Of course, a huge part of what makes a blog successful is its traffic. Without traffic, you have no readers. When you have no readers, it’s like you’re talking to yourself, and only crazy people do that, right? 
Building readership requires generating some random organic traffic. Granted, many of your hits might not ever come back, but some will, and others still might link to you. Links equal better ranking, equals more organic traffic, ad infinitum… Besides, traffic is crucial if you want to make money with your blog, and a pleasure even if making a profit isn’t your goal.
Well, seasonal trends are a great way to generate some extra traffic and attract new eye-balls. And if you really want to maximize the potential, you have to start a little earlier than you think.
For example, ever notice how the day after Halloween, all the malls put out their Christmas displays? Marketers do this because they know that if they want capture consumers’ Christmas dollars, they have to get in their face months in advance.
Well, regardless of what you think about this practice, it gets people thinking about Christmas. As a blogger, you can capture a piece of that holiday audience by posting around holiday themes. And if you want to moonlight as a marketer and try to make some extra holiday cash using affiliate marketing tools, the lesson couldn’t be more clear.
No matter what your blogging niche is, chances are you can develop some posts around a holiday theme. For example, you can post about:
- wishlists
- gift ideas
- seasonal trends in your niche
- party ideas
- relevant seasonal news
- appropriate video with a few of your own thoughts
- and the list goes on…
The point is that no matter what time of year it is, there’s something to say about an upcoming holiday. By doing so, you’ll boost your chances of finding new readers. And if you’re the type of blogger who likes to refer your readers to relevant products and services, there’s even more potential to be had.
Even though it’s not too late to pick up some extra Halloween traffic, it’s also not too early to put on your thinking (or santa) cap. Now is the perfect time to start planning a series of Christmas posts and get in on the Christmas rush. In fact, there’s the perfect amount of time to choose the right affiliate program to promote on your blog and make some extra cash for yourself to help with holiday spending.
Good post. There are a lot of bloggers who do this. I know of a few bloggers who started building olympic blogs early last year.
This method applies to tv, movies and games too. For example, I've seen a lot of 'Call of Duty 5' blogs the last few weeks. The game is out in 3 weeks time and is eagerly anticipated. COD 6 will probably be out in a year so the website has a years lifespan in that respect. However, it should get traffic a lot quicker than a lot of other subjects because it is searched for so often just now.
Good point, Kevin. If any actual products are "anticipated" well in advance, it's probably gadgets. Aside from video games, the iPhone and the Nokia 5800 were good examples.
Building traffic for the seasons is just one way to ensure you're on top of the market. It also forces you to ensure your web site is fresh and up to date.
When I still blogged at bloggin-ads, I usually have seasonal posts to celebrate the event. My favorite is usually Thanksgiving because I can usually post black friday deals
I never posted a affiliate link, so that probably made it better. Just by posting that particular post, I gained the most traffic ever because I started the blog on the same month.
-Mike
I really don't like it when they put out the christmas displays early but yeah you got to get traffic and talking about seasons at a relevant time is a good way to do so. Thanks for the post.
I agree with you too – I run a Christmas stocking site and sometimes it's hard to drum up interest early. We use countdown gadgets and nostalgic content to try to get people in the Holiday spirit a little early.
Great Info, I just started my blog this year, but the subject you mentioned has been on my mind, How to write based on what is going on. I have been thinking of starting a new blog just for this purpose.
@Matt, countdown gadgets sound like a great idea. I should give them a try some time. Do you have an example of one?
@Larry, I'd be interested to know how a holiday themed blog performs. Often, blogs take time to build traffic, so a seasonal window might not give you enough room. Conversely, with a seasonal blog, traffic might spike much more quickly than a non-seasonal one. It would be an interesting experiment.