Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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July 28, 2010

Getting Your Blog Traffic An Old-Fashioned Way

Liz wrote this at 8:45 am

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Last week, I had two doctor’s appointments, one at my new gynecologist and one at my new ophthalmologist. Both of these visits had a common thread.
At each, my physicians made small talk with me. I told them about my 3-year-old daughter and my love for family. Both asked what my job was, and I don’t know if they’re required to ask about this (I did have to fill it out in the paperwork), or if they were genuinely interested.
Nonetheless, my simple answer was: “I’m a freelance writer.” That statement raised their eyebrows, and they asked what I wrote. For simplicity’s sake, I told them I wrote for businesses on the Internet as well as for an online magazine. I also highlighted my history, explaining that I previously wrote for the local newspaper.

Interestingly, they both responded by asking an identical question. “What do you like to write about?”

I said that my favorite writing topic is family-related because my family is my life.

Talk in the real world

I haven’t been running my blogging business for a long time, and I have a confession to make. I have felt much more comfortable talking about my business behind the computer screen, rather than face-to-face, even if those faces were familiar ones.

But as I talked about my love for writing with my doctors, I learned something that I’ve read over and over again in blog after blog: Talk about your business in the real world. Yeah, when we have access to the entire world, it’s easy to forget about the people in our own town.

I read a blog post a while back (I wish I could find it!) that made an interesting point. The blogger said if you are a professional blogger for businesses, you should not neglect your local area. You could be the only one in your entire city.

Of the 20,000 people in my city, I only know one other professional blogger, and she’s my associate. Think about your area. What is your niche? You too might be the only person in your region offering the information in your blog.

Talk to the community

So I started brainstorming some ways to get my name known in my city. I used to be community editor for the newspaper, and I covered many club and organization meetings. These meetings oftentimes included guest speakers who not only shared useful information, but also gave out materials on their occupation/business.

I realized that several business professionals attended these meetings, and I could reach these individuals by volunteering to speak. Most of these meetings, like Kiwanis or Rotary, are covered in the newspaper. Can you see the free publicity that has the potential to reach a broad audience?

My goal is to speak for at least one meeting by the end of the year. If I get a lead, great. But my real objective is to get people talking about my blog and what I do.

Talk to familiar faces

I previously mentioned how I’ve been more comfortable speaking about my blogging virtually, rather than face-to-face. My other goal is to talk about blogging to my family and friends. It might not seem much like a goal, but several of my family members and friends aren’t aware of my blog.

Do your relatives and acquaintances know you have a blog? If they aren’t, why don’t you mention it? Be careful not to give your brother a sales pitch. Be casual. Be conversational.

If you want more traffic to your blog, and we all do, start talking in the real world. Those people own computers, too!

Who do/will you talk to about your blog? 

—-
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Filed under Successful Blog, Writing | 8 Comments »




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8 Comments to “Getting Your Blog Traffic An Old-Fashioned Way”

  1. July 28th, 2010 at 9:04 am
    Getting Your Blog Traffic An Old-Fashioned Way | Liz Strauss at … » This Is How I Made My Money said

    [...] post: Getting Your Blog Traffic An Old-Fashioned Way | Liz Strauss at … Related postsMake Money Online With Clickbank Using Affiliate Marketing …How To Make Money [...]

  2. July 28th, 2010 at 9:26 am
    Jean Sarauer said

    Thank you for this post, Terez. It’s so easy to live in the virtual world and then consider ourselves to be ‘off from work’ when we go about our daily lives and miss opportunities. I’ve received requests to offer workshops just by casually talking about my blog in a coffee shop line. There is a world of people out there who want to get into the online world and are just looking for a friendly entry point.

  3. July 28th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
    Val Serpa said

    Thank you for this post! I am very new to blogging so any helpful tips are great! I want to blog to help people with ideas for parties and events, so I really need to focus on what the reader wants. I will use these tips! Thanks again!

  4. July 28th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
    Terez said

    Jean, Isn’t that the truth?! I think we have to remember we don’t have to “talk business,” so-to-speak. We can just casually talk about our blogs, like you said.

  5. July 29th, 2010 at 12:12 am
    Yvonne, My Halal Kitchen said

    I just saw the title of this post in your tweet status and it peaked my interest. The article is informative and helps me, as I was just considering joining my local area Chamber of Commerce for all of the networking and women in business meetings/events they do. My only question is- what if your area of business is so tightly focused? Does it still matter to get local and attempt to spread the word about what you do in your niche area?

    thanks for any response.

  6. July 29th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Yvonne,
    Even with a super niche business knowing the folks in your town will prove to be a great way to connect with help and you’ll be surprised at the folks they know who are one step away from you. Don’t overlook the opportunity each person’s network represents. :)

  7. August 1st, 2010 at 10:28 pm
    jtrigsby said

    Yvonne,

    To add to Liz’s comment, you may be tightly focused on your niche, and in the course of getting there you’ve learned a lot about what it takes and how to do it. Your input may be very valuable for someone focused on a completely different area. Never assume you have nothing to add!

    JT

  8. August 1st, 2010 at 11:34 pm
    Ricardo Bueno said

    I used to organize bi-weekly/monthly Tweetups/Meetups. A group of us got together over lunch and talked about our blogs, our goals, etc. When I think back on it, it was always a lot of fun to put faces to names (a lot of us hadn’t met before the first time around).

    As we did it more and more, the group got bigger. It was always a great experience and a fun time. And everyone walked away having learned something new.

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