Summertime takes a toll on many blogs. Kids are home. Activities and events ramp up. It’s too nice to stay inside. Traffic and sales can plateau causing a decrease in motivation. The excuses are many.
Whether you are looking to keep blogging through the slump or revive your site now that summer is coming to an end, here are a few fast tips to get those stats moving in the right direction.
Photo by jasonweeks
Revisit Old Posts. You likely have a few “oldie but goldie” posts in your arsenal. Take a look at your analytics to find those posts that continue to bring in traffic regardless of their age. If they are bringing in traffic on their own, you may see a nice bump in traffic if you give them some help. Share them on your social profiles. Link to them in your newsletters. If people you don’t know are sharing these old posts, there is a pretty good chance those that do follow you will enjoy them and share them too.
When You Can’t Blog, Network. Not everyone may be online right now, but those that are will be easier to connect with. Spend your downtime talking to your followers on your favorite social networks. Get out there and comment on similar blogs in your niche. Make yourself available to those looking for help when no one else is around.
Enlist Guest Bloggers. It’s usually not a good idea to hand off your blog entirely, but a guest contributor here and there can certainly relieve the posting pressure and bring in new readers. Don’t abandon your followers, but be open to periodic expert contributors.
Revise Your Posting Schedule. It didn’t take too many weeks into the summer break for me to notice an obvious change in my day-to-day traffic. Fridays during the summer months are not comparable to other times of the year around here. Rather than publishing a new post on a Friday afternoon that only a few may see, I will most likely save that post for early the next week.
Don’t Stop. Here is the thing about blogging (and business), what you do today won’t reveal its full impact until further down the road. If you choose to do nothing today, you are going to have to make up for that later. If you keep moving full speed ahead, so will your blog. Don’t waste today. It will be gone tomorrow.
Do you find it hard to blog during the summer? How do you keep your blogs going during a slump?
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Angie Nelson
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I definitely agree with the last statement you made. Once you let your dry spell last for a long time, it seems almost impossible to revisit your blog and see the potential. That is why it is great to network like you mentioned and the other tips as well so that the passion or the spark can come back!
You will be back in the saddle in no time, Katie! Welcome back.
Thanks Angie! It seems as if my motivation comes in waves, but for the sake of my sanity and my soon-to-be born son, I just GOTTA DO IT!
Very encouraging article. I’ve only been blogging for just over a year so I wasn’t sure what to expect from summer. I haven’t really had a drop in traffic – it’s actually been increasing slowly – but I was hoping to see a bigger increase at some point. I work hard and want to see some real progress! Guess I’ll hope for that in the fall. Thanks for sharing this information. Bloggers seem to be fairly close-mouthed about traffic issues so I never know if what I’m experiencing is normal or not.
Every blog is different, Patty. Even those within the same niche can vary greatly. Keep plugging away. Eventually all of those little things catch up at once.
Great tips, Angie! I’m still a younger blogger (1.5 years), but I post every day. Keeping up the pace has its challenges for sure. When life with 3 young ones (ages 7, 5, and 2) gets overwhelming, I go to a “Quick Tips Week” or a “What do you think?” week. This strategy accomplishes both goals. I focus on time with my family while my readers enjoy short posts based on my blogging schedule. Planning for those busy times or slow times keeps your blog going, your readers happy with posts, and you on-track while using time wisely. Happy blogging!
Great tips. Traffic is down this summer. I am thinking of doing a summer review post to review the best posts from summer that readers may have missed.
That’a great idea, Laura.
Love these tips! I included them in this week’s Top 10 posts. I really needed a few of them
It’s been a long summer, Linsey! Not that I mind, but my blog does occasionally.