10 lessons I’ve learned from 1 year of blogging
A few days ago I celebrated 1 year of blogging. Yay! This made me think of what I’ve achieved and learned since I started out 1 year ago.
Although my blog was struggling in the beginning, I’ve come a long way these past few months. Overall, my social media skills have improved remarkably, I’m more confident as a writer and I’ve become a better photographer and strategist. Of all the things I’ve achieved in my lifetime, this blog is what I’m most proud of!
It has been seriously hard work, though, and not without its struggles. I’ve learned the hard way that in order to succeed as a professional travel blogger, I have to treat my blog as a business. Since I started doing that a few months back, things have changed around here!
Here are some of the most important lessons I’ve learned from 1 year of blogging.
READ BLOGIVERSARY 1 , BLOGIVERSARY 2 AND BLOGIVERSARY 3
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1. INTERACT WITH OTHER BLOGGERS
One of the lessons learned is the importance of interacting with other bloggers. By commenting and sharing their posts and being genuinely interested, you develop a relationship with experienced bloggers who – if you’re lucky – are more likely to share your content, too.
As a new blogger, it has been really helpful to follow other travel bloggers and learn how they’ve succeeded. Reading Sabina’s post on how to gain followers on Facebook and Drew’s post on how to get 10K followers in 7 months gave me solid tips on social media as did Liz’ post on how to become a travel blogger.
2. BUILD AN ENGAGING AUDIENCE
Everyone can build an audience. It’s easy – just buy the followers on Instagram or Twitter, and you’ll look mighty popular in no time. Right? You guys, no! This is not the way to build a succesful travel blog!
You might get many followers this way, but they are most likely not in your niche so they won’t read, engage or share your posts!
New bloggers have a tendency to focus on numbers; like how many followers they have, how many page views or likes. It’s all very natural, but it’s just not very productive. Instead, try to focus on getting a few engaged followers who like your blog rather than having a high number who doesn’t read or comment on your posts.
Since I started interacting with people within my niche and targeting my posts and social media, I’ve seen a tremendous increase of engagement from the right followers.
That’s you, guys!
3. SOCIAL MEDIA IS KING
If you’re not already on social media, get on it! Right now. Figure out where your audience is present and start engaging with them. Share blog posts and see what type of content gets the most attention. This will help you determine what your audience likes, which will help determine the best types of content to create.
I’ve selected four social media outlets to focus on: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and recently Pinterest. I rarely use StumpleUpon or Foursquare, but I’ve read that they can drive serious traffic to your site. Personally, I receive most traffic from Twitter, but Facebook and Instagram is where people engage the most.
Creating a social media account and hoping that people will find you is not enough. You need to be present and post daily. Engage with people in your niche and share your very best content – and other blogs, too! If you do this, your audience will grow for sure.
4. LEARN FROM THE BEST
I’ve not always been this chipper and optimistic about blog growth. In fact, this summer I hit a wall with my blog and didn’t know how to move forward. I’d been working really hard on it, writing great content and sharing photos, but I hardly saw any results. I felt like I was doing something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Luckily, Brad from MyWanderlist took me under his wing and got me back on track.
Since then, I’ve seen great results! In one month, my Twitter went from 40 to 1,000 followers, my Instagram from 30 to 350 followers and my blog traffic was doubled. Even better yet – people engaged and commented.
You don’t necessarily need a mentor to reach your goals, but it’s important to learn from the best in the field. They know what works and what doesn’t, and this knowledge can help you tremendously. This leads us to the next lesson..
5. JOIN BLOGGER COMMUNITIES
One of the ways to learn from the best is to be where they are; on their blogs, social media or blogging communities. Within my first months of blogging, I joined Travel Blog Success (TBS), which is a community and course for travel bloggers, and this is probably the best choice I’ve made as a blogger. Not only do they have a great online course for making money as a travel blogger, but they also have a secret Facebook group where you can ask questions about everything. If you want to learn from the best – this is where to be!
I would also recommend you to join free Facebook groups where you can interact with bloggers in your niche. Post questions and make yourself noticed – but don’t be spammy. Most of these groups have rules so make sure to follow them.
