How Entrepreneur + Website & Blog Traffic Tips

I still remember the day that I decided to take a leap of faith and finally start blogging. I was so excited and started writing and publishing my blog posts right away, and I just kinda assumed that my blog will explode and somehow miraculously I will get consistent traffic right away. And boy was I wrong, no matter how good of a writer you are or how amazing your posts are if you will not promote and market your blog, then you will hear crickets just like I did.

If you are new to blogging and looking for ways to increase blog traffic, you’ve come to the right place. Every blogger knows that consistent traffic is the key to a successful blog. Sadly every time I searched for how to increase blog traffic, I would end up reading another sales pitch promoting a traffic course or Tailwind. So I began to dive in deeper and research about blog traffic every chance I had. Once I started to implement blog traffic strategies I found and promote my blog, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The following are some of my tips that have helped me personally increase blog traffic. If you are thinking of starting a blog, I have a, Step By Step Tutorial on Helping You Start Your Own Blog. 

1.Post Often.

• Consistency is the key, Google and search engines like fresh content, focus on your readers and write high-quality blog posts that will keep your audience on your page. 

2.Interlink Blog Posts. 

• Try to incorporate relevant backlinks or Hyperlinks of your own blog in your posts, remember Google hates when people immediately leave a page. Interlinks help your readers navigate your blog and help with reducing your websites bounce rate, therefore Hyperlinks plays a major role in increasing the number of page views and its one of the best practices of SEO. 

3.Pinterest.

Pinterest is a gold mine for bloggers, and the majority of my blog traffic comes from Pinterest, not only is Pinterest a social media a platform but a search engine just like google. There are over 250 million monthly Pinterest users, now that’s a lot of potential traffic to your blog, and what I love about Pinterest is that the lifespan of a pin is much longer than other social media platforms. If you want to drive more traffic to your blog with Pinterest, below are some of my Pinterest Marketing tips.

1. First set up your Pinterest for a business account, it’s free and you will appear more professional. also with a Business account, you will have access to Rich Pins(which is additional text pulled from your website and added to your pin) and Pinterest Analytics. ( Which will help you understand your audience and content engagement.)

2. Pinterest is a visual platform, and if you want to stand out and get more saves, create beautiful Pin Images so that your Pin will catch a pinners attention. I use  CANVA and Picmonkey to create my Pin Images. You only have a second to catch a pinners attention while they are scrolling thru their feed, I would suggest using warm toned images, and bright colors in your Text Overlay. (Pinks and Red seem to do very well on Pinterest.) Create multiple Pins for each blog post for maximum reach, and watch how they perform. If you want an in-depth tutorial on how I create my Pins using Picmonkey, Read This Tutorial Here.

3. Include Keywords in Boards and Pins, Pinterest cannot read your Pin and does not know what it is about, so it’s your job to tell Pinterest what your Pin is all about. Make sure you add relevant keywords in both the title and description of the pin.

4. Join Pinterest Group Boards, especially if you are a new blogger, they are great for helping your pins get in front of more people. When you join a Pinterest Group Board there are collaborators and members of the board with thousands of followers, so when you pin to a group board your pin has a chance of showing up in the feed of anyone who followers the members of the group board. There are two different types of group boards, where all bloggers can pin any topic and there are niche specific group boards. Of course, when you are starting out “All Topic” Group Boards are much easier to get accepted, but I would recommend focussing more on the board that is more relevant to your blog. But also do not neglect your own personal boards.

4.Facebook Group Boards 

You can get so much valuable information and support from other bloggers for free from Facebook Groups. There are certain Facebook Groups that have daily threads where you can share your content and promote your blog. And what I love about Facebook Threads, is that there are certain rules to follow(see example below) and these rules help with engagement and an increase in page views to your blog. 

5.Quora 

Answer questions on Quora that are niche related to your blog and provide valuable information and redirect those readers to your site. Quora is a Q&A website/community where people come to get answers. You can drive traffic to your blog by linking your answers to applicable blog posts. 

6.MIX.COM 

Share your Blog Posts on MIX.COM formally known as Stumbleupon, it’s a  new platform that helps others discover new content similar to their interest. What’s wonderful about Mix.com is that the newsfeed is not focused on traditional real-time news, but recommended content matching to your interests. 

7.Comment on other Blogs. 

Another great way to increase blog traffic is to post lengthy comments on other Blogs, and a good chance of a click thru to your blog by other readers. Also if you keep commenting you will get on the Bloggers radar and get free exposure. 

