4 Things I Did When I Started Taking My Blog Seriously

Last updated on 19 January 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

When I started blogging back in the day (the ‘day’ being in 2009 ish), I didn’t really know what I was doing. There wasn’t much out there (that I could find or that I knew I should be looking for) to help me out. So I stumbled around a little bit blindly, learning what I could, more often than not just stumbling into some new information that shaped my next post … and the next … and the next.

But I still wasn’t seeing much progress with my blog. So when I started taking my blog seriously there were things that I was doing before that I completely turned around and flipped on their heads.

It was a 180 on so many things.

And that’s what I want to talk about today: 4 things that I did when I started taking my blog seriously. And things you should think about too. 😉

4 Must-Do Things When You’re Taking Your Blog Seriously

Wrote things that I loved but that my audience would actually benefit from
Used good SEO techniques in my posts and on my blog
Scheduled ahead for a good time to post
Invested in tools, guides and people to help me

Let’s check out these four things, and I’ll share what I was doing before, what I do now (see list above), and what difference that actually made to my blog.

What I used to do: Wrote my blog like an online diary

My very first blog was called … something to do with cupcakes? To be honest, I can’t even remember what it was called. All I know is that the first blog was just me rambling about what I was doing a University … but actually? More like what I was doing during the university holidays. I just shared a few sentences or paragraphs about things like homemade paintball fights (an actual thing that happened, and an actual blog post I wrote).

Now there’s nothing wrong at all with sharing about all the things you’re getting up to, but we need to avoid just using our blogs as an online diary (unless it’s specifically designed to do that, in which case, this blog post probably isn’t for you). Unless you live an incredibly interesting life, no one really cares what you had for lunch. That’s what Instagram circa 2010 was for.

So if we’re not to use our blogs like an online diary, what do we do?

Here is the change that I made.

What I changed to: Wrote things that I loved but that my audience would actually benefit from

Yup! My audience isn’t going to benefit from a story about my homemade paintball endeavours. You know what they will benefit from? A tutorial about how to make eco-friendly hand-made paintballs for kids or kids-at-heart. That’s what they’ll be there for.

I went from writing my blog like an online diary, the entries being mundane things I shared just because I wanted to write, to something that people were coming to because I could inspire them to make their own messy activities, or I recommend books for their book clubs, or I shared about some of the best cafes in Gloucester etc.

Telling your story is something that I’m a big advocate for, despite what I’ve just said. One of the things I talk about a lot is learning how to weave your story into your blog posts. That might look like sharing the story of how great (or terrible!) your own experience with XYZ was, and then offering up some practical solutions or tips or tutorials or recommendations for your readers so that they don’t make the same mistake, or that they can enjoy what you enjoyed. There’s a balance.

Once I made that change and I focused on what I loved writing about but also wrote about things my audience was loving and looking for …

The difference: My readership increased

Yup! I went from my cousin and my mum reading the odd blog post here and there, to actual strangers around the world enjoying my content. Why? Because not even my cousin and mum cared about that pretty pebble I found on the beach.

But they (and strangers around the world) did care about the best places to go sea stone searching with their kids. Or how to make a pebble mosaic with stones from the beach. That’s what they were coming for. That’s what they stayed for.

What I used to do: Wrote without thinking about what people were searching for

Even when I decided that I was going to start writing for other people, and I was thinking about what from my stories and posts people could take away with them … I wasn’t actually thinking about what words they were going to be using to find the content on my blog.

I didn’t know about SEO back then, and then even when I did sort of realise that there were things I could be doing that would bring organic traffic to my blog, I didn’t really have a good concept of how to figure out what people were searching for.

What words were they putting into Google to find my blog post on the best cafes in Auckland? Was it ‘best cafes in Auckland’? or was it more along the lines of ‘cafes near me’?

Something needed to change.

What I changed to: Used good SEO techniques in my posts and on my blog

That’s what I really discovered SEO. And I’d be lying if I said that I learnt it all in one go. Far from it. I started with the basics. And I still feel like I’m learning new things every week when it comes to SEO.

But when I started not only thinking about what words people might be using but actually going to tools that were specifically designed to help me do that, it was much like the writing for my audience problem: things started changing. Like, drastically.

The difference: Hit page 1 and spot 1 on Google searches

I did. I hit spot 1 for multiple blog posts and for multiple keywords. And if you’ve been on the first page of Google people then you know how exciting that is, especially when you’re starting out and figuring out this SEO thing.

“Is page 1 even that a big deal, Anjali?”

You betcha! You know why? When was the last time you went to page 2 of your Google search? A while ago, eh? If ever? most of the time if what you’re looking for isn’t on the first page of Google, you’re going to adjust your search and try again. You’re not going to go to the second page.

And if your blog post is on the first page of Google (or spot 1!) and it’s what people are really looking for, then they’re going to click in! And that’s one of the best ways you can increase the traffic to your blog: organic searches, SEO and Google.

What I used to do: Hit publish and hope for the best

To be honest with you, I didn’t really think about it all. Once I had written a blog post, I hit publish. There was no forethought, I didn’t plan ahead and certainly didn’t think past the week that I was currently on.

I hit ‘publish’ as soon as I finished a blog post and then I hoped for the best. I hoped that people would see it, that they’d come to my blog, and that my blog views would go up.

Surprise, surpise. They didn’t.

What I changed to: Scheduled ahead for a good time to post

So then I started actually planning ahead. I look at what was coming up in the year and I made a schedule, I wrote my blog posts and I didn’t hit ‘publish’ straight away – I scheduled them for a time that was going to be better for me and my readers.

This also meant that I could batch-create my blog posts, creating several at a time and scheduling them for the future. And having those blog posts scheduled also meant that I was being consistent in my publishing.

The difference: My posts were ready and waiting for people weeks before they became what people were searching for

When people were searching for Christmas-themed posts at the end of October? My posts were ready for them then. They weren’t going live in December when everyone had already got what they needed for that year and weren’t really searching for anything any more.

I recognised the upcoming themes and trends and could get my blog posts ready for that season or period of time. This meant that my blog posts were actually being seen and discovered, and that grew my blog traffic a lot.

What I used to do: Did everything myself

And it was a struggle! I didn’t really know what tools were out there that could help me in my blogging. And, to be fair to me, there definitely weren’t as many as there are now. From writing to imagery, SEO to structure … there are SO many incredible tools and resources out there in the internet world that you can utilise for your blog content … and at the time I was just doing everything myself and having a pretty rough time.

What I changed to: Invested in tools, guides and people to help me

Then I discovered tools that would help me. And guides that I could download to teach me how to do blogging tasks more efficiently. I learn from people who knew a lot more about various aspects of blogging than me, and I joined in on classes and courses to hone my skills.

I went from doing everything myself and stumbling around, to actually utilising the tools and expertise around me. Which made a big difference to every aspect of my blog.

The difference: My blog was growing in readers but also in efficiency

Which also meant that I was growing my blog. Having the ability to know which tools were going to help with what parts of my blogging, or who to call upon when I was struggling with something, meant that every single day/week my blog was getting better and better and I was growing it into something that I was really proud of, but also that people were loving. My readership increased, and so too did my efficiency.

Of course, there are more things that I did, but those were 4 of the biggies. Doing a complete 180 on some of the things I was doing with my blog when I first started and beginning the journey to taking my blog seriously… made all the difference.

I am where I am today because I started making changes back then.

Have you started taking your blog seriously? What changes do you need to make? Let me know in the comments!