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In this episode with my friend and SEO expert, Paula Rollo, we talk about how to use Google Analytics to know what to blog about.
How many time have you asked yourself, what kind of content should I invest my time in to grow my business? How do I get the biggest bang for my buck?
Perfection is the biggest business killer out there. In this episode, I’m sharing why you need to do B- work to grow a successful business today.
My husband, David, and I are currently enjoying coaching our first group of students, and there are some business principles and practices that I want to share with you, my podcast audience, because I think they can help you as you build your online business.
In this episode, my husband, business partner, and tech extraordinaire, David, and I are talking about why site speed can hurt your blog and how to fix it.
Have you been blogging for a bit, but you aren’t seeing the traffic you thought you’d see? Or is your bounce rate super high?
Have you heard? Pinterest is making changes. In today’s podcast episode, Alisa Meredith, my dear friend and Pinterest expert, and I are talking about how to get ahead of the changes at Pinterest to win on the platform.
As bloggers, most of us depend on several platforms to drive traffic to our blogs. One of the major players in the game is Pinterest. Pinterest is responsible for driving millions of page views to our site, Catch My Party, every single month.
We are doing something a little bit different today. I recently hit a podcasting milestone, so I decided to celebrate by sharing what I’ve learned reaching 100+ episodes. Phew! I can’t believe I did it!
My friend and MiloTree community manager, Paula Rollo, is back to help me share with you all some behind the scenes from the podcast.
Before we jump into the content though, I want to speak directly to those people who have been listening to this podcast for a long time because they’re interested in starting their own blog but they haven’t made the leap yet, for whatever reason.
Blogging is a great way to set up your online business, but the technology holds so many people back.
Well now, you don’t have to wait anymore!
MiloTree now has blogging start-up services. For a small fee, we will get your WordPress blog up and running, with the plug-ins we recommend and your blog optimized.
If you’ve decided that 2020 is the year you finally jump in and start your business, let us help!
Just go to MiloTree and sign up today.
I have always listened to and enjoyed podcasts. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I even look for excuses in my life to listen to my podcasts.
When I started this podcast, it was because I went to Podcast Movement and took a course on how to start a podcast.
I came home and told my daughter I was going to start a podcast and she said, “No you’re not.”
I had learned that if you can make it to your eighth episode, you are more likely to continue creating content for your podcast.
I told my daughter I would make it to episode 8, and I did it to prove to her that I could! I wanted her to see how if you put your mind to it, and do the work, things will happen.
My favorite part is that I am having an intimate, one-on-one conversation with someone that the world gets to listen in on.
I am not on a stage with a crowd of people watching me; I get to feel comfortable talking to someone as my natural self.
I can be my authentic self because I am focused on listening to the person I’m interviewing and responding to them.
I feel super honored to be let into people’s ears and I love meeting my listeners.
I try to get guests who are going to have different perspectives on building online businesses.
I want to be really curious and ask questions about what people want to know.
My audience is very sophisticated and they want to know the inner workings and tactics on how to build a business.
I want my guests to share their failures so that my audience knows what not to do, as well as what to do.
No one on my show is an overnight success.
We share our struggles, the years of hard work it took, and the sacrifices we had to make in order to get where we are now. I am all about debunking the myth of the overnight success.
I usually fly by the seat of my pants episode by episode. However, I’m always looking for interesting people to interview.
One thing I like is people who build their businesses in unique ways. We all know that there are certain things you can do to build an online business, but I want to talk to those people who try new things and who discover new ways to find success.
My audience is very diverse.
I want to introduce new ideas about money, social media, etc., to my more experienced audience who need to be taking those next steps.
I also have an audience of people who are just getting started in this sphere. For that audience, I want to help them get off the ground.
There is so much to learn about blogging and building an online business and it can be overwhelming.
That’s why my husband, David, and I started the BlogStart Service at MiloTree. We get it. We know how hard it can be if you don’t have experience in online business. Just getting a blog set up is a huge hurdle for most people.
We wanted to help people overcome that hurdle, so we now have a service that will get a blog up and running in a very short time for someone who wants to get started but is held back by the technology required.
