Strategizing can help you grow a blog for free or generate passive income. However, only a practical and planned approach to blogging can bring you the desired results.
If you’re wondering how to scale your blog, but don’t want to spend a lot of money, there are methods you can use to start the process. Read this post for ways to level up your popularity status at no cost to you.
How Is it Possible To Grow a Blog for Free?
While there are so many platforms that charge bloggers expensive prices to get professional marketing tools for their blogs, they may find themselves spending the money they need. However, some bloggers are clueless about various methods they can use to grow a blog for free without paying a dime. Read further to determine several popular methods that are great for gaining popularity among influential bloggers in the industry.
1. Choose a Popular Blogging Platform
WordPress is the ‘mother’ of blogging platforms. As the go-to site for beginner and experienced bloggers, the flexible options allow them the freedom to run their blogs on their own terms. It also has countless customized themes and advanced security features available through subscription services.
[*Note: WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different platforms. Many people often confuse the two and regret choosing wrong. Org is a self-hosted site that provides custom premium theme options, monthly and annual hosting and security services, professional tools to grow a blog for free, and many plug-ins.
However, Com is a managed platform with limited user options and little control over an account. In other words, you wouldn’t have the freedom to edit a theme and you would have limited space to display ads.]
Alternatively, Blogger, Wix, and Squarespace are three suitable choices if you prefer a standalone platform. They include web security and hosting, making it easier for users to maintain their information, mainly in one place instead of paying expensive prices for required services.
2. Get To Know Other Bloggers
Many popular bloggers are well-connected in their niches and have established credibility. Interacting with individuals who have influential qualities can provide a platform to present and advertise their brand is an efficient way to grow a blog for free.
There are a few benefits to connecting with bloggers online:
Get Social Media Shout-Outs: One of the most effective methods to establish credibility is to have someone with social media power mention you. Their followers and visitors will likely become curious about you and your content, leading them to read your posts, leave comments, and even follow you.
Collect Positive Reviews: If famous bloggers review your blog, it can increase your recognition significantly. They have the power to direct their followers or visitors to your content, earning you credibility and more revenue.
Learn from Success Stories: Whether you’re a new or experienced blogger, you can always learn from other individuals who continue to be successful. Listening to people who have gone from being new bloggers to highly searched blogging experts can help you learn valuable information.
3. Implement Brand Awareness Strategies
A blog created to raise awareness shouldn’t advertise a product or service. It should simply expose your brand and its purpose to thousands of individuals in your niche.
The higher the quality of your content, the more likely other blogs and websites to share it on social media or their websites. The more backlinks you get, the more popularity you can achieve to grow a blog for free successfully.
How to Create Brand Awareness Content:
Write an article about a topic that people have an interest in learning. You can find a subject matter by researching keywords related to your niche and your target audience. Research the issue and present your audience with in-depth information that educates them about the subject.
Consider posting it on your blog and promoting it on social media to generate attention. You can also submit your article to a site that allows guest posts. The key to creating effective awareness content is to make it informative to read and share repeatedly.
4. Learn Copywriting
Copywriters are highly skilled in convincing readers to purchase a product, or service, or visit a particular website. They have also mastered marketing strategies to grow a blog for free using their content writing experience. Therefore, consider learning basic copywriting skills because they can help you write blog posts that attract more visitors and convince them to take action.
5. Build an Email Subscriber List
Emails have the potential to keep your consumers up to date. Consumers may check their email whenever it is convenient for them. It may give them the impression that you’re thinking about them.
Individuals who have subscribed to your email list have already agreed to receive your emails. Therefore, they will likely look forward to receiving messages from you because they’re interested in your content.
6. Learn Basic Graphic Design
Graphic elements are crucial to grow a blog for free because some individuals love colorful visuals. While you don’t have to be a graphic design expert to attract readers to your blog, you can use ready-made templates to modify, download, and publish.
Canva is an excellent learning tool that provides its users with templates to create their graphics, cover photos, YouTube videos, etc. The platform makes creating easy with its ‘drag and drop’ interface for beginner users who want to produce high-quality, codeless content.
