Cure the Summertime Blog Traffic Blues

“It’s summer!  Go out and play!”

Have you said that to your kids lately?  Well, someone must also be saying it to people who read blogs, because I’m hearing from lots of people that their blog traffic is down. I’m experiencing it myself.

There is a time for everything,  and a season for every activity under the heavens … I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  Ecclesiastes 3:1,12

This is normal.  Until the seasons change, let’s focus on some things that will make us happy and be good for others.  If you have the summertime blog traffic blues, I’ve rounded up some suggestions to make the best of the dog days of blog summer:

Go Out and Play!

Everybody else is doing it, so you might as well too.  Depending on where you live, you may have a only a few weeks before school starts again, so enjoy the extra time with your family.  Your blog will be there when you get back.

Promote some old posts.

When you’re hustling to grow your blog, don’t forget that many of your new readers haven’t read your older posts.  This has been really helpful to me this summer.  Each week, I’ve freshened up an old post with a new pinnable graphic and promoted it for the week.  It has given me more posts to promote with less than half the work of writing extra posts.

Do some blog cleanup.

Slow traffic times are perfect for giving your blog a facelift.  Size up these basic blog elements and be sure yours are awesome:

Are your name, logo and tagline clear and visible?
Are you images high quality and pinnable?
Are the size and style of your content fonts easy to read?
Do you have an email subscription opt-in?
Does everything on your navigation bar work?
Do you have social media SHARE and social media FOLLOW buttons?
Are your privacy policy and legal disclosures complete?
Is your About page up-to-date with a high-quality headshot?

Brush up on a blog traffic skill.

Whether it is unlocking the mysteries of SEO, writing better headlines or making your content more shareable, pick one.  Just one.  Then work it until you are great at it!

Maybe these posts will help:

• How to Increase Traffic on Your Christian Blog Using SEO from Kingdom Bloggers
• 5 Things to Do To Your Blog Image Before You Hit Publish from Stephanie at Sustaining the Powers
• My “Better Together” Series on collaborating with other bloggers

Spread some blog traffic love.

Let’s help each other out during these slow days.  Visit other blogs and see what is going on there.  Leave some meaningful comments and bless someone else who is sweatin’ it out this summer. And don’t just read their latest post.  Use it as an opportunity to learn from someone else. Click around to read other posts, check out their About page, see what things they are doing to grow their email list.  If you don’t know where to start, how about starting with other bloggers who have recently commented on your blog?  Slow times are great times to build relationships.

Slow times are great times to build relationships … online AND offline!

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Build Relationships

I’ve consistently found that building relationships is the best way to grow my blog.  So this summer, engage in your favorite Facebook groups, Instagram pods and masterminds. Check out the Move Forward Mastermind if you are looking for a place to connect!

Summer may be slow for traffic, but it doesn’t have to be slow for growing and building your blog.