I want to build a path for the people who want to start their businesses but don’t know the in’s and out’s.
If that describes you, please join our New Blogger Coaching Group we are starting March 2nd. Our goal is to give you a roadmap to go from blogger to profitable online entrepreneur.
Our coaching group will focus more on beginning bloggers, while this podcast will continue to do deep dives into specific aspects of the blogging business.
I want my listeners to know that I want to help them. I am still learning too; we are all on this journey together.
To be successful on the internet we must all be continual learners, and having a podcast gives me the platform to ask all the questions I am wondering about.
If you enjoy this podcast, I want to say thank you. I am so honored that you make the choice to let me into your earbuds and that you trust me with at least part of your blogging education.
I would love to have you join my Facebook group.
I am trying to be in there every day, encouraging and offering tips and support for all of you. It is such a wonderful community of supportive entrepreneurs.
It is a dance. There are days where you kick butt. And there will be days when you feel too low to continue. You will question why you are even trying to accomplish this online business thing.
It is never as bad as you think, and it is probably not as great as you think.
You have to work through your emotions and know that you can still make a difference and grow. Tomorrow is another day.
Always know that you are making a difference in someone’s life. Whether that’s a reader, a family member, or someone you’ve never met.
It was fun to do this episode for you all. I hope you learned more about me and my reasons and goals for this podcast.
Now, why don’t you go right on over and join the Facebook group, and then head to MiloTree and let us help you with getting your blog set up or with some personal coaching?
Try the MiloTree pop-up app on your blog for 30 days risk-free!
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Do you struggle with knowing how to write successful blog posts today?
How about how to constantly create new content and still do all the other things that blogging requires?
If you are curious about ads or systematizing your content creation, you’re going to want to listen to today’s conversation with Amber Bracegirdle.
But first, I wanted to share something with you. My husband and business partner, David, and I have noticed something; a lot of the listeners of this podcast want to start an online business or a blog, but they have no idea where to start.
So, if the tech required for starting a blog has been holding you back, I have great news for you!
MiloTree is now offering blog start-up services! Just go to MiloTree.com/BlogStart to see how we can help you.
We know how overwhelming it can be to start a business if you’re not tech-savvy.
That’s why we decided it was time to help people get over the hump of getting their blog set up so they could move on to creating content, serving their audience, and developing products.
=&0=&MiloTree.com/BlogStart =&2=&
We can’t wait to see what you build in 2020!
Amber Bracegirdle is one of the founders of MediaVine, an online ad network. Many of our listeners use MediaVine on their blogs for ads.
In this conversation, Amber shares how Mediavine came to be a business, her system for creating great content, and what the future holds for publishers and bloggers.
I think you’re going to love this episode, so let’s get to it.
There are many different ad networks that bloggers can work with and they each have their own unique qualifications.
Mediavine requires you to have at least 25,000 sessions, not pageviews, in a 30-day period.
They prefer to work with bloggers who target audiences from mostly English-speaking countries because that is where you are going to make the most money.
The other requirements are that you must post long-form content, your site must be at least 3-4 months old, and you must be in good standing with Google AdSense.
In today’s world of blogging, you have to differentiate yourself from other bloggers. Finding ways to stand out from the crowd is a good thing.
If you’ve been blogging for several years, as Amber and I have, you may have an idea of what a blog post is “supposed” to look like.
You start with your topic, create long-form content around that topic, and at the end of the post, you give your reader a call to action.
Unfortunately, that’s where most bloggers stop.
But there are so many other types of content that will allow your blog to rank higher in search engines.
Venture out from the type of post you’ve always created and try a list or answer some common questions.
Back in the early days of blogging, bloggers could write about whatever they wanted. If I wanted to try a recipe for dinner, I could snap a few photos and write about how I made the recipe and whether or not my family enjoyed it.
Not anymore.
Blogs are no longer merely online journals of your daily life. Nowadays, bloggers have to be much more strategic about what they write about and how they write about it.
