As a blogger, it is not just about writing and publishing!! Why? Because even if you have written a killer post, hitting the publish button will not make it reach many audiences. You hit the button, now how will a reader in other part of this world know about your article??
If you share your article with your friends and family, they will share it with their friends, which in turn will share with their respective known people!! Hence, increasing your audience base.
Now you can see, it is not exactly about writing and publishing, there is another important element to it, which is “MARKETING”. If you want to increase traffic to your blog, which obviously you do, you need to take content marketing very seriously.
So, how can I increase my traffic?? How can I make my readers love my article more and make them share it? You may be puzzled with these questions and that’s exactly the point of this post.
I have tried to unravel some secrets elements to content marketing with my experience and by analyzing other greats posts out there and how they manage to get more traffic.
Following are some hacks you can apply to your next article to enjoy elevated traffic:
1. Brainstorm popular topics that large number of people are searching for
Look for the most popular topics, people are searching for in your niche and write on it.
I know the key is to write unique articles, but in search of unique topics, don’t go really far to search topics that are so unique that only small fraction of population is searching it. You don’t want just a fraction of population searching it, you want a huge sum of people looking for that information.
There are free tools available that can check the buzz around your topic before you proceed to write it, like BuzzSumo or Content Explorer. Put your keywords there and know how contagious the topic is. These platforms will give you list of articles sorted by number of times they got shared.
Once you find the topic, you just don’t wanna produce the same content, you wanna do something better, right? I mean just think, why would someone read your content if it has nothing more valuable in your content than the post that is already existing! So to produce better content you need to follow these steps:
- Research, Research and Research
Once, the topic is decided, all you have to do is, go deeper. Research thoroughly. This way you will be able to present your article in unique way to your readers and obviously will offer more knowledge than the original author.
- Illustrate your points
Whatever point you trying to make, give your readers examples to understand it better. Make each every point clear by stating relevant example and if you can give examples out your personal experience, it’s even better. This will make your readers trust your more.
- Back up your points with links to relevant document or research papers
This is another method of building trust in your readers. If you have relevant research papers or documents that can support you claim, attach them with your article.
- Tons of visuals
You might be aware of the fact that our mind may forget what it read but has tendency to retain visuals. So, if you want your article to remain in readers mind, add as many visuals as possible.
Takeaway: You have to look for topics people are going crazy about in your niche and build your article around it, presenting it in unique way. Look for topics people are going crazy about in your niche and build your content around it, presenting it in unique way… Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
2. Construct Attractive and Shareable Headlines
Headlines: the first thing people will read in your article. And the only aim when writing anything is to make readers, read the next sentence. With headlines, the thing is: it will determine whether reader will proceed to read your blog or will jump on to read one of your competitor’s.
What are some of the characteristics of an attractive headline? 5 points that can make your headlines stand out:
– Add a numbers. If possible use larger numbers to get attention
– Add a trigger word to it. What, when, why, how triggers curiosity and will make your readers take action.
– Add interesting adjectives to it. Use words like effective, amazing, strange, etc to add emphasis.
– When doing a list post, use unique rationale. Use words like strategies, ideas, lessons, etc.
– Be specific about your message yet create a bit of curiosity in your message.
Try to implement as many of these points as you can to create a spicy headline. Over time you will be able to figure out your own unique formula that is specifically targeted for your users. Try to build curiosity with your headline. Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
Headlines are like the title of that one book (out of the millions) you see in a library. If the headline is effective and actionable, you are more likely to read the book than to just take your sight onto the next one lying besides it. Write magnetic headlines that compel your reader to click it, read it and share it. Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
Need to really clarify further the importance of Headlines?? I guess not.
Takeaway: Write magnetic headlines that compel your reader to click it, read it and share it. Write clear, concise headlines, that tells your readers what your content about with a bit of secrecy. Try to build curiosity with your headline. Write clear, concise headlines, that tells your readers what your content about with a bit of secrecy. Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
3. Envelop your article in interesting story
People love to hear stories. Another fact is, people will forget big words, facts or piece of information but they will remember stories related to them. Yes, that’s true.
So, instead of rambling your idea in thousands of words, try saying it through stories. But why is it so?? Because when you directly state a fact or deliver a piece of information, they just listen with ears but when you wrap your information in a story, you are not just engaging your reader merely through their ears but rather they connect at an emotional level.