You can join TBS by following this link. Please note that I’m a proud affiliate of the program and thus will earn a percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you.
6. SEO AND LINK BUILDING
Building a blog is more than posting outstanding photos and awesome content. What’s crucial to your success as a blogger is to build links and know how SEO works. In order for potential readers to find you, you need to establish your name in the community – in other words: get noticed!
The most effective way to do this is guest blogging and leaving insightful comments on other blogs. This will not only build backlinks to your site, but you will develop relationships with other bloggers and learn how to become a better blogger. You could also consider link exchange.
Another important thing is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Basically, SEO is about using the right keywords in order to get organic traffic. If this all sounds confusing, don’t worry – you don’t need to be a SEO genius. If you install the SEO Plugin from Yoast, you’ll get tips on how to optimize your site. It’s very easy and it’s free.
A blog’s success is rated and ranked by metrics such as Alexa, SEM Rush and Page Authority. If you want to know more about this, Nomadic Samuel has written a great post on how to improve your score. You can also check how great your marketing is here (you don’t need to fill in your email): Marketing Grader.
7. COMPARING IS BAD FOR BUSINESS. AND SELF-ESTEEM
Being a new blogger can be exhausting and overwhelming at times. Especially when you look at more experienced bloggers who do much better than you, have better photos, get more comments and have a gazillion followers compared to you. But comparing yourself to others will only take away your confidence and focus, and that doesn’t do you any good.
Remember that these guys have been blogging longer than you, and they’ve all been where you are now. It takes time to build a blog and an engaging audience, so be patient (note to self). It will come!
8. CREATE A BLOGGING STRATEGY
I’ve read tons of blog post about the importance of having blogging goals and a niche. And it is important. But what’s just as vital is having a strategy for how you’re going to make this happen. Everyone can set goals and go for the big score, but if you don’t have a strategy for how you’re going to achieve this, you simply won’t succeed.
So, write down your goals for next month and all year, and then make a strategy for how you’re going to achieve these goals. Will you focus on social media? Then write down how. Will you comment on other blogs? Then write down how many blogs you’ll comment on per day.
Also, if you’re serious about blogging, you should track your results. I use Google Analytics for my blog, Iconosquare for Instagram and Justunfollow for Twitter. Facebook has a built-in insight tap which shows you details about your fans and the best time to post. I also write down my numbers (followers, goals, etc.) every 1st of each month.
9. DON’T BE BORING
If you want to be noticed as a blogger, your content has to be unique and inspiring. Duh, right? This should be obvious, but surprisingly it’s not. Too many bloggers only write about nice things and leave out the bad, but the bad experiences are part of the package, too.
Traveling is not all rainbows and unicorns – sometimes it sucks, sometimes you get robbed, your trip turned out to be awful or you’re homesick. There’s a reason why people read blogs and not just travel magazines – it’s because blogs are subjective and personal. So be that. Speak your mind – even if people disagree with what you have to say.
How not to be boring:
Blog posts
Make lots of sections in your posts and use headings to make the post more structured and easy to read. Also, you should develop a personal voice to give your blog personality. In my experience, this is not something that comes overnight so be patient and give yourself time to grow as a blogger and writer.
The more you write and the more followers you get, the more confident you’ll feel. Also, always keep your audience in mind when you write. Think about how you can add value and provide information.
Images
Only use your best photos, and use lots of them. I edit my photos in Snapseed or Adobe Lightroom and design my images (for Pinterest) on Picmonkey or Canva. Most of them are free tools and in the two latter you can create images for several social media.
Blog design
I started out with a free WordPress version, but quickly switched to a paid theme. I bought Avada from Themeforest which I’ve been super happy with.
10. HAVE INTEGRITY
Lately I’ve gotten these: “Hey, I just liked your Facebook page, please like mine back.” messages from fellow bloggers. Sure, this is one way to get more followers, but it takes a long time and it’s also spammy.
Personally, I would never ask anyone to follow me if they hadn’t already shown interest in my site. To be honest, I prefer not to ask at all so I keep it to a minimum; I only suggest it on my own blog and my own social media profiles.
