It seems like yesterday I wrote “3000 Page Views In 1 Week Live“. Time flies, eh. Well, here we are 86 days later! Now seems like a good time for an update on blog traffic! Serena on the GO is not quite 4 months old, and as of this morning it’s at 20,232 page views. Exciting, right!?
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Before I go on, let’s get something straight (I’m a straight shooter). This is NOT going to be a step by step guide on how you can magically make a traffic unicorn appear and get this amount of page views overnight. It won’t look like this:
Step 1. Do this
Step 2. Now do this
Step 3. Jump to the left 5 times
NO.
NO.
NO.
It’s going to be a detailed insight into how I’ve approached my blog, what I’ve done to drive blog traffic, and the things I feel are critical to a successful blog. These are my opinions. Always remember opinions are like a*******, everyone has one. During your blogging journey, you’ll receive copious amounts of advice, direction and criticism; only you can decide what feels good and what works best for YOU.
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Here’s what worked for me:
It’s NEVER too early to start building online relationships with other bloggers (even “celebrity” ones!)
Whoa, intimidating right!? Well, so is a lot of other stuff in life. Get over it. Other bloggers, especially successful ones are your biggest teachers and support network. They’ve all started from the ground-up, they’ve felt your same frustrations, feelings of being overwhelmed, learned through mistakes, and seen-it-all. Let them be your guide.
If you haven’t noticed already, the blogging community is tight knit. Weave yourself into this knit! Just 1 week into my blogging journey I reached out to Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents (whoa, right, who do I think I am?) and she was incredible! She, like so many other “big name in the game” bloggers are down to Earth, supportive, helpful and seemingly have an “open door” policy. I’ve yet to experience any negativity or competitiveness from well-known bloggers. In fact, I often tell others that out of my 21 years of working (Army, Corporate and Federal) I’ve never been a part of a more welcoming, friendly, and supportive community of folks!
Having friends in the blogging community open doors for you. It’s a network gold-mine. For one, you can simply learn things you didn’t already know. It also opens up opportunities to be noticed, mentioned, guest posted, interviewed, get invited to Pinterest group boards (more on that later), and get social media shot-outs. It’s also a great way to find affiliations, courses, and to review their already-successful work (remember, I don’t believe in re-inventing the wheel.) Let’s face it, I can’t be the only one that nerds out with excitement when Michelle Shroeder-Gardner “likes” my Facebook posts (don’t tell her I said this…haha)
So, don’t be shy, we’re all introverts of sorts (or we wouldn’t be bloggers). Be the voice for your blog! You’ve worked hard on it and should be proud. Reach out and touch someone! Start here, I know for a fact these gals (and guy) won’t be snarky!
Kristin Larsen from KristinLarsen.com (formally Believe in a Budget)
Kelan & Brittany Kline from The Savvy Couple
Eden Fried from EdenFried.com
Carrie Becker from Our Everyday Chaos
Be A Hustler (Baby), but NOT a Spammer! Let’s Talk about Facebook Groups:
(while we’re at it, feel free to join mine here!)
Remember I said “be the voice of your blog”, I meant it. Why spend precious time constructing a gorgeous blog if you’re not willing to promote it to the world? Your blog doesn’t have a voice, it doesn’t have a theme song, it doesn’t have legs to walk on. YOU are the ONLY person who can make it move.
Facebook groups have been instrumental to my success. With that said, it’s not as simple as “join and drop”. You can’t simply drop a link into 117 different Facebook groups and expect others to flock to your blog; it will not happen. Bloggers are human. Humans crave connection. YOU HAVE TO CREATE CONNECTION.
How do you do this? By creating online relationships. Spend time in your groups, answer other blogger’s questions (whether technical or emotional), be helpful, be constructive but always kind. Give your opinions, and seek the opinions of others. You’ll be amazed (I was) that by creating REAL human connection the rest will fall into place. Don’t believe me? Try it.
Creating connections is the 1st step of making Facebook groups work toward driving traffic to your blog. Once you have connections and feel comfortable in a particular group you can start “link dropping” to promote your work. Be sure to follow the group owner’s guidelines and please, don’t “drop” your link and run. In other words, put a caption before your link, give your link a voice by telling others what it is (so they know before they click). This creates intimacy and visually shows others you’re putting time and effort into your link and their group.
