Saturday, October 23, 2021

How To Grow Your Blog in 2021

 

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The world of blogging has changed drastically over the years. In the past couple of years focus shifted somewhat from having a stand alone blog to micro blogging on social media platforms such as Instagram. However, if you want to make an income from blogging and have a space that doesn't rely on a social media site that you have no control over (how many times has Instagram gone down this year?!) then you need to have a stand alone blog.

I have been blogging since March 2013 and have made a career for myself out of it. Blogging is my full-time job and it allows me to be there for my sons day in and day out, while still earning an income to support my family.

So, how can you grow your blog in 2021? Here are some tips to follow in order to grow your traffic and create a successful blog for yourself.

 

1. Embrace Pinterest

As a social media platform, I think Pinterest is the most slept upon, however, it has been consistent in giving my blog page views for years now. It's such an easy site to use and is a great tool in growing your blog.

Pinterest is all about having good quality and eye-catching images and you'll want these to be great in order for people to feel compelled to expand your pin and click on your link - having a catchy title on your pin will help too. 

This past year, Pinterest has shifted from focusing on hashtags on pins to creating fresh pins consistently. If you can be seasonal with your content then this can be a big plus in gaining traffic from Pinterest as people search for different seasonal topics throughout the year. Pinterest now has video pins too, which is great if you're good at creating fab videos instead of photos.

Once used consistently - aim to pin at least 10 pins a day, mixing your own content with content from your home feed, Pinterest can be great tool in growing your blog traffic. 


2. Interact with other bloggers

Over the past couple of years, interacting with other bloggers and commenting on their blogs seems to be something which is fading away within the blogging community. However, I don't think people realise just how valuable interacting with fellow bloggers is in growing your blog.

Commenting on other blogs and leaving your blog link (in a respectful manner, please don't spam anyone!) is great at growing back links to your blog and helping to increase your blogs metrics. Rexoriginals.com is another great resource for link building too, if you have some budget to spare for doing this.

Interacting with other bloggers on social media and sharing their content usually means they're happy to do the same for you and this is great at growing new readers and followers and having your content reach a wider audience.


3. Use your social media for promotion

My blog has almost every social media account you can think of and I use the majority of them to promote each post I publish. Use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram via Instastories ti share your posts and encourage people to click-through to your blog. 

Be your own cheerleader! If you're not out there promoting yourself who will? It's also a good idea to keep your social media on brand with your blog. For example, my blog is currently a family lifestyle blog with a big focus on the outdoors, days out, travel, etc. and my Instagram reflects this. 

The pictures and words you share on your social media are essentially an advertisement for you and your blog so use these to your advantage to gain readers for your blog and encourage people to share your content to a wider audience. 

 

4. Optimise your posts with SEO

SEO (search engine optimisation) is such an important element to consider for anyone who wants to monetise their blog. Good SEO is essential for gaining traffic to your blog and is the reason why my blog gains so many organic search hits each day through Google and other search engines. 

If you're clueless about all things SEO, or are simply looking for a little extra help in getting your blog found on Google then looking for help from an SEO agency, like this Vancouver SEO agency is a great thing to do. 

Take time to research your keywords and phrases so that they fit into your target audience. Installing an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO if you're a Wordpress user is a great thing to do too. 

 

5. Grow your blog skills with virtual events

Due to the pandemic, lots of companies specialising in the blog and tech industry shifted their conferences and events online, allowing anyone, wherever they were in the world, to access their insights and gain new skills online.

Companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc. used virtual event technology to share their knowledge on tech and blogging topics with a wider audience online. You can find a list of these virtual blogging events here if you'd like to take part.

Hopefully in 2022 we can return to in person events, full of networking, great presentations and charging stations, like those from ECM Media (so that all us blogging folk can keep our devices charged!), but for the meantime, making use of these virtual events really is the clever thing to do.

 

6. Enjoy what you do

For me this is one of the most important aspects to blogging. If you enjoy what you do then you will make a better effort at it.

There's no point in doing something if you don't like it, otherwise it will end up as a chore and will not come across as genuine or even knowledgeable to your audience. 

Blogging takes a lot of effort. From creating content to optimising SEO to keeping up with social media accounts, it can take up a lot of your time and it's not for everyone. However, if you enjoy writing and sharing your content with the world, then blogging can become a very profitable career and one that allows you to make your own working hours, be your own boss and gain opportunities to work with some amazing brands.


7. Set up Google Analytics 

Google Analytics are essential for gaining insights from your blog and understanding where your traffic is coming from, what people are clicking-through to and what content is performing best for you. 

In 2021, the Google Analytics platform changed somewhat and now gives even more insight into your blog and traffic sources.

Google Analytics are a fountain of knowledge for bloggers and will allow you to work on areas of your blog that need improving by giving you all the metrics you need. 

Hopefully you'll find these tips helpful in how to grow your blog in 2021.

For even more blogging tips and insights, check out my section on blogging, in which I share all the blogging knowledge I've learned over the past eight years. 


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