Simple Steps to Raise Your Blog Page Views
In 2015, I was in my third year of blogging at Surviving Toddlerhood, and I decided to make the switch to a self-hosted wordpress.org site, rather than a wordpress.com site. I wanted to see if I could take my little hobby/family blog into something that could help bring in a little bit of money for my family. I knew that to do that I needed to bring up my site views.
“But how? Where should I start? How do I do it?” These questions ran through my mind on an endless loop. How does one take a baby blog and help it to grow?
I decided to start with one of my favorite forms of social media, and the one that was already bringing me in the most views: Pinterest. I didn’t have the money to spend on a class, but I found a great class from Summer Tannehauser at Lady Boss League that is free, and helped me to understand a lot about how to better use Pinterest to gain views on my site.
I started putting Summer’s tips to work, and playing with some of my own ideas, and my views started going up. Today I am going to share with you some of the strategies that I used, and am still using, to increase page views on my site, and grow this blog.
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Pinterest
Pinterest Profile
The first thing that I did with my Pinterest profile was to remove the cutesy description on who I was and to plug in all the keywords that I could get to fit.
Creating Pins for My Audience
I started thinking about pins that I like to pin. When I scroll Pinterest, what catches my eye? What makes me want to pin something? Do I always scroll through the feed, or do I search for specific things?
Thinking about how I use Pinterest gave me insights into my audience and how they use Pinterest. My target audience is mommas of littles, who are searching for Christian encouragement- in both their faith and motherhood, those who want allergen free/low carb/Trim Healthy Mama recipes, and those who are interested in moving towards a more natural and minimalistic lifestyle.
I started creating pins with those things in mind. What would my audience want to see as she scrolled through the Pinterest feed? What would catch her eye? What would she be searching for in the search bar?
Growing My Audience
I started following pinners that had the same niche, or were similar in some areas, so that I could see what kind of pins they were producing. How they used fonts, colors, and images.
Pinterest is the one social media platform where is doesn’t really matter how many followers you have, if you have followers that love your content and are repinning it, then your pins will see more people and you will start seeing your audience grow.
By using keywords is my profile, in my pin descriptions, and in my board descriptions I gained many followers pretty quickly. In 6 weeks I gained almost 500 followers, just from changing up my descriptions and following others in my niche.
Use these simple steps to grow your blog views. They could grow by 500%!! Click To Tweet-
Tailwind: Scheduling + Tribes
The second thing that I started doing was using Tailwind to schedule my pins. Recently I have had several people ask why I use Tailwind instead of Board Booster. I use Tailwind because it is the only Pinterest approved scheduler. I haven’t tried Board Booster, and I have nothing against it, I may actually try to use it later on, but for now I am content with Tailwind.
Perks of using Tailwind:
- No pin limit. You can schedule as many pins as you want per month.
- You can save things directly from the internet or from Pinterest.
- You can also use Tailwind to schedule Instagram
- Tailwind has Tribes
If you are interested in trying a free month of Tailwind, here is my referral link for you. 🙂
From all that I have heard in the pinning groups that I am in, Pinterest doesn’t really like group boards anymore. They don’t really like how bloggers are using them, they would rather see families get together to save ideas for their next reunion, or the surprise party for grandma, rather than bloggers using them to promote their content.
Tailwind has this awesome feature called Tribes that are very similar to group boards, and the best part is: anyone can use Tribes, even if you aren’t signed up for Tailwind.
I schedule some of my own pins every day, and if it is a round of PIN35 I’ll schedule those pins as well, then I can fill up the rest of my day with pins from the Tribes that I am in. I get great content and it only takes a few minutes to do every couple of weeks.
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Creating GREAT Content + Promotion
The third thing that I did to up my page views by 500% was to start making sure that almost every post that I hit publish on was a GREAT post. The one thing that I have been slow to learn in this blogging for business world, is that people don’t really want to read about my family’s picnic on the beach unless they know me. A post full of pictures of our trip to the zoo might interest a few people but no one is going to want to share that.
I started creating things that my audience was looking for. I ran a poll and got feedback, I asked questions and tried to learn more about my followers. What did they want? How could I help them?
I gave myself more time to create this content, and once I created the content I gave myself more time to promote it. Now instead of publishing three okay posts per week, I publish one GREAT post, three times per month. Then I promote it everywhere I can.
These are the things that I did to increase my blog views by 500% in 2016, I can’t wait to see how much more I can increase my blog views by using these strategies. Already in 2017 I have had my most successful month ever, with views topping my highest month by another 20%.
Don’t forget to save these tips on Pinterest so that you can come back to them later! I want you to raise your blog page views too! I would love to hear how these tips help you grow your blog!!
Products I LOVE:
Powersheets are amazing for helping me to organize my goals and keep track of them throughout the month. They walk you through the process of breaking goals into smaller bites and then actually accomplishing them. Through this link you’ll also find books that will encourage you on your small business/blogging journey as Lara shares her story of how she started her company and what she has been learning in the process.