And that’s where keyword research comes into play. Knowing what your audience is searching for is going to grow your traffic as you provide answers to their questions.
Be strategic about how you cover every aspect of a topic, with a different problem and answer in every post. And be sure to include links in each post to the other posts on that topic.
You don’t have to put your content out to every audience you have, but it is on your site for the person who’s going to ask that question and need your answer.
You have multiple audiences and you can cater to the different people coming to you from all over the internet.
Someone coming from Pinterest wants something different than someone coming from Google.
Be strategic about who you are writing your content for, and how you can reach everyone from every walk of life. This helps you avoid burnout as you create different forms of content rather than always having to create something new from scratch.
Video is growing in popularity and in importance.
It’s great for your site’s SEO; it’s great user experience; it’s huge for your income.
Just as an example, the CPM, (or cost per 1K ad impressions) for video ads in 2019 was $19. Whereas the CPM for display ads was $2-3.
The only problem with video is there isn’t enough video content to meet the demand for it.
From the beginning, Mediavine has been interested in giving the reader what they want, and in the process, they gave the advertisers what they wanted as well.
If you’re ready to start working with Mediavine, you can contact them at Mediavine.com, and listen to Amber’s podcast at Theory of Content.
Try the MiloTree pop-up app on your blog for 30 days risk-free!
Let your MiloTree pop-ups help you get to that next level by turning your visitors into email subscribers and social media followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
Sign up today!
Install your MiloTree pop-ups on your site in under two minutes.
Sign up for MiloTree now and get your first 30 DAYS FREE!
This episode is one of my most popular of 2019, which is why I’m rebroadcasting it here.
My guest on the show is Jeff Hawley, otherwise known as HashtagJeff.
Jeff is an SEO guru who works with publishers, bloggers, and online entrepreneurs to find successful SEO strategies for their businesses.
In this episode, we talk about how SEO is more of an art form than a numbers game. But there are definitely things you need to know to help you in your quest for growth.
If you’re trying to increase more organic traffic from Google (and even Pinterest, which is also a search engine), this episode is for you!
Let your MiloTree pop-ups help you get to that next level by turning your visitors into email subscribers and social media followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
Sign up today!
Install your MiloTree pop-ups on your site in under two minutes.
Sign up for MiloTree now and get your first 30 DAYS FREE!
As bloggers and online entrepreneurs, our number one need is traffic.
If you want to increase your blog or business income, you need to increase your traffic first.
Today, I’ve got my friend, and MiloTree Community Manager, Paula Rollo, back on the show, and we are talking about tips to get more traffic to your blog.
SEO, Pinterest, email marketing, and MiloTree are all great ways to do it.
Let your MiloTree pop-ups help you get to that next level by turning your visitors into email subscribers and social media followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
Sign up today!
Install your MiloTree pop-ups on your site in under two minutes.
Sign up for MiloTree now and get your first 30 DAYS FREE!
YouTube has a huge presence online today, and it’s not just for watching videos anymore. YouTube is actually the second largest search engine in the world, right behind Google. So don’t avoid YouTube. Learn how to use YouTube to market your business successfully!
With 3 billion searches per month, if you aren’t taking advantage of YouTube, you might want to consider learning how you can use it to grow your business.
Nate Woodbury, founder of Be The Hero Studios, helps business owners create YouTube channels, not merely to call themselves YouTubers, but to grow their businesses and sell products.
He shares a lot of great strategies and tactics with us today. Even if you have no YouTube experience, I promise, you will learn something that you can apply to your own business.
The big difference between starting a YouTube channel today vs. when it first came out is that now you must have a strategy.
It is no longer enough to create videos and put them out there. You will not gain a big following by simply doing that.
YouTube requires a lot of the same strategies as any type of entrepreneurship. You need a large dose of stick-to-it-iveness and tenacity. You have to focus on creating quality content.
Nate has his own personal YouTube channel dedicated to teaching others how to make a YouTube channel thrive.
It’s important to do keyword research before you begin filming because it’s much harder to go back and find keywords to fit the content you’ve already created.
