Either you’re getting a lot of traffic but yet you’re not getting the responses you want or you’re getting a very small amount of traffic.
And it sucks, doesn’t it?
You may feel like you’re doing everything right, but yet your results are disappointing.
In this case you figure that you may be missing something.
But what could that be?
Well it has a lot to do with the purpose of your blog.
Without purpose, then people don’t have a great reason of why they should come to your blog.
Especially for growing your returning visitors.
It starts off with purpose and branches out to other vital elements.
You may have a great habit of publishing content on a specific schedule or you may have a list of sites to promote your blog.
But yet doing a lot of work doesn’t mean that you’re going to generate the amount of traffic you want.
As a matter of fact it isn’t about the amount, but who’s coming to your blog.
In this post I’ll talk about the important elements to focus on that will improve your traffic generation.
Have you ever come to the point where the harder you work at a specific task or skill, the more you stay stagnant with no signs of improvement?
You literally stress yourself out just trying to make it over a hump.
it’s almost like trying to climb a pole with oil on it.
You don’t budge even though you’re putting overtime with the little time you have.
You may even sacrifice spending time with your family and friends just to see one notch of improvement.
Some of your peers looks as if they only publish one blog per month and they get a swarm of traffic almost instantaneously.
So you ask yourself what’s wrong with your blog?
Yea, a lot of us tend to get self conscious with our blog posts when we don’t see the results we want, but it’s not the end of the world.
Why?
To Start off, there are two questions you should ask yourself about your blog.
- What is the purpose of your blog?
- Who is your blog for?
Yes it’s as simple at this, but many don’t start from these questions.
Many of us, including myself, jumped into talking about generating traffic, SEO, sales conversions, social media marketing, etc.. thinking these are the only topics that will lead us to being a successful blogger/solopreneur.
But for the average solopreneur, it doesn’t work out like this.
It’s great to get started, but eventually we have to find out what type of people you want to come to your blog.
And you start off by answering those two simple questions.
Answering these questions will give you a better perception of who you want to attract and what type of content they respond well to.
Once you get great idea of the purpose of your blog and who your blog is for, there are a few more obstacles that you want to bypass.
The idea is to be on the same level as your potential visitors so that they’ll like, trust and eventually buy from you.
5 Things To Consider For Generating Traffic As A Solopreneur
One thing that’s great about blogging is that it’s a gateway for people to get familiar with you.
It’s a great way for people to connect with you and build a community of followers.
There are many who believe that only numbers is the way to become successful and to a degree it is true.
The numbers, or statistics, will help you figure out where you need to focus to build your blog so eventually you’ll generate conversions in email subscriptions and sales.
Having a nice following will empower your marketing. You’ll have visitors who are just looking for information, visitors that will be your support, visitors you build relationships with, and those visitors that will buy from you.
But before any of this happens, there are a few things you want to bypass and here are 5 that you want to consider to attract the right type of traffic:
- Nobody knows who you are
- People don’t know what message your trying convey
- You don’t have a target audience
- You don’t talk about specific topics geared towards your target audience interest
- You’re always “selling” instead of educating more
All traffic isn’t equal, and you want to distinguish this. But to simplify it, there’s going to be traffic that’s going to benefit your blog and those that won’t.
Let’s dig deeper in the 5 things you want to consider.
Nobody Knows Who You Are
Your visitors really want someone they can relate to.
If your personality and your story relate to them, then this gives them a great reason to connect with you.
This is what’s going to make you stand out from the rest. You can market the same product and services that your peers do, but you will attract certain people that resonate with you personally.
This is why branding yourself is vital to your success.
You want people to remember you not only for the products and services you market, but also the message that you’re conveying.
When you have your personality, your story, and the message you want to convey, these become the basic components of your brand you build from.
The first vital thing you want to do is have an About Me page set up on your blog.
This will give your audience an overview of who you are and what they’ll expect from your blog. You can see it’s similar to a Table Of Contents or a Quick Summary of what a book is about.
People Don’t Know What Message You’re Trying To Convey
Speaking of message, how many times you gave a generic answer to those that ask you “What exactly do you do?”
An answer like “Showing people how to make money online” is something that the average solopreneur answers.
Sure, the novice visitors would be intrigue since this may be the first time they came across an answer like this, but those that been around the block a few times wouldn’t be so much.
