My 5 Blogging Secrets

This post is sponsored by Find Your Influence. For more information, see my full disclosure below.

So many of you ask about blogging. How do you create the content you love while earning money? How do you “do it all” (honest answer… I don’t), how do you increase your pageviews and write content that brings your readers back time and time again?

I love answering your questions but since so many of you are asking the same ones, I decided to write about it. This is how my book about blogging started… maybe it’s about time for another one!

I’m answering your questions and spilling my blogging secrets today. Are you ready for the truth?

 

Blogging Secret #1. I pay for (some) content. You read that right. Instead of hiring a contributor (like a lot of bloggers do), I purchase recipes, round ups, and even outlines for products that I write about from a pool of Virtual Assistants. Of course, I don’t ask them to write reviews for me– but it’s much easier to sit down and write a review of a product when all of the facts (what does it do, how much is it, where can it be purchased) are already there.

When I first saw that bloggers were purchasing posts, I was taken aback. I couldn’t believe that someone would put something on their blog that they didn’t write! But after a while I understood–in order to bring the best posts to your readers, it’s beneficial to purchase content every once in a while. When I become busy and don’t have time to write a post, when I see someone creating a beautiful recipe that I just don’t have time to create, or when I know my readers would love more information about a product that I couldn’t bring them in a timely manner, I’ve learned that it’s wise to bring someone else in.

I am very picky about what content I purchase and from whom. I never post content I haven’t written without going through it with a fine tooth comb. I am even pickier about my pinnable images and 9 out of 10 times I recreate them myself, even though the assistants I use always send one.

It all comes down to this –> Do what you’re great at, and outsource the rest. That’s how to build a successful blog.

Blogging Secret #2. I rely on scheduling programs such as Buffer and Tailwind. SO many experts say it… Don’t rely on schedulers. They put you out of touch with your audience. I rely on schedulers to stay in touch with my readers and audience. If I know that I have Facebook posts, tweets, and pins scheduled during the day, I can focus on working. If I get a notification while I’m eating lunch that someone replied to me on Twitter, I hop over and reply. Scheduling social media and paying for services like Buffer and Tailwind help me manage my time and not spend all day on social media–a pretty big downfall of my chosen career field. When I see steady traffic coming throughout the day and night because my scheduling tools are working, I don’t feel bad about using them at all.

Blogging Secret #3. I go where the pageviews are… while staying within my categories/niches. If I notice that a certain post or category is getting a lot of views, I brainstorm about what else I can bring my readers to look at. While staying true to topics I blog about (you don’t see me posting about Kylie Jenner’s lips, though it’s a wildly trendy topic right now), I do leave room in my schedule to write more for my readers with regard to popular topics.

You may have noticed that during the beginning of the year I posted a little about being on the 21 Day Fix. My first post “blew up,” and I decided to write more. Since then I’ve brought my health & fitness readers several printables and recipe roundups to read and use. Would I normally have posted that much about one topic? No. But… those posts have been making me the most money since January, and it would be silly to not recognize that and use it in my favor.

Blogging Secret #4. I use blog networks to get my name and blog “out there.” Blog Networks such as (affiliate link) Find Your Influence (FYI) have made it possible to me to make money while writing about the things I love (like this post, for example!). When you’re working on a paid campaign, brands notice that. They see that you’re open to monetizing your blog and sometimes approach you to work with them. Finding a blog network that works with you, supports you, and encourages you isn’t easy to find. I love how Find Your Influence uses honesty and transparency as the base of their network. For example, FYI is the only blog network I’ve ever used who has made their pay scale public. This is HUGE, bloggers! Instead of throwing out a low number and hoping you’ll accept it, FYI pays you based on your page views. There’s no wondering what that other blogger working on the same project is being paid.

• 1st tier fee starts at $75. To qualify you need to have a minimum of 1,000 reach either unique views and/or on your social accounts. Average is a 10k reach.
• 2nd tier fee starts at $222. Average influencer has a reach of around 30k reach blog and social combined.

• 3rd tier fee starts at $462. Average influencer has around 80k reach.
• 4th tier fee starts at $600 and average reach is around 150k+.

 The set standard starting price is for 1 blog post and 2-3 social shares.

So, there you have it. Honest blog rates from FYI. You could use this as an idea of what to ask from other networks and/or brands if you agree with this scale.

Blogging Secret #5. I use blog helpers. Kind of like #1, I have learned to outsource what I’m not great at. I pay someone to manage my ads, run backups of my site (I use Vaultpress), and even run my updates and delete my SPAM comments. I do this so I can focus on the tasks at hand and not stress about breaking something, which I have done several times in the past. My host, (affiliate link) A Small Orange, provides help with the nuts and bolts of my site in case of emergency. After my viral post in 2013, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s worth paying a little extra money to know that your business is being taken care of.

So, that’s how I “do it all.” I bring my readers content that they enjoy, I own a small business, and am a present wife and mother.

When I began writing this post, it wasn’t sponsored. I wanted to share my “secrets” with you so you can be successful. When I asked FYI for permission to publish their rate tiers, they offered to sponsor my post. This is another example of their awesomeness–they allow me to write about things I love that fit with my blog, and support me while I do it. Join the FYI conversation #BloomWithFYI on May 28th. We’ll be sharing our best engagement and growth tips!