Having no visitors on your new blog is a rite of passage, and it sucks. Luckily, there is a tried and true method to getting readers to your blog, ready?
The secret is…
You Must Tell People About Your Blog!
It’s true.
The go-getters talk and talk and talk all over the internet all day long about their blog.
While the go-getters are spamming hundreds of posts a day* across a dozen sites and driving traffic…
The no-getters are fretting about SEO “optimization” in hopes Google will smile down upon them someday.
Much like how Larry Loser thinks he will get the hot chick over Axel Ass-Kicker by being nice.
(News Flash: Google is too smart to fall for SEO tricks, for proof check out all the internet marketers crying in Reddit forums about Google’s Helpful Content Update).
So, SEO is dead.**
Google bringing massive traffic to sites is not, but manipulating the algorithm (AKA SEO) is.
That means the burden is on you to tell people about your blog and here is how to do it.
How To Get Your First 1,000 Unique Visitors, Step-By-Step
This is assuming you have content on your website–I’d say get at least ten quality posts of ~1,000 words before you drive your first 1,000 unique visitors.
1. Go To Where The People Are (Social Media)
I don’t like social media but that’s where the people hang out.
Social media isn’t just X, Instagram, Facebook. It also includes Reddit, Quora, Pinterest, LinkedIn, among others.
Where should you start? How many channels?
The long game is to have a primary channel to drive traffic, and that channel will also be an extension of your blog (a blog post for another time).
The short game is to drive your first 1,000 unique visitors.
So, to start off, select 2-3 platforms.
Tip: Reddit is on fire. Google is sending the platform massive traffic. Highly recommended to familiarize yourself with it.
2. Which Social Media Platforms Should You Choose For Your Blog?
If your blog is mostly written articles (as opposed to an image heavy blog like food); X, Quora, and Reddit is good, you already got the writing chops, so play to your strengths.
For heavy image blogs Pinterest is king. Then of course Instagram. If forced to choose a third option I’d say X.
I don’t know Linkedin that well, but the more I look at it the more I think it could be a powerhouse.
You aren’t looking to marry whatever platforms you choose to get started, just some casual dating. Adjustments and platform changes can be made later.
Tip: X content can be repurposed on Threads.
3. Be Useful, Be The Annoying Guy
“OMG I wrote about this exact thing on my blog!!! The answer to your question is (SOLID ANSWER). I went into even more detail on my blog, including the secret to (blank), check it out lol (Blog Link) (Smiley Face).”
Obviously, be familiar with the ToS*** for when you can and cannot spam your blog link.
On X, for example, you can get banned for sharing self-promotional links in other people’s threads. So have your link listed in your profile or pinned post.
Genuinely, assist people and answer their questions and give yourself credit, you can even make your handle @YourNameBlog67 or something, and then people will immediately know “this person has a blog.”
Tip: Use a throwaway handle. The most likely time you will get a ban is at the beginning when you are uncertain of ToS.
4. Have An E-Mail Pop-Up Subscription Form
I hate email pop-ups. You hate email pop-ups. Everybody hates email pop-ups. Yet, they work.
Set up an email pop-up.
Or all your effort to drive traffic to your blog is pointless.
The most valuable asset in your blogging is…your content, obviously.
But the second most valuable asset is your email list.
Collect the emails.
Tip: Set the pop-up form to only include an email address box to opt-in, don’t include a name box. Everybody hates those stupid emails that start off “Hi (Your Name)! I was just thinking about how I can help you with…”
It’s cringe, 100% of people know the sender is being insincere and did not type out a personalized email just for them; I typically unsubscribe from any newsletter that starts this way. If the starting point is insincerity, I’m not going to listen to what you have to say.
5. Video Like YouTube and TikTock Can Drive Big Traffic
My desire to be on YouTube is somewhere between my desires to have a root canal and being punched in the face.
But the numbers can’t be ignored: over one BILLION hours of YouTube is watched globally, per day. Somewhere around 80 million hours per day are watched on TikTok.
Yep, we are writers. Yep, we will need to awkwardly make YouTubes and TikToks.
If you are handy making videos, add this to your initial efforts to drive traffic.
Full disclosure: I’m not doing this yet, but I know I have to. I’m justifying my procrastination by building out on third party platforms where I can stick to my strength of writing. But yes, 100% procrastinating.
Tip: Don’t overthink it: get your phone, hit record, talk, upload. (I’ve at least gotten that far…once).
6. 13 Social Media(ish) Platforms You Can Choose From To Promote Your Blog
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
X
TikTok
Linkedin
Pinterest
Reddit
Quora
Threads
Twitch
Medium
Tumblr
There’s about 1,000 more. But I see little reason to go beyond these.
Tip: Reuse and repurpose your content. Example: (1) I can take this very article and turn it into a dozen tweets. (2) copy and paste the tweets to Threads (3) Quickly rewrite the article for Medium. (4) Quickly rewrite the article again for Facebook. (5) Record myself doing a rundown of this article for YouTube (6) Record it again for TikTok.
Recap:
- You have to tell people about your blog (harness your inner annoying guy)
- You have to get on social media (and be the annoying guy)
- Provide useful information and tell people there is more on your blog (provide links to your blog whenever ToS allow)
- Don’t be afraid of video (like I am)
- Set up an email pop up (even if everybody says they hate it)
- Have at least 10 solid articles on your blog prior to driving traffic
*I used the words “spam” and “spamming” in this article to be funny–”tongue in cheek” as they say–and to make a point about not being afraid to self-promote. But don’t do for real spam, that’s how you get kicked off of platforms. (Reminder: use a throwaway handle to learn a new platform).
**SEO is dead, but Google sending traffic to blogs is not. My point is that SEO (AKA manipulating Google’s algorithm for personal gain) is not possible anymore. Google is too good to be tricked. Yet, there is one exception: local businesses. If you have a local business with a local address, SEO is still very much alive.
***ToS = Terms of Service, I know you probably knew this, but I honestly had to google what the abbreviation was because for the life of me I couldn’t remember; so I included this footnote here for any other smooth brains reading this.