*this post contains affiliate links. I only recommend items I am confident are high-quality

How To Be Behind The Camera and In The Photo: Tutorial On Becoming Your Own Photographer

Blogging and photography go hand-in-hand. Its a tough world out there now for bloggers because your blog’s success relies heavily on not only the content you produce, but also the photos you take. There are some very successful bloggers/social media influencers out there, who have professional photographers take their photos. This post contains affiliate links. Particularly the fashion/lifestyle bloggers. As a new blogger, and a do-it-yourself type, I have taught myself to be my own faux-tographer. I literally don’t know much about camera settings, which I intend to learn more about here soon. I do know that I like a blurred background, and subject in focus, so I bought this lens. It’s a cheaper brand than the Cannon lens, which is probably a bit better, but when you’re a blogger on a budget, you get what you can! Using this lens, I learned to keep my camera in the Aperture…

Blogging

My Massive Traffic Boost: 6k to 40k Page views in Two Months

I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about the two investments I made in my blog, which substantially increased my traffic. I am writing again about my traffic because I want you all to understand how completely honest and sincere I am, that these two resources have dramatically increased my page views. In the previous post, Pageview Breakthrough: How I Went from 6k to over 17k in One Month, I talk about the giant leap in page views I accomplished for April. Update: I made it to 100k pageviews in August 2017, and I was accepted to Adthrive, one of the top ad agencies! I also make over 3k now woot woot! Scroll to the bottom to grab my guide on making money blogging, without teaching people to blog! Second Update: Since I wrote this post a year ago, I have gotten myself in the 5k range in terms of income…

Mom Hacks

Welcome To Venndy A New Way To Tell Your Story

I was introduced to Venndy by another blogger, which then transpired into loving the brand-spanking-new sharing platform, and thus writing this post to share with others out there! *this post is sponsored, and all opinions and experiences are my own! Let’s Go Over Venndy Quick: In my opinion, Venndy is specifically set up for bloggers, but it can also be used as a sharing platform for anyone savvy with social media. This is a place to continue telling your story. A sharing network, where you can promote and recommend those beloved items you can’t stop blogging about. Particularly useful for fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers, I’ve also been sharing a lot of my lose-the-baby-weight posts in their Fitness section. My summer closet favorites are also linked up too. Where Venndy offers a uniqueness is in the contextual sharing, which will allow your products/stories to be in front of a more…

Blogging

Pageview Breakthrough: How I Went from 6k to over 17k in One Month

Cracking the code for page views is an obsession I failed to achieve. I couldn’t do it! I was stuck for months around 6k or less visits. I needed help. I finally made some investments for my blog, one being a Pinterest strategy book, and the other specifically a traffic book. Update: I am above 100k pageviews as of August 2017, and making over 3k a month. Scroll to the end to grab my free pdf on how to make money blogging, without teaching anyone to blog. Making My First $1000 From Blogging I bought an eBook to help me with Pinterest. I literally was failing, and not understanding how to pin to group boards. This eBook transformed my game, and I got my first viral pin the month I bought that book. I wrote about my first viral pin in more detail, How I Got My First Viral Pin as well…

Blogging

How I Turned $17.99 Into Over $300 With One Blog Post

I was the blogger who was obsessed with reading income reports from other bloggers. Most of us are working hard when we first start our blogs, to figure out the famous equation. What plus what will bring in a decent amount of money. By studying other bloggers income reports, I was able to understand the different income streams that are out there. But, many bloggers, myself included, where always wanting me to buy something. They mentioned their referrals to Convertkit or BoardBooster, and I thought, great, but I’m not making any money, so I can’t buy anything yet. Update: I am above 50k pageviews and made my first $1,000!!! Making My First $1000 From Blogging A couple months later, my pride was going down, and I was desperate to get my traffic up. I had been blogging six months and made $50. I found Carly’s book, Pinteresting Strategies, and because…

Blogging

How I Pin Over 800 Pins In One Week

Pinterest and blogging to hand in hand. If you are new to blogging, and you are just getting things going, I suggest you read the Let’s Start Your Blog and Make Money Now By Doing What I Should’ve Done I wrote that post for you. It goes over all the things I am so mad I didn’t do up front. Why did I want to be published on Huffington Post so bad?!! Read that post, and you’ll see what’s more important. More Blogging Posts: Pageview Breakthrough: How I Went from 6k to over 17k in One Month How I Got My First Viral Pin How To Connect With Brands For Sponsorship on Instagram How I Went From 0-60 Email Subscribers In Two Days How I Turned $17.99 Into Over $300 With One Blog Post Anyways, back to pinning. I’m sure you are tired of reading about BoardBooster and all the…

Homeschool

Preschool Curriculum Sets You Can Buy and Use

I’m embarking on the home school journey. At first, I had a sense of urgency mixed with fear that I wouldn’t know what to teach my preschooler, and thus he’d be left behind, not learning what he should. I did some digging in Facebook groups, and I found some other moms to connect with who also home school, and depending on your state, mine was Washington, I had a difficult time finding a state-supplied curriculum. Like, I contacted and emailed school-district officials, who then sent me to sites I’d already visited with very vague resources on curriculum. I don’t know what state you are in, or the state rules, but the purpose of preschool is to prep for Kindergarten. There are a lot of Kindergarten tools out there, which you can use and back-track from. I’m actually planning on getting the A Beka K5 Homeschool set because it was referred to…

Blogging

Let’s Start Your Blog and Make Money Now By Doing What I Should’ve Done

Okay, this is the post I wish I read when I first started blogging. When I first started, I was so excited to write, photograph and merge a passion into a business. Writing, marketing and all-things motherhood are basically ho I am at that core. My degree is in Communications, I lived and breathed entrepreneurship in college, and I still have a small web-design and online marketing company that I take select clients for. That being said, I did not set myself up correctly to create a passive income from blogging in the beginning. I’ve solved that problem finally, after 8 months of blogging, and you definitely don’t need to wait that long. This is the only post you need to read to create a blog that increases in traffic and income each month. And no, I didn’t invest in expensive courses to do this. I may do that soon, but…

Goodies and Giveaway

Smile Bright This Summer with Smile Brilliant

I started drinking coffee years ago in college, when my roommate introduced me to lattes. She was obsessed with them, so every Sunday morning before church, we would walk to the coffee shop to get our lattes. The weekly love-affair grew to a daily need as life got busy, I had various jobs as a barista, and I basically stopped sleeping as a mom. We all know the importance of our daily cup, but with that also comes some unwanted stains on our teeth. When Smile Brilliant approached me to try their teeth whitening kit, I was super excited. My first thought was, “I want to get rid of these coffee stains!” Then I checked out their site, specifically this page that goes over everything you need to know before buying. They sent me the kit, and the process starts with making your own molds, like at the dentist. My…

Mom Gear

Mother’s Day Gifts Moms Can Use This Summer

Mother’s day is obviously one of my favorite holidays. I am a sun-lover, so as Mother’s Day approaches, I’m usually dying to get outside and enjoy some nice weather. I put together a Mother’s day gift-guide that features some items I love, that are perfect for this summer! First, I have Bootay Bag. This could really be used all year, but in the summer you are wearing breezy, fun dresses, where some nice undies are more essential. After all, their hasthag, #undermatters is so true! The reason I love this is because it’s affordable, only $12 a month! I can do that, and who likes to shop for undies with kids? For me, going underwear shopping with three munchkins isn’t really the most appealing. They sent me a pair for March to try, and I loved it! The undies are super cute, comfortable and a surprise in the bag! Then,…