“The best way to build a popular blog is to write for a popular blog.” – Jon Morrow
Did you know that if you work a bit, you can build a popular blog within a few short months?
If you enjoy writing and have great things to say, becoming a popular blogger is as simple as putting your content in front of others.
The best way to expose yourself is through guest blogging. Yet how many new subscribers should you expect from a guest post? Twenty-five? Sixty?
I recently Skyped a good friend, and in the course of conversation, he shared an alarming statistic: He had written three epic articles for Problogger … and had ninety subscribers to show for it.
If Stephen worked minimum wage for the amount of time he spent writing those three posts, he would be paying $1 per subscriber. Kind of steep, huh?
Sadly, Stephen is not alone. While I average more than one hundred subscribers each time I guest blog, the typical writer does not.
What am I doing different? What does it take? Reaching these numbers requires three critical pillars.
1. Write unusually great content
There are countless posts published across the web…how can you break away from the clutter? You need to write unusually great content. This content has three rules.
A. Do not talk to yourself
Instead, talk to your audience. Your writing must hold its own with few first-person pronouns. Only refer to personal stories that enhance your prose. You are bringing your readers along a journey, and this cannot be interrupted with meaningless diary.
Everything you write must be relevant to your reader, or you will lose her.
Failure to talk to your audience is much more common than you think. Study copywriting, and ditch your trash.
B. Keep it sticky
After all, this is what readers are looking for.
State your position in no uncertain terms. Make it easy for your adversaries to criticize you – and for your followers to support you. As Brian Clark once said, the middle of the road is the best place to get run over. Do not sit there.
Refrain writing what everyone already knows. Be controversial. Nobody likes to read an article that anybody can agree to.
C. Write correctly
Otherwise, you are undermining your credibility. It is shocking how many articles with potentially viral content fizzle out because they are poorly written.
Take blogging seriously.
Rewriting good content to make it great is vastly underrated and seldom exercised.
2. Send this to a popular blog in your niche
Blast a brief (but compelling) email with your article the blog owner and wait patiently. Go easy – it was a full 8 days before I heard back from my first major post.
Remember, readers are much more likely to subscribe to your blog if your post appears on a blog in the same niche. Stephen’s example has demonstrated what happens when you do not observe this.
Pick your sandboxes carefully. They must be large, but they must be relevant.
3. Have a seductive atmosphere awaiting your traffic
This involves just two steps.
A. Match the quality of your guest post with your own articles
Your dynamite guest blogging will heavily resonate with readers, but this is all a pure waste if you cannot match the quality on your own estate.
Visitors scan your blog to decide if they will subscribe. Often, they flip through several pages of archives while making that decision.
To win them, your every post must be top notch.
B. Place attractive signup forms in prominent places
Make them as big as you can. Place them wherever you can. Ask for the subscription early and often, and state why readers will profit from this exchange.
Demote the social icons. Place them lower in your sidebar. If you have fewer than 100 subscribers, get rid of them completely.
Make your “call to action” very obvious. You want email addresses, and nothing else will suffice.
If you give more than one call to action, visitors will be less likely to respond to any of them. But if you capture email addresses, they will be back later for the social aspects.
I recently made a Facebook fan page for my blog. I needed 25 people to like it before I could give it a proper username, so I pinged my list asking them to connect. Before nightfall, I hit my goal. This works.
Take a peek at the popular blogs around town (this one included). See how their large, inviting forms are hovering near the top?
Is that it?
Although these three steps are straight forward, they are rarely done well. But with a little determination, you can be busting one hundred new subscribers every time you guest post.
Listen, I get as much bad luck as you do, so I know you can do this.
When will you start writing?
About the Author: Kelly Gloss never publishes an article that could not be easily accepted on an A list blog. This is a tall statement, and you’d better find out if it’s really true by visiting Two Hour Blogger.
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