Bloggers share different views on this matter, but in my opinion it’s about integrity and engagement. Ask yourself this: who would you rather follow – someone who has been commenting on your blog and shown genuine interest or someone who – out of the blue – asks you to like their FB site because now they’ve liked yours?
For me, it’s a no-brainer.
Another thing I’ve thought a lot about is earning money from my blog. Until now I’ve been extremely picky and let down every advertising offer I’ve gotten. It has been important for me to say no to advertising that I don’t believe in personally or think is relevant for my readers. Working with brands is a great opportunity and it’s definitely something I will look into in the future, but I’d never sacrifice my credibility for it.
If you plan to make money from your blog, remember to be transparent about it. Add a disclaimer when you write a sponsored post and let your audience know when you promote a brand on Twitter. That way, you will not lose credibility while earning money from your travel blog.
Are you a new blogger? How are you holding up?
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Happy Blogiversary! I’m a blogger newbie and the social media aspect can be a little overwhelming so thanks for sharing what you have learned! Looking forward to reading about your adventures through many more blogiversaries!
Thanks, Nina. Yes, it can be very overwhelming! It helps to choose a few in the beginning and focus on them. Find out which ones work for you and promote yourself there.
Thanks for the insights. Very useful tips. Especiaĺly the one with the strategy is totally important. It’s tempting to ignore that and just write blog posts about everything you like. A strategy helps to keep focused.
I couldn’t agree more. It’s so important to be consistant in order for your readers to engage and come back. They have to know what to expect.
Interesting post Miriam, some great tips in there! You’ve done really well in your first year, especially in the last few months! I’ve still got about 6 month until I hit the 1 year mark, hopefully I will have improved on a few of these things by the time I get there! x
Thanks so much, Kelly! I wish you all the best 🙂
Happy Blogging anniversary! Some great tips. Just out of curiosity, what are some of the changes you made to go from 40 to 1,000 Twitter followers in one month? That’s impressive! I’m asking because it’s my goal to reach 1,000 by the end of this month 🙂
Thank you, Edwina. I engaged with fellow bloggers on Twitter – that’s the most important change. I shared other blogger’s content and showed genuine interest which paid off. Work on your engagement and get your name out there – and then you’ll see results.
Great post! I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half now (in my free time) and I am still learning the ins and outs. Definitely going to implement some of these tips in my blog strategy!
Good idea. I hope you find it helpful!
Happy blog anniversary (a little late)!
I’m a new blogger and it’s very useful to read how others have made it. Thanks for the tips, and happy blogging!
You, too, Annie! All the best to you 🙂
I am glad to have been a part of #1. Great to interact with you and looking forward to watching your blog grow even more.
I am, too, Ted. I’m so glad to have discovered your blog and be connected on social media, too!
Happy bloganniversary!! Really liked your tips and experience. Everybody starting a blog knows how much work it’s to get it well done! When I started I thought was such an easy job but now I know it’s not. Still very funny!
Thank you for sharing your views and got some things I’m going to try to make my own blog better!
I’m also very curious about what was the thing you changed that got you all those followers in just a month!
Happy blogging and travels!
Me too. I had no idea how much work it was – especially after I got serious about social media. Like I told Edwina, it’s all about engagement. Once I started sharing other blogger’s posts and engaging with them on Twitter, I saw results. I focused on sharing their work rather than my own (I share my own posts, too, but not nearly as many), and that strategy has worked for me.
Hey Miriam!
I’m a new blogger!! And yes, it’s overwhelming at times. There’s just SO MUCH to learn!
Thanks for the tips and sharing some of the ways you’ve built your audience. It’s always a bit disheartening to compare yourself to someone like Sabrina at Just One Way Ticket who basically exploded overnight, so it’s wonderful that you’ve shared how you’ve built things more gradually over time. 🙂
Martina
I think one of the hardest learnings is to not compare yourself to others. No matter how experienced you are, there will always be someone who’s more experienced or popular. Find out what makes you special as a blogger and focus on being the best at it! Your blog will grow eventually 🙂
Great post Miriam! I started taking my blog more seriously since March this year, and I recognize many things you mention in this post. Especially point 7: comparing is bad for your self-esteem 😉 I’m still learning and I’ll definitely use your tips, thanks!
