One thing that I’m really excited about this year is the chance to really take my blog to the next level and to make it a profitable year. Several successful entrepreneurs and content creators that I follow always talk about the books that they read and how important it is to always be continuously learning throughout your journey. So here are 10 books that I’m adding to my reading list this year. The books that I choose are ones that will help me focus on: improving my productivity, building an unwavering relationship with my audience, growing and understanding my influence.

The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran & Michael Lennington

At the beginning of the year, many of us like to create yearly goals and we look at the entire year when we are planning out our lives, content, and goal metrics. But a year is a long time to focus on several different goals, and it’s easy to become unfocused or unmotivated to continue on them. This book focuses on redefining your year to be 12 weeks long instead. This changes the way that your mind works to get more stuff done and increases the chances that you’ll actually reach your goal. The book focus on clarity, which I definitely need right now. Most months, I feel like I’m not getting enough done to reach my goals so this is why this book is on my list.  

Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman

In Traction, it focuses on giving you the tools and secrets to strengthening your business and how to run a successful business. Mattie James actually recommended this book, and after reading the description, I knew I wanted to add it to my reading list. I’m always get stuck when I have to make decisions or I never know when to start implementing those decisions or even how to. This book, I’m hoping will give me cut-and-dry information on how to actually run a profitable, frustration-free business. I want to be in my bag all 2021 when it comes to my blogging business!

Clarity First by Karen Martin

A common problem that I have every year is getting clear on where I want to take my blog and how to get results with my ideas. Because I’m unclear on my business, I can’t get consistent income, grow my blog’s pageviews, and just elevate my social media in general. This book says that “it’ll provide methods and insights for achieving clarity to unleash potential, innovate at higher levels, and solve the problems that matter to deliver outstanding business results.” All of this is what I need help on.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

I’m sure if you ever googled how to break a bad habit, then you’ve seen this book before somewhere online. It’s one of those books that is always recommended from successful entrepreneurs because bad habits can stunt your growth without you even knowing it. Atomic Habits offers a framework on how to improve daily and how the tiny changes that you make will lead to amazing results. I really want to read this book this year so that I can change my systems and create better habits that are going to allow me to improve in my life and business.

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

While I’m not terrible with my finances, I do think that there is 100% room for improvement to learn how to manage my finances better and how to make my business more profitable. Making money from your business is great until you don’t know how to manage it and your business eats away any profit that you made. Profit First follows 4 simple principles that help simplify accounting and highlight how to look at your financials differently.

Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist by Sally Hogshead

In the world of blogging and social media, branding is so important to keep the attention of your audience and build creditability in your niche. Fascinate dive right into how to captivate your audience and make your brand irresistible. This book says that you will learn how to increase your prices, build revenue, get better targeted leads, and attracting the fans that you want to follow you. As a blogger, I definitely struggle with everything that this book says that it’ll help with so I’m excited to read it.

Superfans by Pat Flynn

Superfans focuses on how to connect with your audience in a way that makes them into a Superfan. Because social media can easily be a vanity metric for some people, it can be easy to forget that there are actual people behind the screen that look up to you and want to connect with you beyond pretty pictures. Superfans are people who are your biggest supporters, your hype man, and your promotors. As I want to continue growing your audience and business, I want to make sure that I’m connecting with you and building those connections as best as possible.

The One Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan

I’m definitely that person who ends up trying to do everything under the sun and either getting nothing done or being stressed out daily. The constant assault of emails, texts, tweets, meetings, and demands from outside forces definitely distracts and overwhelms me. The One Thing focuses on “cutting out the clutter to achieve better results in less time, stay on track, and master what actually matters to you”. This book is on my reading list because I want to be able to do more things while still keeping centered on what matters to me.

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

I don’t know about you, but I’m always wishing that I had more time to get the house cleaned, to exercise, to try new hobbies, and accomplish my goals. The reason why this book got added to my reading list because Laura Vanderkam actually shares real life examples of how happy people manage to do it all with the same amount of time as everyone else. It focuses on doing the things that no one else can do for us while delegating all of the things that don’t bring you joy that someone else can do for you.

Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results by Rob Biesenbach

Even if you’re not a blogger or content creator, you need to read this book if you want to learn how to craft powerful stories that entertains, persuades, and influences people. Sharing a good story can break down barriers, build trust with your audience, and influence people to act like you want them to do. I think this book is great for anyone looking to get the most out of your career and life because good stories make an impact beyond a powerpoint or a pretty picture.

What books are you currently reading or what books do you recommend if you’re also a content creator? I would love to hear your thoughts and add a few more books to my reading list this year. I’m really excited to finally knuckle down and take my blog to next level, which starts with education, dedication, and perseverance.

You may also like: 11 Ways to Invest In Yourself This Year, Chatbooks: The Perfect Photo App for Millennials, and How We Bought An Airplane in Our 20s

The post 10 Books I’m Adding to My Reading List appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

What are influencer networks?

Influencer networks are one of the easiest ways to connect with brands for paid content campaigns. These websites will post new opportunities regularly featuring the campaign brief and what audience they are trying to reach. Some will say that they are trying to reach “millennials between 25-35 who are vegan or like to shop sustainable” while others will say “mom bloggers with kids between the ages of 2-5”. There are tons of websites out there if you go looking for them, but I found that only a few of them have worthwhile ones.

How do campaigns work through influencer networks?

The biggest difference between working with an influencer network vs the brand itself is that you don’t get to talk with the brand directly. You work with a brand manager who is basically the middle man between you and the brand. This of course can make it hard to build a relationship with the brand itself, but you can become friends with the brand manager. You’ll receive all communication from the brand through this brand manager including feedback, updates, and anything else that you may need.

How much is compensation with influencer networks?

Compensation is very different on all of the platforms. Some of them allow you to input your rates while others will give you a suggested rate based on your following. It really depends on the platform, which is why you should check how much the campaign is offering before applying to it.

