The Only 2 Things New Bloggers Need to Focus On
Let me guess, you are a newer blogger and are starting to see some traction and as luck would have it… you just hit a new milestone with your blog…but you are still under 10k monthly page views per month.
At this point, you might be confused as to how to proceed, where to focus your efforts and what moves to make next. Well don’t worry because I’ve got you covered, in this article we are going to take a look at exactly where you should be putting most of your focus at this point in your blogging journey.
Does your blog get less than 10k monthly page views? Focus on these 2 things.... Click To Tweet
If you’ve got less than 10k blog visitors you’ll want to focus on
Traffic & Content
Now you might be disappointed that I didn’t say monetization…and as someone who loves to make money from a blog…I totally understand! Unfortunately, you need to get a solid foundation of traffic and content before you dip your toe in the pool of monetization strategies!
In the next few sections, I’m going to teach you exactly what you need to do to build traffic to your blog using social media and point out how you can boost your content to keep readings coming back!
Master Pinterest
As a new blogger, your number one main social media focus should be Pinterest. You absolutely need to start an account and start using it regularly..it is the ONLY social media platform that users go to actually FIND blog posts and is the number 1 source of traffic to all of my blogs.
1. Create vertical images for your blog posts
This one is non-negotiable. You absolutely must use vertical images for your blog posts on Pinterest, otherwise they get lost in the feed. You can create vertical images (700x1100ish) using Canva for free. You’ll want to have a visually appealing image as well as a text overlay describing to the Pinterest audience what the blog post is about.
2. Try not to use people in your images
Pinterest graphics with visible faces are pinned LESS than pins without faces in them. So if you can avoid having faces in your graphics I would definitely recommend doing so.
3. Join group boards
Join the Facebook group Pinterest Group Boards and find some collaborative boards to join and start pinning your content to those group boards on a regular basis.
4. Follow People Who Like your Pins
Every morning, take a few minutes and follow the people who have pinned your pins (hello, they are your target market!) Then do a search for your niche keyword, click on Boards and start following boards that are also in your niche. Take it a step further and start following other blogger’s followers. Yes this is called healthy competition.
5. Use Boardbooster
Use Boardbooster (aff link) to automate your pinning. Use it to post your pins to group board automatically and to loop the board that you already have pinned.
You can find out How I Doubled My Pinterest Following in 30 days & 7 Mistakes you Might be making on Pinterest for even more juicy information.
Find your tribe on Instagram:
You’ve got to find your tribe. Use Instagram to find your target audience and to follow other bloggers. Building a following of people who love you and your blog is essential to become a successful blogger. Below I’ll give you a few tips on how you can start building your tribe using Instagram.
1. Post Regularly on Instagram
Start posting regularly on Instagram, I recommend 3x a day. Morning, noon and night is a great schedule to go by. Post bright, light and airy photos. Keep the candids for Snapchat.
2. Use Likestagram to find new followers
Likestagram is a program that automatically likes photos based on the hashtags that you designate. So if your blog is for dog owners then you might want to start liking photos based on the #dogsofinstagram or # hashtags. Don’t worry, Likestagram does not leave a comment or follow people, it only likes a photo. It’s then up to the user to check out your account and start following you.
3. In the beginning, follow anyone who follows you (except spam accounts)
Try to follow everyone who is following you and unfollow those who unfollow you. Yes it’s a nasty game..but it’s one that you must play in the beginning. I use Crowdfire which is a mobile app to manage follower & unfollowers.
4. Engage with your followers
Like their photos, leave comments and reply to those who comment on your photos. It’s all about building your tribe.
Join Facebook Share Groups
There are several great Facebook groups available for bloggers to join where there are daily share threads in which the group members share, comment and engage with other members’ blog posts. This is a great way to get some traffic to your blog & find other bloggers in your niche.
Here’s a list of Facebook Groups that you should join:
These groups have daily share threads for many of the social channels. My recommendation is that you focus on the Pinterest, StumbleUpon & Comment threads as well as the social account FOLLOW threads. The Pinterest & Stumble share threads have the greatest potential to drive great traffic to your site. The comment thread will give your blog social proof that people actually read your blog AND the follow threads are great for building up your social accounts.
Write Often (Daily if you can)
Here’s the deal…in the beginning you are going to have to write often. Why? Because you need to build a library of blog posts to share across social media & that can start to come up in Google searches. Plus, the more content you have on your blog, the longer readers will stick around on your blog and get to know you.
Use a Blogging Mind Map to come up with blog post ideas
A mind map is a way of brainstorming blog post ideas in a very methodical way. If done correctly, you should have dozens of blog post ideas within minutes. Here is how you create a blogging mind map:
- Take out a piece of paper and write down the main topic of your blog.
- Then write out your sub-topics
- Underneath those sub topics write out blog post ideas related to those topics
- Once you have a dozen or so ideas, write them down on a content calendar
- Get to work.
Guest Post on bigger blogs
Although it’s important to post regularly on your blog, it’s also important to post on other blogs as well. This helps expose you to another audience and also you just might get a link to your site which is great for Search Engine Optimization.
Guest posting is also a great way for you to meet and collaborate with other bloggers. Building relationships with other bloggers is really key to making a name for yourself in the blogging world. If bloggers like you, they will share your posts, they will want to work on projects with you. Doing guest posts are a great way to start these types of relationships.
