24 Ways to Grow Your Blog and Kick the Inertia Out of It

145 Comments / Blogging Tutorials, Guest Posts / By /

So you finally got past all the contemplation, planning and procrastination and actually started your very own blog.

Good for you dear blogger friend! I bet you are reading this because your blog has now been live for the past 6 months at least. I'm sure your last few months were hectic!

24 Ways to Grow Your BlogI am guessing this because the initial months after starting your own blog is usually spent in multitasking a lot of different things like:

  • Deciding on your branding;
  • Choosing a great WordPress blog theme;
  • Setting up categories for your posts;
  • Establishing social media accounts;
  • Finding a great email service provider (we use Aweber);
  • Writing an autoresponder series;
  • And most importantly – creating great content.

All this does take about 3-6 months to settle down and now your blog has managed to claim a space (albeit small) on the blogosphere and you also have a pretty decent amount of subscribers, followers and commentors on your blog.

That is when the initial excitement begins to slightly wear off and you are no longer thrilled to get up first thing in the morning and visit your blog's dashboard.

What Changed About Your Blog?

That’s the question you have been asking yourself since the past few days and your subconscious did have many answers, but you just couldn't put a finger on one and say, “Yeah, this is my problem”. That was when you began to look around for answers and that is exactly how you reached here.

So let me begin by answering your question. Nothing changed buddy, and that is what your problem is. Your blog has grown a little from where you started off in the beginning but has now reached a plateau or a standstill.

So What Should You Do Next?

Great question pal!  You actually need to push your blog a bit and get it out of its inertia. What your blog needs is expansion, development and growth. All blogs reach a standstill at some point or another. Don’t be under the false impression that such standstills come in only once in a lifetime for blogs. No, no; on the contrary, every blog (small / big, new / old, beginner / authority) periodically experiences such a state of inertia.

If you look carefully, it is not a bad thing at all. Smart bloggers (with great business sense) know how to handle such standstills quite adeptly. They keep using the blog growth tactics one after another and successfully get over the inertia.

What Blog Growth Tactics Do Smart Bloggers Use?

There are a number of ways to grow and develop your blog like the other smart bloggers. Here are a few of the most successfully tested ones:

Tactics Using Content

1) Create more content (more number of posts and more frequent posts)

2) Create better content (make them more interesting with great titles, better writing voice etc)

3) Enhance the content (use images, link to related posts on your blog and other blogs as well)

4) Experiment with the content (try writing shorter / longer posts, try video blogging or Infographics)

Tactics Using Other Content Creators

1) Invite guest bloggers to post their content on your blog

2) Smartly use others’ contents by content curation

3) Invite other bloggers to share their experiences in an interview

4) Creating a list post about top 10 / 20 / 50 blogs

Bonus Video: Put Scoop.it on Your Website or WordPress Blog

Tactics Using Other Blogs / Sites

1) Offer to guest post on others blogs

2) Offer to be interviewed by other bloggers

3) Request other blogs to link to your content

4) Comment on other blogs

5) Get involved in discussions and hangout on social media sites where other bloggers meet up

6) Provide help, advice or tips to bloggers who ask doubts, questions and solutions to problems on forums or groups

7) Share your content on sites like Scoop.it, Blokube, Bizsugar, Blog Engage, etc.

8) Providing a free tutorial or solving a problem for some other blogger and getting highlighted on that blog

Tactics Using Organic Blog Traffic

1) Optimize your posts according to the latest seo tactics that work

2) Get a pulse on what people are searching for using tools like Bottlenose and Topsy

3) First visit Forums that deal with your blog niche and see the latest hot discussions and then create related posts

4) Use Google insights to see what people are searching for and create related content

Tactics Using Freebies

1) Organize a giveaway which attracts plenty of other bloggers

2) Providing free ebooks / guides in return for a tweet

3) Arranging a free webinar on a popular topic

4) Free ecourse on a popular topic

I am sure that there are so many other tactics that each of you wonderful bloggers are using to develop your blog. Please share some tips for blog growth with us here in the comment section.

145 thoughts on “24 Ways to Grow Your Blog and Kick the Inertia Out of It”

      1. Kevin

        Hi Kavita,

        The tips listed under tactics ‘Tactics Using Organic Blog Traffic’ and ‘Tactics Using Freebies ‘ – these are the evergreen tips works all the times. Perhaps all tips are good.

  3. Suresh Khanal

    This is another masterpiece by Kavita. I appreciate the information you’ve loaded here.

    I’d like to put my views on ‘More Content’ aspect.