This is why you want to be specific as you go along your blogging journey.
You may start off with an answer like this as a beginner, but as time passes the best thing you can do is be more specific.
For Example:
You start off saying “Showing people how to make money online”.
Then.. Showing people how to make money online through blogging.
Then later you may say “Showing single parents how to make money online through blogging”
Then finally you may say “Showing single parents how to make money online through blogging by leveraging social media”
This would be a great idea to include a specific message like this in your About Me page as well as referencing your message within your blog posts.
Not only will your visitors get the idea, but also this looks great to search engines using their semantics to drive organic traffic to your blog.
You Don’t Have A Target Audience (Market)
Your target audience depends on your personal brand and the message you convey.
But keep in mind there’s going to be different types as I mentioned before.
You’re going to have people who only comment and share your blog posts.
You’re going to have people who just subscribe to your email lists.
You’re going to have people that buy the products or services you promote.
But if you want to figure out who they are, there a few ways of doing so.
There are some important things you want to consider when it comes to your target audience.
You want to know:
- What Problems They Have?
- Who will find your content valuable?
- Who do they trust and respect?
- Where do they hang out?
- What topics do they respond well to the most?
I go more in detail in the blog post 7 Ways On How To Define Your Target Market where I also show you where you can get more detail information via Google Analytics.
You Don’t Talk About Specific Topics Geared Towards Your Target Audience’s Interest.
One rule of thumb:
If you convey the message within your About Me page, you want to make sure that you’re posts at least relates to it in some way.
Other than that, it would defeat the purpose of your message.
When it comes to your blog, consistency between your posts and message is vital.
Your genuine target audience are going to come to your blog based on your consistent message.
And more importantly, it’s crucial to publish topics that’s geared towards their interest.
The only exception would be if you have a multi-niched blog, but even then you still have to be wary of what topics brings in the most traffic.
You’re Always “Selling” Instead Of Educating More
People hate to be convinced, but they love the be persuaded.
And yes, there is a difference!
If your visitors doesn’t see how they can benefit, but yet you steadily try to convince them why your product or services are the best, then your convincing.
But if you’re focused on their common problems, and show them why they have those specific problems and how to resolve them, then you are persuading them.
Why?
Because none of them want to stay stuck.
They want to keep progressing with their businesses without consistently feeling like failures.
How do you benefit from this?
In this fashion, through persuasion, you give them the opportunity to buy from you.
It puts you in the perfect position to get the best out of your promotion instead of scaring your visitors away.
You creates opportunities for them to promote your blog posts whenever they click on those share buttons.
Conclusion
When it comes to generating traffic to your blog, yes, you do have to promote. I mean how else are people going to find you.
But, the foundation behind your promotion is why do you people want to come to your blog.
It’s the purpose of your blog.
What type of visitors do you want to come to your blog, and what message do you want to put out there to catch their interest.
You can talk about all the strategies there are in the blogosphere, but from my own experience it’ll leave many of your visitors confused about what exactly you do.
This would result in you being all over the place but yet you’re not going anywhere.
When it comes to blog traffic, you want to become as specific as you can and it starts with the two questions:
- What is the purpose of your blog?
- Who is your blog for?
Now It’s Your Turn!
Are you struggling to generate traffic to your blog?
Do you find people constantly asking you what exactly do you do?
Do you feel that you’re not being specific enough with the purpose of your blog?
What type of visitors do you want to attract?
If you’re struggling with generating traffic, then you may need to be more specific who you want to attract and only focus on the content they like to read.
Please leave your comments below and share this post with your friends. I look forward to read them!
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Hi Sherman,
Great message you have here! I do believe that we all need clarity when it comes to our blog’s message. With so many people piling up the internet with their blogs, how can we ever stand out?
We need to have a clear vision of what we want to do to help others. – aka our niche. We cannot expect to write our first blog post and have flocks of people find us. Indeed, we need to put it out there on the social sites. We need to visit others so there will be some reciprocation. But most of all we need to write articles that will help others and not always be selling.
Great stuff!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted…Busy Bloggers Are Underachievers
Hey Donna,
Clarity is very important. There are definitely a lot of people hopping on the blogging bandwagon, and it’s up to each one of us to figure out how we can stand out. This is why a blog’s message is vital.
