What I Have Learned About Blog Growth

Something a lot of people online seem to be obsessed with is blog growth and how to grow their traffic and audience. For me, the growth I've always been interested in is the connections I'm building with likeminded people and creatives, and the personal growth I've found since starting up this little blog back in 2013. Of course growth in numbers and statistics is something we all check from time to time - though I did share my thoughts on being more than just your traffic a few weeks back - and I've learned a few things along the way that guide me now in how I run this blog.

It’s all about your content For me, content will always be the most important thing. Your voice, how you utilise it, the words and visuals you're putting out there - they are what define and shape your online space. Strong, engaging, and useful content will always be what connects with readers, and writing from an authentic and open place. It took me quite a while to really find my feet with this blog - maybe even over a year - but since finding my voice and developing my content around what I really want to be saying, I feel like I'm connecting with my audience in the best way possible. Focus on content every step of the way - and be okay with doing things a little differently if you want to.

There’s a difference between a readership and a following Amber wrote an awesome piece on this topic that you should read here, and it really put into words a lot of things I think about blog readership and growth. For me, it's always been about developing a readership - finding my online tribe who feel way more like friends than they do nameless faces in the crowd. A growth in physical numbers on Bloglovin or Unique Visitors may not always translate into active and engaged readers - and focusing on growing authentic relationships with the awesome people who visit your blog and support you can be way more fulfilling than obsessing over your follower count or stats.

Let it happen organically Of course, growing your following can and does translate into your readership, but this of course takes time and hard word along the way. Everyone says 'let it grow organically' but I really think it's so important to let things grow little by little and as a reaction to the awesome words you're putting out there, not by forcing it with giveaways and similar tactics. I'm so glad in the early days of this blog I had the space to really be a beginner, to learn the ropes all by myself and have the space to make mistakes and create content that I wouldn't publish in a million years these days. Grow with your blog, find your feet and your voice, and know that every new reader and opportunity that comes your way is because of your hard work, dedication, and abilities.

It’s not just all about stats I've spoken about this in much more depth here, but I think it's super important to not just define your blogs growth by stats alone. Page views and bounce rates can only tell you so much - but comments, engagement, and the positive impact your content is having on others always means way more to me. Embrace the community - whether big or small - that you've built around your blog and keep putting your best work out there, you will find the readers and audience for you along the way.

It's about what you do with it There's only so much we can do about our blogs growth - we can put our best content out there, we can engage with the online community, we can do as much SEO and self promotion as possible - but the best thing we can do is make the most out of what we do have. I don't have crazy high statistics when it comes to this blog, but that's a-okay with me as what matters to me is using this space to say something that will hopefully help and interest others. Don't be disheartened if your daily page views aren't as high as others - keep working towards that growth if you want to, but don't let that overtake the awesome opportunity you have to really do something meaningful will your blog.

This blog changed my life, as strange as that sounds. Since starting this space I've really started to find myself, and my passions, and it's taught me to believe in myself and the importance of my voice. I've grown with my blog as much as it has grown, and for any fellow bloggers out there the best advice I can give is to run your own race and enjoy your blog every step of the way.

How about you - what have you learned along the way about blog growth?

Jen