Do you know the most important factor which adds credibility to a blog? Fitsmallbusiness.com states that it is quality content.
Do you know the secret ingredient to success?
…Longevity.
Countless bloggers disappear from my followers list each month. Their accounts are still there; their thoughts are frozen like water in a freezer. More often than not, they vanish with no trace of their whereabouts.
Blogging is hard work and according to many of the high-earners, they considered themselves as new, up to the age of 3. But we expect instantaneous.
I was about to join the vanishing crew. A few months in, I called up my best friend to admit my failure. I don’t even have 100 followers I cried, I rarely reach 10 likes – no mind 5 and my comments are virtually non-existent. To truly increase salt to my wounds, I mentioned all the other bloggers who started at around the same time as me. How everyone runs to their posts and nobody cares about mine.
Oh – and I took it further. I am a terrible writer, I have no interesting topics to discuss and my pictures are awful. How can I do well with a camera phone? How am I supposed to reach 1,000 followers when my stats are on 15 views a day?
It is exceedingly excruciating when you dedicate your time and heart to your site, only to feel that people are not concerned. So when I wanted to give up, I really wanted someone to make my life easier. I wanted to be one of the ‘lucky’ one’s who just starts off with immediate eminence. I wanted to be a person who just figured it out and gained popularity.
I observed the big accounts. I read their articles and glimpsed their images.
Create various lifestyle categories, arrange my items beautifully against a white or black background for photos and either write information which is relatable, interesting or helpful. That was my short knowledge on what it takes.
That one word summary is distinct to my opinions today.
It does not matter how fast another account is growing
This is the internet. I have no doubt that a blog next year will be created and somehow receive thousands upon thousands of views each week – in a matter of months. Your biggest concern should be your stats. Are they increasing? Are people enjoying what you are posting?
Take advantage of the support
WordPress especially, I feel as though the community is incredibly friendly. Everyone kind of learns from one another. There are countless posts on advice and tips – try them out. When I set myself up in January, I loved reading the blogger recognition awards, as the questions allow great insight into what a reader would like.
Do not ask
I am not the greatest fan of comments which read “please check out my blog”. I think if you go down that route, you should ensure that your comment is tailored and personal to the person who you are asking. Nobody likes the idea of a viewer going round to every blog with a copy and paste.
In addition, with these phrases, how do you know whether the blogger has gone onto your page and read a post happily, or felt forced? And do you want a blogger reading your content because they felt that they are required to, or because they generally decided to?
Everyone is in the same boat
A further typical comment of which I encounter – is “I am new”. Whilst I appreciate that and know the struggle, we are all in some ways new. The problem with being a blogger is that we are not satisfied. The minute you reach one goal, along comes another.
What made me continue when I thought about giving up?
I asked myself if I was reaching my potential. I continued my research into how to grow a blog and noticed that marketing appeared frequently. I played around with my visuals, yet never took the time to market. I naively presumed that tagging was enough to bring in readers.
Neither did I track down what bloggers I favoured. I expected everyone to come to me. The fact is however, there is an abundant of people out there striving for equivalent. My number one recommendation is to promote. Promote as much as possible. Utilise social-media and craft attentive responses. My attitude is – if 100 people add me each day, I will still seek another 100.
Until my aims are in clear sight, my dedication will not alter. In fact, it never will.
Do you know what your most viewed posts are? It is helpful to go back and update previous posts – do not assume that people exclusively read your current. Do you know the top Countries that read your blog or what your biggest referrals are? Has your audience changed since when you first started? 
If anyone remembers my Marilyn Monroe post, you might be surprised to know that it was a disappointment – in terms of stats. Later on nonetheless, the stats dramatically increased. It was linked onto a well-known website and from then on, it has done measurably well.
Which is why you need to promote; how many people are out there who would appreciate your work but are unaware of your existence?
Out of curiosity, please let me know which topics you most prefer of mine and if there is anything you would want me to write more of, or include.
What are your best blogging tips?
Really enjoyed these tips & tricks, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading 🙂
It’s very hard not to give up. I’ve created and deleted a number of blogs over the years because no traffic. But I’m honestly trying to keep this one up and running; just need to learn and engage and write without feeling like it will be useless and unread.
