It's a very common occurrence for me to receive questions about blogging. In fact, hand on my heart, I get at least one or two almost every single day or the year - which is very flattering unto itself. Many come from new bloggers or those who are getting back into blogging again, but certainly others stem from veteran bloggers who may be wanting to improve one or more areas of how they blog.
Throughout the course of this spring, I almost started shaking my head in disbelief over how many questions (usually via email or social media PM) I received regarding how to grow your blog's audience. Believe me, I hear you there and I fully understand why this topic has been at the forefront of so many peoples' minds in recent months and years.
For a while now, it's been safe to say that the blogging landscape has been changing. I, for one, don't feel as many have decried, that blogging is dead, but it has changed a great deal and will continue to evolve as time goes on. I think that many niches are experiencing a bit of a dry spell right now, vintage blogging included. That isn't to say that there aren't still plenty of vintage blogs, there certainly are, but as touched on in posts such as this one from last summer, our ranks aren't quite they used to be.
Add in the fact that vintage blogging isn't a major niche in the grander scheme of the blogging world and it can be tricky to retain, let alone grow, a blogging audience at the best of times. I'm genuinely happy though to say that such is by no means impossible. I've experienced continual steady growth with my blog for years now and have put many of the techniques described here today into action from the very get-go (and in the years since, as they’ve developed – e.g., using Pinterest and Instagram) to help make such happen.
As discussed in my 2014 post, 10 Harsh Truths that Will Make You a Better Blogger, it's crucial to remember that blogging audiences do not just magically form overnight because you launched a site. Most successful bloggers will tell you that working on their readership growth takes up a very healthy part of the time that they devote to their sites each and every week (if not on a daily basis). You are going to have to work for your audience. With exceedingly few exceptions, no one is going to make your blog popular (or even famous) in the long run other than yourself.
This can cause the prospect of growing your blog's following seem like a daunting one, but I promise you that it doesn't have to be. The longer you stick at it (and the more you make peace with the fact that you - like virtually every blog and website on the planet - will experience a natural degree of reader attrition), as with most things in life, the easier and more natural it will become as well. You'll soon find that certain steps on that front become second nature to you and you may even discover that you enjoy some or all of them.
It's probably safe to say at this point in time that just about anyone who is blogging understands the importance of promoting their posts on social media - and indeed, being on at least one or two of big social media sites to begin with - so I won't rehash that well established advice too much here today (nor will I overly go into the obvious benefits of commenting on other blogs that relate to your own).
However, if you are really new to blogging or fell like you need a bit of a refresher course on the subject, I highly recommend that you read my post, 30 Tips That Will Help You Succeed As a New Blogger.
The following selection of thirty-two tips are for bloggers at all levels of the game. From brand spanking new to those who have been at 'er longer than I have (I've been vintage blogging for over seven years now and blogging in one capacity or another since 2004) - and most definitely all those in between.
It is my sincere hope that utilizing some or even all of these points will help your own audience to grow and flourish further from here on out.
32 ways to grow
your blogging audience
1. Blog at the same time and perhaps on the same days, too, each week. Doing so lets your readers know when they can expect a new post and in a way such becomes (all the more) exciting for them, much as though they were looking forward to a new episode of a TV show they really like. For a few years now, I've scheduled almost all of my posts to go live at 5 am PST, which I found - after much experimentation prior to then - to be the time of the day that ultimately resulted in the greatest degree of post views and comments during a given 24 hour, and then week long, period. Second, interestingly enough, was 7 pm, a whole fourteen hours later.
2. Give ample time and effort to SEO approaches. From keywording to inbound and outbound links, effective post titles to photo tags, spending time focusing on your blog's SEO abilities is one of the best and most important things you can possibly do to help grow your site. Each time someone encounters one of your posts during a search engine query, the greater the chance they'll click through and possibly become a follower (and/or share your post on social media, very much including Pinterest - which is part of the reason you want to ensure that every single post you put up on your blog has at least one share-able image in it).
3. Doing these sorts of SEO things is great, but you can help yourself just as much (possibly even more) if you keep a close tab on your blog's analytics data and see what posts are thriving and which are dead before they even hit the water. If you continually see that certain keywords or topics draw in far more views, consider posting about such on a regular basis and steering clear of those that are presently poor SEO performers (or at least cover them less often).
4. Give some thought to the idea of revamping/making over your blog. You may wish you to opt for something more modern looking, perhaps with a wider central area, a more dynamic layout, having about me/contact/FAQ/etc tabs at the top of your page, using lighter colours (for your background, header, etc), and using a logo and/or fonts that have something of a brand building quality to them.