10 Places for Influencers to Find Campaign Opportunities

Social Fabric

Social Fabric is probably one of my favorite places to find paid collaborations. There are always plenty of options available, especially for food or hair. On the website, it gives you like a rating and a suggest price range for the trier that they’ve put you in. Some campaigns come with a set pay already set while others you can insert your prices. Besides the fact that they offer higher paid campaigns, the brands usually have the option to pay you for your pictures too! I’ve worked with Sam’s Club, Listerine, Palmolive + Scotch-Brite through them.

Ahalogy Muse

Another platform that you need to sign up for today is Ahalogy Muse. It’s one of my favorite networks to work with because they are so easy to work with, and they allow you to type in what you want to be paid. Then the campaigns that you receive will match the pay that you requested so you never feel like you’re been shorted. They have ton of campaigns with plenty of variety to choose from. I’ve personally worked with brands such as Maui Moisture and Borden with them.

Aspire IQ (Formerly Revfluence)

Aspire IQ was one of the first influencer network platforms that I signed up for when I was a baby blogger. I find that the platform is very easy to use, and there is an option to find both unpaid and paid campaigns. Even though it’s been a while since I’ve last used this platform, I do remember them having more unpaid campaigns on there. When applying for a campaign, you do have the option to type in your rates and bypass their suggested rate that they give you. On this network, I’ve been able to work Yoga Club and Coastal Glasses through Aspire IQ.  

Clever

Clever is slowly becoming one of my favorite platforms to use because they have higher paid collaborations. I’ve only gotten one campaign with them, but I’m excited to keep pitching through them this year. It was this one with Lexington Law! All of the campaigns listed on Clever are paid!

Blog Meets Brand

Blog Meets Brand is another influencer network platform that I like to use to secure brand collaborations. The nice thing about this platform is that you get sent emails when they are new campaigns that they think that you may be a good fit for, similar to Ahalogy Muse. On Blog Meets Brand, you do have the option to negotiate your rate within a certain range per campaign. I’ve worked with the USO and Kohl’s with them, and they were very easy to work with!

Cohley

Cohley is a new influencer network for me, but they offer unpaid and paid collaborations as well as gifted opportunities for reviews/feedback. I haven’t done anything with them yet, but I find that they have a wide array of options to choose from.

Activate

I’ve only recently signed up for Activate, but you can find plenty of unpaid and paid campaigns on there. This one is great if you are into mom life, beauty, food, and animal niches. I haven’t personally gotten any campaigns on Activate, but I’m excited to keep trying this year.

Sway

Sway is another platform to find paid campaigns on. I will say that I generally see more campaigns for mom bloggers, but I do see other niches on there such as lifestyle, beauty, and finances/college on Sway. I’ve personally worked with Tampax through Sway. 

InfluenceHer Collective

InfluenceHer Collective is more of a community filled with like-minded females who are usually in college or have just graduated from college. Once you’re a part of the community, you have access to all of the free information, people to connect with, and campaigns! They offer gifted, paid, and unpaid collaborations with some large household brands. You’ll get emails from them when they have available campaigns to pitch for. Through InfluenceHer Collective, I’ve worked with brands such as H&M and more.

Heartbeat

I haven’t personally gotten any campaigns through this platform, but I’ve heard great things from others who have used the platform, especially for beginners. One thing that I do like about Heartbeat is that they track the performance of your sponsored content, which allows you to use how successful the content was in terms of likes and engagement. Note: they do tend to be on the lower spectrum of pay which is why it a great option for beginners just getting started. 

This is by no means an all-exclusive list. There are a ton of influencer platforms out there, but these are the ones that I’ve used before and would recommend you signing up for. As you grow as an influencer, I’m sure you’re going to one day learn how to make money blogging and working with brands is a great option! Working with influencer networks get you comfortable with working with brands and pitching your value to them as well.

You may also enjoy: 8 Tools that I Invested in Grow and Manage My Blog, 14 Ways to Refresh Your Blog for the New Year, and 6 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging

The post 10 Influencer Networks for Lifestyle Bloggers appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

Install an SSL Certificate

You’re probably wondering what the heck is an SSL, but let me explain…an SSL certificate is a type of digital certificate that websites use to showcase that the website is secured. It basically says that your website is safe to use and is trustworthy. You can see if someone has an SSL certificate by looking for the extra “S” in the HTTPs in the URL.

If you want more in-depth information on SSL certificate definitely Google it or search on Pinterest. This is just the cliffnotes version of what a SSL certificate is, but if you don’t already have it installed, it’s pretty easy to do. If you have a self hosted website, then head over to your hosting company and add it to your services (if it’s not already). Most of the time it’s free with your hosting platform, but there are paid options as well.

Pay for a website developer to increase your website speed

Have you ever clicked on a website on Pinterest and the link takes forever to load? Usually when that happens, I click off the website and go straight to another pin that loads more quickly. In those extra seconds that your website takes to load, you could be potentially losing a ton of traffic. Before the new year begins, I highly recommend paying a website developer to increase your website speed. This is something that is totally necessary for a blog refresh.

Especially if you have been blogging for a minute or created your blog on your own, there are going to be bulky things like photos, unused or complicated plugins, and other technical mumbo-jumbo that clog up your website unnecessarily and slow it down. I used Aamir from WPGeared to speed up mine recently, and he was great to work with.

Update all of your pages

One that is a total must if you’re trying to refresh your blog is to update some of the most important pages of your website. While updating every single page on your blog can be a daunting task, here is a list of the ones that need to be done asap:

• About me page – this page is a spot where you can let your readers know more about you, your brand, and your mission of the blog. You’ll want to make sure to include your name and any ways to connect with you here.
• Contact page – this page is a spot where brands or readers can use to find contact information for you. I highly recommend having a blog email address that you use, instead of a contact form. It looks cleaner, and you’re more likely to see an email than a notification in WordPress.
• Recommendation page – if you have a recommendation page or shop page on your blog, make sure to update this page regularly with your favorites and recommendations. It’s always good to double-check to make sure all of the links are working properly here.