Make sure to follow the group’s thread schedule and rules, otherwise, you’ll just be another spammer with no views. Also, ensure your dropped link is relevant. Nothing is more awkward than having a nice conversation on Facebook about Pinterest and a random, out-of-nowhere blogger drops an SEO post. Grrrr…..
With that said, I can’t talk about “threads” without telling you how I really feel. Now’s a good time to refill your coffee (vodka) because it’s gonna get hot in here. DO NOT, I repeat, do not participate in forced reciprocation threads with as many rules as a kindergarten class. I was hesitant to say this because some of my favorite bloggers have Facebook groups like this, but hey, it’s my blog so I’m going to tell it like it is. Forced reciprocation style threads do not provide genuine readers or subscribers, nor do they feel good. They bring out cattiness, cruelty, drama and tattle-telling (seriously, we’re all adults here.) Forced threads are a huge time waster; that time is better spent elsewhere. Just be genuine; follow, like and comment on blogs and social media accounts you’ll ACTUALLY go back to (because isn’t this who you want liking, following and commenting on your blog?). Enough said.
Related: Start A Money Making Blog Today!
Stop worrying about what others are doing or not doing:
“She followed then unfollowed me”
“there’s too many people blogging about blogging”
“he unsubscribed from my blog”
“income reports are fake”
“she’s not following the thread rules” (admin tagged…haha)
Who cares? Not me. Every second spent worrying about what someone else is doing or not doing is time lost from being productive on your own craft. Just stop. Stop giving a single care to what others are doing or not doing. This is a short paragraph because it’s really that simple. Just stop. Worry about YOU, YOUR blog, and what YOU’RE doing and not doing.
Learn Pinterest NOW! You won’t have a single regret:
I should have mentioned this previously; while my blog has been live since April 28, 2017, I was unplugged in Maui for 16 of those days. Literally unplugged. I didn’t write or publish a single blog post from June 19, 2017 until August 1, 2017. I’m mentioning that because while I was in Maui completely unplugged I received over 6,000 page views. Did you read that? A 2 month old blog, no new content, an unplugged blogger, with over 6,000 PASSIVE page views.
Insane, right!? The credit belongs to Pinterest and BoardBooster.
Pinterest is a beast….in a good way! But, I also understand not everyone knows how to use Pinterest and it can be INCREDIBLY overwhelming. I bought and paid for Pinterest Unpuzzled and I’m SO glad I did. Other than Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, I can honestly say it was the best blog investment I’ve made yet. It’s prettty much got everything you need to know about rocking Pinterest!
Pinterest is a search engine. It uses “Alt Text” from your image (entered via WordPress when you “add media”) to allow users to search for what you’ve written about. So, if you’ve written a blog post about birds, and upload an image to Pinterest with “Alt Text” that reads “Southern birds of prey eat little baby squirrels in winter” anyone who comes to Pinterest seeking those words would likely see your pinned image as a result. When they click on your pin it will take them to your blog post.
Each of my oldest blog posts has 1-3 pinnable (I’ll touch on “pinnable” shortly) images. My newer blog posts have 3-6 pinnable images, however, I “hide” them in my HTML code so they aren’t seen ON my blog, but they pop up when someone pushes my Pinterest social share button.
Totally confused? Go to this post, click on the Pinterest share button on the left sidebar. Notice that pinnable images pop-up that ARE NOT on the actual blog post? Great, eh! You can do this also:
- Enter the image into your post (doesn’t matter where, I always put on very top of post)
- Switch to TEXT view
- Enter this code before your image code: <div style=”display:none”>
- Enter this code after your image code: </div>
That’s it. That’s how you hide a pinnable image into your blog posts! Now when you publish a new post, go to the post and share your pinnable images to your own Pinterest boards directly from your blog post via your social share buttons.
I’m also part of 58 group boards on Pinterest. Group boards are boards that have multiple collaborators who can contribute new pins, which creates a very large audience for your pins to be seen.
Update: I now have my OWN Group Board with over 100 contributers! Contact me with your e-mail address if you’d like to be a part of my Group Board!
