Remember 12 year old blogger David Wilkinson from Techzi? David and I have kept in touch with one another since I posted about him last and recently I asked him to consider writing a guest post here at ProBlogger. I thought a 12 year old’s perspective on how to get traffic to your blog might be worth hearing. Here’s his post.
When Darren Rowse comes up to you, and asks you to write a post for ProBlogger.net, it’s not something you can really say ‘no’ to. Not that you’d want to of course, but more the fact that it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Why should I write, of all people though? Well Darren wanted to hear the methods that I as a young person use to drive traffic to my blog, without spending any money.
Learning the basics
First you need to grasp and understand that the Internet is a big place. Several billion web-pages, and often with very little time available to the end-user, they’ll use several techniques to find what they’re looking for.
SEO
Search? Standard engines like Google, Yahoo and Live are the most popular nowadays, and optimizing your site to be found easily, can be easy and hard based on many factors.
My best advice for someone starting out would be to start by building quality content for somebody to see, then progressing to “The Three Cs”. This way, you’ll get noticed by genuinely interested people, who’ll actively want to play a part in your site’s development, by giving you quality feedback on ways to improve, design and usability.
If you have a blog or a website that’s been going for several weeks, perhaps a month or two, and you’ve done “The Three Cs”, or at least some of them, would be to start focusing on building on your existing content, with fresh, interesting, relevant and unique content. Note I say ‘relevant’ and ‘unique’. This is important. There are so many splogs out there now-a-days, that people can quickly distinguish whether an article has been written by somebody or not, at least the majority of the time. Relevance too, like I said, is a key factor. If you have a very personal blog, then one day write something completely off-topic about a new type of golf club that comes out, people will start to wonder if you and your blog actually have an aim or a purpose, which is yet another vital thing to consider.
If you’re somebody with a very mature blog, that is several months or more old, you can now focus on the technical side of things, which is mainly down to the spiders. If you’ve been blogging this long, then if you’re not on your own domain, or hosting, I recommend it, as it allows for greater flexibility, design and SEO. Search engine optimization? Yep! A Google Sitemap can be stuck on your server for the Google-Bot and metatags can be added, which let you pre-define information about your page automatically, such as the author, a description, keywords and feed information. This also makes usability easier for feed-ready browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 7. Tacky pre-set designs become a thing of the past too, and upgrading to WordPress can be a smart move, as the developer community there will help you along the way with every aspect of your blog, from the writing itself, to the advanced functionality like widgets that are available, and the themes that are freely downloadable to customize your blog’s look. Of course you could always give design a go yourself as I did at Techzi.net – though admittedly I enlisted the help of two professional designers as well.So, what are these ‘C’s that I’ve been talking to you so much about anyway? Read on to find out…
Community, communication, consideration.
The three founding principals of marketing your blog to an audience, whether general, or specific. People want to get be a part of the next thing, so give them a chance.
1. Community
Whether you start up your own community, or join others, via means of MyBlogLog, MySpace, LinkedIn, Xing and others, this is a guaranteed and proven way to get visitors, to get hits, impressions, and often quality traffic, because you know that these people haven’t just clicked on a random link or search engine listing, but have seen you or your website’s profile, and followed it through to your homepage/landing page. The best ways to get the profiles themselves noticed? See below…
2. Communication
I don’t mean ‘spam’ by this either. Get involved in genuine discussions, with other people of similar interests, start up a civilized, profitable, knowledgeable discussion, then when you’re finished, ask if they’d take a look at your blog or website. You’d be surprised how many loyal readers have come to my own blog in this way. Simply leave comments in communities, on social networks, on other blogs, etc.
Still not quite your way of dealing with people?
3. Considering
All the time, you have to consider the reader. Who are you writing for? The reader. Who will be navigating your blog? The reader. Who should you devote your time, energy and attention to? The reader. Consideration is important, and you can show this in many ways. Either by having a clutter-free, easy-to-follow design, or you could alternatively try getting the readers involved, by asking questions in blog posts, or website statements, and opening up comments. If people comment, strike up a conversation with them, and keep them coming back. Answer their queries and requests with solid, reliable, dependable answers, and take note of the feedback they leave by using it, and putting it into action. If someone states that your text is hard to read, change the colour to stop it clashing so much with the background, or simply make it slightly larger.
