Blog Tips: How to Bring Growth to Your Blog - Part I
Hello everyone! Let me start today's article by saying that I don't actually know everything there is to know on this topic. That probably sounds funny considering that I'm about to write an article on the subject, right? I guess my point is that growing my own blog is something that I feel I am constantly working at, reevaluating and revising as needed. There is no perfect science to follow (as far as I'm aware)..but there are definite things you can do to maximize your blogs' growth potential and so I'll touch on those here today. Ready to dive in?
- CUSTOM DOMAIN NAME / URL
Firstly, if you don't already own/use a custom domain name/URL drop everything. Do not pass Go...do not collect $200 dollars until you have secured one. This is something that I wish I'd known in the very beginning. By the time I caught on to the importance of having my own domain name a web squatter had already grabbed the URL I wanted and it took well over a year and a lot of stress for me to finally obtain it. Why is a custom domain so important?
- For one thing it is much easier for your visitors to remember...increasing the likelihood that they will be able to find you again.
- It looks a lot cleaner and more more professional than a lengthy automated blog URL.
- It is better for search engine/ranking purposes.
These three things ultimately add up to the strengthening of your blog and your 'brand' identity which in turn will bring growth to your blog. Good right?!
There are many hosts for custom domain names, but the one I like the most and have found to be the most reliable is Nettica. It can be intimidating to set up a custom domain (I find it to be very challenging even though I've done it several times), but most blog hosts give detailed instructions for you to follow along with. If you're still stuck, try asking a friend or someone you trust online for their assistance. And if all else fails you may want to look into hiring a web designer to edit this portion of your site. For something so simple you should not have to spend much money at all.
A little side note: Please don't ever, ever, ever use an underscore character when naming your site. When I first began blogging (knowing nothing about the field at all) I used one in my URL and ended up working on a blog for 1.5 years before realizing that that one "illegal" character alone was making it unreadable by countless servers around the world. In order to fix the problem I literally had to scrap my entire blog and start over again. So please learn from my mistake and keep clear of the pesky underscore.
- ADOPT A REGULAR POSTING SCHEDULE
One thing I learned early on is that the more regular your posting schedule is the happier and more loyal your readers will be. I think it is important to be honest with yourself about the time you want and are able to invest in your blog. This amount of time may change in the future as your blog evolves, but it's a good idea to take a look at what you can manage right now. You don't need to conquer the blog world overnight. Blogger burnout is a very real thing and nobody wants to see it happen to you. One thing I personally have to remind myself of regularly is that I cannot possibly post every amazing thing I see. Yes, there will be many times when another blogger will get to a story before I do, someone who will write more content than I can, etc. But at the end of the day I know that I put myself into my blog...and I can be okay with that.
- OFFER RELIABLE CONTENT
Again this is something that you will likely come into over time, but the general idea is to consistently deliver content that is within a general theme. That theme can be broad or very fine-tuned...but whatever it is, make it you. There is nothing quite so off-putting as frequenting a blog that you count on to deliver a certain type of inspiring content...clicking over one day and discovering that they've posted about something completely off-theme such as heating ducts or sports-cars. Through a blog you build relationships and trust with your readers, and this trust is formed in large part by demonstrating that day after day you will be a reliable source for content they love.
I'll be talking in depth about Finding Your Voice / Niche in an upcoming post, so stay tuned for that.
- BE ORIGINAL - BE YOU
There is a percentage of bloggers with the method of simply rehashing what has already been blogged by other bloggers. Yes, you can build a somewhat successful blog by doing it this way, but I personally find it to be a rather tacky practice (especially when no credit is given to the original source). It is true that the online world is not a vacuum. We will come across content from other bloggers that we just have to share (with credit of course), will receive the same press releases from companies and artists and read the same publications as one another. It's impossible to avoid. What I'm trying to get at here has more to do with sharing your passion for a subject matter than anything else. Find that thing or things that makes you tick and let the blog world know. Shout it from the rooftops, parade it in the streets. Passion is contagious and a steady following of loyal readers is sure to follow.
- LINK LOVE
One of the oldest "tricks" in the book for growing your blog is to share the blog link love. It may seem counterintuitive to direct readers to other blogs, but I believe that doing so does a few things:
- Linking to other blogs that you enjoy on a personal level aligns your site with theirs in a subtle but clear way.
- Many times you will receive a link back to your site from someone you've linked to. Link love at its best.
- You are giving your readers options and showing that you are a "team player" in blogland.
For immediate results I also highly recommend the free service LinkWithin (you can see it at the bottom of each post here on my blog). I had used the service in the past but forgot to bring it over with me when I relocated to Squarespace. Since adding it just last week I've seen a huge spike in extra page views (10,700 in the past week to be more precise).
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Next week for Part 2 on this topic I will be talking about the use of social networking sites, targeted growth strategies (such as giveaways), and more. I hope to see you then. xo Ez
As always you can print this article using the 'print friendly' button found at the bottom of this post. And please feel free to chime in and share any advice, thoughts or questions you may have regarding this topic in the comment section below!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 
Reader Comments (27)
Okay! I am most excited about this post so far because I feel like it's in line with where I currently am in my blogging! Oddly, I actually purchased my domain name earlier today! For now I have it forwarding to my Etsy shop. I can't tell you how much I look forward to these posts! Thanks again for doing this!
Fantastic post Ez. I always love to hear what big time bloggers like yourself have to say about growing their own blogs. I suppose I get frustrated because I feel like I do all of those things and yet I still can't seem to grow my readership :(. Oh well sometimes I just have to remind myself that I blog for me and not for the world even if I want the world to see it :). Thanks again for this great post I can't wait to see part 2.
Oh congrats Niko! I'm so excited for you and your shiny new URL!
I completely understand where you are coming from Emily. Thanks for being honest enough to share your frustrations here. I think that for me it is best to remember that even the biggest bloggers started out with no readers at all. The other thing that I always try to remind myself of is that those numbers we see (no matter how low) are real people. What an awesome thing to know that they chose for you to be a part of their day. : )
xo Ez
thanks for the tips! I've been thinking a lot about his lately, how to move forward with my blog. I will look into a url name asap!
Thanks for even more wonderful blogging info, Ez. I'd always wondered how bloggers managed to get the "You might also like" feature at the bottom of their posts but never thought to ask even though I'm definitely one to click on the suggestions, especially the first or second time I visit a blog.
Ez, so useful tips and advice you just shared, understandable and oh, so known for me! And now when thinking about your advice, I can definitely say that I DO every single thing you mentioned here: SEO-friendly URL, I'm posting every day, 4-5 times per day, I make up my content even though I'm using images from another inspiring blogs and sites and I always ALWAYS provide back links! BUT, I guess one more thing is involved here - TIME and what I learned is that building a loyal readership requires much more time than you think of when starting all this blogging adventure! I so look forward to read your second part! Thank you so much for sharing everything with us, letting us learn from your mistakes! xoxo
wow, very cool! just started blogging as a hobby and met a lot of wonderful people from all around the world! sometimes it can be a bit of intimidating i feel! staying on top of things and really going with the flow and not taking it too seriously or less serious! well, i am still learning by doing... and difficult with having a full-time day job too!
thanks for the tips!
would love to set up a domain name but still a beginner and don't really feel confident enough i guess! just posting some events that i attend or images i love etc.. Mm..will see!
haven't posted any photography of mine yet! cause had bad experience with copyright and credit, etc..
lovely greets!
http://some-kind-of-style.blogspot.com/
This is such a great and useful post! Thank you, Ez, you are awesome.
I would love to hear your thoughts on finding the right frequency and rhythm with regards to scheduling posts. How often is too often? Can a post be too short or too long? Your schedule is great- I think it's just enough to satisfy us without overwhelming. I'd live to hear how you arrived at your particular schedule/frequency of posting.
Thanks again for doing this series!!
This was such a great post, Ez! I've already implemented the Link Within tip.
Lots of useful tips, I've added Link Within to my blog {www.thewallspankblog.blogspot.com}.
I just have a question about blog linking, I've approached numerous blogs (very politely) and asked if they would consider a link exchange, and have received no response at all. Is there a trick to this?
thanks, Sarah
Thanks Ez, and you are right no matter how many readers I have, I have readers and I have made amazing friends through blogging that always support and push me to try new things. I am so thankful for that. I have to agree with Ludmilla too, blogging takes time and I find that I don't always have the time to network like I need to in order to get readers because my work blocks a lot of sites and I don't have the time. Then when I come home I have no desire to look at a computer. I am trying to change this though and spend time on the weekends. I enjoy meeting new bloggers and I want them to meet me and my blog too :) Thanks again for this post Ez it made me think :)
I would like to see a post on posting pictures - Creative Commons licenses, pictures from major retail sites, flickr, etc.
Hi Ez
thank you for the linkedwithin tip have just added it to my blog - I agree with you about consistancy I try to post every day but I also think that readers understand that you need time away sometimes I think its good to admitt that you are just like everyone else and that life gets busy.
Helen
Great post I think you need to add that you need to post well written good quality content, if your targeting a particular keyword you need to say it at least three times in your article and you should never ever scrape other peoples content because google will mark you donw for this sort of activity!
A friend directed me to this post. It's so very helpful! I have already taken one piece of advice and linked within... with immediate results! I have bought my own domain name but I'm a little bit nervous about switching over. I'm not sure exactly how it works and I'm afraid I'll lose some readers. Maybe you have some insight for me? I'm looking forward to future posts!
Another great article. I'm pretty much brand spanking new in the world of blogging and your advice makes a great map to navigate with. I'll second The Southern Institute's request for more info regarding switching over to your own domain name. I'm fairly computer savy but when I started looking into it my brain just about imploded.
Cheyanne
Wow, thanks so much, Ez, for the LinkWithin tip. I've already added it to my blog.
this is great! Thanks for the input!
The Design Dish
wonderful post. Thanks!
I didn't think about the positive side of Linkwitin... added it :)
I love these posts! I'm trying to start a blog (more for myself than anything) and these posts have been super helpful. I love your creativity and the way you write! Thanks for always having something refreshing for me to read each day! :)
Hi Ez,
I'm a bit confused - I would love to have my blog domain name without the .blogspot on the end, and just keep it simple as aimeeclaire.com. If I register a domain name, do i have to create a totally new website or can it just link to my blogspot?
Thanks for all the helpful tips!
aimee
just added linkwithin to my blog! didn't know it was that easy!! thanks
Hi Ez,
Thanks for giving me a little push! I've had my own domain name for a while but have been reluctant to start moving things around... always seemed too complicated! I've made a start and am working on redirecting and updating all my links - guess I'll be spending the weekend ironing out kinks! Thanks again :)
Ez,
First of all, I am SO EXCITED you started this series!! I wasn't sure who to turn to for blogging advice and when I saw this I about jumped out of my seat!
Also, You confirmed a lot of my insecurities...whether or not to buy a domain name, linkwithin, etc.
Looking forward to more posts! WE appreciate your time in this!
Anna