    This is my earnest suggestion to track, monitor and go on adding content. Simply having more content on your blog will again give you lot of troubles. As we already know, content is king but promotion is queen. As you have more posts, you have more work to promote them. Having 20 solid posts and promoting them is much more easier, I guess, than to have 200 posts.

    By this, I don’t mean to have very few posts, but instead, focus on promotion on each posts. If you go on adding more posts and promote each of them equally, you’ll get good result.

    Hope you agree with it?

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Yeah Suresh, I agree about what you said about promotion. But more high quality content obviously helps build your reputation as a blogger and others will begin looking towards your blog as an authority blog. If your content is really high value and high quality, your visitors will help in promotion and you can enjoy the results.

  4. Phillip Dews

    Great Article Kavita, I have just restarted my blog again after leaving it last year, I originally started my blog in 2009 and got quite a following but reached that plateau you mentioned and gave up on it last year!

    this week though I restarted it with a brand new design and a post already! I just wish i backed up all my old content and 3 eBooks!

    Still fresh start and all that! Great tips and advice! many thanks..
    -Phillip Dews

      1. Phillip Dews

        I set up the epic blog in 2009 but let it go to concentrate on my web design business. Unfortunately I did not renew the domain so thats how I lost it all!
        plus the fact that my pc broke down as well!
        Still fresh start and all that! and am still doing the web design business as well as finding time to write to the blog…

  5. Syed Danial

    Great. I followed almost same tips on my previous blog. first i worked hard on it created content then done off page optimization then Leave it on guest bloggers to write content for me 😀 Now has started a new journey with new blog 🙂

      1. Syed Danial

        writing blog posts seems to me quite difficult but i am overcoming habbit of not writing. No a days i am more productive becuase i have 7 days holidays 🙂

  6. Ryan Biddulph

    Love these powerful tips Kavita! Why?

    Each forces you to move outside of your comfort zone in 2013. I have written more guest posts recently and I am posting 10 times each day. Yes.

    Maintaining an aggressive posting and promotional sked forces me to address my limiting beliefs: I do not have enough time, I do not have enough creative ideas, blah, blah, blah. By doing this I am literally forced to blast through them and grow.

    Thanks!

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Thanks Ryan. You have really outdone yourself by committing to post 10 times / day! It certainly takes a lot of determination and focus to stick to such a schedule. Good Luck in 2013!

  7. Jane

    Wonderful points Kavita. If I may comment on the content creation part – yes it is very crucial to keep up with the latest SEO trends. Creating content to attract free search engine traffic is a must since we all can use a little bit of “free” traffic love.

    Thanks again!

  9. Anurag

    The best method to grow a blog is to use social media as

    Social Network = Best and Biggest Place to know everyone = Best place to attract visitors on your own = Best place to make people readers and than royal readers = Best place to grow a blog

    Thanks for the post it do have useful tips. 😀

  12. Philip A.

    Hi Kavita,

    Well my blog is not yet 6 moths old, but I do like to anticipate what could happen in the future, this way I’ll be more prepared.

    I’ve enjoyed reading your post, one thing I want to do is to write some shorter posts to see the response for those, my posts are on average about 1000 words now. The thing that I enjoy so far about blogging is that the more I write new posts I’m actually improving my copywriting skills, which I’m very excited about.

    Happy Holidays everyone, take care.

    ~Philip

    1. Anurag

      Hey Philip, just wanted to tell you something, if you want to write short posts write but not in a lot of quantity as every 9 out of 10 bloggers write a short posts. So, try writing even more detailed posts occasionally. This will make your blog stand out.

    2. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      That’s a good idea Philip. But it does take a bit of effort to shorten your posts when you are accustomed to 1000 word posts. But I am sure that will doubly benefit your copywriting skills, because you learn to say more with less words. Wish you a merry X’mas and gret New Year!

  13. Jim Zboran

    Excellent tactics to break through plateau inertia, Kavita! I especially liked the variety of types of tactics. I counted 24 tactics in 5 categories… more than enough to apply a variety of approaches while taking action to get moving again.

    I also appreciated the encouragement found in knowing that blog-activity plateaus are a common experience regardless of level of attainment. Great article. Thanks 🙂

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Thanks for the kind words Jim. It’s not the lack of challenges that bestows greatness on popular blogs (or bloggers), rather it is the success at overcoming them that does so. Wish you a merry X’mas.

  14. Ferb

    Love this Ryan, the ways you drive traffic help me so much. I have never thought to request others to link to my blog and definitely try it out.