Go deep, find very specific questions that people are searching for the answers to, and create videos that answer those questions.
SEMrush has a tool called Keyword Magic Tool, which is what Nate recommends to find the most effective keywords and phrases to gain traffic.
For someone serious about doing a daily YouTube channel, you can pay for a subscription to SEMrush for a month or so, and then cancel it.
Here’s what you do: Look up a keyword and all your results will pop up. Then hit a button that says “Questions.” When you hit that button, it shows you the questions around that keyword people are asking.
Nate recommends picking questions that have between 10 and 100 searches per month.
If you are doing videos this way, you will have a smaller percentage of viewers, but they will watch your video all the way through because it is specifically tailored to their needs.
The YouTube algorithm is going to see that it is a well-performing video with a high watch-through rate, and will promote your video for you.
This is the best way to get your YouTube channel started and get traction on Google, as well.
*Looking up specific keywords also works if you are a blogger looking for content to write about.
Nate says don’t stress about overall production quality, but rather, focus on content quality. You don’t need an expensive camera to do YouTube videos.
Lighting is the most important piece to think about when videoing your content. Simply film a selfie video facing a window, and as long as you’re delivering high-quality content, people are going to love it.
Nate plans his videos to be 10-12 minutes. Keep in mind, the longer people watch your video, the more YouTube will promote it.
Let your audience know beforehand what your video is about and what you’re going to cover. This tells your audience that watching through to the end is worth it.
Ad revenue can become a livelihood but you need millions of views to earn big bucks from YouTube. Normally your YouTube income will just be the icing on the cake of your other incomes.
If you have a huge platform on YouTube and high-quality videos, YouTube will promote your videos because YouTube wants to make money, and therefore, you will make money.
It takes time, you have to be able to wait until you have a big enough audience to sell your products.
Once you have thousands of followers, and once you are a YouTube partner, you can get your website approved to be able to guide followers off of YouTube to your personal site for sales.
One-third of Nate’s links on his videos lead to his personal website, one-third go to other YouTube videos, and the final third lead to social engagement.
You can succeed on YouTube at a gradual pace of one episode a week.
However, YouTube does like it when you post five or more videos a week. Think about it; they want people to come back to the platform every day for videos.
Nate went from 500 views per day for one video a week, to 10K views a day for five-plus videos a week, in just four short months.
There are four ingredients to ensure that you get as many views as possible for your videos:
Thumbnails have become more and more important because people see so many videos in a search result, and you want your thumbnail to stand out.
To figure out the best type of thumbnails to use, you’re going to have to test your ideas. TubeBuddy has an AB split test that you can use to see how your thumbnails are working comparatively.
Don’t repeat the title of your video in your thumbnail. Use that text to build curiosity and pique the searcher’s interest. The word “clickbait” can have both good and bad connotations, so use your text carefully and if you can deliver on your text, do it.
If you want to start a YouTube channel, let’s review what Nate talked about today:
Building a YouTube channel is strategic but it is not rocket science. You need the nuts and bolts in place and once you have a solid foundation, you continue to build, build, build!
Nate has a special offer for my Blogger Genius listeners; if you go to his website at Be The Hero Studios, you can grab his step-by-step blueprint for doing keyword research before filming.
Have you built a YouTube channel? If so, share your best tips and tricks with us. Let us know what has worked for you and what hasn’t.
Let your MiloTree pop-ups help you get to that next level by turning your visitors into email subscribers and social media followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
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Sign up for MiloTree now and get your first 30 DAYS FREE!
Etsy can be a great way to sell handmade goods quickly. But you need to know these secrets on how to make money on Etsy to win.
One of the major advantages of selling on Etsy is it is a platform with millions of dedicated shoppers and great search, so you don’t have to work as hard to get eyeballs on your products.
Also, did you know that we offer an Etsy pop-up here at MiloTree? Yes, we do! Install the Etsy pop-up on your site and it links over to your Etsy store with a big “Shop Now!” button.
Go to MiloTree today to get your own customized pop-up for your site and start driving traffic to your Etsy shop today. Your first 30 days are completely free.
