[fusion_text]Do you have a blog that is stuck? Want to take it to the next level but don’t know where to start? This post is for you! Come take a peek at the backstage of my blog and find out how I grew my blog in just 6 months! Make sure you pin this and keep reading to link up YOUR posts at the bottom!
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How to make extra money with a blog.
Whether you are a new blogger and looking to start blogging for business or whether you have an active blog that is just not taking off this post will help you take it to the next level. Take a look at these tips on how to make extra money with blogging and stay tuned for more blogging posts to come!
1. You have to spend money to make money.
Consider it an investment! Any new business costs a little bit of up front money and if you really want your blog to take off, there are a few different things you may need to invest in. Here a few things that I purchase (most on a monthly basis) for my blog:
- A Small Orange Hosting… the BEST host, cheapest packages and I haven’t had one problem since switching. Before that I was on Arvixe and my site was down ALL the time. Best switch I ever made!
- Backup Buddy. I didn’t start doing this until I switched to A Small Orange, but this is the most pertinent purchase I have made. I have lost a LOT of posts from issues on the site when I was hosted with Arvixe, I now have my content backed up every single night!
- Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom (for editing photos, converting PDF’s, etc.)
- Co-schedule (to schedule my posts to be shared on social media)
- Postplanner (for my social media shares throughout the day, my engagement went through the ROOF with Postplanner, worth every penny!)
- MaxCDN (this is a content delivery network, it quadrupled my site speed!)
- WPestore – for an online store it is phenomenal and has so many unique features to help you sell your products.
- Mailchimp. If you have a blog, you need a newsletter. I have enough subscribers that this is one of the more costly aspects of my blog on a regular basis but it is also a great source of traffic if anything happens with social media!
- My theme- I spent about $100 in the beginning on a good theme, this is so key!
- Dropbox. I pay monthly for dropbox storage, this is where I put all my photos, share my printables, etc.
- Dollar Photo Club (where I purchase my stock photos).
- Canva for work. I LOVE Canva, the canva for work costs money, I just recently signed up for it and it is totally worth it! You can save colors, fonts, logos, organize into files and the best feature is the magic resize! They will have upload your own font options soon as well!
- Tailwind. This is a scheduling app for Pinterest. It allows me to schedule my pins on a regular schedule rather than pinning them all at once.
You can see it is quite the list, and it works out to quite a bit of money. Some of them I pay up front, others are monthly bills, but for the first few months I was definitely paying most of that out of pocket. My philosophy for my blog was if I wanted to go pro, I needed to “fake it before you make it.” It’s all about how you look. I learned all about html coding, graphic design, and just went with it! I designed my blog and spent HOURS and HOURS, weeks and weeks playing around with it until I liked it. I still go in and update things once in a while.
2. Post every day!
It’s all about pageviews! The best way to increase your pageviews is to post every single day! I know that sounds impossible! How do you create quality content when you are posting that often? You WORK at it! You can have a successful blog if you post 3 times a week but if you want a successful blog FAST, then you need fresh content, fresh keywords, every single day! When I first read that I didn’t think it was possible. I have 5 kids and I homeschool, however once I committed to it I have stuck with it. I have missed a few days here and there on hectic weeks but it is the greatest key to my success and if you are determined to make money fast, this is the way to go!
3. How to make extra money on your blog?
There are quite a few ways to monetize your blog. You need to find what works for you and what your readers/audience needs from you. Here are a few ideas:
- Sell an e-book.
- Sell a course.
- Sell unit studies, printables, packages, etc.
- Advertise on your blog.
- Sponsored posts, e-blasts, etc.
- Sell a service (VA services, social media services, what are you good at?)
Whatever you choose to do, find something that fits in your niche and appeals to your audience. That may take a bit of time to figure out but the opportunities are really endless once you have those pageviews (and if you don’t know your pageviews, install Google Analytics right now!).
4. Networking.
Networking means getting your blog out there! This could be linking up at something like Favorite things Friday below on a regular basis, commenting on other people’s blogs, sharing other people’s content (and maybe getting yours shared in return), getting involved in forums and Facebook groups and share threads! You need to push your content out there! Blogging is like a whole other world, you scratch their back they’ll scratch yours! Don’t be selfish when it comes to your audience! Network, get to know other bloggers, get involved in communities!
Every time you share a link on a link up or your post is shared across the internet, it increases your Google rating. This is basically your authenticity on the web! Every link out there is another rating check for you! So get out there!
5. Look the part!
You have to look the part. Get business cards to hand out, create a media kit (stay tuned for next week’s post for how to do that) to send out to brands/companies, design professional graphics, take good pictures in nice lighting (or at least edit them as best you can), design a brand for yourself. Have specific colors that are yours, a logo, a button to share, a pinnable image for each post, etc.
Reach out to brands and companies that fit within your niche! Email them regularly and send out your media kit. See what kind of opportunities you can bring your way! If you come across as professional, your numbers won’t matter as much!
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/1KllSOT”]You have to fake it until you make it! Come read more tips to making money #blogging with @HHomeschooling [/tweetthis]
Favorite things Friday
Remember I will be visiting all the posts linked up and featuring one on my blog and social media channels! I hope this link up helps each of you out and can’t wait to read your posts!
Featured Post :
This week’s featured post is by Bethany from Math Geek Mama titled, “7 Tips for Easing Back Into a Homeschool Routine“. I love Bethany’s blog and was so excited to see her on this week’s link up! This post is fantastic guys! It is practical, relatable and valuable. It is NOT a list you have heard a millions times before! She makes some refreshing points that I needed to hear, do you? Make sure to check it out! To read more simply click on the image or CLICK HERE and make sure you pop over and say hi on her Facebook page HERE, let’s show her some like love!
The Rules
1. Before you start: Put a link back or button in the bottom of the post you are linking up (or sidebar if you are using a button) – if we don’t see a link you will not be eligible to be featured so this step is important!
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2. Link up to two posts below. Anything family friendly is welcome. Recipes, blogger posts, parenting, homeschooling, crafts and DIY, you name it just keep it G rated 😉
3. Visit a few other posts that interest you! We want to make this link up worthwhile for you to come and visit each week, this means we ALL want to see some traffic from it. So be a good sport and find out what your fellow bloggers have been up to!
4. Check in every Friday to see if you were featured on either of our blogs! If you were, grab your button below!
Got a lot on your mind?
I totally get that! Join our reminder e-mail and we’ll send you a weekly reminder when it’s time to link up/check to see if you were featured! Note this is not our newsletter subscription, just a quick reminder email so you don’t forget sent out once a week.
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OK, Enough Talk… Link Up or post in the comments your favorite moments of the week!
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