Blog hacks, which ones work for you? Blogging is so strategic these days, that being said, not all blogging hacks are going to work well for everyone. These 3 blog hacks didn’t not work for me, but they might for you. Let’s talk about the how’s and why’s of each hack !
You see, blogging (these days) is so much like running your own small business. Actually, for many it is OUR own small business. We start from scratch, we are excited and passionate about it, and the only way we grow it is by investing time and working out the kinks. Well, at least that’s what I have experienced. I know everyone has their own story though, ya know?
Ok, back to my point. Blog hacks. Those “hacks” that help you maximize your growth, your time, your content, and yada yada yada. There are SOOOOOO many good ones, like THIS one or THAT one.
And those are the hacks that HAVE HELPED me a TON!
But then there are a few that I’ve tried OVER and OVER again and have completely failed. Yep, I said it. I failed. I threw in the towel. Raised the white flag, I surrendered. Those hacks did not fit with my “mojo” of blogging, although they might for others.
Gulp, true story. So let me dive into those 3 failed blog hacks with you. Not to discourage you by any means, but to maybe bring some peace to your hard working blogging business mind. And so you know that there is no one size fits all strategy for blogging, just one that works for your personal BRAND and YOU.
Here are my failed blog hacks, and feel free to laugh along the way and to agree or disagree. No judgement here ya’ll.
1. Creating a and editorial calendar and writing posts weeks in advance.
Ugh, I tried. And you know what happened? It felt too planned and it stressed me out. I am the same way with recipes, I don’t like instruction. Haha. And instead of trying to be UBER productive I ended up feeling stuck and worn out. I needed breathing room. I guess you could say I’m not a type A person with lists and agendas, I’m more a B+.
So what do I do now? I have a journal and I jot down all my ideas and “inspiration” for the month. Then I usually tackle a few each weekend and go from there. It gives me wiggle room in case I need to adjust things here or there. The only really posts I schedule these days are sponsored posts, and those are spaced WAY out just in case.
2. Being a Multiple Niche Blog.
As you can see, I’m not tried and true planner, so trying to blog about more than 3 different areas is too much. In fact, I get way too distracted. I realized this last year when I was posting about fitness, nutrition, healthy bites, recipes, races, life, blogging, etc. etc. etc. I had to narrow it down. So I asked myself, what 2-3 things am I really passionate about at the moment? What do I want to continue to share and to put all my energy into?
It was nutrition and gluten free recipes. I love to talk sports nutrition and gut health, I love to be in the kitchen, and I love food photography. I wanted to continue to grow in all those areas so I invested more time in them, giving each area my full attention. And you know what? I still love them all. Thank goodness! Now don’t get me wrong, I love fitness, but I’m burnt out on talking about it. There I said it. I think I’ll leave it up to these two bad ass trainers to keep the fitness mojo alive. THEY ROCK!
3. And last but not least —> Facebook (until now)
Um, it took me 5 years to even start a fan page. I just did this year. Am I strange or what? But here me out. Facebook fan pages and it’s algorythm changed so much these past few years. I didn’t want to hop on, get used to posting a certain way, the facebook change it up again. So I watched, I joined groups, and I read up on how facebook fan pages were best utilized. Then I caved. I know it’s good to “build your reach.” that way, so I made one, and I try to interact on there each day and update or share other people’s great content. Slowly but surely I am embracing facebook, haha!.
You know what else I realized? I may be late to the party, but it allowed me time to learn and grow in other areas first. Like Instagram, pinterest, and twitter; the first two being my FAV! I was able to focus more on a few social media outlets instead of trying to tackles 4 or 5 at a time. I’m still working on all those of course, but I feel like I have a better grasp on what social media tasks to tackle each day. That’s just me, I work better with focusing on one or two areas at a time and rotating days or week.
Okay, now that’ve confessed all my failures, I should probably leave you with some super hero happy blogging tactics! Ones that make you feel like this.
How about 20 EPIC BLOG hacks in 20 minutes or less? Yes, Jessica wrote this awesome post and I couldn’t agree more! Those worked!