Because I’m a real human (yep!) with only 2 arms, 10 fingers and roughly 14 hours of productivity time a day (I sleep sometimes), I can’t realistically keep up with all these boards myself. This is where BoardBooster comes in. BoardBooster is an automated pinning tool that allows bloggers to set a schedule of where and when to pin. I’ve set up my BoardBooster account to re-pin MY OWN pins to each group board daily (per the group board instructions, some have limits of 3-6 pins a day). This keeps my pins recirculating to group boards 365 days a year without my manual involvement!
Earlier I mentioned I would talk a little about the meaning of “pinnable.” NOT EVERY PHOTO OR IMAGE IS PINNABLE. Meaning, don’t think that just because you have an image or graphic on your blog post that it’s worthy of being on Pinterest. Pinterest has a very distinct “look”. You’ll want your image to be vertical and have a clear indication showing what your blog post is about via text overlay.
Get a copy of MY FREE COURSE “Perfecting Pinnable Images” HERE!
Think of your “pin” as an advertisement like the examples here:
IS YOUR BLOG PINNABLE?
Let me send you a FREE short course on making PINNABLE images!
This simple course will boost your blog traffic!
Pinterest drove over 25,000 views to my blog in just 4 MONTHS!
I’ve predicted you were going to ask me “How do I find Pinterest group boards and become a collaborator”?
The answer to that lies above. Build online relationships and be your blog’s voice. Ok, it’s not that simple, but it is that simple. Go to PinGroupie to find group boards that interest you, then message the owner (1st person listed) by introducing yourself and your blog and asking the owner to be a contributor to their group. This is the exact way I got invited to over 30 groups. I just took the bull by the horns and reached out. I also posted in Facebook groups that I was seeking new group boards to join and received many more invitations to collaborate. Also, sometimes you’ll see new group board owners asking for collaborators on Facebook groups. Again, don’t be shy!
Facebook Group participation and Pinterest account for 90% of my blog traffic. Since I have a tendency to shy away from things that challenge me I’ve just started using Instagram (follow me here), however, I’ve gained 214 followers in one month. When I post to Instagram I always comment on my own post with 30 hashtags (that’s all Instagram allows) and that seems to be resulting in new followers for each post. I’ll update you on my Instagram use next time since this is a brand new platform for me.
Treat your blog like a business, if you want to be rewarded like a business:
I get it, money is tight and free information is abundant on the internet. I don’t disagree, but I don’t fully agree. I’m an advocate for investing in yourself and your blog. This doesn’t have to be huge bucks, just enough to get you started on the right foot.
I’d rather see someone invest $3.95 a month in hosting to have a beautiful, fully optimizable blog they can grow, then watching them scramble later to get it moved over to a self-hosted site (seen this horror story more than once). I’d also rather see someone invest $197 in a life changing course like Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing in order to start monetizing right away (I made $500 in 3 months, I’ll create an income report soon) then someone who seeks out all the free information they can find and are still struggling to make .10 cents a year into their journey.
This is just the reality of doing business. Investing in your blog is never a bad thing. I’m thankful that I made a few smart investments upfront because they’ve paid themselves off already.
Well, if you’ve made it this far, awesome! I know this was a long post but there was so much to cover and I didn’t want to leave anything out. Blogging is hard work. You’ve got this!
Before I end, I want to re-establish what I updated on the “3000 Page Views in 1 Week Live” update…
UPDATE: SINCE WRITING THIS POST I’VE RECEIVED A LOT OF COMMENTS LIKE “BUT, YOU DIDN’T ACTUALLY TELL ME HOW”. I WISH THERE WAS A STRATEGY OR “EXACT” STEPS I TOOK, BUT THERE ISN’T. I WAS SIMPLY INVOLVED, MINGLED, HELPED, ASKED QUESTIONS, DROPPED LINKS IN SCHEDULED THREADS AND MET AND NETWORKED WITH NEW “BLOGGING BUDDIES” IN THESE GROUPS. THERE REALLY IS NO “MAGIC” TO BLOGGING…IT’S ALL ABOUT ONLINE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING. YA’LL I’M BRAND NEW, TOMORROW WILL BE 3 WEEKS THAT I’VE BEEN A BLOGGER. I CAN’T MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN, IT’S HARD WORK!
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda
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- YOUR niche matters! Is it time for a change?
- I’m still on board to retire by 40 by blogging!
- How I made over $200 in my first 3 weeks blogging (AND HAVE NOW MADE OVER $500 in 3 months!)
