I can guarantee almost every blogger has encountered a season when their blog growth flatlines. Here are some practical strategies to turn things around and grow your blog!
For several months the scenario hasn’t changed… your page views are predictable, your social media numbers grow at a snail’s pace, and for every newsletter subscriber you gain, you seem to lose two.
Does this sound familiar?
What to Do When Your Blog Growth Flatlines
I can guarantee almost every blogger has encountered a season when their blog growth flatlines. Here are some practical strategies to turn things around!
Check out these tips on how to turn around a #blog that has flatlined! #blogging Click To TweetAssess your strategic plan.
If you want to grow your blog you should have a strategic plan. When in a season of slow/no growth, it’s a good idea to evaluate your strategic plan and assess your objectives.
Maybe you implemented something that isn’t working well, or perhaps you’ve strayed from your original niche.
If you don’t have a strategic plan yet, just sign up for my newsletter HERE and get access to my printable template for strategic planning.
Refresh and resurrect old content.
Sometimes there’s old content that needs an update and a push through social media channels! What I love about this strategy is it can breathe new life into old posts and can excite people about your blog all over again!
If you need step-by-step instructions to inspire you through the process of refreshing and resurrecting old posts, you can find that HERE.
Network.
You can’t grow if you don’t work on building your community! Join link parties, visit other blogs, and comment on others’ social media shares. Be clever about how you market your site. Do everything you can to make your brand STAND OUT!
Take a course.
Perhaps your blog stopped growing because you stopped learning!
Blog courses are a wonderful way to breathe life into your blog. Crystal Paine’s Blogging University Courses are amazing, affordable, and helpful whether you’re just starting out or if you’re a seasoned blogger.
Read a blogging book.
There are so many helpful blogging books out there! Find one that will help you achieve your blogging goals. Here are a few good ones to investigate:
Write a guest post.
Guest posting is a fabulous way to build readership on your blog. By guest posting, you are reaching out to someone else’s audience!
When you write your article, make sure to include backlinks to your blog so that readers can pop over to your site.
Another way to achieve this is to cross publish on other sites such as The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, For Every Mom, and many more! Susan Maccarelli from Beyond Your Blog published a list of sites to submit your writing to. In fact, she even has a list of sites that will PAY for your previously published work… how sweet is that?! Increased exposure AND money… sounds like a blogger’s dream come true!
Invite guest posters.
Why not invite someone to bring their audience to YOUR site?! If you work with someone who writes within your niche, you may gain new regular readers. Make sure that your guest posting terms highlight what your expectations are (i.e. that they share the post on their social media, that they have a lead in from their own site, etc.).
If you’re considering guest posters, it’s a good idea to have a section on your site which indicates your expectations.
Make a product.
Products are another fabulous way to give your site a nudge in the upward direction.
Write a book. Make a printable resource. Design something.
Whatever you do, make sure to include a section on all the ways people can stay in contact with you (i.e. your blog URL, social media links, etc.).
Narrow your focus.
Maybe you’ve been writing about too many interests and your audience is scattered. Perhaps you drew some people in with your recipes, some with your marriage advice, some with your parenting advice, and others with your sewing projects. Your readers may not be getting what they originally came for and as a result, you’re not seeing growth.
I never used to “get” the niche blogging thing. I used to think that it was unnecessary and uninspired. I wanted to write about whatever I liked but over the last year, I realized that people were coming for specific content and I needed to share that information as much as possible.
Find a tribe.
This is KEY to getting over the flatline hump! A close-knit tribe will help you grow exponentially! They can help share your content on social media, they encourage one another, and they can be a cornerstone to your blog flourishing.
If you don’t have a tribe to join, why not form your own? Successful tribes usually are:
- small (less than 20 participants)
- active (if you can’t commit to participating in the tribe at least once a week, then maybe it isn’t the right thing for you)
- committed to seeing one another succeed (there’s no room for envy, jealousy, or gossip here – these things will kill a tribe)
- honest and willing to tell one another their concerns or opinions
- sets goals for their sites AND the tribe
- reviews membership regularly to ensure members are still interested and involved
Join a mastermind group
A while back, my blog growth flatlined. I was struggling to break my own record of daily visitors and my income was steady but predictably low. Fortunately, Crystal Paine launched her Blogging Mastermind group and after joining, my blog began to grow again. I attribute much of my growth to Crystal’s coaching sessions and mentorship.
Try not to let your blog’s flatline get you down. Every blog at some time or another hits a quiet season. Jumpstart your blog’s heart with a few of these strategies and watch your site grow!
SHARE WITH OTHERS
What great advice and truly appreciate all the words of wisdom here to help continually grow as a blogger. So thank you so much, Jennifer and now also wishing you a wonderful weekend!! xoxo :)
I’m glad you enjoyed the advice I shared here. Hopefully it helps those who hit that blog growth flatline.
