A good design and epic content isn’t enough. It never really was, and that’s the shabby secret of so-called “web 2.0 marketing.” Gurus would have you believe that “if you build it, they will come.” That only works in the movies. Here’s what works in the real world.
You’re Not Promoting Your Site
Most people adopt the strategy of “publish and pray.” But, this is a terrible strategy. If you publish something, no matter how often, you’re not going to attract people to your blog by letting it sit there and rot. You have to promote it. If you’ve got great content but your website isn’t getting found, you may want to consider getting the help of an SEO agency.
Yeah, that’s a dirty word in many circles, but you have to get over it. Don’t be shy. If you have something truly great and educational to share, there are people out there who want to read it.
You’re Not Speaking To Your Ideal Customer
Are you marketing ice to Eskimos? Are you trying to sell ketchup to the white lace and doily club? If so, there’s your problem. Large companies typically use something like the IBM AS400 to gather and sort data so they can make decisions about what their site visitors are doing, what they’re interested in, and what they want from the company.
If you can’t afford a system like that, you can still leverage it by getting on your competitor’s mailing lists and just hang. Watch what they do. Watch what they don’t do.
Use sites like Topsy to see who is interested in what in your industry.
You’re Posting Too Much To Your Blog
If you’re posting every single day to your blog, how valuable can that content be, really? Most people fatigue from reading a company blog every day – especially when it’s filled up with corporate speak and technical jargon.
Stop posting every day. Research shows that you don’t need to do that to get more traffic.
Your Headlines Stink
What do your headlines look like? Are you using proven headline templates and marketing formulas? Sites like Copyblogger, Boost Blog Traffic, and Backlinko are all great resources for ideas on how to write epic headlines and grab the attention of your readers with amazing content that delivers.
You Don’t Have An Email List
Maybe you suffer from small list syndrome. Go look at your subscriber count. Now look at the number of people on your email list that actually engage with you via email. Do you get people regularly responding to your emails? Clicking links? Taking action on things you lay out for them?
When someone signs up, are they even opening your emails?
Do you even have enough people on your list to matter?
If you’re not actively building an email list, then you can mark that down as a major reason why you’re not getting enough traffic. Email is a great way to spread the word about your blog and website. Every time you publish a new post, alert your email subscribers about it and watch the traffic swell on that day.
Then, ask them to share your content and three days later, you should end up with an amazing boost to your site.
Sean Perry has worked as an eCommerce analytics manager for the past 5 years. He enjoys sharing his knowledge to help small businesses succeed, and writes for a selection of business blogs.