What blog hacks have worked or not worked for you?
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I am a type A personality – and still don’t like/want to live by an editorial calendar! Life is fluid and so will be my blog. Love that you have settled into your niche and going with it. Thanks for sharing – great post!
The posting calendar idea makes me laugh! I have tried this so many times- but it’s so hard to follow through with. It ends up making me feel like I’ve failed 🙁 Sometimes recipes don’t turn out, and sometimes topics I think would be great to write about end up being harder to write about than I thought… or I find out information that changes my stance on it while researching. My posts these days are pretty much of the day 🙂
The monthly calendars almost work for me – allowing wiggle room definitely helps, haha. And I LOVE instagram. I have a hard time engaging with other tweets on twitter, and resort to simply sharing other posts on it. I could be better at that. Pinterest is a beast I’m not yet ready to tackle…but I’ve read from other bloggers how amazing of a tool it can be! Thanks for this post 🙂
TWINS! LOL!!! While I do get a majority of blog traffic from Facebook, it’s NOT from my fan page, however it’s been getting more engagement as of late – I attribute the traffic from Facebook Groups/Communities!
Such a great post Lindsay!!! I loved all the different comments too! I think that it depends on what people want to ficus on & where they want to drive their traffic from.. I bet it can all work depending on time into it.
With limited time, it is hard. Also when you are not making money at it & no extra money, it is just hard to put in the time even when you know you have to to expand. It is like a catch 22.
Thx for sharing!!!
Girl! We are fail sisters. I can NEVER create a schedule, my words pop up whenever they feel like and that’s when I sit down and write. And well, I don’t have a FSC fan page on FB. I only post my posts on my private account ONCE a day…..I am so lazy. I love IG though!
Pinterest scares me. I try, but seriously, it overwhelms me.
well i love your realness, so don’t ever let go of those words!
Great post Lindsay! My blog needs so much help, time and attention so I really appreciate your advice! Love where you have gone with your blog. You seem a lot happier this year, I hope that this is true (not that you seemed unhappy before). 🙂
I am happier with where I am focused, if that makes sense? And jess, you are doing great. Don’t doubt that, keep sharing your wonderful tips and life!
I really enjoyed reading this post Lindsay, and everyone’s comments here too. Apologies for my late comment, the wifi cut out in the Scottish Highlands! I need to concentrate more on Instagram and Pinterest. Pinterest I’m doing well with, now that I’m using Tailwind to schedule my posts. Facebook, well it really doesn’t do much any more, so I just post one update there per day.
I’ve been seriously thinking about where my blog is going recently because I’ve developed so many interests past just healthy food blogging, like yourself! I’m also into Food Photography, Nutrition, Wellness, Fitness and now Blog Coding/CSS etc etc. I think I should do a poll on my blog and actually ask my readers what they want to see. And maybe concentrate on those. Plus I’ve never even done a blog giveaway yet, and they are supposed to be good for building your audience, which is my number one goal! lol
Thanks for this great thought provoking post! 🙂
you don’t ever have to apologize for being late here, you were enjoying LIFE first! don’t ever feel obliged to comment, but thank you for sharing. You have wonderful recipes and pictures and I think those two platforms are key for that neil, keep it up!
Love these tips… I think finding your niche is the best one. I started thinking I should be a fashion blogger because those are the bloggers I worked with all day but realized I was burnt out of talking about it!
i so get that. Yep, same with me and fitness.
This was a great post Lindsay. I’ve done a bit better on Facebook but what I’ve really found is that a lot of people who only have Facebook pages (n blog or anything) do a lot better. I don’t know.
Anyways I can relate to this post so much. At the end of the day, we do what works for us…facebook…twitter…snapchat…there are so many different media outlets.
oh snapchat, i can’t even … it overwhelms me! haha. But I”m on it. Thanks for your input hollie, i think you are spot on with the FB tip too. Love ya!
I don’t have the time or the data plan for add snapchat in LOL.