Karlijn, you have such a lovely blog! I trust that you’re going places so keep up the good work!
It’s great to read about your journey! I started my travel blog this September. I’m trying not to focus on social media numbers and pageviews too much and I’m not thinking of monetising my blog any time soon.
I’m still trying to find my voice, and in general, learn about travel writing.
So far, I’ve enjoyed setting up my blog, writing my first posts and interacting with travel bloggers.
Thanks for all the tips! I’ll definitely implement a few of them 🙂
That’s good to hear, Lies. You’re focusing on the right things and you’re engaging – well done 🙂 Finding your voice takes time, but it comes the more you write.
Happy blog anniversary, and thank you, Miriam, for these tips! I started my blog earlier this year. As a full-time caregiver for my parents, it is slow going, but I’ve been able to post at least once a week to start. I’ve had to focus on just one avenue of social media due to time constraints, but believe Pinterest is where my audience is. Growth is slow this way, for sure, but going at my own pace so as not to burnout and enjoy the journey is key for me.I’ve enjoyed reading about your adventures and wish you many more happy and safe adventures to come!
You’re welcome, Cindy, and thanks for tagging along 🙂 Posting once a week is a good strategy and it sounds like you’ve found the media for your audience. I like your way of thinking and I’m sure you’ll see results in due time! Social media is definitely where I’ve found my audience so if there’s one thing I’d focus on in your case, it would be that.
Happy Blogiversary! I’m just over 2 months of blogging now and I’m just hoping I have the guts/determination/willpower to stick it out for a year! It’s really tough in the beginning and writing WHILE traveling is even tougher than I expected! Hoping to get myself into some sort of rhythm and ignoring the fact that I’m essentially writing to an audience of myself a lot of the time. Patience, patience! At least that’s what I keep telling myself!
I know exactly how you feel, Jenn! It takes time to build an audience and get your name out there. Focus on social media and comment on other blogs – that way you’ll see results quickly and stay motivated.
Great job, Miriam! One of my biggest lessons early on was one you also mentioned–don’t compare yourself to others. I definitely got inspiration from other bloggers but then noticed that each of them did things very differently. For example, some of them post daily, others post only once a week or even once a month! Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks so much, Jenna! Bloggers can definitely learn and benefit from each other. In my experience, it helps develop our own style.
Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for all the advice – as someone just getting serious about their blog, it was super helpful. I have TBS on my Christmas list as I’ve heard so many good things about it!
I’m so glad you found it helpful, Sky! I’d heard bloggers rave about TBS before I joined, but I had no idea it would be THAT good. It’s by far the smartest choice I’ve made for this blog.
Happy anniversary! I’ve learned some good things here on this post. Much appreciated.
I’m glad to hear that, Angeline!
Don’t be boring and have integrity is super important. So to is building blogger connections. I blog in both travel and beauty – but travel is new to me. Most of my friends are actually beauty bloggers, so I feel pretty blessed to have developed these kinds of relationships
L x
Lucy, I think it’s clever to have a niche like beauty. That way you distinquish yourself from other travel bloggers – just look at Kiersten Rich.
Great article! Funny how that works – interact with other people like they’re people and humans. I’ve seen the same thing with author blogs/twitters trying to build platform in all the wrong ways… and come to think of it, with people spamming others in online dating forums.
Yep. Interaction is many things, but spamming is not one of them. Unfortunately, too many new bloggers (and obviously people in online dating forums) have yet to figure that out.
Awesome Post Miriam!
For beginners like me, this is really helpful. Was thinking of joining the Travel Blog Success. I think they also can help me more of my new travel blog.
I can really relate the hard times you had on your first months as I am having a really hard time right now building my own blog. 🙂
Thank you, Ferna 🙂 Your blog will grow in time if you work on your social media presence and interact with other bloggers, so don’t loose hope. TBS is a great place to get support and advice – I highly recommend it.
Thanks for the fabulous tips! I have been trying to get my blog “off the ground” for three years now and have been scratching my head about how to improve.