8. Optimize Your Blog Posts for SEO. 

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process of increasing the number of visitors to a website from Organic Search Results on Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Start with diligent keyword research and use those keywords in your blog posts where it’s applicable but don’t overstuff keywords make sure it sounds natural. I use free tools like  Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner to search for targeted keywords to understand what people are actually searching for.

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool to use, but recently Google has made it a little difficult to access the keyword research tool.  They are prompting you to create an Ad Campaign first, but don’t be discouraged I had the same problem. I could not get around without creating an AD first to access the keyword planner, all you have to do is set up an Ad Campaign and Pause the Ads, and as long as you have the Ad on Pause you will not get charged. This is the only way to get around Google and use Keyword Planner for free.

Some other ways to optimize SEO,

1. Add Keywords in the Alt Text of your Image.

2. Download YOAST Plugin, it’s one of the most valuable tools for SEO.

3. Provide Meta Description-is a summary of the content on your blog post, be sure to include keywords in your Meta Description.

9.OFFER A FREEBIE 

Search what is trending on Pinterest in your niche and create a Freebie. For example, if you offer photography services, then offer Free Stock Photos or create Free Printables, and create Pin Images to Promote your Freebies in Pinterest. People love free stuff, and when they search on Pinterest for Free Stock Photos and your Pin is in their newsfeed, there is a pretty good chance of a click thru to your blog. 

10.Increase Blog Traffic with TAILWIND

Ok, I know what you are thinking, In the Beginning, I mentioned how I kept looking for ways to increase blog traffic and almost every other blog post was just another sales pitch promoting a course or a subscription service. And when I started blogging, I told myself that I want to be truthful and helpful to my audience, at first I debated if I should mention Tailwind, but the truth is Tailwind is a big part of my Marketing strategy.

Tailwind is a  Scheduling Tool that lets you schedule Pins automatically to Pinterest and saves you time from manual pinning every day yourself. I mentioned above different ways you can drive traffic to your blog and you don’t necessarily need a subscription service, but Tailwind sure does make it much easier and faster for you to reach your goals.

I know as a new blogger especially if you are on a budget the thought of spending money when you haven’t made a dime sound terrifying. The good news is that you can try out Tailwind for FREE without paying a single dime.

Benefits of Tailwind: 

• Board Insights-helps you find your best performing boards and the quality of group boards.
• Automated Pins, which runs your Pinning schedule on autopilot for you. Recently I went on a mini vacation, and I loved the fact that I didn’t need to take time away to manually Pin Since I had Tailwind do the work for me. Tailwind saves you so much time and lets you focus more on your blog and spending time with your family.
• Extended Pinterest Reach.

Tailwind Tribes-one of the most powerful features that Tailwind has to offer, and of my best kept blogging secret. Tailwind Tribes are similar to Pinterest Group Boards, but way more powerful. Usually, each Tribe Member has its own set of rules, for example for every pin you share to the Tailwind Tribes, you must share someones pin to one of your own boards. Tribe Owners keep their members accountable and they make sure that you follow the rules, and they can easily see which members of the tribe are not complying and they can hold you accountable, this helps keep quality of the Tribe. Before you join a Tribe, its best to preview the tribe’s engagement and evaluate how active the members of the tribe are and share each others content.  The more bars the activity of the tribe has the better chance your pins will be reshared. 

The awesome thing about Tailwind Tribes is, even if you don’t have a paid montly Tailwind membership you can still have access to 5 Tribes for FREE!!! You will, however, need to create an account with Tailwind, and you can SIGN UP FOR FREE HERE. If you decide to keep your  Tailwind Membership its $15 a month, but if you don’t after your FREE TRIAL you still have access to 5 Tailwind Tribes.

Tailwind definitely helped me expand my Pinterest reach resulting in more traffic to my blog.

8 Way To Monetize Your Blog Make Money Online

Are you looking for 8 ways to monetize your blog and make money online? If yes, then you have come to the right place. Before you even think of monetizing your blog, it is important that your content gets an audience. The best blogs are those whose focus is on a specific topic, provide quality content of the highest value, and put you out as an authority. Once you are sure you have an engaging blog, you can go ahead and monetize it.

We have already shared exclusive ways students can make money online and today we will share the following 8 ways to monetize your online forex trading blog and make money from it:

• Advertisements
• Affiliate Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Sell Courses
• Sell eBooks

Don’t be fooled. Adding pay-per-click (PPC) ads to your site is not going to earn you a real income unless you have at least 100,000 visitors per day. So think about directly negotiating terms with advertisers for the placement of display ads instead of PPC ads. Make sure the ads are within your chosen industry or niche. In the end, you will earn much more than exclusively using PPC ads.

