As we head into 2023, the blogging world continues to evolve at a rapid pace. What worked just a year or two ago may not cut it anymore in an increasingly competitive content landscape. To succeed as a blogger today, you need to stay on top of the latest trends, tools, and growth strategies.
Fortunately, you don‘t have to figure it all out on your own. There is a wealth of knowledge out there from experienced bloggers and industry experts who generously share what they‘ve learned. To help you zero in on the most useful advice, I‘ve curated this list of 12 must-read articles and blogs.
These resources are packed with actionable tips and proven tactics you can start applying right away to take your blog to new heights in the coming year. So grab your favorite beverage, find a comfy spot, and dive into this list of essential reads for bloggers in 2024:
Content Creation
1. How to Create 10x Content That Gets 1000s of Shares
(Backlinko)
In this data-driven guide, SEO and content marketing expert Brian Dean breaks down the key ingredients of content that vastly outperforms the competition. Discover how to find untapped content ideas, make your content more in-depth and authoritative than anything else on the topic, and optimize for shareability with powerful hooks and visuals.
Publishing run-of-the-mill blog posts just doesn‘t cut it anymore. This article will show you how to level up to 10X content that drives massive engagement and backlinks. It‘s a must-read for any serious blogger in 2024.
2. 17 No-Fail Strategies for Coming Up With Blog Post Ideas Your Readers Will Love
(SmartBlogger)
The foundation of a successful blog in 2024 is publishing content your target audience actually wants to read. But sometimes inspiration can be hard to come by, especially if you‘ve been blogging for a while.
In this post, veteran blogger Kevin Duncan shares 17 creative and effective ways to generate blog post ideas that resonate with readers. From mining blog comments for pain points to newsjacking and switching up content formats, you‘ll walk away with a long list of ideas to fill your editorial calendar. Kevin‘s actionable tips and examples make this one of the most bookmarkable posts for bloggers.
Traffic Generation
3. The 2023 Guide to Doubling Your Blog Traffic With SEO
(Ahrefs)
Search engine optimization remains one of the best ways to drive high-quality traffic to your blog. But SEO has changed a lot in recent years, and many bloggers are not keeping up. Simply cranking out keyword-optimized posts doesn‘t guarantee rankings and traffic like it used to.
In this comprehensive guide, the experts at Ahrefs (one of the top SEO tools) lay out a step-by-step process for driving more organic search traffic in 2024. You‘ll learn how to find low-competition keywords, create content that deserves to rank, build topically relevant backlinks, and much more. This is arguably the only SEO guide bloggers need this year.
4. How to Sell With Pinterest – A Success Story
(BloggingWizard)
While not a new tactic, using Pinterest to drive blog traffic and sell products is still very effective when done right. But success on the platform requires more than just pinning your latest posts and products.
In this case study, Yoyao Hsueh shares how she revamped her Pinterest strategy to dramatically increase traffic and sales to her printables shop. She reveals the types of pins that work best, how to write compelling descriptions, her automated pinning workflow, and other actionable techniques. If you‘ve struggled to gain traction on Pinterest, this post provides a helpful roadmap.
Monetization
5. 36 Beginner-Friendly Ways to Monetize Your Blog
(AdamEnfroy.com)
When it comes to making money from your blog, you have more options than ever before. But all monetization methods are not created equal. Some require a huge amount of traffic to generate meaningful revenue, while others are not beginner-friendly.
Adam Enfroy became a full-time blogger in 2019 and has quickly grown his income to over $100K per month. In this epic post, he breaks down three dozen blog monetization strategies and rates each one on revenue potential, passive potential, traffic needed, cost to acquire sale, and overall beginner-friendliness.
Use his handy Monetization Summary table to find the strategies best suited for your traffic level and niche. Whether you want to start earning your first dollars or scale to a full-time income, this post will point you in the right direction.
6. The Ultimate Guide to Creating and Selling Digital Download Products on Your Blog
(bloggingWizard)
Digital downloads like ebooks, printables, and courses are one of the most lucrative ways to monetize a blog. With low overhead costs and high profit margins, selling digital products lets you turn your expertise into passive income.
This in-depth guide covers everything you need to know to create and sell digital downloads on your blog. It explains the benefits and challenges, the most popular types of products, essential tools, best practices for product creation, and how to set up your shop. You‘ll also find tips on pricing, checkout optimization, and product delivery. Consider this your go-to resource for monetizing with digital products in 2024.
Email Marketing
7. 4 Email Marketing Growth Strategies to Level Up Your Email List in 2024
(ForGigs.com)
Email is still one of the most effective channels for bloggers to nurture relationships with their audience and drive traffic and sales. But as with search and social media, email marketing best practices continue to evolve.
