Yay! You have made it to the second level of blogging! (Somehow, I get the feeling this is more like a video game…anyway!)
So, you have a blog and a few posts published, but now what? How are you getting readers to see your blog? How can you increase traffic and boost your google ratings? This post will teach you all sorts of neat tips and tricks to send your blog soring! Don’t have a blog? Here is a step by step on how to create a blog.
Intermediate
One of the most important things you can do for your blog is treat it as a business! If you want to succeed, this is where your mindset needs to be; how can I grow my audience? What is my end goal? Where do I want to be in 3-5 years? When you have this
Write down your monthly goals, 3-year goals, and 5-year goals. Write down how much you want to make, who would be you dream brand to work with? By writing these goals down you are committed to them and find an action plan on how to achieve them.
Google Analytics
A great start would be, growing your viewers…how do you even know what your current viewings are? The best way to know is to install Google Analytics. This will show you your views, the bounce rate (meaning how long people are staying on your post), and how they found your post (through Google, Facebook, Instagram etc.). I would not get too caught up in your ratings at first, keep in mind you are still growing, and it takes time to build up a following.
I also love the WordPress app, it is an easy way to see which blogs are doing the best, and your daily, monthly, and yearly views.
Networking
A great way to increase engagement for your blog is networking! This was the hardest part for me, and I never knew how in the world was I going to meet fellow travel bloggers? Then I started looking into Facebook groups, find a few that are in your niche and join! Here is mine, click to join!
One of the popular questions that I get is how often should you post? Honestly it isn’t about how much you post, but the quality of your content.
Keep these two things in mind when you are writing, and this will boost your content value:
- Write down the main theme/goal of the post. For example: top three things to see in Scotland; make sure you answer that question and stick to that topic. One of my pet peeves is clicking on a blog post reading the title, and never getting an answer to that question or topic.
- What is unique in the post that will make you stand out from all the other blogs/bloggers. For example: find your specific style, whether it is humor or what went wrong.
SEO
SEO is something I struggled with, just because I never understood it. Here is a break down for you: Search Engine Optimization; basically, when someone types in good searches Google can boost your blog to the front, depending on the ranking. The best way to test your SEO is install Yoast SEO on WordPress. This will give you a red, yellow, or green light depending on how well your SEO is. It will then tell you what needs to be changed. There are further features, but you will have to pay $89 for the premium (a one-time fee).
Newsletter
Now that your blog is gaining traffic; it’s time to keep that traffic! How? Newsletters! Now, I always hated signing up for newsletters- I would get at least 3 emails a day and it was just spammy!
I suggest only having one for the end of the month (reviewing all the fun stuff that happened!) and one when exciting things are coming to the blog (presets, Instagram classes, giveaways, etc.).
The newsletter site I love is MailChimp. It is fast, easy, and works well with WordPress. It will give you a specific code to link with your blog. And you have the option to have the widget to pop up or customized to the left of your site. It has a complete ‘how to’ on creating an account and linking to your site.
I can set up campaigns – these are standard emails you get when you first sign up for the newsletter! It will also give me a full list of subscribers so I can group send my newsletter and any exciting thing that is happening during the month!
MailChimp is free for the first 20,000 subscribers, after that there is a $$ charge per year.
Pinterest Pictures
One of the biggest ways to market your blog is through Pinterest! I have said many times this brings me the most traffic for my blog! A great tip I learned
First, I create the photo I want through Canva. A great photo editing tool, I can add titles, images, and designed shapes as well. I always stick to a vertical image (Pinterest likes this), write the title of the blog on the image, and then upload that image onto my post (at the end).
If you want to learn more on how I create Pinterest perfect pictures, click here!
**Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.**
Sumo
A great sharing tool is Sumo. It allows your readers to share through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. This is essential to your blog growth!
Simply, create an account, connect to WordPress and yay, others can begin sharing! You can choose which accounts you want readers to share your blog on. (Sumo gives a thorough ‘how to’ for installing Sumo on WordPress).
If you want to learn more in depth of how to market your blog through social media, click here!
AdSense
Ok, so you know have a vision for your blog, established SEO, have returning viewers. It’s time to start earning! A great tool to start out with is AdSense-advertising.
Start by signing up for an account, create the ad settings you want, and let it do the rest! If you want custom placing, install the Quick AdSense plugin. You can play around with where you want the ads to go.
If you want to know how much you will be making…I have noticed it makes about $1 per 1000 views. It doesn’t sound like that much, but once you start gaining more views, it will add up.
Ok, so ends this blog. Now go out and start creating! I would love to hear all about you and your blog in the comments below! Let me know if these tips were helpful!
If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment below or you can email me!
No Comments