By Christina Hamlett  ––  

According to Worldometers statistics, an average of 2 million blog posts are being penned per day. Within that same timeframe, over 114 billion emails are zipping around cyberspace. How many of them, do you think, are sharing what you’ve just blogged about? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist – or a mathematician – to see that you’ve got some heavy competition, especially if you want your word-smithing to go viral.

While there’s no shortage of bookmarking venues such as Reddit, Digg and StumbleUpon, and blogger communities like BizSugar, BlogEngage and BloKube, all of this access is for naught if your content is a snore and doesn’t speak to the interests of your target readers. Here, then, are seven easy ways to turbo-charge your blogosity and ignite some global chatter.

CATCHY TITLES – Would you rather read a post labeled “Why Resolutions Fail” or one titled “Short-Cuts, Quick Fixes and Thinner Thighs in 30 Minutes”?  Humor is always a winning hook, especially if it also embraces topics about saving time, saving money, improving oneself, and/or finding the meaning of life.

LIST LOVERS – As humans, we process information spatially. We also like knowing upfront that there’s a finite amount of content we’re supposed to absorb. The more effortless it is to learn “10 Steps to Shed 10 Pounds,” “6 Tips to Beat a Traffic Ticket,” or “The 3 Best Cities to Retire,” the more likely a blog post will be read and shared with kindred spirits. Virtually anything you think readers should know can be spun as a list. If you don’t believe that, just check out Listverse.

PICTURE THIS – If your blogs have been running sans images, you’re missing a lot of prospective followers. People love pictures (maybe even more than they love lists). Pictures don’t just tell stories, convey emotions, and tweak curiosity – they also make people want to read the accompanying text. The advent of Pinterest makes it remarkably easy to create a category relevant to your subject area, “pin” images/videos, and include website links.

EXPERTIVITY – If you want to be a popular blogger, your content should never be about selling your products or services but, rather, selling yourself as the best qualified expert to dispense advice and insights that readers can apply to their own lives. When you’re consistently informative, entertaining, inspirational and approachable, you’re reinforcing your most valuable marketing asset: trust.

GUEST POST RECIPROCITY – One of my favorite websites is BloggerLinkUp, a free service that enables you to offer and request guest blogs on a wide range of subjects. Many of the participants I’ve met with on this site are enthusiastic about trading blog opportunities. And, of course, providing feedback in the form of comments not only keeps your own name in circulation but also encourages others to do the same for you.

YOUTUBE – More than a billion monthly users tune into YouTube and, according to Nielsen, this medium reaches more Americans ages 18-34 than cable networks. Snappy graphics, sound bites, and royalty-free music make for memorable “commercials” to entice viewers to visit your website. (If you have no clue how to design a 30-60 second video, drop me an email; I’ll share my resources with you.)

TEASERS – Whenever you publish a new blog, paste its opening lines into your next Facebook post (along with an eye-catching image). Better yet, break off in mid-sentence and add a trio of ellipses to create a cliffhanger that can only be appeased by clicking on your post’s url. This form of “teaser ad” is a promise of something satisfying that they just can’t afford to ignore.

As a final note, once you’ve found a niche you’re passionate about and can really invest the time in, you’ll build a band of loyal followers that will be enthusiastic to share all that great content for you. And when that happens, fasten your seatbelt to hit some serious viral velocity!

____________________________________________________________________________________

Former actress and theater director Christina Hamlett is an award winning novelist/playwright, media relations expert, professional ghostwriter, and script consultant for the film industry. She can be contacted through her website at https://www.authorhamlett.com.