Brand New Blog. No Traffic. Here’s What to Do.

Ever feel as if you’re the only person reading your blog?

It’s possible it’s not just a feeling. In today’s digital marketing landscape, it’s difficult to get users to read blogs if they’re not relevant to them.

Even if the blog is relevant and the content is great, in a world of rapid-fire of competing messages from millions of companies, it still doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

If you want to get more eyes to your blog posts and see more interaction from your target audience, read this post—I’ll give you some tips that can generate a larger audience.

Content marketers today can’t afford to ignore the power of social media. Social media platforms often mirror your target audience and act as an echo chamber for your content.

Utilizing a variety of platforms is an easy way to get exposure and to entice new readers to visit your blog.

Actually offer valuable content

The most important and most basic step in getting new visitors is to give them meaningful and relevant to their lives information.

Why am I telling you something you already know? Because you’ve heard it a thousand times, yet most people still focus on “me too” content, which offers little to no actual value.

Experiment with different kinds of information formats, e.g., a video of the top three tips for completing a task related to your industry, insider news that they get from you first, or a humorous spin on a topic related to your business.

The key here is to give your readers engaging and useful content they can apply in their lives right now.

Don’t plagiarize other content. Take a topic trending in your industry, and find a way to make it uniquely yours.

GrooveHQ started their blog with minimal traffic, but now they’re cruising it with tons of engagement.

How did they do it? They took the standard ho-hum help desk content, amped it up, and made it exciting. They started dishing out value.

SumoMe has done a great job of this with their guides. These guides, often exceeding 10,000 words, make a major splash in their industry.

It’s all about the value. People will love that and share it, and you’ll benefit.

Run a contest

Especially when you are just starting your blog, you need to promote it heavily and get it in front of the right readers.

There’s nothing wrong with creating a little buzz about your new blog by incentivizing readers to visit your blog.

I’ve run contests several times. They’ve been particularly successful on Instagram, where I gave away hundreds of headphones and other prizes.

I’ve also teamed up with other companies to promote their giveaways. Every time, it’s been a ridiculous success.

Run a contest, give away free swag, run a trivia contest on social media. These tactics are great ways to encourage new users to check out your blog. Remember, everyone loves free stuff.

To get the pulse on current giveaways in your niche, try out one of Buzzsumo’s features.

Using Buzzsumo, type in the keyword for your niche. I’ll use “content marketing.”

Make sure you filter down the date so you don’t source old contests that are already over.

Now, filter the content type by “giveaways.”

If there are some recent contests, you’ll see them in the results.

You can take this a step further by viewing the sharers for each giveaway.

If they shared a contest in the past, they might be likely to share yours too.

You can message the sharers directly in Buzzsumo, asking them to share and promote your giveaway.

Post shareable images and graphics

What we all know about social media is that striking photos and graphics grab people’s attention.

I never make a post on any platform—website, blog, or social media—without some kind of visual.

Make that your goal as well. A photograph can evoke happiness, laughter, frustration—whatever emotion fits with what you are trying to communicate on your blog.

For example, my homepage on NeilPatel.com includes a video:

Most of my long-form articles (3,000+ words) include dozens of images.

It’s also great to make graphics of shareable quotes or stats that are meaningful to your target audience.

There are plenty of free apps that can help you make quotes.

Try Recite.com.

First, write a quote.

Then, select a visual.

You can save, share, and add it to your blog.

That’s it! Here’s my finished product. Five seconds of work.

That extra visual sizzle can go a long way in making your article shareable and engaging.

Budget for ads

If you have the budget, try paid advertising on your social media channels.

Many social media platforms are selective about what users see, but by investing a little money in a targeted ad, you can select who among your target audience can see your call to action and messaging.

My preferred platform is Facebook. The level of targeting and reach is excellent.

I don’t think you have to pay for ads all the time or even frequently. But if you have a little money to play with, it’s an effective tactic to target your audience in a very specific way.

Create a team of ambassadors

Many people don’t realize that you can get a lot of free exposure by sharing meaningful content with people who are willing to share it with their circles of influence.

This strategy can start organically. You can identify loyal customers who are active on social media.

You can tag them on Twitter or Facebook to see if they naturally share your content.

Over time, you can formalize the process and invite them to join an official team of ambassadors whom you can task with sharing your content.

Show you can be trusted

I can’t offer you a better or more important tip for not only getting people to your blog but also getting them to come back: you’ve got to build trust. The way to do this is by creating an online community your users can trust.

When you see your readers commenting on your blog posts or asking questions, jump in there and talk with them.

Create a relationship with them and give them information that is true and genuine. They’ll start looking up to you because they’ll see you as an expert they can trust.

This ultimately gets to the issue of personal branding.

Personal branding can be a powerful tool for launching your blog to a wider audience. Leverage what you already have to promote what you’re building: your blog.

If you don’t have a personal brand, infuse your blog with personality so it becomes a shareable and engaging place.

Noah Kagan used his personal blog to help him build several businesses:

His blog is still a helpful place where to hang out and get great information, but it’s also a useful tool for Noah’s other pursuits.

Conclusion

If you’re managing a blog but not leveraging social media to get more visitors, you’re missing out on a viable and free tool.

With 1.7 billion daily active users on Facebook, you have the chance to get your best content in front of the largest target audience possible.

Add Facebook ads, and you’ll have even more control in targeting a niche-specific audience who will want to read your blog.

Your blog is a critical part of your content marketing strategy. You can use it to give your audience relevant news about your industry, share lists of pro tips to help them with their daily tasks, and post videos that tell stories about how your company is making a difference.

With all the time you spend creating excellent content, you need to make sure your loyal customer base—as well as new users—see that content.

Remember these six expert tips for maximizing the impact of social media platforms on reaching and engaging your audience and pointing new visitors to your blog.

You’ll be glad you did when you see your blog traffic rise.

Have you tried generating traffic for a new blog? What social media methods did you use?