5 Essential Tips for Growing a Successful Blog Now

Today I’m sharing a special episode that I recorded based on my conversations with you. I get on calls with bloggers and almost daily. I see where so many of you struggle.

In this episode, I’m sharing the five things I recommend you start putting into place now so that you can thrive in the ever-changing landscape of blogging and online business.

The Importance of Adaptation in Business

The business model for online entrepreneurship has undergone a significant transformation over the last six month. It’s no longer just about putting content out there with the right keywords and hoping for the best when it comes to Google.

Biggest takeaway of the episode:

Show Notes:

• MiloTreeCart
• Book a FREE 20-minute call with me
• Catch My Party
• MiloTree Pop-Up App
• Personality Quiz: What Digital Product Should I Create?
• Join My Blogger Genius Email List
• Become a Blogger Genius Facebook Group
• All Blogger Genius Podcast Episodes

Subscribe to the Blogger Genius Podcast:

• iTunes
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• Spotify

Five Key Tips for Online Business Success

With the headwinds bloggers are facing, such as the rise of AI, updates to Google’s algorithm, and a decline in revenue from traditional sources like display ads and affiliate marketing things can feel daunting. But with the right approach, they can be overcome.

So here are the five things I recommend you start putting into place to find financial success as a blogger and online entrepreneur.

1. Define Your Niche

The first step to success is defining your niche. It’s essential to narrow down your focus to communicate clearly the problem you solve. This specificity helps attract the right audience who are looking for exactly what you have to offer. Remember, when you try to appeal to everyone, you often connect with no one.

2. Develop a Strong Personal Brand

Your personal brand, or as I like to call it, your “vibe,” is what sets you apart in a crowded market. It’s about showing up as a human, connecting with your audience on a personal level, and expressing what makes you unique within your niche. Your authenticity is your greatest asset.

3. Diversify Your Traffic Sources

Relying solely on Google for traffic is a risky strategy. Diversifying your traffic sources can protect you against algorithm changes and other uncertainties. Platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are not just for sharing content; they’re powerful tools for driving traffic and building your personal brand.

4. Prioritize Your Email List

Your email list is a goldmine. It’s the key to developing deep relationships with your true fans and driving sales. Unlike social media followers, you own your email list, and it allows you to communicate directly with your audience without the interference of algorithms.

5. Choose Easy Tech Tools

In the world of online business, technology can be both a blessing and a curse. While there are countless tools out there promising to make your life easier, it’s important to choose simple and effective solutions. Avoid expensive and complicated platforms that can lead to frustration and wasted resources.

Updates on MiloTree and MiloTreeCart and MiloTreeFreebies

I’m thrilled to share some updates on MiloTree and MiloTree Cart. We’re transitioning MiloTree Cart to a more traditional subscription model, which will provide even more value to our users. Additionally, we’re introducing MiloTreeFreebies, a new product designed to help creators like you grow your email lists efficiently.

The Journey of Online Business

I want to remind you that online business is a journey, complete with its ups and downs. It’s a path of continuous learning and adaptation. I’m here to support you every step of the way, and I invite you to reach out with your feedback and questions. Together, we can navigate the ever-changing digital landscape and achieve our entrepreneurial goals.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. Remember, the key to success is staying informed, being adaptable, and always striving to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Let’s keep the conversation going and build our online empires with confidence and creativity.

Other Related Blogger Genius Podcast episodes You’ll Enjoy:

• 2024 SEO Shifts: Strategies for Success Today with Lily Ray
• Capitalize on Your “Vibe,” Use It To Grow Your Blog with Jillian Leslie
• Boost Your Blog Pageviews with Pinterest Now with Kayla Watkins

MiloTreeCart, the Best Tool for Non-Techies to Sell Digital Products

I also want to introduce you to the MiloTreeCart, a tool designed for non-techies to sell digital products easily. It comes with features like fill-in-the-blank sales pages, check-out pages, a sales dashboard, upsells, and customer support. MiloTreeCart is currently available for a lifetime deal of $349 or three easy installments of $116.33.

Transcript: #332 – The 5 Most Essential Tips for Growing a Successful Blog Now

Announcer (00:00:04) – Welcome to the Blogger Genius Podcast, brought to you by MiloTree. Here’s your host, Jillian Leslie.

Jillian Leslie (00:00:11) – Hello and welcome back to the show. Today I have a special solo episode that I really wanted to record because it’s based on my conversations with you. I am always listening to what you’re telling me, and therefore I see where so many of you struggle.

So in this episode, I want to share the five things I recommend you start putting into place right now so that you can be successful as a blogger and online entrepreneur going forward. Because yes, things have changed. They’re going to continue to change. Just look at Google and you know I am right.

