Five Tips for Growing Your Blogs Audience: Part 2

One of my most popular posts to date is 'Five tips for growing your blogs audience' which you can read here if you haven't already. As I got such a good response from that post (its my most liked post on Bloglovin, ever) and lots of you found it useful, I thought I'd do a part two offering five more tips! I want to put a little disclaimer out there and say that I'm in no way saying you must do these things, these are just a few things I've found have worked for me over the past few years and things that may be helpful to you if you're just starting out. 

When I first started blogging I would spend hours and hours reading blogging tips and advice posts because firstly I find hearing about things that have worked for other people really interesting and secondly because they really helped me to shape my blog into what it is today. I also want to write posts on this blog that I'd enjoy reading myself so with that being said, lets get to the good stuff..

Tweak your photography

One of the biggest 'make or break' parts of a blog would have to be the photography. For me, and lots of other people, I'm much more likely to hit the follow button if a blog has great photos to accompany their written content. I'm not saying you need to take photos that rival David Bailey but it is important that they're big, clear and bright. The world is a visual place (all you need to do is take one look at sites like Instagram & Pinterest to realise that) and people love seeing good quality images on blogs. It can take a lot of time to get that perfect shot along with editing and uploading but the benefits are so worth it. Its also a good idea to be creative with your images too - adding props in the background can really catch peoples eye and give your images more depth!

Don't follow the crowd

When writing a blog its SO important to write something you'd personally like to read. Now you might be thinking 'how is that going to grow my audience?' but if you're writing about things you're interested in and want to write about instead of the things you think you should write about, it'll reflect in your content and be more engaging for those people who stumble upon your site for the first time. I can always tell when people have wrote about something just because they feel they have to and if there's no passion behind it, its pretty easy to tell. You should never feel like you have to write about certain topics or stick to a specific niche - just write about the things you love and your passion will shine through and keep people reading. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't follow the crowd. Just because everyone else is posting about a certain topic, it doesn't mean you have to do the same. 

Tweet brands

As someone who works for a fashion brand, I know for a fact how much brands appreciate it when you let them know you've featured them on your blog. Not only do they want to get as much feedback about their products and exposure as they can but its also very likely they'll want to retweet and share your post with their followers too. If they do, its a great way to get your post seen by new people and hopefully gain some new readers too - its win win situation for everyone! So next time you write a post featuring brands - don't forget to tweet them!

Look at your stats

I've never really been big on checking stats or analysing things too much as blogging is a hobby for me, not a job. However, I do like to check my stats page from time to time to see which posts have been the most read and have a nosy at the keywords that have led people to my blog. If lots of people have found it through searching 'mac lipstick review' for example or a post I've wrote has noticeably higher views, I know to write more on that topic. However, if you're serious about blogging as a career, you can also go one step further and analyse your traffic/audience/keywords and a whole host of other things via Google Analytics. Its very easy to set up and it will give you a great insight into what's working for you and what isn't so you can change things accordingly. I try not to get too caught up in the analytical side of things but like I said, if you're wanting to blog as a full time job or you feel something isn't working for you, its worth looking into!

Be easy to follow

I can't even count the amount of blogs I've been unable to follow because there's no follow button anywhere on their sites or if there is one, its in a place where nobody can see it! It seems like such an obvious piece of advice but its SO important to place your 'follow me' buttons at the top of your site in a place where people will instantly see them when they click through to your blog. If its not easy to find, most people won't bother hunting for it and click off your site without following. The same applies for social media buttons - the best place to have them is at the very top of your site or in the sidebar beneath a welcome image/blurb. Make things easy for people and they'll thank you for it!

I hope these tips were useful! Do you have any more?

Lots of love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Five Tips for Growing your Blogs Audience

Every week my inbox is jam packed with emails from new bloggers asking me the same question: "how do I get more followers?". Now as much as I don't mind getting asked this question, I often find it difficult to reply to every one of these emails as there's so much I could say on the matter. There isn't one magic thing you can do to grow your readership, it takes a combination of things and it take a lot of time. With this being said, I thought I'd put a little post together with my 'top tips' for growing your readership. 

