Where are all my blogging babes at? Oh, hey there! Are you freaking out about the end of the year? Are you feeling overwhelmed with all things blogging? Are you stressed out about everything on your blogging to-do list?
If you answered a resounding “YES!” to any of those questions, you’re reading just the perfect post that you should be right now.
Bloggers, I feel you. The end of the year is a very overwhelming time for all of us. With the holidays always being such a big rush for us to trying to cram in all of our evaluations and prep for the new year, it can be absolutely draining. All of the stress on your shoulders can lead to anxiety and let’s be real, none of us need that stress or anxiety this time of year. No, thank you!
I think that many bloggers tend to focus on trying to do it all at the end of the year and I’m giving it to you straight right now — that’s not healthy. You can’t do it all and that’s okay. 🙂 When we get ourselves fixed on doing everything, it’s harder for us to actually focus on the tasks that need to get done, and furthermore, how to prioritize them correctly.
Before you read any further, do yourself a favor and take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. It’s time to clear out the overwhelm and stress from your mind.
Let’s focus in on what actually needs to happen in order for you to finish the year strong with your blog.
[bctt tweet=”When we get ourselves fixed on doing everything, it’s harder for us to actually focus on the tasks that need to get done, and furthermore, how to prioritize them correctly.” username=”SummerTelban”]
HOW TO FINISH THE YEAR STRONG WITH YOUR BLOG:
1. Don’t Stress About Getting New Content Out // As bloggers, we’re naturally thinking about new content ideas and quick turnarounds, but we all know that content creation this time of year is a tough one. It’s a busy time of year for everyone with the holidays, so don’t stress if you’re not able to push out new content on your usual schedule. The reality is, those who read your blog regularly might not be able to keep up with their blog-reading during this time of year, nevermind trying to attract new readers. It’s normal for blog traffic to dip down at the end of the year because everyone is out and about celebrating the holidays rather than spending a good amount of time online.
My advice for publishing new content on your blog this time of year is to try and keep it focused on the holidays, the end of the year, or prep for the new year. You don’t want to work on some huge blog post only for it to tank because people simply aren’t reading many blogs right now.
If you can keep to your regular post schedule, awesome! If you have to scale back on your posting frequency, do it! If you need to take a break from posting new content altogether, then do it. Do what’s best for your blog and what’s most healthy for you.
Pro Tip: If you can’t push out new content but you still want to focus on overall growth, make some new pins for Pinterest. Go through your most popular posts from the year and make some brand new pins for them.
[bctt tweet=”Before setting blog goals for 2020, go back and review the goals you had at the start of 2019! This is key for continued growth in the new year. More tips here!” username=”SummerTelban”]
2. Review Your Goals From The Beginning Of The Year // Checking in with your goals from the start of the year is key to consistently growing your blog. An end of the year evaluation is really helpful for you because you can see where your blog grew and where you still need to focus on growing your blog for next year.
For example, one of my goals for 2018 was to land a 4-figure partnership with a brand that I love and I hit that goal (more than once)! Another one of my goals was to grow my email list by a substantial amount and well… I totally didn’t hit that goal.
Some important questions to ask when reviewing goals that you achieved…
- What steps did I take to get there?
- How did I find the steps to take?
- What was the most important action that I took to achieve this goal?
- Overall, what worked? Will it work again next year?
- How can I tweak my current strategy to further my success?
Some important questions to ask when reviewing goals that you DIDN’T reach…
- What did you try that completely failed? Why did it fail?
- Why did you lose the drive to reach this goal?
- Was your goal realistic for the timeline?
- What are some ways you can strive to reach this goal next year?
PIN ME FOR LATER!
3. Analyze Your Blog & Social Media Growth // Set aside at least an hour to track your blog and social media growth over the year. Even if you didn’t hit a specific goal, you still need to track your progress because it’ll help you develop a better strategy going forward.
A common misconception in the blogging world is that growth = following count or pageviews. While both do play a role in your growth, they’re not the only 2 things you should be looking at when analyzing your blog’s growth over the year.
What you should analyze regarding blog growth…
- Your blog’s traffic
- Page views
- Unique page views
- Bounce rate
- Average session duration
- Where does your most traffic come from?
- Demographics – Are your readers actually your target audience?
- Your most popular blog posts
- Comments
- Average comments in each post
- Which type of posts get the most comments
What you should analyze regarding social media growth…
- Follower growth
- Engagement rate
- The overall presentation of your content (captions, cohesiveness, consistency)
- What type of posts do your followers best engage with?
- What type of posts do your followers least engage with?
- Posting frequency
Pro Tip: Don’t know how to find your engagement rate? Don’t worry! It’s a quick & simple equation for you! How to calculate your engagement rate…
Average Engagement Rate (%) Per Post = Total Engagement / Follower Count / Number of Posts x 100
In regards to “total engagement”, I typically just use the average number of likes & comments of the previous month’s content. It makes it easier that way, plus it’s actually more accurate since engagement is always changing.
[bctt tweet=”How To Find Your Engagement Rate” username=”SummerTelban”]
4. Have A Reader Survey // Reader surveys are something I really believe in. If you don’t know what a reader survey is, it’s basically a way to get honest responses from your readers on everything about your blog (or everything you ask them to give feedback on). They’re typically anonymous so that you can get the most accurate feedback. They may seem intimidating but they’re a MUST!
Reader surveys are a great way to make sure that you’re reaching your target audience and that you’re creating the best content possible for them.
I have a whole blog post about reader surveys – why every blogger should have them, what to include in them, and what to remember when having them. I highly recommend you check it out and make a reader survey of your own to wrap up the end of the year!
[bctt tweet=”Here’s what ACTUALLY needs to happen in order for you to finish the year strong with your blog!” username=”SummerTelban”]
Finishing Strong ≠ Doing All The Things
Finishing strong is all about choosing what best and most healthy for your blog and yourself. How are you finishing this year strong with your blog?
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