Hi Sam, if you’re serious about blogging, the first thing I’d recommend you is to get self-hosted. This gives you full control of your site and you need that to grow! In order to grow your audience, I’d highly recommend you to work on your social media presence and commenting on other blogs. These last two tips is what grew my blog in no time. Feel free to get back to me and tell me how it goes.
Hi Miriam,
I connected with you on twitter and while browsing through your profile, I came across this amazing piece of advice on blogging. This comes at a good time when I have started writing myself (although not a published blog yet). Great insights in your article. I am saving this for future reference.
Hope to connect with you further through your other blogs.
Cheers
Havneet
Havneet, I’m so glad to have you follow along! Let me know if you have any questions when you publish.
Hi Miriam! Congrats on the one-year blogiversary! Mine’s coming up next month, it has been a wild ride! I’ve learned a lot of the same things you have, though it might have taken me a bit longer to catch on. In the beginning I didn’t know what I wanted from my blog, but now the picture is more clear and I’m doing what I can every day to improve it. Hope things continue to go well for you! Congrats again!
Thanks so much, Leah! I think most bloggers feel that way in the beginning. I didn’t know what I wanted either other than have people read my posts. Now I have much bigger plans, and most of it has to do with the experience I’ve gotten. Happy blogiversary to you next months!
Helpful post and well wrote. Congrat’s on your one-year blogiversary… mine is coming up in weeks. This first year for me has been a huge learning lesson on how to do everything (I was 100% computer challenged, now 50% 🙂 .. Now it’s time to get serious about the business part of it, and social media. I’m a member of TBS also, and totally agree with you… best choice I made. Wishing you the best with your blog and adventures.
Thanks and congratulations to you too, Paula! I hope all the best for you. Merry Christmas.
Right now, my biggest challenge is balancing the demands of a thriving freelance writing business and blogging itself …. still a work in progress!
I recognize that challenge myself, Katie. Is there a way you can combine the two?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
This is a great resource and inspiration for new bloggers out there. Including me. 🙂
What truly resonates for me is about building your genuine audience, and not focus on the quantity or numbers. Thank you for the reminder. will definitely keep this mind. 🙂
Yes, building an engaging audience is definitely the most important lesson! It can be really hard to focus on, especially as a new blogger, but it’s all worth it in the end. There aren’t any shortcuts for this; we just have to be patient and keep up the good work. The first year is the hardest, but it will get better 🙂
Great post Miriam,
The integrity is massive for me too which makes self promotion hard. There is a friend of mine in Chiang Mai who has numerous travel blogs – often curating info and rewriting it, blah. We will forever disagree on the topic. I agree with you all the way!
Thanks, Jub! In which ways do you find self promotion hard when it comes to integrity? In my experience, if you concentrate on building a brand with credibility and integrity then it will show really quickly. For instance, by writing insightful comments and contribute with information on other people’s blogs or social media posts you will be known as someone with depth. And people like that. If you do this continously and focus mainly on sharing other people’s posts on twitter for example, people will see that your brand have quality and that you’re doing this for others sake and not just your own. You will stand out from the crowd.
Yea I guess you are right. It is the whole self promo thing like ‘ooo yay, look at me haha’, even with my friends I keep things to myself knowing they want to know what I am up to. Thanks for the reassurance!
I know what you mean. In Denmark, we don’t like to brag or think too highly of ourselves – we even have a ‘law’ for it: Janteloven. So I get why you find it hard to promote yourself; I had a hard time doing it in the beginning as well. But I’ve just realized that no one is going to do it for me and if I want to succeed and grow my blog, I have to be comfortable with some level of self promotion. I’ve definitely gotten more use to it now.
Love this post, especially the fact about social media. I was long present only on Facebook, but did realise, I am missing so much, so now I am new to Instagram and Twitter 🙂 Beginnings are hard, but I will get there eventualy! Happy travels and keep up the good work with blogging 🙂
Thanks so much, Nina. I think it’s very wise of you to use Instagram and Twitter, too. Instagram is really great if you have an ambition of working with companies, while Twitter is great for networking and building your brand. Keep it up and you’ll see results. Patience truly is a virtue for a travel blogger 😉
Thank you for this post. I found it really useful. As a new blogger I admire what you have done in a year. Your blog is great, Happy new year !
