There are so many blogging posts on what to do, how to succeed, how to improve your traffic, and grow your following. You can find every single tutorial out there about the strategies you need to start seeing success and make money blogging but the truth is, there are so many things you need to accomplish before you dive into those strategies. You may have to work out some kinks and find your own way, but to get you started I have 13 secret things you are doing wrong. Seriously. And chances are, no one is telling you. These are the real reasons why you’re not making money blogging.
*This post contains affiliate links. Although I may make a commission, all recommendations are my own.
You don’t have a schedule
This recommendation is coming from one of the least organized people you will ever meet…or at least I used to be.
If you are hoping for blogging tips to make more money, then it is time you start taking this thing seriously. Carve out time for this dream of yours and stick to it! Snag 2 FREE blog schedule printouts here or check out this amazing Blogging Planner.
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But the thing is, I have dreams bigger than just sleeping in. So I wake up for them. You should too.
No matter what your schedule, find a time in your day where you can dedicate a few hours completely to your blog. Learning to build a blog during your free-time is going to be key to start generating income.
How I Created a Money-Making Blog While Homeschooling
You struggle with consistency
One of the best blogging tips I can give you is to be consistent.
The more you post when you are first getting started, the better. It’s recommended that you do at least 2 per week. However, if you’re only able to stay consistent with one, then make that one your absolute best work!
Google appreciates consistency! If you want your little blog to be taken more seriously in Google’s eyes, then you have got to take it more seriously yourself!
You write for yourself
Until you have built a strong, solid following, it’s a good idea to steer clear of getting too chatty about yourself. Now, is this always the case? No. Some bloggers have made a huge success out of their life story and it all started with a blog.
Really take the time to get clear about what your potential readers want and learn to hone in your message so they know exactly what you’re about right away. Join my free online training to learn how to do both these things.
The people who see success with their blogs are the ones who write for others.
How to turn your experience into a post
Now just because I said people don’t want to hear about you all of the time, doesn’t mean you can’t use your experiences to help others.
Keep this in mind when you are writing your posts. Did you have a really rough experience with your toddler yesterday? Instead of writing out a story that tells people what happened in your life, find a way to make it a teaching point for other moms.
- “3 Super Easy Ways to Deal with Temper Tantrums.” (Hint…titles with numbers in them do really well)
- “How to Survive the Terrible Twos When You Are a Stay at Home Mom.” (Hint: get specific)
- “The Top 5 Books on How to Raise a Toddler.” (See what I did there?)
Now when you write this post, you absolutely should talk about yourself and your experience!! –People also want to know they are not alone. They’ll enjoy relating to you and are more likely to join your e-mail list or follow you on social media when they know you are relatable and helpful!
You’re set in your ways
As you learn these types of things on how to improve your blog, you have got to be willing to roll with the punches. If you love writing posts about how to style an outfit, but no one is reading them…your audience is talking to you. They’re asking for a little change. Does your one post about how you organize a sock drawer do really well? Then listen to that. Write the stuff they are loving to read!
If you want more readers, then you have got to be willing to write about what they want to read about. Feeling totally clueless about what to even write about or how to get ideas? Join the Stay at Home Blogger family and get behind-the-scenes blog post writing training.
You’re too creative for your own good
A lot of people who want to start a blog do so because they have a passion for writing. It’s a natural talent of theirs so they think they will fall head over heels in love with the wide world of blogging.
One major blogging tip is that running a blog also requires graphic design, technical skills, a marketing mindset, and structure. These aren’t all necessarily things creative people possess.
How to dial back creativity…in a good way
You have to be mindful of how you structure your post and how you create your graphics for your pins on Pinterest. Here are some quick tips to get you started:
- Avoid writing in more than 300-word clumps.
- Break your post down into multiple headings.
- Change up your font style throughout your post.
- Avoid script fonts in your pins.
- Don’t let your photos interfere with the title on your pins.
Check out all my pins.
You are not taking advantage of free information
That grand ‘ol internet of ours is filled with tons of blogging tips and how to start making money and you should be taking advantage of it all. I was recently talking to someone about my blog and how I operate my affiliate links, courses, and social media. My friend turns to me and says, “How do you know all of this?” and the truth is … most of it was free. It came from blog posts (like this one).
