Lately there’s been a big jump in questions about blogging around here. So while, you won’t find my content suddenly switching to business talk, I did want to spend a few minutes handing out some of my pearls of wisdom gained from doing this since 2007.
Yes, that’s right 2-0-0-7. It wasn’t a dial-up modem, but it wasn’t pretty either.
Nonetheless those little posts and that little community of fellow running bloggers kept me going until suddenly this was a big ol’ fancy full time career. Who ever would have guessed?
First of all, since I don’t like to overwhelm my non-blogging readers, make sure to sign up for my bi-weekly email list specifically with tips and tactics for growing your blog.
Blogging Courses
I am a boot strap blogger.
Which is to say, I don’t spend money unnecessarily and when I do, I’ve researched it to make sure it’s worth my time and my cash! Yup, even once I started making six figures I was very picky about where to spend it.
Because this industry is always changing, I believe you need to always be learning. One of the areas that I WISH I’d paid attention to sooner is SEO. Over the last year that became my focus and now I tend to be on page 1 with Runners World, Active.com and other high profile sites. BOOM.
I’m starting with Stupid Simple SEO because you do need to have some traffic to prove to brands that you have value! Stop relying on the latest and greatest social media channel and instead rely on your ability to create content that people will search for and enjoy.
His program is thorough and will not only help you understand how to better optimize your posts, but you’ll come away with a massive list of ideas for stories (which I hear is one of your biggest issues!).
Working with Brands
One of the next biggest questions I get is how to approach brands. And it’s a good one!!
The truth is when I started, I had no fear of hearing the word no because I spent a whole summer knocking on strangers doors in Atlanta. Turns out it’s really not a big deal to have someone say “nope” “no” “no way” “get lost”.
However, you still need the skills to approach them the right way and treat your work like a business!!! Even after this became my business, I signed up for Pitch Perfect Pro from Jenny Melrose because I could tell she would have some great tips and ways to help me think about things differently.
I was right! I was already making good money, but suddenly I was making even more. Don’t take my word for it, sign up for her free cheat sheet to get a taste of what she offers!
Be Easy to Work With
If you want brands to come back time and again then it’s on you to be a great person to work with.
- Respond to emails with a professional tone
- Utilize things like proposal documents (learn about that in Pitch Perfect Pro)
- Post on time and pay attention to the required hashtags or content
- Provide them with easy to read analytics after! I swear by Influence Kit, it’s allowed me to charge more because in one place they can see every piece of content and all the engagement (including IG stories after they disappear!!)
Do it now! Brands are looking for those holiday bucks and you have a chance to be a part of it.
- A Nielsen report that shows 84% of worldwide consumers will take action based on the reviews and recommendations of trusted sources above all other forms of advertising.
- A DemandGen study that shows 72% of B2B buyers use social media to research a purchase and 53% rely on trusted recommendations to make a purchase.
- A Sprout Social survey that says that 74% of consumers rely on their social networks to guide purchase decisions. (data compiled by Act-On)
Go Beyond Needing Brands to Make Money
The life of working focusing just on growing numbers means that income can be very up and down. But Nicole Culver has come up with a new system to help you focus on other metrics like better engagement rates to make more money!
SOCIAL SHIFT: Blogger to Business is all about helping to be more efficient, effective and profitable with your time. Nicole really has worked with thousands of bloggers and I feel very lucky to count her as someone in my corner who can teach me things like how to create KILLER facebook ads that really generate revenue.
She says it better than me though, so watch this and get pumped.
Hosting
Ok remember that whole bootstrapper thing? Well it bit me in the butt with hosting for awhile and then I went expensive and it still bit me in the butt!
What I finally realized was CUSTOMER SERVICE mattered more to me than a big brand name. Not only does Servously do all the monitoring you’d expect, help you move over from another provider and can help with all those annoying updates, they SERIOUSLY take the time to answer questions.
They have a Facebook group where you can get info on plug ins to avoid updating, where people ask questions about slow downs or ad issues or other things that might because causing site trouble. Honestly, I’ve never had better service for anything with my website and their pricing is actually pretty phenomenal too.
If there is one area that most bloggers will tell you we failed to do initial and wish we had, it’s email. Love it or hate it, it’s still one of the best tools for connecting with your truly engaged audience.
I’ve tried a variety of email programs and honestly the one I am now with is my ALL TIME favorite. MailerLite.
- It’s cheaper
- It’s ridiculously easy
- You can segment people
- You can send automated emails based on the actions people take.
If you decided to try it (up to 1,000 emails is free), use my link and you’ll get $20 off.
Social Media Growth
There’s no way around it, if you want to grow you need to pay attention to social media.
One of the best things is you can have REAL conversations and create a more active community once you figure out how to do it right!
After years of banging my head against a wall with Facebook, I found the Moolah Marketing Course. It was more than I’d normally pay, but I’d seen so many people taking it that I had to find out more. I could not be happier with this investment, even for the access to the Facebook group which is filled with killer ideas!
While it might be a frustrating platform, it’s still the cheapest place to get clicks to your site and to create an actual community. I LOVE Instagram, but it’s a totally different way to interact.
I know it can get overwhelming, so bookmark this page. Pick 1 thing at a time and start working through it!
At the end of last year I went hardcore on upping my Pinterest game, the beginning of this year I focused on Facebook and then SEO. Right now I’m deep in to the world of growing my email list and providing value there.
Have more blogging questions?
I offer consults to help you move the needle!
Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram Daily Fun: RunToTheFinish
Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinish
Get more running tips: Pinterest
This post does contain affiliate links which help to keep RTTF content free. I never know what you bought, but appreciate that you did it through me.
Jennifer Bexley says
Hi Amanda, this is a great post and something that I am researching every day with my website. I really appreciate your tips and will take a look at all of these. Thanks so much and keep up all the great content. I love it :-)