Most bloggers have leveraged their earning ability through affiliate marketing. It works well for people who are just starting out and have no products or services to sell. But your content must be closely related to the affiliate products you intend to push. For example, a technology blogger could try to push smartphones and their accessories. As they hit your blog, the visitors will be attracted to also buy the products.

Email marketing could be the first step toward making money on your blog. The first step is to come up with a mailing list. You will then send out regular emails to create leads or promote your blogs. There are several email marketing platforms you could use including Aweber or Omnisend especially if you are just starting out. Once you have built a strong connection with your audience, you can easily push affiliate products and services.

With the increasing number of people looking to gain skills online, you could make a lot of cash by selling courses. The courses not only need to be intuitive, but they should also be helpful. Once done right, you can put the courses out there and allow people to download them at a fee. You may want to venture into fields such as graphic design, digital marketing, and web development. After discovering what you are good at, create courses that are better than anything available on the market.

Sell Ebo

You could come up with an eBook based on the content on your blog. Write it so as to teach an important skill which people usually struggle with. One way to promote the eBook is directly through blogs with attractive content that draws your audience in. if you intend to make automatic eBook sales, you will have to come up with a dedicated sales funnel.

Secure Sponsorship 

To get better deals from sponsorships, you need to have substantial traffic. Once you have struck a deal, you can then come up with sponsored posts. Don’t make the mistake of passing off such posts as organic. Rather, always label them as sponsored. If you fail to meet this requirement, the FTC will be on your case. You could also end up being penalized by Google for not clearly marking out the sponsored content.

If you have an online forex trading related blog, don’t waste time on churning out endless content. Monetize it and start earning money from your sweat today.

How to be a Successful Bloggers! Make A Money Lot

BECOME A PRO AT BLOGGING! 

Learn these traits and you might be well on your way to making lots of money as a blogger yourself! 

Read Time : 5 Minute

Just starting a blog? Read what it takes to become a successful blogger in 2019! 7 ways to become a PRO at blogging. This explains the 7 traits most pro bloggers #possess and how you can hack these traits to grow your own successful blog yourself! Become a PRO and make money blogging. Pro #blogger traits to learn and grow! #pinterest #traffic #blogtraffic #blogging #bloggingtips #marketing #pinning #successful #makemoneyblogging #problogger #writing #blogging #start #success #tips
{this post contains affiliate links, see disclosure for details}

If you don’t have a WordPress blog yet? You can get on that stat right here!

So IF you’ve been discouraged and have easily wanted to give up on your blogging venture, you are not alone!

I knew from the very beginning that the ONE thing that would set me apart from the rest would be to never give up, to keep pushing hard and when I failed at something to try even harder. 

The ONE thing I noticed that’s common amongst the most successful bloggers (who are making well over $10,000 a month from their blogs) is…     

That they did not QUIT!

In fact, the traits that make up a successful blogger is what this post is all about.

I’ll be highlighting these special qualities that PRO bloggers possess, so you can retrain your habits to be a professional blogger yourself!

Let’s get to it!

Blogging pro tip #1. Successful bloggers are persistent  

IF you want to emulate the successful bloggers that you see? Then you have to know that persistence will be the FIRST trait that will get you there (that’s why it’s number one on this list!)

Blogging is not as easy as some other bloggers put it.

You can totally make money blogging, but the overall trait that most successful bloggers possess is persistence.

The main reason for this?

Because blogging is HARD!

It’s definitely not easy being a blogger (it’s hard), it takes time, self-motivation, creativity, learning new skills, getting out of your comfort zone, taking ownership, building connections, learning code… it’s never ending!

But even though its tough in all of those arenas the rewards of being a blogger is ASTRONOMICAL!

Being able to break the threshold and have the opportunity to make $5,000 a month (or even more!) from your blog is crazy!!

So know that ALL the top bloggers went through the same hardships, mishaps, and trials that you are facing right now, and persistence will be the only thing that will get you seeing great results. 

Blogging pro tip #2. They DON’T shy away from important tool 

Successful bloggers know that in order to create and grow their high traffic blogs (that actually makes them money!), they had help and they didn’t do it ALONE!

They almost always have invested in some tools that helped them get there.

If you take anything away from this post today, then you cannot limit yourself from having these certain tools… 

#1. Successful bloggers are all self-hosted! Which means that they own their own blogs

bluehost

Hosting sites like Bluehost allows them to be able to monetize their blogs by placing advertisements or affiliate links within their posts. (This is the MOST important thing in the blogging industry!).

I even have a step by step guide that will walk you through the whole process here! 

Pro Tip:  As a bonus, my readers get a special discounted price on hosting but only through my special link here!

#2. Successful bloggers have a Pinterest Business Account, with (at the very least) 15 to 20 boards, all with jam-packed keyword-rich descriptions. You’ll need this to market your blog posts.

#3. Successful bloggers use Tailwind!  This tool is where the magic happens so get familiar with the software as soon as you can!

It automates your pins to Pinterest so marketing your blog doesn’t take up ALL OF YOUR TIME!

I also have a very detailed post that guides you through how to use Tailwind here  

Tailwind takes a while to get the hang of, so at the very least start your FREE trial and learn it.

You can even get $15 to go towards your second month with Tailwind here! 

Go through the growing pains and stick with it. 

If you follow this clear path with just some of these tools, you should see outstanding results from your efforts.

Blogging pro tip #3. They know their sweet spots 

All successful bloggers have reached success because they have figured out what their audiences love to read the most!

Whatever you are interested in sharing online… you first have to figure out your own sweet spot. To figure out your own personal sweet spot ask yourself these questions…

What are your top posts on google analytics?

Are your most enjoyable posts to write about getting enough views?

What are other successful bloggers writing about that you keep seeing pop up on Pinterest that you KNOW you can write but are not?

Chances are these bloggers are successful because they have gathered up enough knowledge and insight into what their readers are craving to read the MOST, and have targeted their content creation to support it.

Some bloggers sweet spots are all about giving away freebies!! 

convertkit

If this is you? Then you HAVE to know about Convert kit. Convert Kit is the best software HANDS DOWN to give away freebies, printables, ebooks, and courses. 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have Convert kit, here’s a freebie so you can see how easy it is! 

Blogging pro tip #4. They consider themselves wordsmiths

Let’s face it, the more that blogging expands and evolves, we not only have to adapt to those changes but we also have to blend so many different counterparts together in order for our voices to be heard.

And that’s no different with successful bloggers. Pro bloggers have a way with their words and they actually consider themselves wordsmiths/artists in all that they do. They have learned to create compelling content that strikes at the heart of ANY topic that they are writing about.

Most successful bloggers entertain their audience in other artistic ways such as in their catchy titles, their pin headlines, designs, and within their newsletters with the stories they tell.

So start considering yourself an artist in the genre of writing. 

Blogging pro tip #5. They produce original high-quality content 

Successful bloggers put in the work. They show up every day and they write as if their mortgages rely on it (because for some of them they most likely do!)

Successful bloggers also write content that helps and creating original high-quality content isn’t as hard as it sounds. It’s actually much easier than you would think it is.

Start creating helpful content that helps your readers. Figure out a solution to a problem and solve it (in your own writing style of course!)

Blogging pro tip #6. They interact with other bloggers 

All successful bloggers carve out a special amount of time each week to reading and interacting with other people and their blogs. 

Try to consistently comment and support other bloggers so they comment and support you too!

That might sound self-serving but it’s not!

There’s no better way to let others in the industry know that you are here to stay if you don’t read their blogs and engage with them.

Let’s face it, blogging can get really LONELY, so interacting with the people that are doing the very same work as you do, should feel rewarding in and of itself.

Blogging pro tip #7. They post within certain times 

Some writing gurus have offered advice on ideal times to post but the evidence is hard to dispute because no one really knows the best times to post.

But in my experience and from observing the successful bloggers that I idolize, I’ve noticed that they seldom post on weekends or in the evenings. This could be a coincidence but I know that I am taking note on this one. 

It’s safe to say that it’s always a safe bet to post earlier on in the mornings, afternoons, and throughout midweek.

We all know that inspiration can strike at any time (24–7), so just wait until peak traffic hours to publish.

According to Blog Tyrant, the best days of the week to post your blog articles are Saturday.

WordPress even has a scheduled time to publish your content that makes it just that much easier to stick too. 

If you don’t have a WordPress blog yet? My readers get a special discounted rate on hosting with a WordPress blog here!

AND if you want me to walk you through starting a blog of your own? Click here for the guide.

____________________________________

Final Thoughts,

All successful bloggers have figured out their sweet spots for creating and maintaining their high traffic blogs and they stayed persistent at the worst of times (even when they wanted to quit!).

Not only that but they write very clearly with all their messages refined for their ideal customer, and they aren’t afraid to use tools that will help them reach their goals.

Don’t take no for an answer! 

Create compelling high-quality content that actually HELPS people as soon as you can, add your own artistic flair (remember you’re an artist), and there will be no stopping you!

