Growing a blog can be tricky and maintaining that growth can be even harder. It’s so easy to give up and get discouraged but as someone who has been doing this nearly 5 years I am here to tell you DO NOT STOP. You are going to think so many negative thoughts while you are trying to grow your blog especially if you are serious about it. I wanted to share 5 Ways to Grow Your Blog that ANYONE can do.
1. Stay active in the Social World: Your blog or you personally should have an active google plus page, Instagram, twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. You should use these things to your advantage. These are great platforms for sharing your posts. On my blog I have a widget at the bottom called Shareaholic. This is a great tool so that each time your blog post goes live you can simply go to the bottom of the widget and “share” your post on each Social Media Platform.
Mine looks like this:
But you can’t just share your posts. You should also share other peoples posts, post questions of the day or a thought of the day. Post a funny story about you or your family(in a quick few sentences). Really get your readers engaged and wanting to come back for more.
2. Network: Blog conferences, blogger meetups etc. You need to be attending these if you are serious. I know not everyone can afford to attend blog conferences and the expenses really pile up. A few ways to save money is find a brand willing to cover some of the costs in exchange for your blogging and social media mentions of them.(More on this in another post) Another great way is to room with people going to the conference. I attended 3 Blissdom Conferences and each time I had 2-3 roommates. Honestly you are only in your room to sleep and shower. So crowding 4 girls in a room is not that big of a deal. Plus you get the added bonus of having people to pal around with when you are feeling nervous. Check out my post on blog conferences and what to expect and how to prepare. Blogger meetups usually happen in a more local setting and are a great way to build a local blogging community. If there isn’t one in your area ORGANIZE ONE! Do you know a few bloggers in your area? Put together a coffee, dinner, wine night and get to know them.
3. Plan Ahead: If you do not schedule posts 9/10 one will either not get posted or you will throw something together that is not your best work. Brands and potential sponsors want to see your best work so one way to do that is to keep an editorial calendar. I like to keep one for 3 months at a time. Of course things pop up that you want to blog about in that 3 months but I always have a good outline of sponsored posts, giveaways, certain things I want to blog about like birthdays, things going on with my wedding, tips and tricks etc. There are great places to find editorial calendars online. This is the one I use. Planning ahead is always a good thing 🙂
4. Working with brands? Keep track! I use a spreadsheet with contact info of every company/brand I have worked with so that I can follow up, reach out again and even just shoot them an email saying how great it was to work with them. Staying in brands faces is a great way to grow your blog and to find potential conference sponsorships. See number 2. You can make this simple spreadsheet in Excel(post on this coming up soon with more details.)
5. Stay positive: Don’t get bogged down in numbers, stats, time etc. It takes time. I am in my 5th year of blogging and in the past year huge things have happened for me. This was not immediate. I did however use all of the tools above and I know that those and some others is what got me here. Don’t let negative or rude comments ruin your day. Just do you and do the best you can. Every blogger is different and it takes time.
This is my favorite quote regarding the subject:
He spoke at Blissdom and gives AMAZING advice!
So there you have it, 5 Ways to Grow Your Blog. But…will you use them?
Wonderful advice! It is very hard to not to compare ESPECIALLY when you have been at it for some time. Thanks for the tips. 🙂
What great tips! Love that quote too! So true.
I love the quote! Its very hard to not compare numbers but then you also have to ask yourself why are you even blogging? I started blog for personal reasons and not to be competitive. I’m so very grateful for my small handful of loyal followers.
I always have much to learn and i started out with the list of all things NOT to do when i first created it. LOL- oh well live and learn. Thanks for the tips!
Very very useful tips! I really should work more on my blog´s social media accounts.
These are great tips. I wasn’t sure about Google+ though. Most people I know don’t use it and I personally hate it. But I might have to force myself to learn it better and use it more.
What a great set of ideas, I’ve just started really using social media and planning out posts. I have just begun planning out posts. I’ve started to see most of my traffic really come from others that I’ve shared or commented.
When you have time or if you can find the time, can you provide a list of conferences you recommend, or a resource for some of them coming up this year? Aside from things like ALT Summit and BlogHer’s annual conference I wouldn’t know where to start to look for events I’d like to attend.
Have a great day!
I am dying to attend a blog conference! I hear such great things about them!! great post!
Oh I love the idea of making a spreadsheet of the brands that I have worked with. I have not done this and I really should have started a long time ago. Thanks for the reminder!
Love this post!! 🙂 Great advice! I’m so impressed with how you’ve grown your blog, so I would love to see more posts like this!
I am still learning how to promote my own blog. It has been a year and I write every day. Do you know how to ‘get seen’ on bloglovin? It seems like although I am posting and sharing it there, no one is seeing it. I am stumped.
Thanks!
great tips!! I need to remember these 🙂
We have been blogging for SO long! It’s refreshing to hear that after all your hard work, you were able to transition into a work at home blogger!
These are all really good tips and a couple I need to buckle down and implement. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great post! I love learning new bloggy things! Pinning!
great tips! thanks for sharing
Great tip on scheduling posts and keeping an editorial calendar. I need to plan things better than the fly by the seat of the pants method I’ve been doing.
