5 TIPS TO GROW YOUR BLOG

. 5 TIPS TO GROW YOUR BLOG .

When you spend a lot of time working on your blog, producing content, shooting looks, writing up editorial, it’s always nice to feel rewarded for your hard work and efforts. Whilst my blog originally was just a personal space and I didn’t expect anyone to come and read it, as my blog has grown and my content has improved, readers mean all the more to me, they make it all worthwhile. But of course as blogging has become more and more popular , the volume of blogs and content available has increased to a crazy level, making it even harder for you, your content and your little www dot to stand out and get noticed.

I am a very firm believer in organic growth, things will come in time and with hard work, but sometimes morale can be affected on the journey (it’s only natural, read my post here on tips for keeping your morale high) and during those times it’s good to take check, and analyse what you’re doing, how you could improve further or what it is you want to get out of your blog.

There really is no ‘easy win’ solution to growing your blog, your traffic and your reader base (blog growth is organic and always should be), but there are a few things that I believe definitely can help along that journey, so I thought i’d share those 5 tips today.

. #1 CREATE GREAT CONTENT .

The first tip is of course to create great content, if you want people to discover your blog and importantly keep coming back then you need to provide great content, whatever that content, topic, or genre might be, it’s important to ensure it’s quality. I spend probably 98% of my efforts on creating quality content, it’s what I love to do and it’s what I hope makes my blog enjoyable for others to read and visit.

Great content isn’t just about producing a one off piece of fabulous quality editorial, it’s about being consistent in frequency and quality and also about maximising what you are doing with your content (where you’re sharing it and optimising the time of day you share it etc), as well as mastering the likes of SEO (you can read my 5 easy SEO wins here) & your content distribution.

. #2 MASTER SOCIAL .

These days blogging isn’t just about your blog and your editorial content, it’s about your whole social persona and profile, these days instagram commands so much attention from both readers and brands that it’s important to ensure you’re not missing any tricks by ignoring your social channels.

I personally find the whole instagram world quite bonkers and right now only dream of having 200k followers, but nonetheless i still work hard daily to share inspiring and pretty pictures across my instagram page (which you can follow here), as well as my pinterest, Facebook and twitter accounts. Being a blogger is a tough job these days, you’re no longer just an online blogger, your an editor, photographer, social media manager, content producer, creative director, financial director … the list goes on.

Spending a little time thinking about your social channels, ensuring you’re posting quality features regularly, at the right times and tagging the right things is another great way of growing your ‘blogging brand’ but also in directing some traffic through to your blog too!

. #3 NETWORK .

I’m especially awful at this (from a blogging point of view) but networking is an absolutely key way in growing your blog and reader base. I struggle to network offline with my blog as I work full time and can find it difficult to attend all the events i a invited to, but what I do know is that getting out and about, attending PR days, brand parties, blogging conventions is a definite way to meet new people and share your blog beyond it’s current reader base.

Of course it’s important to be natural and not simply attend events to spam people with your business card, but they do provide great opportunity to meet new people, new brands and generally expand your blogging network.

For me this is something I really need to start doing more, starting with making a business card …

. #4 COLLABORATE .

Collaborations are another fantastic way of growing your blog. Naturally collaborations are not something you can really go out and seek (at least, I tend to wait to be approached, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t and shouldn’t actively seek out collaborations and projects) but when they do come around they provide a really great opportunity to expose your blog and content to others who may have not discovered it yet.

Brand collaborations when done well are a really great (mutually beneficial) way of gaining exposure, if you’re producing great content in partnership with a brand and they then feature you and your blog on their owned channels or social channels, this is a great way of showcasing your blog to people who will be interested in the same things.

I’ve been fortunate to work on many brand collaborations and it’s always lovely when brands then produce features on you or simply share your instagrams and blog links. French Connection, John Lewis and Aspinal of London are a few recent examples of brands i’ve worked with who have gone on to share my blog links, develop features about me on their sites & generally promote my content (on them) a little more. Beyond brands, online stores or sites like ASOS & Lookbook, magazine or online publisher collaborations are also brilliant exposure, i’ve been featured in a number of UK & international fashion (and blogging) publications and it’s a great way to ‘get out there’.

Many bloggers these days are also collaborating with other bloggers or blog friends, again these  collaborations are a great way of extending your readership and exposing your blog to new people!

. #5 DON’T STOP .

It does go without saying that of course to grow your blog you must be consistent and keep going. For your blog to truly grow then you have to keep producing content, keep engaging with the community, keep networking with brands and bloggers and don’t stop. The moment you stop, it’s likely that things will slow. Blogging is a big, competitive industry now and there’s so much amazing content out there for us to consumer, if we want to be a part of it, we have to keep blogging.

Just keep blogging!

So there you go, 5 little tips to help your blog grow, as I mentioned there’s no ‘easy win’ with blogging and there’s definitely no point trying to take shortcuts as it won’t benefit you in the long run. Blog growth is organic, and so it should be, but if you keep working hard, producing great content that you love and are passionate about, in time people will discover it and start to love your blog more and more.

I’ve been blogging everyday for almost 4 years now, it’s bloody hard work, and sometimes I wish more people would discover my blog & enjoy what I produce, but slowly but surely it’s getting there, growing slowly but daily. The key is to be patient, keep going & make sure you’re enjoying yourself along the way.

I’d love to know if you found these 5 tips helpful or if you have any other tips or advice on growing your blog organically?