Whatever kind of blog you have — whether it’s for business or an online writing showcase — one of your goals is probably to grow your readership. A lot goes into this: social media sharing, mailing lists, compelling content, and good SEO. But before you make changes to your marketing strategy, make sure your blog is set up to encourage a quality reading experience.
Work On The Design
Your first guess might be that your writing needs to improve. But before people read a single word, they take in how your site looks. Do the colors make it difficult to read? Is it hard to navigate? Are you overwhelming readers with solid walls of text? Brush up on your user experience design skills and make sure your blog’s appearance isn’t driving people away at first click.
Craft Some Catchy Headlines
In order to get people to read your compelling content, you have to draw them in with your headlines. A good headline will inspire enough curiosity for a reader to leave whatever they’re currently scrolling through — an email, their social media feed, or another post — to see what you’re talking about. But it’s especially important for keeping people on your site. After reading one great article, they’ll want to read another. If your headlines keep people clicking to read more, your bounce rate will get better.
Practice Your Writing
Now we — and your readers — get to the main event of your blog: your writing. The more you write, the better you get at writing. However, you need to keep in mind the context of your writing. For example, if you want to write informative how-to posts, a writing style that is simple, clear, and to the point echoes the goal of your content. If your posts contain a story, practice a more descriptive narrative writing style.
Keep It Secure & Safe
If you do nothing else, make sure your website is secure and safe for your readers. Purchase an SSL certificate. Use a hosting service like Nestify. Look into malware management and firewalls. Take a class on what your website needs to be safe and functional. You can make your content compelling and attractive, but no one is going to read it if it’s not safe to access.