And over at Brilliant Business Moms you will find my most favorite planner, along with classes that will help you learn how to use social media to grow your blog and small business.
You May Also Like:
My 2018 Reading List {Includes Small Business Books}
I’m focusing on growing my Pinterest reach right now, so this was super helpful! I’ll probably be asking you some questions about Pinterest. 🙂
Feel free to ask away, Laura!! I <3 Pinterest!!
I know I’m reading a valuable post when I pause reading to go do what it says. 🙂 Updated my Pinterest profile while reading your tips. Also signed up for more info on tribes. I’ve been hearing about them, but haven’t dug in to understand them completely. Thanks!
That’s awesome to hear, Susan!! You would probably love Summer’s class, it’s free!! I’ll be sending you some info on tribes soon!
These are all such great tips! Congratulations on your success! I’ve been using Pinterest more purposely and have seen a huge increase too. Here’s to continued success! 🙂 PS, yay for MI bloggers!
Thanks, Danielle! Pinterest seems to be the easiest SM platform for me. I do hope to grow a little on Facebook this year though. Maybe next year I can write a FB tips post. 🙂
Really helpful stuff! I just took a webinar with Summer this week and am excited about starting to implement what I’ve learned. It’s encouraging to hear how much your readership has grown, good for you!
Summer’s class is really sooo helpful! I’m actually going to be starting another Pinterest account soon for my doula business and I’m excited to see how her tips work on a new account.
All wonderful and great ideas on how to increase traffic. Will put these to good use.
I’m thinking about switching over to Tailwind because I’m actually starting to like it. But the only reason why Board Booster wins right now is because I don’t have to go in a manually schedule anything.
I have heard that alot, Nikki. I just save posts all month that I want to schedule and then it only takes about 15-20 minutes to schedule them after that. I think there is just a bit of a learning curve.
Thank you for this well written post. I have not yet launched my blog but I am very interested in pinterest. This post helped me understand it a little bit more, especially when you started talking about joining tribes. Thanks!
You’re welcome!! Where is your new blog going to be? I would love to come check it out!
My new blog is http://www.harnessinghappy.com. I’m officially launching it March1st but if you click the link you can view it now.
I love your header image!! Hope you are doing well, Jessica!
I’ve been wanting to step up my Blogging game and especially my Pinterest game! Thanks so much for these tips!
You’re welcome, Hanna! I hope that your can grow your blog traffic using these simple tips!
Cool, and I totally agree – Pinterest has been rocking my socks for months now as my #1 referrer. However, now I’m focused on making sure I send pinterest traffic to pages that promote my list so my traffic is “safe” from algo changes. Those are scary! I signed up for your thing above.
Cool!! Thanks for signing up! I’ll be sending out an email soon!!
I had no idea about the key works in your profile! I need to rework mine 🙂
Neither did I! I highly recommend Summer’s free course, she shares lots of other great tips!
GREAT tips!! Love the tips on Pinterest. I’m a food blogger so Pinterest is my life!
So many people search for recipes on Pinterest!! Thanks for coming by, Kristine!
Great tips! Most of my blog traffic comes from Pinterest!
These are great tips! I’m definitely going to put more effort into my Pinterest.
You should, Natalie!! Once you get some traction there you will start seeing your page views go up!
Good tips! I’ve found that Facebook groups and optimizing Pinterest have been HUGE for me. I use Board Booster for now (simply because it’s cheaper than Tailwind for the basic level), but I did the free trial of Tailwind and loved it. At some point, when I start monetizing more, I will probably revisit Tailwind again. Thanks for the tips and sharing your experience.
Yes, there are a couple of FB groups that I have found invaluable, both for the connections I have made there and for getting the word out about my blog. Thanks for coming by, Meg! If you have any questions about TW I would love to try and answer them!
Great tips! My main focus is Pinterest too and these were good for me to read/remember to implement! Thanks!
Pinterest just seems so much easier to me than other SM platforms. 🙂 I love it!
I’m pinning! I can’t seem to pull traffic from Pinterest no matter how hard i try. I think it is time to take down my cute little description and add keywords too.
Try it!! I think you will see a big increase in traffic! If you want me to check out your Pin profile and send you my thoughts, I would be happy to help you out!! Once you get traction on Pinterest, you will see continual views from there. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or just respond to this comment. 🙂
I totally agree about Pinterest. I have no idea what I would do without Tailwind!
I love Pinterest! I can’t believe it took me so long to figure out how awesome it is for blogging! I just started using Tailwind Tribes last month. I don’t know that I’ve noticed a difference yet, but I love being able to find great pins and schedule in advance. Do you have any tips on the best number of pins to pin?
I’m in a really great FB Pinterest group, I’ll add the link at the end here, from what I have read there between 30-50 pins seems to be a good number. I schedule 15 per day and then live pin the others.