Having a clear vision of what we’re going to focus on to help people with specific problems will eventually help us in the long run. It creates a snowball effect as we progress with our blogs. Also practicing the law of reciprocation by visiting other blogs and sharing helps us to build social proof and get the word out about our blogs.
Thanks for stopping by Donna! Have a great day!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
Loved the post.
Some soul searching is definitely required if we are not generating enough blog traffic. Writing content that helps and educates people goes a long way. If your only aim is to sell products and not to deliver value, you will not have people flocking to your blog, let alone buying stuff.
So, it’s all about helping the readers with valuable content, building relationships by connecting with bloggers, commenting on their posts and sharing them on social media. This is definitely the key to generating a good blog traffic.
Thanks!
Hey Arpit,
Being on the same page as your visitors is vital. This is why being able to relate to their problems, educating them on their problems and eventually providing solutions for them will help your blog to be popular.
The Law of reciprocity is where it comes down to. Either you’re educating, commenting, or sharing other’s content with tagging them . These are important elements when it comes to driving traffic for free.
Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts Arpit. Have a great day!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
Yes, agree with the above statements you made on this blog post, most of the new bloggers think that if you post regularly on social media then traffic will come to your blog which is the wrong conception.
Once you start engaging with people and adding value to them then only they will recognise you.
All these 5 points are essential in bloggers success, thanks for sharing your valuable experience.
Hey Siddaiah,
Traffic can be a big challenge. Especially for beginners. It’s not just sharing your blog posts on social media. You want to figure out what type of traffic you’re getting and publish content that appeal to their interests.
Once you consistently do this, and strategically share your post where your ideal audience hangs out, then eventually you’ll start generating more traffic.
Thanks for stopping by Siddaiah! Have a great weekend!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
I think we all want to generate traffic, however, the type of traffic is the question, no? I mean, we can all get Stumbleupon traffic to hit our site and then people bounce right out. Finding the means to keep that person coming back can be a struggle for many.
I like how you start with the About page. A very vital part in having a blog. Convey the message, your mission, and what you’re all about. Some even struggle with this because they haven’t narrowed the niche, per say.
I struggle with getting traffic to my site. I think one reason is because I don’t blog consistently. I plan on trying to better with that. I’m also going to try and make it more personable with a splash or two of generating business. Finding the rhythm will be a challenge but I’m sure I’ll find it eventually.
I appreciate you sharing these tips with us. I found them helpful and did download your ebook. I look forward to learning more from you.
Have a great weekend ahead!
Bren
Hey Brenda,
You’re absolutely right. The type of traffic that we get is more important than just generating traffic. Having the specific niche traffic and focusing your content on their interest can result in less hassle to get them to come back to your blog.
The About Me page gives your visitors and introduction of what to expect from your blog. For many it can be a struggle since they haven’t narrowed down their niche. It took me a while, and I’m still narrowing down my niche. So right now it’s an ongoing process.
Blogging consistently and making your content more personable can help with generating more traffic. I’m quite sure that you’ll develop the rhythm for it since you enjoy blogging so much.
I’m glad you found these tips helpful. Thanks for stopping by and share your comment Brenda! Have a great weekend!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
I’ve been building my blog over the past year and a half and it’s steadily improved. Lately it’s been tuning things up one step at a time by reading comprehensive posts like this one (I do think this is the most comprehensive I’ve seen though) that have helped me plant more seeds for success. A ton of great tips, ESPECIALLY the last one.
I think it’s easy for bloggers to either give up or slow down on their content, and that’s what calcifies things more than anything else. Thanks again for the info and motivation!
Hey Joan,
I’m glad that this post was helpful for you. We tend to complicate things and be all over the place, but if you start with these simple tips, then the road ahead won’t be as rough.
Thanks for stopping by Joan! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hey Sherman,
For a single person, it’s quite hard to handle a blog. And the traffic generation is the pain in the head.
I agree with your points. Some people sell on their blog. They don’t educate the people.
Having the targeted market should be clear in your mind. Write the blog post according to the audience, you want to target.
You mentioned some great points here. People should learn why they are not able to generate traffic.
Enjoy the day.
~Ravi
Ravi Chahar recently posted…How To Clean and Prevent htaccess Hack For A WordPress Site?
Hey Ravi,
Solopreneurship is a great challenge.
