot understand your offer without wrapping their brain around it, they would not do business with you.
The quick hack to understand whether your website elaborates the message you want to reflect is,
Ask yourself…“If I were a customer, and I landed on this website, would I find the layout clear to me?” Would I understand the offer at the drop of a hat?”
If the answers to these questions are YES! Well, you’ve just unchecked the first box to grow your business.
However, if you think otherwise… You gotta work on making it crystal clear.
Clear Navigations
Make sure that the navigations should be sleeker with proper breadcrumbs for the audience to pacing around.
It should be a no-brainer for users to sift through the entire website.
No matter on which page they are, they should easily get back or forth from their position without having to think about it.
In simple terms, they know where they are…
Point being, everything from content pieces to navigations must complement each other and seems well integrated.
The moment your audience feels any vagueness or disparity, they won’t mind shutting it down.
Search Box Make search Easy
If you facilitate your prospects, they reciprocate.
So, always put your search bar right in front and visible. This helps them search for the content they wish to read.
Remember! The more you make it easy for them, the more they dispose to do business with you.
Make Blog Mobile Friendly
Online searches through mobile have reached an all-time high, as 60% of all online searches are carried out on mobile devices.
You can understand how important it’s to make websites mobile-friendly.
It’s also an important ranking factor, according to Google; Mobile-friendliness attributes to ranking factors.
So, all that illustrates the importance of mobile-friendliness for a Blog.
2. Fast Site speed is non-negotiable
When was the last time you didn’t bounce off when the website took long to load?
I know it’s pretty tough to recall since there weren’t many instances.
The truth is no one likes slow sites, neither we nor Google.
In fact, Google has alluded to the fact that page speed contributes to the ranking factors.
So keeping site speed fast and furious is not just an option but a necessity.
Keep in mind that poor coding or heavy images aren’t the only factors that slow down the website; sometimes wrong hosting plans are also a reason to slow site speed.
3. Content that keeps the Audience interesting
The surest way to get your audience to like you more than your competitors is to create content that entertains them as well as solve their problems.
Every time they peeled their eyes on the content, they know they are in for a treat.
They know they will walk off with something practical that can help better their life–at least 1 aspect of life that strings to your promise.
Also, it pictures your brand as trustworthy and of authority.
…Which further helps increase your overall brand awareness and build a positive perception of your business.
This way no one can dream of competing with you–even on their best days.
Here’re a few ideas to make content interesting and helpful…
We resonate with stories
Those who tell captivating stories find their way to our hearts.
Because we are wired like that and we love to hear all the time.
So if you imbue relatable stories in your content, you have their attention and their credit card number as well. (Hands down)
Conversational Tone makes it easy
Clarity triumphs Cleverness. Don’t sound like a robot *Bleep Bloop* or a fairy, just try to sound like a human.
Make sure that you converse with them in a tone that they can reflect on.
Never make the banal mistake of sounding like an alien to them- be one of them just a few steps ahead.
No fluff whatsoever
No one likes to listen to blabbing. Just stick to the point and try to convey more with less.
Let Visitors decide what they love
In business, assumptions cause a profit slump. So never assume about your target market.
Instead, let them decide what they want.
What it means, produce content in a variety of forms, case studies, How to’s, Interview posts, Long-form & short-form content, podcasts, and more.
See what the audience loves and produce more of the same.
Hack Your Way to Awesome Content
One of the simplest ways to know what your target audience likes is by sneak-peek into competitors’ created content.
And take notes of what’s working for them.
What’s working for them will probably work for you too – all you need to do is to better optimize your content.
You can use tools like SemRUSH or Buzzsumo to perform competitor analysis. You will definitely find some hidden gems which you can capitalize on.
Pictures spice up the content
Pictures that can help conceptualize written content enhance the effectiveness by 9x.
So incorporate pictures, infographics, and videos that either elaborate context or present data in a palatable form.
This’ll surely spice up your content.
Original Content over Rehashing
Your audience will love you because you’ve developed genuine content for them.
Something that they haven’t seen before.
In fact, Google loves originality and gives huge weightage against websites that just rehash content copying diverse resources.