What I’m going to share are these things that I have been saying for a while. And what’s funny is I feel like a broken record. But when I get on calls with so many of you, I am surprised at how many of these ideas seem really new and novel. So I thought I’d run through them to lay out the big picture of how to grow a thriving business and make money today.

And really, I’m dedicating this episode to the people who are feeling discouraged, freaked out, frustrated. And believe me, I’ve been talking to a bunch of you who feel this way. So if you understand the basics and point your north star in that direction, I promise you’ll find success.

I hope this episode serves as both a roadmap and a confidence booster, because you can definitely achieve this. First, let’s address the major elephant in the room, the challenges we are all facing one. The rise of AI. Two Google’s constant algorithm changes and three the decreasing revenue from traditional sources like display ads and affiliate marketing.

Virtually everyone I’ve talked to has shared that their traffic has dipped some slightly, others much more dramatically, like by 80 or 90%. Here is the key takeaway from today’s discussion.

Building an online business now largely comes down to these two things growing an audience and selling to this audience. This may seem simplistic, but it represents a significant shift from how we used to think about growing businesses, which is chasing vast numbers of pageviews from anonymous visitors to really today nurturing a dedicated group of fans.

And I’ve talked about this a lot. I call these your 1000 true fans, because if each of these fans spends $100 on your products and services in a year, you’ve made $100,000. So how do we adapt to this new business model without feeling overwhelmed? We’ve been building our businesses in one way, and now I’m saying, okay, the model is shifting. So how do we do this easily, particularly if we haven’t focused yet on really cultivating a tribe and if we haven’t really focused on selling.

So let’s break down the steps. And by the way, stick with me till the end, because I’m also sharing some exciting updates about how my low tree card is evolving, and we are evolving it to help you more effectively achieve these goals.

So here are my five tips for growing a successful business today without the overwhelm. And chances are you’re already doing a bunch of them.

So the first one’s easy. It is. Define your niche and stay in it. I honestly thought this was advice we all took to heart in 2018, but I get on calls with so many people who still can’t tell me what their niche is, and they think something like interior design or baking or travel is a niche.

And when I push to get them to be more specific, they already think they are. But I tell them that they need to give up their box of 64 Crayola crayons. Remember the big box and pare it down to a box of eight crayons and that they will thank me for this. Because what this does is it gives creators guardrails.

If you’re not sure your niche down enough, by the way, just email me, tell me your niche and I’ll give you feedback. You can reach out to me at jillian@milotree.com. If you are niche down here are the benefits. You can easily communicate what problem you solve and who your people are. So remember you want people raising their hand for you, saying yes, you are my person. So life coach is not a niche life coach for middle aged female executives who want to transition jobs. That is a niche.

My second tip is you now need a personal brand more than ever. I call it your vibe. So I have a previous episode I recorded all about how to figure out what your vibe is, and I will link to it in the show notes. But my question to you is, are you putting out your vibe over and over again? So creators with a strong personal brand are definitely seeing more success than bloggers or business owners who are hiding behind their websites.

I’m going to ask you to show up as a human, to connect, to demonstrate how you can improve your audience’s lives, to express what makes you different, how you see the world. And this is the interesting piece. It’s really not about you. It’s about how you can help me. But I need to get to know you, and I need to trust you. And I need to feel like we are on the same wavelength.

So my recommendation is keep putting out what makes you unique in your niche, and this is how you compete with all the other people who are in your niche.

My third tip is diversifying your traffic. So as we’ve all learned, we can no longer rely solely on Google. It’s now about getting creative in terms of driving traffic. In my episode, my recent episode with Lily Wray, who’s an SEO expert.

We talk a lot about Bing as a new source of traffic, and I will link to that episode in the show notes. And you can also start experimenting with platforms like YouTube if that feels doable. Now, my personal recommendation is to focus seriously on two platforms one Pinterest for traffic. It is still our number one traffic source for Catch My Party and still drives millions of pageviews for us.

My second platform is Instagram and this is for building your personal brand and your vibe. So it’s again, it’s not about the number of followers you have. It’s really about the quality of the followers. And are you having one on one conversations?

And now if you have additional time, I recommend you start playing around with threads. I don’t have any data on this. I’m just hearing good things and to be honest, I haven’t really dug into it, but it is on my list of things to do, so if it’s working for you, I would love to hear it. So just email me and I’ll have you on the show so we could talk about it, but I’m just starting to notice that there might be a signal there where people are growing their businesses with threads.

And please don’t abandon keywords. Keywords are still really relevant everywhere on the internet, because it’s how all these platforms know who to serve your content to. And this speaks again to why being in a specific niche actually helps you.

And my fourth tip grow your email list. I can’t express enough how important your email list is to your business. Again, I feel like we were all told this in 2018. Remember, the money’s in your list, but now we are really embracing it.

Yes, your email list is a great way to drive traffic to your blog or website, but it’s even more important than that. It’s where you develop those deep relationships with your true fans and where you make sales. I’ll say that again, it’s where you make sales, and I hear this over and over again.

