Do you believe in predictions?
My husband predicted my post would go viral on the morning of October 2. (“Viral” is defined as unusually high page views.)
My page views were so high on that Sunday, WordPress actually sent me a notification of “unusually high activity”.
Look–
My title is erroneous. Since I publish at 2:00 am, it actually took 22 hours to get 842 page views, less than one day.
My two-year blogversary occurs this week.
A fitting end to my first two years as a blogging coach is to explain the elements I put into my post 87 Blogging Tips You Should Absolutely Never Make.
You would think the factors that led to my having an 842 page view day would be complicated. On the contrary, seeing 842 page views in less than a day on your blog’s dashboard is so simple, this threatens to be a very short post.
When I asked my husband on the morning of October 2, how he knew my post 87 Blogging Mistakes You Should Absolutely Never Make would go viral, he responded by explaining the post was helpful and understandable.
It’s true. There are certain criteria that accompany viral posts.
How to Get 842 Page Views
Indicators that 87 Blogging Mistakes You Should Absolutely Never Make would receive unusually high page views:
- Mega posts get more shares. With 87 tips, this was a mega post.
- Mega posts get more page views. The reason is simple. People assume with 87 tips, there will be at least one tip on the list they will find valuable.
- There is a number in my headline. According to CoSchedule, “You will increase your blog traffic by 206% if you have numbers and facts in your headlines.”
- There is an odd number in my headline. Research shows headlines with odd numbers have a higher Click Through Rate than headlines with even numbers.
- I linked back to my old posts. This contributed to the traffic. Directing traffic to old posts usually increases your page views.
- I linked back to my old posts early in the article. For example, I placed the link to How to Write a Killer About Page That Will Attract New Followers near the beginning of the post.
- I cited references which gave credibility. Your readers need to trust you.
- I cited references and sent the people I referenced the article. Then, I asked them to share the article on Twitter. Many of my references did share resulting in exposure to new readers for me.
- I inserted a Read More tag. This results in double page views.
- I promoted at Flipboard in multiple magazines. Flipboard sent its users my article in an email. I received 170 hits from Flipboard users that day.
- I promoted the post in a Facebook group designed for post sharing. Its members know I like my links stumbled. I got 50 views from StumbleUpon as a result.
- I also got 50 hits from a blog party I held the day before. Blog parties are popular among bloggers.
- I promoted in additional Facebook groups which accounted for 37 page views that day.
- I got up early to promote on Facebook and Twitter. Most people are on eastern time, three hours ahead of me.
- Negative words in headlines do well, and I have a negative word in my headline. “Never” is a negative word.
- This was a clickable headline. People want to make sure they are not making those “mistakes” my headline references.
- I used the word “Absolutely” in my headline. “Absolutely” is an emotional word according to the Advanced Marketing Institute.
- I used the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer which gave my headline a high score.
- I published the post on a Sunday. According to WordPress, my page views are highest on Sunday.
What was my rationale?
Now you know what I did to receive high page views. Do you know why I published when I did? I will tell you.
Look at the date. I published the post at the beginning of October. My reasoning was simple: I wanted to begin the month with high page views.
People ask my monthly page views when they consider hiring me. If I began the month strong, I could relax and rest on my laurels.
Did I know with any certainty I would begin the month with high page views if I published the 87 myths post? Of course, I did. My readers are interested in mega posts.
How could I know that? Between my WordPress subscriber list and my MailChimp subscriber list, I have thousands of readers.
The answer is easy. By looking at your dashboard, you can see what interests your readers.
My other mega posts are among my highest performing posts to date. For example, 71 Awesome Tips That Will Make Your Blog Successful is my highest performing post in the two years I’ve been blogging.
How to Get 823 Page Views
These are the choices I consciously made that resulted in high page views to my blog on September 24 when I published This Is How to See 621 People at Your Blog in 1 Day:
- Like before, I have a negative number in my headline.
- Research shows there are certain phrases which result in higher page views when put in headlines. This is and How to are two of them. (Did you notice today’s headline?)