Great advice and words of encouragement for newbie bloggers like myself (9 months). Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience! And your blog is adorable!
Stopped by from SITS by the way
This is excellent advice! And thank you so much for sharing the sharing widget you use on your posts. I’ve been looking for one and haven’t been able to find one that does exactly what I want. Shareaholic looks perfect.
These are great tips, I have the patience and positive attitude. I don’t have the money nor time for meetups or conferences. I use social media too.
I’m doing ok with most of these but definitely need to work on #2. I don’t do face-to-face well. It’s so much simpler to work online in the middle of the night when all my people are asleep!
I’ve been blogging for a while but just recently have stepped it up and am trying to get more serious about it. All your advice was pretty spot-on. I think sometimes it can be overwhelming, all this stuff for bloggers to do, especially if they’re new to the game. So I’d also add, to just start with one thing at a time if that’s all you can manage at first, then build your way up. It’s better than nothing, and when they see results it will motivate them to keep going 🙂
Great tips, and the comparison part is so true. You spend a lot of time looking at other blogs and gaining a footing in this online world in the beginning. It can be overwhelming! I can really identify with the Acuff quote! Thanks for the perspective:)
I will use them! Except that I am growing my blog slowly, not looking for overnight success, so I am not currently doing all of them to my fullest. But working my way there!
As a fairly new blogger, I really appreciate these tips! I have been focusing on building community with other bloggers right now and it has helped tremendously!
Great post! You have me reviewing some ways I’m doing things. Thanks for sharing!
I have that quote on an inspiration board on Pinterest, and I have to remind myself of it often. I have been blogging for almost a year, and I have days where I feel so discouraged. I just have to give myself permission to grow. Thanks for sharing some great ideas.
Great tips. I am very diligent in staying connected via social media, 7 days a week — I love it. However where I have taken short is networking, I really need to work on this and make time for it. It difficult as a mother to find the time, but I guess it needs to be made.
Thanks for the reminder!
xxoo
Tairalyn
These are great tips for a newbie blogger like myself. An editorial calendar is definitely something that I should add to my to-do list. Thank you. Visiting from SITSGirls….
Excellent tips. Thanks for sharing. I am feeling a bit bummed out at the moment with my site and don’t know how to keep the momentum going. Hard work and tip 5 helped. Going to enquire about how I can leverage your services.
Yes, it’s definitely hard NOT to compare. I have to keep reminding myself that the time I have right now will increase in the fall when all 5 kids are in school. My life as a mom of 5 is completely different from life as a mom of 1 or 2 kids.
As a new blogger as of January, this is a great article. Thanks for sharing!
Great advice. It is so easy to get caught up in the numbers game and comparing your blog to others out there.
Stopping by from the SITS link up.
Great post, Neely! This is a great reminder that simplistic, constant acts can make the biggest difference. I don’t have a popular blog, but it’s definitely grown and I’m better than when I began. That, at least for me, is progress in the right direction! I don’t know much about editorial calendars, but I found this one — http://www.peacoatsandplaid.com/2014/01/70-monthly-topic-ideas-for-any-blogging.html — and it seems to have some good ideas worth implementing every once and a while. Currently, I feel like I’m in a “valley” of blogging. I don’t think I have a clear direction or niche and I certainly do NOT want to be ‘just a mommy blogger.’ Does that make sense?
As for networking, I’m definitely a fan of social gatherings with local bloggers. I’ve met some wonderful folks, you included, that I would not have if it weren’t for our blogs.
Big hugs,
Nicole
These are wonderful tips! I learned a lot.
I love all this advice!!
Great tips – I try to write 3 or 4 blog posts ahead and just keep them until I am ready to use them. I actually keep a notebook with me at all time – so when I get a blog Idea I can start writing it immediately.
Great tips! I need to get in on more conferences. Now, how about 5 tips on convincing my husband of that?? 😉
I love this! Thanks. I especially like the idea of organizing a blog get together for your area. I may do that!
Georgia
I love this post! I always have so many questions and I don’t know any other bloggers personally to ask! Ohw do you find brands to blog for? Right now I’m pretty sure my family is the only one who reads my blog! I am struggling with getting my blog out there. Thanks for the tips! I plan on taking advantage of your editorial calendar!
Thanks I needed to read this today, it is good motivation for everyday.
Great tips, especially for a newbie!!
Thank you for this post. I started my blog a moth ago and I consciously remind myself that it’s about having fun and enjoying the process-not about the numbers.
This is some great stuff! It’s awesome that you took the time to lay these out for the good of your fellow bloggers. Much appreciated!
Maybe this is a given, but I think there should be a #6… GOOD CONTENT. There are a lot of blogs out there fighting to be seen, enough that you saw a need to post this valuable information! Even if bloggers accomplish #’s 1-5, if the content isn’t relevant and well executed, it won’t work… thoughts?
Thanks for the tips! That is such a fantastic quote for life in general!
What great tips!! I will totally put your tips to use!