  

(3) May Be Choose Final Done Blogging Tools:

• Bluehost - My Current Company Hosted, They are Reliable Fast and more

• Tailwind- This is a blogger’s best friend and their MOST favorite scheduling tool for sharing content on Pinterest because Tailwind saves SO much time and increases your traffic and followers. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

• Shareasle- This is a great place to find TONS of affiliate programs so you can start earning money on your blog with affiliate sales! THIS IS MY TOP EARNER for affiliate marketing! 

Get Started With Affiliate-Marketing - Step by Step Guide

The Ultimate Guide To-do Make Money Affiliate Marketing Tips 

As you know, we announced the launch of GO Trace last Monday. With this fresh product, you can test all your affiliate links regularly and let you know if something goes wrong with any of them! All sounds good, but what is affiliate marketing in a broad term? We will examine this question in depth.

What Is Affiliate Marketing 

Let’s begin with the broad definition of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest marketing practice which gains Affiliates a commission in the case of sale based on the affiliate’s recommendation. It is one of the cheapest and easiest ways of marketing as you don’t need to create and sell a product. Just one thing you need to do is to enable a linked connection between buyer and seller and take your commission when the sale is made

  

Many online companies that sell shoes or domain services offer an affiliate program. By signing up for the program, get your unique tracking link and use this link whenever you write about their product. There are different affiliate programs that use different payment terms.

Pay Per Click (PPC): You make money online based on the number of visitors redirected by your affiliate site to the advertiser’s website.

Pay Per Sale (PPS): You make money online when the purchase is completed. The advertiser pays you a percentage of the sale.

Pay Per Lead (PPL): You make money online when the visitor provides his/her contact info on the advertiser website.

Affiliate Marketing Can You Really Make Money 

As you see, affiliate marketing is a passive income source. It is highly competitive it is true but still it may be so easy to make money online with affiliate marketing. To be successful, you need to learn what works and what doesn’t while promoting your products. How can I do affiliate marketing, here are the tips:

Be Patient

There are many affiliate marketing works. So, you need to be patient. You can feed your website with qualified content to get high ranking positions and raise awareness, attend affiliate marketing events, seminars or webinars and join a discussion forum or online communities to meet new people. All make a great contribution to develop you. If you are patient enough you will make money with affiliate programs

Choose More Attractive Products 

It would be a definite mistake to promote everything by registering with different affiliate programs. You can’t focus on each of them deeply and the result would be a disappointment. Instead of promoting everything, just promote a few products which are unique, profitable or can reach large masses. So, you need to understand market needs and desires and place your products accordingly to make money as an affiliate.

Use Several Traffic Sources

The chance of making money online raises together with the more traffic you send to the sales page. It is not wrong to run ads on just own site, but it has some missing points. The best example belongs to Google Adwords. By making an ad in your Adwords account, your sales page gets targeted traffic from various channels. 

Attract Targeted Traffic 

The core function of making money is to push people to click your affiliates’ links. So, you need to attract visitors. There are four ways; paid advertising, free advertising, article marketing and email marketing.

You need to combine ad copy, graphics, and a link effectively on paid services like Google AdSense in paid advertising while placing links and advertisements on free websites like Craigslist or US Free Ads in the free advertisement method. Payment methods of both of them are PPC, that is earning money regardless of whether a reader buys the product or not.

For article marketing, you need to have a higher ranking in search engine results to be a credible source. There are many article submission websites like Ezine Articles. As a marketer, you submit your article and affiliate marketers republish your article. The marketer who published the original article gradually earns higher search engine rankings. For email marketing, affiliate marketers embed an email subscription option for website visitors. 

 Test, Measure, and Track

 

Testing any action and measuring the performance help you exploring what works and what doesn’t.  According to tracking results, change or keep your actions. For example, your banner ads aren’t gain you much. So, try to be placed them in different areas and compare and contrast all results. Sure, some places earn you more.

Research Product Demand

If you remember, I said “understand market needs” at the beginning. Let’s deep into this step. If you have decent traffic, view your daily, weekly, quarterly and yearly traffic and sales chart in order to explore customers’ behaviors and choices. If not, spend a time to find out how the product you are thinking to promote meets users’ needs. 

Follow New Methods and Techniques

Everybody is typing to Google: How to make money affiliate marketing. Everyone wants to make money with affiliate programs. Digital marketing trends are very dynamic. So affiliate marketing is. Try to be updated with the latest techniques and methods to be successful in a competitive environment. Getting out of date results in falling behind while staying up to date results in utilizing new techniques.

