Half Moon Bay California
OK.
People visit your blog.
Perhaps 50 folks visit your blog daily.
But how many of those people stick around to take positive action on your blog?
How is your bounce rate? Do humans read your blog posts? Do people stick around to read two blog posts?
Do readers stick around to buy eBooks? Do folks drop genuine blog comments? How many genuine emails do you get?
Do people spam you? Believe it or not, this is a good thing. Spammers prove that your blog is in-demand. Why else would spammers want free exposure? Spammers want to drive business through the high traffic blog that is yours. Or perhaps through the low traffic but trusted blog that is yours.
Do you keep readers on your blog? Or do you send readers to the cyber hills?
Is Your Blog a Revolving Door?
Imagine driving 50 people to your blog daily.
Someone clicks a link. The person arrives.
What does this person do next? Leave immediately? Read one paragraph before leaving? Read one post before leaving permanently? Or does the person stick around to read a few blog posts for the next 10 to 20 minutes?
How sticky is your blog?
I keep blog comments open to make my blog sticky. Some readers stick around to drop genuine comments. I read every comment. I reply to every comment. Some readers begin a running dialog with me via nested comments. We both stick around. All upsides there. No downsides.
What happens after the reader drops a few genuine comments? Some commentors click through my related posts widget to read another blog post. Some readers drop another genuine comment after reading a related post. Other readers use the search bar to research specific topics.
Do you understand why embedding related posts and using a search bar keeps your blog sticky? Using elements to glue readers onsite helps both parties. Readers get what they want. By sticking around, your blog bounce rate drops. Good things happen for bloggers who keep readers onsite. Similar to people who stick around a store, readers who hang out onsite tend to become customers in some cases. In other cases, loyal readers:
- build social proof
- contribute user-generated content through comments
But the question remains.
Stop Chasing Big Numbers
Do you chase big traffic numbers without considering blog stickiness?
If everyone bounces from your blog it is like nobody visited your blog in the first place.
Why?
Bouncing readers never become loyal readers. Bouncing readers never become customers.
Metrics that matter depend on readers sticking around. Forget about Google for a moment. Think about your influence. Any blogging credibility hinges on the presence of loyal readers who follow your blog posts closely.
Big numbers may impress people. But impressing people does not typically put money in your pocket. Helping people with practical content puts money in your pocket. Readers generally care not about how much traffic you receive. How can you help them? People want to know how your content benefits these individuals.
How Do You Keep People Around?
Keep these practical tips in mind:
- publish detailed content for one specific reader to establish topical authority
- answer frequently asked questions from your niche to drive organic blog traffic
- publish one post weekly to be relevant
- link internally to relevant blog posts
- embed a related posts plug-in
- embed a search bar
- embed quick-loading ads to improve the user experience
- use at least one image per post to appease the human preference for eye candy
- open blog comments
- read and reply to all blog comments
- embed your email address
- read and reply to genuine questions from your niche arriving via email
What Catapults Readers Quickly?
I want to list a few offenders.
What sends people away from your blog?
- slow-loading ads
- delayed pop up forms
- extraneous widgets clearly not helpful for your readers; one example would be sharing reader’s GPS locations all around the world (sorry to burst your blogging bubble but reader locations do not matter nor does their GPS pin have anything to do with your blogging niche, blog post subject matter or anything to do with your blog)
- calling readers to three, five or ten calls to action via single posts or throughout your blog
- confusing readers by covering multiple topics; a jack of all trades masters none
Look closely at your blog even if doing so pains you.
Do you make any mistake from the bullet point list above?
Swallow your pride. Dissolve your ego. Correct errors.
Make your blog sticky icky to keep readers around for a while.
Give readers reasons to stay not to flee.
My Experience with this Topic
The old blogging me wanted readers to:
- show up
- buy my stuff
- leave
Picture a conveyor belt of customers.
Stop by. Read one post. Buy an online course or eBook. Leave to make room for the next customer.
Blogging never really works that way.
At least blogging never worked that way for me or any seasoned pro blogger I’ve followed closely for nearly two decades.
I did not make my blog sticky. I tried to get readers to buy my premium offerings. Linking internally? Who cares? I only wanted readers to click links pointing to my online course and eBooks for sale. Why would I embed a search form? I did not want readers to search for anything. I wanted visitors to become customers not to search for blog posts.
My abysmal bounce rate not only robbed me of Google traffic. Human beings simply did not stick around. I gave few people a reason to park their rear ends in front of Blogging From Paradise for 10 minutes, let alone for one hour.
Conquering various unconscious fears revealed my mistake.
My blog is far from perfect but at least I made it sticky.
I want you to stick around as long as possible to get whatever blogging tips you want to devour.
Of course that helps me too. Blog owners only benefit as more readers stick around for a long stretch of time.
Think Like a Reader Not a Blogger
I detest anyone who tries to force me to buy stuff by taking away pretty much all other options on their blog.
Whoops!
I was kinda that guy for a while because I thought like a blogger not a reader.
Thinking like a reader revealed the error of my ways.
I designed my blog through the eyes of a reader.
Readers:
- navigate seamlessly from post to post
- click through rich internal links to access detailed resources via long form blog posts
- query terms via a search bar
- get all content all the time with light selling via sidebar ads, blog post calls to action and a frequently updated free content library
My design is not really the best out there but I do not annoy readers into bouncing from my blog quickly.
No delayed pop ups, slow-loading dynamic ads or hard sells send readers sprinting for the cyber hills on Blogging From Paradise Dot Com.
Our tribe appreciates me for this.
Nor do I link to questionable sponsored content or aggressively pushed affiliate offerings. Everybody has the right to make a living. Sponsored content and affiliate revenue are legitimate streams if bloggers maintain full clarity by aligning each with specific reader needs.
However, some bloggers work both channels mainly to make money which diminishes credibility. As your cred drops more readers put your blog in their rear view mirror.
Conclusion
Make your blog sticky like glue.
Stop repelling readers.
Give visitors no reason to bounce pronto.
Craft an enticing user experience.
Succeed by convincing readers to park their duff in front of your blog for a while.
Your Turn
How do you make your blog sticky?
Or do you need to work on lowering your bounce rate?
Related posts:
10 Ways to Send Readers Away from Your Blog
10 Tips to Keep People on Your Blog
Is Your Blog a Vacuum or Revolving Door? 5 Tips to Lower Your Bounce Rate
How to Design Your Blog
How to Increase Blog Traffic without Creating New Content
Why Do You Need to Target Blog Traffic?
How to Get Blog Readers to Take Action: 8 Tips
What Underrated Blog Post Distribution Strategy Gets Blatantly Ignored?
