It was disheartening and discouraging, didn't it?
I was in that exact same spot at the beginning of my journey. I was frustrated because I was putting in effort and time into my blog but I wasn't getting the result I wanted. It seems like no one cares about what I am saying and then I go read someone else's blog, which naturally has hundreds of comments and that made me feel like I am an ant.
Many times I thought about quitting but that would never fix anything. I have taken a few long, long breaks but that's that. I came back because my momma didn't raise a quitter.
To make myself feel good about blogging, I even said to myself that it's kind of okay if nobody reads my blog. I used to keep a diary and it was something I kept under lock and key. I didn't blog it or post it on Facebook. So this should be okay, right?
To be honest, it didn't do much. It didn't fix anything. My readers were still minimal, had zero comments, and my followers were basically people I kind of knew in real life.
So I said “That's it. I am not giving up. Nothing great ever came easy. Let's start this all over again”
Here's to the ones who are tired of getting rejected by the world and feel like no one is reading their blogs. Hopefully, by practising some of these tips you will get a ton of readers that truly appreciate you.
Keep writing, do not give up
Alright, let's get real from the get-go. When it comes to the secret of blogging for the long haul, you gotta remember this golden rule: never, ever throw in the towel. I've had more meltdowns than an ice cream cone in the blazing sun, but there's this inexplicable mojo in putting words on the page that makes quitting an impossibility, ya feel me?
It's not just about being passionate, although that's a big part of it, in my book. If you're not feeling that fire in your belly, folks on the internet can sniff it out quicker than you can say "YouTube." And when you talk with some of the top-notch bloggers, one thing becomes crystal clear: they've got that unbridled enthusiasm oozing from every pixel.
It's not about the quantity
I've got this little saying I chant to myself, almost like my sacred mantra for blogging. You know, cranking out a ton of content might bring in some eyeballs and all that jazz, but it ain't the only road to success, my friend.
You never want to just toss an article out there like yesterday's leftovers. Just right before you go all-in and hit that publish button, do a quick gut check. Ask yourself stuff like, "Is this blog post gonna make my readers' day a little brighter?" or "Would I dive into this as a reader?"
Have goals other than traffic
I have been brainwashed by this one blog post I read a long time ago. It literally screamed “Screw traffic!” in my face. It doesn't really mean anything now that I am an adult and probably wiser. The stats are only there for me to look at and say something like “Ooh, today I have a lot of visitors from Sweden.”
It's satisfying to have thousands of visitors to your site but blogging is much more than getting traffic. Set goals and once you have one or two, it will help you focus on what you should be focusing and it's often not traffic.
Unless blogging is your source of income, then by all means. For the rest of us, we should rethink why we're blogging in the first place. Have goals. For me, I just want to have fun with blogging and if I can make money out of it, that's a bonus.
Promote your content
This is pretty simple. As a blogger, you can't just sit around and expect people to magically find your blog. Once you start promoting properly you will start to see more and more people reading your blog.
At the beginning of my blogging journey, rarely did I actually promote my content on my social media channels. People don't even know I am pretty active here. I don't know why I was so embarrassed. That's just sad.
Fast forward to a few years, I started to promote little by little on Twitter and Instagram. The key is to only focus on one or two social media platforms or you will eventually burn out. It's actually helping a lot with my engagement rate. I will never not promote my content now. So guys, be proud of your content and promote the hell out of it.
“Go out” and “meet” people
This one deserves to be under its own point rather than to be under the previous one because it's technically not the same. Let me make it simple for you. It was called “blogwalking” back in the day. I don't know if it's still a thing, but it is to me.
People normally do this by commenting on other blogs that kind of have the same audience as you. I know this sounds so simple but most people don't do simple things like this to build connection and grow their blogs nowadays.
I make it a habit to always comment on a certain number of blogs every week. It's a really nice feeling to have a little conversation with people online in my niche and to be honest, it does help my blog to receive tons of visitors from all over the world and get valuable feedback and comments too. You have got to get out there to be known. Believe in the power of networking.
Success doesn't really happen overnight
You need to remember this. This is not TikTok where you can gain fame overnight. Most people have been working for years before getting any kind of success.
Take it from me, I am nowhere near succeeding but I have been blogging for over 10 years and there are definitely some major blogging goals I have checked off. Everyone's blogging journey is different and mine took much, much longer than most bloggers. Don't ever compare yourself to other bloggers that you see.