Eyal Lichtenstein, CEO of the popular QuickMail email tool, shares four strategies to accelerate the growth of your email list this year. From personalizing your sign-up forms to gamifying referrals, these techniques will help you convert more visitors into loyal subscribers. You‘ll also find advice on segmenting your list and automating your campaigns to increase engagement and revenue. A must-read for bloggers looking to uplevel their email marketing.
8. How to Create an Insanely-Effective Email Sales Funnel
(WPBeginner)
Building an email list is an important first step, but you also need to strategically leverage that list to drive conversions. That‘s where an email sales funnel comes in. By providing the right information and offers to the right subscribers at the right time, a well-designed funnel can dramatically boost your blog income on autopilot.
In this step-by-step tutorial, Syed Balkhi of WPBeginner breaks down how to plan and create a high-converting email funnel for your blog. He explains the key components, tools, and copywriting techniques to turn subscribers into customers and raving fans. There are also helpful examples of successful funnels you can model. Implement Syed‘s process and watch your sales take off.
Essential Tools
9. Blogging Tools: 95 Tools That‘ll Help You Grow Your Blog in 2024
(BforBloggers)
With so many tools available to bloggers today, it can be overwhelming to figure out which ones you really need. Investing in the right tools is important, but you don‘t want to waste money on nonessential nice-to-haves, especially when you‘re just starting out.
Kulwant Nagi of BloggersPassion.com regularly reviews and ranks the top blogging tools across every major category, from hosting and themes to SEO and analytics. In this mega post, he‘s compiled the best of the best – 95 tools that will help you start and grow a successful blog in 2024.
For each recommendation, Kulwant explains what the tool does, why he likes it, key features and benefits, and pricing. You‘re sure to find some new and incredibly useful tools here (I certainly did). Bookmark this post and refer to it whenever you‘re in the market for new blogging software or services.
10. The 9 Best Website Builders – An Honest Review
(QuickSprout)
One of the very first decisions beginning bloggers need to make is which website platform to use. While self-hosted WordPress is a top choice for its flexibility and extensibility, it‘s not the only option. Website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com are increasingly popular for their ease of use.
So how do you decide? In this detailed comparison by QuickSprout, you‘ll get an objective look at the pros and cons, features, pricing, and ideal use case of 9 top website builders. There‘s also a handy side-by-side comparison table.
Whether you‘re launching your first blog or considering migrating to a new platform, this post will help you make an informed decision. It‘s a must-read before signing up for any website builder.
Mindset and Productivity
11. 10 Changes Every Blogger Must Make in 2024 to Get More Traffic
(Blog Tyrant)
Blogging isn‘t just about the latest hacks and tactics. Making more progress in 2024 may depend on adopting a new mindset and approach. After over ten years of successful blogging, Ramsay Taplin of BlogTyrant has identified 10 key changes bloggers must make in the year ahead.
This thought-provoking post explains why you should write less but promote more, forget about SEO (sometimes), invest in your personal brand, and stop chasing shiny objects, among other pivots. Ramsay argues that these mindset shifts are essential for cutting through the noise and achieving meaningful growth.
If your blog has plateaued or you‘re feeling stuck, this article will give you a powerful new perspective and inspiration to do things differently in 2024. It‘s a bracing dose of tough love every blogger needs.
12. 23 Productivity Hacks I Used to Write 23 Blog Posts in 30 Days
(NickChapman.com)
Consistency is key to blogging success, but most of us struggle to publish new content as often as we‘d like. There never seems to be enough time or energy to write regularly while juggling all the other demands of running a blog business.
Nick Chapman, productivity expert and business coach, once challenged himself to write 23 posts in 30 days. In this behind-the-scenes post, he reveals the 23 productivity hacks that made it possible, from batching tasks to time blocking to website blockers.
Implement even a few of Nick‘s techniques, and you‘ll be amazed at how much more you can get done in less time. Writing more frequently will soon be a lot less daunting. This is a must-read for any blogger who wants to become a content creation machine in 2024.
Conclusion
Growing a successful blog has never been easy, but it‘s a particularly exciting challenge in 2024. While competition continues to increase, so do the opportunities to reach a larger audience and make a bigger impact.
By learning from the hard-won wisdom and experience of other bloggers, you can avoid common mistakes, stay on top of important trends, and accelerate your progress. These 12 articles and blogs are an excellent starting point.
I encourage you to read each one, take notes, and choose one or two key takeaways to focus on first. The key is to get into action mode and start experimenting with these proven strategies and tactics. Track your results and double down on what works.
Here‘s to taking your blog to amazing new levels in 2024! If you found this roundup helpful, please consider sharing it with your network. And be sure to bookmark this post so you can easily refer back to these resources throughout the year.