You’re welcome, Sally! Thanks for the sweet words x
Hi Miriam, A belated Happy Anniversary and congratulations on figuring out all the technical stuff by yourself. Like so many others I’ve wanted to start a blog, but the technical stuff had me petrified. Your posts have been inspiring as well as full of helpful information. Wishing you a year full of travel and adventures.
I’m so glad to hear that, Mary! Blogging is a lot of work, especially in the beginning, but once you learn the technical stuff it’s much easier. However, I’d have to say that if I had choosen a paid theme and the right webhost from the beginning, there wouldn’t be as much need for advancing my IT skills. Today I use Avada theme and Siteground webhost and now everything works like a charm!
Thanks for this article! I just stumbled upon your website and there’s so many helpful articles! It’s funny, I keep hearing about Travel Blog Success. I just started my own blog a month ago and its overwhelming with how much there is to learn! I feel like I’m hitting a wall already just with all the things I don’t know (i.e my most recent blog posts don’t show on the website for some reason and I don’t know how to fix it, the struggle is real…). So even though the price of the course is hefty to a newbie blogger like me, I’m seriously considering it!
Julia, if you’re serious about blogging I highly recommend you to join the course. It’s been worth every penny! As for the technical issue with your blog, you should ask your web provider. If your web provider is WordPress, you can post questions in their forums and you’ll get an answer quickly. I sometimes ask my webhost (Siteground) or theme provider (Avada) too and they’re happy to help with WordPress issues. Just hang in there – it will get easier! Promise.
Hey Miriam! I just launched last week (but have been making plans for the last few months). I was thrilled to connect with you on Twitter today because of the Bali tips but once I started looking around, I was really encouraged by this and your “one year” post. Even when it’s stuff you know, it’s always SO helpful to have someone else say it to you! Hope we can stay connected!
I’m so glad to hear that, Catherine! Let me know if I can help you in any way. You know where to find me 🙂
Great tips Miriam! I think building an engaged audience is key – people who’ll keep coming back for more. I’ve only recently started taking my blog super seriously so I’m soaking up all of these pointers (thanks!). My aim this year is to have a solid blogging strategy (I’m only just beginning to realise the value of this!).
That’s sounds like a really smart goal, Lizzie! Since I started writing down blog and social media statistics every month, I’ve been much more motivated because now I can see how much my community grows. Also, it helps me realize if I need to change something that doesn’t work. Blogging goals are super important and they eventually also help get you an engaged audience.
I know I’m a little late on this bandwagon, but happy one year! This is such a helpful post to me. I really appreciate your advice. I started researching and preparing my blog about 5 months ago and I stared writing content about 2 months ago. It is so much more work than people imagine! I’m enjoying the journey but I definitely understand when people say it is a “labor of love.” Thank you for your wonderful tips 🙂
All the best,
Jessica
It certainly is! I still get surprised by the work load and how much time I need to spend on branding. All the best to you, Jessica. I wish you lots of success!
I just came across this now and it’s exactly what I was looking for! I’m literally at the very beginning of my blog’s journey (not even a month!) and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with everything I have to learn. But it’s awesome to hear what helped you in your first year and I’ll definitely be putting your advice into practice as much as possible. Thank you! 🙂
I’m glad you found it useful, Ella! There’s a lot to learn when you just start out, but soon you’ll get the hang of it 🙂 Have fun and let me know if you have any questions.
came across your blog via twitter feed, and stumble upon this article. As a new blogger give or take a month or so, i found this article very useful and have told a few friends to check it out too as im sure they will find it so useful too. Im going to spend a few hours reading up on articles you have posted because a few titles posts have all ready grabbed my by the bottom. I look forward to see what blog posts you have in the future also, defiantly added a fav in the good old search bar ;). Keep up the good work and sharing.
peace joe
Great to see you here, Joe! I’m glad you found these tips useful. Starting out as a blogger can definitely be a struggle – heck, it still is after 1,5 years – but we’ll get there eventually 🙂 Have a lovely Easter!