Update or delete unused or outdated plugins

Something that is super easy to do is to address all of your plugins. It’s important to go thru them and see which ones that need updating or ones that you no longer use anymore. The reason why it is so important to keep your blog updated is because outdated plugins are still technically on your blog, and they are an easy entry point for hackers.

Create a content calendar and stick with it

I know, you’ve probably heard it before but having a content calenda is actually super helpful if you want to elevate your blog. A content calendar is basically an overview or snapshot of what you plan to post to your blog and social media platforms for a certain time period. Instead of using a paper planner, I like to use Asana, a digital workboard, to map out my ideas and even store ideas that I can pull from for later. I took this course called The Content Calendar System at the beginning of the year, and it was super helpful on helping me plan out my content.

Set realistic blog goals

At the beginning of every year, its important to sit down and write out your blogging goals. This is the time where you should dig deep and figure out what your overall goals are for your blog, whether it be to reach a certain pageviews, qualify for an ads program, or etc. I personally like to set 5 larger goals and then I break them down into bite sized quarterly goals that are easier to meet. This way I can stay on track throughout the year without feeling overwhelmed by it all.

Create a plan to reach said goals

Once you’ve written your blog goals, now it’s time to break down those goals into smaller goals that are easier to reach. Like I mentioned earlier, I break down my large goals into quarterly goals so this way I have something to strive for in 3 month increments. But find what works best for you!

Do a brain dump of content ideas

Do you ever feel like you have so many ideas in your head that you can’t focus on one at a time? Sometimes I get like that, so I like to schedule in regular brain dumps where I write down every thought that I have. It’s so liberating being able to write down everything on paper and being able to utilize that information for later. When I brain dump, I give myself usually like 10 minutes or so to write down anything that I’m thinking about on a blank sheet of paper. Afterwards, I go thru my notes and figure out what I can use or not.

Make a list of people, brands, and websites that you want to work with

One thing that I like doing whenever I do a blog refresh is to write out a list of people, brands, or websites that I want to work with. It’s something like a wish list or bucket list of things you want to accomplish within the next year. I definitely believe in speaking things into existence; your words are powerful so use them wisely.

Fix any old or broken links

If you have some extra time on your hands, go back through your old blog posts and fix any outdated or broken links. While it may not seem that important, broken links can really hurt your rankings on Google and affect your pageviews as a whole. There are a few websites out there that will scan your website for broken links so that you can go through them and fix them.

Create an email list if you don’t already have one

You’ve probably heard this before, but honestly an email list is prime real estate as a business and a blogger. Your email list is something that you own and is a direct way to reach your readers in their inbox. You don’t have to hope that Instagram doesn’t change its algorithm or that your followers will see your content. It drops directly into their inbox when you want it to. If you don’t already have one, don’t fret! Just add it to your blog refresh to do list and get it done before the new year.

I personally use Convertkit as my email list, and I like it for what I need. It’s super easy to use and the team is super helpful if there is something that you don’t understand. If you sign up for Convertkit with my referral link and you’ll be helping me keep this blog afloat! It doesn’t cost you any extra and I really appreciate all of your support.

Here are some other helpful posts for those looking to start their email list:

• 5 Tips to Grow Your Email List on Autopilot
• How to Grow Your Email List with Interact
• Why I Invested in Convertkit vs Mailchimp When I Was Earning $0

Create a way to track your blog and social media stats regularly

One thing that all of the full time bloggers recommend is tracking your blog and social media stats regularly. You can’t expect to grow if you don’t know where you started from and what new strategies worked for you. I like to track my numbers monthly and I typically check once a week to check out different stats that will help me plan for the future.

What else do you like to do give your blog a mini makeover before the new year? Did I forget something that I should definitely be doing as well? Let’s chat in the comments below!

The post 14 Ways to Refresh Your Blog for the New Year appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

If you’re looking to take your blog to the next level, then at some point you’re going to have to invest into your brand with your own money. It’s like the saying says, “You can’t make money unless you spend money.” Thankfully you don’t have to go through the trial and error stage like me because in today’s post, I’m sharing the 8 blogging tools that I invested in to grow and manage my blog.

Blogging Platform + Web Hosting

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of WordPress.org. It’s an easy-to-use platform that allows you to create anything that you can imagine. I obviously use it to create my blog, and I didn’t have to do any coding whatsoever. Okay maybe a little bit because I wanted to be extra and added custom font, but otherwise nada! The WordPress software is free to download, but if you want to start making money blogging, then you’ll have to go self-hosted. I talk more about how to start a blog and how to use WordPress that you can read to get more depth information.   

A self-hosted website means that you own your entire website from the internet “rental” space to your content that you put out. It does cost some money, but it’s well worth it in the end. I use BlueHost, and I love my experience that I’ve had with them thus far. My website’s loading time is awesome, and anytime I have problems, their customer service team fixes it right away.

Website Design + Theme

Blogs are definitely a visual piece of work so having a good-looking website is a must if you plan on making an income from your blog. Basically, this means that you either have to invest in a website designer (which can cost thousands) or you can buy a website theme, which is more of the DIY way of designing your website.

The first blogging tool that invested in was a functional and chic theme for my website. The theme that I use is by Solo Pine and was actually designed for food bloggers. Alas I liked it so much that I adapted the theme to fit my needs and wants. But there are thousands of themes online that you can choose from that can fit your budget needs.  

Email Service

One of my favorite ways to communicate with my readers is through my email list. It’s a direct link to their inbox and I can engage with them on a more personal level. The email service provider that I use is Convertkit. What I love about Convertkit is that I can tailor my readers experienced based on their return engagement. This way I can send them only the content that they are interested in and skip over the topics that they don’t like.

