by Cori-Leigh | Blogging, Blogging Solutions That Help You to Save Time So You Can Accomplish More |
I’m asked by bloggers all the time why their blogs aren’t growing. My answer is to let go of unrealistic expectations, give generously, and be patient so you can enjoy your blogging journey. Starting a blog, being a blogger should be a fun adventure.
For many bloggers, this isn’t the scenario. The things that do matter often get missed. Making some relatively simple changes can make the world of difference to your blog growth.
If your blog isn’t growing, it’s time to change your blogger mindset. The good news is it’s never too late to do things differently. Implementing the several practices listed here can help your blog grow!
Blog Design and Navigation
Is your blog over-designed with fancy flare, difficult to manage, or not easy for your blog visitors to navigate?
During my years as a blogger, I’ve seen many blogs by now. Quite a few of them over-designed these days. Consequently, these blogs are cluttered and difficult to navigate. I visited such a blog the other day. It was designed to the max but when I clicked blog… nothing. Some links didn’t even work and it took a long time to load the homepage. In less than a minute … I left!
We all want our blogs to visually look great, but a cluttered blog drives away site visitors rather than attracts them. A simple blog design makes for an attractive, clean, and easy-to-navigate blog. Simple and cleanly designed blogs allow your content to pop! There is no need for a long page scroll to your homepage. People don’t stay too long on one page.
Most site visitors leave before getting to the bottom of the first page. For this reason, make it clear right away what your site is about. . Doing this will ensure your blog is easier to maintain and attract loyal readers. If you are new to blogging or not
Not building a tribe of friends and followers.
Our blogs don’t grow in isolation. They grow through establishing long lasting connections and friendships. These people will become your tribe of friends, readers and followers. Read and comment frequently on other blogs.
Share the posts and works of others in your niche area. Be helpful, loving and generous to other bloggers. Give without expecting anything in return.
Generosity grows blogs! I love my blogging friends and am so thankful for them! These friends all give generously and are influential bloggers! Follow bloggers like Ryan Biddulph, Sue -Ann Babcuz and Greg Narayan.
To expand your reach to a larger audience try guest posting. I highly recommend guest posting! Add value through giving guest blog posts to other bloggers. The doors to guest posting opportunities open by connecting with other bloggers in your niche.
Generous bloggers succeed
Blog from a place of generosity, love and let go of perfectionism. When blogging from a place of freedom you’ll enjoy your blog growth process. Mainly because you won’t have failed expectations, which leads to disappointment and frustration. Eventually, your blog will grow abundantly. All leading to future blogging success!
Do you have unrealistic expectations?
There are many reasons why blogs don’t grow. Many new bloggers expect quick blog growth. Disappointment comes when expectations are not met. The important thing to remember is blogs take time to grow. Too many bloggers get impatient with this process.
Remember that giving generously grows blogs. Offering something for free to your readers is a wonderful way to keep them coming back. People love getting free offers. When you do this, often they will begin to see you as an expert in your niche. The more you give, the more people are attracted to you and your blog.
Conclusion
If you have fun growing your blog and enjoy the journey you’ll blog with energy and enthusiasm. When you struggle with blogging this energy shows in everything you do. Your blogging prosperity comes when you let go of unrealistic expectations. Happy blogging friends!
Let’s hear from you!
What are a few things you’ve done that has helped grow your blog?
by Cori-Leigh | Blogging, Blogging Solutions That Help You to Save Time So You Can Accomplish More |
I work full time from home as a blogger, writer, social media manager, and WordPress web designer. My daily routine starts at my desk with a coffee in hand to jumpstart the day. Truthfully I don’t know what shape I’d be in without that first cup of coffee!
While I love working from home there are challenges. The trouble is there isn’t usually tons of time available to get everything done. Such as how I manage my time and distractions. There are phones ringing, family in and out, and other demands of everyday life.
Developing habits that work for saving time isn’t easy. At least it wasn’t for me. I would commit to more than I could handle. As my workload grew the harder it became to keep up the pace.
There was a time when this created stress, overwhelm and burnout. I was always burdened by things left undone. It got so bad that I almost quit blogging! I had become discouraged and burned out!
I decided it was time to make a few necessary changes. Very quickly the outcome was amazing! I became a happier and more intentional blogger! The jobs I did for my clients were no longer challenged by a lack of motivation. The joy I’d lost in what I was doing for a living came back.