These are just things I've picked up through my own experience as a blogger and you've probably heard them all before but sometimes a bit of motivation from a post like this can help. Before I share my tips I do want to say one thing that's important to remember. Blogging should firstly be based on hard work, passion for what you do and a dedication to suceed. If you have those three things and pair them with the things I've mentioned below, you'll be on the right track! 

Join as many social networking sites as possible

So this might be an obvious one but I actually see a lot of new bloggers that haven't joined social media site and if I'm following a blog, I always want to follow the person on other platforms so I can get to know them better and have easy access to their new posts. I'd say the main two worth joining are Twitter and Instagram but the more you're being active on, the better. Also, try to keep your name consistent on each of your different sites. I made the mistake of not doing this when I first started blogging and although it hasn't affected me massively, I find it much easier to find bloggers on instagram etc if they've got the same name as their blog/twitter accounts.

Promote yourself

Some people hate self-promotion and I can kind of understand why, especially in the beginning. When I first started blogging I though 'oh gosh, nobody will want to read my blog, I look silly tweeting about it' but the exact opposite happened and other bloggers started tweeting me back saying they'd just found my blog and enjoyed reading it so don't be afraid. I always make sure I tweet and post on instagram each time I've published a new post too - that way your followers will know you've just uploaded and can head over for a read. I'd recommend tweeting the link to your new post a few times throughout the day to catch different groups of people - maybe once in the morning, once at lunch and once after school/work/uni. Try and change up each tweet too instead of copying and pasting the same thing! Try not to go overboard with the tweets though or it could come across a bit spammy.

Get to know fellow bloggers

Its so important to get involved in conversations on twitter, especially using specific hash tags like #bbloggers #fbloggers or #lbloggers. There's a hash tag for virtually every niche now so whatever you're blogging about, make sure you chat to people who are doing the same. As well as being great fun and an easy way to get to know other bloggers you can potentially begin a friendship with, introducing yourself to people will also bring more readers to your blog. Who knows, they might love your blog so much that they recommend it to their followers. Back when I first started blogging, getting 'shout outs' from bloggers with a lot more followers than me really helped. I never asked for those shout outs or did things with the hope of getting one but had I never spoken to them or told them I loved their blog, they might have never known about mine. See what I'm saying? So without further ado, get chatting!

 

Update new content regularly

Another obvious one but one that's so important is to update content regularly. When I first started blogging I was quite lucky in the fact Ihad a bit of spare time on my hands which meant I could upload every single day. I think this really helped in the beginning as there was constant new content for people to read and for me to promote. I don't have quite as much time on my hands these days and the amount I post has reduced but when you've built up a loyal following, I don't think people mind if you don't post every day. However, in the beginning, its really important to get up as much content as possible. People are far more likely to follow if they arrive at your blog and its already jam packed with content for them to read.

 

Say yes!

This is quite a broad point but what I mean is that when you first start your blog, say yes to anything and everything you can. Whether its guest posting for another blogger, doing a tag you've been tagged in or attending a meet up with bloggers in your area, do it! The more of these kind of things you can do in the beginning, the better. It'll allow you to get to know other bloggers and let them know about your blog. Its also nice to do these things too - nobody wants to follow a blog if the writer isn't friendly and won't get involved in things. Don't say yes to something you feel uncomfortable doing but if its something you think could be fun and could benefit you, have the confidence to do it!

So there we have it, a few tips for growing your blogs audience. If you're a new blogger or just needed a bit of motivation, I hope you found them useful! One last thing I think is important to say is that you must remember that blogging isn't about the number of followers you have and you shouldn't start blogging with the goal to get 'loads of followers' in mind. Yes it is important that people read your blog and enjoy reading it but most importantly, just enjoy it for yourself. If you love what you do and don't get too caught up in the numbers game, you'll find getting started as a blogger much easier and more enjoyable!

Do you have any other tips for growing your blogs audience?

Lots of love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM