How to take your blog to the next level

I've been blogging for a really long time. It's almost embarrassing to admit how long I've been blogging because I don't have the statistics that I "should" for the length of time I've been at this. I've gone through lots of phases of posting regularly and then nothing at all for months. This year I've really wanted to step up my blogging game.

I started slowly at the beginning of the year and have done little things throughout the year to take my blog to the next level. I've really, truly done all of these things and want to share these simple steps with you so that you can learn from my mistakes and make your blog better!

1. Decide what you really want to blog about. I don't believe that you have to stick to one niche. Once I became a mom I wanted to share all the new things I was learning and talk about where I was at in my life, but I didn't want to lose the fashion blogging because I truly love creating new outfits and going beyond my comfort zone with clothes. I chose to do both and it's the best decision I've made for my blog! I've had people thank me for not turning this blog into  a full-fledged mommy blog. They enjoy seeing both parts of my life. 
2. Be consistent about posting. I  have found, hands down, that when I'm consistently posting, whether that's two times a week or five, I always have more success. When I am posting every week I have more offers to collaborate with companies and I have more repeat visitors. 
3. Join a group. This is something I never really though about until this year. I've joined two Facebook blogging groups and they are invaluable! Every day I have the opportunity to share my content and find new blogs. I'm also getting more interaction on my blog and social media channels due to these groups. 
4. Set a blogging schedule. I had heard about blogging schedules but never bothered with them because I was so inconsistent, but once I decided to buckle down on blogging it was so helpful to have a week or two worth of posts planned! I don't run into as much writer's block because I know ahead of time what I want to write about. 
5. Use blogging tools. I had no idea how many tools were available to bloggers until this year. Thanks to Facebook groups I've had a chance to learn from other bloggers and find some really great ways to improve my blog. I'm currently working my way through The 30-Day Guide to Better Blogging by Stephanie Snar. It's a workbook to help you address main areas of your blog like your sidebar and about page and help you get the most from your blog. Stephanie also offers an ecourse and coaching to help women build businesses they love. My other favorite blogger on blogging is Sarah from XO Sarah. She offers some great advice to help you quit your 9-5 job and take on blogging full time.
6. Collaborate with other bloggers. Again, thanks to joining a Facebook group and getting more involved with Altitude Summit, I've been able to collaborate with some really cool bloggers! This has helped build a support system and given me a chance to widen my audience through guest posts, Follow Fridays, group posts and more!

Stephanie is being so gracious and wants to help you guys get started on your blogs! She's giving away one of her ebooks The 30-Day Guide to Better Blogging! It's seriously a great way to revamp your blog and think about how you can best serve your audience. Just enter the raffelcopter below to be entered to win one! The giveaway is open until Nov. 5 , 2015, at 12 a.m. EST. If you can't wait to get started on the ebook you can get it here. 

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