You want to know what your problem is?
You’re not living up to your potential as a blogger. And this is something that you know, deep down, whether you choose to admit it or not.
You already know that the?blogosphere is a massive place and each day there’s more and more?delusional?people joining it thinking that blogging is easy. And because that’s happening, many bloggers are starting to realize that they have to do much more than they’re currently doing to get noticed.
Sure, writing regular blogs posts are fine but will that eventually make you a better blogger? A blogger that people start to pay close attention to??A blogger?that?inspires others to be great? A blogger that creates unforgettable content?
Were you even able to answer yes to two of those questions?
What I’m talking about may seem like an incredible feat but it’s certainly attainable IF you’re willing to put in the necessary work that’s talked about in this post.
The Three-Part Formula To Getting More Attention
If you want to get more attention than you already do, there’s a specific formula you have to take into serious consideration:
Blogger Outreach + Leverage + Promotion = More Attention
The first part is something that’s talked about a lot these days and rightfully so. Because blogger outreach is really all about engaging and building relationships with other bloggers.
It involves sharing the posts of other bloggers, leaving meaningful comments and just being active. The more you can do that then the more those bloggers will start to pay attention to you and even reference some of your content in their posts.
The second part really comes into play when you get the first part really working for you. Leveraging off of those influential bloggers is huge because they obviously would have a much larger audience than you.
You can strategically use this to your advantage by doing one of the following:
- In your blog, you could mention and link to a blog post that they wrote.
- Mention them in your post by sending a message either through social media or through email letting them know that you mentioned them.
The third part of the formula is obvious and you should already know some information about it. You can’t get your content or your brand out there if you don’t … actively … promote.
Now, the great thing about this formula is that you need all three components to really be a blogger people start paying attention to. It’s not good enough to just focus on one part of the formula because you’ll never achieve what you set out to achieve.
Got it? Good.
Ok, now that you have a much better sense of the formula, the question you may be asking is “How?do I actually get people to start paying attention to me? What steps can I take?”
Well, let’s talk about that right now …
Four Strategic Tips You Need To Follow To Grab More Attention
Do you really want to know how to be a blogger readers start paying attention to?
Here are some tips that you can start using immediately to command that attention. And just so you know, within the last 6 weeks or so, I?ve used and implemented each of these strategies on my own blog and they continue to produce results for me. So I know they work:
Tip #1: Create A Pillar Post.
Could you honestly believe that many bloggers still opt for writing 300 word blog posts thinking that’s what their audience want? I really don’t know what foolishness they were told but they’re sadly mistaken.
Let me tell you something, my friend, 300 word blog posts and their effectiveness are gone the way of the dodo bird.
Extinct.
I recently participated in a forum where in one thread, the question was ?How fast can you write a 300 word blog??
My response was very candid, ?20 minutes or so … but I don’t focus on those short posts anymore and on top of that, I tend to focus more on the quality of the articles and getting the message across.? The person who originally asked the question, sent me a personal message asking me what I meant by ?I don’t focus on those short posts anymore.?
To which I replied, ?Because I’m all about providing high quality value to my readers and it’s impossible with a 300 word blog post.?
And if you think about it, it is.
These days, can you really provide value?with a 300 word blog post? Probably not.
What about capturing attention. Do you think that’s possible based on 300 word blog posts? I doubt it.
That’s why if you want to get attention from people and really provide value, you need to create pillar posts. And if you don’t already know, pillar posts are usually posts that are so practical and so valuable that it always stays current and never loses its appeal.
The thing is, when you write pillar posts, you’re strategically doing 3 things:
- You’re increasing traffic because the possibility of more people sharing it will be higher.
- You’re increasing your authority as someone who knows what they’re talking about.
- You’re proving to your readers that you want to give them the absolute best content ? which ultimately builds trust
The bottom line is this, start writing pillar posts (even if it’s one each month) that your readers will thoroughly enjoy.
The Two Most Effective Type Of Pillar Posts
1. The “How To” Post
The “How-To” post is a staple in blogging and it can have serious impact if you use it effectively. The main goal of a “How-To” post is to explain, in detail, how to do something. Creating these types of?posts can bring in a large amount of traffic as well if it’s on a topic that people seriously want information on.
Here’s an example of a “How To” post that Henneke?Duistermaat wrote that would be very effective and would be something that readers would want to read:
Who wouldn’t want to know how to create a good blog post super-fast?
I know I would. On average, it takes me 10 – 20 hours to write just one blog post. To be able to cut that time down a little would be great. I’m sure you would feel the same about your blog posts, am I right?