Select The Right Advertiser

The quality and service of your website are as important as the advertiser’s website. If your visitors become unhappy and dissatisfied after purchasing the product you advice, they think nothing of taking your advice, again. I mean it hurts your credibility. So, focus on choosing the ones that offer good customer service while promoting the person or company.

 Use Tools 

You need to make your campaign efficient. There are many helpful tools that let you conduct market research, competitor research, track and convert your ad campaigns.

In order to get inspired by topics, you can use BuzzSumo and Feedly. For social media planning and tracking, Buffer would the best choice while Bitly and ClickMeter are good for link creation and tracking. In order to beautify your website with images and GIFs, you can try Unsplash and GIFMaker. For Monetization, you can use Google Adsense, VigLink, and Flippa.

One of them I suggest is GO Trace by  a smart affiliate link testing and monitoring tool, which you can use for free to test. You can test your affiliate links whether there is any broken one or not. It is useful for both advertisers and affiliates.

Affiliate Marketing Types

Most common affiliate marketing type is doing it by a website. However, with the increased amount of smartphone usage, we think it may be useful to talk about another type of affiliate marketing:   

Mobile Affiliate Marketing  

Mobile affiliate marketing is simple you will do mobile affiliate marketing by promoting affiliate links provided by the product owner (advertiser), which you share in your mobile app. All you have to keep in mind for mobile affiliate marketing is that your mobile advertising inventory must be a user-friendly mobile interface, it should have new functions and tools for comfortable navigation from any mobile device, be familiar with constant updates and upgrades and so on. If you apply these to your mobile product, you can easily do mobile affiliate marketing. 

Final Thoughts 

These are steps you should take to make money online with affiliate marketing. #Affiliate marketing is really attractive as it offers to make money from home. Just create a website, feed it with remarkable content, attract users and join affiliate programs. While saying it seems easy, but you should be patient until you reach the point of arrival. Work, work and work by dreaming the days when you start earning money from home and make money as an affiliate. I hope this article is helpful to answer how can I do affiliate marketing question.

How to Monetize Your Blog Before You Lunch With Ravi

I’m sure you’ve come across lots of ‘How to Start a Blog’ posts and read how easy it is to start a blog.

But, if you’re anything like me, your next thought was “It’s easy to start a blog but what then? How do I grow a blog, get traffic, gain followers, and make money from one?”

When I decided to start a blog I did some research, got a vague idea on how to monetize then went ahead and started one… and I made no money whatsoever for the first year.

You read that right- a year.

I know- I probably shouldn’t tell you that. Why would you want to learn blogging from someone who didn’t jump in and immediately start making money like everyone else seems to? Don’t people start making money in the first, second, and third month? That’s what all the income reports say, right?

The problem is we only hear from those who succeed but that’s not the whole story.

There are  bloggers out there who were instantly successful but they’re in the minority. I’ve read that over 90% of people who start a blog give up before they even reach three months of blogging. Of those bloggers who stick with it, only about a quarter are able to ever make more than a couple hundred dollars a month. Ugh!

I tried following what all the experts said and build up my content before launching.  I wanted to have at least fifteen articles posted when I went live but with two small kids at home I was lucky to get one post a week which means launching my blog took about 3 1/2 months.

Then when I finally launched my blog and started promoting it nothing happened. Pageviews trickled in but I wasn’t making any money.

Finally, after months of earning pennies, I received an email that changed everything.

Ironically, it had nothing to do with blogging, but it’s the reason I was able to stick with blogging long enough to get a consistent income established. 

I want to share what I learned with other new bloggers like you because no one wants to twiddle their thumbs for months waiting to be paid for their efforts. You want to see real results.

It’s not the typical “blogging path” but it’s a path that can get you making money a lot quicker. It worked for me and I am confident it can work for you too.  

Monetize Your Blog Before You Launch

STEP 1: CHOOSE A NICHE AND AUDIENCE

The first step to starting a blog is to know what you plan to blog about. This means choosing a topic and niche. A niche narrows down what you want to write about and who you want to write to.

Some bloggers will insist that you can monetize any niche. That’s technically true but some niches are a lot easier to monetize than others. If you’re blogging to share your passion with the world (which is awesome!) then blog to your heart’s content and you’ll be able to monetize… eventually.  

However, if your goal is to monetize as quickly as possible then you will want to choose your topic and niche carefully because they are going to directly affect how fast you’ll start making money.

