The Secret to Site Traffic, and 7 Ways to Make it Happen
1. Keep Notes
New writers and creators might have lots of ideas of things they’d like to try. and that’s great! Start with that. But once that initial pool of ideas is exhausted, you will most likely find that coming up with new ideas is one of the harder bits of being creative. Now some people like me can only come up with new ideas when we sit down and force ourselves into a certain idea-finding mindset. Others, however, come up with ideas all the time, and then forget them. Don’t let that happen to you. Grab a note-taking app on your phone, for example, and write that stuff down! Keep all of your content ideas in one place, so you can pick and choose from them when it’s time to sit down and work.2. Look for Contributors
This option requires a bit of a budget, if you want to do it right. But, if your company is large enough, you might consider investing in hiring a writer/creator part-time, or on a freelance basis. This is not as easy as it sounds, though. You want a writer who knows at least enough about your field or industry that they don’t sound like complete amateurs. You want a contributor who can meet deadlines. You want one that can take suggestions. And ideally, you want one that has their own voice, a distinct style to create a personal connection with your readers/listeners/viewers that they’ll keep coming back for. And then you want one that’s within your price range. As they say: cheap, fast, and good. Pick two.3. Start a Series
One of the easiest ways to keep regular content going is to start a series. I don’t mean a series of articles that has two-to-five articles and that’s it. Those can provide some content, but they have an ending point by nature. I’m talking about a series that can be continued nearly ad-infinitum if you make a new installment every week, every two weeks, or every month. Easy ideas for this kind of content include:- Reviews
- State of the industry articles
- Interviews
- Compilations of resources (ie the 25 best tools for X)
4. Start a Podcast
Don’t let anybody tell you that you have to spend a ton of money to start a podcast. There are some decent ones out there that have been recorded (and even filmed) on higher-end mobile phones. Just grab some friends and colleagues in your field, sit down, and talk about your industry. It helps to have a short outline of topics you’d like to discuss, but otherwise, keep it fairly casual, and don’t make it too long. Then just put up an episode on your blog regularly. Once a month is fine to start with, if you’re quite busy. If the podcast in particular really takes off, then you might consider investing more in equipment.5. Contribute to the Conversation
In every industry, the people who blog about it tend to follow some trends. Whenever a big story comes up, read what others have to say on it, and write a response. Well, you could try to be first to get your opinion out there, but that’s a rough game that would require some sleepless nights. Responses can take a few forms. You can politely point out things you disagree with other people on to provide a different perspective. You can respond to people you agree with, but try to build on the points they made, and look for things they might have missed. Lastly, you can just point your own readers to content that you can’t find any fault with. Yes, that’s an option.6. Editorial Calendar
Put together an editorial calendar. It’s like an outline for your blog, but you put in a calendar format. Simply put, an editorial calendar does for your blogging what any calendar does for the rest of your life. Once you have your regular posts and already-written posts on the calendar, you can immediately see where you might be missing anything. You can make one with a tool as simple as Google Calendar, and keep it synced with everyone who contributes to your company blog. If you use a CMS like WordPress, there are plugins like the appropriately-named Editorial Calendar to give you an easy calendar overview of posts that are actually in your CMS. From there, you can move posts around as you see fit.7. Build Your Writing Confidence
One of the things that was most difficult for me as I started writing was the simple yet panic-inducing fear of failure. Nothing kills a writing/creative habit like just being sure that you’re is going to suck anyway, so why try? Practice is one of the more obvious answers to this conundrum, and it’s absolutely essential. However, you can get some confidence by just preparing yourself correctly. Prepare yourself by reading, a lot. I’ve mentioned CopyBlogger maybe a thousand times, and I’ll reference a thousand times more. They offer good writing advice. Prepare to write by making sure you have a solid outline that covers everything you want to mention. Get some good music going, or find a quiet place to work. Just make sure you’re calm and feeling good. It makes it a lot easier to just focus on making something that will keep your users coming back.Ezequiel Bruni
Ezequiel Bruni is a web/UX designer, blogger, and aspiring photographer living in Mexico. When he’s not up to his finely-chiselled ears in wire-frames and front-end code, or ranting about the same, he indulges in beer, pizza, fantasy novels, and stand-up comedy.
Read Next
15 Best New Fonts, July 2024
Welcome to our monthly roundup of the best fonts we’ve found online in the last four weeks. This month, there are fewer…
By Ben Moss
20 Best New Websites, July 2024
Welcome to July’s round up of websites to inspire you. This month’s collection ranges from the most stripped-back…
Top 7 WordPress Plugins for 2024: Enhance Your Site's Performance
WordPress is a hands-down favorite of website designers and developers. Renowned for its flexibility and ease of use,…
By WDD Staff
Exciting New Tools for Designers, July 2024
Welcome to this July’s collection of tools, gathered from around the web over the past month. We hope you’ll find…
3 Essential Design Trends, July 2024
Add some summer sizzle to your design projects with trendy website elements. Learn what's trending and how to use these…
15 Best New Fonts, June 2024
Welcome to our roundup of the best new fonts we’ve found online in the last month. This month, there are notably fewer…
By Ben Moss
20 Best New Websites, June 2024
Arranging content in an easily accessible way is the backbone of any user-friendly website. A good website will present…
Exciting New Tools for Designers, June 2024
In this month’s roundup of the best tools for web designers and developers, we’ll explore a range of new and noteworthy…
3 Essential Design Trends, June 2024
Summer is off to a fun start with some highly dramatic website design trends showing up in projects. Let's dive in!
15 Best New Fonts, May 2024
In this month’s edition, there are lots of historically-inspired typefaces, more of the growing trend for French…
By Ben Moss
How to Reduce The Carbon Footprint of Your Website
On average, a web page produces 4.61 grams of CO2 for every page view; for whole sites, that amounts to hundreds of KG…
By Simon Sterne
20 Best New Websites, May 2024
Welcome to May’s compilation of the best sites on the web. This month we’re focused on color for younger humans,…