2. The List Post
The other type of post that you can create pillar articles from are list posts. If you look around the Internet, you’ll be able to find list posts absolutely everywhere. “7 Ways To …” or “10 Productivity Tips That …” are just a few examples of list post.
But the thing about these type of posts that you want to keep in mind is to always try to come up with higher numbers, like “37 … 73 … 101” as opposed to just the normal “5 … 7 … or 10.”?Reason for that is you have a higher chance of it going viral with those higher numbers.
It’s a psychological thing. When you present people with a high number and?provide more methods to do and achieve something, it’s automatically looked at as having alot more value.
Here’s an example of a list post that Pauline Cabrera did that was largely successful:
We all have trouble coming up with titles for our blog posts, from time to time. I know that it usually takes me between 2 – 6 hours to come up with a headline for my blog posts.
So seeing a list post like this and lay it out like Pauline did would be very beneficial.
Tip #2: Don’t Be Afraid To Go Above And Beyond.
I know that you’re probably so bored of hearing the same old speech “To succeed in blogging, you have to stand out and separate yourself from the crowd.” You can’t go a full week without another blogger coming out with a post like that.
But if you really think about it, it’s the truth.
You do have to stand out from the crowd in order to be successful – but the real question is, how can you actually achieve that?
That’s why, in a post that I wrote where I asked this question to 17 expert bloggers, I asked them how they stand out from the crowd and they all provided some exceptional answers to that question.?But after having time to reflect on all of their answers and doing some deep thinking,?I came up with an answer that surprisingly wasn’t given. Yet, it’s something that many of the bloggers mentioned in that post, and maybe even some of you reading this, do.
And that’s … go above and beyond what’s expected of you.
Here’s a perfect example of this being put into action with?this post by Ana Hoffman:
In it, she not only describes (in detail) each way you can successfully get an influencer’s attention, but she even describes steps on how to execute that specific way.
Now that’s serious, right?
But if you’re an avid reader of Ana’s blog, you’ll notice that in almost ALL of her blog posts, she goes above and beyond to deliver that information to her readers.
That’s what you should be trying to do as well because you owe that to your readers. When you choose to go above and beyond, here’s what you’re really doing:
- You’re creating loyal readers that’ll love your content and start to trust you more because you’re providing them with so much quality information.
- You’re positioning yourself as an authority in your niche.
- You’re setting yourself up to get your content shared even more than it already does.
All the more reason to start, don’t you think?
Two Smart Ways To Go All Out For Your Readers
1. Create detailed tutorials.
The main purpose of many of those who blog is to teach and educate readers on how to do something.
Sure, a regular blog post can go a long way sometimes but there are times when you need something more than that. That’s why creating detailed tutorials is one of the best things you can do to go all out for your readers.
And that’s exactly what Kevin did with this awesome post:
When you take time to create great tutorials like this, you’re saying to the readers, “I care about you and I want you to have as much information as you can on this topic.”
2. Any questions you receive by email, answer it by creating a post around it.
If you really want your readers to appreciate you more, then this is one of the smartest things you can do. If you receive any questions from your readers that they don’t understand, rather than just answering them back with an email, devote an entire post to provide the answer.
This allows you to not only feature that reader, but answer that question (which others might have as well) in a unique way.
You could even take it a step further and create a video or a podcast around answering that question. Going above and beyond like this will not only stand out in the mind of the person who originally asked the question, but to other readers as well.
Tip #3: Leave It All Out There With Your Comments.
Seems like blog comments have been a hot topic for the last little while … but with good reason.
Comments are one of the greatest strategic methods that you can use to build relationships, engage with other bloggers and ultimately, get quality traffic back to your site.
In a post titled “The Real Truth About Blog Commenting,” Adrienne Smith gets absolutely real about blog commenting. Here’s a small sample from that post:
How can you not agree with that?
This goes for when you’re replying to comments on your own blog or leaving comments on someone else’s. You should ALWAYS try to make your comments?meaningful and genuine because at the end of the day, it’s all about that connection.
Think of it this way, when you start leaving comments the right way, you’re doing two things:
- You’re building a sense of community.
- You’re actively showing that you want to engage with the person.
Even though you may feel as though you’re not getting anywhere with the comments you’re leaving, still give it a while. Like Adrienne said, the more you comment and are seen, the more blog owners and other commenters will start to take notice.
Three Practical Tips To Comment Like A Real Pro
1. Ask Questions To The Blogger.
This is one strategy that I love to do with certain blog posts that I read.
