How to Get Serious About Your Blog
If you have been on the edge of getting started with your blog, or you have been blogging for a couple of years and you are ready to get serious then keep reading.
I want to start by saying it took me more than 3 years to really get serious about my blog.
I contribute a lot of that time wasted to not believing in the possibility that I could make money with my blog, and a small part of it to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing.
When I finally realized that it was time to make changes I got super intentional with my blog and how I was spending my time.
Today, I want to share with you a few changes that I made when I got serious about my blog so that you can take action today and start working in the right direction.
Download a free copy of my free Blogging Start-Up Guide to follow the 10 steps you need to lay a successful blog foundation.
#1 - I started using Pinterest strategically
I no longer browsed Pinterest for what I was going to make for dinner or the craft I was going to create for my son’s classroom. I got intentional with this platform and used it to drive highly-targeted traffic to my blog.
Since Pinterest is a visual search engine, your content can pop-up as a relevant search result when someone uses their search bar. You don’t even have to have a large audience to get a lot of traffic from Pinterest.
I was able to 10x my traffic in just 3 months. I went from 10,000 page views per month to over 100,000 page views per month. From there, my traffic continued to skyrocket.
If you are interested in learning my Pinterest strategies, check out my Ultimate Growth Formula e-course here.
#2 - I focused on growing my email list
The first few years of blogging, I didn’t put any time or effort into my email list and boy do I wish I would have.
I am sure you’ve heard people say ‘the money is in the list.’ It is true. With all the algorithm changes on social media, you never know what is going to happen. But, you have a direct line of communication to your reader with your email list.
When I started focusing on growing my list I was able to increase my subscribers by 45k in just 1 year.
Here are a few of the changes I made to increase my list:
Created content upgrades for my most popular blog content
Added multiple opt-in forms to make it super easy and obvious for my audience to sign up to my email list
I made an exclusive resource library that held all of my content upgrades in 1 place which was a big incentive for people to join my list
Created a free and extremely valuable email course to offer in exchange for their email address
I promoted my content upgrades EVERYWHERE I possibly could
You can read all the details about these changes here: How I Increased My Email List by 45k In 1 Year.
#3 - I invested in myself and my blog
When I started blogging, I became obsessed with teaching myself everything I possibly could about how to blog.
Every waking hour that wasn’t spent with my kids was spent on my computer learning.
Not only did this take a toll, but it was holding me back.
I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting trying to figure it all out by myself. Not to mention, it was pretty lonely.
I kept telling myself that I couldn’t afford to invest in any kind of coaching program or online course, but I couldn’t afford NOT to anymore. I was missing out on growing my audience and my income by not investing in my blog.
The first year I invested in an online course and a group mastermind program I hit six-figures with my blog. That was a HUGE wake-up call for me.
I can’t stress how important it is to learn from someone who can help you to get results faster.
Even if you start with a small e-course or even an online tool that will help you to automate a part of your blogging tasks, do it now!
Trust me, the longer you wait, the longer you are holding yourself back.
#4 - Started collaborating
I am a big introvert so even the thought of putting myself out there to network with other bloggers makes me super uneasy.
It took me years to attend my first blogging conference and even longer to make blogging friends.
Collaborating with bloggers in your industry is one of the fastest ways you can grow your blog. If you’re not doing it now… what are you waiting for?!?
I did my first collaboration a few years into blogging.
It was a free workshop that we both promoted to our audiences and then at the end of the workshop, we pitched an online course I was selling at the time.
I was able to increase my email list by more than 500 subscribers and the workshop brought in over $5k in sales. When I say you need to collaborate I mean it!
You don’t have to do workshops or webinars if you’re not comfortable with that yet.
Start small and find ways that you can promote other bloggers or partner with them on a project.
To do this, be genuine and come from a place of service.
#5 - I started showing up for my audience
I used to hide behind my cartoon logo and NEVER shared a single picture or story about myself or my family anywhere online.
No wonder my blog didn’t grow.
My audience couldn’t know, like and trust me when they had NO IDEA who I even was.
When I say I started showing up for my audience I mean this in two ways.
First, I started to be visible.
Literally.
I started to share pictures of myself and open up about my life to my audience (I still had boundaries).
This was extremely hard for me, but I was shocked by the responses I received from my audience.
I got emails upon emails from women saying they could relate to me and were happy to hear that they had someone to connect with. I started to realize that I could make an impact with my message if I stopped holding myself back.
Second, I began to be there and serve my audience on a consistent basis.
This meant, showing up live to help answer questions, creating consistent content, opening up a Facebook group, hosting webinars and even recording videos.
I no longer sat back waiting for my blog to grow, I became intentional and showed up as much as I could to provide value and solve the issues they were experiencing.
Each of these steps has brought me to where I am today.
If you are ready to get serious about your blog, instantly download a copy of my Blogging Start-Up Guide now!
I would love to hear from you. What did you do when you got serious with your blog, or which one of these steps are you going to try today?