Tips for Aspiring Mom Bloggers Part 2 – Creating Content

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After going through your WHY (why you want to create a blog or vlog) and after contemplating if you can actually be consistent enough to sustain this, then it’s time to think about creating content.

THE FIRST TEN

If you’re a first time blogger or vlogger, try to start creating your first 10 articles or your first 10 videos first. The first 10 that you’ll create will be important, because during this time…

You’ll be able to identify topics that you really want to write about.

As time goes by, there will be many distractions. Distraction comes in many forms like brands inviting you to write about their products and services. Another distraction is seeing that not a lot of people are reading your content. You’ll try to shift gears and try out a lot of tactics like holding a contest, etc. Sure, it may work once or twice, then your stats (number of page views or visitors) will go back to how it was before you ran contests. Also, you may be distracted by what other bloggers or vloggers are writing or vlogging about. You’ll think “I should write more about what these bloggers are writing about.” Creating content will surely stress you out!

I’m not saying that experimenting on different things is bad. In fact, I encourage it. But during this time that you’re thinking about the first ten things, this is time that you’ll be least distracted

You’ll start knowing yourself better and you’ll start thinking of your Personal Brand.

In the first part of this series, I mentioned that consistency is key. In the process of creating the first 10, you’ll know if this is something that you can sustain. You’ll also have a clearer idea on where you want to take your blog — what topics do you want to write about and if you’ll have enough content to last you a lifetime. The ten topics that you choose are most likely the things that you want to talk about.

Also, you’ll, be able to start thinking of the type of audience that you want to talk to or you want to attract.

I’ve written a few articles in the past about Personal Branding and Branding for Blogs. Check out these links:

In creating content, some of you may ask, where do I write my articles? Just write it in a Google Docs or in Microsoft word. For the videos, you may do simple edits even or just use a raw file for your first few content. These things need not be perfect. You just have to get it done and then review it.

HOMEWORK:

For aspiring mom/dad bloggers or for any aspiring blogger out there, you can do this first Homework.

Please create your first 10 posts or videos

If you’re done with this, I can help you by going through the content with you, and we can even talk about branding and content after. For those who also want to learn more, you can fill out this form as we’re thinking of running a blogging workshop soon with my friends Cat Arambulo, Jackie Go and Shari Poquiz.

Now, in creating content for your blog, my basic tips for you are:

  • Choose topics that are somewhat “evergreen”. Evergreen content are topics that can be read, re-read, used, linked back to for all eternity. No matter what year it is in the future, it will be RELEVANT.
  • Another thing that you want to do is at least check and edit your content. I am guilty of sometimes not checking and reading the posts that I create. I’m the type of person who thinks and writes with PASSION and gusto. Haha! Then I just hit the publish button. That may be something that you might do when you’re confident enough that you won’t be making major Boo-boo’s. But if you know that your weakness are sentence construction, spelling, etc., you might want to use https://www.grammarly.com/. Not endorsing here, but a lot of my content writer friends are using this tool.
  • Have a relevant and catchy title (at least) for your first few posts. Let’s face it, people love to click on posts that have catchy titles. Write a clear title and please have content that’s really related to the title. I’ve seen content with titles that are way unrelated to each other.
  • Length (for me) doesn’t matter. So there is no expected number of words or expected length for your video. Put yourself in your readers shoes, would they get the gist of what you’re saying in 2 paragraphs? Will they want a longer post or video so that you can give them the lo-down on the stuff that you want to teach? So it really depends on what your audience will eventually like to read or watch from you.

These are just a few tips on creating the content that you need for your blog / vlog. If you have other questions or if you’d like to share more tips, please feel free to comment below or share your tips and questions on social media and use #GINspiration and tag any of my social media accounts (FB: http://facebook.com/mommyginger / IG: http://instagram.com/gingerarboleda / Twitter: http://twitter.com/gingerarboleda )

Hope you can connect with me and I’d gladly reply and respond to your inquiries! Again please feel free to sign up above if you want to join our blogging workshops coming soon!