Though you'll never have a design (I don't think that anyone could) that will appeal to everyone, as people tend to make such snap decisions about new sites that they visit, you want them to instantly like and feel at home on your blog before they've even started reading your posts.
5. Add relevant social media icons to your blog either at the top (vertically) of the design or near/at the top of your sidebar. These days people view a strong social media presence as a hallmark of most successful bloggers and simply letting folks know that you're on those kinds of sites can, again, help adhere them to you from the very get-go.
6. Make and stay focused on your blogging goals. Obvious though it may sound, focus is incredibly important when it comes to blogging. If you know what you're aiming for, you can set milestones along the way and better your blog throughout the process.
7. I once read a fellow blogger (unfortunately I don't recall which site, just that it was a modern lifestyle blog that I wasn’t a usual follower of) say something to the effect of that blog posts will only be of use to people if you help them with something. Though I do not believe - and have seen first hand - that such is true in every instance, I do appreciate and agree with the sentiment.
You don't have to literally make all your posts instructional, but it doesn't hurt to have a good many of them help people with a given problem (and it can be a small one - you don't have to reinvent the wheel by any means) whenever possible. Doing so is not only beneficial to your readers, but it helps to establish you as an authority in a given field (or fields) and will encourage people to return to your blog so that they can continue to be positively impacted by your knowledge.
8. Don't be afraid to march to the beat of your own drum. You want your blog to stand out, be instantly recognizable, and to engage readers because of how fresh, fun and beneficial it is to them and their lives. It's impossible to create a blog that everyone on earth would like, but you can create one that hugely appeals to those in your niche(s) and that excites people into returning thanks to the engaging, dynamic content that you present.
9. Some people feel that name dropping can be of help on this front, but in more niche or highly individualized areas, there may not be a lot of "big names" (or you may already be one of the biggest) to drop. Still, linking to other peoples' sites and their specific posts, including discussing how such helped/impacted/inspired you is pretty much never a bad thing and, at the very least, helps readers to know that you're well versed when it comes to other blogs that are similar to your own.
10. Look for ways to collaborate with other blogs and/or websites. While mentioning others on your own blog is great, most of the people reading that post will be part of your existing audience, those on a fellow blogger's site may not be and those are folks that, ideally, you want to have come visit your blog. Such collabs can include things such as each styling the same sort of outfit and posting about it on the same day, interviews, competitions, guest posts, and both blogging about the same topic from a different perspective.
11. Giveaways are your friends! Giveaways, especially those that invite people to enter by sharing about your giveaway on social media, are a fantastic way to bring near readers to your blog – particularly if you're working with a decent sized company and the share about your link on their site(s) and as such your site gets shown to a good sized percentage of their followers. Without fail, I have experienced this wonderful side effect of holding a giveaway (and often with product placement outfit posts, too), each time I've worked with a well known company.
12. The same benefits ring true if you're able to establish a brand ambassador role with a company, wherein you work with them on a regular basis and each have a mutually beneficial relationship of helping to promote one another.
13. Aim to create a substantial amount of evergreen content. Much like the benefits of successful SEO work, evergreen content (posts that continue to do well in terms of search engine hits and/or social media interactions long after they go live) is an extremely vital aspect of blogging and growing your readership, as again, it helps those who may never have done so before to "meet" your blog through one of these posts.
14. Continue to establish and hone your blogging voice, what your blog is about, and the types of posts that you share. Consistency is often king (or queen!) when it comes to blogging. You've likely heard the concept of establishing your blog as a brand at this point in time and really, that is wise advice. Even if you don't want to turn yourself into a brand, your blog should be one or sorts. Doing so helps you stand out from the crowd, can make you look more polished and professional, and will be all the more attractive to new readers and companies that might approach you about working together alike.
15. Write on topics that people actually want to read about. I know, trust me, I know, there's probably someone out there for every topic you can think of, but it's going to take a staggeringly long time to grow your audience if you're courting readers one-by-one. There's a delicate balance between posting things that have blogged to death and that are rather niche-y (even within a niche), but if you can land most of your posts in that sweet middle spot, not only with you help to grow your audience, but you stand a far better chance of having your posts shared by others on social media (and/or referenced and linked to on by readers on their SM pages).
16. Guest post on other people's sites. This approach does take time and moxie - you're usually going to be the one who is contacting other blogs or websites to ask if you can guest post there, though sometimes you may have sites approach you as well. This lets your own unique voice and/or expertise be seen by an audience that, while sometimes similar, may differ from your own and thus you'll be reaching a wider array of people. Guest posting does take time and isn't for everyone, but it's a very well and long established way of growing your blogging reach and audience.