    Thanks – Ferb

  15. Delia

    These are very useful tips, Kavita! However, 24 new things to do on top of everything else may seem overwhelming for almost everybody 🙂 So I think it’s important to pick a few, maybe 2-3 of these tips and implement. Once you mastered those, you can go ahead a try another 2 or 3.

    For example, this past month I’ve been working on 1) adding internal links to existing posts, 2) adding CommentLuv to my blog and 3) commenting on other blogs.

    I think it’s very important to follow a strategy that does not require a lot of time and that gives some results so that, as a blogger, you are motivated to continue. Trying to do everything at the same time may just discourage you and defeat the purpose of growing your blog.

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Exactly my point Delia. Smart bloggers keep using just 1/2 tips at a time and refer back to this list each time their blog reaches a plateau! Thanks for commenting.

  16. Julia Reed

    Really helpful tips. I’ve never heard of topsy before. Thanks for sharing your expertise. I am going to check out this tool right now

  17. Carl

    Consistency and using the momentum are essential for any kind of business and critical for blogging. I quite like these tips that actually include a kind of case study.

  18. Jeff

    Just a quick comment to say that this is an excellent set of tactics! Applicable to old as well as new blogs. Thanks Kavita! And merry christmas and happy holidays everyone!

  19. nelson

    I love your tips. Hmm google inside. I never think about it before. You open my mind to get more traffict for my religion’s blog

  20. mulia

    Wonderfull tips. You are the masterpiece. But I’m still confuse if I do your tips for my advertising blog. Can you help me give a suggest, so my blog can give me more money with lot traffic?

  21. Rick Myers

    Dr. Kavita,
    After reading your artice and the comments by other writers, I realize that having a website in place, is merely the tip-of-the-iceberg. I thought that since I actually now have a site, I’d be able to just jump in and start blogging but from the looks of things, I’m not even close to my “Grand Opening”. Thank my lucky stars for my day job, as it allows for a less-frantic approach to kicking things off for my freelance business. Leaving the freelance arena for so long has shown me how clueless and far behind I find myself. And the beat goes on…
    Rick

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Hang in there Rick. You know what they say about the ‘slow and steady’. That being said, let me gently remind you that procrastination is a devil 🙂

  22. Rehmat

    Great tips for boosting the traffic to blog. I have a 2 old month blog and your tips have given me new ideas, how to develop it. Thanks for these awesome tactics.

  23. Wade Harman

    Great tips to boost your blog to another dimension. Most new bloggers think that they have to write something every day. Therefore they get lost in content that no one is reading. A new blogger should focus on SEO and social media at first and write about once per week.

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Thanks for your comment Wade. You’re right about the importance of SEO and social media, but new bloggers should write more often if they need to build a constant flow of traffic. Also they need to focus on quality bcz noone would bother to return if they found the content to be of low value

  24. Matt

    hey Dr. Kavita Shaikh
    really awesome tips for all of us. that is what we all need. i just want to ask you that how creating a list post about top 10 / 20 / 50 blogs will help ? i am actually new in this field, and i am confused about this point. would you please let me know this? Over all i really liked this post.
    Thanks.
    Matt

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Hi Matt,

      Great that you asked for clarification. There are 2 reasons for recommending a list post. First of all, it is hugely popular with bloggers in every niche. I mean who does not dig a post that provides info about 20-50 choices under the roof of a single title / post. Eg: Top 50 blogs that accept guest post, Top 20 blogs with dofollow comments etc.

      This popularity boosts traffic to your site (both first time and many times in future as well bcz bloggers usually bokmark such posts)

      Next reason is that when you link to 20/50 diff blogs in this manner, it is possible that at least 35 % of them will link back to you. Now isn’t that great for your page rank; considering that they are already authority / top blogs in the 1st place?

      I hope this helps Matt. In case you want more details about how page rank works or any other blogging tips, feel free to visit my blog where I have covered a huge variety of beginner blogger topics.

  25. Justin Arndt

    Great Insights! I am new to blogging and social media tools, but this site is a very valuable resource and I will be recommending your blog to my readers. Thanks!

  26. Akhil Abraham

    Great post…i am also following some of the tips….some tips is awesome and it is new to me…I like the way you writing the post….simple and well designed…

    At last thanks for a good one…

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Thanks Akhil, I have made it a habit to write all of my posts in this format, because it not only communicates my ideas well to my readers but also makes the post look pretty on the blog.

