Do you ever find yourself completely stuck when it comes to your blog? Do you ever sit there with no inspiration? Do you ever run out of ideas? You’re not the only one, friend. When I changed the direction of ABOH last August, I had a really tough time staying inspired and coming up with new ideas that I felt good about were rare. But at some point, something happened. Now, I’ve got enough blog posts to last me for a long time. I’ve found ways to stay inspired and not go out of my way to find more ideas – but to notice them.
Your content is the foundation of your blog. You need ideas all the time. So what happens if you run out of them?
If you’ve been following along with ABOH since the start of the New Year you’ll have seen that we did the Blogging Breakthrough challenge. A big part of this was about keeping up with your blog content and having inspiration sessions. But over the past few months, I keep getting questions about how I actually come up with so many ideas. Today is the day I answer that question. Today is the day that I tell you everything you need to know, so you never run out of blog post ideas again.
Share What You Know
Sharing things from your own experiences is always so valuable. It’s probably the easiest way to come up with blog post ideas, but we usually overthink it. This post? This is based on sharing what I know. I know how to come up with great blog post ideas, so I'm writing it into a post for you. Yesterday’s post about my career journey? That’s come from my personal experiences too. Plus, they’re one of the easiest posts to write because you already know what you’re going to say.
You might think to yourself, “Well, I don’t know anything.” But I know for a fact that’s not true. Think about what you do in your day-to-day life. Think about how you’ve got to where you are today. Think about the experiences you’ve had in your career and your personal life. What could you help other people with?
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One of the biggest things I got out of my reader survey was finding out what else you wanted to see on ABOH. To my surprise, you all wanted to see more about me.
So when I reached out on Twitter to ask more about it, a lot of you said that you'd love to see more about my life, what I love and what I enjoy. Today officially marks the start of that.
I want to let you in more on what makes me me. One of the things that stands out is walking. Maybe it's the fresh air, maybe it's the calm silence, or maybe it's just how at peace I feel when I go on a walk. But when you see scenery like this, it makes it all the more special.
On this particular day, the ground was crunchy, the snow was falling down and the sky was a really clear light grey colour. Tom and I spent our time laughing and making funny faces at each other through the snow.
We'd not been on a walk in a while so when it snowed, we knew it was the perfect time to get out there. It was a Saturday afternoon, we'd done our errands for the day and we thought we'd give ourselves a break.
Being at work all week, especially when things are so hectic for both of us at the moment, can really take its toll. The best cure for us is taking time to be together without any background noise or technology. In Winter, that usually involves getting wrapped up, putting our walking shoes on and heading out to one of our favourite places of scenery.
Read MoreMy career series is something I love to run on this blog and after reading the results of my reader survey, I'm glad to be able to continue it. So when I saw this post from Anna, one of my guest posters, about her career journey, it instantly inspired me to write about my own.
I love hearing about a journey that someone goes on, especially when it comes to their career. It’s such an important part of my life and I understand the feeling of wanting to grow and develop yourself as you progress through different jobs.
When I left university four years ago, I went sideways with my career. It was a very confusing and difficult time for me – it wasn't until last August that I finally started moving upwards. Now that I'm turning 25 this year, I finally feel like I'm on track with my career and I'm excited for what’s to come. But I will also never forget the journey that I’ve been on over the past few years. And I felt like this would be the perfect thing to share with you today.
As a child, my mind was set on two careers - a teacher and a singer. My mum worked in a school so I grew up around that environment, and every Friday night, I’d sing along to Top of the Pops with my karaoke machine.
When I was at school, I liked most subjects. I especially loved English and it turns out that writing become my true passion. But funnily enough, what I do for my job today, I didn’t get taught in school. I never thought of myself as the creative type and I believed that for a long time.
When I wanted to study Drama, English and Media at Sixth Form College, my parents thought they were the perfect subjects for me. But the outside world believed that they weren’t “proper” subjects, and an A Level in Media Studies wouldn’t get you anywhere.