Typically, I like to share updated, free resources, and to let them know that about new blog posts or IGTV videos. This year, I’ve been terrible at maintaining my email schedule, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things and do better.

Convertkit is definitely an investment into your blog, but I have found it to be well-worth it for what you get with their service. They charge $30/month for 1,000 email subscribers, which does increase as you gain more subscribers. With the different features that Convertkit offers, it really is a no-brainer!

Pinterest Scheduler

Pinterest is a really great blogging tool /social media platform to grow your audience and to increase your pageviews. Tailwind is the one blogging tool that saves me a ton of time! It’s a Pinterest scheduler that allows you to schedule out your pins for the entire month. This way you don’t have to sit at home or on your phone manually pinning every day. If you’re looking to increase your traffic to your blog, then you need to sign up for Tailwind. It’s a total game-changer!

Tailwind costs $14.99 a month, which is super affordable and well worth the price tag. Still don’t know if you need it? You can test it out 30 days for free to see how you like it risk free!

Hiring tasks out

I’ll be the first one to admit that when it comes to running a blog you cannot master everything when it comes to running a successful blog nor do you have the time to learn. Between school, applying for jobs, and keeping up with my content schedule, I don’t have the time to sit down and master everything. I just can’t, which is why I hired some tasks out that are beyond my skill level. At the end of the day, it saves me a ton of time and plenty of frustration.  

Things that I sometimes or constantly hire out: SEO management, graphic design for pins or things related to my branding, and tech work for my blog. Trust me, it’s well worth it to outsource some tasks that are beyond your expertise. Hiring a member to your team is a big step, but it’s one that is 100% worth wild.

Asana (this one is free!)  

I legitimately have no idea how anyone can create and maintain a social media strategy without the use of a planner. Asana is a website and app that allows you to create a social media calendar that is easy-to-use. An online calendar allows you to see the big picture of your brand and quickly make adjustments to your content schedule. I hopped on the band wagon of Asana at the beginning of this year, and I’ve already noticed a difference to my content marketing strategy.

This one is actually free, but it was a new blogging tool that I have found that really worked for me!

Photography

No blog is complete without beautiful images, which is why I pay a photographer to take most of my photos for my blog. I could utilize my fiancé, or friends, or do them myself, but I don’t have the time to learn how to take good-looking photos right now. By paying a photographer, they do all of the work of taking the photos and editing them. The only thing that I have to do is get ready for the photoshoot the morning of.

Paying a photographer can quickly become an investment, but for my situation, it’s definitely worth it! If you don’t have the funds to pay a photographer, you can definitely utilize your iPhone or a DSLR camera that you may have at home to start out with. 

Education

One of the best investments that I’ve ever made for my blog is investing my money into blogging courses and online trainings. I’ve taken courses on SEO, Pinterest, marketing, pitching, and so many more! Most of them I’ve found to be incredibly helpful and have given me the tools necessary to make my blog a successful side hustle.

Some of my favorite courses are:

• Pinterest with Ell – This is a great course to take if you’re looking for a course that will actually give you results and grow your account. I went through Eli’s course in a few days and it dramatically changed the way that I utilize Pinterest. I went from 100k monthly pageviews to 1.5 million this month!
• The Influencer League Textbook – I follow the Influencer League on Twitter, who regularly puts out influencer information that is very helpful and insightful. Any influencer looking to take their brand to the next level needs to follow the Influencer League. They recently relaunched their textbook, and I very quickly snagged it. I’ve been slowly incorporating their tips on Instagram and it’s been quite helpful. I highly recommend!
• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing – If you’re looking to master affiliate marketing and figure out how to make passive income, then I highly recommend taking this course. It is on the pricier side, but Michelle goes in-depth about everything you could possibly need to know about affiliate marketing. It’s a great course for beginners and mid-level bloggers.
• The Content Calendar System – I accidently found this course on Pinterest, and I’m so glad that I did because it really has changed my marketing strategy all together. Before I took the course, I was barely promoting my content because I thought I was spamming everyone if I posted about my content more than once. Now I’m talking about my content all the time, which has increased my pageviews and overall improved my brand.

What is your favorite blogging tool to use for your blog (or business) and why?

The post 8 Tools that I Invested In To Grow and Manage My Blog appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

Read and watch their content

This one is definitely a given and must if you aren’t already doing this. Creating quality content on a regular basis takes a lot of time and effort, and it really does mean a lot when you take time out of your day to read a post or two. If your favorite influencer has a Youtube channel or email list, go ahead and subscribe to those platforms as well. Every little bit really does help your favs!

Like, comment, save

If you like someone’s content, take it a step further by liking, commenting, and saving their social media or blog posts. You don’t have to write back an entire paragraph, but if the influencer asks a question, respond back to it. It’s an awesome way to support their content and get a conversation going. Plus, nowadays Instagram and other social media platforms will prioritize your feed based on the accounts that you interact with the most.

Shout out on Instagram stories

One way to really support an influencer is to shout out their content or page on your social media platforms. Share why you follow them, what their content means to you, and anything else that you can think of. On the flip side as a content creator, it’s a great way to get your followers to go follow an account that you’re loving and strike up a conversation with your audience.

Tell your friends

This one is an easy one. If you have a friend or two who you think would really enjoy the influencer’s content, introduce them and share why you enjoy following their content. Want to do more than just talk about the influencer, send your friend a few posts so that they can get acquainted. Bloggers create their content to help people so if they can help one more person, they’ll definitely appreciate you for sending them their way.

If you want to buy something, use their links

One way that influencers and content creators make money is by providing links to their audience of items and products that they are loving.  Sales through those links provide a little bit of money to the influencer that doesn’t impact your experience or price whatsoever. So if you find an item that you love through your favorite content creator, purchase it through their link and help them out!