- Also, research indicates certain words result in higher page views when put in your headlines. See and People are two of them.
- I used the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer and received a high score.
My post received 407 page views inside of a day because of my headline! A few simple choices are all it took.
There was one additional reason for my choices that day as well. My statistics show that my readers are interested in articles explaining how to get blog traffic. This is a blogging tips site, after all. How to Get Swarms of Free Blog Traffic With Flipboard is my third-best performing post of all time.
Did you see the Flipboard article picked up 20 additional page views that day? Not bad for a post written well over a year ago. Can you predict why? I backlinked to the post near the beginning of my article.
Do you see how high page views– reportedly every blogger’s dream– are within your grasp? Easy!
How to Get 769 Page Views
I predicted the Flipboard crowd would be interested in my Microsoft tools post. You might wonder how I knew. Easy. I check my Flipboard analytics to see what the readers over at Flipboard are interested in reading.
Look:
Notice Flipboard’s analytics show that my most viewed article at Flipboard is a post explaining how to reduce the number of Emails in your inbox. My second most popular article, according to the analytics, was a graphic tool post. Clearly, my technology articles are popular at Flipboard. In order to keep getting Flipboard traffic, I should write more technology posts.
My second most popular article, according to the analytics, was a graphic tool post. Obviously, there is interest at Flipboard in my technology posts. Therefore, it makes sense to predict I will keep getting Flipboard traffic if I keep writing technology posts.
Was I interested in writing about Microsoft’s tools? Of course. However, I can still please my target audience as well as myself.
In addition, I used a phrase found in “clickable” headlines, “Will Make You.”
A word of caution about “clickable” headlines
Someone recently claimed that “clickable” headlines are called “click bait”. They entice the reader to click with a promise that is not forthcoming in the article.
It should go without saying that is poor blogging practice. Credibility is important in blogging. You don’t want to lose that. Make sure your posts keep the promise you make in your headlines.
How to get blog traffic from Flipboard
Click the icon at Flipboard.com to see your Flipboard analytics. Click your avatar in the upper right-hand corner of the screen for the icon to appear.
Flipboard’s value for bloggers
People say various social media is down as far as getting blog traffic.
However, Flipboard isn’t down. It’s up. You can still get swarms of blog traffic from Flipboard. My experience isn’t isolated.
Leanne, from Cresting the Hill, shared an experience she had over the summer. “I did open a Flipboard account in February and it was easy to just add my posts each time. THEN at the beginning of July something weird happened and it has just taken off – I have had thousands of views come from there each week for the last few weeks – it has been amazing!”
Bloggers from every niche are reporting massive Flipboard traffic. According to Amber from SimplyMadeRecipes.com, “I get more interest every day from Flipboard and my traffic continues to grow.“
Conclusion
In closing, this wasn’t luck. It wasn’t chance or fate or destiny. I consciously manipulated; I knowingly made choices that resulted in the result I wanted– high page views to my blog.
Since the post covered my methods on separate days of the week in two different months, you can see that these tricks have nothing to do with the day or the month. This case study post covered methods I followed on Saturday and Sunday and in both September and October.
Therefore, my high page views can’t be explained away as a fluke or an anomaly.
You can make choices leading to those outcomes too. You are in charge. Take control of your outcome.
My tips are based on my research. Follow them, and you can replicate my results.
These tips for increasing traffic to your blog are easy to follow and will hardly take you any time to implement at all.
High page views can also be yours. You’ve got this! Now, go get them!
Readers, please share this post, so other bloggers desiring high page views to their blog know about my methods.
How do you achieve high page views? What factors do you feel are responsible? I look forward to your views in the comments section.
Related Posts:
How to Have a Winning Combination of Blog Factors
How to Rapidly See 100,000 People at Your Blog
How to Make 1,406 People Look at Your Site in 1 Day
This Will Make You See 566 Page Views in 12 Hours
4 Ways to Make Your Blog Posts Go Viral