- I’M QUITTING! Leaving my $80k+ career for happiness!
- Do Happy People Annoy YOU? (You should be one of them!)
Happy Blogging & Increased Traffic, Friends!
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Serena
Great advice. I’ll be using some of this! I can attest friends in the blogging community helps! I’ve managed one good friend and she’s helped me out more then I’ve asked for. Facebook groups, I need to stick with that a bit more. I’ve been slacking in that department. Thanks for recommending this!
Hi Tracy! Thanks for stopping by! I’m so glad you found this helpful. FB groups are amazing if used right!
-Serena
So excited for you!! Congrats!!
Thanks so much Kristin! You’re a HUGE inspiration to me!
-Serena
I lie your writing style .. this post is very useful
Thank you 🙂
-Serena
I love your post! All very good information and I totally agree that forced follow all or comment all threads in Facebook groups are time eaters and do not help blogs build genuine relationships or subscribers. Life is about relationships and so is a blog!
Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for stopping in! I’m glad you feel the way you do about forced threads 🙂
-Serena
Great article. Always super informative, easy to read, and lots of humor!
If you are able to add us to any group boards that would be awesome. As you know we just started focusing on Pinterest over the last month or so. Anyone reading this DONT wait to learn Pinterest, very bad mistake (I am a guy though so mistakes are normal).
Keep up the awesome work Serena! Love watching you grow your blog.
P.S. thanks for the shout out =)
Hi Kelan! YES! Let’s chat about that! Thanks again for always encouraging me and being supportive. I can’t wait to follow you and Brittany in your journey also!
-Serena
Thanks for sharing your insights and experience. The Pinterest thing will be my project for next week! All the best for this fab blog!
Hi Amelia! Thank you so much! You won’t regret getting deeper into Pinterest!
-Serena
This was a great post! I need to up my Pinterest game even more. I’m part of 20ish group boards at the moment but I need to get into more. Just got to set aside some time to do it. My traffic has increased GREATLY since I really started utilizing Pinterest though. 🙂
Yay Christine, so glad you’re already in 20 boards! You’re ahead of the game!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Serena
Great post Serena! I’m hoping to get there soon! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Alicia! You WILL get there 🙂
-Serena
I think I am going to try out boardbooster for my group boards. I have tailwind but I’m not seeing much traction on Pinterest. I would love if you would critique my blog! http://www.plaidshirtyogapants.com
You’ll love it Mallory! It’s so easy to use and it helps take tasks off your hands! I’ve been to your blog a few times; love it!
-Serena
I’ve read so many articles with the same theme but this was by far the most “no bullshit” one. Thanks for sharing! And I have to agree with you on the forced reciprocation threads….
Thanks so much Sonja! I’m a no BS gal 😉
-Serena
Thank you, this is a good post on steps to take to get your blog rolling. I’m still trying to get my Pinterest strategy together and create my pins but I plan on using that a lot. And I like your advice about Facebook groups, the reciprocate to all just feels so fake. I don’t want to share your post about how to feed a toddler! Lol.
Exactly, Carly! Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Serena
Great post Serena! I enjoy your blog voice and writing style. I can feel your energy.
Cheers!
Marnie
Thank you Marnie! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
-Serena
This post ROCKS. (And I read a lot of posts about blogging!) Sharing it with my blogging buddies!
Yay, thanks so much Grace!
-Serena
This is the best post I’ve ever read. You have inspired me to stick with it. Than you so much!!!! Kath Walker
This is the best post I’ve ever read. You have inspired me to stick with it. Than you so much!!!! Kath Walker
Wow Kath, that is such an amazing compliment! Stick with it!
So happy you stopped by!
-Serena
Ah this is amazing, well done you! 🙂
Thank you Francesca! So happy you stopped by!
-Serena
Thank you for good advice for blogging and FG.
Thank you!
-Serena
thanks for the Pinterest “hiding pins” tip. Took me a while to get the html to work, I’m slow on that stuff but I got it!
Hi Ryan! I’m so glad it was helpful! Thanks for stopping by!
-Serena
great article my traffic is low i just hope this can help
http://healthphreak.com/
Just keep doing it! It will come 🙂
-Serena
I think part of it is that you are actually providing valuable content – you’re not jut posting to post, if that makes sense. That does a lot to drive traffic – if it helps someone, they are going to read it. Plus those pinnable images! =)
Thanks Heather! Content is tough stuff for sure! Thanks for much for stopping in!