Tips for Aspiring Mom Bloggers Part 1 – What to Begin With and a Little about Monetization

We have a lot of mom bloggers in the Philippines. And I mean a L-O-T! Just scroll through Instagram or search on Facebook and you’ll find them. My own team in ManilaWorkshops.com conducts business and freelancing workshops, and oftentimes, people ask us to do Blogging 101 workshops.

Those mom bloggers who have been in the industry for a long time now find this space to be very congested already. Notice that I used the word congested, since I didn’t want to describe the landscape as competitive. There is nothing to compete for anyway. The reality is that more and more people have started blogging and that’s okay. What’s sad though is that most of them join this industry not because of the love of the craft, but because most think that this is the easiest way to earn extra income.

Image captured by Veni Anabo: https://journeyofthevees.wordpress.com/

That latter reason of wanting more income isn’t bad, too, but then it leads people down a path of depression and loss of self-worth. We equate the number of readers, the number of followers, the number of comments and the number of likes with our worth.

There are many challenges that mom bloggers have to overcome. This is the reason why Mommy Pehpot of https://www.pehpot.com/ and I did this live session. Check out the video above.

When I asked my friends who are deemed successful bloggers like Frances Sales of http://www.topazhorizon.com/, Cat Arambulo – Anotnio of http://catarambulo.com/, Shari of http://www.themistymom.com/ and Jackie Go of http://gojackiego.com/ though if they really planned to earn from blogging, all of them said that it was purely accidental. Looking back at my journey, too, as a blogger, I never really intended to earn from MommyGinger.com. I just love writing. I also am very passionate about learning trying out new things. Family and friends know me as an early adopter when it comes to trying out new platforms, new activities, etc.

So in terms of monetizing your mommy blog, it will take time. When you create and start your blog, don’t think about money first. Money will come eventually.

The first thing that you need to take care of is creating consistent content for at least 5 months, then see if this is something that you can do and something that you love doing. Why 5 months? When you want to come up with at least 21 posts every week, that will take you 5 months.

Aside from writing the content in your blog, don’t forget to use social media to amplify your message. Create a Facebook Page, Twitter account and an Instagram account. Then every time come up with content, share and announce your new content in these channels. It may even be good to think about creating videos, too. People love watching videos on Youtube, Instagram TV and even other platforms like Kumu (please follow me on Kumu @ginger… hehe!).

After 5 months of delivering consistent content and see if you can continue doing this for the rest of your life. I’ve been blogging for 11 years already, and i’m still happily doing this. So if you’re like me after 5 months, comment on the section below and say, I’m READY! haha!

I’ll be coming up with other topics about mom blogging soon so stay tuned for those!

Also, my friends (Cat, Shari, Jackie and I) have been talking about creating a workshop on blogging. We will announce this to people who are truly interested! If you are VERY MUCH interested to join, please fill out this form:

So just to recap on how to get started, the first thing that you need to do is to know the reason why you want to have a blog. Will you be able to remain consistent in the years to come? Try to write (even without a blog) your first content this week and see if this is something that makes you happy! 🙂

Stay tuned for my next post for mom bloggers 😉

Create a Blog and BRAND It!

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Today was a light day! I got to squeeze in time for learning. I was watching and listening to videos from the Teachable summit. For 2017, I want to create a course, but I don’t know what course to create and share with you. This endeavour is something new to me. I felt confused as to where to start and how to start. I then remembered that 8 years ago, blogging was also new to me. It moved me to think about how I started blogging, and to think of the factors that made me get to where I am today. I’m pretty happy that I have gotten this far in blogging, and I attribute a big part of it to branding. Create blogs with great branding, and you’ll go places!

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What is good branding? When you create blogs, consider thinking about the following:

1. Define a blogging objective.

What is the main thing or specific thing that you want people to do, learn or read from your blog. It is important that you have this in mind 24/7 when you create blogs. The topics that you choose, the videos that you make or even the picture or font that you use should be with aligned with the mood, tone or feel of the objective of the blog. Everything should be consistent. Consistency will come in when you have a clear objective.