Headlines either make it or Break It
8 out of 10 readers never read more than just headlines.
That’s nuts…
80% is a gigantic number that illustrates how many companies are missing out on business opportunities just because of bland headlines.
Make sure your subject lines pique curiosity and tease them to read the whole. (Though it shouldn’t be clickbait)
Conversations are key
Your content should entice readers to comment below.
Well, you don’t need to stress over this, just create content around the topics they are interested in with a simple call to actions that could say
“Comment below,” if you can agree with what I wrote. OR something like, “What’s the 1 takeaway from the content?”
With more engagements you gain, Google sees it as the trusted and helpful stuff for the readers.
4. Build Engagement
The moment your audience finds it difficult to read through your content, you lose them.
That’s why writing in a simple and palatable language is a must — to increase engagements.
All without compromising the context.
There’s a super way to ensure that your writing is simple.
Short Paragraph
Never jumble up words. It will scare the readers off and make them branch off without reading.
Instead, write posts in an easy language with more white space to offer to the readers so they can digest without feeling bombarded or overwhelmed.
Use Subheadings
Subheadings make it easy for readers to skim through the content.
Most readers don’t read your content word by word at first, they first skim through and if they find it interesting, they would give it a read.
Basically, subheadings are curiosity inducers for your readers to stick to it.
Use List
Readers feel at ease when going through the list. Like you feel now! Isn’t it?
Splinter Visuals here & there
Resonating visuals spice up content, including keeping them engaged.
Make Variable text
Make sure to add variety in fonts to keep it from looking bland. Especially when stating something important.
Readable fonts
Don’t be fancy with fonts, as the main purpose of fonts is to ensure that the content is easy to read. Use fonts like arial, verdana, Calibiri, Times New Roman.
Plus, use font size to 12 to 14 px for easy reading.
Make content easy to share
Make sure that your content is easy to share across social media channels.
You can simply use plug-ins to add shareable options on your content page.
Mention Industry leaders and Brand in your content
Another fantastic way to increase engagement is to mention brands and industry leaders.
They will love your mention and might share it with their audience too.
Make sure not to mention competitors… Well, you know, right?
Always Include Call to Action (CTA) – Never assume that your audience knows what to do.
Remember! We talked about the assumptions above…?
So always include CTA that tells them the next step.
Ex “What do you think about the post? Do you agree with it or not? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below…
Social proof
Splinter social proof wherever you can. There’s nothing more captivating than splintering social proof in high revealing moments of the content.
Ex… “Be on our list and join 25300 other marketers!”
5. Optimize your content for search engines
No matter how captivating and compelling your content is, if it’s unsearchable or doesn’t makeup to top search terms, no one would read it.
To make it easily discoverable for the audience on the relevant search terms they type in, you must optimize your content for search engines.
Don’t freak it. You don’t have to be Elon Musk or tech-savvy to execute this.
You can do this by following these simple tips.
Meta Title and Meta Description Optimization
Include important keywords that are searchable. However, don’t overdo that else Google will pick up on this.
Your page title should be between 60-70 characters; else it would be cut off. And 155 – 160 characters of Meta description.
Both your title and description should convey to the readers what they get inside. Basically, the purpose is to stir desire in them for the content.
Be sure to not make it clickbait and focus on making it relevant ONLY.
Keywords go in Post Title and SubHeadings
Keywords tell Google what this content is about. So include them in your post title and in subheadings. This helps users find your content.
The quick tip is to start your post titles with common search terms, such as reviews, how, what, number (7, 9, 21), Does the…
For example, “What are the 7 best strategies to grow your Blog” “How to create viral content without giving up on core ethics”
See what I did there. I tried to be as specific as I can that allows the reader to know what they would get reading the content.
Interlinking
Interlink your posts to gain “link juice”. Interlink all the relevant posts to each other to strengthen your web authority.
That tells Google what your site is about.
This surely improves rankings.
A tip: Interlink your pages with top organic performing pages, this helps a lot.
To know which pages are performing well in Google search engine, go to your Google analytics to search for best performing pieces: Go to Acquisition » All Traffic » Channels » Organic Search » Landing Page.