You’re the best! And these are so true! I am with you on the editorial cal. I hate pre planning and feel it takes away my truth, too robotic. And wanna know secret? Dan runs the fb page! Love you!
can i hire dan? LOL! will pay in balls
I love that you shared what didn’t work for you. I think I might steal this idea, if that’s okay! Facebook is a tricky tool for bloggers. It can be worth it, but only if you have the time and money to spend figuring it out. And who wants to do that when you can be awesome on Instagram instead, for free? (for now)
LOVED this post! I agree with all of it…well for me, except Facebook) Thanks for sharing!
Youre the FB queen! i love it!
I tried editorial calendar for a few months and then I stressed out. I prefer to write real time post but I do keep a calendar to plan out the recipes. The journal idea is a great one. Sometimes I cook 2 or 3 recipes ahead and I have some inspirations when I was cooking, I usually don’t remember them when I actually sit down and start to write the post.
Nice post 🙂
haha you are like me. I don’t like structured recipes, but i need to remember them for the blog.
LOVE THIS!! I am semi good with creating an editorial calendar and I am ALWAYS writing posts in advance just because I always get random ideas LOL. I find I have to write it out in the moment or else it goes away! Other than that, I totally fail on facebook! I just can’t seem to gain a following there.
i think you’re doing great, keep focusing on one area at a time!
There’s just no way I can write in advance either… which is probably why I can never pre-schedule posts for when I’m on vacation and why I don’t have much to fall back on when the writer’s block really hits. But I just like to be in the moment and feel like I’m really talking to my readers — otherwise it just feels too fake. And Facebook… ugh. I can’t even. Twitter too 😛
well you’re doing FABULOUS so whatever is working or not, keep doing it… haha.
we have always wanted to write a post like this! Well said! We tried a few things and didn’t work out for us too – like the calendar. We have one, write in it, but most of the time we end up not following it. haha
We are trying to narrow it down on what we write about too. Fitness and recipes is huge, along with our life and family. 🙂
yes, you all are doing great things! keep that focus!
It’s weird, because I am such a planner in all areas of my life, except for blogging. I cannot for the life of me write posts in advance. And I am the same with you on FB…I don’t like it for personal use and I just struggle with it business wise. It is my least favorite social media channel.
What a fun post Lindsay. I actually used to schedule posts way out but then my schedule caught up with me as my work load got heavy, and now, no matter how hard I try – I’m treading water! Hopefully I can fix that soon 🙂
Is the multiple niche hack expanded upon in one of the source articles you linked? That sounds interesting. Pre-scheduling posts is only going to work in limited scenarios for me; race recaps, product reviews (especially sponsored ones) are time sensitive.
no, but i’ve heard that having multiple niches like fitness, health, recipes, parenting, DIY can gain more traffic but i sometimes think it’s overload. ya know?
Hahaha – I love this. I am the same way – an editorial calendar will never work for me. I’m a squirrel. I do need to be a bit better with planning… today’s post was written at about 9p last night and I didn’t actually edit the recipe pic until this morning. I had to edit the post to add it. Oops.
I’m still trying to figure it all out. I’ve heard it said that you need to have a “brand” however, like you, I am passionate about several things, I have narrowed it down to fitness and food, and it works for me, but I feel like my blog is a direct reflection of my life, sometimes I like to write personal stuff, sometimes I’m really into food and other times fitness. It comes in blocks and I wonder if that’s ok to do. I’m growing and that makes me think what I’m doing is the right thing. It’s overwhelming at times, but SO fun. Thank you for all of your tips, support and friendship. I can remember the first time I commenting on your blog– it’s been a wonderful ride, and continues to be. xo
I’m so similar to you on all of these. I use an editorial calendar to keep track of ideas, but I let daily inspiration and mood guide my posts. Niche is definitely my thing – I still have too much of an academic mindset of focusing myself in one or two areas and my blog definitely shows that (healthy recipes, running, sports nutrition).
And social media is way too overwhelming for me, especially since I’m a millennial. I just got the hang of twitter, and now everyone’s talking about snapchat? But I’ve loved Pinterest for years now.