7. Become a Guest Blogger
When you contact a blog owner about contributing a guest post, you’re inquiring about posting on their website or the blog. The method can earn you an author credit (better known as a ‘byline’) and help you gain new readers. Also, guest blogging is better than ghostwriting because people will know you wrote a specific post, especially if it trends, receives tons of likes, and is shared repeatedly.
Here are several reasons why guest blogging has advantages that can help you grow a blog for free:
Connections. Guest blogging can help beginner writers and businesses create partnerships. A long-term relationship with major companies or famous bloggers can create new opportunities and benefits.
Engagement. Writing a guest blog for a more significant business or site can expand your brand. If you engage your readers consistently, they will follow links to your blog or click on your bio information to learn more about you. This is one of the most popular methods to grow a blog for free because it helps draw loyal readers constantly.
Followers. Writers desire an audience. Therefore, the larger the audience, the better off your blog. If you become a guest blogger for a site with a significant following, your audience can expand.
Revenue. Guest bloggers are frequently paid for their contributions. Many individuals make a lucrative living writing guest posts.
Exposure. If you have a successful content strategy, your name can become well-known, and additional opportunities will find their way to you.
Guest blogging is an excellent method to gain access to a new audience and traction for a blog. While some blog owners charge a one-time payment, others accept writers to contribute new content at no cost.
8. Build a Professional Relationship with Influencers
Influencers gain popularity and success by exposing candid moments in their daily lives. In their case, their fans view them as close friends, despite never having met them personally. However, they gain the influencer’s trust and can receive bonuses, mainly exclusive merchandise or a mention on their social media pages.
Most likely, your followers will want to know what is happening in your life. They will also expect you to be personable and relatable. Therefore, you can increase brand trust by collaborating with credible social media influencers relevant to your target demographic, which can help you grow a blog for free.
9. Promote Your Blog Post
When you finish writing an informative, in-depth blog post and then press the publish button, you experience a feeling of success. You may even think your content marketing effort is over. However, marketing is the next step.
While blogging may appear to only be about writing and publishing, you must advertise, develop, and deliver content consistently. Otherwise, you can’t simply publish a post and expect visitors to find it without it being shared. You have to spread the word about your content to gain attention, likes, views, and shares.
10. Write Better Blog Posts
Fortunately, you can learn how to produce amazing blog entries that keep readers interested. Although plenty of material is available on the internet, few blogs create high-quality content. Consider following the best practices to stand out from the crowd, which isn’t as challenging as some individuals claim.
Here are some of my recommendations to grow a blog for free by creating engaging content:
Define Your Audience – Focus on a specific type of audience and then write your blog posts in a conversational tone.
Create Attention-Getting Headlines – Keep your headlines short (up to 60 characters) and less wordy. You can rely on a headline analyzer tool to brainstorm original topics. Also, consider using action words in your headlines and attractive words such as ‘Quick’, ‘Effective’, ‘Resource’, and ‘Successful’, which are essential when learning to grow a blog for free.
Write a Killer Introduction – Consider asking a question or promising a solution to a problem. Perhaps you can also make an exciting statement that interests your blog visitors.
Use Images and Infographics – Images break up long posts and make your content more readable. On the other hand, infographics explain complex ideas using visual elements.
Knowing what to write and how to write it is significant to your blog content. Stick with a particular technique if it helps draw the most attention or reads.
11. Write Listicles
When you stumbled upon the subtitle of this section, you may have asked yourself, “What are listicles?”
Listicles are a combination of the words “list” and “article,” referring to articles with a list layout. They often include a brief introduction, a numbered list of items relatable to the topic, straightforward explanations of each item, and, in some cases, photographs.
For example, this article is considered a listicle, which is easier to write than the traditional article format and is usually SEO-ready.
By using a listicle format, you can make your posts easier to read. It also allows you to break up sections and write more comprehensively.
12. Use Non-Competitive Keywords
One effective way to make your blog searchable is to add keywords to your posts. The goal should be to choose short words and phrases that not everyone uses, but can still help a blog rank highly on Google and grow a blog for free.
Final Thought
Whether you’re a new or experienced blogger, the advice in this article will help you enhance your blog growth. On the other hand, don’t stress yourself trying to become a popular blogger in one day. Experiment with valuable tips provided in this article and then use them to optimize your content. Eventually, you’ll find a signature tone that engages readers and will skyrocket your blog to success.