Weekly Chat: 5 Tips To Grow Your Blog

Hey friends! By popular request, today’s Weekly Chat will feature my 5 tips to grow your blog! It has been so much fun to hear your wonderful feedback and jot down all the questions I’ve received thus far – so please, keep ’em coming! (You can either comment below, send me an Instagram DM or email your questions to livvylandblog[at]gmail.com – each week I’ll be answering more blogging/styling/personal questions!).

Sooo… without further ado, here are my top 5 tips:

1. Passion – whenever I meet with folks asking for tips in how to start/grow a blog, first and foremost, my initial question is “are you passionate about blogging – or fashion in particular if that’s the type of blog you want run?” If you don’t actually care for writing/photography/social media, it will show through in your content and be much harder to grow. When you clearly LOVE what you’re doing, it shows through and people will be excited to follow you! Thus, if you do have a passion for blogging, channel that excitement and get motivated to bump out more content that interests and inspires YOU. I promise you’ll see better engagement simply by being authentic and genuine in what you’re creating and sharing with the world. Anyone else remember that quote in La La Land? “People love what other people are passionate about!” No but really…we do!

2. Unique Aesthetic – what’s your blog angle? What’s your personal spin on taking photos, editing images, writing posts or captions, etc.? The blogging industry is packed with lots of talented people (just like any other industry!), so how will your content stand out above the rest? I think honing in on your personal style and branching out from there is key. I generally gravitate towards casual, classic staples with a little bohemian touch here and there – thus, my aesthetic speaks to that sense of style. You don’t have to stay confined in a “style box,” where you only wear one type of look, but it does help when creating your overall aesthetic. I feel like my logo really reflects my style aesthetic…everything plays off each other and works together to build that brand image.

When creating content, I like to keep a few words in mind that I feel really reflect my overall brand vision and social media style: approachable, classy, effortless. When creating blog posts or Instagram images, I’ll often think back to these words to keep my aesthetic in check. These words feel most “me” – so think of a few key words that you align with and start to connect your imagery/brand aesthetic with those. Of course, always subject to change as you grow and evolve, but I find them helpful along the way! (Another example might be, “colorful, playful, fun”…etc. You get what I mean…naturally your style gravitates towards a certain look, so select some words based on that!)

One more thing to note: while being inspired by other bloggers is of course, natural, be respectful of their content and get motivated to create your own! Certainly, you may have a similar aesthetic as another blogger, but copying someone else’s content is a whole other ball game. We must be respectful of each other’s creative work and use our unique visions to create original content.

3. High Quality Images – I can’t stress this one enough. A fashion blog, in particular, runs on showcasing outfits/style through photos…thus, this is a key player in producing quality content that people will keep coming back to see! Since starting my blog, I have updated my camera equipment twice (hoping to bump it up a notch again this year!) and invested in working with a professional photographer here in town. I don’t come from money (as y’all read in my last Weekly Chat post) and worked multiple jobs just to get LL off the ground, thus it wasn’t until very recently that I finally had the funds to invest in a photographer. However, if you have the money to do so, I highly recommend working with a professional from the get-go! Unless you are skilled in shooting in manual mode (…or your significant other/friend is! 😉 ) and have some photo editing chops under your belt, this will save you a ton of time and also provide your blog with a professional edge from the start.

If you’re excited to learn about photography and want to produce your own images (also amazing – I definitely go back-and-forth between working with a professional and pushing myself to learn more), my suggestion would be to invest in a decent camera and download Lightroom or Photoshop for editing.

PS. I use this camera and a 24mm lens & 52mm lens.

4. User Friendly Website – In a nutshell, you want a website that loads quickly and is easy for your readers to navigate. Make sure your navigation bar isn’t overwhelming (I am all for blogging about multiple mediums, as in fashion/fitness/food/etc., I’m simply referring to how they’re displayed at the top of your site – always smart to consider drop-down tabs…which I am working on right now in my site redesign, too!), a ton of sidebar ads can feel cluttered…you name it, these are all things to consider when creating your website. If your site loads slowly, you may want to upload smaller images that are lower resolution.

If you are blogging through WordPress, I recommend buying a template that allows you to customize it yourself (super easy and affordable!). As for website hosting, consider using a well known hosting provider like GoDaddy or BlueHost and use their one-click WordPress Installation Feature.

5. Consistency – this is probably THE biggest factor in growing your blog! Here is the thing: in the beginning, pushing out content that you feel like no one sees (or “likes” – we’ve all been there!), is very vulnerable and uncomfortable – but do not give up! I nearly quit blogging a thousand times because I felt like I wasn’t “successful” – however, if you keep pushing through and improving your content along the way, followers and readers will take notice and keep coming back for more! This one goes hand-in-hand with authenticity, if you stay true to yourself + consistently produce good content regularly each week (whether that means 2-3 blog posts a week and 1 Instagram post a day – or whatever schedule you come up with) readers will remember to check your site and Instagram to see your new content.

Above all, it’s all a learning process! Be kind to yourself along the way – reward yourself when you’ve completed a task and don’t get stuck in the comparison game once you’ve entered the blogging world.

Remember: Hustle & heart will set you apart.

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Have a question for me? As mentioned above,  please feel free to leave a comment below or send an email to livvylandblog[at]gmail.com. Can’t wait to hear from y’all! 🙂

PS. Check out last weeks Weekly Chat: How I Started Blogging