How to Make a Blog That People Will Return to
- 1). Get a unique domain name, instead of a free one. Even if you post on a free blog service such as Blogger or Wordpress.com, you should still buy a real domain name. Visitors take unique names such as "example.com" more seriously than something like "example.webhost.99999.com."
- 2). Choose a domain name that is easy to remember. Visitors may intend to come back, but they often forget long or confusing domain names. Make your domain name relevant to your topic, and keep it as short as possible. Also, stick with a .com domain name if possible---people tend to forget about .net names.
- 3). Spend the time or money to create a professional layout. Your blog's layout is the first impression visitors have of you. If the layout is garish, plain, ugly or difficult to navigate, visitors won't take the time to read your posts. They also won't come back to give you another chance. If you don't want to create a layout yourself or hire a professional designer to do it for you, purchase a premium customizable theme. Themes are easy to configure and install, and you can buy one for less than $100.
- 4). Stay within your niche. Once you have selected a topic, stick to it. This doesn't mean you should never add personal insights, but each of your posts should relate to your main blog topic in some way. Blogging about several different topics confuses visitors. They don't return because they don't understand what your blog is about.
- 5). Post consistently. It doesn't matter whether you post every day or twice a week. Set a rhythm and stick to it. Visitors will repeatedly come to your site if they know they will consistently find fresh content. If you have to take time away from your blog, write posts in advance and use your blog host's scheduling feature to release them while you are away.
- 6). Offer free content in exchange for visitors' email addresses. The free content could be a report, an ebook or even a CD. Once you have their email addresses, you can email them more content to remind them to return to your site.