Link to Credible Sites
If you link a URL to credible sites, Google will deem you worthy. And gives you a massive boost in ranking.
For example, to prove your claim you make in your posts, you could quote industry leaders and sites and include a URL link to their content pieces.
This way your readers and google both will find you authentic.
Use Descriptive and Curiosity inducing ALT tags to your image
When someone shares your content on social media channels, sometimes these platforms pick your images as the face of your blog and ALT tags as the post title.
So always include curiosity and craft compelling title tags to interest people clicking through the link on social media…
When people come to your blog by clicking the link on diverse channels, it helps improve rankings.
Keep URL Short
You don’t need to include all 70 characters of the Title post in your URL. Keep it short and simple.
Target Long-Tail Keywords
It’s a fact that long-tail keywords don’t bring in much traffic as compared to short-tail or head keywords.
But the good news is those who search for the long tail are most ripped off readers who are likely to convert.
Also, long-tail keywords are easy to target and rank as compared to short-tail keywords…
So once you rank on top with long-tail keywords, it overall contributes to your website rankings.
Ensure Subject Matter Expertise
Google and readers both love content that goes deep into explaining something, because longer content solves user problems far in depth.
The more in-depth the content will be, the more takeaways are in it for users.
That doesn’t mean adding fluff to make it super lengthy.
6. Build your Subscribers and Own Them
If you truly want to make the most out of your blog, you need to build an active email list.
Because the email list is your property, as you are in complete command of the list.
Unlike many social media channels that you’ve built your audience on, which are controlled by someone else.
What if one day they banned your account? What would you do?
That’s why email marketing is the most viable option to keep in touch with your audience, engage with them, and run offers there.
All without ever worrying about losing.
Here’re some top tips to build your email list…
Start with Best Email Tool or Email Service Provider (ESP)
First thing is to sign up with the ESP that makes it easy for you to connect with your subscribers without costing you much.
It is a platform that you can use to connect with your subscribers and send emails and run email campaigns.
So make sure you opt for the best one that won’t cost much.
Build Opt-in (form) and Place it in various online locations
To sign them up, you must give them something that solves their problem instantly.
Like a cheat sheet, bullet points, short ebook, exclusive offers, or some useful information—ideally for free or for pocket change.
And for them to receive, they must give you their emails.
That’s the fastest and easiest way to build a list.
Caveat: Don’t make opt-ins deprive of quality; provide the same value as you would with your paid courses or programs.
Be Creative in selecting the headline for your Opt-In
In simple terms, give them the reason to click.
Don’t just say “Sign up and receive my ebook”
Instead, tease them on what problem the content behind the opt-in would solve for them.
Maybe you can state the benefits of going through the material.
Something like, “Download 10 hacks to grow your blog to 244000 visitors or more in 3 months”
See how specific it is that it targets the readers’ primary problem and gives them the reason to sign up to the list.
Splinter Your Optin across Social media
Include the optin in your Fb page – ideally cover page, Twitter Pin post and cover photo, Linkedin Featured Post.
Place a link in the Instagram Bio and everywhere you can.
The point is, be creative to come up with ways of marketing your opt-in to increase subscribers.
Social Media Ads to Generate leads
You can use the same opt-in page to run ads and show them to the target audience.
Yes! It costs you money but also solves your problem.
The more targeted you go with your ads, the more leads you’d generate.
7. Become Social Media Influencer
To gain quick traction, you must be on social media and pumping out exceptional content.
Content that draws the reader in and wants to learn more from you.
Can I tell you the hack?
You don’t need to churn out content explicitly for social media.
Simply take the content from your blog and splinter it across social media and gain followers and subscribers from that.
For content creating geeks, it isn’t an issue…
Here’re a few tips that help you get started with social media
Branding
Branding is crucial to get your name across and let people know of your brand. So add a link redirecting to your website in all social channels.
Add Social Media Buttons
You must have seen that almost every website imbed social media links (probably, you also do this).
It makes it easy for your current readers to engage with you on social media.
Ohh! Another hack for you…
Give your website readers an incentive to follow you on social media — it could be anything that may interest them.
Be a constant content Creator
Consistency builds momentum. If you can’t maintain consistency on social media, you could never gain followers.