But I did them anyway and in 2009 I went to Lancaster University to study Linguistics and English Language. I learnt a lot, but it was actually my time on the Student Union as a Magazine Editor that made me realise what I really wanted to do – create magazines.
After a difficult time during my third year, I graduated with no plan. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I moved back home and found some freelance work to tidy me over. My confidence was shattered. But somehow, my family convinced me to follow what I loved and I enrolled on a Masters course at the University of Central Lancashire in Magazine Journalism. I started in September 2013 – and on my first day I met Tom. We’ll be celebrating our three year anniversary this September.
Today, I am a 24 year old Marketing Coordinator and part-time blogger. Here’s a deeper look into the jobs that helped me get there.
Read MoreAs brilliant as my job is and as fantastic as it is to be a blogger, that doesn’t mean it’s not stressful. We’ve all got deadlines, our inboxes are usually pretty full and there can be a huge overlap between our work and personal life. Especially for those of us who run a blog alongside a full-time job, it can be hard to find a cut-off point.
Sometimes, we become so consumed with everything we want to achieve in our career and with our personal brand that we forget about our own self-care. If we keep on running without pausing for breath, it’ll hit us in a very negative way. We can’t keep performing at our best unless we look after selves. What we need to do is figure out when enough is enough. But no matter how much control we think we have over things, sometimes it all just gets on top of us.
Over the past month, I’ve been very close to the point where I’ve run myself so far into the ground that the climb back up doesn’t seem manageable. I'm pushing myself with my blog to publish content every day, because it’s a change I wanted to make. I'm creating the #BloggingBreakthrough eBook for you. And from January until March, I'm doing two to three evenings a week at my job meaning I’ll be working 12+ hour days – not including blog work.
By Friday, I can be absolutely exhausted. So lately, I’ve been making some changes so I can really let go, switch off and enjoy my weekend. Today, I wanted to share these with you, in case you have a hectic week.
#1 Set Boundaries
It was only in December that I talked about the importance of setting boundaries in the run up to the festive season – but this applies to all aspects of our lives.
We've got to find that cut-off point.
Building boundaries between our career, blog and personal live is something we’ll probably be trying to master for a long time. I'm still figuring it out. But I always try my best to ensure my deadlines and to-do lists don’t spill over into the time I dedicate to relaxing and enjoying myself.
If a person didn't have a blog, they’d be able to come home and have a decent chunk of time to relax. For me, and some of you reading this too, we have to make our own rules. We have to decide how much work we’re going to do and when we’re going to stop so we can spend time with loved ones. Tom and I always give ourselves a deadline of when we’re going to stop working and after that, it’s our time. If we didn't have these things in place, we’d just work all night, which isn't healthy.
Don’t burn yourself into the ground. Your health and your relationships are more important than getting that blog post up within a limited amount of time.
Read MoreI’ve found that there are many hats we have to wear when it comes to being a blogger. Content creator, idea strategist, brand coach, social media marketer, photographer – the list goes on. I bet you’d all agree that it’s a full-time job in itself.
But there’s one massive problem, isn't there? Finding the time to do it all.
I can guarantee that every week I’ll forget to do something. Even though everything is written down and my schedule is sorted, something always manages to slip away. Last week, it was my blog photos – I took them weeks ago and I’d just completely forgotten to edit them until the last minute.
I'm sure you can relate. It’s so hard juggling everything, keeping up with all your deadlines and trying to stay ahead of the game too.
And one of the main things I see people say they've forgotten to do on a daily basis is schedule posts for social media.
Whether you love or hate it, social media is something so valuable to us as bloggers. But from what I can see, lots of you either think scheduling posts is boring or too difficult – and lots of you just don’t bother.
That’s what this post is for. I know you know how beneficial it is to schedule social media posts. How you do that might not be ground-breaking news (I'm looking at you, Buffer.) But I'm not here to tell you how to do it – I'm here to tell you how to remember. I'm here to tell you how to make it easier.
