Way back in like 2003 when I was running my first ecommerce business, I did everything I could to avoid letting my customers know I was working from home with babies crawling under my desk. I scheduled calls with schools for naptime (I was selling German language books). I pleaded with my kids to be quiet if a customer called. And I did my best to put on a professional front. Talk about stress. I still do my best to be professional but I no longer worry about making it look like I'm ...
How I Wrote And Published An eBook In 45 Days
Have you seen those income reports where bloggers talk about the tens of thousands of dollars they earned last month? Yeah, I love reading those, too. And the thing I kept noticing was that almost all of those bloggers had their own products to sell. In January of this year, I decided I wanted in on that income stream. Sure, I love my ad network and sponsored posts are fun, but I wanted to start earning income that wasn't based on my traffic or someone else's product. So I decided to ...
How To Use Your Newsletter To Test Potential Blog Post Ideas
When you're sitting down to plan your editorial calendar, you have lots of strategies you can use to decide what blog post ideas to write about. You can: Consult your Google Analytics to identify your top pages and search terms Do a reader survey Use a seasonal calendar But I've been using another very simple method to test out what topics my readers are already interested in. It's been super helpful to me in determining what to write about. I'm using my newsletter! How I Use ...
How Bloggers Are Using Periscope + Tips For Your First Scope
Seriously? Another social media network? Those were honestly my first thoughts when I heard other bloggers raving about Periscope. But after hearing about it over and over again, I decided to look into it. And am I ever glad I did! What is Periscope? Periscope is a social media app that allows people to broadcast live video and interact via chat with viewers via your smartphone or tablet. It's fairly new (Periscope launched in March of this year) but already boasts 10 million users. So ...
Are You Making These 3 Critical Pinterest Mistakes?
You've heard all the hype – Pinterest is driving hordes of visitors to other blogs. Your blogging buddies can't stop singing its praises, and you spend way too much time there yourself. But you're not seeing the same results. It's like Pinterest just doesn't like you. You've wracked your brain and read countless articles about how to fix this. What's a blogger to do? Maybe there's a reason. Are you making these Pinterest mistakes? 3 Critical Pinterest Mistakes You May Be Making Mistake ...
7 Must-Check Stats In Your Google Analytics
Any blogger who's worth her pageviews knows to check in on Google Analytics from time to time to see how her site is doing. But have you spent much time delving deeper into your Google Analytics report? There's a treasure trove of information waiting for you! Let's unlock that box! To get started, pay attention to what dates you're studying in your Google Analytics report. When I'm looking at Google Analytics, I like to see at least 30 days worth of traffic and up to a year at a time. ...