*This article, a guest post I authored, first appeared on Smorgasbord – Variety is the Spice of Life.
Are you concerned your blog isn’t getting satisfactory traffic?
You can be confident that your blog will get readers who convert to subscribers.
How? I can answer in one word, “action”.
Dale Carnegie once said that the only way to confidence is through action.
This post will explain how to take actions that result in a prize so valuable every site creator wants it—traffic.
Social Share Buttons
What is a social sharing button?
The social sharing buttons enable you to share your posts with your social media followers, and they enable your readers to share your posts with their social media followers.
Why you should have social sharing buttons
Do you have strong content on your site? Do you have products like books that you are trying to sell?
Many content creators believe that’s all they need. Maybe it is all you need, but according to blogging guru Neil Patel, 92% of all content creators placed high value on social media, whatever their niche.
If you want to be in their good company, you should use social media to try to extend your reach and grow your audience.
Not only will you be reaching a potential new audience, you will be promoting your content to other social media users that may want to help you extend your reach.
How to install social sharing buttons
If you are a WordPress.org user, go to Plug-ins, add new. In the search bar type Shareaholic. Activate the plug in, and you will have social sharing buttons so large your readers will be likely to see them. Clicking them enables your readers to share the buttons with their social media followers.
If you are a WordPress.com user, go to Dashboard, Settings, Sharing
The top of the screen shows the social sharing buttons you could choose from. These give your readers the option of sharing your writing with their followers on those sites.
Path is the only one that says “Connect” since I do not have a social media account there.
However, if I did want to choose Path, or any of the “default” social media choices you see at the top, I could easily choose them.
All you need to do is click on the social service you would like your readers to use, and drag it to the area that says, “Enabled Services.” There you see a row of all the services I have enabled.
What your readers see at the bottom of your post looks like this. My readers have ten different ways they can opt to share my writing with their social media followers.
It’s a win-win situation. Their followers get your information that may be of use to them, and your writing gets more exposure.
Click To Tweet
Your followers will have another way to Tweet your links on Twitter. If you embed a Click to Tweet code, they will have that option.
Click the link to go to Click to Tweet.
Sign in with your Twitter account.
In the box that says “Generate New Tweet” type a Tweet with a link to your post just like you would on Twitter. Click “get code that opens a new page”.
Copy the code and return to your post.
Switching your post’s tab to “Text” mode will enable you to paste a code. You will see the Tweet embedded into your post when you click the “Visual” tab.
Inserting code into a WordPress.com post may seem intimidating, but it’s not.
However, if you need further instructions, WordPress offers these at codex.wordpress.org.
The Reblog Button
If you are a WordPress.org user, you do not have access to a reblog button or having your work reblogged.
These instructions are for WordPress.com users:
The two important items are circled in red. You will find both of these in settings, sharing.  Scroll down to the bottom of the screen.
The first circle shows that it is not enough to install the social sharing button. You must tell WordPress where you want them.
The next red circle is pivotal if you want your work reblogged which is instrumental to readership growth. Make sure “Show the Reblog button on posts” is clicked.
Call to Action
Sometimes, as much as people genuinely love your work and intend to share it with others, they need to be reminded. That is the purpose of the Call to Action.
You can ask people to share your work anywhere in your post, but the call to action is commonly found at the end of your conclusion.
There are a few tips for writing the call to action.
- Make each call to action unique to your post. Don’t keep writing “Please share.”
- Keep the call to action simple
- Start with a verb.
- Put it at the post’s end, so it is the last thing your readers see.
In conclusion, Winston Churchill said, “I never worry about action but only inaction.” You should worry about inaction. It costs you blog traffic.
Once you follow the steps in this post, the headline comes true. You really will receive effortless blog traffic since it’s your readers who will be doing the effort, by simply clicking a social share, reblog, or Click to Tweet button.
Click for the admin blogger’s commentary on this article.
Speaking of sharing, please share with other bloggers. Â Newer bloggers, especially, may not be aware of how easy it is to get others to share your work in order to gain exposure to new readers.
What do you think readers? Â Do you have experience with these social sharing options? Â Do you feel they are helping you achieve the blog growth you desire? Â I look forward to your views.
