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3 Mind-Blowing Tips On How To Get Traffic To Your Blog (And Turn People Into Readers!)

[stextbox id=”custom”]Question: Was it the title above or the cute baby that caused you to want to read the content of this article? Maybe both?[/stextbox]

Think about this for a moment…

When you last strolled aimlessly through the aisles of Barnes & Noble (sipping your iced coffee), what stimulus caused you to pick up a random book from off the shelf? Some people choose randomly based upon the colorful exterior design. Others snatch it up because the title sparked a flame of insatiable curiosity.

What about you?

When you held that book, you probably glanced at the author’s name, wondering if you’d ever heard of her. It’s likely you then opened the front cover to find out a bit more about what’s inside. Then, you opened the back cover to learn about the mysterious author, such as why she wrote it, her credentials, where she lives, why she got a book deal and you haven’t yet, etc.

Ultimately, there was a reason that book—of all the 1,000’s of books clamoring for your attention—interested you in the first place.

It is that initial interest that I want to focus on in this article.

I want to teach you how to get traffic to your blog. There are proven ways for turning the average “visitor” into an avid follower of your writing tribe.

You see, the same thing occurs with writer’s blogs that occur with books for sale at B&N. What do I mean, exactly? Here’s what I mean.

  • Most people won’t read your article, but they’ll glance at your title and/or headline.
  • Most people won’t read your article, but they may scan your sub-headings.
  • Most of your Twitter followers won’t click the link in your tweet, but they’ll wonder what it is about.
  • Most of your Facebook fans won’t click that link to your latest blog post.

And so the question any Christian blogger must ask himself or herself is this: Why is no one bothering to read what I write?

Why don’t people click your social media links? Why don’t they visit your blog? Why don’t they actually read your articles?

Answer: Because they’re bored. Bored. Bored. Bored!!!

There is a lot of noise around the blogosphere, in case you didn’t know. Why would someone read your articles when they can go read what Mr. Famous has to say? People only have so much time to spend reading things on the internet, so you have to fight for their attention.

Or rather, you need to give them a very, very, very good reason to actually click that link and spend the next five minutes of their life reading your article!

How you accomplish that is simpler than you can imagine. It is something I am personally still learning myself, because I was a failure at it in the past. I am learning, however, and I’ve experienced tremendous results on my blog over the past few weeks.

You need to create fascinating, attention-snatching, mind-grabbing, minute-hoarding HEADLINES for both your articles and your social media tweets!

Yes, that’s it! Create the greatest headlines your writer’s mind can fathom, and then watch the readers show up one by one (and actually leave comments).

Readers are mainly selfish. We are, sorry to say. We don’t care so much about you, as much as we care what you can do for us. Reading is about me. It is about us, the reader. It’s about the reader, not you (the writer). Once you–the writer—understand that basic shift in your art, everything will change for the better.

Readers are curious and want to know what’s in it for them. They want to learn, to be amazed, to dream, and to get shocked! They want you to answer a question they have, solve their problem, and scratch curiosity’s itch.  How you do that is with mind-blowing titles and headlines on both your blog and in your social media blurbs.

It really is that simple.

[stextbox id=”custom”]Here are three…count ’em!…three attention-snatching ways to create killer headlines that are designed to grab your reader’s attention and never, ever let go. (Examples are listed under each one.)[/stextbox]

1. REASON. Give your readers a “reason” to click your link and read your article. Reason with them, if you will.

  • 5 Financially-Sound Reasons Your Husband Needs To Buy You That 3-Karat Diamond Ring…Today!
  • 3 Healthy Reasons Why You Should Eat As Much Chocolate As You Want
  • 7 Debt-Free Reasons Why You Should Pursue The Job Of Your Dreams

2. SECRETIVE. Tell your readers a secret. Everyone wants to be “in the know.” Didn’t you know that?

  • The Secret To Getting Published As A First-Time Author
  • 3 Secrets Your Momma Didn’t Tell You About Why Nobody Reads Your Blog
  • The Secret To Living Successfully & Becoming The Leader God Wants You To Be

3. How To. Create a guide of “How To” do something. People are always looking for better ways to do things.

  • How To Write A Best-Selling Novel In 30 Days Or Less
  • How To Find The Wife Of Your Dreams (And Get Her to Marry You!)
  • How To Teach Your Children To Love One Another (And Pick Up Their Clothes, Too!)

So, what do you think? Can you create titles, headlines, and links like these? Of course you can! If you begin today, and do it consistently over the course of a week or two, I truly believe that you’ll be flabbergasted by the positive results. At least I have.

That is definitely how to get traffic to your blog (and turn people into readers!)

[stextbox id=”custom”]PS: I will share a few more tips in the future, so be sure to check back soon.[/stextbox]

QUESTION: What articles have you written (or tweets you have tweeted) that generated the most traffic on your blog? In the comments section below, tell us all about it, and PROVIDE A LINK to that the article itself. I want to read it!

* Image credit: Big D2112 (Creative Commons)

Comments

  1. says

    My titles and headlines have been getting better. Here are two links to articles that have received a lot of traffic. The first is about funny church bulletin bloopers and the second one is about why pastors shouldn’t drink beer.