Wishing you a lovely weekend as well Janine!
Jennifer I so needed this. I’ve been considering reducing the scope of what I blog about, but I just like writing about so many topics that it’s hard for me to do. I’ve been working on sharing old content on FB and Twitter so hopefully that will help boost my numbers a bit.
Question: what tool do you use to make your printables?
Thanks for this awesome post!
I’m so glad this was timely for you Tiffany. This past four months I had a lot of tough decisions to make about the direction of The Deliberate Mom but now that I’ve transitioned and narrowed my focus, I find writing is far more enjoyable because my readers are back to being engaged – that’s such an awesome feeling.
Don’t laugh at me for this… I use word and picmonkey to design my printables. LOL – subpar, I know, but it’s all I have available to me.
The anxiety I feel checking the number of visits on my blog is now higher than checking the numbers on my bathroom scale. Your advice is so helpful and so doable. Thank you, Jennifer
Oh, now that’s anxiety! lol
I’m so glad you found this helpful Pamela. There are always ways we can give our blogs a boost. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
I’m delighted you stopped by and shared your thoughts on this. Have a great weekend!
Oh, this is great advice!! Thank you!!
I’m glad you found my tips helpful!
Those are all really great tips. This year however I don’t care much about how much people come/interact etc with my blog. I’ve found a new purpose in life and it’s called being a mom. I found that I spent so much time online networking that I very rarely spent time with the family, so this year we’re taking a break away from blogging. I will still do the occasional sponsored and personal posts but most of my time will be spent traveling and spending time with the family. Hoping to see you in Canada this summer. Have a great weekend!
Good for you friend. Yes, there should be a disclaimer on this post – saying only do what YOU need to do because we’re each on our own journeys.
I would love to see you (remember we’re in Alberta)! :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Amanda.
These are great tips, Jennifer! It’s important to network and share more than just your own content. I think of it as serving as a “news outlet” for readers by sharing others’ work.
YES! Sharing other’s content really builds relationships – plus if it’s related to your own niche, it caters to your readers even moreso!
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips Elizabeth!
I also just like writing about a lot of things! Organization, crafts, homeschooling, birthday parties…picking one is so hard! I am trying to make it easier for my readers to find just the posts they are looking for though and maybe one day I will narrow my focus further. I do get really excited about birthday parties but I only do 3 a year – not really enough of my own content to sustain my blog. And, I don’t want to have more kids to have more blog content!
At first I was concerned about narrowing my niche but I feel it’s reinspired me!
I love your party ideas. You could definitely carve out a corner of your blog for that (but yes, don’t feel the need to make more kids in order to make more content *wink*).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Amanda – I love your new site design – way to go!
The resources you’ve listed here are valuable. Thank you! I’ve liked your Facebook page. You have great posts there.☺
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips and resources Kathryn! Thanks for the Facebook follow too – I try to keep things fun over there :)
Great tips. I’m going to work on “refreshing and resurrecting old content”. Your post about that is also very informative (pinned).
I have a question for you: When you polish an old post, how do you let your readers know it has been updated besides using social media? TIA xoxo
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips.
When I refresh a post, I rarely indicate that unless I made significant changes to the post itself – like adding a lot of new content. Usually the update includes a new picture and maybe a couple links to other posts on my blog. Then I share (and schedule regular shares in the month or two that follows the update).
I hope that helps :)
Thank you so much for the great tips! I feel like I am riding a roller coaster on blog growth. It falls as quickly as it rises. Definitely will be putting these tips into practice ASAP!
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips Kelly. Rest assured… we’re all gone through the rollercoaster rides. Hopefully my suggestions help your growth.
The posts by Susan Maccarelli look like great resources. I hope to have a chance to dig into them further. Thank you for sharing!
Susan is a wealth of information and she has an awesome Facebook page full of helpful links and posts Emily. Enjoy!
I love this. And wow, it’s totally a thing, isn’t it? I used to think it was just a me thing. I definitely have flatlines and then surges. Sometimes dips too. It’s awesome to get your mojo back – through guest posts, guest posting, old content and new blog friends and tribes.
You’re right – it’s like a roller coaster ride sometimes!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience Tamara.
Thanks for these great action tips. Too often when things slow down I get discouraged and actionless. Staying positive and moving forward is the best way to move through a down time.
I always like to have some actionable items in my back pocket – that and trust that things will go the way God wants them to.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Deb.
Some excellent ideas Jennifer. Thanks for sharing these. I’ll be guest posting on a friends site, and having a friend guest post, in the next two weeks. I’m excited to test these ideas out, and see how they work :) Thanks for some great tips.
