8 Surefire Ways To Build A Popular Blog

A few weeks back a blogger friend asked me how I got my blog to be popular and at the time I really didn’t have a real answer, all I said was hard work over time. Which was true, I worked my blog hard everyday doing many things to get noticed, I’m not really sure which one thing or combination of things are the cause of building a popular blog.
So I decide to put this post together with the things I focused on in the beginning that has got me to where I am today.
What I will say is when I started I was everywhere, I commented on 50 blogs a day, I posted my posts on numerous blog sites, I tweeted out every post, if there was a place to put my blog url or post urls, then I was there
Being a stubburn Portugee that doesn’t like to fail help motivate me haha

Let’s get to it…8 Steps To A Popular Blog

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Your Content Has To Kick Ass

Now more then ever your content has to be kick ass. With so many blogs out their competing for the same readers your content is what will make you stand out.
Tell a story, share your experience, be yourself, share with pictures and video, no matter what at the end of that post you need your reader to walk away knowing they just learned something.
The more you can help people, the faster they will come back for more.

Use Titles To Grab Attention

Your titles are very important to building a popular blog. Your title is like “your foot in the door” The trick with titles is to grab attention, tease and share a little bit about what the post is about.
But for a killer title to work all the way thru, your title has to match what the post is about. I know for me, seeing a title that takes me to a post that has nothing to do with what the title was about is the fastest way to lose me as a reader, since I won’t believe your titles ever again.
So be creative, but stay on topic.

Is Your Blog Branded

Your blogs design is your brand, be unique, then share that design everywhere.
For me I take my blogs design and color scheme to any site that lets me customize the look.
The more places they see your design/brand, the easier it will be for them to remember you and your blog. Building a popular blog is about getting in front of your readers as much as you can. Do that thru your blog or your Facebook page, your Twitter page or YouTube page any other place you can design to show your brand.

Use Strong Images

I like to use one strong image for my content, funny works too. One example was this post 19 Entrepreneur Blogs That Will Change Your Life
Numerous people said they read that post just because of the image I used.  That is the power images have on your blog.
Keep your images on target to what your content is about and simple for people to understand.

Are You Still Here

To build a popular blog, you need to post on a regular basis. I recommend 2-3 post a week on the same days each week if possible.
Being consistent and reliable is what your readers want. So give it to them if you want to be remembered long term.

Build Conversation

Building a popular blog comes down to how well you engage your readers and build a community on your blog.
Do you ask for your readers input in comments? Do you ask for their take or opinion? Do you reply to comments positively showing that your care for their insight?
Asking for comments is the first step, replying to comments is where you can stand out.  Many bloggers ask for comments, but much less actually reply to all comments and show their appreciation for each and every comment.
On a few blogs I like, I have stopped commenting, just because the blogger almost never replies. So why should I take my time to share if they wont take the time to acknowledge?
This is what you don’t want on your blog. So ask and follow thru to stand out.

Social Media Boost

With the addition of social media, I think it is that much easier to build a popular blog today.
The trick is to learn what works on each social site.  What works on Twitter doesn’t work on Facebook and what works on Facebook won’t work on LinkedIn.
But once you figure out how to use all social networking sites correctly, then you will start to get more RT’s and shares and stumbles etc.. once you get a few shares, you will have the social proof to build off of and get in front of more and more readers each week.
Social sites is also where you can build relationships, the more relationships/friendships you can build, then your goal of building a popular blog just got a little easier.

Get Your Guest Blogging On

Want to get in front of 1000’s of new readers in one day? Then do some guest posts on bigger blogs and on smaller blog.
Guest posting will automatically make you important and someone to listen to. Since a bloggers readers trust him/her and if they let you GP on their blog then their readers know you are someone that knows their stuff.
But getting the GP opportunity is only the first step, the same way a GP can build your name and blog, it can also hurt just as fast.
Just like I say “No Social Media Is Better then Bad Social media”   I feel that “No Guest Posts is better then a Bad Guest Post”.
So once you have the opportunity to do a GP, then make sure you come with the best of the best you have to share. If you take 2 hrs to write post on your blog, then take 3 hrs to write a GP.  The better the GP post you do the more of those readers will move to your blog and become your readers.
As you can see building a popular blog is all about great content and sharing that content and being available to interact with that content.
This won’t happen over night, but if you stay with these steps and stay consistent with it, you will have a very popular blog before you know it.