  27. Ajinkya Patil

    Thanks mam

    Its a very nice article for boosting the traffic toward a blog…….. 🙂

  29. Sapna

    Hi Kavita

    These are great tips to make a push to the next orbit from the Plateau inertia.
    Thanks for sharing these valuable tips.

    Sapna

  30. babanature

    This is indeed a killer post which one can truly learn and practice and put to work. the post is clear to understand. thanks for the wonderful post kavita

  31. Shalu Sharma

    Very good tips on how to grow your blog. Asking for others to guest post on your blog is not always easy but if you ask them for an interview then they feel thrilled about it. Hence its a good tactic and it works.

  32. Bashir Ahmed

    These are very useful tips, Kavita! Blog commenting, guest blogging, forum posting, social media sharing, and arrange giveaways/contests will grow blog.

    Thank you.

  33. Matt

    If these straight to the point tips will be followed accordingly every blog will have huge amount of post as well as traffic.

  34. Steve

    What a busy person you must be, and still have time to write such good stuff. This article alone is chock full of great information to help new and seasoned bloggers alike. It really helps to have plan and work it. There are a lot of great tips here but if people only read it and don’t “do it” then they really get no benefit from your help at all. Thank you.

  36. Khaja moin

    Basic and awesome blogging tips for a beginner to get started.

    Would like to share my experience that longer post ran better and bring more traffic to your blog. Anyway one can get more about it if he/she practice it.

    ~@Khajamoin1

  37. Aasma

    Great information that certainly clears our mind, what as a blogger we should do to grow our audience and enhance the exposure. If we seriously consider these tactics then nobody can stop you to have an authority blog.

  38. Muhammad Ahmad

    Thanks for sharing such valuable info. I’m a blogger and blogging for more than 1 year but still unable to get my blog in earning position. I’ve some license of Antivirus software. What should I do to arrange a giveaway? Thank you

  39. Shiful Alam

    Thanks Kavita! That’s a great post. My blog is about six months old and I am facing similar situation what you said as inertia. I hope I will overcome the difficulty and will succeed. Your tips will help me find out the right path. Thanks again!

  40. Ian Eberle

    One thing I like about inviting guest bloggers onto my blog is because they provide a different perspective that you might not have been giving your readers. In additon, guest bloggers also provide free marketing: they share the content both on social networks and possibly their own site.

  46. Jamie

    Hi Kavita,

    Beautiful tips to grow blog. These are the nice tactics for the new bloggers to grow their blog popular and popular and perhaps its true for old bloggers too.

      1. Kevin

        Hi Kavita,

        Something is wrong with me today! Apology for two things 1. replying late 2. instead of replying on this comment of mine have replied accidently on somebody’s else comment, I think you might have read it. Sorry again!

        Lets come to the point, the tips I like the most are the tips listed under ‘Tactics Using Organic Blog Traffic’ and ‘Tactics Using Freebies ‘ – these are the evergreen tips work all the times. Perhaps all tips are good.

  48. Salman Ahmad

    Sperb Post dr.Kavita !These 24 tips are really great !
    Thanks For Sharing !

  49. sooraj

    DR. KAVITHA ,am a newbie in the field of blogging…your tips are very useful to me..I heard that google is very strict to provide adsense support to blogs from India…Is there any alternative support providers? anyway your post is very nice…please give me some more tips to get traffic also please give your blog name…am anxious to follow it

  50. igbalaye Olayemi

    This is a great post and am in support of tactics of content and tactics of commenting on another blogs. these two tactics will do your blog good and make you a huge traffic. thanks for sharing this article.

  52. george

    You have kept the points straight ans simple and they are worth paying attention to. Thanks for the wonderful article.

  53. Kevin Ocasio

    Great post Dr. Kavita! The one I plan to implement on my blog next month is accepting guest posts. I also plan on writing guest posts for other blogs in 2013. Happy New Year to you 🙂

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Wish you an awesome New Year too Kevin. Guest posting (both posting and accepting) is a great way to boost blog growth and I hope it goes well for your blog.

  54. Len

    Thanks, enjoyed this. Many good points. I have just started allowing guest bloggers to my site. At first, I was apprehensive, but now, I am more comfortable with it, and actually enjoy it. Sometimes it has been a headache, but overall, a good experience. Happy holidays.

    1. Dr. Kavita Shaikh

      Happy Holidays and a great New Year to you too Len. Allowing guest bloggers takes a lot of courage, and it is okay to stress out in the beginning. I too was apprehensive about doing that, but now I have slowly settled down.

      1. Len

        Thank you. Many times, you can see they are just spammers, with articles that really do not apply to my theme. I have learned to chose between good and bad, and enjoy the fresh material.