Yes we must get started, but we want to at least be strategic with our blog and not just write about random things.
Best thing to do is to start with an About Me page and stem your posts from it. This will attract a specific audience which will be your target market.
Thanks Ravi for stopping by! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
Nice article. It is been a big task to bring in the traffic for our sites. And even for solopreneurs it is been bit more tedious task. Better content provides better traffic. Building valuable content to create a better relationship for the readers will increase the content.
As you mentioned in the five points it will be good choice to get more traffic by following your guidelines in this post.
Thanks.
Hey Aravinth,
I’m glad that you like the article. You want to give your target audience a reason to keep coming to your site so they can reshare you posts. This is a great way to build a foundation for this to happen.
Thanks for stopping by Aravinth! Have a great weekend!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
Very Happy to see you Reply.
And Thanks for the tips too.
Have a great week.
Sherman,
The quote you included from Brian Clark is a good one to keep in mind whenever you’re cranking out another blog post.
I heard another one recently that was on target: If it’s not good enough to be promoted, it’s not worth being written.
Hey Jack,
I’m glad that you like this quote. It’s very true because as a result it not only builds traffic but also authority!
That’s another great quote you have. Thanks for sharing Jack!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
I think you have made very important point. However, there is a need to distinct between 1) a blog which will be a business, and 2) a business which has a blog.
My blog is a blog for business. To express my thoughts, and maybe make money as a side effect. There is a huge difference between those situations, and the differences lead the use of ads, guest posts and so on.
Thanks for sharing such an excellent post. I enjoyed reading each and every line. Very informative article regarding use keywords to drive traffic.
Hey Daniel,
That was a great distinction and never thought about it. Blogging is a great way to brand yourself, especially if you use it with a business model to get leads and sales.
Thanks for stopping by Daniel! Have a great rest of the week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hey Sherman,
Getting a huge amount of traffic for site is wonderful for us. I trust on posting a valuable and useful post to reader and we they get a perfect answer of question they must visit next time and forever. Therefore, always try to post a perfect and required thing for reader.
You have instructed very well to generate a traffic. You every point and awesome and related to my knowledge, indeed. As we know that blogging helps to brand yourself and earn money through online marketing too. Therefore, having a huge amount of traffic of site play an important role in online marketing and our blog’s productivity.
The quote of Brian Clark is great inspirational. I love it.
I must appreciate you for sharing this post.
Have a great week ahead.
-Ravi.
Hey Ravi,
I’m glad that you like the post. Getting a lot of traffic is great, but one thing I learned that it has to be targeted to the interest of your audience. The more that you define what you’re blog is about, the better the traffic will be.
Thanks for stopping by Ravi! Have a great rest of the week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hey Sherman,
This is a great post, especially for someone just starting out as a blogger.
I remember when I’d started my first one. I wanted to talk about everything under the sun. Sure, a lot of the topics were related, but I’ve since learned to simplify things and stick within a certain niche.
I do feel (hope) the “about” page reflects what my blog is designed to do. I also think about my visitors when I compose my posts. I see them clearly and I communicate as though I’m talking to a friend.
I’ve definitely been to some of the blogs that seem focused on selling. It’s obvious, and this is why I think it’s a good idea to be clear about the message before trying to depend on an income.
Awesome post, Sherman. Off to share. 🙂
Dana recently posted…3 Ways Your Workout Can Hurt You (and How to Protect Yourself)
Hey Dana,
It’s hard to keep from talking about everything under the sun lol.. Especially as a newbie, but it’s a wise decision to stick with a niche. There are other successful bloggers like Harleena Singh that have a multi-niche blog, but she made it a point to explain that it is from the get go.
That “About” page is vital when it comes to consistently getting traffic. It acts as a summary for what your blog is about and most people want to read or watch a preview to see if it resonate with them.
There are many blog that focus on selling, but you definitely want to be clear about this from the get go. You don’t want to waste anyone’s time when it comes to your blog. You want to give them a good reason to keep coming back.
Thanks for stopping by Dana! I hope you have a great rest of week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
As u are writing about any topic you know very well how to convert the user to the customer.
Your content writing quality is excellent, in this blog post you have very clearly explained about blog traffic especially you “5 things” are awesome for user attraction.
Great post
Thanks for the information!
