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Lifestyle blogging on the outset may seem like an oversaturated niche. After all, lifestyle blogs cover a bit of everything so it’s the niche a lot of people put themselves in. However it is still completely possible to grow a successful lifestyle blog. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been around a while, this is what you need to know about building and growing a successful lifestyle blog.
I like to think I’m living proof that it’s never too late to grow your blog. For around 7 years I was a hobby blogger and completely content with that. It was only around 2018 that I started to make a little bit of extra money from blogging. Then last year I had my best blogging year ever. Not only did I make the most money blogging then I’d ever done but I also grew my yearly blog views by 1000%. So you see, even an oldie in the blogging world can grow a successful lifestyle blog! Having been a lifestyle blogger for 10 whole years now I think I’ve picked up some solid tips and tricks for what doesn’t work when it comes to growing you blog so if you’re looking to take your blog to the next level, here’s what you need to know.
Invest in your blog
The biggest game changer for me was investing both time and money into my blog. Now seen as blogging isn’t my full time job both of these things can be tricky. Time wise you’ve just got to accept that if you want to grow then you have to dedicate your spare time to working on your blog. Whether it’s content planning and creation, pitching to brands to secure paid work or working on your socials, there’s a lot that goes into blogging and it’s definitely time consuming. When it comes to investing money into your blog I don’t think you have to spend hundreds in order to have a successful blog. Start out with the basics and invest in more resources as you make more money. If you’re really wanting to grow your blog then I’d highly recommend having a self hosted blog. Making the switch to self hosted is the best thing I’ve ever done. I also recommend learning from others who have a solid strategy in place. A good SEO guide will help you bring in those search engine views.
Interact and be sociable
Blogging can be ruthless and there’s no denying there’s people out there are in it for their own gain, they’ll expect interaction and views and give nothing back. The key to being a good influencer or blogger is to build a community of people who trust you, want to interact with you and will engage with your content. But it works both ways. Comment on peoples content, chat on social media. Be open, honest, natural and friendly and you’ll find that you’ll attract a wonderful community of like-minded people. Building that audience is key to getting your content seen as the more people in engage the more people will see your work. Just remember to do the same for others though. Just be sincere in your actions, it’s blatantly obvious when you haven’t taken the time to read a blog post or caption on Instagram and a generic comment like “thanks for sharing” or “loved this” just comes across as false.
Have multiple ways of getting views
This is a biggy and one that people often ignore. They latch on to something that suddenly starts bringing in a lot of views then forget about everything else. Do. Not. Do. This.
A big one for lifestyle bloggers is Pinterest. At it’s best Pinterest can bring in thousands of views to your blog a month, heck at its very best it can bring in thousands of views a day! But at it’s worst it can mark your account as spam and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get out of that place once your there. Those thousands of views drop of to next to nothing and suddenly everything you relied on for promoting your blog is gone. Pinterest’s algorithm is constantly changing these days and it’s hard to keep up.
Instead of putting all your eggs in one basket you need to diversify how you’re getting your blog seen. Learning the ins and outs of SEO is way better than any social media platform will ever be. Instagram can delete your account without warning, Pinterest can mark you as spam, Twitter and Facebook can be hacked but people will always use search engines to find answers and you want to make sure your content is as close to the top of the first page of Google as possible. So yes by all means use social media but don’t rely on it to bring in those blog views.
What tips do you have for growing a lifestyle blog? Share them in the comments!
Hi Lauren.
Thanks for sharing. Loved this. 🙂
Seriously though, this is a really helpful post . It’s always valuable to get feedback from people who actually have the experience to back-up what they are saying. I think your point regarding the need to learn SEO is particularly important – social media is fickle (and so are many of its users!), its wise to have some good old-fashioned SEO in place too.
Thank you! I’m really glad you thought it was helpful. I think that is a good point though. I lot of people fire out blogging advice when they’ve only had a blog for 6 months. Us oldies who have been doing it years are in a better position to know what we’re talking about though!
Pinterest both loves me occasionally and hates me all at once, but I’ve deffo been trying to be more social even if I’m anxious about it. Lovely blog post <3
I’ve pretty much given up on Pinterest these days. It’s so time consuming and I got very little back from it.
I don’t think people realise how much you need to invest in a blog, even as a hobby blogger! Having your own domain and design makes such a difference.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Oh definitely! I’ve been blogging for 10 years now and so much has changed since I started out. I’d feel so overwhelmed if I was just starting a blog now!
