How I Grew My Blog | 6 Month Check In

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At the beginning of the year, I set forth my plans to grow my blog. I’ve been blogging here, inconsistently, for a few years with inconsistent results. So this year I wanted to put into place a plan for growing my blog. Read about my initial plans here. Here we are, 6 months later, so I decided it was time for a check in!

First, let’s look at the plan I set out. Then what other tips and tricks I have picked up in the past 6 months. And finally, the results! So, let’s take a look at how I grew my blog.

How I Grew My Blog

Consistency

My plan was to post a new post on this blog 3 times per week. For the most part, I have accomplished this. And, I think this is what had helped me grow my blog the most. I focused mostly on evergreen content, which is content that is not seasonal. I have probably written more posts the past 6 months that the previous 3 years.

Editorial Calendar

The thing that has helped me the most come up with new content, is having an editorial calendar. I use my calendar app, and every time I get an idea for a blog post, I write it on a date on the calendar. It’s a simple way to stay organized, I can move things around, and I have everything written down in one place. I’ll be looking into different ways to keep this organized, as I feel that things can easily get lost, or missed this way. But, for now, it’s working.

Focus

I had stated before that this blog was a bit of a hodgepodge of different topics, and I would be narrowing my focus. I wanted to focus on clothes, celebrations, and culinary creations.. For the most part, I have stuck with this. But, by focusing on this, I think that made me realize what I am really passionate about, elevating the everyday. I am a big believer in documenting good hair days, celebrating life’s little moments, and making everyday life feel special. I have started a couple series, the Love Your Closet Challenge, that encourages people to dig in their closets to learn how to make new outfits out of what they already own, and the Picnic Chronicles, which showcases easy breezy picnics.

Start a Newsletter

This hasn’t been done yet. I still have the next half a year to make this happen. Part of my problem was I wasn’t sure what I wanted the newsletter to focus on. I didn’t want to simply send out the week’s blog posts. I want the newsletter to add value and highlight something you can’t get anywhere else. I haven’t quite figured out what that will be.

Learn Video and Post on Youtube

While, I technically have made a Youtube channel, and have posted videos. It isn’t on the level that I want for this space. Video is hard! I am still committed to focusing on video and learning.

Focus on Pinterest

As my content has grown, being more consistent on Pinterest has been much easier. As a result, I have seen my pageviews from Pinterest increase.

SEO

I took Dana’s SEO class, which was the most helpful blogging class I have ever taken. But, I didn’t really start implementing a lot of the things I learned. So far this year I have been making a point to focus on SEO with every new post. For the next half the year, I will be focusing on going back and optimizing old posts as well.

The Results

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself of where I wanted my pageviews to be at the end of June. It was a pretty big goal, and would mean more than doubling my page views. I was on track, but then I missed it, barely. Which, was a bummer being so close and missing it. But, I am on track to blast past that goal in July! I have another big goal for December now, that feels big and scary. But, now I feel like I have the tools to make it happen.

So, there you have it! That’s how I grew my blog over the last 6 months and the plan going forward for the next 6 months!