So while this post might not solve all of your juggling problems, it’s certainly going to help you free up a lot of time so you’re focusing more on creating things that matter. Here’s how you can find the time to schedule your posts on social media.
Remember your purpose for each platform
I’ve talked about this in most of my social media posts, mainly because it’s so important. Knowing why you’re on each social platform will make scheduling posts a lot easier.
I’ve discovered that knowing my purpose for each platform really quickens up the amount of time it takes to schedule my posts. It means you know exactly what you’re looking for.
For instance, I know that my purpose on Twitter is to get my name out there and build a community. This means I need to share links to my own posts as well as links to articles by other bloggers and interact a lot too.
My purpose for Instagram, on the other hand, is to share more about behind-the-scenes of my life and let people get to know the person behind the brand. This requires completely different content.
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When I launched my first ever reader survey, I was excited and nervous at the same time. Excited for all the information you were going to give me, and nervous that no one would take part! Thankfully you did, I'm so grateful to those of you who took part. Thank you for giving up a few minutes of your time to give me and my space some feedback. It was mega interesting to read what you think about A Branch of Holly. But what I enjoyed even more was getting to know you and reading about what you need help with. You were all really honest and I really do cherish that.
Something I like to be on this blog and in my life is completely transparent. So today, I'm sharing the results from my survey in some pretty funky graphs. Here are some facts about you!
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We made it – today officially marks the final day of the Blogging Breakthrough Challenge. Can you believe it? I really hope you’ve found this series as worthwhile as I’ve found creating it. But it’s not over yet. We've still got the final day to go…
Over the past 28 days we've covered a lot. We've talked content. We've talked social media. We've talked organisation. We've talked inspiration. We've talked about all the main things you need to get a breakthrough with your blog.
Really, there’s only one thing left to do. So to wrap up the 28 Day Blogging Breakthrough challenge, it only seems right to talk about how we can put everything into action. It’s all well and good doing these tasks for 28 days. But you want to keep on doing them. Some are tasks you can do every day – some are ones you can do every month. So on Day 28, we’re going to go through all the tasks we've done and block out when they need to be done so you can achieve a constant breakthrough with your blog.
I figured that the easiest way to do this would be to split these into daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and one-off tasks. That way, you’ve got this to come back to or you can make notes in your own planner to remind you. I'm going to put the number of the task by each point so you know exactly what day of the challenge you need to refer to. So here we go!
Every day
Plan your day (9)
Find something that inspires you (11)
Snapchat away! (20)
Interact on social media (21)
Every week
Write a list (8)
Find your optimal social media posting times (17)
Do something on Periscope (22)
Every month
Create your editorial calendar (4)
Sort out your blog files (7)
Write a list (8)
Plan your images (13)
Create and review your social media plan (18)
Plan content for your mailing list (23)
Take a break (27)
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“Taking a break” is one of those phrases you hear a lot. But for me (and I'm sure for many of you) – it's a struggle. I come from a hard-working and motivated family, so the concept of being dedicated and working for what you want has been instilled in me since I was young. Even now, I can’t come home from work and do nothing, even if I’ve had a really tough day. I’ll do things. I’ll be active. And if I’m poorly? I have to be doing at least something, even if it’s just reading on the sofa.
I know you’ll find all of this really familiar. I know you’ll have the same battle on an almost daily basis. Just this week I saw someone say they had loads of blog photos to shoot but they wanted a nap. And do you know what stops us from giving in?
Guilt.
We’re a generation with side projects. We’re the generation that doesn’t sleep. We’re a generation that always wants more and is always doing something. So it’s no wonder that taking a break is so difficult for us to do!
But this is a really unhealthy way to live.
If you’ve been joining in with the Blogging Breakthrough Challenge, you’ll know that I’ve been pushing you. I’ve been pushing you to try things outside of your comfort zone and I’ve been pushing you to work hard. So far, it’s been 26 days of hard work. That’s what a challenge is all about, right?