I’m delighted you found these tips helpful Jed.
Guest posting really does have a tremendous impact on your blog. I’m excited to hear how it works out for you!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on what to do when your blog growth flatlines.
Wonderful advice! Thank you for writing this!
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips Erin! I hope they help you out!
These are all wonderful tips! I need to set aside a weekend to freshen up old posts.
Focus… I probably could use more of that. ::nervous giggle::
Thank you for sharing with us at #MMBH!
XOXO
I love refreshing old posts. It’s amazing how many posts have taken off on Pinterest simply because I added a pinnable image and shared on there. I aim for one post a week.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for hosting a great party (and for stopping by)!
This is so great Jen! Thanks for all your great tips and advice. I plan on implementing as many as I can!
I’m delighted you found some useful tips here Rebekah!
This is such great advice! It’s difficult but I’m sure it can be overcome.
I’m delighted you found these tips helpful Agatha!
This is an excellent post and one that I will have to come back and read more thoroughly (especially the links). I do some of the things that you mentioned, but need to do more when I can find the time.
I’m delighted you found this helpful Lowanda! It’s a bit of work but it’s not so hard to experience growth after a season of staleness.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this.
Hi Jennifer, love your advice as always. I had to read your post as at the moment I am happy with the way my blog is growing, but there is a little voice in the back of my mind reminding me that there may come a time when it all stops,
I have been wondering about old posts and what to do with them as the way I write has changed and (I hope to think ) improved. For now I’m letting them sit as a reminder of where it all began, but when I have time I may edit and bring them back to life. I’ll be checking out your post on that.
Are the tribes you refer to the ones on Triber? I did join a long time ago, but didn’t feel like I belonged. Maybe I should check it out again.
xx
If it’s a post you think would do well on Pinterest, I encourage you to refresh it with a new pinnable image. I’ve had so many old posts take off that way!
I looked at Triber but was overwhelmed by it – if you can navigate it well then maybe take a look there. I have a couple tribes that other bloggers invited me into. You could always put a call-out on your blog saying you’re looking for a tribe or you can start one of your own!
Thanks for the tips. I’m super new to blogging (just finished month #3) so my stats are still pretty small. I am curious how you reach out to other (bigger) bloggers to offer to do a guest post. Ditto with finding sponsored posts. Thanks again!
I’m glad you enjoyed these tips!
When reaching out to other, bigger bloggers, it helps to establish a relationship first. Visit and comment on their posts and social media regularly for a couple of months. This puts you on their radar AND you get a feel for the type of content they write and like! once you’ve done this for a while, send them a friendly email with 3 or 4 one sentence blog post ideas you have and see what they say.
For sponsored posts, I encourage you to join a sponsored post network; BlogHer, Tap Influence, Parent Tested – Parent Approved, etc. You might need to be more established before you get accepted to these networks but it doesn’t hurt to check it out.
Lots of great advice! We have all been there. I really struggled with narrowing my niche – and still do a bit. It definitely makes a big difference, though.
It took me five years to narrow my niche but I’m glad I did! I’m already seeing the benefits of it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Keri!
Preach it! Niche and focus are – to me – one of the most important aspects of building an audience and getting traffic, and so many people think they can blog about everything under the sun. There’s got to be a theme of some sort – if you’re trying to connect with everyone, you end up connecting with no one.
(Visiting from the Pretty Pintastic Party – congrats on being featured!)
“If you’re trying to connect with everyone, you end up connecting with no one.” YES! Very well said. Unfortunately, it took me five years to come to that conclusion. However, I’m seeing wonderful benefits and growth now.
Thank you for the feature Kelly! I can’t tell you how much that excites me – I love the Pretty Pintastic Party – it’s awesome!
Great tips! My blog is still teeny tiny, but I’m hoping that I’ll soon be able to develop a tribe and do some guest posting. Thanks for sharing!
I’m delighted that you found these tips to be helpful Alex! Thank you for sharing your thoughts… wishing you growth and success.
Good Advice Gal!
I love your blogging tips. I think I have said that like a million times now.
Thanks for this valuable information.
One day I am going to blog about the one advice you gave me that really worked for me. Watch out for it friend! I will let you know when it is up!
How are you? Been a very long while.
Hugs and Blessings to you
I’m delighted you enjoyed this Ifeoma!
Now you have me all curious about the advice I gave that has helped you! Regardless, I delight in helping and encouraging others.
I’ve been okay. The beginning of this wind was a whirlwind – from my grandma’s death, to diving back into homeschool, to dealing with illness (my oldest was sick for two weeks). I’m just starting to feel a bit more stabilized!
Wishing you well my friend.