By now even the most reluctant and social web avoidant business owners have realized the power of blogging. What most haven’t realized is that blogging for the sake of blogging isn’t enough. Just like you need to draw attention to your website through various strategies and marketing pursuits, you also need to draw readers to your blog. Follow these simple steps to find out how to get your blog posts read and shared.

Social Web – While it should be obvious, it isn’t. Business owners still need to make an active effort to ensure all their posts are shared across the social web.

LinkedIn – Beyond just posting on Facebook and Twitter, take advantage of plugging into LinkedIn. LinkedIn has come a long way and now even features news articles for all major industries, which demonstrates the site has become a powerful venue for content – so make sure your content is on there too.

Sharing Buttons – Social networks aren’t limited to Twitter and Facebook. They also include sharing sites that let your network see what you’ve been reading or think is read-worthy. A couple years ago there were a lot of these sharing sites, but Digg has proven to be the cream of the crop. Also check out AddThis, which is a free sharing menu tool you can plug into your site.

Sharing Plugins – Create a direct call to action by making it easy for your readers to share your posts. Include a sharing plugin in your website so you can include social sharing buttons across each post. Sites with sharing tools plugged in have an average of seven times more social media traction.

Email Campaigns – Plugging your posts in regular email campaigns ensures that readers who missed or don’t frequent social sites still see your worthy post.

Authorship – Some sites, especially WordPress ones, allow for an author box below each post. Studies show that sharing (and comments) increases if these are used. Psychology would dictate it’s because the reader creates a “connection” with the author (or at least sees a real face rather than just another faceless authored-by name).

Headlines – While a headline doesn’t guarantee a post will get shared, it does guarantee a marked spike in the number of times a shared post gets read.

Images – Use the right images. People are vain and no one wants to share a post on Facebook if the accompanying image is less than cool.

Comments – Comments always fire people up, so make sure you’re encouraging comments by (1) either offering a giveaway; (2) responding to reader comments (and also offering useful info in comments); and (3) creating controversial content that gets people talking.

Resources – Remember that content isn’t just blog posts. Content also includes infographics and resource guides, both of which not only get shared at incredible rates (if they’re good) but also have a much higher chance of going viral.

Sharing Facts You Should Know

Sharing is embedded in science, and knowing the right information can make the difference between an attempt and a strategy. AddThis created a handy infographic for primary sharing stats that you can find by following the link. To boil it down to the essentials, here’s what you need to know:

  • 9:30 am – Peak sharing hour
  • Wednesday – Peak sharing day
  • 75% – Percent of total clicks your content will receive in its first day of being shared
  • 2 Minutes – Most content is clicked to within the first 2 minutes of it being shared

When it comes to getting your posts shared, how much you know is just as important as how much you write. Remember that the first rule of thumb is to write something that matters and the second is to write regularly.