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Growing Your Blog Series

Posted byAmy Latta on
49 Comments
Hi, friends!  The very first blog-a-versary for this artsy mama is just around the corner, and I can’t believe that after just one year’s time, there are over 780 of you following along and reading about our crafts, projects, and adventures!  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that!  I remember being thrilled when I hit 20 followers, and thinking if I could ever just hit 500 that would be the greatest accomplishment.
I know that there are many of you who aren’t fellow bloggers, but I also know that a good number of you are, and I’ve gotten lots of questions about what I’ve done to go from 200 followers in September to the number you see now in just six months.  So, I decided to kick off this month and my “birthday” celebration with a short little series that will hopefully answer some of those questions for you:
I’m no expert, by any means, but I’m happy to share the things I’ve found that work {and the ones that don’t!} for growing and improving your blog.  Most of us when we get into blogging aren’t looking to be “super-bloggers.”  Many of us have one or more {or all} of these motivations:
– we’re stay at home mamas or wives looking for an outlet
– we love to make things and part of the fun of that is sharing them!
– we want to inspire others and gain inspiration for ourselves
– we’re looking for community
– we want to talk about our hobbies with others who share them
– we enjoy writing/photography and want a platform to use those skills
– we want to make a little bit of extra income {etsy, affiliates, etc.}
– we want to have a voice in a larger community about the things that are important to us
Some folks start with only the goal of having their close friends and family follow along.  Others hope to have a wider influence.  But I think that for most of us, we find that once the follower number starts to go up, we start to dream bigger and want to reach farther.  Once I thought I’d have really ‘made it’ if I hit 500.  But when I hit it, I by no means wanted to stop gaining new friends.  My ideals changed and now my new goal is 1000.  But once I {hopefully} hit that, I know I won’t just sit back and be satisfied.  For as long as I blog, I’m going to want to keep seeing that number grow, because it means that I’m getting out there and making a difference.  Inspring.  Encouraging.  Having a voice.  The larger audience I have, the more of a difference I can make.  But at the same time, I don’t want to compromise who I am or what the blog is about.  I want to remain authentic and keep focused on the purpose of what I do.  If you feel the same way, this series is for you.  Join me over the next week as we talk about these things from this Artsy Mama’s p.o.v.
Thursday 3/8 – Q&A with Amy
Then, to celebrate my blogaversary, I have a ton of fun giveaways scheduled from 3/11-3/17!
 Have a blogging question?  Email me at dancers4life{at}gmail.com or leave a comment here.  If I don’t answer it in one of the upcoming posts, I’ll try to tackle it during the Q&A!
I hope you’ll join me!  For those of you who don’t blog, don’t worry, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled craftiness soon, and there just might be some fun project posts in the mix this week too!
Shine on Fridays will be up and running tomorrow as well.  See you then!
Added later:

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49 Comments

  10. I am really excited about your series Amy. If you every get the time I would love to have a similar series about Etsy shops. Just a thought.

    Reply

  19. Great series! I really enjoyed reading the other posts too. I am a new follower on GFC and Linky Tools. Cant wait to see the rest of the series, and congrats on the upcoming blogaversary!

    Reply

  21. Thanks for sharing all the great tips! I just started blogging at the end of last year and love to hear advice from people that have done well so far. I’m a new follower too 🙂
    Thanks again!
    Tiffany

    Reply

  27. Hi, I’m visiting from Handy Man, Crafty Woman! I love this series idea – thank you! I’m your newest follower and look forward to reading more of the Growing Your Blog posts.

    Reply

  28. Wow!!! Thank you for your blogging advise and inspiration! I am new to blogging. Your tips are very helpful (I just read them all up to today!) I look forward to the rest of your blogging posts! I pinned this and I am a new follower. Thanks again for helping out the newbies like me!

    Reply

  29. I just read all of the series posts up to today, Amy and they were a great source of information for a blogger with a blog less than 1 month old. Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned along your 1 year journey!

    Claire @ alittlesomethinginthemeantime.blogspot.com

    Reply

  30. Like many of the above commenters, I too am a new blogger. This series has been very helpful to me. Earlier in the series you wrote about the importance of your blog’s first impression. If you have a spare minute, I’d love to hear your first impressions regarding my blog. Any suggestions for areas I could improve upon would be greatly appreciated. (My email is listed under my profile)

    Thanks for any feedback you might have time to share!

    Reply

  31. Just coming aboard here for your blog session – exciting! I am also thrilled to see that you DANCE! Yeah! My hubbie and I do too, well, a bit anyway, but we love every little bit that we can do. I just signed on as a Linky follower, and would very much enjoy having you stop by my way too. It’s a great new tool!

    Reply

  33. I just came across this series on Pinterst, and am so glad that I did! I also just became a follower. I love your page, your insight and your writing. I’ve only been blogging for a few months and have just been pretty much winging it, so I gained a lot of valuable insight by reading this series. Thank you!

    http://cookingisawhim.blogspot.com/

    Reply

  34. Thank you for this series. I am going through it now. I’m completely a baby blogger. Just started in January, and I can really relate to your introduction. It starts off as something small to benefit your family and inspire friends, but as you see the numbers grow, you begin to dream bigger. The catch is that I want to keep my priorities straight and my true intention at heart. Keeping a balance is critical, and I’m trying to figure it out now. It’s helpful to read what you have to say about how to grow it. Now, to find the time while keeping it all centered on the important stuff.

    Reply

  36. Great tips! Thanks for sharing! We just hit 100 followers yesterday! Eeek! It’s exciting. I hope you get to 1000 soon! We just helped a bit with that and are your newest followers! 🙂

    ~Natalie@CraftyCousins

    Reply

  37. This was fabulous! I went back and read all your other posts and learned so much! Thanks for doing this post and I wish I had known about it when you originally posted them – I would have loved to have taken part in the Q & A session! I’m really trying to build my blog up – my goal is to reach 50 by the end of March. (I just started linking to parties about a month ago and have tripled my followers in that month – YEAH!) I would love for you to “hop” over IF you have the time!
    Thanks again for the great information!
    Hugs –
    Carol @ AreWeThereYet

    Reply
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