Suggest potential content ideas

In the world of social media, there is a lot of pressure to stay consistent in producing high-quality content for your audience. Obviously, most of the ideas come from the person themselves, but it really doesn’t hurt at all for you to send them a DM or email asking them to cover a certain topic or to answer a question that you have. The whole purpose of a blogger or influencer is to produce content that you find helpful and valuable. By you sending in a potential content idea, it really helps lifts the load off the content creator and gives them something to work off from.

Enter in their giveaways

If you see your favorite content creator hosting a giveaway, take a few minutes to enter in the giveaway if it’s a prize that interests you. Giveaways can kind of hard to put together, and it’ll mean so much to them to see people excited about winning a prize. This idea is especially important if the giveaway is sponsored by a brand! Even if you don’t want to win the prize, share the giveaway on your social media or to your friend group that may want to win.

Purchase their courses and physical products

Some bloggers will start to branch out into creating online courses or physical products for their audience.  If you see them doing this, support them if the product resonates with you! Courses and product take a lot of time to develop and create, which is why its so important to support their endeavors. Sometimes these products can be expensive, but most of the time the money goes straight to the creator.

I currently have an online course for any student interested in going to pharmacy school, if you want to support my little business. The course is called From Student to PharmD, and I walk you through the entire process of how to get accepted into your dream program.

Even though you definitely do not have to do any of the following if you don’t want to. That’s the whole thing about offering your support. It’s something for you to offer if you feel compelled to do so. Hopefully you enjoy the content of your favorite influencer or content creator that you want to show them your support in any way that you can.

How do you support your favorite content creators?

The post How to Support Your Favorite Influencers and Content Creators appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

Tip #1: Create target freebies for your audience

A freebie is a piece of information, like an e-book, checklist, or worksheet, that you give to your subscribers in exchange for their email address. Nowadays, people are tough cookies about giving up their email address so your opt-in (or freebie) has to serve a purpose and solve a problem for your targeted audience.

When you’re first starting out, look on your Google Analytics and create freebie for your top 5-6 blog posts and tailor it the audience that you want to reach. Freebies have been my bread and butter when it comes to growing my email list.

Don’t know what you could use as a freebie? Here are some examples of opt-ins that you could create for your website:

• Worksheets
• Email course or challenges
• E-book
• Pintables
• Webinar or audio recording
• Resource library (a library filled with tons of freebies) 
• Presets

Overall, there are two types of incentives that can provide your audience free and valuable information. One type is attached to a blog post and was created with that blog post in mind. For an example, I have a blog post dedicating to teaching people how to make money on Poshmark, so my freebie was a checklist of how-to set-up your Poshmark account for success. For the second type, these aren’t attached to a particular piece of content and are typically larger. An example may be an email course or e-book that you can promote anywhere on your blog. I created a free 7 day email course to help my fellow college students improve their studying, which is perfect for my audience.

Here are a few of my blog posts and landing pages that contain different types of opt-ins (or freebies):

• How to Ace Your Medical or Pharmacy School Interview
• The Ultimate Guide to Dorm Room Essentials that Most People Forget
• 50 Blog Post Ideas for College Bloggers
• The Hidden Secrets About Selling on Poshmark
• 5 Steps to Get Into Pharmacy School (a free e-book) 

My advice for you, especially if you’re just getting started, create both types of content upgrades to see what works best for your audience. Write a few that are blog post specific and one that is general enough to be used on any page of your website. The point of creating these freebies is once you start attracting people to your website, you want to give them a reason to subscribe to your blog and stick around for a while.

Tip #2: Create consistent content (with incentives)

I’m sure if you’ve heard this plenty of times all over the internet about how important consistency is for any website or social media platform. People want to be able to come to your blog on a regular basis and find new information that either helps them solve a problem or get to know you better as the writer. As you’re creating new content each month, you should be adding new content upgrades on a regular basis whenever one naturally fits in.

I recommend creating one content upgrade per month that it can fit in with multiple different types of blog posts or just a general one that you can promote on social media. This way you always have fresh freebies to incise your readers, but you won’t get burned out by consistently thinking of new ways to reinvent the wheel if you get what I’m saying.

Tip #3: Promote your freebies

Now that you’ve created your first freebie and got it uploaded to your website, the next step is to promote your freebie like a crazy person, especially if you’re just getting started in the blogging world. The easiest way to promote your freebie is by increasing your overall website traffic. People can’t sign up to your email list if they don’t know who you are.

I get a lot of my traffic from Pinterest and Google through a little something called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. To give you a quick overall view, both of these platforms utilize SEO to rank each piece of content based on most helpful to least helpful. So say you type into Google or Pinterest “ways to study more effectively”, both platforms are going to give you a ton of search results based on your search question.

Magic, right? Nope! It’s just SEO at its best. The goal is to have better SEO filled with searchable keywords that will allow your website to pop-up first in the search bar. To be honest, SEO is a beast in itself and it can take a little work/research to get it right. I’m by no means a master at SEO (even though I wish I were), but here are a few general tips to help you improve your blog post SEO:

• Use searchable keywords that your readers may be using to find your article
• Insert those keywords throughout your blog post, the title, your blog post url, and in your image file name and description
• Link to your other blog posts if they are relevant to the topic

Tip #4: Send a welcome email sequence

You’ve snagged the email address, but now you have to send quality content to your subscribers if you want your subscribers to stick around. This also means that you need to baby your list, nurture them, and build trust with your new email subbies. A really good way for you to start building that trust and nurturing your list is to introduce yourself to your subscribers with a welcome email sequence.

A welcome email sequence is a set of emails that you set up in your email list host to automatically send out every time a new person signs up for your email list. In this series, you can tell your subscribers about a personal story, share expectations, ask questions to your subscribers, or tease them with another freebie that solves a problem in their lives.

When you’re growing your email list, you have to remember that the people on your email list are real people and that you want to strike up a conversation with them on a regular basis. It’s okay to be vulnerable and to share personal stories with them. Don’t forget that these people are your biggest fans and are interested in what you have to say.