Come next Monday, it’s all about putting what you’ve learnt into action. So I think Day 27 in the challenge is best spent away from your blog altogether. You've got to let your mind rest, step back from the daily grind of blogging (and your full-time job if you’re like me), and enjoy other areas of your life. Because guess what?
Your blog doesn’t define your life.
So on Day 27, let’s talk about why it’s so important to take a break and how it can actually benefit your blog in a really good way.
One of my favourite parts of blogging has got to be coming up with new ideas and planning my content. Your content is one of, if not the major player when it comes to your blog. It helps you get across your message, make an impact with your readers and leads to growth too. Our blogs can’t function without content.
But if there’s one question I'm asked really frequently, it’s this:
How do you come up with so many ideas?
You want to be purposeful with your blog, right? You want to only share content that means something to you and that your readers are going to enjoy. Intentionally planning that content is one of your biggest challenges as a blogger. And that’s where Day 26 of the Blogging Breakthrough challenge comes in. Creating consistent and focused content will do a lot for your blog over time. So let’s talk about how you can have a great content inspiration session.
Where Do I Start?
The first thing you need to do is plan when your content inspiration session is going to happen. I’d say you need a good morning or afternoon. Pick a day, put it in your diary and stick to it. That way, you won’t be worrying about it and you’ll be ready for when the day arrives.
#1 Get Your Space Set Up
The word “inspiration” is a key part of this post for a reason. Your space needs to inspire you in order for your ideas to happen. You want to have a lot a room. You want to make sure you’ve got all your equipment. You want to make sure you’ve got no interruptions. Whether it’s at your desk, on your bed or on the floor – make sure that it’s a space that’s going to be best for your content ideas session.
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Over the past few years, I've been reading fewer and fewer books. Give me blogs and magazines any day, but an actual book? It’s safe to say that it’s been a while. That was until last summer when I got a creative inspirational book for my birthday. Since I've started reading it, it’s made me realise how important it is to read a book. It creates so much joy and can actually support your self-development more than the online world ever can.
So as part of the Blogging Breakthrough challenge, when we’re finally getting to that stage where we’re putting things into action, this is the perfect thing you need. It’s time to start focusing on yourself and growing your creative imagination with some good old-fashioned reading.
Why Are Books so Beneficial?
When you’re a child, you don’t even think twice about reading. I used to devour book after book after book – some I've definitely read more than once. I loved escaping into another world and tying myself to each story. It’s important for your growth into adulthood – but it’s given me a completely different perspective now.
No matter whether you’re 14 or forty, that feeling of opening a page of a fresh new book never goes away. Now I'm 24, I realise even more how big of a part reading plays in my personal development. Here are some other reasons why I think reading is so beneficial:
It Gets You Away from the Noise
When you’re reading a book, you’re just reading. All you need is somewhere comfy to sit, your drink of choice (tea for me) and a book. You don’t need social media, you don’t need your notifications popping up every minute – you need quiet. That’s why I want to get back into reading more.
Our lives are surrounded by so much noise lately, coming in every direction. Emails, notifications, messages, to-do lists – it’s like we always have to be tuned in so our mind never relaxes. Reading a book lets you completely switch off from everything. You don’t have to worry about whether or not you shared the link to your latest blog post or whether you replied to that email. The point of reading is so you can let go of all that and distance yourself from the noise to enrich your life.
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Guest blogging can seem like a dreaded three syllable word to some people. The realisation of letting someone new talk to the audience you've carefully built up & nurtured throughout your blogging life can seem daunting. These are some of the anxieties shared by many bloggers. But the thing is, once you peel back those fears and anxieties, you soon being to realise that guest blogging in a collaborative sense can be one of the best things you've ever done.
