Resources That Increase Your Blog’s Visibility

If you’re new to the blogging world and looking for a way to better your skills, engagement and visibility, check out these free tools!

There are of free resources for almost everything, from photos to blogging platforms. There are plenty of credible websites that are dedicated to providing tips and tricks for fellow bloggers. This is a beneficial starting point. Once you’re ready to begin crafting your own, use the following resources to your advantage: 

CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer

Naturally, you’ll start off with an idea for the content of your blog, and maybe create some kind of outline to help you achieve it. Part of the outline should include a catchy headline, which grabs the attention of the reader. At this point, it’s a good idea to put yourself in the reader’s shoes and ask yourself, “would I be interested in opening this if it was sent to my inbox?” When you feel confident with your headline, you can run it through CoSchedule’s free headline analyzer. This tool will score the quality of the headline in various parts. Overall, a high score is more likely to result in social shares, increased traffic and better SEO. Overall, a high score is more likely to result in social shares, increased traffic and better SEO.  According to

According to Found, it’s important to re-orient the conversation around what actually matters: enticing the audience to visit and convert, and this includes the headline. Ask yourself, “what is it that really matters about this post” before crafting your final headline. 

First, the analyzer determines a score out of 100. Then, it focuses on the kinds of words used. The word categories are listed as common, uncommon, emotional, and power. With this, CoSchedule informs you which categories need to be increased. Next, it will tell you the headline’s type, such as generic. Finally, you’ll see a length analysis with character count and word count. If the length isn’t right, the tool will give you advice on how many characters or words should be added. The right length will earn the most amount of click-throughs. 

MailChimp 

It’s hard to gain an audience with a brand new blog, but there are a couple ways to start. One of them is email marketing with MailChimp. The start-up plan is free and includes space for 2,000 subscribers, which is usually more than enough for a new blogger. With MailChimp, you can connect with current and potential readers by sending out an appealing and engaging email digest with the latest blog posts. With personalized templates, your email digest will be an extension of your brand. The best part is that MailChimp is very user-friendly and easy to maintain. 

After sending out the emails, there are analytics that show how well it performed. You’ll see the amount of opens, as well as the amount of clicks. This is helpful for learning what works and what doesn’t. Maybe the links aren’t standing out as much as they should, for example. You can go back into the template and change the color and/or size. To avoid this in the first place, send a test email to yourself and friends. This can provide you with helpful feedback. 

Hootsuite

Any successful blog should have social media for both sharing the newest blogs and connecting with the audience and other bloggers. Hootsuite is the tool that will help you manage them. Since many bloggers schedule blog posts in advance, they can schedule for the social media accounts to publish the blog the same day. This way, you can ensure that every blog you put effort into gets out there. Hootsuite connects to over 35 popular social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

Hootsuite is also for engagement, so while scheduling future posts, you can also reply to messages, like posts, retweet and share, and more. Every brand on social media should make engagement a responsibility, especially when it comes to addressing concerns and answering questions. 

Gravatar

Gravatar, also known as a globally recognized avatar, is another important tool for bloggers. This small image, usually a headshot, helps represent you online and put a face to the blog. Gravatars are especially helpful for engaging on blogs that are Gravatar-enabled. Since it’s attached to your email, it’s easy to connect to any blogging platform. It is automatically connected in every WordPress account. 

Along with putting a face to the blog, a photo comes in handy for other bloggers that may be interested in featuring you. It’s common for bloggers to network with one another and dedicate certain posts to other bloggers’ ideas, and this opportunity may be missed without a photo. Also, fellow bloggers may mistake your comments for spam. This can result in deleted comments and less traffic. 

The free tools that are available to us today can help businesses and brands thrive. If you’re a blogger looking to increase traffic, engagement and overall awareness of your blog, these tools are for you! As you begin to add more to your blogging strategies, such as contest hosting and product reviews, it’s beneficial to research the free tools that can assist you. Grow your tools as you grow your blog! 

 Photo credit: Rawpixel.com/Shuterstock