17. Connect with others in your niche through channels other than blogging. Back in the day, forums (which still exist, of course, but aren't per se as popular/common in many realms as they once were) were a great way to do so. Nowadays various sites like Reddit have somewhat eclipsed (many) forums, but both - as well as other similar channels, plus things like Facebook groups - can be a great way to interact with others who share your interests/passions/(even) problems. Of course you don't want to spam your blog anywhere, but if there's a tasteful way, often as time goes on, to organically mention your site, do it - you may have a built-in audience just waiting at your finger tips, especially if they already know you and value your impute to the group/community on that communal website.
18. Comment on blogs that differ from yours, but not so much that their respective authors wouldn't be apt to come and do the same (comment) on yours, too. Case in point, it never hurts for a vintage fashion blogger to comment on some more mainstream fashion blogs or a knitter to do as much on sewing blogs. Similarities are your friends and are hugely helpful in both cementing and growing your blogging audience.
19. And, speaking of comments, it never hurts to reply to some or all of the comments (especially if your readers ask you a question or pay you a particularly kind compliment) on your own site. This acknowledges your readers and really aids in developing a deeper bond between a blogger and a given reader. Plus it can help ensure that people come back to "talk" with you time and time again. I fully (oh my gosh, so fully!) understand that doing this can take a lot of time, but it can really be worth it in terms of reader retention and audience participation.
I'll often leave replying to (some or all of the) comments on a given post until later in the day, when I've spent a lot of my energy on other blogging (or Etsy shop) related tasks and just want to unwind for a while. If you can write and have audio in the background, you can make the process of replying to comments even more enjoyable by listening to music or watching TV/a movie while you do so.
20. Blog about topics that readers mention and/or questions that they ask. Everyone loves a positive shout out and even if an audience member isn't a blogger themselves, they'll appreciate seeing their name mentioned - as well as be touched that you took the time to personally reply in such detail to their suggestion or question. Sometimes (though not always - it really depends on the topic at hand, I find) I'll title such posts as something like, "You asked: How do I grow my blogging audience", so that my followers see that I'm actively engaging with my audience before they've even read a single word of my post itself.
As well, if the person who inspired your post does have a blog and/or social media accounts, they may share about your post in some or all of those places - thus helping you to connect with their own audience, while also (further) stablishing yourself as someone with expertise on this topic (which again circles back to the fact that posts often succeed when you help or teach people).
21. If you schedule your blog posts to go live on social media (highly recommended), vary the times throughout the days at which they appear. Not only does this help cut down on the potential for people who follow you across multiple platforms to feel less like they've "already seen that" or that you're spamming them (even when you're not intentionally doing so), but you stand to reach a wider audience in the long term, as different folks will be online (and on social media) at varying points throughout the day.
22. Provide your audience with multiple ways to subscribe to/follow your blog. This can include such things as a clearly visible RRS button, a Bloglovin' button, a link (or button with a link) to your Google+ page, an email subscription box (with or without the added element of an email newsletter for such subscribers; almost all blogging experts highly suggest and tote the merits of an email newsletter and I don't disagree there in the slightest), or other similar things. The more ways that they're connected with you, the greater the chance that they'll both visit and comment on your site.
23. If you mention someone with an online presence of any sort, let them know that you've done so. They might not always opt to share your post, but many people happily will and you'll instantly be front and center for a brief moment in their own online sphere. (I’m an extremely shy person and have rarely done this over the years. However, if I could turn back the hands of time, I’d try to quash the butterflies in my stomach and let a fellow blogger, Etsy shop owner, webmaster, etc know each time I included them in any kind of substantial way on my site.)
24. Accept that - but don't feel discouraged by - the fact that, ultimately, some types of blogs are going to do better/be more popular amongst the general population than others. This is something I've struggled with a lot myself over the years. I put an inordinate amount of time, thought, energy, and effort into my blog and would love to have it grow to the (audience) size and scope of some of those in the mainstream fashion/cooking/crafting/lifestyle/etc world, but objectively, I fully realize that such may never happen simply by virtue of the fact that I'm working within the confines of such a, relatively speaking, small community (the vintage subculture).
Instead, I encourage you to strive to become the best that you personally can be within your field and to try and grow even just a small percentage of your audience from outside of such. I have readers who are not vintage bloggers themselves, but who enjoy vintage fashion and/or history and thus are keen to follow my site. No matter what you blog about, chances are there are others with similar interests who would be interested in engaging with your blog, too.
25. Don't fail to take yourself seriously as a blogger or to think that others simply because you're blogging in a close knit niche. Doing so definitely doesn't mean that you can't still bring your pro blogging A game with you wherever you go and in whatever you do. Be professional, polite, dedicated, and driven in how you approach blogging and it will be hard for your audience not to grow because you'll be presenting yourself and your content in a way that is vastly appealing to a large audience.