2. Check on what you can offer that others cannot.

Uniqueness is a big part of the game. All of us can be a certain type of blogger (mom blogger, travel blogger, etc.). What sets you apart can be how you craft your content, the tools and methods of how you relay your message, the tone of your message, and the chosen angle of your message. These are all dependent on what particular niche you are trying to talk to. Knowing your readers really well is what makes you know of your “uniqueness”.  Truly listening and engaging with them will steer you towards the direction you alone will be taking.

3. Don’t forget offline marketing.

Talking to people offline is as important as chatting with them via social media. Building trust or just getting to know people who are part of your chosen community or niche is one big factor for successful branding. People should know who you are as a person. They will trust you more once you connect with them in both the online and offline world. This is especially true when you don’t have your own flock of brand believers who will tell others of who your are and your story.

These are just some tips that worked for me. Do you know of other tips that may have worked for you to develop a good brand. Share them with me please at the comments section below.

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Blogging and Earning Thousands of Dollars

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I met with a friend earlier today. We talked about how I was and how she was. She mentioned that she was focusing on her blog since she was making around $1000 a month. “Whaaaaat?!” I couldn’t believe my ears. Then, she went on to say that in good months, she would actually earn more, around close to $2000. I nearly fell of my seat. The $2000 would probably be one contract for me that spans 6 months. And she quickly said that she was nothing compared to others out there who are earning way beyond what she is getting. “Whaaaaat?!”, I said again in disbelief. I would have sworn I said “Whaaaaat?!” quite a few times during that conversation, dubbing it my word for the day. I found it bewildering that I have been in this industry for the longest time and yet, I still learn new things!

This conversation got me thinking. Why didn’t I think about all maximizing monetizing my blog?! haha! And the other thought was, I need to tell the world (maybe not the world)… or probably just those who have a knack and talent for it, that yes, you can earn through blogging.

Talking about blogging and earning has been an issue for some. It was probably because some scenarios that involve discussing blogging and earning touched on ethics. But most of the scenarios, where pure talent, passion and effort come into play (which doesn’t involve ethics), shouldn’t be an issue. A person with unquestionable talent in writing, who uses that skill to create a blog,, should be given the opportunity to earn from it and make it his or her profession. To tell you honestly, I now at least have a handful of people (2 of which I am pretty sure) who earn a living by writing down relevant and useful content.

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Hopefully now, the non-believers are believers, the more pressing issue (because we need to start blogging A-S-A-P) is where do we start? I suggest that you better start quickly and make things happen and to START, check out the WordPress Blogging Basics Course.

The WordPress Blogging Basics Course was created by my friend, Marv De Leon — a very skilled, talented, brand builder. He built his brand with the main intent to help freelancers focus and live a life pursuing their craft. Now, why do I say you need to take this course? In this WordPress Blogging Basics Course, you will learn…

tips about blogging, why blogging is still relevant for you and your business today
practical tips on how to start your first blog with WordPress — the most robust blogging tool in the market today
the key elements and essentials of a powerful WordPress blog
the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
how to create a WordPress blog, step-by-step, and publish your first blog post in under 10 minutes
more about writing a killer blog post that your readers will love and share with their friends
how to effectively market and monetize your WordPress blog
tips on building a blogging empire from the nation’s award-winning bloggers

These are just some of the benefits of signing up for this course. You can read more about it by clicking on Register now!

Register Now

 

If you have the time and if you really want to make things happen next year, start now! Really, what’s stopping you? There are a lot of things in my life that I have said YES to. I never regretted saying YES. All of these are things that you learn from and learning is always a good investment.

I love how Marv placed this in his announcement:

THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR…

People who won’t commit to finish the training

Those who will not commit to taking action and apply what they learned from the training

People who who don’t have the patience and think that blogging is a “get rich quick” scheme

I know we are talking of thousands of dollars here, but blogging isn’t a get-rich-quickly strategy. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance. The name of the game is consistency. If you don’t decide to place time and effort into it, don’t even try. It’s a commitment. All of the professional bloggers I know will give you the same advice. If you place your heart into it, it is something that will give you fulfilment and financial success.