The seven niches which tend to be the easiest to monetize include:

1. Beauty/Fashion
2. Food
3. Healthy & Fitness
4. Lifestyle
5. Making Money
6. Personal Finance

Narrowing Down A Niche

Standard blogging logic is to narrow down your niche as much as possible because the better you know and can relate to your audience, the easier it is to talk directly to them and get to know them. You can even go as far as to have an avatar (one person you write to and get to know intimately).

The concept is great but can often be hard for new bloggers. A better idea is to cast a wide net at the beginning and see what your audience responds to.

For example, instead of niching down to natural parenting for crunchy moms, try a natural lifestyle blog with several topics- one which includes parenting. Instead of a blog for the Keto Diet for Diabetics, write about the Keto Diet and then get to know your audience and see what content they respond to and what struggles they are having.

It’s great to write to diabetics but if the majority of your readers have high blood pressure then start talking more to them and their struggles.

Blogging is about sharing your passion but it’s also about listening to your readers and helping them with their struggles. Choose a niche then keep an open mind and see where your blog takes you.

STEP 2: BRAINSTORM A BLOG AND DOMAIN NAME

The primary goal of your domain name should be to represent what your blog is about. People should be able to look at your blog name (and tagline) and instantly figure out what you write about. The quicker people figure out what your topic is, the longer they’ll stay to see what you have to say.

There are a few things to think about when thinking of a blog name.

Keep in mind that these are just guidelines and you probably won’t be able to stick to every one of them. There are plenty of blogs out there who have gone against every one of these and are still successful.

→ Keep it short and sweet.

→ Use the correct spelling of words. If you plan to name your blog ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors,’ you don’t want to spell it ‘Rok, Paper, Sizzors’ because no one will ever find you.

→ Try and get a .com. People tend to search for them by default and naturally trust them more.

→ Never, ever use a hyphen. No one will remember that you’re at My-Best-Life.com but you will send a lot of traffic to MyBestLife.com

→ Try and put your main topic first in your blog name. DogWalker.com will rank higher than WalkingDogs.com when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

→ SEO is important but you can consider using your own name. If you have a name that’s hard to say or spell you can use a nickname, middle name, last name, or make up a pseudonym (aka pen name) instead.

→ Avoid niche specific terms that only those familiar with your niche would know. For example, people who follow a keto diet know what Bullet Proof Coffee is but someone looking to learn about the keto diet would have no idea and probably skip right past your site.

You can buy your domain from a number of services but I try to keep my domain and hosting all in the same place because it’s easier. My favorite host is Siteground. To see if your domain name is available scroll to the bottom and under ‘Services’ you’ll find ‘Domain Names.’ Click on it and it will take you to a page where you can see if the domain you want is available.  

If this isn’t the first ‘How to Start a Blog’ post that you have read then you may be thinking “This is exactly what everyone says.” Step 4 is where things get a little different though. Instead of jumping to setting up your website, we are going to switch gears and shift to…

STEP 3: SETUP YOUR PINTEREST BUSINESS ACCOUNT

I know you’re thinking “Why should I set up a Pinterest account when I have nothing to share yet?” Because a warmed up Pinterest account is worth its weight in gold.

When you setup your Pinterest account the right way (meaning you have a business account, a profile with good keywords, and well-keyworded boards) you can start driving traffic and sales within a few weeks before you even start your blog.

You read that right. You can start priming the pump to drive sales before you even start your blog.

I’m not saying you will get rich quick doing this but you can set yourself up to start seeing a few dollars come in in a few weeks instead of a few months (or years) which is what happens to many bloggers.

I want you you to succeed as quick as possible so I am in the process of putting together an eBook to help you out. In the meantime, check out Carly Campbell’s Pinteresting Strategies. It’s an amazing, in-depth e-Book for getting started on Pinterest the right way and it’s amazingly affordable. 

STEP 4: REGISTER AS AN AFFILIATE AND START PROMOTING AFFILIATE PINS YOUR AUDIENCE WILL WANT

There are a ton of affiliate sites out there but the two you should focus on right now are Society6 and Zazzle. Both of these affiliates allow affiliate links on Pinterest and you don’t have to have your own website to promote their products. 

Both have easy to use platforms that allow you to link directly to their products and then pin to your well-keyworded boards. If you need help, comment in my Private Facebook group and I’ll help you out (I plan to do a Facebook live on both soon). 

*Side note: Never use an Amazon link on Pinterest. It’s a big no-no and great way to get your Amazon affiliate account banned. 

Once you’re an affiliate you’ll be able to grab pictures of the products that fit your niche and pin them to your boards on Pinterest.

When you pin your pin, make sureit has the reason why you love it, what the product is, and that you include [aff link].  You can also include three to five #hashtags so people can easily find the product on Pinterest once you pin it.