My guest, Nancy Badillo, has a blog and a YouTube channel, and teaches people how to run online businesses especially Etsy shops.
Nancy built her own Etsy shop from scratch, with no professional experience. Her shop, Forever Happy Prints, started earning big returns only months after starting.
If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you’ve heard me say that the riches are in the niches.
Having a clearly defined niche guarantees more success and growth.
In addition to having a tightly defined niche, you need to do market research to learn who your competition is and who your audience is. Once you have that information, you will know if there is a felt need for your products on Etsy.
When doing your research, don’t bother looking at shops that have been open for many years.
Your market research should focus on shops that have been open for two years or less. If you have a product similar to theirs, you will know if it is going to do well in the market right now.
If you are in a very competitive niche, with a lot of other shops, it’s going to be hard to be found organically.
You need to understand the Etsy Listing Score. So, when you upload a new product, you are assigned a neutral score.
Your product gets placed on the first page of search results, and based on how the audience interacts with it over its first month, you can rank really well.
If your listing doesn’t get lots of clicks, likes, and sales, your listing will lose rank and Etsy will push it down in the search engine.
You need to have great photos, use correct keywords, and target your correct audience to get a good listing.
If your listing is pushed down or you’re in a saturated market, you can “pay to play” on Etsy using Etsy promoted listings.
Nancy has seen many creators become burned out when they try to expand to too many different platforms at once.
The best thing to do as an Etsy seller is to check your Etsy analytics. You can see where traffic to your store is coming from.
Whichever platform is driving the most traffic, focus the majority of your efforts on that one.
Nancy believes that a blog with Shopify installed is a better platform to sell your products on than Etsy.
You have more leverage because you can drive people to your own site, collect their email addresses, and grow your email list to have new people to market your products to.
Your Etsy shop can be closed down, but your blog is your own. You can build an audience there that will never be taken from you.
Understanding SEO is going to get more eyes on your products, track your right audience, and increase your conversions.
You want your keywords to be very specific so that you are targeting the right audience.
Using longtail keywords will help people who are searching for your products find you.
Using longtail keywords means that your overall search volume and views will be lower, but the quality of your viewers will be higher.
If you do not know who your target audience is, start your Etsy shop, put up your products with your specific keywords, hook your Etsy to Google analytics and after a month, study all the data.
Etsy will only show you a certain amount of data, whereas, on Google Analytics, you can see everything.
Once you identify who your ideal audience is, you will be able to be even more specific with your keywords.
The next step is to optimize your shop for your target audience.
Your main keyword needs to be in your title, in your meta description, and you can add additional keywords into your listing description.
Nancy believes 50 products is a good number to have in your shop.
If you have chosen a niche where it’s hard to have 50 products, you can duplicate product listings, but change the title, the tags, and the keywords.
You can change your product slightly, such as the color of a background or a different font.
It’s important to spend the majority of your time actually creating products for your shop. Nancy recommends spending about 60% of your time creating and 40% on marketing.
If you know you are in a saturated market, Etsy promoted listings is a good resource for you.
Facebook Carousel ads are a favorite because you can add up to ten products in one ad. If you don’t have a large budget, you can add ten different items for the price of one ad.
Google Analytics is so important. If you don’t understand the ins and outs of your business, you’re not going to be able to grow it like you want to.
There is no instant gratification in owning an Etsy shop. You have to work one day at a time and be patient.
Make a list of things to do for the current month, prioritize the most important items, and set aside time to complete these items.
Every time you mark something off the list, reward yourself and give yourself the credit you deserve for doing the work!
Treat your Etsy shop as a real business. Fill out the bio section, add a banner to your storefront, and read the Etsy seller’s handbook for a great resource on best practices.
Are you serious about growing your online business (advanced beginner and above)? Have you got some traffic but you know you need more?
Let your MiloTree pop-ups help you get to that next level by turn your visitors into email subscribers and social media followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube.
Sign up today!
Install your MiloTree pop-ups on your site in under two minutes.
Sign up for MiloTree now and get your first 30 DAYS FREE!