Hey CRMAA,
I’m glad that you find this post valuable! Blog traffic can be a challenge for a lot, but laying out this foundation will give your audience a reason to keep coming back and have them tell their other peers about your content.
Thanks for stopping by CRMAA! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
A great read Sherman, thanks for taking the time to share the importance of clarity in your message. I often find that entrepreneurs are obsessed with themselves and it comes through in their blog, and they don’t care about their audience or take the trouble to connect with them. You’ve shown them the way though 🙂
Sarah Arrow recently posted…Coaches: 9 Ways to Show Your Expertise When You’re First Starting Out
Hey Sarah,
I find that too. Self obsessions isn’t going to win you a lot of fans. Focus on your target audience is key and a great way to make sure you get targeted traffic is having a message that’s geared toward their problems and how you can help them!
Thanks Sarah for stopping by! I hope you have a great week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Great job, Sherman!
Unclear target market… selling instead of educating… yup! Those are pretty common reasons why blogs suffer.
At the end of the day, the big thing is to write for our readers — not ourselves. And I think that’s the hardest hurdle for most bloggers — especially new bloggers — to overcome.
You aren’t writing for you!
You’re writing for your readers! Your target market! Your ideal customer!
…right?
At least I wish more people got that.
Brent
Brent Jones recently posted…Without These 3 Things, You Will Fail as a Freelancer:
Hey Brent,
The challenge is to write for our readers more so than just search engines or trying to follow every rule we come across.
Our readers are not only looking for solutions, but also a genuine blogger that they can resonate with that’s focused on their problems and solutions.
Once we get this and implement, the sky is the limit.
Thanks for sharing the valuable comment Brent! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman
The points that you shared are really a valuable one.
at the initial stage everyone is struggling to get traffic to their blogs or websites.
Everyone should undergo some valuable guidelines to bring out more traffic to their sites.
As you mentioned if we accept the fact and following some important tactics really we can bring out more traffic.
thank you.
hey Vinayakprabu,
Defining those valuable guidelines are key. You want to have clarity with your message that targets a specific person or persons.
Once you convey this in your message in your “about me” page, then you’ll have something to wrong from in your blog posts.
This will eventually give you the right traffic that’s going to help propel your blog.
Thanks for stopping by Vinay! Have a great week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hi Sherman,
This is such an impotant post and the 5 critical points you provided are extremely valuable to all bloggers.
It’s very sad to see the number of highly “active” blogs just 6 months ago that are now dead and buried as far as engagement is concerned.
Maybe they lost clarity with their messaging as you mentioned but perhaps more likely, they had the wrong target audience in the first place.
It’s always great to have great connections and visits with blog leaders in our niche but sooner or later we have to start attracting those readers that are in our target audience.
The key issue for beginner bloggers is: who really is your target audience, where do they hang out online, what are their main “pain points” and how is the best way to relate to these guys?
This will most definitely help you overcome some of your traffic challenges especially if you are providing valuable, relevant content to those readers.
Great share Sherman – many thanks. I’ll be sharing this post with my list for sure.
Best wishes from the remote Thai village blogger
Peter
Hey Peter,
I’ve been seeing a lot of people come and go in the blogosphere. There have been times that I thought of quitting myself, but I keep learning more and meeting great people like yourself that keep me going.
But clarity with your message is vital when it comes to blogging.
Clarity maintains the blog readers that we have and future blog readers that resonate with the message you put out.
But yes, for beginners, the issue is who is genuinely their target audience? Beginners want to find out as much about their audience, connect with them and maintain that connection. One of those
vital ways to do this is to know about their “pain points” and write blog posts about them and the solutions.
As you’ve said, these will alleviate the traffic problems many have.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing a valuable comment Peter! Have a great week ahead!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hey Sherman,
One will make it in blogging if able to follow all tips outlined here.
I’m against making blog posts look like sales pitches just as you rightly put it, “you’re always “selling” instead of educating more.” It’s never part of the rules.
Branding has been my main issue, but I am working on it.
Audience? You’ll know and give them what they need if you love them. It’s a heart thing.
Thanks for sharing, bro. I’ll be back for more.
Francis
Hey Francis,
You find a lot of blogs that are always “selling” instead of “educating”. I would also go as far as saying “connecting” by being human with your blog.
