This chat was awesome! I enjoyed it and several of you gave me amazing feedback, which I appreciate! As promised, here is the replay. If you have other questions, feel free to write them down and save them… I'll be doing another one of these in a few weeks. Join my Facebook group to be notified (I'll set it up as an event and I'll also send an email – are you on my list?)
Buy me a coffee?
I have had some of you offer to buy me a coffee because this training was free. While I LOVE coffee, I would much prefer you to donate on this page instead. My family helps feed kids every weekend, and the number is growing (started with 4, last time there were over 100). We are also helping women – mostly single moms – start and grow their businesses here in Mexico.
Even a $5-$10 donation goes far. Every amount is appreciated. The links here are affiliate links, so if you make a purchase I earn a portion of that as a commission – that helps pay for my time, too! 🙂
Mentioned
Keywords Everywhere (chrome extension)
Glowforge – the *only* physical product business I recommend.
Blog Set-Up Questions
Which hosting do you use?
I use BigScoots for hosting and NameCheap for cheap, reliable domains. I do not recommend BlueHost or Host Gator, but I will say, every host has its issues. For me, BigScoots customer service has been the best so that is who I currently recommend. In the past I have recommended SiteGround but they had some major de-indexing issue recently and I don't want to risk that with my blogs.
If you need to MOVE your blog, head over to BigScoots and ask them if they can help with that. They have been great with moving mine.
How do you know how many niches to choose for one blog?
Stick with one niche per blog unless you're doing a lifestyle blog. Then, make sure you have an over-arching theme (like the Frugalwoods do) and tie everything you post back into that theme. Stick to 3-5 categories to keep things simple, and make sure every single post relates to your main topic.
Any other tips and tricks that are different than what others share?
I don't focus on social media other than to send social signals to Google that my blogs are legit. Social sharing happens organically from your readers when you deliver high-value content.
Affiliate Marketing Questions
Where to learn about affiliate marketing?
I have a 7-day affiliate marketing challenge coming out SOON. Get on my list to get it when it goes live.
How soon should I get started?
NOW! 🙂 As soon as your blog is launched, start looking for affiliates.
Where to find affiliates?
Google (your niche) + affiliates, or look at Shareasale.
What about using AI tools to blog?
I love, love, love that there are AI tools to help bloggers! 🙂 I recommend Jarvis (they have a free trial) and Outranking. If you're just getting started, please DO NOT start using AI. You need to learn blogging basics first. If you start using AI from the get-go, it can become a crutch, and your content will suffer BIG TIME – trust me. I've seen it happen a lot!
I have a full guide on getting started with Jarvis – and it's FREE. You can get it here.
How to get started with email marketing?
I learned a lot from Email Marketing Fairy, and I use her templates often.
Who do you use for your email?
I use Mailerlite and FloDesk for various sites. 🙂 As I said in the video, FloDesk is great because it's only $19/mo no matter how many subscribers you have. Mailerlite is great because it's free for the first 1,000 subscribers, but they have stricter limits on who they approve and the type of content they let go through. I've heard folks say they got banned from Mailerlite for sending affiliate links in their emails – which is a huge part of affiliate marketing in the first place… so if you can afford FloDesk, that's who I would go with as long as it works with your current tech stack (if you have one).
VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE ARE ONLY MY OWN. VIEW WITH CAUTION. 🙂