How To Grow Blog Traffic To 6,000 Page Views In The Face of Anxiety

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Are you facing a tremendous challenge in life but you still need to grow blog traffic?

Maybe you have a slight disability or you are medically challenged that no one but you knows and it causes an abnormal level of anxiety in your life.

It could be that you decided to start a blog in an effort to generate an income to claim financial freedom so you can manage this challenge.

I hate to break it to you but neither one of us is ‘normal’. We all struggle with mental or physical problems that prevent us from achieving our goals.

Many bloggers continue to fight daily, weekly or monthly to overcome some huge challenges in life.

The good news is that it is possible to achieve these goals no matter what those challenges may be.

I took some time to interview Charlie who will tell us all about her experiences including her challenges and her wins.

You can find out how she did it and how you can do it too for your blog.

Disclaimer: please note that this post may contain affiliate links which means that if you buy one of my recommended products I get paid a commission for sharing the link at no additional cost to you.  I only recommend products that I have tried myself and have experienced success.

Who is Charlie?

My name is Charlie Alexander and I blog over at livingtickled.com. It is a mom blog that focuses on finding joy and happiness in Motherhood.

Especially as it relates to mental health and those kinds of struggles. So, the strategies of living happily as a mom.

Why do you do what you do?

I always knew that I wanted to help people so I went into the health care profession. Then, once I had kids, I wanted to stay home.

Right now, I have to work because my husband is in school. So it is a combination of wanting to stay home with my kids and wanting to help people.

This is responsible for the drive I have in wanting to help others especially moms because I have struggled a lot as a mom with anxiety and depression.

The medications have not worked, neither have the therapies so I created this system and routine in my life that has worked.

It works really well and I want to teach other moms about it because being a mom is so hard.

I think that the more we help each other and support each other is great.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I love hearing that a post I wrote spoke to somebody so I love writing something. I love hearing someone say this is exactly how I feel.

So that ability to relate brings me so much joy like, yes I have been able to reach somebody that is such a great feeling.

Who was your role model while growing up?

Great question, when I was little what I first wanted to be when I grew up was a Grocery Store Manager.

Then I grew up and realised that there were other things out there. So, I am an Athletic Trainer for a sports medicine clinic.

My Athletic Trainer while I played basket ball in high school had a big impact on me.

Just helping with my coach and she coached me through my life at the time.

She had a big impact at the time as I realised that I loved sports. I wanted to help people and I loved healthcare. My decision was to go into Athletic coaching and help people.

My expertise could impact the lives of the youth. They could use so much encouragement and mentors.

What is the best advice you have received to date?

I think that there are a lot of things that have been said to me. However, if I think back to what has stuck with me the most this is it.

I was going through a very dark time. I was pretty depressed and I was speaking with my Mom and she said this to me.

You know Charlie, you can’t control everything in your life. So focus on what you can control, just control those things and let everything else go.

I don’t know why maybe it is something I needed to hear at that time it just clicked for me and it is like okay what can I control?

That is why I got into running and some other things so when I was stressed I did those things. It helped me and it helped a lot.

What is the One Thing that impacted you so far in your life?

I think it will have to be becoming a mom. It is two-fold, it has changed me for the better. It has made me stronger.

I realised that I need to change my perspective in life just things I wanted to change about me.

Also, it has been a trial. I had anxiety and depression before but it heightened after becoming a Mother.

Those emotions are everywhere so it has been a real challenge for me.

I didn’t do well with the change and everything but I feel like it has created a bigger bond between me and my kids.

There’s a lot but it’s in bad ways and good ways. It has helped me grow and I love my kids to death and it’s just a whole new life.

How long have you been a blogger and why is your blog different?

I have been a blogger for 8 months. For me, I focus on anxiety and depression which is one side of my blog.

My focus is on those things that cause anxiety and depression, for example, guilt, inadequacy and always falling short.

All these feelings and emotions that most moms feel. There are a lot of reasons for anxiety and depression.

These inadequacies where we don’t love ourselves. So I focus on how to love yourselves and how to take back your life to live happily.

So, I think it is a bit of a different twist highlighting how do we love who we are, accept who we are, find out who we are and live our best life.

I focus on all moms, stay at home, part time and working moms.

What inspired you to become a blogger?

When I had my daughter she was really colicky, she cried all the time. It was a struggle, I had anxiety and depression. The feeling I has was I did not love her.

It also felt like I struggled to bond with her for the first year of her life and in that time I searched the Internet to find validation or solace or someone to relate to in terms of the way I was feeling.

In my mind I thought I was this horrible mom as I could not connect with my daughter.

Despite searching diligently, I could not find it, I could not find what I was struggling with that is when I realised that I need to write something.

Because I know that there are other moms who feel this way. I want them to know that they are not alone.

So, that was 3 years ago. It took me that long to get the courage to put myself out there and start the blog.

What kind of success have you experienced to Grow Blog Traffic?

Consistently, I get around 6,000 page views and some months I get up to 10,000 page views a month.

I do remember when I had to grow blog traffic to my first 1,000 page views. There was a pin that went half viral and I had over 2,500 views in one day.

