As soon as June starts in the Northern Hemisphere, there are a few things that inevitably happen with blogs. Website traffic slumps as people head outside. However, there are some really smart ways to deal with the summer blog traffic slump.
So don’t despair!
If you’re a new blogger, you’re probably hyperventilating a little bit right now. Take a deep breath. It will be OK.
If you’re a veteran blogger who’s still stumped, you’ll probably be hitting your head saying “D’oh, why didn’t I think of that?”
Here are the top ways we’ll examine:
- Write evergreen summer topics
- Leverage Facebook groups
- Re-energize your newsletter subscribers
- Revive old blog posts
- Do a round-up post
Let’s get started, so you can fix the summer blog traffic slump quickly!
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Top Reason For The Summer Blog Traffic Slump
What causes dips in blog traffic every summer?
After a cold winter and chilly Spring, many who were cocooning at home tend to spend less time online.
We want to seize the warmer days and enjoy the sunshine. So less time is spent online.
Tailoring content and your promotional activities to an audience with specific summer interests and online usage is a key strategy for success.
We’ll look at the tactics you can adopt to get past the summer blog traffic slump.
1. Write About Evergreen Summer Topics
How do you capture your audience’s interest if they aren’t spending time online?
Here’s the truth: they still are seeking information and inspiration online. The trick is to find the summer topics they’re more interested in reading. If your blog is lacking these kinds of timely summer blog posts, it’s time to add a few.
In general, it’s always a good idea to publish a few posts to generate topics each season. That’s why I have blog post ideas for each season and summer months – you can check out my:
- Spring blog post ideas
- 100+ Summer blog post ideas
- 120+ Fall blog post ideas
- Winter blog post ideas
- 31 July Blog Post Topics
- 31 August Blog Ideas
By the way – these generate a certain level of extra traffic to my blog each season as well!
If you’re a blogger with a parenting, food and drink, travel or other lifestyle blog niche, you’ll find many relevant seasonal topics.
Some bloggers may need to think outside the box to generate seasonal ideas.
For example, a self-care/wellness blogger can modify the topics to be something like:
- Summer self-care activities
- How to keep your cool, even on the hottest summer days
- Selfcare summer bucket list
Brainstorm how a specific season can affect your blog topic and write on it.
Google your niche and summer and you’ll find interesting topics which people are already searching for. Write about them and see your traffic grow.
| Related: 50 Genius Sources Of Inspiration For Blog Posts
2. Leverage Facebook Groups
One of the easiest ways to fix your summer blog traffic slump is to leverage your Facebook group network.
If your organic or Pinterest traffic is dropping during the summer period, leverage the power of Facebook groups.
Facebook groups for bloggers, where you can promote your content will generate extra clicks to your site. If you’re participating in one to two threads a day, you’ll inevitably get fresh visitors to your site.
The trick is to not overdo it – after all, you should be enjoying your summer too!
Nevertheless, spend a couple of hours a week participating in Facebook groups and you’ll see your traffic increase.
Just make sure you follow Facebook group rules and proper etiquette to not get kicked out!
Check out The Blog It Better Society – my community for bloggers – where you can participate in daily threads.
| READ MORE: How To Use Facebook Groups To Grow Your Blog
How To Start Your Very Own Facebook Group
3. Engage Your Newsletter Subscribers
Your best source for a traffic bump is your newsletter list. Even if you have 50 people on it, you can generate traffic to your site.
Here’s how you do it:
- Create a cool, helpful free offer – e.g. a printable, checklist or template – something so valuable they’ll love it
- Use something like ”A Special Free Gift For You…” in your subject line to encourage email read-throughs: insert their name to make it personal!
- Add a section for the latest blog posts: share the summer posts to get clicks
Easy, right? Not only do you give your email subscribers some love, but you also generate traffic.
| Related: How To Use A Lead Magnet To Build Your Newsletter Subscriber List
4. Revive Old Blog Posts
Look at all of your older blog posts that aren’t generating traffic. You’re bound to have a few that just aren’t doing it.
I like to call them “zombie posts” – they’re published, but they’re essentially dead.
It’s either time to delete them or better yet – rewrite them.