-Serena
I love this post. I’m a down to earth person who appreciates people who say it like it is. You gave a lot of great ideas and information. Thanks so much. I’m still learning Pinterest and your info. was the best I’ve seen so far! 🙂
Wow, thanks Doreen! So happy you stopped by!
-Serena
Excellent Serena! All of my blogging success flowed through my friends. I read, comment on and RT a slew of blogs daily. Doing so helps me make friends. Who then promote me in return. Which then boosts all of my blogging metrics quickly, in exponential fashion. I enjoy helping folks, adding value, promoting others and cutting the strings, looking for nothing in return. Basis of my blog, community, all I do online.
Hi Ryan! I found your comment in my spam 🙁 Thanks so much for stopping by!
TODAY is the day I figure the Pinterest thing out! I’ve had this tab open on my browser for 4 days so that I don’t forget!
I understand people asking for step to step guide, just mingle, share talk with others alone seems not a guide. What are the advices, why have they been helpful … how …. with what ?
Thanks for stopping by. Unfortunately, blogging, like most businesses is not a “step by step” process. It takes building human relationships.
-Serena
Great advice. I use the pinnable posters at the bottom of most of my posts too. The most important thing is to provide useful take-away content.
Thanks for stopping in James!
I’m a little scared of Pinterest. LOL. I need to make my blog more “Pin” worthy.
Hi KC, Pinterest can be intimidating, but the reward is SO worth it! Pinterest drives a HUGE amount of traffic to blogs!
Thanks for stopping in!
Serena
This was very insightful. I totally agree about Pinterest and Connections. I started learning about Pinterest and I have had so much more views.
Yay Nadie! Congrats on the new views! Pinterest is an incredible traffic maker!
-Serena
Haa..I like this.
Straight shooting at it’s finest. You have some damn good info here, especially with the Pinterest stuff and ALT text for photos. I’m just getting started with the social media part of it and must say it’s a bit overwhelming. A lot of stuff I know zero about. But I’m pulling through. Just taking it day by day and learning as I go.
Thanks for sharing this “no B.S.” information. I’ll definitely be checking back.
Hi Oscar! So glad you enjoyed it and got some new “stuff” from it!
Thanks for coming by!
-Serena
So much info! I’ve been working on Pinterest manually, I read an awesome book with a great strategy but have also opened a Boardbooster account, I just haven’t had a chance to set it up yet! Thanks for all the awesome advice!
Awesome Kristin! You’ll be so glad you got Boardbooster!
Thanks for stopping in!
-Serena
OMG i found you on Bloggers Network and I have to say this was probably the most helpful, informative and interesting blog post I’ve read in ages. Your tone is great and the links are definitely something ill be coming back to. I have considered Pinterest but now I have some great links to look at so I’m not fluffing my way through it, thank you 🙂
Yay Erin! This makes me so happy and is exactly why I do what I do! Make sure that you get a copy of my FREE Pinterest Course!
Stop by again!
-Serena
I really enjoyed your write-up and the pattern followed.
Thank you Samuel!
-Serena
You’re so straight forward and relatable. 🙂 This post and your success is so inspiring! I’m having a hard time staying motivated so I needed this today. I started my blog 3 months ago and don’t have near the numbers you do. Just gotta keep at it! Connecting with big bloggers is such a great idea. P.S. I’m a part of your Facebook group and love it. Thank you!
Keep going keli! Thank you so much! Don’t give up 🙂
-Serena
I just joined your FB group and I love the point you made about genuine follows. I’ve had to leave several groups already because people on threads became very petty. I love that you approach is both natural and helpful! Thanks for all of your tips!
Thank you Tasheena! I’m ALL about natural and organic! Those fake followers will never become actual readers 😉
-Serena
I just started contributing to Pinterest groups and its made a positive difference in helping me get more traffic to my blog. I need to find time to utilize Facebook groups more. Congrats on your new success and thank you for sharing all this awesome information!
Thank you Ann! Group boards are fantastic! Congrats on your success!
Congrats! I’m excited for your progress! Do you prefer board booster over tailwind? Are they pretty much the same?
Hi Diam, thank you!
I haven’t ventured over to Tailwind yet.
Serena