Getting Visitors to Your Blog

[Donna]

What are some strategies you use to get more traffic to your book blog? Do you just write your reviews and hope for the best? Do you use social media, SEO, guest blogging, something else? Do you even care if people read what you write?

Let's get a discussion going about any and all methods you use to get more people reading your blog, and which of those methods are working the best for you.

[Geoff]

I started my free Wordpress blog about three weeks ago and have come across some interesting blogs, and that some or self 'operating' I can't remember what the correct phrase is, but they are no longer on the free bee bit. I'd like to know more of this 'self operating' . .

[Donna]

Hey Geoff,

Do you have any links to some of these sites so I can have a look and get a better understanding of what you mean?

Cheers.

[Geoff]

http://cookingwithawallflower.com/blo...
I found the above blog interesting being a newby to blogging and this is where I came across 'self hosting' I think it is called - had to go to the above blog to find the correct name :-o)

I'd appreciate you thoughts on my blog (link below) I have a feeling that something is missing or wrong - colour, basic ideas - I'm not sure what it is . . ..
https://silverfox175.wordpress.com/

[Donna]

Oh, I understand now. :)

So there is WordPress.com and then there is self-hosted. Here's a breakdown of a free WordPress.com blog vs. a self-hosted one:

WordPress.com
Pros
- The basic plan is free.
- You don't have to worry about maintenance.
- They do regular backups of your site.

Cons
- You don't get your own domain name. Instead, it will be something like www.myblog.wordpress.com.
- You can't use custom themes.
- You can't install plugins.
- They show ads and keep the money.

Self-hosted WordPress
Pros
- You choose your domain name (e.g. www.myawesomeblog.com).
- You can use any theme you want.
- You can use any plugin you want.
- No ads unless you want them, and YOU keep the money.

Cons
- It's not free.
- You are responsible for maintaining your site and ensuring your plugins and themes are up-to-date.

Ultimately, it's a trade-off between cost / ease of use and flexibility.

Here's an infographic that goes into a bit more detail. Note that when they say WordPress.org, that's just another way of saying self-hosted.

Hope that helps.

[Geoff]

Many thanks Donna you've explained it clearly, so now I'll investigate self-hosting with a better idea of what I want :-o)

[Grace]

I generally get traffic to my site through the Wordpress app--besides letting you manage your own site/s, it also lets you browse other blogs. So I try to spend a few minutes or so every day looking through the posts in my blog genre and doing some liking/commenting. Bloggers are a friendly sort, and most will visit your site in return :)

I also use Pinterest, Facebook (with ads), StumbleUpon, Google+ and pretty much any other social media/bookmarking app I can find.