The feeeling was ecstatic, it works, I am going to be able to do this. It was amazing.

What Are Your Long Term Goals in Blogging?

I am working on a couple of products. I have one product on the site that I’m currently revamping.

Basically, to continue to grow blog traffic I am creating this journal/workbook that puts my routine into steps.

So, anyone can buy it and fill it out and work through a routine that suits you to be happy no matter what type of mom you want to be.

I also have, finding yourself workbooks to help you discover your purpose and who you want to be.

A lot of the time we get depressed because we feel like we are working towards a goal.

I feel like working towards a goal is a constant re-evaluation of our life. We are always working towards something and that brings us purpose and happiness.

Also, I have a self-love workbook to help people realise, well many people don’t realise that they are self-loathing but we are, we all are.

This workbook will help you get over that and accept who you are and how much that open doors when we are constantly not worrying about who we are.

Those are some products I would like to do to grow blog traffic. I would also like to do some colouring pages and printables like easy downloads.

My goal is to grow blog traffic to 30,000 page views a month so I am working towards that right now. I am also hoping to generate $2,000 a month.

When are the products going to be available?

As a new blogger, I am constantly evaluating how I can make my site better. I am so picky and anxious so I get anxiety about it so I’m constantly trying to reshape my blog.

I have my products on hold at the moment as I am reshaping some things again.

So, I am hoping this summer to release two of my products. It does not have to be perfect it just needs to be done, so I’ll do that.

Where does most of your traffic come from?

The majority of it is Pinterest. I’m starting to get clicks from Google which is great. The other day I got like 50 views from Google and I was ecstatic.

Just coming up in the search results and people are able to find you is amazing. So I feel like SEO is starting to pay off.

I get a few views from Facebook as I am in a number of mom groups or blogging groups which is where that traffic is coming from as I don’t post on Facebook that often.

My main marketing tool is Pinterest.

What is your Pinterest Strategy?

I work about 10 hours a week on my blog and I post about once a week.

In terms of marketing, I do about 15-20 pins on Pinterest a day, 5 of those are done using manual pinning and I create 4-5 pins per post and I am constantly making pins.

What is the one thing that you can attribute to your blogging success?

I think consistency is one. Even on those weeks when you think this is horrible and I’m failing, because we have those moments.

You just keep trudging through, I think consistency is huge on Pinterest with your pins and re-evaluating how you do it better.

I’m constantly changing my Pinterest strategy to see what works the best.

Have you taken any paid blogging courses and which one stands out the most?

I always sign up to those free opt-ins and I have gotten some great tips from those.

Yes, I have signed up to Create and Go and I have taken three of their courses. I took their Pinterest course, make money blogging course and their start a blog course.

The truth is I love their courses, they are amazing.

They have taught me so much. I believe that having a good course as a foundation is a must. It really is as a blogger.

I’ve also followed Elna and I’ve taken her course called Ready Steady Blog for Traffic and I refer back to them often.

It is so hard to spend money on a course and I want to spend more but I don’t have it right now.

What is the biggest struggle for bloggers?

Traffic and engagement. I think giving up too soon is a big one and not being consistent. You’ll have those ups and downs but you got to keep going.

I feel like I would rather be trying to live my dream than giving up on it.

Who would you trade places with for a day and why?

Just to see what it would be like, I’ve always had this dream to be a big motivator of women.

To be one of those people who influence women, that would be great.

One thing on your Bucket list?

Take my kids and my husband for the summer to do a service trip like in Africa or somewhere where they need help.

Just go and serve the people there and learn from them and realise that my life is not so hard and let my kids learn that. I want to explore the city as well.

Something that you can’t do that you wish you could do?

I cannot sing. I wish I could sing and dance. My husband is a very good singer and I think that my daughter will get that from him.

She sings all the time and she loves it. I wish I could do that. I do try dancing, I just don’t know how good it is.

What are the top 5 things you would recommend to new and seasoned bloggers?

1. Just try, don’t give up, keep trying
2. Consistency is key. Keep at it.
3. Write down all the things as to why you are starting a blog. Why you do the blog and what you want to get out of it. Journal it and refer back to it when you have those hard times.
4. Connect with people. Learn from people.
5. Create a support system around you. Like friends, family and loved ones.
6. Be real with people, don’t be fake and just sell things to people.

Where can listeners find you?

They can find me at my blog which is livingtickled.com and on Pinterest it is pinterest.com/livingtickled

Conclusion

I am so thankful for Charlie who took time out of her busy schedule to give us her story about being a mom and blogging.

I admire her perseverance that she started a blog despite her anxiety and depression and the fact that she found something that worked for her.

She found a way to grow blog traffic despite her challenges with anxiety and depression.

It is so easy to give up with therapy and medication fail to solve the problem but with a bit of determination, Charlie can help many other people.

I want to encourage you, my reader, to look deep inside yourself because maybe you can help many other people with a gift that you have.

Over to you what has been your major challenges when it comes to accomplishing your blogging goals? Please leave your feedback in the comments.

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