There are lots of ways you can show consideration to your audience, and it shows just how loyal you are to your readers through this. If someone spots an inaccuracy in a blog post and tells you, don’t be lazy. Go change it! They’ll keep coming back, they’ll tell their friends, and in turn this C will do word-of-mouth marketing wonders.
The Element of Surprise
You’ve looked at both SEO, content and the ‘C’s now, but my last tip is probably what has brought me the large majority of my visitors, both loyal and one-off traffic hoppers. Differentiate yourself, do something different. Be daring, be random! Try something wild, or something completely unheard of, whether it’s outrageous, or greatly beneficial to the reader. Sometimes, even beneficial to the writer! (http://www.techzi.net/donations/) Mad things work out great sometimes, other times, they really can lower your reputation, so it’s time to take calculated risks here.
My advice? Follow your instincts. Be an entrepreneur. Take that risk. Make it happen. Throw a competition (http://www.techzi.net/competition/), for all the good it will do. Stand out and be different. Darren will sure know what I mean by that…
David Wilkinson writes at http://www.techzi.net/
About Darren Rowse
My name is Darren Rowse and I’m a full time Blogger making a living from blogs like 
Talk about articulate. Very well written. Serves as a great checklist. Thanks for sharing.
Great post, i really enjoyed reading this David. I have bookmarked your website.
– Phil
Man, if I was that smart when I was 12, I would be whupping Darren’s butt in earnings right about now… ;)
Hey David,
great post! Without the references to your page and Darrens introduction I wouldn’t have realized this is not the Problogger himself ;-)
Will check out your site later after it is back to normal from being problogged…
Congrats Darren, looks like you’re getting into the same category as Slashdot, Digg etc. :-)
Keep up the good blogging
Frank
Wow, this kid certainly knows a lot things professionals simply miss. I feel guilty myself. ;-)
This kid is going to be something great when he’s older. If he’s already tasted this much success as a young pre-teen, I can only imagine the sort of opportunities will await him in the near years to come.
Awesome guest blogger and I do hope to hear more of, or from him.
*note* his site seems to be down…the problogger.net effect taking place?
Better understanding than many people that have been working as professionals on the internet for years. Great post.
This kid is quite amazing :) I think he has accomplished quite a lot in his blog, he has a rather large MyBlogLog reader community. I’ve seen David popping up on blogs across the internet!
This young man is 12? He writes better (and more persuasively) than most adults.
David, you have a new fan Go get ‘em. :-)
Is he “really” 12 years old?!
Shame on me! :P
A great article and a good reminder to those people who are trying to cut corners, to ask why. Thanks David.
Good on you Dave. We both share the same design for our blogs. Thats a start ;-)
Cheers!
Alpesh
Well done article David.
I have been improving my new blog recently and will definitely be applying the three C’s more because I have noticed that they are indeed very important.
What’s sad is while he enjoys writing, he also is picking up a bad habit of becoming a virtual beggar online.
I guess that can be attributed to being young and a new blogger.
When I was 12 years old I read War & Peace, which was quite an accomplishment. But I don’t think I could have mastered the concepts that David has. Very impressive. And thanks for the tips.
When I was 12 I ran my own BBS…
Wow, very nice tips. Even a 12yr old can do it, why can’t I??? Nice job David!
Great article David!! When I was 12 I was still learning English and had a lot of catching up to do. I’m in my late 20′s now and I’m still not as articulate as you. Keep it up, I’m sure were going to see more of your work in the near future.
To Ian Robertson,
While I see where you’re coming from, I think if you don’t have something encouraging to say, then don’t say anything.
If you MUST criticize, then at least begin your comment with an encouraging statement and then lead to the advice you feel you should contribute.
I paid a visit to your blog and although I’m not an expert, one thing that will drive me away from a blog is poor grammar. Maybe if your writing was as good as young David, then you’d be in a position to have the audacity to ask for money too.
Please don’t take this as a personal attack, just keep it in mind for the future ;-)
P.S sorry about this hijack Darren.
Oh boy, he’s only 12!!! Look out Darren! He could be the future of problogger! An heir to the throne no less!
