The start of a new year is such an exciting time to be a blogger. Us entrepreneurial types are always looking for ways to improve and the new year provides the perfect clean slate for growth and development.
What are your blogging goals for 2019? Is it to finally launch the blog that you’ve been dreaming about? Or maybe take your existing blog to the next level, growing your audience and making it a full-time gig?
Whatever your blogging goals are for this year, these tips will help you get focussed and inspired to turn your blog into the online platform that you’ve always dreamed it could be.
Here are some steps that you can start taking today to absolutely rock your blog in 2019.
1. Conduct a content audit
If this is your first time running a content audit as an established blogger, you might want to grab yourself a giant cup of coffee before you begin because this might take a while! Content audits are something that I recommend doing frequently in order to stay on top of your website and make sure that your posts are up to date and performing the best that they can.
Conducting a content audit is essentially going back through your old posts to making sure they’re still up to date and identifying any issues that may be hindering their performance. Things like broken links can seriously hinder a blog’s performance and be incredibly frustrating for your readers. This is the most common issue I’ve encountered doing my content audits, so keep an eye out!
Conducting a content audit can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve got a lot of blog posts to go through, but it’s a rewarding process. Plus, there may be an opportunity to embed links to new posts in some of your older content to keep your posts fresh, create returning readers, and improving your SEO rankings at the same time.
2. Create a content strategy
A goal without a plan is just a wish. So this year, after setting those big blogging goals, sit down and come up with a strategy for actually achieving them! Start by looking at your blog analytics to see what content your readers are enjoying most and build your future content out from that. Think about how you can build on these topics, how long your posts should be, how to structure and format them, and how often you’ll post new content.
If your goal is to work with more brands and produce sponsored content, plan a strategy around producing quality content that companies would pay for and identify possible collaborators. Then make a plan to reach out to brands and prove to them why you’re the best person to work with.
If you’re just starting out and don’t have any analytics to base your content strategy on, think about the type of content that you want to create. Do you want to write about travel? Makeup? Fashion? Food? Pick a topic and then narrow it down to focus on a specific niche – figure out what you’re an expert on and build your content strategy around that.
3. Update popular content
The “freshness” of your content can directly impact how well your blog ranks on Google and other search engines. If you have a certain blog post that performs really well and receives a lot of search engine traffic, updating it will ensure that it continues to remain relevant.
For example, my Contiki Review is one of the most popular posts on my website. I frequently compare the information in my post to the information on Contiki’s websites. Many of their tours have changed over the years, so I make sure to note this in the post so new readers aren’t confused by out-dated resources.
4. Start monetizing
Blogging is great. Being able to make a living blogging is even better. This year, why not try monetizing your website or adding a new monetization strategy to the mix in order to boost your income? The simplest way to make passive income through your blog is through advertisements. These are especially great for when you’re just starting out because they’re low maintenance and don’t require too much set up.
If you’ve been blogging for a while and running ads on your site, but not seeing the revenue you’d hoped, it’s time to try monetizing in other ways! You can partner with brands and produce sponsored content, outsource your digital talents through freelance work, leverage affiliate marketing, or produce courses and e-books on topics that you’re knowledgeable about.
5. Give your site a facelift
I don’t recommend changing up your website often because it can be confusing for your readers and make it difficult to establish yourself, however, if you haven’t updated the look of your website in a while there’s no harm in refreshing it this year.
If you don’t have one already, get a logo designed for your website. Having a professionally designed logo will help improve your branding and show the blogging world that you mean business. A logo that’s consistent with your content, mission statement, and brand will help readers remember you and set you apart from the crowd.
It’s also important to make sure that whatever WordPress theme you’re using is optimized for viewing on mobile devices. Many people will be reading your blog posts on their iPhone, so you’ll want to ensure that they have a clean and easy reading experience so that they keep coming back for more!
6. Start a newsletter
If you don’t already have a newsletter for your readers to subscribe to, get off this page and start one now.
A newsletter is every blogger’s most important digital asset. It’s an absolute must-use marketing tool once your blog becomes a business. Despite all the changes occurring in the digital world, everyone still checks their inbox on a daily basis, making an e-mail newsletter the most efficient way for your reaching your readers.
A newsletter gives you the opportunity to build a more personal connection with your readers and establish a community. It’s the easiest way to stay in touch with your readers and let them know when you’ve published new content, which means a newsletter will also quickly become your biggest traffic driving tool if you use it correctly.
Make 2019 the year that you introduce an email community to your website and see your traffic and community grow like never before!