    1)  http://www.crazyaboutchurch.com/funny-church-bulletin-bloopers-and-blunders-to-make-you-laugh/

    2)  http://www.crazyaboutchurch.com/where-in-the-bible-does-it-say-that-pastors-cant-drink-beer/

  2. says

    Charles,

    I really enjoyed your post. As I read through it, I realized that I tend to skim the headlines before reading a post through. If the headlines catch my attention, then I will spend the 2-3 minutes to read the whole article. However, if the headline doesn’t interest me, then I move on to the next. That is great advice. One thing I would add, is that the content of the post needs to compliment the headline. I have also read posts where they had a catchy headline, but the post didn’t deliver past that. That is a great disappointment, and a disappointed reader is one who won’t return. Again, thanks for the post. 

    These are the two articles that I have written that generated the most traffic to my blog (I currently don’t get much traffic, but these are the top posts):1. http://lightandsalvation.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/cold-showers-wants-vs-needs/2. http://lightandsalvation.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/the-real-thing/

    • says

      That’s very true, Aaron. Don’t just give a good headline, deliver on the content. That’s something I have seen to pro’s hammer down over and over again. And I might just use that as one of my tips in the future!

      PS: Your blog looks great! Keep the content coming, work on those headlines and sub headings, and serve the Lord in your writing!

      PS 2: Have you ever experimented with titles?

      • says

        Thank you for taking the time to look at my posts. I really haven’t experimented with headlines. I mostly just chose a headline that seemed to fit what the post was about. After reading this post, I am definitely going to be more deliberate with my headlines and also the layout of the post.

        Up until about a month or so ago, I was using my site as a way to post my thoughts and writings for friends and family. Now, I am trying to be more intentional about sharing what God has laid on my heart with more than just those I know. However, I know that it will take work on my part to get the message out and to build an audience. That is why I appreciate posts like this. Thanks again!

        • says

          That’s wonderful news, Aaron! Stay focused, and you will see results! 

          You might want to also consider SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in your posts and headlines, as it has proven to be very helpful for me. (But that’s another post altogether.) 😉

  3. says

    That’s very true, Aaron. Don’t just give a good headline, deliver on the content. That’s something I have seen to pro’s hammer down over and over again. And I might just use that as one of my tips in the future!

    PS: Your blog looks great! Keep the content coming, work on those headlines and sub headings, and serve the Lord in your writing!

    PS 2: Have you ever experimented with titles? 

  5. nathancreitz says

    A recently successful article on my blog was “10 Adoption Statistics That Might Surprise You” http://nathancreitz.net/10-surprising-adoption-statistics/ I also get a lot of traffic for “7 Reasons Why You’ve Never Made A Disciple” http://nathancreitz.net/7-reasons-why-youve-never-made-a-disciple/ 

    • says

      Great, Tammy! I look forward to reading that post.

      It’s strange that we writers have it backwards, that we tend to write for “us” instead of the reader. Good thing that each day…and each post…is a chance to start over and do it correctly!

    • says

      Rebecca, that’s an awesome article. Very detailed and helpful. 

      There’s nothing more frustrating than purchasing a domain, only to regret it 2 months later. Re-branding is never fun, so getting it right the first time is critical.

      Regarding headlines, we are all improving! None of us will ever “arrive.” We just keep plugging along, learning as we go, and putting into practice the tips we learn.It will pay off. Yes, it will!

  10. says

    I wish I could let go of my real yearning to reshape the public and make it want the kind of headlines and writing I like. I have been resisting the necessity of writing this way as long as I have been blogging. I confess, sadly, that I want the readers to change. I love lists, but only for planning tasks. Otherwise, I love detailed, inspiring prose. I love compound-complex sentences that express rich ideas. That may explain why I love the apostle Paul.
    I read a lot of blogs. Too many, probably. When I first started doing it, I skipped all the lists, the secrets, and most of the how-tos. I skimmed through the internal lists looking for the meat. Now, I see that just as you point out, most of the high-traffic blogs write lists, secrets and how-tos. I also see that the high-traffic blogs don’t usually address anything I care about.
    I am still resisting this writing strategy. I am still trying to figure out how to hide my style under this strategy. It is a very difficult challenge.

    • says

      I’m with you there, Katherine. I’m not a list creator, by any means.  I enjoy free-writing. One of the things I’ve learned is that there is a difference in reading a book compared to reading a blog article.

      Books have paragraphs. Blogs have broken up paragraphs, more like a newspaper. When it comes to headlines, subheadings, lists, etc., that also takes more time. 

      Essentially, the writer has to make a choice: Compose articles how we want to, or compose them for readers who will read them. But that also doesn’t mean we “sell out” in our writing. We still need to create quality content. The difference comes in how we package it.

      Fear not! You’ll get the hang of it. Keep pushing forward and take it one step at a time. Take care!

  12. Matthew Wright says

    Well the most blog post have had is my paper on death you can read it here:
    yoloforgod.blogspot.com (just scroll and you’ll figure it out), also plan on taking your advice to get more traffic

  14. Louise Murphy says

    I haven’t gotten much traffic, but will try your tips! The most was when I mentioned changing relationships in a divorce… any advice on how to get connected with social media etc to a newbie? http://pinkreflections.org/