The Power of Guest Posting
Guest blogging or guest posting is when you allow another fellow blogger to share their ideas and content through a post on your own blog. This can be a one-off post or a series of blog posts. Guest posting can be so rewarding and can really engage & benefit your readers. With many of us setting our blogging goals, I'm sure there are elements of your blog you'd like to expand or develop. You might be an interiors blogger who'd like to branch out into food blogging, or a lifestyle blogger who'd like to incorporate more craft or colour trend reports into your blog. This is where building that community and content through expert guest bloggers & guest posts can help immensely. And this is something I'd like to develop over on my own blog too.
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You hear about mailing lists all the time, right? Why you should have one, how to start one - it seems like they’ve really blown up over the past few months. I know this, because not only have I seen a lot of blog posts talking about mailing lists, but I’ve also done my fair share of writing about them too.
Because there’s so much content out there about mailing lists, it’s safe to say that a lot of us have either got one, or we’re thinking about creating one. But we’re doing it without really thinking about it - we’re doing it without thinking how it can help us. We’re doing it “just because.”
Yep, I said it. At the moment, I feel mailing lists are like a trend. Like peonies and red Starbucks cups - we get them just because we see that other people have got them too.But when it comes to mailing lists, we can’t just do that. We can’t manage it without a strategy. We can’t manage it without knowing its purpose.
Did you know that having a mailing list is one of the biggest ways that help you to get a breakthrough with your blog? It’s true - because that’s what it’s done for me. So today as part of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, I’m taking away the fluff and sharing seven HUGE reasons why and how mailing lists can help your blog.
#1 You Can Share More Valuable, Inspiring Content
We’re going to start off with the most important point here, because I know you all know that when it comes to blogging, it’s your content that matters the most.
Recently, it seems like content that provides “value” is the only content that’s going to get you results. There’s been a huge transition from quick 300 words posts that glaze over a topic briefly, to longer form content with real life tips and high-quality information. I know this because not only is this something I’ve found myself doing, but I’ve also seen a lot of other bloggers do this too.
Your readers visit your blog for a reason. You give them something that makes them keep coming back.
That’s exactly the same with your mailing list.
If you provide your email subscribers with extra high value information, they’ll be so much more likely to visit your blog more often. So instead of writing five posts per week, why not cut it down to four and use the other one to write to your mailing list? By switching your focus slightly, you’re not reducing the amount of time you spend working on your blog - you’re actually benefitting it more.
Use your newsletter as a way to truly connect with your audience. Share a story from your week or the biggest thing you’ve learnt. Let them in on what’s been stressing you out and what’s been making you happy. Then link to some of your latest blog posts to get them to go straight to your blog.
The possibilities here are endless. With a mailing list, you’re allowing people to receive more content from you. And if this is good content, your subscribers will grow and so will your blog too.
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The sheer idea of Periscope terrifies me. It almost literally makes me break out in a cold sweat. I barely show my face on my blog let alone broadcast live to the world. So why did I gravitate to this task when Holly requested guest posts for the Blogging Breakthrough Challenge?
I think trying things that scare you make you stronger.
It’s ridiculously easy to set up Periscope. It takes about 30 seconds of your time and isn't painful to do. As long as you have a Twitter account it’s easy. My fiancé joined Periscope before me, which is a first for us since he’s not a big fan of technology. But he has quickly become obsessed with it as its something that gives you a peek into other people’s lives from around the world. I've watched a woman walking a ferret in Sweden, a man broken down on the highway in the USA and teenagers driving around Dubai.
Your broadcasts can be as long or as short as you want. People can start watching at any time and may ask you questions that will appear in speech bubbles on the bottom left corner of the screen. If they like the broadcast then you will see hearts on the bottom right of the screen. They can also leave the broadcast whenever they please.
Periscope is an interesting platform that can be beneficial if you have a blog or business.
It’s just another way of communicating with your followers but live and in real time. I think it’s ideal if you have a YouTube channel and are looking for the next challenge.