If you are not taking full advantage of every ounce of free blogging information, then you are missing out my friend. Yes, you are going to definitely hear a lot of the same things over and over again. But that should only reassure you that those things are true.
My FREE blogging resources
- One Grand Training – Learn to make your first $1,000 online
- How to Turn Your Skills Into a Virtual Money Maker
You’re not investing in learning
I know, I know you’re learning to blog so you can make money but have you ever heard the phrase, “It takes money to make money?” Well, it’s true! Any single successful business owner will tell you this.
Treating your blog like a business is one of the wisest things you can do. Sure, it doesn’t cost much to simply start a blog, but in order to make it thrive there are a few things I highly recommend investing in:
- Courses to help improve your blog
- Course creation products
- Automation tools Tailwind is my favorite!
- A high-quality email provider I use ConvertKit
Tried and true blogging courses
Here are blogging courses that I have gone through and fully recommend.
- Affiliate Marketing for bloggers – This is an awesome guide about how to get started and how to be successful with affiliate marketing. Check it out.
- Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing – Michelle makes over $50K per month with affiliate marketing alone.Learn all of the best tips in her course.Check out the course!
- Pinteresting Strategies – Learn the best methods for growing your Pinterest that no other blogger has talked to you about before! This helped grow my traffic huge AND it’s super affordable! See the course.
- Pitch Perfect Pro – Pitch Perfect is a course I took hosted by a successful blogger, Jenny Melrose. She will walk you step by step through how to pitch to brands and what to do once you’ve got them. Start pitching.
- Stay at Home Blogger – My signature 4 phase blogging program designed to show you how to create a money-making business out of your website or blog! Join the SAHB community today!
You’re too focused on the money
A lot of times bloggers get so excited by the idea of monetizing that they throw around affiliate links in a really half-assed way. Excuse my language.
Doing this can come across as really inauthentic and might even drive people away. Take the time to focus on high-quality content with a few affiliate links. Work to get readers to come back to your site and build trust with them before you start asking for money.
So, how do you start making money with affiliate links without sounding spammy?
Start with less affiliates
Just like niching down can help you to focus more on one thing, so can using less affiliates.
Pick 5 affiliates that you strongly support or believe in and focus on naturally and authentically mentioning them in your posts.
Using less affiliates can help you focus in on how to make these few affiliate links work for you, you can narrow in on how to promote them and any consistent readers will start to see how much you really recommend these specific affiliates which will make them more likely to click your link.
You don’t have a clear call to action
One of my biggest struggles when using affiliate marketing was using sneaky wording to promote different affiliates.
For example:
There is an awesome app that saves you tons of money.
vs.
There is an awesome app called Ibotta that can save you a ton of money when shopping or planning vacations, and you get $10 totally free just for signing up! Sign up with Ibotta.
See the difference? The “awesome app” link is not going to get you nearly enough clicks. It may not be as glamorous just getting strait to the point with your affiliate links, but it is exactly what your readers need.
Your titles are not SEO friendly
This all comes back around to that darn creative side of the brain again. While your creative side is wonderful, this is another area where you might be getting yourself into trouble.
I used to write catchy blog titles like, “Every light in the house is on.” It was a great post written about how when you see houses with lights on everywhere it usually means that every family member is s p r e a d out. They are separate from one another. One light, in the center of the house often means dinner time or family game night.
This post was naturally read and adored by my personal Facebook friends, but that’s it. A less creative title could have been, “The Family Problems Caused by a Big House.”
Get more SEO training in Stay at Home Blogger
You’re affiliate happy
Do not write a post, link an affiliate, or promote a sponsor that you do not actually support!
This was a struggle when I first started doing more minimalist focused posts. — “How in the world am I going to make money when I support owning less?” — I can’t link to Amazon purchases, I can’t recommend new, fun toys….what am I going to do? I’ll totally fail.
Not. true. at. all. Like I said before you focus on monetizing, just work on building a following. Affiliate linking and brands will just come naturally.
Content is key
If I haven’t said this enough yet, remember that your content is key! No matter how many bloggers told me this, I just continually didn’t listen. You have got to be giving something back to your readers, or they will not come back. If you keep pushing for sales or writing half-assed posts, people will catch on.
Build a solid, strong following through quality content. When the audience comes, the opportunities for making money will follow!
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