I literally went months and months with hardly any views and comments. And then when I went self hosted and changed my blogging name, I again experienced a time when no one would read my work.
I have noticed that your link doesn’t work. So when I click on your name, I cannot get onto your blog. I would speak to WordPress or add your link at the end of your comments. That will be stopping people from connecting with you. And keep going. I read a statistic that 93% of blogs get deleted after 3 months.
Laura, I didn’t even notice that my link wasn’t working. I just fixed the issue now as I read this. Thank you so so much.
It happens to quite a few people. I’m not really sure why but I am glad that you managed to fix it.
Thanks for blogging this, you gave some good advice!!! 🙂 I am beginning to see it is hard work to be a blogger.
Thank you for reading! I think the best thing is to spend more time on marketing and less time on blogging.
Just put your name out there as much as possible and people will soon start to stick around. 🙂
How do I market myself???
There are various ways that I know.
1. Comment and keep up with your followers by using WordPress Reader
2. Click on Reader and go to tags. Add some popular tags like “beauty”, “fashion”, “lifestyle” etc and then look for posts on there to comment and interact with.
3. Social media. So if you have Instagram – using your bio to put a direct link to your blog posts. Following new people and engaging. (a lot of it is about engaging).
And there are things like Facebook groups for blogs – blogs in bloom is a good one.
Make sure as well on your blog page that it is easy to see your recent posts and to find the follow button.
This is how I grew my account. I hope that helps. 🙂
I have a direct link on my instagram already, I just didn’t put it on my blog, but maybe I should. You gave me some good advice!!! Thank you!!! 🙂
Again love this one, started my blog in July last year, hardest thing is the commitment to write and hope it is being read… And who will come back?
Your name is not connecting to your blog for some reason. Maybe it is me, but when I click on your name it just says your DNS address can not be found.
It takes a lot of commitment to write and to do so continually. I think it is incredible just starting up a blog! x
Thanks! Hmm.. I have no idea?! What are you accessing it through sorry? I have a boyfriend who is super tech-y so I’ll get him on it, ha!
So when I click on your name – if I was to go on my comments, see your comment and click on your name, it will not direct me to your site. This happens with a lot of bloggers and I am not sure why.
It might be worth logging out and typing in your blog link, just to see if it works. Because it might be my laptop that is having issues. x
No problem 🙂
Definitely don’t give up. Some bloggers take months or years to get to a point of what they would consider ‘success’. You have already beaten many people by even starting a blog and pursuing it!
Thank you for reading! That is a really nice thing to say about my writing. In school I used to be terrible at English, so your compliments have really made my day!
You have a great blog and I am really glad that we are following each other. x
I was actually considering deleting my blog to start a new one when I read this…longevity really is the key to blogging – it’s a journey, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Thank you for making me realize this!
I have just had a look at your blog and I honestly think it looks amazing! You have great photos and a really good layout.
I went three months and barely received any comments or any likes. I was lucky to get A comment and I had hardly any followers.
I started just spending whatever spare time I had, writing tags like fashion, beauty etc (where it says reader go down to tags) and finding bloggers where I could leave comments and hopefully become friends. I then tried to get involved in any type of guest posting or interviews etc – any blog post that allows you to get involved.
And finally I have been tracking down facebook groups where you can share your blog posts and connect with others. You should join the group Blogs in Bloom. Also, keep researching how to grow your blogging audience because I come across so many different tips.
Definitely do not quit! 🙂
Again an awesome post…and great advice too ✌✌
Thank you lovely!
This is such an encouraging post! As a new blogger, sometimes I feel down on myself but I have to remind myself that I genuinely love blogging, and that’s what keeps me going. I feel like bloggers don’t stick it out because they’re not interested in being passionate about it, in the long haul. Thank you for this encouraging post!!
There are so many sides to blogging that you never really know about until you begin. I think it takes a lot to start a blog and then much more to maintain it.
My best advice is not to look at blogs that have been going for along time or even months before yours. Try and get your name out there as much as possible and people will eventually follow.
If it helps you stay focused, than I say continue watching them. Going through my comments, people are quite mixed on whether they like to check them or not. I think whatever works for you.
I am not 100% on how it all works. But when you click stats, if you scroll down it will show you referrals and click links – which I think might be how many people click onto your site. If you go to your months stats, you can see it all monthly which gives you a better idea. xx
This is a nice post.
