10 Daily Tasks You Can Do to Grow Your Blog

12 Jul 2009

10 Daily Tasks You Can Do to Grow Your Blog

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One of the hardest parts about being a blogger, that is being one that lasts, is knowing how to spend your spare time wisely. If you’ve been around the block a few times, you know that it takes more than good content to get noticed. You have to take a patient approach and implement a winning strategy over a long period of time.

Many people get frustrated, burned out, or both and simply give up. Many times, they give up right before they are about to break out and rise up another notch on the blogosphere. Although some people realize that a life of blogging just isn’t for them, many would love to stick around if they knew they had a chance at getting some traction. It really isn’t that hard, but there are some tasks you’ll have to take care of every day/week if you want to keep rising to the top. Here are a few that have worked for me:

Guest posts – Hands down this is one of the best ways to create buzz. I used this several times to my advantage, but there is a little trick I’d like to mention. You have to send out a bunch of guest posts and try to get them published during the same week or two. It can be tough and some bloggers won’t budge on their time lines, but if you get to know other bloggers via comments and eventually email, they’ll help you out. It works very simiilar to a launch strategy…and it works well. Send out a bunch of guest posts (not all will get accepted) and try to have a few hit the scene in the same week. People will think you’ve made the big time and they’ll wonder why they didn’t pay attention before.
Request social bookmarks from friends. If you don’t have any, then start getting some. I don’t mean guys you’ll have over for a few beers, I’m simply talking about acquaintances online that will pass on your links in return for you doing the same. It works well, and if you are polite and helpful, they’ll help you out almost every time.
Turn a few of your best posts into a slideshare presentation or a podcast. Create a video and upload it to YouTube. This is a great way to spread your influence by repurposing the same content.
Comments – Create a list of the best 10 -12 blogs in your niche or sphere of influence and sign up for their newsletter. When you get notified of a new post, head over to the blog, read the post, and submit a thoughtful comment. Do this every single time you have something creative to say and the other bloggers will start to notice you. Commenters will also start to notice you. Reply in the comments and keep communicating with these people. These are not only future readers, but future action-takers. Once they get to know you, they’ll start hanging out at your place and telling their friends about you.
Send an email to some of your new commenters or subscribers and thank them for stopping by your blog. Be honest and sincere.
React to the hot news in your niche via video, quick blog post, or Twitter. Prove that you are on top of your game and a key player in that niche.
Release free reports, white papers, or books to your readers. These are key for creating an authority presence and can help you create content that will drive traffic to your blog for years to come.
Reply to a friend on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
Create a Facebook group (not a spam group) and get people interested.
Recommend others on LinkedIn, Twitter (via Mr. Tweet), and Facebook.