If you’re looking to grow your blog or website, chances are you’re already aware of the many benefits that come with having a live audience. The sheer volume of content that you can churn out when connected to a large number of people is amazing. When combined with the right tools, this capability can be harnessed to drive consistent, targeted traffic to your site. Below we’re going to walk you through the steps to take to start creating content and driving traffic to your website using various methods.

1. Build a Following

The first step in getting traffic to your site is building a following on the platforms that you decide to target. This is often times the most challenging step because it requires a significant investment of time where you’re simply trying to figure out what works best for your niche. That way, when you do eventually decide to test a niche, you’ll have a good idea of how to approach a potential audience. Additionally, you can use your following to build credibility with future customers.

2. Post Regularly

Although it’s tempting to write once your content is published and then never look at it again, this is a losing strategy if your goal is to drive traffic to your site. Instead, you should be constantly posting content that’s relevant to your niche and that will engage with your audience. Ideally, you’re aiming for 1-2 posts per day with a couple of quick, informative blurbs that will attract people who are seeking information on your topic. These types of posts work well when paired with other marketing methods (e.g. social media marketing).

3. Use Hashtags

When you post regularly, it’s a good idea to cross-post to multiple platforms. Doing so can help you gain credibility with your audience and allow you to engage with your fans on the platforms that they use most. One of the simplest ways to achieve this is by including relevant hashtags in the copy of your posts.

4. Create Compelling Headlines

Being able to grab someone’s attention through a catchy headline is one of the simplest yet most powerful tools for getting traffic to your site. In order to do this, you’re going to need to find a way to pose a question that’s related to your niche that hasn’t been answered in some way by another website or blog in your niche. When answering this question, you’ll want to aim for a compelling, engaging explanation that will make your readers eager to learn more. To take it a step further, you can then use various tools to see what type of content Google thinks is most relevant when someone enters a query about your niche.

5. Use Social Media

If your goal is to drive traffic to your site, then using social media to gain credibility and establish yourself as an expert in your niche is a great idea. This is where you can connect with your audience and engage with them on a more personal level. There’s a wide variety of platforms out there that you can use to take advantage of this, so make sure that you spread your content across as many as you can to enjoy the best results.

6. Build a Community

An active community is a vital part of any blog or website. This is mostly where you establish yourself as an expert in your niche and gain credibility with your audience. Additionally, you can use your community to create value for your customers by providing them with useful info that’ll help them along their journey or answer any questions that they might have regarding your niche. You can do this by simply engaging with your audience via social media or by creating helpful resources that people can use to find information about your topic.

7. Start a Newsletter

An even more effective way of gaining credibility and engaging with your audience is to start a newsletter. With a newsletter, you can provide your customers with consistent, valuable information that they’ll benefit from. Additionally, you can use the platform to engage with your audience and provide them with useful tips and tricks that they can use to improve their own experience. You can get started with a simple Google Form that will allow you to collect subscribers’ email addresses. From there, you can develop a schedule for sending out regular info-packed email messages about your niche.

8. Start a Blog

Blogs aren’t just informative – they can also be incredibly engaging. This is largely due to the fact that people love to read and share funny stories and engaging commentary. If your niche is subject to a lot of humor, then you can definitely incorporate it into your blog. Additionally, you can use a tool like the Grow Blog to easily and quickly get started with a professional-looking blog in no time at all.

If your goal is to get traffic to your site, then make sure that you focus on building a community first. This is where you establish yourself as an expert in your niche and gain credibility with your audience. Additionally, you can use your community to create value for your customers by providing them with useful info that’ll help them along their journey or answer any questions that they might have regarding your niche.