Indeed, most blogs quickly disappear for one reason or another. I read somewhere that more than 90% of blogs don’t last for 3 months., which is a discouraging statistics for new bloggers to know about. But, it’s important for bloggers to know about this so that they would be aware that maintaining a blog is no joke.
I agree. We have to mind our own business for before we concern ourselves about the growth rate of other blogs. While they’re good to be used as a benchmark, it doesn’t mean that we have to put almost all our attention to them.
Yeah, the wp community is one of the best online communities I have ever seen.
Those that comment something like, “please follow me, coz I followed you” can be rather annoying. A worse thing that I frequently encounter is people just leaving a link of their blogs ony comment section for no reason.
Thank you! I read that statistic about blogging too. I think people who disappear, only focus on the fun side of things. They like the idea of designing a site and sharing their thoughts, without showing much concern for the marketing and every other aspect of blogging.
I have not received one of those comments for awhile. Just leaving a link is really strange too. I would probably delete a comment like that.
And what I noticed, is that every successful blog has their own thing. Maybe they are really good at SEO or have they have a huge social-media following. But when you try to imitate a particular blog, you cannot guarantee that their strategy is the right strategy for you – if that makes sense?
I first read that statistic when I was researching about blogging. It’s quite daunting to be honest and it made me wonder if I should puraue my plan of starting a blog.
Then last March, 3 months after I started my blog, I stopped due to some personal issues. Luckily, the issues were resolved after a few months and I resumed blogging in July.
I realized back then that I had almost stopped and be included in the statistic of discontinued blogs lol.
Right, when people want to do a new thing, they mostly look at the positives, and don’t bother to look at the negatives that much. So, once they realized that they have to do lots of work, they quit.
I put them to my spam folder.
Yes, imitating others won’t do you any good in the long run. You may use them as inspirations but you should build your own blogging strategy. It’s your own blog after all.
Well you should feel really proud that you did not become another statistic and decided to keep going.
I put them in my spam folder as well. 🙂
Thank you for your input! I completely agree.
Loved this post! I see so many people giving up on blogging or posting once a month, it really takes a lot of passion and dedication to keep growing!
Thank you! It really does take a lot of passion and dedication. I know there are some successful bloggers out there only post once a month, but that is usually after years of hard work and a huge readership. If you post once a month on WordPress, you would really struggle to be remembered.
This was super helpful! I’m just starting out and I feel you on that “I wanna give up I suck at blogging” feeling. I’m trying to be more consistent and take notice of which posts do better than others. Blogging is definitely more work than it seems. (:
I cut down on my posting when I realised that I did not have enough time for marketing or promoting. What really helped me, was to type in tags and look up blogs under those tags and then leave comments. I also join facebook blogging groups and constantly look for new people who can potentially be a follower.
It is really tough though and I really really struggled for along time. Keep going! 🙂
Have you read the book Finish by Jon Acuff? It speaks to what you are saying here about why people don’t stick around or follow through with things they start. But I agree with what you say. I’ve only been blogging for a year and people follow me on instagram, but I need to watch my stats and see how many actually visit my blog. lol.
I have not read the book before but it sounds interesting. I read that Instagram is one of the hardest social-media sites to attract blog followers with, as many people go on the site and stay on it. I do like looking at my stats though to see how people are clicking onto my blog, so I know what areas to focus on.
Great work dear friend again!
I tend to focus only on writing and reading from those who I follow. I never look at my stats – my excuse is to keep my mind space clear, but I also admit that it is just keeping me in my comfort zone of not knowing. Because I do care about reaching most number of people and there are going to be more who appreciate my work. I realize that I could be putting some more understanding and effort on that. I do see my follower count from time to time, also know that a lot of follows come to gain a follow back and no purpose of interest in my work.
Could you please explain to me what you mean by – It is helpful to go back and update previous posts?
Thank you!!
I think how much you check your stats is personal. I personally like keeping up to date so I can have more understanding of what works and what doesn;t.
So this might not apply to you as you do poetry, but old posts still circle round. So for anyone who might cringe at old work still online, it is worth editing. But also for Google, popular posts which get updated can be better for SEO (search engine optimisation).
I see the value in your perspective about stats.