Asking a question regarding something you read and including it within your comment, shows that you’re not only interested in the post, but that you want to get a conversation going as well. This only increases engagement and builds on the relationship.
And it doesn’t have to be overly complicated either, it could be a simple question like this:
2. Mention A Phrase/Sentence That You Agreed Or Disagreed With.
Want to show that you really read the post and connected with something the blogger said? Then within your comment, mention something they said that you agreed or disagreed with.
3. Explain How It Helped You
I dare you to tell me that is doesn’t make you feel good when a reader lets you know how much a blog post helped them. If you say any different, then you’re a flat out liar in my opinion.
As bloggers, we all know that it feels so good to be mentioned in another bloggers post. But the real “feel good” part comes from when readers tell you how your specific blog post helped them or inspired them.
Tip #4: Let Your Readers See Your Transparency.
This is one of my favorite tips and it’s really important so pay close attention.
In blogging, you typically have two types of bloggers:
- Those that are very open about their lives and let their readers into it. These are the types that’ll tell personal stories about themselves, their families, etc.
- Those that are completely against sharing anything personal and just want to remain an unknown. These are the types that have no pictures up on their sites and for the author name, they keep it as admin.
Given the description of those two types of bloggers, let me ask you this. Which one of those bloggers would you feel more comfortable connecting with?
Hopefully the majority of you said the first type of blogger.
You see, transparency is very important in blogging – more important that you possibly realize. Readers connect with you much more when you’re willing to show that you’re a real person … just like them.
And when you do that, they not only start paying attention to you more, but they also start to trust you more as well.
When you choose to be transparent, here’s what you’re?really?doing:
- You’re secretly telling your readers that you have no problem sharing your personal life with them ?because you want to be as open as possible.
- You’re taking a major first step towards building more trust with your readers.
Makes sense, right?
Three Blogging Examples Of Displaying Transparency
1. ?Admitting certain pains that you had to go through.
Ryan Biddulph did this recently when he admitted, in this blog post, the reasons why he decided to let go of a blog that he’s been working on for four years and has written more than 3,400 posts for.
2. Admitting certain failures that you’ve faced.
In this post, Catherine Holt shares her experience when she first started blogging. She describes a major point early in her blogging career where she experienced a failure and shares that with her audience.
3. Sharing how you overcame adversity.
Don Purdum has been through a lot during his time in business and, in this post, he shares exactly how he was able to overcome adversity and turn it into success.
By showing that you’re human in your blog posts, and that you go through failures, struggles, pains and successes, like your readers do, they’ll start to feel more of a connection to?you.
This is something well worth trying if you’re not already doing it.
Is It Really Worth All This Time And Effort?
I know exactly what you’re thinking.
You’re thinking, “I didn’t know it was going to be so much work to do all this. This is the type of thing I have to do to start getting people to pay more attention to me?”
YEPPERS!
Look at it this way. The top people in any profession works much harder than some of their peers because they realize that’s what they need to do if they really want to succeed. Doesn’t matter if they’re a doctor, lawyer, athlete or a broker in the financial district, they know the time and effort needed to truly get ahead. And you know what, they do it.
How about something a little closer to home … look at all of the bloggers that are successful. Not naming names but what do you suppose made them as successful as they are?
If you don’t know then read over this blog post in its entirety because believe it or not, that’s what it takes. If you want the attention you think you deserve, you have to stop talking and start doing.
Are You Ready To Take That Step?
The good news about all of this is that after you’re done reading this post, you?ll be equipped with all you need to know and especially how to get there.
All you need to do is figure out which strategy you’ll be starting with first.
But the most important thing to remember is that the will to truly succeed in whatever you do is a choice that only you can make.
Now, once you decide to make it by following one (or all) of these tips, that’s when you’ll start to notice readers coming around to your blog more often. That’s when you’ll start to notice readers and other bloggers start to share more and more of your content. That’s when you’ll start to notice people paying much more attention to you and randomly mentioning you and your blog in certain posts that they wrote. All because you took the steps to become a better blogger … and it shows.
I want you to take another look at the tips that were mentioned above. Don’t just read them – analyze them and see if you’re implementing any of these tips. If not, then it’s time to take some action, don’t you think?
Leave a comment and share with us which tip(s) you completely agree with and which one(s) you’re going to get started on right away … and why.
Lastly, before you get started, we would really appreciate it if you’d take time to share this post with your friends as well. We’re pretty sure that they’d love to learn how to be better blogger as well and they would appreciate you even more than they already do for that. What do you think?