It’s very true that it’s a heart thing when it comes to your audience. I like that you said it this way, because this will make your blog “inviting” more so.
Thanks for stopping by Francis! Have a great week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Thank you so much for such a great post. Blogging and general web-site building is just a hobby for me but once in a while I have managed to create a site that really seems to drive the visitors. I have been mainly relied on keywords, social media and links.
Not only do you have some excellent ideas, and great links to further reading, but you also have a really natural writing style that is easy to read and engages the reader.
Thanks
Hey Gary,
I really appreciate the compliments!
Using keywords, social media and links are great avenues to take when it comes to generating blog traffic. From my experience, it’s very wise to define your blog for a specific person or persons and it keeps you focus on why you’re blogging in the first place.
Thanks for stopping by Gary! Have a great rest of the week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Hey Sherman,
Great points!
When I started out I knew I had to have an About Me page. I figured people would what to know who’s writing this stuff and why should they listen to them. I mean that’s what I might think, especially if you’ve written a few things that interest me.
I think it’s part of building the trust with your readers. People don’t want to take advice from a ghost.
~Lea
Lea Bullen recently posted…The Real Reason You’re About to Lose It
Hey Lea,
People want to know about you, your experience, and more importantly why they should keep coming back to your content. An About Me page is a great way to start. You definitely want to make sure that you convey what type of content and to what specific audience that will relate.
Once you’re about to do this, then building trust will becoming easier. And you’re right, people don’t want to take advice from a ghost!
Thanks for stopping by Lea! I hope you enjoy the rest of the week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
As a beginner I had the impression these internet streets were paved with gold. I actually thought I could write a post push publish and people would come read it.
Talking to others,I knew already in Wealthy Affiliate,and other programs that was the word,but I see it’s gonna be hard work and learning techniques but learning is cool.
Thanks for article
Hey Graham,
A lot of people get that impression of blogging. They think all they have to do is publish posts and the traffic will come. It doesn’t work like this. Your content has to be genuine, helpful, and more important, be directed to a specific market.
Hard work will get you over, but you want to mainly focus on working smart. Figure out what’s working and what’s not and take it from there.
Thanks for stopping by Graham! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
Providing value to your users is must. First you have to build a relationship with your readers to get your things done. About me page is like an Auto biography and when people read it out they relate it with their own life, it builds trust.
If you are working on it for a long run then you are good to go. And by the way thanks for such an awesome post!
Hey Himanshu,
You are spot on. You want to give your potential audience and your current audience a reason to keep coming back to your blog. Having an About Me page that not only talks about you but also who you’re targeting is a strong start.
From there you can build relationships. Especially through blog commenting.
I’m glad that you like the post Himanshu! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Why Solopreneurs Struggle With Generating Blog Traffic
All site owners look for a measurable return on investment when they setup their website. I know I do. Returns can be quantified as income, reaching authority status, and more.
When you have a website which has little or no engagement, it hurts, just as you’ve pointed out.
Quote:
Well it has a lot to do with the purpose of your blog.
UnQuote:
There is a ton of truth in that statement.
I’ve noticed newbie Bloggers seem to think they need to create Blog posts on a ton of varied topic, travel, food, tech, marketing and more. The result, their content does not appeal to a single focused bunch of readers. Repeat visits are almost zero.
Hey! your girlfriend and your mum don’t count, seriously.
If everyone is your target audience then in truth no one is your target audience = zero engagement.
The average solopreneur struggles. How do I know? I’ve been a solopreneur for some time now and I definitely struggle.
Your five bullets really sums up the woes of a newbie solopreneur.
Nobody knows who you are.
People don’t know what message you are trying convey.
You don’t have a target audience.
You don’t talk about specific topics geared towards your target audience interest.
You’re always “selling” instead of educating more.
The way you’ve fleshed this out later in the post really adds value to the reader. It definitely educated me.
Thanks for crafting this Blog post Sherman. Enjoyed the read.
Ivan Bayross recently posted…How-to be 100% successful in Guest Blog Posting
Hey Ivan,
That’s the thing that boggles some newbie bloggers as well. How can one blogger talk about one topic and still get a lot of traffic and comments on their.
It’s easy, and that is they focus on one general niche specific topic! Their readers know what to expect from their blog and this gives them a great reason to visit each time new content is published.