Kumiko
Really well-written post, relevant and informative ! Nice tips! I’ll be reading more of your blogging that’s for sure, Mr. Wilkinson! :)
I swear, you become a teenager, and suddenly no one cares to listen to you anymore because your larynx got a little too big. As a 17 year old blogger, obviously, my time is past. Curse you, David!
I’m just getting ready to start a blog and I’m going to tape this to the wall to keep me on track. Thanks David.
Great article, definitely helpful advice for both new and old bloggers. You rock my socks, David!
David is a pro at only 12. It is amazing that he can write so clearly and provide very good advice for people 3x his age. Well done, David.
This makes me feel really old when I’m getting advice from someone who’s half my age :-) I just wanted to say that post was really well written and informative. Written a heck of a lot better than most adults who claim to have passed college English courses (and better than some writers I’ve hired who’ve claimed to have a masters degree in English). Kudos to you, David. Hopefully ProBlogger invites you back for more posts.
Wow, that`s the way to go David! Keep it up. As I see this is a real proof that the age doesn`t makes the affair… But that it`s really the personnality that comes in play. Learned a lot and still need to learn and surely you helped me in that quest! Thanks a lot Darren and David.
Sincere Greetings,
Everaert Patrice
Great information. Thanks for the valuable info. Hope I can make use of it to bring traffic to my own blog(which is just under 3 months old).
The three C’s are definitely what the blogosphere is all about. A great read and thanks for the very helpful tips ;)
Very informative, thanks for the great tips :)
Wow i really enjoyed that post, man was i wrong about this kid he sure knows what hes talking about.
David,
Great article bud. You even demonstrated your self-labeled “Communication” point by writing a guest post!
I think you encapsulated the basics of quality content and its role as a piece of the SEO process. If only my clients understood who “the reader” really is when writing content for their sites!
He seems more old than 12 years old, I thinks that he is not playing in the street with his friends and his friends are all in Internet.
Excellent points and very valuable advice.
Maria, I totally agree… If a blog does not have the 3Cs, then is it really a blog? Isn’t community now a founding fundamental of blogging? I remember a discussion a while back, about whether a blog really was a blog if comments were disabled. Would is simply not just be a website?
Gr8 Post David.
Keep Up the good Work
VATU
http://digitalworld4u.blogspot.com/
Great article.
Yep you’re smart alright but my dad can still run faster than your dad!
Luiso, I don’t play in the street, no… I play in the park. ;)
Thanks for the encouragement too Chris!
if indeed the article was written by david the 12, then he has a great future in the communities … probably he could write articles targeting all the adult writers out there as if david is giving a lecture 101 on how to start writing & attracting the bees …
don’t be surprise that most of the adult writers do not know the basic of SEO and david could probably help in this matter …
david might be able to stimulate the younger generation of his age to start building the right foundation of a quality writer/blogger …
anyway, thanx david for your article … cheers …
David, one tip, be careful when you are copying links out of the Google search results because they often use redirects rather than true links. I spotted that on your donations page.
As for donations, if people want to give a small donation, that is great. Larger donations are often made, for a variety of reasons, and for many of them it is a win win situation.
Dont call him kid. He is Big Brother. isn;t it?
Very good article and from one so young – amazing!
I agree this is a well written piece; love the sentence structure and blog tips!
David is also very good at other writing styles- He recently interviewed me and did an awesome job:
http://www.profy.com/2007/02/11/blast-exclusive-interview/
Good work David and thanks for the interview!
Thanks for pointing that out Tim! I feel honored that so many of you liked the article… It wasn’t really planned out, I just sat down and wrote it!
Wow !! He’s a real prodigy. I remember when I started my blog. I was 15 then. Now I’m 16. But, I’m not a prodigy as this kid. How could he know so many things when he’s 12 ? I guess age doesn’t matter in SEO. Anyway, I love the “Three C’s” concept. :)
Everyone should always be a learner. Experience comes with age, but one should never stop to learn new things.
When I was 12, as I recall, all my energies went into finding new and creative ways to get out of helping with the dishes. David, That’s a well-considered and well-written piece – good to see literacy & articulation go hand in hand with tech know-how. We’ll all be working for you in about 4 years…
wow.. great advice. I really learnt something new today :)