  55. Jason

    Awesome tips, I like all the tactics especially guest posts and interviews.
    Thanks for sharing , Dr Kavita.

  56. Tushar

    Well organised tips to create and maintain a blog perfectly. I liked the way you categorize and arranged the elements of growing a niche. This is just similar to a checklist for bloggers.

  58. arijit

    Great post Dr. Kavita.I am new to blogging and was searching fr some great advice. I will definitely try some tips given in your article.

  59. Gel

    Great and awesome technique for blog posting. With that you can maintain the credibility of your blog. You are an organized person indeed! great tactics.. it will surely help categorizing and organizing my blog.. thanks to you dear 😀

    Great author..

  60. jules

    This is really a great article!.

    Thanks for sharing this nice information Dr. Shaikh. These are awesome tips for everyone newbies or experienced blogger. Everyone must try to do new ideas and be open minded in order to be successful in blogging. Actually, I’ve already tried these tips from Dr. Kavita Shaikh and it’s great!

    Thanks to this post!

    1. Dr Kavita Shaikh

      You’re right Jules, it helps to stay open minded when learning tips in blogging. Sometimes you receive wonderful tips from newbies as well. Thanks for the nice words.

  61. Devagya

    This is a must read article for every blogger specially for newbies, i have bookmark this post for future, the tips and tactics are really awesome which i have already started implement for my blog and i must say the article holds true information, very easy to understand-straight to the point.

    Good work, Dr. Kavita Shaikh

    1. Dr Kavita Shaikh

      That’s really good to hear Devagya. Success comes to people like you who do not waste time in implementing what they learn. All the best to you buddy!

  62. Werry Adnan

    As beginner in blogger, this posting is really help me. I learn a lot from tips above about writing great content. Thanks Dr. Kavita for great posting.I’ll be waiting for your next post

  63. Dean Saliba

    Some great tips here and definitely some of them will be of use to me. At the moment all I do is create SOME content, post on forums and blog comment. 2013 is certainly the year for me to get my butt into gear and grow my blogs.

    1. Dr Kavita Shaikh

      Dean, you certainly should take a pro-active approach in developing your blog, especially because inertia affects seasoned bloggers like you more than others. You see, beginners and newbies always are bubbling with enthusiasm but it takes some effort to post new content once the first 200 / so posts are written.

  64. Saqib Razzaq

    Inviting guest blogger doesn’t work much in today’s populated blogosphere because no one has much time. You just have to take your blogs to a point where people start dying for getting their articles published on your blog. Take basicblogtips for an example. I agree with all of other point that you made.

    1. Dr Kavita Shaikh

      Yeah Saqib, I agree that bloggers are short of time,but many a times it just happens that your blog has something that they might be interested in. Like for example your niche, your readers, your blog community, your newsletter subscribers etc.

      Inviting bloggers directly is not something which I would recommend because it may not give out the right impression about your blog to others. What I recommend is sending out generalized invites on Facebook groups / Twitter. You can always update your FB status or Twitter profile to let the world know that your blog is OPEN and looking for interested guest bloggers

  65. sally brown

    Hi,

    Thanks for sharing all these ways to grow my blog. I really need to try a video and podcast. I’m also going to check out scoop-it. Excellent post! Sally

    1. Dr Kavita Shaikh

      Sally, I am so excited for you. Doing something new is not only a great boost to your motivation but also quite challenging and challenges are what maintains my interest in blogging. Wish you luck with your videos and podcast!

  66. Rohan Mod

    Now a Days content curation is emerging as a new approach to drive traffic to older posts and also a ethical and traffic driving method of search engine optimization.great tactics i liked it.thanks for sharing with us.

  67. Ruth Martin

    Thanks for sharing – these are excellent tips that are sure to work! I have just implemented something new to my sites and am already seeing a few great things happening… you’re right! If your blog gets to a stand still, it is time to change your strategies, etc.

  70. Prakash

    Great ways to grow a blog. These are really important to follow these tips for growing a blog from zero level to a established blogs level. It’s hard to manage it, but we should do it.

  71. Saanvi

    Some super information we all have been waiting to hear from you. We are always get differing opinions of what we should do or should not do. Obviously it has worked for you so we need to listen to your personal experience not just what someone thinks is correct.
    Thank you for the insightful post.

    1. Dr Kavita Shaikh

      Thanks for the nice words Saanvi! I am glad that you liked the tips. You’re right, theory is always different than practicals and tips that have been proven to work practically are more valuable than empty theories.

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