How can I attract readers to my blog that specializes in tall menswear?
My first question is "How do you monetize your blog?"
If you don't know, then there's not much I can do for you right now.
See, how you intend to monetize will drive the pre-qualification of readers. Meaning, who do you attract?
If you monetize by having a store section, or sponsorship by retailers who sell online (who either pay you for advertising space or give you affiliate payments for customers you send over), then you definitely want readers who have demonstrated a comfort zone with buying clothes online. Otherwise, why bother? It's a too-uphill battle. Sure, you can get the readers, but then they won't buy because sourcing clothes online makes them nervous.
If your blog gives them printable coupons they can walk into a physical retail store with, then you needn't worry about that. Though now, your concern is attracting readers who are local to these outlets. Nobody is going to drive 1000 miles to save 15% on a new suit.
You really need to understand what you want your readers to DO before you begin producing content and attracting visitors. Otherwise, you'll spend your resources on the wrong things.
Who do you partner with? What branding do you want? There's a huge difference between big and tall Men's Wearhouse and big and tall Versace.
This goes for any readers of this answer who are tempted to ask a question: please provide more information in your write-up. We're not mind readers. We can't look into a crystal ball and see your exact situation. Give us more to work with, so we can provide a more detailed answer. We want to help you. And to do that, we need to know about your situation. A single descriptor sentence is not enough.
2 easiest spaces would be Instagram and Twitter.
You can automate this process or do it yourself (or I'd hire a VA)
Here's a quick recording I just did for you to copy on Twitter, but you can do this on Instagram also easily.
This will build you a relevant following who will engage with your brand on Twitter and click to read your blog.
Here's the video I just made for you (good luck): https://share.viewedit.com/EWh2XpYLHV96viC6GsaiMD
Let's first back up and define your target audience. Who exactly are these people? Where do they live, what languages do they speak, what are their ages, what are their style preferences, what are their values, who influences their buying decisions? Where do they hang out on social media? Have you ever surveyed them to find out what they want?
A blog should not be some "thing" that you simply throw out into cyberspace and hope for the best. It should integrate fully with the larger marketing scheme for your business. That means consistency with appearance, content, and personality.
If your target readers hang out on Facebook, so should you. If they like Twitter or Instagram, so should you. Social media is a great way to present your message and link back to your blog. Be selective on which media works best for you and create messages that will excite and incentivize receivers to take action.
Don't forget to add good photos and videos to these messages for extra punch.
Give first-time visitors a reason to stay, bookmark your URL, and return again. You don't want to lose them due to boring content, poor design, or navigation issues.
Your niche in tall menswear is a good one but a lot of competition is there too! I would be happy to hear your story and respond more effectively on a brief first call.
Depending on how much time, money, an energy you are putting into it will affect your options. For example you can collaborate with other blogs that have a similar audience. This is good for a quick boost in new customers. Let me know if you want to chat about other options based on your situation.
If anyone of us actually knew the answer to this we would be millionaires!
Here's what has helped be traffic to my own personal site:
1. Write daily
The more you write the better you get, the great value and trust you develop with your readership.
2. Distribute your contact. Once you post your blog get it out everywhere. Copy and Paster your content to FB, LInkedIn, Medium, Forums, etc.
3. Write about stuff that excites you and be as natural. Don't get caught up in perfecting grammar. I want to read your blogs as if we were chatting face-to-face. Authenticity is important here. Be yourself. Teach us something we didn't know about tall menswear.
Hope that helps.
Lets chat sometime to talk ideas on how you can"monetize your passion".
Mario Ashley
www.marioashley.com
If you can spare 5 minutes for a consulting session, I have several ideas for promoting a blog related to tall menswear specifically.
Leverage pre-existing communites aka similar sites to yours - guest blogging is your friend here. Use the alexa traffic rank chrome extension to see how much traffic any similar site to yours has.
Go to Mixergy and listen to every interview on guest blogging.
I would begin by creating a survey, perhaps through SurveyMonkey, TypeForm or Google Forms.
Using the survey you want to create yourself a detailed user persona. So find out their painpoints, their desires, how they like to shop for their clothing, what style of clothing they're interested in, what do they want to know about tall menswear, would they like to get regular deals/info on tall menswear, find out what social network they spend time on, who influences them, etc, etc. Ask them at the end if they would like to subscribe to an email newsletter.
Of course you need to get responses. I would add an incentive for them to take the time to help you out. Obviously a tall mens clothing voucher makes perfect sense.
Promote it on your website/blog. Post the survey on your Facebook page and then boost it to your specific audience.
Then identify online influencers that might be interested in sharing your survey. If you have a budget advertise your survey on Adwords for relevant search terms.
The survey results will provide you with a detailed picture of your audience. From this you can create a range of blog posts that will directly answer their questions or solve their problems.
Then when you create each post, start promoting it!
Again get back to Facebook and promote it to your target audience. Advertise it on Twitter.
Check out QuuuPromote.
Repurpose the post and submit it to other sites as a guest post with your audience.
Good luck!
