5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Tips on Blogging #citygirlgonemom #blogging #blog #tipsonbloggin

When I decided to start blogging four years ago, I knew it would be the perfect next chapter for me to embrace my creative side. I could use my photography skills to tell “our” story and create a place where one day our four children could read about our life. Fast forward to today, with red carpet and tv appearances, exclusive interviews with celebrities, and speaking engagements at conferences, it’s fair to say I drank the koolaide, and am officially “under the influence.”

With so many ways to immerse yourself in the industry, my suggestion is to pick just a few, get really good at them, and never give up. You’ll want to start though by getting the right hosting provider for your blog. This might mean you take a look at reseller hosting or just use a simple web hosting provider. When it comes to your blog you can make the decisions of what would be best.

Enroll In A Few Conferences

If you have a personality of any kind, enrolling in influencer conferences is something you need to do. I would consider myself an outgoing person who talks to everyone who passes by. Being an extrovert truly helps when networking at these conferences. The first one I attended was the Mom 2.0 Summit and this conference is what took my blog to the fast lane. The contacts I made several years ago led to contracts that are now going on their third year. Going to conferences lets the brands see who you are. For me, I created a sisterhood of So Cal Moms who are also seizing the opportunity to mom, wife and create a revenue stream around something we love. And this my friends, is the new Mom American Dream. A few conferences to consider:

It’s true that many of us in the past have pinned every recipe and coastal gorgeous home for fun. But did you know this is a great place to generate traffic to your blog? It’s still one of the largest social networking sites out there. Shockingly 90% of my traffic is from Pinterest and I only have 100,000 people going through my page each month. And yes, in the world of blogging 100,000 per month is nothing compared to my blogging besties who are gracing 5 million views per month from pinning. What I learned this year, is that Pinterest has rolled out the addition of hashtags. Be sure when you pin you are utilizing hashtags and have a rich pin in each of your articles that links to your blog.

Social & Photography

In the world of blogging and influencing, your storytelling needs to incorporate professional images. If you don’t have an SLR (single-lens reflex camera), run, don’t walk, to your nearest electronics store today! Although I love my iPhone, especially the camera features of the iPhone X, I really prefer a good old fashion professional camera. Your Instagram pictures need to be great too, if you’re not getting many likes then you could check out automatic Instagram likes. You should look at each of your images as if they are your canvas. How does the composition of the image look in a gallery on Instagram and in a story on your blog. You want to only use professional images for Pinterest too. A great app for planning your insta gallery is to is Planoly or Preview.
My tip: Treat your blog and social media channels seriously and use professional images on all platforms to attract people to your brand. And be sure when uploading your images to your blog to use a keyword for the file instead of keeping the number. It helps with SEO and gets you a better ranking. The hosting packages you choose can also affect how smooth the user experience is for people who visit your blog so make sure you choose a premium package from a service like Hostiserver if you are hoping to grow your blog bigger.

Share On Other Channels

I honestly feel one of the key ingredients to my success is writing for other sites & publications. I also like to make TV appearances. I have been on The DOCTORS TV, I have appeared on TODAY, and I am a return guest on The CW and Fox 5. Doing this certainly circulates people back to your brand. and at the very least, your social channel. I remember when I did a TV appearance I had nearly 8,000 views on my blog from that one particular platform. I also recommend writing for other outlets that align with your brand. See what’s trending and submit your articles. I have a column on TODAY with close to 260,000 readers. And this year I had the honor of being nominated for the 2018 TODAY People’s Choice Award.

5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Peoples Choice Award 2018 #citygirlgonemom #blogging #nominee #peopleschoiceaward5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Picture Perfect Motherhood #citygirlgonemom #blogging #blog #motherhood

Being REAL vs The Picture Perfect Motherhood

I am the first to admit, I love following social media moms that are savvy and kicking a** on their photo feeds, but the truth is people want REAL. I struggle with giving “real” at times when beautiful photography is part of who I am. I want to share what makes me happy and gives others inspiration. I put my heart and soul into every post. One thing I learned is the importance of balancing the image. If the photo is drop dead gorgeous try to be funny and authentic in your delivery. Being a photographer is organically who I am for over 20 years, so in order to keep it real I love to say things like “I swear it was Friday like 5 minutes ago.” Or “Make shoe contact before eye contact.” I strive to make people laugh even though I capture cute things.

5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Family Travel #citygirlgonemom #blogging #blog #familytravel

5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Happy Kid and Mom #citygirlgonemom #blogging #blog #happymom

5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Busy Kids #citygirlgonemom #blogging #blog #busykids

5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018 - Be Happy - Wear that Smile #citygirlgonemom #blogging #blog #behappy

Additional Tips To Consider This Year:

  • What makes your brand stand out? What are you doing to attract readers?
  • Are you making sure you are managing your email list? Have a goal number of subscribers this year.
  • What is your marketing strategy?
  • Ask Yourself: What are readers getting from the article you write?

In the end, I am in the business to inspire, create, & motivate with all four of my children in tow. Even though there are 8000 new blogs launching each day, there is more than enough room for all of us. I encourage blogging and if you are patient and create a solid audience you too can stream in a very healthy, generous full-time income. If you have any questions, feel free to message me and comment on this post! You can watch me on The Morning Show on the CW San Diego Here!

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18 thoughts on “5 Things You Can Do For Your Blog in 2018”

  1. I have been going to a ton of events and conferences and it’s been awesome meeting other women who are in this to win this. Hope I get to meet you at one of these events some day!

    Reply
  2. These are all such great tips, especially that changing the file name of a photo really matters! My goal this year is to get a better email marketing plan together and work on my subscriber list. I would love to attend conferences and do more networking but there usually aren’t any around me 🙁

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  3. The best tip is BE REAL! I have been blogging since 2006 that is a long time to keep blogging and the only way I could keep up with it was being real and myself. Some great tips to follow here!

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