6 STEPS TO HELP YOU GROW YOUR BLOG

Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.

Whilst when I started my blog it was purely a hobby and I was effectively writing for myself (and perhaps my mum and my biggest cheerleaders – was it the same for you too?), these days having people come and read my content, find it interesting or inspiring, and even comment or share my features is the most rewarding accolade there is. And something I deem as a major ‘success’ measure for my own blog.

Traffic & engagement is ultimately what we all want for our blogs, it’s a way to measure our ‘success’ and it’s also a great indicator of our ‘influence’ for brands who may want to work with us. So growing your blog is something i’m sure we all want to do, and today I thought i’d share a few things which I think help contribute to blog growth.

Although I should say now, there’s no magic formula, hard work, persistent and passion is really what it takes.

6 STEPS TO HELP YOU GROW YOUR BLOG

#1 Analyse your data & set goals

If you want to grow your blog, you kinda need to know where you’re starting from. You need to get an understanding of whats working and what’s not, who’s visiting and how often, what are they coming for, when are they coming, what content or pages deliver the most traction. Once you’ve got under the skin of your data (and your blog), you can then start to define the key areas to focus on to help push it further, set yourself goals, timelines and measurement KPI’s. Growing your blog isn’t just pot luck (for most people), it takes a lot of work and an understanding of what works for you specifically.

#2 Define your brand & be consistent

Most of my favourite blogs and those we’d deem ‘successful’ in the industry right now have a clear identity and a brand style they consistently deliver upon. If you want to grow your blog, you need to define your brand, carve out your niche and constantly deliver content that fits within this. For me personally, I try and ensure all my content delivers upon my mission statement:

Mediamarmalade is a destination for the stylish, the ambitious and the passionate. It’s a hub of daily inspiration, motivational content and advice and tips for those of us on a journey to sartorial, life and career success.

With so many blogs available these days, it your unique style and your original content and your shining personality which will help step you apart from the crowds.

Carve your Niche. Be original. Be Creative. Be Unique.

#3 What’s next?

The social space is ever evolving, and if you want your blog to grow, then you need to be at the forefront of the ‘next big thing’.

Within the blogging space social media is the ever changing beast for which we need to be on top of … whether it’s twitter, Instagram, or now snapchat, each of these social zeitgeists has had a major influence on the success and size of many bloggers (and impacted the growth of their blogs in turn). Instagram transformed many small scale bloggers into huge digital influencers. If you want to grow your blog then being at the forefront of social innovation & being involved in the ‘next big thing’ is going to be key.

And it’s not just about being there, it’s about bringing to life your brand consistently within this space, and not least being sure to continuously engage with your followers.

#4 Add value & engage

With so many blogs, websites, influencers, and content producers out there, getting ‘seen’ and heard has never been more difficult. The competition is vast, so having a clear & consistent brand is critical, but more than that, these days you need to be adding value to your readers. Content is not enough, your content must inspire, engage, inform or entertain … your content must add value. And that’s not just content on your blog, it’s on your social channels too.

And it doesn’t stop there, beyond providing valuable content, you need to engage, build meaningful and genuine connections with your readers. This is something i’ve heard many and many blogger attribute to their ‘success’, and it’s true, engaging with your readers has never been more important, these guys are the cheerleaders who will take you to the next level and help grow your blog.

#5 Innovate, be creative, test and learn

If you don’t innovate and continue to evolve your blog and your content your likely to become ‘stagnant’ … if you want to grow your blog you must continue to innovate, push your creativity, test and learn new styles (whether that’s content themes, photography styles, social strategies or simply blog layout) and continue to build and evolve your brand. But most importantly throughout the journey, stay true to you, stay true to your style, to your niche and to your brand.

#6 Share. Share. Share

The key to growing your blog beyond your current user base is sharing. You sharing across multiple social platforms, your readers sharing it to other readers because they found it useful or interesting, brands sharing because they love how you’ve portrayed their brand, or even other publishers sharing because they they admire your work. Sharing is something you can’t control (aside from on your own social channels) but is a major factor in growing your readership and your blogs reach.

So how do you get shares? Produce great content, constantly, that adds value & is unique to your blog & brand. It really is a case of hard work pays off.

Things take time, so just be patient.

I’d love to know if you’ve found these tips helpful or if you have any other tips from your own experience? Don’t forget you can catch up on all my tips posts here, with everything from career tips, to blog advice, to wellness inspiration.