So again, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you start by enrolling in this course: WORDPRESS BLOGGING BASICS

 

Register Now

PS. See you tomorrow for our WEBINAR! Just click on the image to register!

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Monetizing your Blog

First of all, I would like to thank all of those who attended our Facebook Live Session about Monetizing your Blog. For those who want to view it, here it is! Thank heavens for Facebook’s embed functionality!

I hope that you learned a lot from what we shared with you. I’d like to add a few more things and stress on parts that we didn’t have time to focus on due to time limitations, but before that, please don’t forget that the offer for Php 200 off on WORDPRESS BLOGGING BASICS for the Early Bird Rate will end on Wednesday. The CODE is WORDPRESS!

THINGS THAT I FAILED TO MENTION

Since I was panicking because I had to be at a meeting, I failed to mention some important points about earning from your blog. First of all, define what your objective is for your blog. Those with unclear objectives oftentimes fail. Also, please do not make earning money an end goal for putting up a blog. The end goal should be bigger than that. We, bloggers or “soon-to-be-bloggers” are given a huge opportunity to change the world — to fix things, to share ideas, to help make the world a better place. Money should not be END, but the means to an END.

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Also, think of your blogs as your own personal newspaper or letter or journal. Yes, you can write about anything under the sun, but be responsible. Your intentions may be good, but sometimes, the interpretation of others or how people perceived and absorb the information may be different. I know that whatever action your reader takes after reading your blog may not be your responsibility, but let’s try to avoid starting fights, insulting people, etc. That’s just my opinion.

This is also linked to earning from your blog, because brands, advertisers and possible partners will always partner with bloggers with the same values. If you share the same values with a brand, you will possibly and more likely be chosen as a partner blogger or commissioned to write about their products.

Some of the things that you can Earn From as a Blogger

Advertising Space: You can places ads that are situated in certain areas of your blog. How you earn from these ads are either from a monthly rate booked by an advertiser or through either Pay Per Click or Cost Per Mille. What you get from Pay Per Click (PPC) ads differ based on the amount of traffic your website gets. Check on what percentage of those who visit a site actually click on ads for blogs that are of the same genre as you. This will give you an idea on how much you can earn with the traffic that you have. Cost per Mille advertising (CPM) is when you earn based on the number of impressions (page views) you get. You earn from every 1000 impressions.

Sponsored Posts / Text Link Ads / In Text Ads  / Advertising Widgets: Sponsored posts are a thing here in the Philippines. Most of the brands ask for this and pricing again depends on the number of people who read your posts. Text Link Ads are a bit related to sponsored post since this allows you to place text based ads within the text of your articles. Cliking on those words will send you directly to a brand’s page or social media account or a lead page. In text ads are the same as text link ads but are usually more obvious than Text Link Ads. And advertising widgets are widgets that you install in your site and display a mixture of different kinds of ad types (affiliate, PPC, etc.)

Affiliate Marketing: A blogger earns commission for every product sold. There are different ways that a brand can go about doing this: using a code, using a link, a widget, etc.

Audio Advertising where you are paid every time someone plays and ad on your site (Pay per Play or PPP).  These ads usually play a video that can’t be stopped or stopped only after a few seconds.

Cross-sell services: We shouldn’t look at our blogs as the “product or the service” that we offer. We can take a step back and see if our blog is actually a tool that we can use to cross-sell other services like coaching, an ebook, a book, a workshop, etc.

The other way that you can earn are through Pop up Ads, creating membership sites, create some kind of listing in your site and earn though listing fees, ask for donations or you can eventually sell your website.  Brands sometimes look for an existing site so that they need not build new content.

Please do let me know if you have more questions on blogging and I’ll be happy to answer them for you. Also, again, we are looking forward to seeing you on August 20 for WORDPRESS BLOGGING BASICS. Sign up now and get Php 200 off!