Here is the link to the FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pinterestpinningsupport/
I have definitely not utilized Pinterest to the best of my ability yet. It’s sort of the dumping ground and I have to actually sit down and filter through everything and organize it. I’ve been avoiding it! (It’s like how I avoid trying to organize my back-up hard drive! So many files all over the place. I’d rather just hide it and not have to deal with it, hahahah)
Just work on one board at a time. Summer’s course will be super helpful to you. Maybe it would even be best to just start over from scratch?
I’ve been using board booster, but I’m really interested to see if tribes on tailwind would get me further! signed myself up 🙂
Awesome!! I love TW!! Thanks for coming by, Terrin!
I love these tips, and I really love Pinterest! Tailwind Tribes are a great way to increase traffic from Pinterest, and they’re so easy to use.
They are! I think my favorite thing about them is that I can find awesome content so easily!
These are all great tips! Thanks for sharing!
These are great tips, especially about making the posts less “personal” and more about what the audience wants to read. I find that once they get to know you, then they want to read more about your personal life but of course, a good balance is needed. Pinterest is key to bringing up traffic too. Thanks for the information!
Thanks for stopping by, Angela! Yes, I think I will still do a quick look into our life posts every once in a while, but for the most part I want to give my readers what they want. Encouragement for momma hearts, gluten free and grain free recipes, and tips on natural living. That is what they are asking for, so I want to help them out and supply that!
I haven’t used Tailwind. I have heard a lot about it, though.
If you love Pinterest, you will love TW!!
This post is so helpful! I am a fairly new blogger and have so much still to learn. I need to figure out Pinterest and work on some other areas. I am saving this post for future reference.
I’m so glad that you found this post helpful, Natalie! If you have questions in the future about Pinterest, feel free to email me and I’ll try to help you out!
These are great tips! I even took a minute to open my Pinterest and update my profile. Thanks for sharing!
yay!! I’m so glad that you found some actionable tips here! Thanks for coming by, Vicki!
Great tips! I need to start joining Tailwind tribes. I’m not currently using a scheduler, but I’ll be looking into that when I have more posts to pin!
When you want more info about Tribes, let me know! I think you will love them!
Pinterest is what I really need to tackle, so this post was shared at the perfect time for me. A lot of great tips and ideas for me to work on implementing. Thanks so much for sharing!
Good!! I’m so glad that you were able to find applicable tips here!! If you come up with questions, I would love to try to help you find the answers!
These are very helpful tips. My pinterest seem to be going off like a rocket at the moment. xx
Whoo-hoooo! That’s awesome, Anna!! Have you been doing anything differently lately? Any tips that you would add, or give to someone who wants to grow their Pinterest account?
Great tips! I love the idea of polling my readers- what a great idea!
I found it so helpful, Holly!! It truly gave me direction and purpose!
This is SUCH a good list! Currently I’m focusing on creating good content that my audience ‘needs’, and also promoting my content on Pinterest. I’m just starting and I’ve seen significant growth!
That’s awesome, Danielle!! This whole blogging thing is more work than I ever thought that it was going to be, but I have grown so much, and I feel like I am able to offer support and encouragement to so many others. I can’t quit now! 🙂
This was super informative! Thank you, Rebekah!
Such great tips!! Thanks so much for really breaking it down 🙂
You’re welcome, Tabitha! I’m glad that you found these tips helpful! I hope that by using these simple steps you will be able to see your blog views increase, just like my did!
This was the most useful post I’ve read in a very LONG time- thank you!! I need to get on my Pinterest game- I actually just wrote down a few of your tips and plan to implement them. So glad I found your blog!!
That’s awesome, Jill!! I wasn’t sure about sharing this post, because even though I have seen significant growth on my blog this past year, it is still so little! But I couldn’t keep these tips to myself! I want everyone to be able to see an increase in their page views, especially those who are working hard to earn money and help support their family. Thanks for coming by!
Thank you so much! I am just beginning to look at a re-launch and growth strategy for my blog and am gathering all the tips that I can get.
Great! I hope you find these super helpful!!
I’m really trying to reach higher views right now so I definitely think I will try your tip about using tailwind! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent tips, Rebekah! I’ve implemented some of these strategies into my own Pinterest and seen great results! Actually, I’ve been using BoardBooster and have seen a HUGE increase in traffic. So grateful!! Thanks for sharing!
I may have to try BB some time, I have many blogger friends who use it, but TW got to me first, haha!! Thanks for coming by, Nicole!
Pinterest confuses me. Can you recommend an easy way to learn it?
Hi Sheila, Did you sign up for the Pinterest tips above? I’m sending out an email later today that you might find helpful. Or, if you don’t want to do that, I highly suggest that you sign up for Summer’s free course that I mentioned in the post. It is incredibly helpful! Thanks for coming by, Sheila! If you would like me to check out your pinterest profile and give your some pointers, feel free to email me!