Every blogger who earns income from their blog knows that the only way you can make money is by getting and keeping the traffic coming. Without these readers, you won’t be making any money at all.

There are lots of ways to get them there, but the question is – how do you keep them coming back? If a reader isn’t impressed by your blog on any of several levels, then they’ll leave your site, never to return again.

With them goes their blog’s traffic that you could’ve benefited from if they’d linked to you, bought an affiliate product you recommend, bought ad space or even just clicked an ad. Here are some tips to improve your blog’s appeal to keep the traffic there and earn you some money.

Consider Your Blog Design…

The most common mistake some bloggers make is in their blog’s design. Blog readers not only look for interesting and informative content – they also want to come to an inviting space to read it.

The blog’s design needs to be inviting to them and appropriate. It’s crucial not to have anything that would annoy them to the point of leaving because they can’t stand it. Make sure you’re not annoying them with a colored font that’s hard to read or a bunch of graphics that are too distracting.

Your blog’s theme should also fit your topic. Having a dark Gothic theme when writing about baby showers won’t attract the same audience as having a light colored pastel theme. Or maybe goth moms is your target? Tech blogs tend to be light, bright and modern with lots of widgets, do-dads and shiny bits.

A few animated graphics are fine, but don’t have flashing ads and glittering graphics detracting from your blog’s message – or your strategically-placed advertisements. It’s fine to use colored font for your posts, but make sure it’s easy to read.

A pale yellow font color against a pure white background may be too difficult for the visitors to read. They shouldn’t clash with the background color either. Clashing colors can give visitors headaches, so they’ll leave your site without bookmarking it for a later visit.

Consider Your Content…

The other common mistake bloggers tend to make is with their content. Some bloggers don’t update very often. If you only post once a month, your readers will forget you’re there and won’t return to your site. Post to your blog at least three times a week to keep human visitors and search engine spiders coming back. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, check out this post about finding the inspiration for new posts.

Text posts are great, but mix it up a little every once in awhile with multi-media formats. Some bloggers also make the mistake of only providing text content to their blogs. Provide some interesting pictures, audio files and videos. Offer a little variety and your visitors will come back to check and see what else you’ve been up to. You don’t have to create audio or video files, you can simply link to YouTube and other sites that allow it. Often you can “embed” these videos into your blog instead of sending people away.

Consider Your Topic…

It’s also important to stick to your blog’s niche topic. If you’re blogging about Homeschooling, then stick to that topic. Providing information about a celebrity’s latest excursion will turn off your readers unless it somehow relates to homeschooling. Finding a way to connect a popular news story to your topic will definitely work to your advantage though.

To make your blog successful in bringing you money, make sure you make the blog appealing to your readers. If your readers keep coming back, your chances of making money from your ads and offers will increase.