Well, you don’t have to be active on social media all the time, in fact, you can leverage some automation tools to schedule your posts such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Tailwind.
Tip: Be sure to only invest time and resources on channels where your target audience hangs out.
For example, if your target audience is gen Z, be on Instagram and Ticktock.
Go Live and Engage with Them
Nowadays, going live is in trend.
Everyone is doing this because it helps build a strong personal connection with the audience.
When you go live on Fb, LinkedIn, Instagram, it instantly drops a notification to your fans and followers.
It’s the easiest way to build connections and later channelize them to your blog.
Use Compelling Photos
Use custom branded photos that help followers recognize your brand in an instant.
Engage with them
Engage with them. Doing it simply by including a CTA after every post that could say something like “Leave a comment”, or “What do you think about it?” or anything that propels them to do something with your posts.
Be a Part of Trend
Keep an eye on the latest trends and capitalize on them by giving your unique turn to them.
Include social media Feed on your Website/blog
There’s something about social media that keeps us engaging and involved.
So leverage the power of engaging content by embedding the social media feed on your blog.
That would definitely boost your social media following.
Plus, every time you update your social media, it automatically updates on your blog. That makes the blog fresh and updated.
There are some cool plugins that make it easy to embed social media feeds into blogs.
8. Leverage the Power of Networking
Networking is all about meeting with people, either physically or digitally.
For your blog to grow, you need to enlarge your circle of influence.
You need to meet more people and befriend them.
And possibly connect with biz owners, fellow bloggers, and influences so you can team up when required.
Some benefits of getting connected with fellow bloggers
- You can team up with bloggers that are not your direct competitors but can somehow relate to your field so they can link to your content. Or maybe promote your offer and vice versa.
- You can collaborate with them on blogs and other social networks to expand your reach.
Basically, when you look for ways to do networking, you’ll find tons of opportunities to do N number of things.
There are some ways you can use to connect and help grow each other,
Leaving Meaningful comments
Be active in leaving helpful and thought-provoking comments on fellow bloggers’ blogs and social media posts.
When you do this with sincerity, they will reciprocate.
Two benefits to that.
- They become your friend and might collaborate with you in future
- Their followers follow you because of the quality of comments.
Guest Post Opportunities
Guest posts provide luxury to get exposed to new audiences that probably don’t know you yet.
However, your quality of content decides how many readers you would pull to your blog.
Also, it’s a great way to build authority and make your name in the market.
Plus, most guest post-editors allow you to include a link to any of your content pieces or home page, this further gives boosts in ranking.
Build Fb group for your Niche
Fb groups that talk value attract like-minded people like a magnet attracts steel.
They are veritable goldmines, which can open a plethora of opportunities.
You can fill up your group in 2 ways.
- By running paid ads
- Organically through your blog and social media
You can even email inviting other bloggers to join your group.
Evolve in the community
Become an active member of the community by talking in industry-specific podcasts, give interviews to other content creators, get a mention in roundup posts… And so on…
Once you become a part of an active community, chances themselves unfold before you.
Partner up to conduct events
You can leverage the power of events in two ways:
- Sponsor the entire events that cater to your audience
- Team up with other influential bloggers and hold an event that your target audience is interested in.
Support each other
Sincerely support other bloggers by sharing their content or promoting their offers. Help goes a long way and follows a reciprocity principle that says, if you do someone a favor, they would likely give back.
These suggestions are to spell out opportunities for you… You can further explore if you want to.
9. Submit Work on Content Curation Sites
Submitting your work on content curation sites may require elbow greasing from your side.
As you’d be writing and then submitting…
However, it can be a potent way to get your name out to potential readers.
Also, since you’re producing more content, you can use the same content across social channels.
Plus, you get exposed to a new audience, and a new audience means new opportunities.
Final Words
There ends our short course on growing your blog and making it big.
All the methods and strategies discussed are proven and have been working for years and generating amazing results.
So think a little and start implementing right off the gate.
One more thing before ending this blog, you don’t need to use all of those methods to grow your blogs.
You can start with 1 or 2 methods and as you gain momentum you can make things more sweat for you.
Sign off…