Celebrating 50K+ and What I Learned From Growing My Blog Views by 350%

As I mentioned in my first blog post of 2022, my last year was filled with significance. During the pandemic, I started focusing on growing the #kkarenism platform and I had the goal of reaching 50K views by the end of the year. Alas, I missed this goal by 1 day and ended 2021 with 49,860 views (soooo close) 😅

Anyways, I finally hit 50K views on January 1, 2022—so at least we’re starting off the year with a bang 💥 right?

So why does this number mean so much to me?

Because it took me 3 years to reach 25K views (from when I first started this blog in 2017).

In 2020, the fact that I got 10K+ views in one year totally blew my mind… and it encouraged me to post a lot more content in 2021: I started the 100 Day Challenge, posted on a weekly basis, and started sharing or talking about my blog with others.

Fast forward a year later, and I essentially generated 3 years worth of views (25K) in a third of my timeline—it’s kinda crazy!

And I know that there are many other bloggers out there who are a million times more successful than me, but I’ve been teaching myself to be more patient and grateful with my personal progress (and to stop comparing myself to other people).

Find a topic that you’re passionate about

TLDR; if you can find a topic that you’re passionate about, you’ll never run out of things to learn or say!

Mike Tholfsen mentioned this in his tips for reaching 1M+ followers on TikTok, but I can’t echo this statement enough. People often ask me what topics they should write about, and my advice is to complete the following exercise:

  • Figure out how you consume information (e.g. email newsletters, social media, news outlets, communities) which helps you figure out where to do research and collect information.
  • Reflect on what you’re passionate about (e.g. hobbies, interests, unique experiences) to help you narrow down your options.
  • Think about what other people tend to come to you for advice about (e.g. the latest trends on XYZ, personal finance)

You can follow the full exercise here, but your goal is to choose from your list of hobbies, interests, or life experiences. The reason is because you already know these topics and have some level of experience—and these help you craft your personal brand or “selling point” for your blog compared to others.

For me personally, I was inspired by the advice that my early mentors shared with me. As a student, I learned what not to do and how to navigate my career, but I realized that many of my peers weren’t as lucky. Oftentimes, people would come to me asking how I managed my time so effectively or built up the confidence to approach senior executives… so I decided to share my learnings.

It was easy to write about personal and professional development because I was always interested in how I could do it for myself. Throughout university and even now, I am always thinking about how to advance in my career and make an impact. Sharing through this blog also helps me consolidate my learnings and solidify my thoughts.

More is more

TLDR; it’s a numbers game… the more you put content out there, the more traction you’ll get.

From 2017 to 2019, I published a total of 49 blog posts. In 2020 alone, I published 30; and in 2021, I published a whopping 94 blog posts!

Of course, the quality of content matters. But quality is perceived by the reader—which means you can’t always control it. What you can do is create content that you would want to consume yourself.

On the other hand, quantity is not subjective. It is a definitive number of posts, videos, or articles that you put out into the world. This is completely within your control. I’ve learned to focus on the controllable elements in a situation.

Heard of BuzzFeed? I still remember how annoyed I was by all the content they used to put out on YouTube back when I was in school. It got to an annoying point where it seemed like BuzzFeed was EVERYWHERE…but it worked out. Today, BuzzFeed is valued at $1.5B 🎉

And yes, it totally feels like I am annoying people sometimes (and it feels bad)… but, I know that if I am not putting myself out there, then someone else will be (and they’ll be the ones reaping the gains). Hence, I try my best to make my content as helpful as possible and collect feedback from my readers.

Overcome demotivation with consistency

TLDR; internal consistency is oftentimes more important than external engagement

In this day and age, it’s hard not to be affected by the views, likes, or comments that you receive. It feels great when you see a lot of engagement, but then it also sucks when you don’t.

One of the ways that I overcome that “bummer” feeling is by focusing on what’s next. If I set a goal to focus on publishing 5 blog posts a week, I will be more focused on creating my next blog post than on how well my old blog posts have been performing.

Also, being consistent is a worthy goal in itself; and I always feel proud when I hit that “publish” button!

You can either make time or make excuses

TLDR; if content creation is something you’re serious about, then block off the time in your calendar in advance.

Many people always ask me how I have the time to run a blog on the side while keeping up with my career, social life, and sleep. The answer is that I make time for it. My calendar is my best friend, and it keeps me accountable for my actions and habits.

Whenever I know I need to complete a task, I will either set a reminder or add it to my calendar. That way, I can get it done by the desired time or follow up on it if something comes up. There’s no such thing as a “mental note” these days with our daily distractions and short attention spans, find a second to write it down or put it somewhere you can see!

If you want to inspire others, start with what inspires you.

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