This post may contain affiliate links to items I love, and I am confident you will too! All opinions are my own, however, I may receive a small commission on purchases. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For any health advice I give on nutrition and weight loss, make sure you check with your doctor, as I am not a health professional.
I’m shocked a year of blogging went by so fast. I remember being so excited when just 20 people came to my blog in one day! I thought, wow, people want to read what I am writing!! I now have over 60,000 people (hopefully 100k this month!!) coming to my blog. I had a few posts go viral, one republished on FamilyShare, as well as landing some fabulous opportunities to work with big brands like Coke, People Magazine and Walmart. I love to write, and I want to share my stories, lessons and tips on motherhood. I can’t wait to see what this next year brings, as I have an over-ambitious goal-list in my mind of all milestones I want to achieve next year. There are many, many areas I need to improve on (typos and editing my own writing is like nails on the chalk board!), photography, better story-telling and more. I’ve submitted over 20 articles to Scary Mommy, and I have yet to even get noticed! Huffington Post and Thrive Global did like a few of mine though. Considering I’ve built this blog, devoured every piece of knowledge I can on blogging, while raising my three boys and moving across country, I’d say I’m pretty happy with how my first year went!
Since I wrote this post a year ago, I have gotten myself in the 5k range in terms of income for my blog, and a lot of that is because of sponsored posts. You don’t have to have just a lot of traffic for sponsored posts, and I highly recommend you read how I made 10k in sponsored posts my first year blogging. The strategy that got me this first viral pin, is still the strategy I stand by and use today. I was able to get over 25k page views in my second month of my second blog. Mind blowing!
If you are thinking about starting a blog, do it!! My blogging tips are here and the resources that transformed my blog are all mentioned in various posts. I give most of the credit to Carly at Mommy on Purpose because her Pinteresting Strategies book changed my life. I went from doing everything wrong, to literally having over a million views a month on my pins. There a couple more resources you’ll find in these posts, if you’re interested in learning more about blogging.
Making My First $1000 From Blogging
My Massive Traffic Boost: 6k to 40k Page views in Two Months
I wanted to celebrate 1 year under my belt with some serious blogging tips. If you haven’t started your blog yet, you can read this post to help you.
I’m really hoping my advice will inspire you and direct you. These three tips will guide you on the right path, and help you think about creating the write content. I think I have read close to every free blogging guide out there, as well as purchased some amazing ebooks and enrolled in Michelle’s Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
The Three Best Blogging Tips You’ll Ever Read
I can tell you that you can blog and make money. You can create a hub of information, encouragement and helpful tips that people want to read. People will want to read and connect with you, but it takes some work and strategy. Believe me when I say, I know what its like to be in the beginning. I know what it’s like when 40 people to your blog is a big day! I remember my first affiliate sale from Amazon was eight cents. Yes, $.08. My husband thought I was totally nuts for doing this blog thing, if I was only going to make eight cents per sale. Let’s just say he’s changed his tune now.
Here is what I can tell you to make sure you create a blog that grows with everything I’ve learned after a year of blogging, devouring information and dreaming.
First, Your Blog Is Not Your Blog:
Now, what I mean by that is no one is reading your blog to read about your day. That might surprise you a bit, but if you keep your blog focused on yourself, as in writing for yourself, it’s not going to bring in the income and traffic you might want. It may be a great diary of your life, but that’s where you will find limitations. Your blog exists for other people, and providing content for them. If you do this, you will continue to bring people to your blog. You must transform your blog into a place where you can create content that gives people something. It can offer free stuff, giveaways and information. That will keep users coming back for more and coming at all. Where you fall into place is being the provider. Provide experiences with lessons learned that other people can benefit from, give tips and tricks that help you, so other people can try. Review items you’ve used, to help readers understand if that item will benefit them. Think of painful experiences you’ve survived, and tell us why you survived. Or, tell us how to avoid that situation all together. Share your story with a point to teach others. That’s your role in your blog. If you take that approach, you will find that people will naturally come to your blog. When you become a blogger, you become a knowledge/experience sharer. People are learning from you, and hungry for knowledge. Think of pain points you can address and solve, and those articles will continue to bring in floods of users.
