PureBlogging

Last week I wrote about the need for attracting new readers to your blog and we looked at some ways to do so. While finding new readers is an ongoing concern, at some point those first-time visitors will need to be converted into repeat visitors if you want to develop a strong community around your blog.

Here are some methods to turn new visitors into repeat visitors:

1. Provide quality content.

By far the most important thing you can do to build a loyal following is to consistently produce high quality blog posts. You can have all of the marketing knowledge and experience possible and you will still struggle to get repeat visits without good, solid content. Content creation should always be a priority and plenty of time should be devoted to it.

2. Display your subscription link prominently.

RSS and email subscribers to your blog are far more likely to return on a regular basis than non-subscribers. This is one of the main reasons that subscribers are so important. Make it as easy as possible for visitors to subscribe by putting the links in a place where visitors will notice right away.

3. Encourage bookmarks.

Bookmark managers like Del.icio.us are great for helping people keep track of pages that they might want to return to at a later time. And if the pages they want to return to are on your blog, that means repeat traffic for you. You can encourage bookmarks by adding icons, or the official Tagometer Badge, to your pages.

4. Offer a subscribe to comments option.

Visitors who leave comments have shown a real interest in the blog post by taking the time to leave feedback. Many of them would like to know when you, or another reader, respond to the comment. If you allow commenters to subscribe to comments they’ll get an email notification when a new comment is posted and maybe they’ll return to the post at that time. For WordPress users the Subscribe to Comments Plugin is an easy install that can encourage repeat traffic and stronger communication.

5. Respond to comments.

As was mentioned in the previous point, many of your commenters will be interested in your response to their comments and questions. Simply responding and showing them that you recognize their contribution can go a long way.

6. Show top commenters.

Here at PureBlogging, David uses another popular plugin called Show Top Commentators Plugin in the sidebar to recognize the readers that have contributed the most comments for the month. The top commenters get a link back to their website or blog. Readers who are interested in the link and the recognition will often come back day-after-day to leave a comment.

7. Send a personal email to first-time commenters.

There are plugins out there that will send an automated email to readers when they leave their first comment. I’ve received plenty of these emails and only 2 or 3 have ever sounded genuine or encouraged me to click on the link back to the blog. I have had really good success with sending a short, personal email to new readers to say thanks (although I have struggled recently to keep this up). A personal note of appreciation can be very beneficial. It’s also a good idea to click-through to their website or blog and mention something about it in your email. It shows them that your message is not automated and that you care enough to visit their site.

8. Write a series of blog posts.

Many bloggers effectively use series of posts to build anticipation and interest. If you have a topic that contains a lot of information, consider breaking it up and presenting it as a series.

9. Post frequently.

Quantity, in addition to quality, is important for repeat traffic. Most readers don’t want to return to your blog only to find that nothing new has been published. Keeping fresh content on the front page will encourage visitors to come back frequently.

10. Use a domain name that can be easily remembered.

If you are starting a new blog keep in mind that your domain name should not be difficult to remember. Try to avoid multiple hyphens, long names, and extensions other than .com (unless you have a good reason to choose a .net, .org, etc.). Most of your visitors will come through search engines or links from other places, but some may want to find your site and not be able to remember your domain name.

11. Link out to those who comment.

Every Friday David publishes a post that includes links to those who have commented frequently throughout the week. I think this is a great way to say “thank you” to readers and encourage repeat visits and comments throughout the week.

12. Use an editorial calendar.

Using an editorial calendar for publication of new posts is a great way to build anticipation from readers. An editorial calendar involves publishing posts on some sort of regular basis. For example, you could post a new article on a specific topic each Monday, a different topic each Wednesday, etc. As your readers see the posts week-after-week they will start to look forward to them.