How to Start a Profitable Blog Course

DAY SIX

Today we are going to talk about:

  1. What you should have done throughout this course.

  2. What to do after you finish this course.

Here’s what we’ve talked about so far:

Feel free to use this as a checklist of what you’ve done so far throughout this course. That way you can tell if you missed anything throughout the course.

I’ve broken it down by days so that you can go back and find a topic if you feel like you missed something.

Day One: Starting Your Blog

  1. Named your blog.

  2. Signed up for hosting / started your blog.

Day Two: Customizing Your Blog

  1. Learned how to get back to your blog.

  2. Cleared off your dashboard.

  3. Picked a theme for your blog.

  4. Installed your theme.

  5. Created and installed a logo for your blog.

  6. Created and installed a site icon/favicon for your blog.

Day Three: Organizing Your Blog

  1. Picked categories for your future blog posts.

  2. Created your about page.

  3. Created your contact page.

  4. Created your privacy policy.

  5. Created a menu/navigation bar for your blog.

Day Four: Writing Blog Posts.

  1. Learned what goes into a blog post and brainstormed your next few blog posts.

Day Five: Launching!

  1. Launched your blog.

Today, we are going to put a final bow on it by talking about what to do now that you actually have a blog and have finished this free course.

What should you do now that you’ve finished this course?

Can you believe you did it? You have a blog that totally rocks, and you are ready to take on blogging head first. Now you can officially say you are a blogger.

There are three big things you should focus on if you want to make money blogging eventually.

Start writing blog posts regularly.

I have come to the conclusion that posting every single day will not make you more money blogging. I wasted a lot of my time thinking that I needed to publish a ton of blog posts.

The way you make money blogging is by posting good content that is full of information and is actually giving something to your readers.

I currently post about once a week, but If I don’t have anything good to post I just don’t post.

Here are a few of the examples of how you can write good blog posts, that make people connect with your blog more:

  • Let your personality shine through, it is the only thing that sets you apart.

    • People want to know about your old jobs, your kiddos, your husband, and what makes you able to create content.

  • Make sure you are always teaching.

    • Sharing a story is what is going to build a personal connection, but teaching is what is going to make people believe in your value as a blogger.

  • Believe what you are saying.

    • If you are talking about products you don’t believe in just to make a dollar people will see it in your writing. Only talk about things you believe.

Create a social media strategy.

I realized quickly when I started blogging I didn’t have time to try and grow all my social media accounts at once. Heck, I was in nursing school and had a job. So I focused on Pinterest and Instagram.

If you want to follow me or ask me a question my Instagram is: @ByTaylorStanford

Side note: Pinterest is the only reason I get traffic to my blog, or earn an income. If you are new to blogging, but really want to increase the money you make blogging, there are a few things that I recommend:

  • Tailwind: Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduler I use daily.

    • With Tailwind you can find new things to pin by using group boards called Tribes, or searching within Tailwind.

    • By using Tailwind Tribes I have increased the number of views I get on Pinterest monthly from 40,000 to upward of 1,000,000 views a month. Tailwind is amazing and has changed my life. If you want to find out more you can sign up for a free tailwind account here.

Monetize your content.

There are 4 big ways to monetize your blog:

  1. Affiliate Links.

  2. Sponsorships.

  3. Ads.

  4. Creating products and services.

For me, my main focus in the past has been affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing has been so crucial to my blog making six figures.

For months I was unsatisfied with my affiliate income because it was nearly nothing. Now I currently make around $9,000 per month from affiliate marketing which I am super happy with. After months of research, I finally figured out a method of affiliate marketing that worked! Here are a few of the things I think are key…

The keys to affiliate marketing are:

  • Knowing where to put affiliate links, and that you shouldn’t have more than 1-2 per blog post.

  • Knowing where to find the best affiliate programs.

  • Knowing how to target your audience with what affiliate links you use.

  • Knowing who your audience is.

    • You can’t advertise $3,000 boots when your audience is full of women who only make $20,000/year.

    • You can’t advertise Walmart products to women with Gucci taste.

  • Knowing how to drive traffic to your content with affiliate links in it.

Stay educated on blogging.

Blogging is always changing due to the nature of the internet. So you can’t just set it and forget it you have to keep learning.

Now a few of my favorite ways to stay educated are:

  1. I keep notes and look back at them often so I don’t make the same mistake twice.

  2. Using Pinterest to look at blogging tips and changes.

  3. Reading other bloggers’ books/courses.

CHALLENGE SURVEY QUESTION:

If you joined my 6-day start a blog challenge, you probably know I’m giving away a $50 gift card (to Amazon, Target, Starbucks, or Walmart) to someone who answers the survey question after each day of the challenge.

Today’s question is:

Thank you so much!

I am so excited that you let me be a part of your blogging journey, and if nothing more, I hope that this course taught you something you didn't know before.

(I feel like a teacher speaking before graduation)

I hope to start running across your blog on Pinterest every day.

I can't wait to watch your website grow. 

I hope this course helped you start a blog!

Blogging has changed my life, I hope it changes yours.

Thank you again for taking this course with me!