Second, Give Free Expertise:
You’re here, reading this post because you want information I’ve learned- Expertise, and you want it free. So does everyone else. Your readers want to learn from you, and take as much information and help as you will give them. That is the way people are. They want to learn from your experience, and they don’t want to pay for it. If you can figure out what you know a lot about, and what you are experienced in and include that in your blog to give to your readers, you will find that you can grab a specific niche of viewers, and viewers who want to connect with you through experience. Give as much information and help to users as you can, and focus on those topics.Think about your detailed knowledge on specific things. Your unique experiences and expertise is the commodity you are selling. That is the product people are wanting. In the blogging world, think of you exchanging your knowledge for pageviews. That’s how users pay you. They take the time to come to your blog, and you take the time to give them information that will help them. Tutorials, how-tos, recipes, weight-loss stories, inspiration, survival, saving money, making money…these are the heart of what pulls readers in.
Third, Focus on What Works:
Take a look at your top performing posts. Write as many how-to, instructional and advice pieces around those topics as you can possibly come up with. If its working with one post, it will work with another post on the same topic with different information. Then, look at your second top performing post, and do the same thing. Then the third top performing post and again. This will help you generate useful content and a specific niche of readers you will understand and get to know. From there, look at what other articles and stories exist around those topics, that you have your own twist too. For example, I noticed that baby registry items were super popular on Pinterest. I just had my third baby, and I only did a registry for my first, almost 5 years ago. So you know what I wrote?
What I Missed On My First Registry. I looked at what was trending and popular, and put my personal spin on it. Now that’s one of my top posts. Without doing this, any strategy you buy or come up with won’t work because your content won’t be targeted. You must have your content focused, clear and what your readers want. You must listen to what they want (which is obvious by looking at which posts they read the most), because again, the blog isn’t for you 🙂
If you are looking for specific help, like how to rock Pinterest, or Facebook or Instagram. I honestly never came up with my own strategy except for Instagram. I have my own
little ebook out for that (of course!) I bought other people’s, and it saved time and worked. That’s my suggestion as well. Research other bloggers who represent where you want to be.
Carly at Mommy on Purpose is literally the blogger I’m trying to reach. She has a successful mom blog, and I get her income reports of over 20k (before expenses) per month. Can you believe that?! So, I bought her book and the books she suggested. And they worked. Find a blogger you admire and want to strive to be, and actually take their advice.
I believe in investing in blogging resources. I wouldn’t be where I am without it. I wouldn’t have over 171,083 impressions from Pinterest EVERY DAY without the help of
other bloggers expertise. And I am happy to pay for this expertise because other bloggers, who make more money and have more traffic than me have taken endless hours to get there. They deserve to be paid for that information, and I am happy to do so. And really, the best pieces of information don’t come free!
I hope these three tips help you on your blogging journey! I know taking the right steps and writing the right content are so important! I also recently bit the bullet and enrolled myself in Michelle’s Making Sense of Marketing course. I am super excited about the things I am learning, and I look forward to sharing an honest review of it.
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7 Comments
Thanks for this info. As a brand new blogger you are a real inspiration to me. I am also seriously considering doing Michelle’s course!
Happy ‘birthday’!
Love Tamlyn x
Thank you so much!! I’m a little over half way through her course, and I plan on doing a post on why it might not be helpful, and why it would be helpful to really help new bloggers decide if its worth the cost!
Congratulations on your success! I love and follow your Instagram account! Quick question: Out of your three recommendations, which would you suggest I buy first? I’m on a budget and can only get one this month. I’m looking to increase blog traffic. Thank you for your time!
This is a FANTASTIC post! With rock solid advice – and of course, I don’t mind all the compliments either 😉 I must share it all over! Thank you for your kind words Katie! xo
Thank you! And of course, thank you for your book! Cheers to another year of blogging 🙂
Thanks for the great tips! Congrats on your first year blogging!
Thank you! I hope they help you!