In this post, I offer several tips guaranteed to help you work smarter and not harder.
Create a Daily Plan of Action
Whether you work full time from home or fit blogging into an already busy schedule … you need a plan. Something you can consistently adhere to. I know many writers and bloggers who have full-time jobs outside of the home.
They have to squeeze in the time to blog and write. Usually, they pick a time of the day or evening that works best. This is especially helpful when developing a writing routine.
Developing blogging and writing action plans work! Doing this will be a roadmap for you to follow. Eventually, you’ll form new habits. Resulting in saving time and accomplishing more!
Time Blocking
Blocking time set aside to work on certain tasks has helped me tremendously! I picked up a kitchen timer that sits on my desk. The timer is set to the allotted amount of time for each task. When the timer rings I stop and move to something else.
Doing this has helped me with writing my posts as well. I set the timer for 15-30 minutes and free-write on whatever the topic is. When the timer stops I’m always amazed at how much I wrote.
When I’m working this way I don’t have any other browser tabs open. Allowing me to focus on the one task I’m doing in that moment. Removing online distractions helps me to stay focused.
Take Breaks Frequently
The benefits of taking breaks help your focus, work quality, and motivation. Things that are difficult won’t be as frustrating. We need to step away. Walk around. That break in concentration is good.
I used to sit at the computer for long periods of time. I’d stay there hoping to complete whatever I was working on. Writing a blog post requires focus. I’d stay there writing as much as I could.
The results of my efforts are always of higher quality when I take frequent short breaks.
Sitting for too long isn’t healthy. Our bodies require for movement and exercise. Michael Hyatt solved this issue by using a desk he stands at with the option to sit when needed. You can read the post he wrote about it here.
A popular item sold that has gained popularity is Varidesk referred to as the active workspace. In this digital world where we often spend much time on the computer! Veridesk and other options available to accomplish this can be quite affordable these days! This is a fantasic idea!
Avoid commitment overload
When we over-commit our schedule/routine becomes overloaded. If I commit to more than I can handle I’m thrown off balance in all areas of life. What about you?
Be intentional about how many things you will commit to each day. Less is more and easier to manage.
You can always add to your list of commitments later. It’s more important to know you can keep up with all you set out to accomplish. Stress and burnout happen when we over commit.
When we work from a place of stress and burnout we can’t enjoy what we do. Give yourself permission to do less and accomplish more! Doing this will enable you to have fun while you work and write!
Develop a content creation routine
Blog post routines are certainly important to your audience connected with you! It’s true that keeping a regular tempo of creating quality content is time-consuming. The best thing to do is create a routine you can manage providing consistency to your readers.
I was running three blogs that I have now reduced to two. Writing blog posts regularly for each one can was extremely difficult. While I tried to create a blog posting routine my readers could rely on… this was a challenge with 3 blogs. After reducing to 2 blogs it became much easier.
I don’t publish more than once per week on either one of my blogs currently. It is a consistency that I can manage. That said I guest post on other blogs and accept guest posting on both as well.
Opening up your blog to guest posting has great benefits. Doing this enables you to bring in content from other bloggers in your niche. This helps you to expand your reach to a larger audience. Your guest bloggers will drive their readers to your blog.
Another tip is to batch create blog content and schedule the posts for publication. In WordPress, you can schedule your blogs posts publication in advance.
Utilize Social Media management tools
It’s all too easy to spend tons of time on social media channels. Integrating a few tools that work to save time has incredible benefits.
There are many social media management tools available. Utilizing a few of them can help you to save time by simply batch scheduling content.
Below is a list of a few social media management tools;
Both Hootsuite and Buffer enable you to schedule your social media content to share across various platforms. They are available for free or upgrade to premium.
Tweet Deck is a free social media management tool for managing your Twitter accounts.
Conclusion
Working from home, being a blogger and establishing an online presence is work. Developing work habits that save you time will go a long way in helping you to reach blogging success.
The best part is you’ll have more time to do other things you enjoy!
Join the conversation
I’d love to hear from you!
- What are a few key things you do consistently that help you to blog smarter and save time?
- Do you use any online tools that help you save time?
This post was previously published at PublishousNow.com
