Increase Your Blog Traffic with a great Forum Signature!

By PChip | Category: Writing Tips |

You have a link to your blog in your forum signature, but no one seems to be following it to your site?  Let’s see if we can help you out a bit.

signature.jpgHere’s another simple way for professional Digi-Scrappers who also produce a blog, to increase their blog traffic by creating terrific one-liner content.  Make sure you use your forum signature block to offer more than just a simple link to your site!

First let me say that if you don’t already have membership in any community forums at sites where Digital Scrappers hang out, then now’s the time to do it.  Then become a regular contributor to the site, offering ideas and suggestions, participating in events and having fun chattering up everyday events with fellow scrappers.

Put your Signature Block to Work for You:

Every forum that I’m aware of offers it’s members the option of having a personalized signature block.  While some have strict rules, others allow just about anything.  Be certain to read the rules of each forum.  Then if it’s allowed, customize your signature block to help advertise your blog.

Now here’s where some bloggers make a tiny mistake.  They add a short line of text or maybe a graphical badge to their signature that says something like: “Visit my Blog” or “Grab a Freebie from my Blog”.  Those type links are better than none.  But is it enough?

What’s the Best Type of Signature Block?

One that stands out from the crowd.  The simple signature lines mentioned above, do sometimes work.  Especially if you are a very active person on the site.  However, if you are a regular - then your fella scrappers are probably going to visit your blog no matter how you have it listed in your signature.  Change it up a bit and you’ll see an increase in the number of click-throughs you get from other forum members.

Use Your Top Articles to Entice Their Interest!

Go through your blog and pick out one or two articles people have shown the most interest in, or the articles you feel offer something really great to your readers. Then add links to these articles in your forum signature.  If you offer a free newsletter, special report, or other information product that is value added, consider using that as your linking phrase.

For example here’s an interesting  set of links:

  • Learn about 10 ways to earn $$ digi-scrapping!
  • See 5 of my best Tips for CS3 users.
  • I completed 10 layouts in 2 hours.  Take a look!
  • You won’t believe what my daughter said to me…

I think that these article titles and links will make people reading my posts at the discussion forums a little curious.  Therefore, it’s more likely they will visit my blog than if I put the commonly used “please visit my blog” or “Visit My Blog About Digital Scrapbooking”.

Grab their Attention:

Give them a reason to click your blog link. If you put a title like “30 ways to earn money digi-scrapping” you’ll peak their interest and they will click to your blog to see what’s happening.  Since there are hundreds of people with blogs about digi-scrapping, you need to really grab their attention if you want them to stop everything and visit yours.

My Recommendation:

  • Be an active member of digital scrapbooking forums.
  • Follow the forum rules for what can go in a signature block.
  • Use titles from your top blog posts and link to them - not more than two at a time. I think that more than this will just scare them away.

If you’ve not ever tried this before, give it a go now.  Then tell me what type of results you have.  I’d love to hear your input on this!

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5 comments
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  1. Hummie July 18th, 2007 5:22 pm :

    Oh, about those sig lines, I have a different opinion. Be different, even if that means being plain! See, most of the sig lines are full of blinkies so much so that I tend to ignore them all as they are annoying. What gets my attenion in sig lines is a very simple sig line with a link.

    I agree that being an active participant is the best way to get people to click in your sig line.

  2. PChip July 18th, 2007 7:51 pm :

    You make a good point. The siggy badges/blinkies can get as annoying as the Google ads on blogs. After a while people grow numb to them and simply ignore them. Self included here.

    But you know what? I still use them. You know - just in case others are still looking. LOL

    Thanks for sharing your input today!

  3. Karen (Karooch) July 24th, 2007 5:16 am :

    I just keep my signature plain with my Blog name in large font so it stands out. And underneath I have a line about what my blog is about so that it will (hopefully) sound interesting enough to visit.
    By the way, I found your blog through Blog Mastermind. I didn’t realise there was another scrapping blog in the program.

  4. PChip July 25th, 2007 8:15 am :

    Hi Karen,
    Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I had to step away form my computer for a few days while accomplishing other things. It’s left me falling a little behind in my BMM class too.

    It’s wonderful to see you here. Like you, I didn’t realize there was another digi-scrap blogger in the class. Cool! ;)

  5. expencink October 27th, 2008 1:46 pm :

    What a great site, hope to have big fun in here!
    Regards! :)

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