Also, education leads to subscribers and sells. If you’re consistently publishing valuable content that your audience can use each time, then 9 times out of 10 they’re going to subscriber and eventually a good percentage of them will purchase something from you.
Thanks for stopping by Ivan and giving your insight on the topic!
Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…What If You Can Only Blog Once A Month?
In the end, it all boils down to writing great content for the audience and not one thanks would make their blog great. Just realized how important an about me page could have on a blog..that’s helping connect more with your visitors. For me. it was only to give them a little knowledge of the author or blog owner.
I especially like the step by step guide on delivering your message to the audience, not using generic keywords in your post tile but try to break I down and make it look a bit different from ones out there. I for one was interested I knowing how to make single parents earn from social media.
Great steps you’ve outlined here, they’re remarkable. Thanks for the share.
Hey Grace,
Sorry for the delay in response. For some reason your comment went into my Spam Folder which I don’t really check.
You definitely want to publish great content, but it has to be tailored towards your audiences’ interest. If not, you’ll still won’t get the traffic that you want.
An about me page really lays down what topics you’ll be focused on and what audience you’re talking to besides talking about yourself and experiences. When you can get these 3 things across, then you’ll have better, quality traffic coming to your blog.
This all springs from your message which is what you use to brand yourself. It’s amazing how much a message is when it comes to blogging and marketing.
Thanks for stopping by Grace and sorry for the inconvenience!
Sherman Smith recently posted…How Can Solopreneurs Promote Their New Blog Posts?
Hi Sherman
Awesome post
The best way to build a successful blog is to carefully and clearly define its target audience right from the start, and then create content that caters to that audience.
Sure Focusing on your niche audience and developing appropriate content specifically for those people helps to ensure there will be strong interest in your blog’s content, plus it makes promoting the blog easier.
Thanks so much
Omar
Hey Omar,
You are right on target. You have to know who you’re writing for, what topics they’re interested in, and where they hang out in order for you to generate traffic.
Mass marketing doesn’t apply as well with internet market as it does with Offline marketing. People are more laser focused on what they want and it’s up to us to figure out what they want and cater to it.
Thanks for your insight Omar! Have a good one!
Sherman Smith recently posted…How Can Solopreneurs Promote Their New Blog Posts?
Hey Sherman,
Good marketers measure everything. Specifically they measure what activities are creating the traffic they must have to convert visitors to customers. Good marketers would never put a marketing strategy in place and never look back to see if they are getting results. And one of the most important things they measure is their conversion rate.
Solopreneurs have an inherently entrepreneurial mindset, and they prefer single-handedly managing their business. Solopreneurs are often criticized for not generating jobs for others. Solopreneurship works for those who want to be their own boss. By choosing to run their businesses single-handedly, solopreneurs avoid boardroom politics and other hassles that come with dealing with too many people. Solopreneurs call their own shots and are accountable for the business decisions they make. Eventually, thanks for much interesting facts pertaining to subject.
With best wishes,
Amar kumar
Amar kumar recently posted…12 Ways You Haven’t Tried to Find Leads Online
Hey Amar,
Sorry for the late reply. For some reason I found your comment in the Spam folder.
When it comes to your blog you must also be a good marketer. Using metrics to measure your blog’s performance is vital to see the clues on what’s gaining traffic and what isn’t.
Solopreneurship is a great option despite the fact that it’s not generating jobs. As you mentioned, at the same time they have to have an entrepreneurial mindset since everything is on them. Like myself, I really don’t want to build a team of people and there are others who are like this. You have to do what makes you happy.
Thanks Amar for stopping by and sharing your insight! Sorry for the delayed response.
Sherman Smith recently posted…How Can Solopreneurs Promote Their New Blog Posts?
Good stuff Sherman. It’s hard to find anything to disagree with here… so instead I’m going to pontificate upon a couple of things you said.
The first thing I want to talk about is the concept of people not knowing what you’re trying to convey. I think that’s a rare occurrence when people are actually visiting someone’s blog unless the owner or writer is bad at it. If you’re talking about SEO then you might have a point. At least half the people know what’s coming based on the title of the post, while the other 49.8% knows what you’re talking about within the first paragraph or two. For the rest… you just have to assume that’s not your target audience and move on with life.