STEP 5: PIN DAILY  

I waffled on making this Step 5 but I decided to because I wanted to highlight the importance of it.

Pinterest loves (and rewards) active users. This doesn’t mean you have to spend all day pinning but pinning 5-10 pins a couple of times a day can make a huge difference in your traffic.  

At first you won’t have many pins of your owns but make sure to pin relevant, third-party (aka not your own) pins to your boards. Once you build your own collection you can focus more on pinning your own pins. 

You may be thinking “I don’t have time to pin that often!” Which is fine because Pinterest doesn’t care if you don’t pin manually.

You read that right.

Pinterest doesn’t care how you pin as long as you pin so take advantage of Pin schedulers 

Tailwind is a Pinterest approved, easy to use scheduler and their Tribes feature is a great way to start gaining traffic. Join my Private Facebook Group to view a Facebook live on how to get using Tailwind. 

Once you have Tailwind, Schedule the pins you want pinned, set it to run, and you won’t have to worry about constantly being on Pinterest (except to update your pinning schedule a few times a month).  

Why Should You Blog When You Can Make Money From Pinterest? 

At this point you may be thinking “why should I bother setting up a blog if I can just make money from Pinterest?”

Honestly, You don’t have to set up a blog to make money.

But, if you want to help people, increase your earning potential, and have a business you are in control of (instead of Pinterest controlling you) then you need a blog

A blog is something that is yours. You make up the rules and you own it. Pinterest can change their rules or algorithms at any moment ( and they do- quite often) and your income stream could vanish. It’s a crappy truth but the truth.

That won’t happen with your own site though.

It’s one thing to market through Pinterest and make sales but it’s a completely different ball game once you start to connect with your readers. Connecting with readers is what will keep you motivated.

Another plus of having a blog is that studies have shown building your own email list is the single most important thing an entrepreneur can do to earn more money and building a list is almost impossible without a blog. 

Readers are 40 times (that’s not a typo- 40 TIMES) more likely to buy from someone who emails them than any other form of communication. Imagine the difference between 1 in 300 buying a product you suggest versus 13 out of 100.

Yes- a blog is more work (a lot more work) but it’s worth it if you are planning to run a business and not just a side hustle.

STEP 6: START WRITING AND BUILD UP CONTENT 

At this point you are probably itching to setup your blog. That’s the fun stuff and I just went on and on about how a blog is all yours to do what you like with, right?

But the moment you setup your blog it will become the biggest distraction to writing that you have. You will get sucked into the vortex of branding, email series, learning new platforms, etc.

If there is nothing for your readers to read they won’t come back so focus on content first. At a minimum, you want to have ten articles on your blog when you launch. If you can, try and have another six blog posts set aside. I know six seems like a random number but there is logic to my madness.

Once you setup your blog, you can put up your ten blog posts then launch your blog and open it up to readers. Since you will still be new and trying to build up your trust with Google, you will want to try and post two times a week for the first month at least. 

If you can write one post a week and then post one of your previous posts a week there’s your two times. You will then have two spare posts for when life happens and you can’t write one week. 

Finding Content Your Readers Want To Read

The best way to find popular content is to check out other bloggers in your niche. See what content has done well for them and start writing about those subjects.

Try not to read the articles until after you write your own to avoid their view influencing yours though. I’m sure I don’t have to say this but I will anyway: research and inspiration is fine but copying someone else’s work is never okay.

Most bloggers have a “Popular Posts” section which is great because your work is done for you. However, another neat trick is to go to Buzzsumo. Type in the URL of a blogger and get other bloggers top four posts. Buzzsumo is a paid service but you can get five free searches a day so use them carefully.

Keep your writing on topic and don’t forget to put yourself in the shoes of your reader. Aim to solve one problem with one post and you will be on your way to blogging success.

Need more tips on writing great blog content? Check out my post on ‘How to Write Blog Posts Your Readers Will Love’. 

Set Yourself Up For Success With Good SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and what it boils down to is you want to focus each post around a few keywords that, once your blog is established, will give you the chance to show up on the first page of Google.

SEO and keyword research is a massive subject so I don’t want to try and cover it here but Moz has a great explanation of long tail keywords for Beginners page in their ‘Beginners Guide to Keyword Research’. It’s free to check out and will give you a great basic understanding of what long tail keywords are and the best way to find them.

Digital Nomad Wannabe also has a great free keyword research article and Stupid Easy SEO offers a free eBook for beginner bloggers as well.

Enjoy Your Blog ☺