Create bonus content in exchange for email addresses
Live and die by your email list. So you’ll want to start creating bonus content with your blog posts that users can download once they’ve given you their email address. This accomplishes two things at once, for one you get the email address. Woohoo. Secondly, you give your reader something of value which they appreciate.
A few ideas for content upgrades include a free download, an e-course, a printable associated with your blog post, access to your content library. Remember, you need to provide value to your reader in order for them to fall in love with your content.
Ok, now that you’ve got all of strategies needed to get you to the next level, I want you to do me a favor…if you found this blog post helpful, don’t keep it a secret, share it with your friends!
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Thanks for the tips! I have yet to really grow my pinterest page. It’s so tough! Vertical images it is…
Yes..vertical images
Thank you so much for the info. I’m very new (like 3 followers new) and while my following on Pinterest is rising everyday, Instagram is a complete mystery. I will work on this! Thanks again for this info!
Happy to help
This post came just in time – need to get out of my funk and get to work! Thanks again for great advice.
Girl…get out of that funk
These are interesting tips. I’m not sure how I feel about using apps like Likestagram. I feel like it challenges authenticity.
Thanks for the tips. I’ve been working on Pinterest a lot and Facebook but I hate using instagram because everything is on my computer and not my phone. Do you know a way to post to instagram through your computer? Thanks!
Christie,
Love this post. I finally reached 20k but because of the summer slump (or something else?) I’m dipping below that now.
I post twice a week but often only once because I’m busy!
I actually just started using Instagram and figuring out the right hashtags to use! Thanks for the tip to post 3x a day. I have only been doing once a day and wasn’t sure how often is appropriate. For now, I’m marketing my blog on Instagram.
Thanks for the tips!
Elna..you have such a great blog. Your content is fantastic. Just keep doing what you are doing!
Thanks for this article! It was super helpful and concise. I found a huge difference when I started boardbooster!
Tori
http://www.TheMamaNurse.com
It’s pretty amazing, right?
Love all your posts Chrystie. I’m consistently between 10 and 20k with my blog but am seeing growth in my email list and social media engagement despite summer. Hoping for a fantastic fall after the summer slump is over. I haven’t done anything with instagram yet, but this post makes me think I really should. Thanks.
Amazing resource Chrystie! Thank you so much. I’m using a few of the strategies but not all of them so I have to get to work! I have a full time job as well so I’m not sure if all of these are manageable (like posting on Instagram 3 times per day) but I’m going to try. Your advice is always so helpful. All the best!
LOL! Ahhh yes…that full time job getting in the way! 😉 Good luck!
Christie Love this post.
Was unsure when I got your email but Glad I clicked through. You have said it all.
Thanks for the advice. Got two questions. Your blog graphics are designed with Canva? Those two tall Pinteresting ones below your post and how about your stock photos? You take them yourselves or Any source?
I’ve been trying to make similar things.
Thanks! I personally use Photoshop ($10/mo) however, Canva is a great free alternative. I also use stock photos from HauteChocolate.ca, which is a paid subscription service. However, you could find stock photos at Pexels, Pixabay or AlltheFreeStock that are free for use. Hope that helps!
Christie, this is a really great post and right on time for me. You’re a wealth of information, super heplful! Thank you! pinning
You are welcome!
Love the advice about posting frequently
I’ve noticed that usually the people giving advice to not worry about posting often are the big bloggers with dozens of posts already in their catalogue.
I still need to make a start on Instagram and will check out your post as I had amazing results with your advice on Pinterest. I was a total Pinterest newbie and went from practically zero to 1000 followers in 10 days!
I’m interested to hear your thoughts on Follow-for-Follow Facebook posts – I over committed myself this weekend and was totally kicking myself thinking I was wasting my time following loads of non-niche related bloggers.
So true! Unfortunately in the beginning you need to make up some lost time and blog as often as you can!
These are some really great tips! I just started focusing on Pinterest in the last month or so and have seen my traffic go up significantly, why I was never doing that before is beyond me! Thanks for the great tips! I still haven’t jumped on StumbleUpon…I am focusing on tackling one social media platform at a time.
This is a very helpful post! Thank you Chrystie. I have to really concentrate in my Pinterest account!
Great tips girly!!!!! I agree with them all!
Superb post! I am still struggling with Instagram and Pinterest. Actually, your post about Facebook groups helped me to reach out to the groups. Thanks for the actionable tips.
Hope I can up my game with Instagram.
I didn’t even realize how important Pinterest was. But now that I read this, I realize so much of my page views come from Pinterest. I need to go clean that platform up. Thank you so much for the tips. You have really opened my eyes.
Thanks for sharing these tips!!! I do some of them but not ALL! Can’t wait to take your advice and worrrrrkkkk it to get my pageviews up! Thanks!!!
I found that pinterest was more work than the other social media combined. I get most of my hits from twitter/facebook
Pinterest is good for my affiliate marketing though!
This is so incredibly helpful for me right now and just simplifying rather than trying to focus on a million things with monetizing! Thanks!!I will be following your site like crazy!LOL
Thank you for the wonderful advice. I look forward to using this in the weeks to come.
Great blogging traffic ideas lots of great information.