Here’s how you do it:
- Update any references to outdated information
- Check to see if the links are still working
- Update your interlinks to add any new relevant posts you’ve published
- Switch out old Pinterest pin images; add a new feature image
- Tweak your keywords and your copy: add a few new longtail keywords
- Add 1 to 2 quality external links
- If possible add a video to your content
Republish your post, and promote it as if it were fresh content!
IMPORTANT: Keep the URL (permalink) the same. It’s already indexed and probably has a few links pointing to it.
| Read More: How To Update Old Blog Posts For A Traffic Boost
5. Do A Round-Up Post
Do you know the key benefit of doing a round-up post, such as a “Top X Best…” with links to blog posts from others?
They generate a traffic boost! Anybody who is on that list will be more likely to promote your post as they’re on it.
Not only do you get a fresh audience, but you also get a traffic boost during quieter months. Make it a round-up post on a summer topic and you’re truly boosting your chances.
Always reach out to those you’re linking to to see if they’re OK with you doing so. Get permission to use one of their photos, etc.
Follow up once the post is live. There’s the potential that the bloggers you’ve featured will share the posts with their audiences, giving you a traffic boost.
A Quick Summer Blog Traffic Slump Fix
Whichever of these activities you choose, you’ll inevitably see a bump up in traffic.
One of the best investments of your time is creating summer-related content, as it will continue to bring in traffic each year.
The goal is to find easy ways to give your site a traffic boost while leveraging other benefits to grow it!
Remember, this is also a great time to give yourself a blogging break. Enjoy the summer!
| READ MORE: 5 Genius Ways To Give Your Blog Traffic A Little Boost
QUESTION: Is your blog dealing with a summer blog traffic slump? How are you fixing the problem?
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Really great advice!
Glad you like it!
This is so helpful! And also good to know so I don’t get discouraged in the coming months haha
Don’t! I used to until I started creating summer-focused content. The best thing to do is to Google your niche and summer and see what pops up. Then write your own!
I didn’t think I needed this article…until I read it!
I’ve just launched (re-launched) my blog and am so thrilled about it!
Although, I already know that my summer will be pretty packed. I cannot believe I didn’t even think to create/schedule posts for the summer already. This gave me the right motivation and inspiration to do it. Highly valuable, thank you for sharing it! 🙂
I’m sure you’ll be all set for the summer slump season! Glad you found this valuable. 🙂
Perfect timing on this post. I’ll probably start by reviving some of my old blog posts that I notice could use a bit of content and keywords and a round-up post. Thanks for sharing!
Good idea! Old blog posts can really bring in a whole lot of traffic!
This post is so informative and so well-timed! The summer blog slump is real, but with your tips, I’m confident that I can keep the momentum that I’ve worked so hard to build. I’m already planning to scale back on new posts during the summer months so I can focus on spending time with my family outdoors. But your suggestions to leverage my email list and rework zombie posts will allow me to better balance driving traffic to my blog while spending quality time with my girls.
Yes – zombie posts revived and email newsletters can really give you a big boost. Enjoy the summer!
Thank you for the awesome tips. As I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to approach my summer blog content, this was super helpful!
Perfect timing!
From what I have noticed, the number of visits to my travel posts increases during the summer. Therefore, I can say from my experience that everything written above bears its fruits.
Thanks for the topic suggestions that are relevant ALL SUMMER LONG.
That’s perfect! Travel is one of the hot niches for summer, so you’re all set!
Thanks for some good suggestions for boosting traffic in the summertime.
Summertime oriented posts will also help!
Yes, they will! Glad to help out!
Wow ! This is great. We travel only off season and I try other subjects but your blog is very interesting. I will keep the link on my computer to read it in depth lol.
So many thing I dont do :O( and I dont know how..
Wonderful – hope it helps with your blog traffic slump!
I just bookmarked this post. So many great ideas to help get ahead and prepare for the summer months of blogging. Thanks for sharing so many great tips!
You are most welcome! I know this will give you some great ideas for your blog.
What a great time to have come across this. Going to get started on implementing a few. Penning down a summer focused post looks like a good place to start. Thanks for sharing.