Being a one trick pony, per se, is why so many people have trouble writing on their blogs; there’s only so much one can say about any topic, no matter what it is, without being ready to diversify a bit.
This takes me to the second thing, which is gearing posts towards a specific audience. Something I’ve written about for years is people getting into a subject they really don’t know, with the express intention of making money via blogging. How many times have a read the same post, with almost the same exact words, by multiple bloggers? That’s proof that people have no idea what they’re writing about; they’re just trolling for numbers… which they won’t get because someone else has already said what they’re saying.
I’m of the opinion that you, the blog owner, must have the same interest in the topic you’re writing about, because that’s the only way you can have any consistency in creating new posts. Everything doesn’t have to be defined so finitely. For instance, I have a finance blog, and there are literally thousands of topics I can write on that are related to finance. If I ever run out of things to say then I’m a moron! lol
Just my 3 cents, since I wrote something way too long. 😉
Mitch Mitchell recently posted…6 Blog Maintenance Areas You Need To Check
Hey Mitch,
You made a valid points about people not knowing what the blog post is trying to convey. It could be that those who aren’t clear about what you’re trying to convey may not be your target audience. They could click on your site, and based of each point you make, not only see the connection to the title, but also may come to your blog with a different focus. For example, you may have a blog post about Content Marketing, and even though you may go into detail about different content, some people who visit may expect for you to talk only about writing better blog posts.
The second thing you said I was guilty of a few times when I first started. The only thing I did different was that I made sure that I used my own words. But yes, you can see they only have a generic idea about the topic and are just using the post in order to get more traffic, not targeted, and hopefully sales conversions. At least that was my plan and you know what? It obviously didn’t work LOL
It’s important to have a clear message about certain topics. As you have a finance blog, your message is going to have a clear message to everyone that the only topics you’re going to talk about are going to be geared towards finance. It could be on stocks, bonds, mutual fonds, ETFs, etc….But if you change up and start talking about knitting, then you’re audience is going to look at you side ways. But I know you’re not going to run out of things to say when it comes to finance 😉
Thanks for stopping by Mitch! Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Years!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Thrive Content Builder Review: Best Drag And Drop Website Builder
Hey Sherman, I am glad I stumbled upon your website. I have to say I have read a few of your articles and they are all very comprehensive. You go into some great detail, which I know from experience… can be difficult to keep up. What’s funny is you start with the About Me page, this ended up being last on my list for a little while. I didn’t consider at first if this page had much importance, but you are correct. The proof in how I felt reading your profile blurb. Your interests etc instill a base for your readers to connect. Thanks for your detailed post. If anyone is reading this and concerned about traffic they should also read your post on Bounce Rate. (I was going to comment on this post, but it doesn’t seem you allow comments -fyi). Thanks again Sherman!
Hey Anthony,
I’m glad this post was able to help you.
Blogging is a great way for anyone to brand themselves. Especially Solopreneurs. This is why it’s wise to start off with the About Me page and based the rest of your blog off of this. This will give your audience a chance to get to know you and what your blog will be directed to.
The bounce rate post is a great blog for those that’s been blogging for a few months or more. I’m surprise that you weren’t able to comment on it. You may want to try it again. If you’re not able to, let me know.
Thanks for stopping by ! Have a great rest of the week!
Sherman Smith recently posted…How A Good Bounce Rate Is A Great Indicator Of Targeted Traffic
Excellent and extremely practical advice Sherman!
And BTW, thanks to you, I’m now becoming far
more familiar with my Google Analytics account.
And you were certainly right, there is a ton, of
relevant and extremely helpful data on the platform.
And as a direct result of learning to go just below the surface,
I was able to discover, some of most widely read post, and to
create even more beneficial use from them.
Thanks so much for recommending and encouraging us,
to become far more familiar, with this incredible, free and
extremely helpful software.
Mark recently posted…Since Your Small Business Can Generate Marketing Leverage Why Pay For Advertising?Part Four
Hey Mark,
That’s great that you are getting more familiar with Google Analytics.
It will definitely give you a good direction for your blog and business. I know it was convoluted when you first saw it LOL, but you don’t have to use every metric in it. Just focus on the few I’ve mentioned in past blog posts to help you build a strong foundation.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week !
Sherman Smith recently posted…Free SEO Training To Increase Revenue With Matthew Woodward