No matter how fabulous your brand strategy is, blog traffic during summer is low. With these 3 suggestions, your efforts will not be wasted, though.
When it comes to blogging, depending on your niche, you will experience periods of high traffic as well low.
In my case, as I write about fitness and share tips on how to develop a healthy lifestyle, my peak is in the beginning of the year. Then, everyone is busy with resolutions, looking for ways to get and stay in shape.
By December though, with the holiday rush, presents, events and all the rest, Debbie in Shape does not get that much love. Those who write about parenting, DIY and do lots of product reviews experience the opposite.
Use summer's low traffic to work on your #blog. #planning Click To TweetYet during summer, mainly in July and August, you won’t find a single blogger excited about their traffic.
It might be that because of a viral post or some extra event they get a boost. In general, though, these are pretty much dead months for everyone.
If you are looking for guest posting, it might be a great time to contact other bloggers.
Many are going on vacation and would love to keep their site alive with content from other writers.
In fact, the search starts in May already. So if you missed offers from your favorite blog(s), make sure you add it on agenda for next year. Plan in advance to make sure you do not miss it again.
While it can be frustrating if you are working to increase your traffic and readers’ engagement, there is no reason why you should spend your time just hitting the refresh button endless times.
Why not using the summer blog traffic to work on other aspects of your site?
Read also these posts about blogging:
- 3 Tips on How to Write a Blog from a Compelling Outline
- 5 Hacks To Get The Most Out Of Social Media Sites Like Instagram
- How To Use Social Media Sites to Boost Your Internet Presence
Back to basics
Maybe you have your blog for just a couple of months. Maybe you have been around for quite some time. Whichever your case is, it never hurts to go back to the basics and have a look at your website and content.
Things change so fast that chances are you have a different approach today than the one you had last month.
Take some time to study your stats:
- What posts have generated most traffic in the past 3 or 6 months?
- From where does most of this traffic come?
If Google Analytics is not your friend, start giving it more attention.
It’s a relationship that will pay off at the end.
Should you need some step-by-step tips, please visit Kathleen’s blog as she has a nice series on the subject.
Check your analytics and make decisions based on your stats. #blogging Click To TweetAction plan
Whether you have deciphered your analytics or not, you can also set up a basic action plan for other things during the low traffic months of summer.
Remember that to be successful, your blog needs to be in line with your Brand.
It does not mean that you must be A or B. It is only a matter of deciding what your Voice is and sticking to it.
Your “about” page
My number one place to start is the “about” page:
- When was the last time you reviewed yours?
- Have you ever updated it at all?
- Did anything happen recently you would like to add to it?
- Did the information change?
Revise your pictures, text, layout, everything!
People come to your blog because of your great content, but most of the time, they stay because of you and your history.
Even if you do not want to go (much) personal, make sure you are introducing yourself accordingly.
Your content
No matter how your editorial calendar looks like, you may need to slow down during summer.
It can be because the kids are at home, you have vacation, or you simply want to enjoy the great outdoors more. On warm sunny days, spending hours behind your computer writing posts is not exactly in your plans.
One option is reinventing your old content. Again, it makes no difference if you have been writing for weeks or years.
There are always things you can improve.
And if you want to go for a totally different approach, check this post on CoSchedule blog.
Your presence
When you look at your stats and you feel hopeless, remember that you are not alone.
With that said, instead of dwelling in loneliness and despair, why not stopping by other bloggers?
They are in the same situation as you. Whether they are having 10 or 1,000 visitors per day, it is surely not their usual numbers.
You can take extra time to:
- Answer to all comments.
- Return visits.
- Visit more blogs.
- Join link parties and blog hops.
- Show other bloggers some love.
Do not be afraid of being social. Your blog’s growth depends on such interactions, also during summer.
Take the time to work on your about page, content and presence. #blogging Click To TweetWhat else?
These are my top 3 suggestions to inspire you get started. Work on:
I am sure you’ll come up with other ideas yourself as you start working creatively on your content. All it takes is a trigger.
Let the sunshine in and be extra #productive during summer. #blogging Click To Tweet
Do you do extra work during the months of low summer blog traffic?
Read also these posts about planning:
- Why You Need To Have a System To Be Successful
- How To Plan Your Life Without Losing Your Soul
- How To Set Priorities Holistically In 5 Easy Steps
Please check the list of link parties I join here.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. However, when you order through my link, it helps me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you, in advance for your support!