Tip #5: Send exclusive perks to your email list

Lastly, treat your subscribers like MVPs or insiders of your business! They should be the first to know about anything new happening with your blog (or business), get exclusive content that nobody else has access to, and even receive special discounts on products for being signed up. Your subscribers should feel and be treated as if they were your best friends in real life (which they are but you know what I mean).

Whenever you have a personal, vulnerable story that might help your readers, share it with them. Hosting a free workshop that solves a problem that your subscribers definitely have too, tell your subscribers. Be open, be vulnerable, and let loose when it comes to talking with your subscribers. It’s definitely hard at first because it’ll feel like you’re talking to thin air or a black void on the internet. But once you get your first response to your email, you’ll feel so much relief that someone actually reads your emails that you send out! 

Woe! I know that was a lot of information all at once, but there was a lot of tea to spill on how to actually grow your email list without you pulling your hair out. It can be difficult at first because you’re still learning, but once you get started, I promise you it gets easier. Learn what your readers enjoy and keep producing content that keeps bringing them back for more and more! Haven’t started your blog yet? No worries! I wrote an entire blog post about how to start a profitable blog from day one that takes you step by step on how to get started in less than 30 minutes. 

Interested in learning more about how to grow your email list on auto-pilot? Download the free 30-Day List Building Challenge guide to learn today about how to set yourself up for success! You can easily gain 100 email subscribers in less than 30 days if you participate in the challenge. So are you ready to get started?

You might also like: 6 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging, 8 Blogging Tools that I Can’t Live Without, and Why I Invested in Converkit vs Mailchimp When I was Earning $0 From My Blog 

The post 5 Tips to Grow Your Email List on Autopilot appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

I’ve been blogging now for technically for two and a half years now, but I took a year-long break when I got overwhelmed with school, work, and life situations. I’m so glad that I restarted my blog this year, and I’ve learned so much since then including all of the mistakes that I made during my first year as a blogger. Keep reading to find out the 6 things I wish I knew when I started this blog…

1. Blogging takes time

On average, it takes me 3-4 hours to write a blog post and then another 2 hours to take pictures for the blog post, whether it be an outfit photo or a flatlay. I also spend an hour on marketing on my blog post and optimizing it for search engines, so my website can be seen by more people than just my readers. On average, I probably spend around 10-15 hours a week creating content for my website. I’ll be the first to admit it takes me forever to shoot one outfit and takes me even longer to sit down and write out each post. Regardless, I definitely didn’t imagine that blogging would take up so much of my time when I first got started blogging. My advice to new bloggers to manage your time wisely and give yourself enough time for the learning curve. Carve out time for each step of the process from brainstorming, writing blog posts, taking photos for your posts, and planning out your social media.

2. Post for the sake of posting

When I first started blogging, I was set on posting a blog post every 3 days, which was a great goal to have except I made the mistake of not planning ahead for that schedule. Instead, I would frantically write material, even pushing through when I had writer’s block to do so. The result? Posting plenty of content that nobody cared about and becoming burned out within a few months. Don’t make the same mistake that I did and create a content schedule upfront of how many times you want to post each month. You can always add more when you feel inspired or during a special season in your niche.

3. Consistency is king

I mentioned that consistency is really important in anything that you do, but especially with blogging and social media. People want to consistently have new content to digest, and people get used to your schedule once you stick to one. When I first got started blogging, I was attempting to post every 3 days and I got burned out so quickly that I would go weeks without anything new. Now that I’ve learned my lesson, I post once a week on Wednesday’s, so my readers know to come back every Wednesday for new content. When you have a consistent schedule for your website, it really makes a world of a difference to terms of growing a following, gaining new readers, and becoming a well-known expert in your niche. My best advice is to create a content schedule that works for you and your life right now, then stick to it and plan in advance.

4. Be yourself and bring something new to the table

Listen up, this is the most important part of this entire post! When you start a blog, you have to be yourself and offer something new to the table. Most bloggers who become super famous or make a lot of money did that by being unapologetically themselves and by breaking the mold on an old niche. Find a niche that you enjoy, like college or fashion, and put your own spin on things. Nobody wants to read the same 20 blogs with the same tired opinions. Readers want some fresh, new and exciting to read so give them what they want. Let your creative juices flow and see where it takes you on this blogging journey.

5. It’s okay to outsource work

At first, I thought I could learn everything that came up along the way with blogging, including taking my own photos, to making a stunning e-book, to creating a website logo. But I had to eventually realized that I couldn’t do it all and that I had to eventually outsource some of my work to others. Not only so I could keep the quality high, but also to keep my sanity. You just can’t learn everything at once nor are you going to be good at everything that blogging requires. Learn from my mistake and learn your strengths and weaknesses at the beginning.

6. Don’t worry about being perfect

The hardest part about blogging is literally just starting. You don’t have to be perfect or do a ton of research before you get started to make it in the blogging world. When I first got started, I was so scared of being judged by others and nervous that nobody would even read my content. For a few months those thoughts raced through my head and crippled my blogging journey. Learn from my mistake and leave all of the negative thoughts at the door. Don’t worry about being perfect, just worrying about being the best that you can be right NOW!

Photos by Brailey Johnson Photography

I hope you learned a little something or two from reading about my past mistakes on my blogging journey. Don’t forget that the journey is only worthwhile if you enjoy what you’re doing along the wall.

You may also like: 8 Blogging Tools That I Can’t Live Without, Blogging Basics: All About WordPress, and The True Story of How to Make Money Blogging

The post 6 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

2019 is the year of conquering my goals, dreams, and aspirations and one of them is killing it in the blogging game. I wanted to start 2019 off right with a brand-new theme and overall feel for Uniquely Mickie so that you can have the best experience on the website.

Uniquely Mickie is going to continue being a college and pharmacy school blog because hello it’s what takes up the majority of my life. But I do want to expand into more lifestyle topics that truly fuel my soul and are topics that I want to write about. I promise I won’t leave like that again and will definitely let you all in when I need to take a blogging break. This past year has really taught me a lot and I can’t wait to show you everything that I have in store for Uniquely Mickie.

