Build Relationships, Get Pet Blog Traffic

Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess 

What do pet bloggers want? You want traffic to your blog. Right? If you didn’t want traffic you wouldn’t spend time crafting your words and enhancingy our posts with pictures and relevant links. What can you do to build relationships and get pet blog traffic? There are some steps that we gleaned from a Copyblogger post and expanded on for our pet blogging business owners.

Blogging is not a once and done task; it is an ongoing weekly (if not more) business of building your archives and writing content that your audience wants to read. Here are ways to build relationships and get traffic to your pet blog:

• Know who your ideal reader is. If you’ve written a pet blogging business plan, you will have determined your ideal client during that process. If you haven’t done a business plan, take some time to consider,  “who is your ideal reader?” Who is the audience you’re trying to reach? Is it pet owners? Pet business owners? Young? Old? Married? Single? Kids or no kids? What do they spend their money on — just getting by or high end pet products with which to pamper their pets?
• Write to that ideal reader. If you sit down and think about the fact that you’re writing to the world, it can be daunting. If you sit down and write to an individual reader, it’s more like a conversation and typically the words will flow more quickly and easily.
• Remember that your blog posts are not about you, they are about your reader. Try to use “you” when you’re blogging. “You, too, can have the success in cat bathing that I experienced if you do this!” rather than, “Here’s how I successfully groomed my cat; read my tips.”
• Think about why a reader would come to your blog. Don’t think about all of the stellar information you have to share, but instead, think about why a reader would want to read about that knowledge. People who read your blog don’t really care about your mission and vision statement, they care about the information you are imparting and how it will help them in their daily lives.
• Do your pet blog posts help your readers learn, or do, or make smart purchasing decisions or are they your random musings on life? If your reader clamors for your random musings then, great, you have found your audience. If, however, your reader is a harried mother who is trying to deal with school age and under children and a pet and a home business and a spouse, chances are she is coming to your blog to learn something that will make her life easier. Give ’em what they want.
• Share. Share. Share. Once you write a blog post, share it on your Facebook, and Twitter and Pinterest pages. Make sure your readers know when you have something new for them to read and enjoy. The last thing you want to be on the internet is invisible. Make certain you are also reading and commenting on the social media posts of others and sharing the love (just as you will in the following point!)
• Make friends with your readers. If they take the time to come to your blog and leave a comment — whether good, bad or indifferent — thank them for commenting. Take the time to check out the blogs of others and leave comments. Share the love!

What other steps can you take to boost your blog traffic?

(Photo: Shutterstock Dog on Computer)