If you’ve been joining in with the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, you’ll have noticed there’s been quite a theme this week – social media. We've talked plans, platforms and posting times. You know how beneficial it is to you as a blogger. And you know how much fun it is too. I chat to lots of you who read ABOH over on Twitter and follow many of you on Instagram – that’s what a community is all about. It’s a two way street. But how do you grow that community? How do you get people to start talking to you? How do you build relationships?
Interaction.
It’s great having an audience. But it’s even more valuable to create an engaged audience. After all, really, these are the people that make blogging possible – they’re there to read your posts and spread the word, which means you want to keep on creating and creating.
Your community can become your biggest supporters and even your friends. It’s mad how I've got friends who are people I've never met. But it’s because I've engaged and interacted with them that has made this possible. So today, as part of the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge, I wanted to chat to you about how you can boost your social media presence by INTERACTING with others.
#1 Study Your Followers
First off, know when your audience is online. Brilliant blog posts and fantastic flat lays won’t be any good to you if your community isn't there to see them. Luckily for us, there are some great tools out there that help you find out exactly when your followers are going to be active.
For Twitter, you want to use Followerwonk - just put your Twitter handle in and it’ll tell you what times of the day your followers are most present. Then you can sync this with your Buffer schedule so you’re scheduling tweets for when you know people are going to see them.
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I’d put good money on the fact that the majority of you reading this post are on Twitter. I’d bet even more that you’re on Instagram. But I wouldn't be so sure about this app – Snapchat.
100+ million monthly users, 700 million snaps sent daily – it sounds pretty impressive, right? And it is. No other social media platform allows your audience to pay complete attention. When you’re tuning into a snap, that’s all you’re doing until it disappears.
As bloggers, we know that social media is a really beneficial tool for us. It gives us a way to promote ourselves and what we do, form relationships with our readers and lets us show who we really are – and Snapchat does that more than anything else.
But I get it – how do you even use Snapchat? I avoided it for ages because I didn't know what to do with it. Now I'm addicted. So let’s dive into Day 20 (!) in the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge and why you need to get on Snapchat right now.
So, what even is Snapchat?
Snapchat is like texting with photos. It’s instant. You can take photos and videos and instantly message them to your audience as “snaps”. There are loads of special features to use and of course, you can add emojis and captions to your photos too. When you’re ready to send a snap, you can choose to let your audience view it for between 1-10 seconds. I’d say instead of sending snaps straight away, definitely add them to your story – this keeps a really good flow going.
Then, your snaps will stay there for 24 hours. And once they’ve gone, they’re gone forever. That’s what makes Snapchat unlike anything else.
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If you’re using Twitter but you’re not using Twitter lists, you’re really missing out.
This is the one thing I wish I’d learnt when I first started out on Twitter.
Your feed is hard to keep up with at the best of times. I'm betting you follow a lot of people – and with retweets, quotes and some sponsored content, it can be difficult to take it all in.
You don’t want to miss the best tweets. You don’t want to miss the best opportunities. But how do you make sure you see them?
With Twitter lists.
These let you see the most important, exciting and original content from the people that you’re bothered about the most. It’s like you’re using Twitter more than what its purpose is. You’re using it intentionally and mindfully.
I absolutely love Twitter lists. Like Tom said yesterday, not only can they help you find inspiration, they’re also there to find communities and to look for opportunities to interact.
But there are so many other ways to use them too. So today’s task in the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge is all about why Twitter lists are so great and how you can make the most of them.
Why Are Twitter Lists so Great?
You Can Create Lists of Your Favourite People
Your favourite bloggers, brands, friends, magazines – you don’t have to scroll through your entire feed to see if you’ve missed their updates. You can make sure you catch all of them by putting them into a special list. I have a Twitter list that’s exactly like this, and honestly? I never scroll through my entire feed anymore – I've got the most important updates right where I want them.