26. Follow blogs and websites that focus heavily (or exclusively) on blogging related topics. There are thousands upon thousands out there in this field and while you find a degree of repetitiveness amongst some of them at times, the tips and personal expertise that many can offer to other bloggers can be downright invaluable. I read a fair number myself, with The Sits Girls, Nectar Collective, By Regina, Bloggers' Lounge, and The Blog Maven being just a few of my personal favourites these days.
27. Up your photography (and photo editing) game. You don't have to buy 10K worth of glass, only shot during the golden hour, use Photoshop actions like there's no tomorrow, or include staged photos in every single post, but just about anyone can brush up on their photography skills, look for new and exciting ways to photograph themselves and/or the other things they share on their site, and stay abreast of new technologies that could help improve their photo taking abilities.
28. If you have an online shop, link to your blog and social media profiles there, as well as vice versa. I link to my blog on every single one of my Etsy shop's listings, and also have my blog's URL printed on all of my business cards, order postcards, and promotional materials such as flyers and banners for when I sell in person at vintage and antique shows around Western Canada.
I've had many customers, even those who aren't vintage bloggers (or even bloggers point blank) become readers of mine through my shop and/or marketing literature, such as my business cards. You just never know how you'll "meet" a reader, so it always helps to be prepared and to promote your blog tastefully through out areas of your life and/or career.
29. Divide and conquer. If you have the knowledge and time to blog about two (or more) different, but overlapping, areas on the same blog (such as vintage fashion and sewing projects of a vintage nature), go for it!!!
No matter how small both niches may be, two stand to bring in more traffic than one alone and if you include elements of both areas in most, or all of your posts, the majority of your readers will not unsubscribe/stop following your blog just because you opt to discuss something that doesn't overly apply to them some of the time. And when it comes to certain areas, such as sewing, cooking, crafting, parenting, home decor, and books/reading the sky is pretty much the limit in terms of the number of potential (interested) audience members that you can
30. Join the AV club. As great, and beneficial, as traditional social media is, there's definitely much to be said in favour of expanding your blog and (brand's) reach by joining a visual and/or audio based platform such as YouTube, Periscope, Snapchat, or Anchor - and/or going the more traditional podcasting route (it's actually super surprising how few vintage/rockabilly related pod casts there are).
31. Advertise on other blogs in your niche or those related to it. Though advertising does usually cost (unless you've entered into a mutually beneficial ad swap agreement with a fellow blogger), some people find it to be a great way to drive traffic to their site, which in turn stands to create a larger number of followers. It is a mistake to think that everyone out there avoids ads on blogs like the plague. I work with a diverse, wonderful groups of sidebar blog sponsors and most report that the click through rates and user engagement of their ads exceeded their expectations.
32. Ensure that your blog allows for comments. This might sound painfully obvious, but your posts are going to do better when people can comment on them. In recent years we've seen a trend towards turning off in-site blog commenting systems and using social media ones, such as those from Facebook and Google+ instead.
There are many folks though, who don't want what they have to say to you to be broadcast on social media (or may simply prefer traditional commenting systems) and you're potentially alienating all of those people by not having a classic commenting system in place. If you wish to include both versions (traditional and social media), that's totally fine, and may certainly stand to help grow your audience all the more because you're offering your readers the best of both of these commenting worlds.
{No matter what stage you're at in terms of your current blog audience, there's always room to grow and expand further. Not only is doing so rewarding for you and your (extremely) hard work, but it will benefit your audience, too, as they'll get to enjoy the fruits of your flourishing website. Vintage photograph source.}
♥ ♥ ♥
While a fairly extensive list, there are of course other possible ways to grow your blogging audience out there and I'd love to hear any that you may know of/use in the comments below, which will be of help to others reading this post, as well quite possibly to myself, too.
I'm always actively looking for ways to extend my blog's reach, to create long term readers, and to help my blog evolve in as many ways as realistically possible. I don't view the fact that the blogging world has (again, in some areas at least) slowed down as a negative point, so much as a challenge to myself to keep pushing, growing and changing for the better so as to keep up with the fast paced digital world of 2016 (and beyond).
Ultimately though, of all the advice I can give about expanding your blogging audience, the one tip that I think rings most important is to be grateful for your audience. Treat them with respect, show your appreciation, and take the time to interact act with those who value you enough to do the same.
Social media shares and other techniques might get you to a new blog follower milestone faster, but I can think of almost nothing else that will create a long lasting audience more effectively than showing new and existing readers alike how truly important they are to the success of your site - just as you've all been to mine since the very get-go.