Also I want to give a huge shout out to the design team that helped create most of the blog graphics that you see on my new website….Dream Now Media! Emily and her team have been so helpful in helping me from creating a brand board for inspiration to designing individual pieces that truly fit exactly what I wanted my brand to be. So thank you so so much! If you are looking to rebrand or a graphic designer that is dope, check them out and tell them I sent you😉

The post Issa Rebrand!! appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

The biggest thing to consider when it comes to making money from blogging is to realize that most bloggers make money from different sources. You don’t want to put all of your eggs into one basket, in case that revenue algorithm changes over time like Instagram.

Quick Answers

What helps a blogger make money?

The quick answer is that most bloggers that you see on the internet aren’t making any kind of money, but on the flip side, there are bloggers who are making 6-figures from blogging. Here’s the short and sweet version of the big difference between the two:

• Successful bloggers generate revenue from multiple monetization strategies that we will discuss in this blog post.
• Successful bloggers don’t see their blog as the source of income. They build up their brand and their email list first. Then they use the foundation of their blog as a springboard to market other forms of revenue.
• Successful bloggers are insanely creative and don’t copy the work of others. In the world full of online personalities, it pays to be different and unique from the rest.
• Successful bloggers understand that building a brand and their website will take time and patient. Blogging isn’t a quick rich-scheme, but a long-term business adventure that you have to be ready to invest in.

How to get started:

Whether you’re a new blogger or a veteran in blogging, you can start making money from your blog as you have these key ingredients set in place first.

1. Have a blog
2. Create a strong foundation in your niche and with others in the community
3. Create useful content for your readers
4. A great template for your website that is easy to read and to look at
5. An email list
6. A game plan of the income strategies you are going to start to do

Now, let’s cover the basics of a money-making blog in details.

Start a Blog

The first step is to actually have a blog in place (obviously!). If you are haven’t started blog yet, don’t fret! I created this step by step guide to help you get your blog up and running in less than 30 minutes. It’s honestly that easy and it’s been the best decision of my life (outside of pharmacy school). 

Create a strong foundation in your niche and with others in the community

The best part about blogging is the ability to connect with like-minded people, make new friends, and the ability to learn something new every day online.

Some ideas are to participate in Facebook group boards, comment on other people’s blogs, interact with the people who leave nice comments on your blog and be interactive on social media where your target audience hangs out. You’ll eventually gain a following because people will talk about how amazing you are! Plus people love to follow people that they trust and believe in, so shoot for that.

Create useful content for your audience

Nobody wants to read the same material regurgitate over and over again. So be creative with the content that you write, but also talk about topics that people want to know about. People love reading how-to’s, personal experiences, and anything else that will solve their problems.

In order to make money blogging, you have to gain a readership (aka have blog visitors), but nobody will read your blog if you don’t have quality content available.

A great template for your blog that is easy to read and look at

The worst thing that you can do for your brand and website is to make your blog really busy to look at, hard to load, and just generally unappealing to look at. People get bored easily so if your website takes forever to load more than likely people are going to exit out and try to find something else to solve their problems.  You also don’t want your blog to be cluttered with ads or large pictures where it makes it hard to read your amazing content. White space on a blog is great space!

An email list

If you’re new to the blogging world or a veteran in blogging, then you need to know that starting an email list and building those numbers are really important. An email list is important for bloggers because it’s the only aspect of communication between you and your readers that is actually yours. If Instagram or Facebook suddenly dies out, you won’t lose your followers! You would have them on your email list so it won’t even affect your income or numbers if some social media platforms die away.

Here are some posts that I’ve done so far to help you start your own email list and how to get started on building your list with the right audience: 

• How to Grow Your Email with Interact
• 5 Tips to Grow Your Email List on Autopilot
• Why I Invested in Convertkit vs Mailchimp When I was Earning $0 From My Blog

A game plan of the income strategies you are going to use

Many successful bloggers utilize multiple ways of generating income, from ads to affiliate marketing to producing their own products. The reason for this is that each month your revenue is going to change because of the seasons, the months, and what’s going on in the world. So you have to be prepared for those changes, which you means you need to create a game plan of how you want to generate income from your blog.

Streams of income used by bloggers

These are the different ways that bloggers make an income from blogging, broken down into categories that we will further discuss. 

• Advertising 
• Selling Your Own Products or Services
• Sponsored Content
• Affiliate Marketing 
• Events (Host or Attend)
• Membership or Premium Content 

Advertising 

One of the ways that I’ve learned how to make money is by placing advertisements on your website. You can either go through a program, such as Media.net and Google Adsense, or you can market your space by doing private advertisements, where companies will pay you a monthly fee to advertise on your site.

I have dappled with both programs, and I truly love Google Adsense. It takes a little work to get accepted into Google Adsense, but I totally think it is worth it. Last month, I was able to make $145 just off of the ads that Google was displaying to my readers. While I’m not sure what they are, but they seem to enjoy it enough to click through the ads. With Google Adsense, you have the option to determine what ads are or are not shown to your audience.

You can also offer private advertisements where companies will pay you a set fee to display their ads to your audience. Either way is a great option to make money from blogging.

Sell your own product or services

Another great way to make money through your blog is by selling your own products or services. Some of the ideas of this are by selling an online course, e-book, or services that you offer on your blog.

When you’re first starting off with this idea, go ahead and start small to test the waters and to see what works best for your audience. I wrote an E-book this summer, but I needed up taking down the book to create an online course so I could tell my students more information and be more interactive with them.

You do typically need to promote your ebook or course online often to generate a lot of income from it, but they are a great way to make money.