Thank you for the added information 🙂
This is all so true, I completely agree with the “check out my blog comments” – I’m more than happy to take a look at your blog but not if that’s the only thing you comment on my posts, showing you haven’t even bothered to read any of my work. Definitely off-putting and not the mentality of a good blogger at all in my opinion! xx
It is a really selfish and bad strategy to try and get views. It might work in the beginning – maybe a blogger does go and check, but there is only so many times that you can write it before people get bored. Hopefully these types of comments start to go away or people read this post and leave me alone with sending them lol! xx
You did an amazing job with this post girl, I really like it. I also don’t like those comments “Can you check out my latest post?”, they just feel so rude to me, because it proves that person didn’t read blog post, don’t care about blog and just wants free advertisement. xx
Thank you lovely! There used to be this one girl months back, who would go onto every blog post and write “great, can you please check out mine?” I think it is such selfish behaviour and almost entitlement, to expect everyone to care about your blog whilst you ignore everyone else’s. It is definitely rude. xx
Thank you! It is really easy to do. Sometimes you hit a milestone and think wow, then another blogger posts their milestone and it is greater than yours. But after turning my blog around and seeing improvement, even though I have along way to go before I reach my end goal, I know that anyone can change things. You never know what blogs are going to be more followed in the next 5 or potentially 10 years.
It’s so true. Since I have started blogging, so many people have left the industry. It’s sad that so many people give up so quickly. I have to say my favorite topics of yours are the ones that are a little more personal. Anything enlightening. I actually like most, if not all of your posts! xxx
Melina | http://www.ivefoundwaldo.com
Thank you. I will definitely think of more ways to be enlightening :P. Half the people I used to talk to at when I first started, have virtually all gone. I think people expect results too quickly. xxx
People should realize that you have to work hard to get any results xx
Exactly! xxx
Blogging is a lot of work, and I think 90% of people who blog don’t get the traffic they want for a long time or if ever. That can definitely be discouraging, I know I’ve felt discouraged at times. I’ve been blogging on and off for about 3 years now, have ditched my old blog, started a new one, re-vamped my new one and just now feel like I’m getting the hang of it a bit. Best advice, don’t give up and keep learning, put up quality content. Things take time and if you enjoy blogging, it’ll be worth it in the end. Good points on this post, thanks!
Great advice! I have yet to go self-hosted, so I feel that I have far more to learn and even on WordPress itself, there is always something new to take in.
I don’t think that many people get the traffic that they want, because most people compare. There are so many blogs out there now reaching 10k views a day or week etc, and people forget that it can take years to achieve that.
True indeed!
Thank you for the tips
Your welcome 🙂
Love this and really well expressed girl! Blogging is def a lot of hard work but the most important thing is not looking at the number of followers, views, etc. Just writing what interests you, loving yourself, and being yourself! If those there are accomplished, the number of followers and being a successful blogger will automatically just come to you! Even though I count the number of followers from time to time, I barely look at my stats and I just focus on writing something that I’m passionate about and can inspire with my ideas and it really works wonders for you! New bloggers just need to de stress and not worry about other bloggers and followers, etc and just write things that interests them which is the key aspect to being successful in blogging 🙂
I disagree with you regarding stats. I like looking at my blog posts and seeing how each category is doing and I also like looking at how many people are clicking onto my blog from social-media etc and which one’s – Instagram, twitter etc. But I am 100% with you on writing about what you love.
You have to be yourself completely. I think passion shows through writing. And they definitely need to focus on writing what interests them and not over analysing every other blog. x
I think my best blogging tip is to be consistent with posts!
That is a great tip. I did take some time away when I went on holiday, but I try to stay consistent. It can be annoying when you get used to reading someone’s posts daily or weekly, and then suddenly it changes. x
I don’t think I’ve been blogging enough to really get a sense of which blog style/type was most successful. And I watch the stats like a hawk lol. I love how wordpress breaks it down to countries though. That’s my favorite.
Do you have separate blogs for the styles? Ie. Lifestyle, make up etc. Or do you just have like monday-lifestyle tuesday-make up?
All this is so true! And yes, it totally does not matter how fast you are growing. I have been surprised several times to at posts that have done well, and posts that have not. It takes a lot of time and dedication, and yes I agree that if you are in this for the long haul your results will grow exponentially over the years! Best of luck!