This was so helpful! I’ve been a hobby blogger for roughly seven years too and would love to grow my blog more. I’m struggling to blog consistently lately though – I need a day to brainstorm some ideas!
Saph x
http://www.simplysaph.co.uk
You and me both! Blogging alongside a full time job and actually having a life has been a real struggle this year. I need to get better organised!
My blog is currently 6 months and I love your tips! Of course, it’s still one of my goals to get views but I’m getting there. I agree, a lifestyle niche is super saturated but I think if you set yourself apart from others then you will surely succeed. Thank you for sharing, you’ve helped me!
http://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com
I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Some great advice Lauren, I have a lifestyle blog and there’s many fun and interesting ways to connect with your audience! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I definitely agree with you!
I agree with you. We can not count on Pinterest or Instagram for stability. Seo and having interactions with our audience is the best way for long term.
They certainly are!
Thank you for sharing these tips! I completely agree with what you said about not putting all your eggs in one basket. It’s good to work with multiple social media platforms to grow your blog.
It really is! They’re always changing and in reality anyone of them could disappear instantly. I’d never advise relying on one source of traffic.
I couldn’t agree more with you, I actually stopped using Pinterest for my main blog because it’s down so well with social and organic traffic. You really shouldn’t put your eggs in one basket x
I haven’t used Pinterest since the start of the year really. I need to step up my game when it comes to organic traffic on this blog however my wedding blog does really well with organic traffic and I don’t used Pinterest for that either!
Amazing post and so helpful for newer bloggers! I really need to utilise my Pinterest more I think it will make such a massive difference to my blog, thank you!
Pinterest can be good but I definitely wouldn’t rely on the platform anymore, there’s a lot of problems with it unfortunately. Your best option is a good SEO plan!
I really thinking having a good SEO plan and a different way of getting views is a great tip. Like you said with Pinterest, you never know when something will change.
Years ago Twitter was my bigger driver of traffic but now people don’t use it the same way so it’s no longer my main source!
Corinne x
That’s the thing, social media and platforms like Pinterest are always changing. Whether that’s driven by algorithm changes or users interacting different. But it’s never a guaranteed source of traffic. A good SEO plan on the other hand can be a complete game changer.
These are all great tips. Engaging with other bloggers is a must. I enjoy reading others’ content and commenting on it. Other bloggers end up becoming your friends and great supporters.
They definitely do in some cases!
such great tips here! Interacting is so important, I think alot of people forget that it really is a two way street.
Olivia | http://www.olivialucieblake.com
Oh yes definitely. Expecting things from others and not giving back will only work for so long. If you want to build an audience that return to your blog then you need to give a little back too!
Great post – having different traffic streams has always been a big one for me. I’ve fallen out of love with Pinterest recently, it just became overwhelming and the results were poor!
Rosie
I haven’t used Pinterest since the start of the year. I really need to up my game with my SEO on this blog but my wedding blog gets some amazing views from search engines so I definitely think SEO is going to be my focus from now on.
Interesting post… My blog getting views from search engines is next to nothing. So I use social media (Pinterest) as my major source of blog views. I totally get to not rely on social media for blog views so yeah I think I might have to invest in SEO. Thanks for sharing
I used to spend so much time on Pinterest and in my opinion it’s just not worth it right now. The algorithm is forever changing and when anything goes wrong with your account you just get the same email from them that they send to everyone. I don’t think they have any great desire to help people grow anymore as they don’t want people to click off their site and onto external links such as blogs. SEO on the other hand can be amazing for blogs once you’ve cracked keyword research.
I’ve been blogging for quite a bit I think since 2016? Anyway, Pinterest is a great source of getting traffic views same goes for Twitter using hashtags and of course talking to other bloggers as you mentioned in this post.
Michelle| http://www.brokebutflawless.com
There’s no denying social media and Pinterest can be great for views but they can all disappear in an instant and with Pinterest’s ever changing algorithm I’d definitely advice bloggers to invest their time in learning SEO rather than making pins these days.
Brilliant advice, particularly that last point! I’ve seen so many people pin all their hopes on Pinterest when I do think that trying to get to grips with SEO is the best way! I’m really rubbish about putting enough investment into my blog so I’m using this as motivation to get myself together!
Oh yes definitely. I think there’s so many problems with Pinterest these days that you’re much better off investing your time learning about SEO.