If you are interested in creating an Ebook, SendOwl is a great program to use that deals with the payments and actually delivering the product. On the other hand, if you are interested in creating a course, I highly recommend Teachable. It’s super easy to use with customizable landing pages, sales pages, and even a thank you page. You can also utilize the affiliate program aspect to get more people to help you promote your course. I’ve created a course using the Teachable platform for my Student to PharmD course, and I’ve been loving the platform every since.

Sponsored content

Have you seen those blog posts where it says, “sponsored by so-so brand, but all opinions are my own”? Well, typically that means the blogger got paid to write that blog post and usually receive the products for free to use in the blog post. Sponsored content is a great way to make income, especially with brands or companies that you actually enjoy.

When you are looking for sponsored content, there are two routes that you can take: pitching to brands yourself or joining a program that does the work for you.

We’ll talk about the programs first. Some of the programs require you to have a certain amount of page views per month or a certain amount of social media followers, but there are programs who welcome in newbie bloggers if you are in that category. The cool part about joining a program is the ability to upload your stats to the website, and the companies pitch to you if they think your audience is a good match for them. Some programs allow you to customize how much you get paid for each kind of promotion, such as Instagram post, a blog post, or a shout out on twitter.

Here are some great programs to join, if sponsored content is something you are interested in:

• Izea
• TapInfluence
• Acorn
• Linquia

The other way to get sponsored content is to actually pitch to companies yourself through emails or through social media. I’ve done this quite a few times where the companies agree to my terms and sends me really cool products to tell my audience about. Remember when you are pitching to companies, you need to make sure that you truly enjoy the brands, the brand aligns with your brand, and you only give honest reviews.

Don’t agree to blog about a product that you think sucks. For one, your readers will be able to pick up on the difference of your writing, and two, you will lose the trust of your readers, which is a big no-no. When pitching to a company yourself, make sure you have a media kit ready that outlines your general audience, the information about your blog, and your average states (pageviews, unique audience, etc)

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is when you are promoting someone else’s product, such as a hair mask or online course. You then make a commission every time someone uses your link to buy the product. Many bloggers have made over 6 figures through affiliate marketing, such as M Griffin.

I won’t go into many details here because I haven’t fully dappled in affiliate marketing yet.

Just make sure before you start using affiliate links to make sure you have a full disclosure on your website, a privacy policy, and that you include somewhere in your blog posts that you have affiliate links in the post itself.

Events (Hosting or Speaking)

Another great way to earn an income through your blog is actually hosting an event or speak at an event. Bloggers are influencers in the online/social media world so a lot of people look up to you or want to learn from you.

So, if you like public speaking or meeting your readers in person, then events are a great way to earn some extra cash and have a lot of fun in different cities. But don’t estimate the work that comes with hosting or planning an event on your own. If you like event planning or extremely motivated, then hosting a conference or an event might be great for you and your audience.

Membership or Premium Content

This used to be a really popular way bloggers would make money, but I think this aspect of monetization has kind of dyed away a little. But regardless, it’s a great way to make money because a lot of people want the inside scope and get more knowledge that they can’t get anywhere else.

You can create a membership login in on your WordPress blog where people have to login in, pay for the premium content to get access to it and get to access the premium content. When you are starting to create your membership, make sure that you are splitting up the material of what you want to give away for free and what you want people to pay for.

Too Many Ideas?

No worries! Pick one or two options to test the water first, then add on once you feel comfortable with the other options. You can also see what other people in your niche are doing. Are they running ads on your website? Are they doing sponsored blog posts or hosting events in their area? See what works for you, your audience, and budget. Some of the choices take a lot more work than others, but at the same time, some of the options can generate more income than others. You can start from anywhere at any time. You don’t have to be a big time blogger with 100,000 monthly pageviews to generate an income from blogging is the key to this blog post.

The post The True Story About How to Make Money Blogging appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

I’ve been growing my list since I started my blog, almost 5 months ago. I started with just a basic subscriber widget in my sidebar, then later started adding a resource library and content upgrades to some of my blog posts. Content upgrades are extra freebies that your readers can download for printables pdfs, worksheets, e-books, or other tools. But the truth is that my email list was growing painfully slow until Interact reached out to me to try out their quiz making services. I immediately jumped at the chance since I love taking quizzes, and I thought it would be a really fun way to grow my email list.

In only a few weeks, Interact has definitely boosted my email subscribers, and I had a great time building my first quiz with them. With Interact, you can build personality quizzes, giveaway opt-in, and assessment quizzes.

Personality Quizzes

This is the type of quiz that I created for my blog titled “Which College Campus Represents Your Personality?”. But your quiz could be about anything that you can imagine such as your spirit animal, your favorite ice cream topping, or what your wardrobe says about you. People love taking quizzes to learn more about themselves and to learn something new that relates to them.

Giveaway Opt-In

This is a great program to set up a giveaway, complete with a countdown timer! You can set it up so that the person has to enter with their email list, essentially adding them to your email list. I typically use Rafflecopter, but I love that this seamlessly links with my email service provider and makes sure nobody cheats out on the giveaway rules.

Assessment Quizzes

This option is great for bloggers or business who are very niche-specific or have an overall goal for the people who get added to their email list. You can begin to create a conversation with your reader and direct them to certain pages of your website with the answers. It’s a great way to build trust and authority with your readers through this type of quiz.

Here’s my quiz that I created:

Powered by

I’ve only been using Interact for a few weeks now, but it’s definitely driven more traffic to my site as well as grow my list. Interact integrates with other mail service providers, such as Convertkit, which is awesome and super easy to connect the two.

Interact has some great blog posts on how to build your first quiz that actually generates leads to conversions. While the whole process is pretty simple, the hardest part about building your own quiz is choosing your topic, the questions, and the answers! There are so many options to choose from, but thankfully, Interact has some templates to give you some ideas to build from.

What are some ways that you use to grow your email list? Is Interact perfect for your business?

I was given a free subscription to Interact. All opinions are 100% my own.

The post How to Grow Your Email List with Interact appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.