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Gone are the days when social media could take a back seat in getting yourself known online. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - they are now so saturated with the claims of bloggers and businesses each vying for their market share, that simply having a presence on these social platforms is no longer enough. You need a proper social media plan to give yourself the best possible chance of standing out from your competitors.
This is a guide for you to achieve that, with five steps to help get you started and then repeat over and over until your social media presence is flourishing.
Please remember though that this takes time - people will not flock to your website within a week, perhaps not even after six months. But if you put as much hard work and effort into your social media plan as you do creating brilliant blog posts, there is no reason why your social platforms cannot become a valuable asset for your work and career.
So let's get underway focusing on two of the most useful social platforms for bloggers - Twitter and Instagram.
Go on a Following Spree
When starting out, you will almost certainly have to follow someone for them to follow you in return, so identify individuals beneficial to you and follow them. The best case scenario is that they follow you back. The worst case scenario is that they don't, but by following them you will still be able to see all the useful content that they share.
A good way to ensure that your feed is full of truly genuine opportunities for engagement is to go on a following spree.
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Have you ever wondered if people are actually seeing what you post on social media?
Your latest blog post, that question you wanted answering, your exciting announcement - it’s great to tweet about them. But what happens if no one is actually seeing your updates?
Social media is one of the best ways to get yourself out there in front of your audience. You can build relationships, share your content and truly make a name for yourself. In 2016, there are even Instagram stars - that just shows you how powerful social media can be.
But I believe that you can’t just use your social channels as and when you want to. I used to use them like this - posting what I wanted, when I wanted. Becoming a serious blogger make me completely change my view.
I believe that social media can’t be used without some sort of strategy - a strategy that involves timing.
Lots of things come into play when it comes to posting to Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. And one of the biggest questions that always comes into play is, “when should I post my latest update?”
That’s what Day 17 in the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge is here to tell you.
So let’s start with the basics - I know you’re all savvy. I know you’ve got common sense. I know you know that 4am isn’t going to be the best time to post a link to your latest blog post, because it’s likely that hardly anyone will read it.
Just as you know that lunchtime is a great time to tweet and Snapchat, because people are highly likely to be checking their social updates on their lunch break.
When I first started blogging, this is how I worked out my social schedule. I thought about the times that my audience were likely to be online, looked at some research, and picked my timings based on those things. Here are some facts that I found originally:
- Weekend posts on Facebook get more engagement
- During the week, it’s best to post to Facebook in the early afternoon
- You’ll get the best engagement on Twitter in the afternoon
- Instagram is always active
- Pinterest is the best referrer of traffic
- Never post a LinkedIn update during work hours
Looking at those facts for social media, it really narrows down the times when you want to post.
For instance, you definitely want to post something around lunchtime. Then there’s early morning and around 5pm as people are getting to and from work. And anytime in the evening.
But you can get even more specific than that.
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What’s one of the most important pages on your website? What’s one of the places where first-time visitors will go to get to know a bit more about you? Know the answer?
Your “About” page.
This is one of the most useful, and will probably be one of the most popular pages on your site. It’s where your readers, whether they’re new or not, can go to learn more about who you are, what do you and why you’re doing it.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Yep, it is. And there are blog posts upon blog posts out there that will tell you how you can create a killer About page.
But that’s not what today’s about. That’s not the point. Day 16 in the #BloggingBreakthrough challenge isn’t here to tell you what you need to put in your About page. It’s here to tell you why you should update it regularly and how to do just that.
Now that leads me onto a very important question to ask you.
When was the last time you updated your About page?
Think about it. I read blogs every single day. More often than not, I’ll head to their About page. But the information will either be really really short or just completely out of date.
When you’re constantly trying to attract new readers to your blog - even though you might not actively be doing this all the time - it’s not the best thing when your About page is “old”.
So writing one up to make it the best About page ever is great and something you should definitely do. But do you just leave it forever once it goes live?
Hell no!
When Should I Update My About Page?
We can split this up into three scenarios:
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