Try to think just beyond the normal and you will encounter an ocean of ideas to attract traffic on your blog; some heard, some unheard, but definitely not common ones. If you apply this in your daily life, say to save money or improve relations, I am sure you will do much better than the others. However, let’s not make this post a ‘how to be creative’ one and stick to blogging.

So, I tried to think beyond the uninteresting, usual ideas and stepped into the ocean. I came up with 3 unusual ways to attract people to visit your blog. These aren’t very thoughtful ones because you see them daily. However, you don’t use it as a source of promotion of your blog.

Alright. Enough of mysterious talks, let’s discuss the three ways. Okay wait! Remember, I said DISCUSS, and not just listen. I will come back to this point during conclusion.

1. Misspell some words

   Do it purposely. After writing the content of your post, select few words that are commonly misspelled and misspell them. You are getting it, right? Okay. So, do it and watch how the traffic pours into your blog. You will also find numerous comments under your post correcting you. Okay, I know it’s quite unethical to do such stuff just to attract traffic. I am not asking you to do it often. Do it once and for god’s sake, don’t do it if it’s your first article.

   Maybe you will be surprised noticing the traffic directed toward the misspelled blog post. And you will feel like writing another misspelled article. Don’t do it. If this happens a number of times, people will doubt your vocabulary and would never re-visit your site.

2. Video Blogging

   This is an easy one. All you need is a video editing software, a web cam, and a Youtube account. You don’t need anything else, that is, after assuming you have good imagination. A tinge of humor, beautiful looks, pleasant quotes, or unmatched sound would be an added advantage.

   What do you do with this webcam? Switch it on and start talking. The echelon of simplicity or complexity would depend on the niche and obviously you. You can opt to show the demo of a product or a service, if you are a reviewer. Or you could simply talk. Do something that people really want to see. Warning: Don’t start stripping, you may be banned.

   This is far more effective than simply writing text. Such blogs has the potential to reach millions and millions of people through web.

3. Reply to comments, regularly

   If your article is genuinely good, the first-time visitor might or might not revisit your site. However, if he comments, he will definitely revisit the blog to check your reply. If you haven’t posted any reply, chances are rare that he ever want to come again. But if you reply, he will be obliged to return.

   Replying to comments makes the environment quite friendlier and pleases the commenter. Personally, I reply to each and every comment I receive for my posts except the ones with just “great post.” However, I don’t totally avoid them. An occasional ‘thank you’ is the best option.

   Not answering to their questions is possibly the worst thing you could do to your blog. Never do this. Whenever some visitor asks a question, answer them. Even if it means saying, “I am not aware about it. Let me do a research and get back to you.”

Okay. Now this wasn’t a well researched post. I just thought about it for a couple of minutes and started writing. I do believe that these three are effective, in fact very effective ways to attract traffic. Avoid using the first point repeatedly.

Before initiating with these unusual ways, I said let’s DISCUSS. I am sure you might have encountered many such unusual ways that could really pull people to your blog. Let’s DISCUSS them.

Commenting is an essential element of any blog and it’s been explained, emphasized, and proved repeatedly. Along with you, it permits your readers to share their opinions and ideas in public.

And sincerely, it’s quite appreciative when someone goes through your entire post, scrolls till the bottom, and comment after analyzing it.

Recently, I met a friend who realizes the importance of comments on our blog and sincerely appreciates it. He, like me, wants to personally reply each comment he receives from his readers. I believe it’s a nice and genuine idea to make readers feel special and attended.

Replying to each and every post is quite lengthy and challenging. However, the efforts are worth in the end. So, we decided to come up with a list of things to be kept in mind while commenting. Every lengthy task requires planning. The list is definitely helping us. However, this list is also targeted to many bloggers, whom I have noticed, are replying to their comments in a dire comportment.

1. Addressing the commenter by their name:

   Knowing your readers personally is indeed one of the most effective ways to build a decent affinity. And it starts with addressing them by their names in your reply or emails. The best way to start a reply is “Hello ‘Commenter’s name’”. Now, that isn’t as robotic as you think. It’s quite courteous.

   I really appreciate when someone addresses me by my name. I feel they care about their readers and have enough consideratenesses to get the name right. And I like when someone addresses me by my first name. What do you prefer? First name or last?

   A subscriber recently asked me an interesting question about commenting. He got many comments on his first blog posts. However, many amongst used their site name to comment, instead of first name or last. His question was “Is it okay to address them by their site name?”

   It is, but only after making sure that you have tried enough to get the name and couldn’t find it. However, sometimes it may sound strange to address someone by “Hi Earn $100 every hour. How do you do?” Instead, you can click on the link and visit their blog to know their name. Most often, you will get it in the ‘About’ page. Or

   

   you can try visiting their recent posts and comments. Chances are high that you will find the name.

   However, if you are not so sure about the name, or can’t find it at all, you can opt to use the website name. But phrase it in a way that doesn’t sound funny.

2. Talk to all the commenters:

   This is what I have learned from my experience. Replying to one commenter and not to the other for the same post isn’t chivalrous at all. The person who doesn’t receive a reply will definitely feel ignored and aggravated. See, how easily you lose your readers.

   Okay, I agree many comments just says “Good Post”, “Great article”, or “Hey, it’s amazing”. Understand that although these are very small comments, at least they took the pains to write something, unlike thousand others who visited your blog but didn’t bother to comment. It doesn’t take much time to reply “Thank you for stopping by”, or just “Thanks”.

   The probability of getting a response again on such comments would be very low. It’s also possible that many wouldn’t ever visit your website or check your response. However, you need to remember that there are many other readers who visit your posts and check the comments and responses. For them, you are doing a great job.

   Bear in mind that responding to ever comment is quite difficult to manage, especially if yours is a blog that attracts huge traffic and numerous comments per post. So while preparing a schedule, allocate some time for replying to comments.

3. Ask them:

   If you really want to give a personal touch, don’t do the regular commenting process. If you don’t understand a particular comment, ask them to clarify it. Remember, it’s like a chat session. You need to interact with them openly. You can also be casual, but within limits. Asking questions is also a good way to keep the conversation going on.

   These are some essential points that we have come up with. We occasionally keep adding points to your list of ‘replying essentials’. I would really appreciate if you can contribute some points to enhance the quality of our list.