These are all great tips to put into action. One thing I have come to understand is that everything takes time and as you rightly said in #5: Stay positive and don’t get bogged down in numbers, stats, time. Stopping by from SITS. 🙂 Happy Palm Sunday!
Thanks Neely, I REALLY needed to see this after looking at my stats this morning. It is hard to get noticed when there are so many more beautiful, bigger blogs out there.
I use the editorial calendar and it helps, but i still just write current posts. I can’t seem to get ahead and even though I want to! I am trying to grow my blog by hosting a couple linkups, hope you will join my Small Victories Sunday linkup that’s now open and Throwback Thursday to link up an old post that could use some more visits.
Pinning this to my blogging tips board. Thanks for sharing with the SITSGIrls.
I really enjoyed some of the advice that you offered here. One of the things I did for social media is to make my facebook page more personalized.
Since I am a lifestyle blogger and I work with my daughters and other family members a lot, I’ve added in family pictures as an element. I also use my notes, which I have found creates an individual link to your page after you accumulate enough notes.
I love your idea about local meet ups and conferences. I have not tried either of those yet. Blogging is a unique field and I have to admit that it would be nice to meet some like-minded people in person. I have become great friends with a couple of bloggers, to the point when I went to their city, I stayed with them so that was pretty cool.
Thanks for the great advice!
Love and Luck,
Laurali Star
http://www.thesecretsurprisinista.com
Good advice! I have been at this more than a year and use it as an outlet but would still really like to grow my blog. I think scheduling is the key! Thanks so much for sharing!
I think having patience, especially with yourself is the most important part of the process. And be reasonable with your expectations 🙂 Great tips – just bought a planner to get my “editorial” planning on. Ill also be attending the Blog U conference in June so SUPER excited, reading your post on that at this time 🙂 Have a great one Neely! -Iva
Hi. I found you via the SITS Girls and am happy to share your great tips. I attended my first conference last week and it was the SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp. I agree that this was a wonderful means to not only grow your blog but to meet others and realize things take time. I’m always happy to hear from those such as yourself who reinforce it took a few years to get to a certain point.
Thanks again!!
One more crucial, but often neglected, piece of advice: Work on your writing skills! We put this ridiculous amount of emphasis on social media, networking, planning, organizing and sharing yet so little is placed on developing QUALITY writing skills.
I have come across too many blogs that have great subject matter but are written so poorly (style and grammar/punctuation) that it becomes a huge turn-off. I refuse to return to those blogs. Social media, sharing and networking are all important but if the writing is bland and boring, readers will quickly lose interest.
Great tips!
great tips! i’ve been looking at my numbers more lately but i need to work more on my posts and the numbers will eventually get there!
Thank you for the great information. It is difficult when just starting out and not seeing much traffic. I started my blog three months ago. I often wonder if I’ll ever get many followers. But I keep on sharing my journey. If I can help someone else heal themselves, that is a bonus.
Hi, visiting you via The SITS Girls, thank you for all the practical advice! I will see which areas I’m lacking of all of these in my strategy, to incorporate them. Wish you the best with your blog!
This was very helpful! Thanks for sharing,
Kelly
Good advice. I’ve been to about 10 conferences (so far) and I’ve had roomates at all of them, at least the ones that are far enough away to travel. I think it builds a much closer relationship with people when you’ve shared a room like that, even for one night. I’m still in close touch with most of them even years later. #SITSsharefest
Great tips!! Thank you!
This are great tips and I agree 100% with all of them. I’m eager to make it to a conference but I leave so far from them LOL. But I’m sure I will be able to go some day! Staying positive is a key but sometimes is so hard. I always try to get over the overwhelming feeling by making some handcrafts LOL.
Thanks so much for sharing these!
XOXO
Great tips. Sharing and pinning.
Thanks for sharing! It isn’t in my plan to work my blog quite this hard, but I am adjusting your advice down to my level of work ethic and time commitment. It is interesting to hear what things have worked so well for you. Cheers!
Hi..stopping by from Sits… As a fairly new blogger I really appreciate the advice/tips :).
Thank you so much for the wonderful tips. Some of these things I do, some I’m hoping to start doing. I’d love to attend conferences and am planning to look into going to some locally.
Stopped in from the SITS girls. 🙂
This was great! Yes, I will use them! I especially loved that quote because I am always comparing myself to others & my emotions can go up and down! I really love blogging and feel so abundant, but then I look at another blog and get anxious or frustrated if traffic is slow. I really need to learn to accept where I am and love the process! Thanks for this!
I have seen a lot of posts on how to increase traffic, but I think it just comes down to luck and time. For the first few months, I got between 2 and 20 views a day. Then suddenly I got 1,000 in one day. Since that day, I usually get around 200 a day. Not a lot, but a huge increase from 2! But…I still don’t know why. I didn’t do anything different, and it was literally overnight. So luck and time–I think that’s it. I know some people who became very popular (like 500,000 hits monthly) within two months of blogging, and some people have blogged for years and never see more than 100 per day.
Fab quote to finish with! 🙂
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Thank you so much for this post. It really gave me hope and inspiration!
This is great! Thank you so much for posting this! I will definitely be using these tips!