For example: don’t say this hack will be useful for you, rather say it with your experience, how you tried the hack and how it boosted your traffic within a span of this much time. They will be escalated by your success story and will feel more connected to the hack. Hence, they will remember your point.
Takeaway: In spirit of framing a story, do not overdo fantasies. Do not create stories with unicorns or rainbows. This will make readers start judging you, and will lose trust in your theory. That’s the last thing you can afford when you are a blogger. So, be realistic with your story but be creative in writing them. Be realistic about your story but be creative in writing them. Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
4. Take help of your multimedia sources
Use help of all kinds of multimedia to increase audience engagement. In other words, do not rely much on words rather fill your article with multimedia, be it pictures, screenshots, GIFs, videos or slideshows.
Pictures and videos will give your readers break from plethora of words and increase their engagement. And like I have always mentioned the saying “A picture is worth thousand words” you know how important adding images to a post are for me and it should be for you. Your audience will enjoy occasional GIFs, picture and slideshows, and it can give your content more shares and backlinks.
Using slideshow will strike a chord with your audience, as slideshow will present your ideas in simple, concise and yet attractive way. Here is the holy grail list of resource for finding free images, in case if you are interested.
Takeaway: Use tons of media. Relevant photos, related videos and interesting GIFs will keep your readers hooked to your article. If possible occasionally add slideshow with concise information summing up the point you wanted to convey to readers.
5. Build interest in your readers
An engaged reader will be your loyal reader. If you succeed at keeping your readers engaged, there are higher changes of them spreading the word out. They are your audience who will interact with you via comments and/or other channels. Follows these simple tips to build your visitor’s interest:
- Start with a strong and persuasive beginning
Starting paragraph your article must be strong enough to hit readers with its meaning and persuasive enough to keep on going through sentences after sentences until they reach last full stop of your article.
- Keep on asking right question
Keep on asking questions that will make them nod in agreement and keep on reading your article. Ask questions and give them answers. This will keep your readers engaged throughout your article.
If you are writing on “how to write headlines”, ask them if they want to write magnetic headlines? If they want to attract more readers? If they want their article to be shared many times?
Ask and answer!! That’s the strategy.
- Create suspense
Keep your readers on toes to read your next sentence. Creating suspense in your reader’s mind will make them stay hooked to your article. Creating suspense in your reader’s mind will make them stay hooked to your article. Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
- Share important resources
You can give valuable e-books or short reports to your readers at free. If they like it, they can always come back to pay a good amount for the premium version of your service.
Takeaway: The key is to use your creativity and command on language. Be strong, confident and persuasive with your writing style.
Bonus Growth Hack : Make Sharing Easier
Since your hanged in here for this long, I want to share one awesome bonus tip with you which is very easy to implement.
To make your post more shareable you can add short catchy quotes/sentences in your post that can summarize what you are trying to say. They are know as tweetable quotes and its really easy to create them with the help of plugins if you are using WordPress. I’ve used a free plugin called TweetShare to create these quotes that are easy to share.
How can you implement these quotes in your content? I mean you cannot just put them anywhere you like. That would not make any sense, right? Few effective ways to use them in your post can be:
– facts: people love tweeting about interesting facts that are well researched and backed by numbers.
– takeaways: short catchy summary of your content that can add value to reader.
– quotes: these are all-time favorite. When you don’t have anything to add to your tweetable story, find an interesting quote and add it to your content. Tweetable Quotes work like a charm and increase your #Twitter Shares #socialmedia Click To Tweet Powered by Tweetshare
I like to add popular hashtags to my tweet bits so that my quotes can blend in with the larger conversation and generate me more retweets and likes.
Apart from adding TweetShare plugin which will let me create tweetable quotes, I have added a floating share bar on every single page of this blog. That has made a huge difference for me and my sharing number have grown since. I am using SumoMe plugin for that.
via Unbounce
Conclusion
Now, with these 6 effective content marketing hacks in your pocket, apply them aggressively and enjoy the traffic. You will see your post getting more shares if you implement these simple yet effective strategies into your content marketing.
Another important thing to keep in mind is writing informative, well-researched content that adds value to your readers is really vital for your blog’s health. If you don’t produce great content, your visitors will lose interest and your traffic will start dropping. So focus on creating quality content.
Before you go and enjoy boosted traffic with the help of these incredible hacks, share them with your friends or colleague. If you any other cool content marketing growth hacks, let me know in the comments below.
