Woodside California USA
Every split second a person is not on your blog you bet your sweet a** that somebody else is making money.
Is this radical?
You bet.
Look closely. Bloggers advise you to:
- build an email list
- drive Google traffic
- use social media
- become an email inbox lounge lizard
- guest post
- comment genuinely on blogs
Each strategy has its place.
I even advise you to work a few of these channels consistently.
But when you are on Facebook something happens: Facebook makes money. Literally and figuratively, Facebook makes bank because you are spending time on Facebook.
Ditto for email, Google and other marketing channels.
Consider Google. Optimize posts to drive page 1 traffic. But Google is Google. Google traffic is not a guarantee. Users may click through to your blog from Google. But if users stay on Google…..well……like the Facebook example above, the billions and billions of dollars keep flowing to sites like Facebook and Google because your rump is over there.
So many people run to these sites meaning none of the folks on those sites are on your blog.
How do you get them to visit your blog?
Spend most time on your blog. Create content. Promote old posts through offsite channels. Read and reply to comments.
What Is the Problem Here?
Being on:
- X
- Gmail
- Mail Chimp
- other blogs
is necessary to bridge the gap between your blog and the outside world.
But being on those sites means you are not:
- on your blog
- creating content for your blog
- replying to comments on your blog
- actively drawing attention to your online courses, eBooks and services
- encouraging readers to spend time on your blog
- inspiring readers to drive referral traffic and referral business
- making the most money through your blog
How Do You Solve this Problem?
Spend most time:
- publishing new blog posts
- promoting old blog posts aggressively
- reading and replying to blog comments in timely fashion
- promoting business pages aggressively
Spend the rest of your time working offsite channels by publishing practical content and engaging interested people through social media, email and blog comments.
The solution is simple to understand intellectually but may be difficult to understand emotionally. Most bloggers believe that they need Google or an email list before most need their blogs. Is this thinking upside-down? Yep. But most bloggers think this way. Of course most bloggers leave a big chunk of change on the blogging table.
Why would interested people spend hours on your blog if you spend hours on Facebook? Facebook users will just meet you there, chat with you there, reply to comments, direct message you and communicate through FB to grow the Massive Meta Empire.
Gmail? Same deal. Google? Same deal. X….LinkedIn….Reddit…..every second you spend on each site directly builds their empires. As you build their empires you will generate some blog traffic because targeted users migrate from each offsite source to your blog. But the most stunning success originates from spending most time on your blog creating new content, promoting old content and replying to comments.
Promoting Blog Content Offsite Sends Direct Traffic Onsite
I can hear you now.
Sharing blog posts on Facebook, X and LinkedIn means hopping offsite to do it.
True.
Yet versus spending hours daily dropping text-only updates to these channels, blog post links distributed via channels send direct traffic to your blog.
Offsite sources do not favor links. Why would they willingly send people offsite? But who cares? Promote blog posts aggressively as you work in text-based updates to send an increasing volume of direct traffic to your blog.
Spend a good chunk of time offsite sending users back to your blog by promoting blog posts consistently through offsite channels. Don’t be shy. Don’t fear loss. Don’t blog from scarcity or poverty. Drop those blog post links daily. Again though; drop a steady volume of text-only updates to establish balance. Posting only links to social media can force the algorithm to bury all blog post links under great resistance. Text content makes the algorithm happy enough to shine the spot light on your blog posts.
Why Is This Concept Important?
You want to back burner your blog because most blogging mentors basically tell you to do it.
How?
Most tell you things like “Nobody cares about your blog.”
or,
“Without Google traffic, you’re dead in the water.”
The next step involves doing everything for Google traffic.
Or maybe the mentor reminds you that the money is in the list which is not true. The money is in your blog posts because if you email crappy posts nobody will buy your stuff or drive referral business.
The money is in your blog.
Keep yourself parked in front of your blog for most of the time.
Eventually, you may spend most time offsite but promote blog posts consistently to drive folks back to your blog.
Start Thinking Like the Silicon Valley Heavies
I am writing these words from Redwood City California.
I am currently in Silicon Valley.
Facebook, Google and Apple all sit a hop, skip and jump away from me.
These Silicon Valley Heavies keep users onsite. In the case of Facebook and Google, the approach is more direct. As for Apple, current customers and potential customers spend ample time talking about Apple hardware on the main site or at least on a site like Amazon.
The point is this: once each grabs your attention, the site becomes a vacuum not a revolving door.
Make your blog the same way.
Conclusion
Log in to your backoffice.
Work on the next post.
Open blog comments.
Promote blog posts through various channels.
Time yourself on social media.
Spend most time on your blog.
Give folks a good reason to spend time on your blog.
Your Turn
Do you think this way?
Or you spend too much time offsite?
Blogging Resources