Ugh! The dreaded planned posts! LOL…I honestly don’t know how anyone does those unless they have recipes or things that aren’t “from the hip”. I post about my daily life and something will happen that spurs a post for me. As for the others, I just wing it. I actually have a bunch of things pinned for blogging but I totally confess to never having read, let alone USE any of them!
Facebook is a big pain in the butt and I only keep it because so many companies still require it for campaigns. I love, love love social media but I truly feel that the ‘ease’ of Instagram takes away from blog readership. That being said, I am WAY too addicted to stop. ☺
Thanks for sharing and I think you may have inspired my next blog post! ☺
Michelle
You know the Facebook thing is strange. I created a page just because I knew I should, but don’t put specific effort into it. Surprisingly I have the largest following on Facebook and recently quite a few of my followers began to interact. It took a long time though. Honestly I’m not sure long term Facebook will be around. It’s too crazy now. I can’t even see my personal feed without a bunch of ads, etc. I hardly use it for personal use now.
# 1 is totally working for me right now because if i see my ideas on the calendar, i feel motivated to do it rather than let it go.
#2 and #3 im the same way there ..social media is just too much for me and my blog is about what i truly enjoy rather than find a niche and make a living out of it so im okay with that 🙂
I can barely blog on a semi-regular basis. I think I need to work on the actual writing part first.
I also need to figure out this whole Twitter thing…
I am with you on this for sure – I have an ideas book but trying to plan out posts weeks in advance just doesn’t work for me. Sometimes I have inspiration from reading a magazine or watching a TV show or the news and it excites me to write then and there rather than sticking to a set plan. I read too many posts that seem ‘forced’, I like feelings people’s passion and excitement behind posts!
And I have a FB page but it’s a personal rather than blog one. I just see instagram and Twitter being more fun and I can’t do them all! 🙂
I’m glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t use an editorial calendar. I really tried to plan ahead, but even getting it together over the weekend is hard for me. I keep track of what I want to write by jotting notes on the back of an envelope. Maybe in Evernote if I’m really organized 🙂
I can’t plan out my posts far in advance either! I have some topics jotted down in my notebook and then I just go from there depending upon how I am feeling. I can’t be too planned with my words because I need them to come naturally and I need to talk each day about what I am in the mood to talk about 🙂
I create and write up posts weeks in advance. It came from when I started. The first year of my blog I posted every single day!!! Yes I think maybe I took a day or two off but there were days I posted multiple times as I had something so good I wanted to share I would just share it later that day after I just rushed to finish it. After that year I slowed down but my ideas didn’t so I had this big log of posts I could just pull from. The issue with that, and one I still have, is that I have a lot of posts I made months ago but because I like something more or try to vary what I post they haven’t been posted yet. :/ Of course for so many reasons it does still work for me and my families busy life. Last year when in Ireland for a month and having short notice we would be going I only had to create a couple of posts and I had enough to post 3-4 times a week the whole month we were gone. Time when it gets busy and I go a week or sometimes more without being able to get in the kitchen or find time to post it is great.
Facebook… that is one of the areas that seems to work and I got a lot of followers right away but I don’t know what to post so I usually just post links to my posts but nothing extra like Instagram. My other social medias I have issues “building” especially Twitter.
I really liked reading this post, Lindsay. I went to a blogging conference last year where they talked about an editorial calendar – but (like you) I just couldn’t get on board! Though, Facebook does work for me – quite often it brings in more traffic than Pinterest – but that’s in part to me not putting in the elbow grease on my Pinterest presence. I have so much to learn and your information and links are so so incredibly helpful! Thanks friend – hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Love, love, love this post, Lindsay! It’s always helpful to hear about what works AND WHAT DOESN’T WORK for other bloggers! 🙂 This is definitely a constant learning experience. Thanks for the tips (although I’m definitely a planner/scheduler!), and I can’t wait to check out some of the other hacks that you link to as well. 🙂
Lindsay! I love this post and the title especially!! I cannot write that far in advance. I’m lucky lucky lucky if I write one post ahead of my schedule, which may explain why I’ve had fewer posts on my blog lately. It kind of stresses me out but I kinda need the deadline too. I love that you’ve focused your content. Can you help me figure out what I should be writing about?!
