We’re running into the last quarter of 2017. It is so scary to understand, but I still feel very excited. The bad news is- we’re almost running out of time to make it the best year of our lives. Good news- we still have three months left to turn things around. If you feel like your blog didn’t grow as much as you planned in 2016, this post is for you. You can still make it happen & let me show you how!

You might also like:

• How To Prepare Your Blog For A New Season & Finally Turn It Into A Business.
• Daily Wellness Habits That Help Me Keep Growing As A Person + Business Owner.
• 5 Reasons I Took A Blogging Break.

GET TO KNOW YOUR STATS

To begin growing your blog, you first need to see where are you at the moment. Check your Google Analytics & list all of your social media numbers on a piece of paper. Create a spreadsheet for any income you’re currently making from your blog, even if that’s a couple of bucks a month. Knowing your numbers will help you look at your blog as it’s a business project. That’s exactly what we need to do in order to make a plan & start making things happen.

DEFINE YOUR OWN SUCCESS

You can challenge yourself further as you go, but for now- define your own success & stop comparing your blog to anyone else’s. For example, if you LOVE using Instagram, but it feels like the only people following you there are your family members & friends- make yourself a goal to grow your first 1k followers by the end of the year. Or if you’re not making any income from your blog at the moment, set yourself a goal to earn your first $100. Make your own goals!

Also read: Defining Your Own Success.

ANALYSE WHAT WORKS

I used to post quite a lot of food-related posts simply because everyone was doing it. To be honest with you, I don’t really enjoy food blogging and I usually finish my meal before I take a picture & I’m not even sorry. When I looked at my stats, I realised that foodie posts were not bringing me that much traffic anyway & that’s when I decided to get rid of this topic entirely. Know who you are. You have to be passionate about the content you create and if you don’t feel that spark about something- simply don’t do it. It’s OK. Look at your most popular posts & stick to those topics only. You will do so much better if you narrow your niche.

Also read: How to Find the Right Niche for Your Blog?

GROW YOUR NEWSLETTER LIST

It’s never too late or too early to start growing your newsletter list, so just do it! Whatever numbers you achieve, it will help you so much in the bigger picture. I only started building my list less than a year ago, and it already improved my blog + biz significantly. More →

IMPROVE YOUR SEO SCORE

This is THE time. Once you get into a habit of writing SEO friendly content- it will become so natural to tag your posts, use relevant keywords & define your images. If you start cleaning up your blog to improve your SEO today- I can promise you some excellent results by the end of the year. Make this your priority.

Also read: 7 Effective SEO Tips for Bloggers.

ROCK YOUR PINTEREST

Pinterest can bring so many potential fans & clients your way. Seriously, you have no idea. I started implementing some Pinterest techniques before the summer & my stats exploded. It’s not even that hard, read HOW I TURNED PINTEREST INTO MY BIGGEST SOURCE OF REFERRAL TRAFFIC.

INVEST

Just as in any other business, you need to invest into your blog in order to grow bigger. I invested in a new camera in June & reached 10k Instagram followers by August. You see the connection here? Take risks, but be smart about your investments. Think what would indeed help you to improve your blogging skills & invest into available tools, e-courses or software, it will pay off sooner than you think & your journey will be way smoother.

LOOK PROFESSIONAL

If you go to a job interview wearing a visibly dirty outfit, you probably won’t make the best possible impression. Why would anyone like to sponsor your blog if you do not come up as a professional straight away then? Take care of your blog design & overall branding, get rid of those low-quality images & improve your photography skills- you will start to receive way more offers if your potential clients & sponsors see that you’re actually taking your blog seriously. Last quarter of the year is definitely the time for taking care of all of those things you’ve been postponing for ages.

GET PUBLISHED

Make yourself a goal to be featured on bigger Instagram account or get in touch with your favourite bloggers to see if they’re looking for guest posts. This will help you spread the word about your blog & benefit your SEO score.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

It might be frustrating to see all of those people making it happen online while you feel stuck in your full-time job with no way out. Look, I came from nowhere, with no fancy equipment or great knowledge in the web or blogosphere. I worked a lot. I spent hours building my online presence, preparing new content & making connections. It pays off, trust me on this! Make yourself a cup of strong coffee & get to work!!

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Hope you enjoyed this post, folks!

A little update on the blog: I’m taking off my Weekly Round-Up posts from the blog & instead, I will be sharing your beloved finds & inspirations throughout weekly emails, so make sure to subscribe to my newsletter below: