Top 6 Methods to Kick-Start Your Blog
There are a number of online resources that will give you ideas and approaches about how you can increase your blog’s exposure and visibility. But before you start pro-actively attracting readers, make sure that your blog has a properly-laid foundation so that your readers don’t visit once, never to be heard or seen again.
I consider these six approaches vital to my future blog(s) success:
- Post frequently with original content about topics related to your blog’s focus.
This one seems like a no-brainer, but it can be very difficult to actually do. I’m not saying that you need to make daily posts, but try to publish at least 3 to 4 posts each week as you are starting out. This will help make your blogging efforts a habit, will improve your writing, and will increase the total amount of related content on your blog. Frequency of site updates and the total amount of related content are two key measures to Search Engine Visibility and Page Rank.
  - Keep each of your posts focused on one major topic.
Don’t go off on a tangent on your individual posts unless it is truly warranted. Your readers will appreciate you staying on-topic to your post’s headline, and the Search Engines will be better able to categorize and rank your entry.
  - Find other related blogs and start interacting with their creators.
Spend some time on Technorati searching about your blog’s content. Chances are you’ll find a number of blogs that already exist in your niche. Don’t worry though! Each blog is the expression of it’s author, and there is always room for new, good resources. Take the time to read other blogs to get ideas, see how other author’s interact with their readers, and what types of stories generate the most interaction (comments) with their audience.When you find a post on a topic that interests you or is related to your blog, take the time to post a comment. You may also take it a step further, and write a post on your blog about the same subject, but with your own unique take. Be sure to give original blog some link love by including a direct link to their post in yours, and also be sure to post a trackback to their original post.
  - Get the word out about your blog among your friends & family.
Send an email out to your entire group of friends and family with the link to your blog, and be sure to include a description of what your blog is about. Ask them to check it out from time to time, to give you constructive feedback and to forward it to any of their friends who they think might be interested. Depending on the web-savvy of your family, it also wouldn’t hurt to request a reciprocal link in the blogroll for any family members who might have their own blog.
  - Include your blog address in the signature of your personal email.
  - Submit your site to Yahoo, Google and dmoz.org to get the Search Engine love going.
There are also a large number of Internet Directories you can submit to for free. Yahoo and DMoz.org are notoriously slow about posting sites to their directory, so by the time your site is accepted, your foundation should be ready for the visitors.
There are certainly many more activities that you can (and should!) undertake for your blog(s), but by taking care of these six core activities, you’ll lay a solid foundation for the future of your blog.
