Where do you find an audience for your blog?

A couple weeks ago over on Biz Tips Blog, I asked about your challenges around creating and managing your online visibility. In addition to the usual issues around staying motivated and finding time, a couple of readers wanted to know how to get in front of their ideal reader (aka prospect/client).

Here are a couple of ways you can do that. Take your pick or implement them all!

1. The first thing I usually suggest to clients is that they do research on blogs in their niche. You can be sure that if a blog already exists then there is probably an audience and they will be fairly targeted for you. I'm presupposing that you've done keyword research and are clear on your niche and who your ideal reader is. You can use a free keyword tool to create a list of your best keywords.

Next find some blogs.  Check out Technorati.com, AllTop.com and Blogs.com to find blogs in your niche. Find 3-5 blogs that resonate with you. Subscribe to them. Read them when they have new content and COMMENT when you have something valuable to add.

This does two things: 1) creates visibility for you on a site that is targeted at your ideal reader and 2) if you content is useful, will drive those readers to your blog to check out what you have to say.

2. Where does your ideal reader hang out? Facebook? Twitter? (I have no doubt that your ideal reader is on twitter so don't ignore this.) Forums? You need to know this in order to hang out with them and that's the key. Be where your reader is.

3. If you're not already on Facebook, join it now. Then, do a search for groups that relate to your ideal reader.

Let's say I'm a weight loss coach and have a blog on the same subject. I might do search on "Weight Watchers" and find a couple of groups to join and then start participating in the discussion.

 

You can "friend" others in the group and get to know them. I would also start my own group and a "fan page" and start inviting people to join. You can feed your blog posts into pages so your blog is getting exposure with your targeted group.

[NOTE: I took a break from writing this post to listen to the keynote by Gary Vaynerchuk for Social Media Success Summit. He spoke directly to what I'm writing about in the context of creating personal brand equity and finding the conversations about your niche. It's the same process as finding people to attract to your blog. When it gets down to it your blog is your home base and that's where you want to drive the traffic.]

The more you connect with the folks who are in your groups, the more likely it is they will be paying attention when it's time to feature a blog post.

4. Twitter. If you're not on twitter, join now.  Use search.twitter.com to search keywords in your niche and find the people who are talking about your topic. Jump in; join the conversation. Follow those people and respond to their questions or contribute to the discussion.

You can also use tweetbeep.com or the alerts feature on tweetlater.com to have emails sent when your keywords are mentioned on twitter.

Make sure your blog posts are being fed into your twitter stream by setting up twitterfeed.com. I'd say about 40-50% of my blog traffic now comes from twitter.

5. Forums. I don't participate much on forums much so I'm directing you to a post on Problogger called Build Your Blog with Forum Traffic.

6. Other social networks. There are gazillions of niche social networks on the Web. Do a search with your key word plus "social network" and see what you get. For example, I put running + social network in the Google search box and several social networks for runners were on the first page of results. If I had a blog about running, I would join those sites and start participating.

The bottom line is that the more you participate ... the more you are helpful ... the more you show you care and want to help people, then the more traffic you will generate back to your blog. And, that traffic will be pretty well targeted and qualified for what you're blogging about. And it takes time, work and perseverance. But this is about your business, right?

If you have proven tactics for getting in front of your ideal reader, I'd love to hear them. Post your ideas and tips in the comments below.

For more tips to attract more blog readers, download my free audio program: How to Drive Qualified Traffic to Your Blog.

Comments

[nick]

Thanks for the post very useful stuff in there.

bb take care

Nick

[Judy Wright]

Hello from Montana:

Thanks so much for sharing your tips and techniques. Every day I get a little smarter in this learning curve on the internet.

My blog on cyberbullying is a little off from my usual writing and so many of my loyal fans have not transferred. Need to find those who are concerned about this issue.

I will use your ideas today.
Thanks again, Judy

[ConnieGreen]

I have been spending some time on a few select forums, and find this to be an excellent way to connect with prospects. I limit my time there to five minutes, comment with some useful information, and then let my signature line do the work for me.
Connie

[Calxpel]

These are some good tips for promoting your blog. They may seem simple but you must complete them daily to see good results.