I love this advice – thank you. As a brand new blogger who is unsure of where to start, this has given me the kick I need. Slowly slowly, I’ll catch my monkey…and hopefully some followers along my writing way.
I’m glad to hear that! Write about what you love and followers will come. Patience is your best friend 🙂
Hey Miriam! I chanced upon this entry and just wanna say thanks for the wonderful tips and encouragement! My blog recently turned one too and I’m still struggling to get a hang of SEO and social media, but I constantly try to remind myself that publishing quality content is the most important (: I’ve recently joined TBS too and am looking fwd to learning so much of it! Keep blogging and inspiring (:
You’re much welcome, Sheena! And congratulations on your blogiversary 🙂 It takes time to build an audience, but if you stay active on social media and keep writing great blog posts, you’ll get there! All the best.
Hi Miriam.
Honestly, super helpful post! I am in that stage when I think ‘what am I doing wrong?’, but this piece of writing is what I needed to get my ass off a couch and get back to work.
Hej hej from a fellow Copenhagener 😉
https://www.travel-monkey.com/reasons-to-visit-copenhagen/
I’m so glad to hear that! Keep believing in yourself and you’ll reach your goals <3 Enjoy Copenhagen 🙂
Hi Miriam,
First and foremost congratulations on your accomplishments. I recently launched my own business and blogging is a part of it; and I’m new to it. With that said, I’m genuinely thankful for your sharing of blogging information – very informative and helpful. I will definitely apply it! Overall, I found you to be very down-to-earth, genuine, and helpful. I hope to be described like this someday.
Cheers,
Alex
I’m so glad to hear that, Alex. Thank you so much for your kind words! I wish you all the best with your business and blog.
Hey Miriam,
Great blog dear. As i am thinking to launch a new website based on travel niche and i was searching some inspiring post i found your blog.
Thanks for sharing your experience, It will surely help me.
Regards
Darren
I’m super glad to hear that. Good luck on your travel website, Darren!
Hi there! I have been blogging for 6 months now and while my traffic and social media shares have increased immensely, I feel like I am going… Well, not sure lol. I have a lot to learn, but I think maybe my lack of results is due to the fact that I have a multi-niche blog instead of one that focuses on one topic. Does anyone else here have a blog that covers multiple topics?
Hi Laria,
Welcome to blogging! 🙂
I don’t see a problem in having a multi-niche blog as long as it’s clear to the reader what your blog can provide them with. It’s fine to write about different topics, but think of which audience you want. Do you want girls who likes cooking, traveling, fashion, blogging, etc. to read it? Or are you focused on finances, education, or something in that direction? My point is that you can write about many topics, but there has to be a common focus, like an overall theme, your tone of voice – something that makes your readers want to come back for more. They need to know what to expect.
Try checking out some Lifestyle blogs (Helene in Between) and look how they’re doing it. They juggle with multiple topics at a time.
Hi Miriam! Thanks for these tips, I will definitely use them. But like the others say; a blog strategy is easy to ignore. Anyway, I’m glad you are here, you are helping me a lot!
It is, but it’s so, so important. Without it, it’s almost impossible to make progress. What’s equally important is HOW the strategy will succeed, so make a goal and a plan for how you’re going to reach it.
Loved this post, and can totally relate. I’ve been working on my blog for 6 months now, while trying to grow on social media and it hasn’t been easy. It’s reassuring to see once you start putting strategies in place you will see results. Thanks!
I’m glad to hear that, Jessica! It takes time to build a blog, and in the beginning patience is key for success. Keep at it and remember those strategies, and you’ll make your goals.
All the best,
M
Very interesting blog post. It has been 8 months now I have started a blog. I have received only 80-150 unique visitor through google. I was wondering is this a good start? or what do I need to do more to get more visitors?
Hi Suanlian,
Congratulations on your new blog! If I were you, I would follow the steps I explained in this post (focus on SEO, social media and interacting with bloggers within your niche). This is how to gain more followers, but obviously your blog needs to stand out as well. So make sure to write great posts accompanied by great photos. You can use stock photos if you don’t take pictures yourself.
All the best of luck.