People are surprised when they recognize when they realize they’re making sales through their emails. Here’s your sales funnel. Think of it this way your blog content and your social media channels get people to find you. This is how you get discovered.

But that’s just the beginning. This is called top of funnel. Now you need to move these people ultimately from social media, from your blog onto your email list. Then you can provide value to them, share your vibe, build that relationship, and if you can make that connection and solve real problems, they will buy from you. It’s that simple. And this is really where your business takes off, because this is where the money is. And I hear this over and over again. Yes, they were right back in 2018. The money is in your list.

My fifth tip is use the simplest tech tools you could find. So technology is great. It’s changed all of our lives. My iPhone I am addicted to. I love it, but technology is also rough. And if you are an online entrepreneur, you know this. Like how many times a day are you frustrated by technology? One of the most common comments I get when I get on calls with you is you say I want to sell digital products, but I hate technology and I don’t want to learn a new platform or people will swap that out with.

I’m horrible at technology or technology hates me that that one’s my favorite. Please do not be fooled by expensive, complicated platforms that promise to do everything for you. I’m going to say it. They are selling you snake oil that they’re selling you that dream of, like the turnkey business where it’s so easy, all you have to do is set up your username and password, and then everything just kind of lays out in front of you, and you’ve got a very profitable business.

And people share a lot of times that they’ve tried this and it’s really hard and it gives them a headache and they end up in a world of hurt. And in fact, this is what inspired us to create our pop up app and to make it so simple, so that people in two minutes could have our pop up, which is super optimized on their blogs, growing their social media followers.

And we took that inspiration and we said, hey, maybe we could use this when we create MiloTreeCart. In fact, we were meeting all of these creative people with untapped financial potential, like they had a successful blog or a community on Facebook or an engaged email list, but they didn’t know how to sell to them because the tech solutions were so complicated.

And this is the problem we set out to solve, and I honestly think we’re solving it. So I now want to share some updates on military and military cart. So for MiloTreeCart, remember we have been selling it as a lifetime deal of $349 with a 30 day money back guarantee. And now I want to announce that we’re phasing that out and going to a more traditional subscription model sometime in June.

We knew our lifetime deal was temporary because this was our way of testing our product, getting instant feedback, and building our group of VIP customers. We wanted to reward our early customers with a low price lifetime deal and a free bonus coaching call with me because they were putting their trust in us. Well, now that MiloTreeCart is growing. That is a hard model to scale.

So come June we’re going to a monthly subscription model. We haven’t worked out the pricing yet, but we’re growing and that’s exciting. However, if you still want our lifetime deal, which is the most cost effective way to go with the one hour bonus coaching, call with me so I can help you get set up right.

Go to milotree.com and sign up. And for the time being, I’m still offering those free 20 minute zoom calls where I can hear about your business, show you military cart and see if it’s a good fit. To sign up, go to Military.com. Scroll down, you’ll see a link to my calendar, so please sign up for a time. I’d love to meet you and you get to be one of our VIP customers.

And this is exciting because now, as I’ve shared multiple times and in this episode, the new way to grow your business online and find success is to build that audience and then sell to them. We are rolling out a new product called MiloTreeFreebies.

We built this because we kept hearing that setting up freebies with your email service provider was hard, so we’re making it super simple. This is like Milo tree cart. But instead of selling things, we help you grow your email list by giving you a platform to offer unlimited freebies. You get fully optimized AI generated opt in pages to collect emails in exchange for giving something of value like a checklist or e-book or resource, and we deliver that resource directly to your new subscriber.

We also automatically add their information into your email service provider. We integrate with all the major email service providers like Flodesk and ConvertKit and MailChimp. You name it. And after you’ve collected their email address, you’ll be able to sell a product to them on the thank you page. This is known as a tripwire. This might be something you haven’t. Heard about before, but I’ll be talking about it a lot in future episodes. This is a great way to make extra money while collecting those email addresses, so be on the lookout because I’ll be announcing all of this very soon.

To recap, what I’ve shared in this episode are the five takeaways I recommend you start putting into practice now. These are one. Make sure you are niched down to start building your personal brand. Three. Diversify your traffic sources for grow your email list and five use the easiest tech tools you can find. I hope this episode has given you direction, clarity, a feeling of support. You are not alone, especially right now if you’re feeling a little unmoored.

Remember, this is what online business is. It’s a journey you’ll hit bumps and you course correct. It’s like life. You just need to find the people pointing you in the new direction. So if you have any feedback or questions I love hearing from you, just email me at jillian@milotree.com. If you know someone who could benefit from this episode, please share it. And finally, if you’re enjoying the podcast, I would be so appreciative if you gave it five stars on iTunes. That way other people can discover it and I will see you here again next week.