I love posts where the topic is shifted like this to not just be another post about “how to do this” or “these things worked great!” Those are helpful, but I’m often reading the same things over and over.
I have an editorial calendar but I don’t use it religiously. I am also working on my niche because I do write about food, fitness, and personal/emotional stuff. I think I need to narrow it a bit.
I didn’t start a FB page until late too and it’s just been kind of meh.
I love this! Thanks for being real & not sugar coating your blog! Your nutrition wisdom & food photography plus gut health knowledge always impresses me!
Great post! The best blog advice I ever received was to be active in the network you want to grow. I have found that being active on twitter, facebook etc has not impacted my blog at all, it only helped to grow those specific networks. Want to grow your blog? Be active with your blog, spend your time drafting quality content with great photos, interact with readers, Visit and comment on your readers blogs to develop a relationship etc. I think you do a fantastic job at all of those core things and that’s why the other hacks have failed.
Thank you! Definitely needed that affirmation this morning
Editorial calendars are a joke! hahahaha!
A lot of great advice in here. I have read so many times about an editorial calendar and it feels a bit restrictive to me. I keep ideas and sort of plan those out a little bit in advance, but I like that they can be changed. Also, agreed about diving into too much social media. I think it’s better to take some time and really understand a few. Thanks for these and enjoy the weekend!
Given that I am less than a year and a half into blogging, I am still “new” and haven’t worked out all the kinks yet. I have found that focusing on certain areas is the best way to be productive and having a schedule of sorts (at least a topic in mind) works best for me. What I really need to focus on now is narrowing down which social media channels to put effort into and which ones to “ditch” or at least not focus too much time on!
It also has to be said that you have absolutely inspired me and I appreciate all your blog and food photography posts…you rock! 🙂
I find that a loose schedule of blog posts helps. I always do my “Friday Five” and “Weekend Update” which is not always running related. Then I allow myself to write/post whatever comes up during the week. I was not a fan of the FB page either, it was just another social media platform to keepup with and it just wasn’t for me. I like to keep my running/social media stuff to twitter/instagram and FB for family/friends 🙂
I need to learn how to better utilize Pinterest…hmm…
Karen@karenlovestorun
Wow, these three things are tough for me too and I’m trying to figure them out. I love that you said you’re “B+” because that’s exactly me too. I like scheduling but not weeks in advance, that feels suffocating to me and I can’t live that way. I’m also trying to figure out the niche thing, it’s tempting to just blog about whatever comes up, which I’ve been doing, and I haven’t decided if I need a more narrow focus. And FB just confuses me!
Great post! I am with you on number one. I just can’t work that far out–I guess I need inspiration right at my fingertips. I will also say that while I have a FB page, it has been the worst of all my platforms for driving traffic. I invest very little time there for that reason–I should probably have an attitude adjustment, but…
I’m a multi niche blog, and that can be berry difficult for marketing purposes. I too can’t do an editorial calendar! I write too much day to day. And Facebook… I should do more with it, but I just dont!
I am with you on the first one, I can never really schedule things far in advance with a calendar, I have tried that. I truly need to be inspired to post content, so I just roll with that.
I cannot get in the groove with an editorial calendar. I like to write in “real time” about my life and how I’m feeling that moment. I guess I can’t predict what that will be like in a few weeks. Plus, I honestly can’t come up with a bunch of ideas in advance. I’m Type A but not when it comes to list-making 🙂
Ah, facebook. That’s the one I refuse to figure out, because the constantly changing algorithm annoys me to no end. I never bothered making a facebook page, so that’s definitely one of the trains I never jumped on to! I’m all about scheduling posts months in advance and blogging about a billion things though! 😛
And I’m so glad it works for you! Well done friend. Love your blog