Althoughtheauthorhasmadeeveryefforttoensurethattheinformationinthisbookwascorrectatpresstime,theauthor/publisherdoesnotassumeanyliability toanypartyforanyloss,damage,ordisruptioncausedbyerrorsor

omissions,whethersucherrorsoromissionsresultfromnegligence, accident,oranyothercause.

Nopartofthisdocumentmaybeduplicated, transmitted,resoldorreproduced inanyformorbyanymeanswithoutpriorwrittenpermission

fromtheauthorandpublisher.Unauthorizedduplicationofthismaterial inanyformisstrictlyprohibited.Violatorswillbeprosecuted tothefullestextentof

thelaw.Copyright©2016BusyBloggingMom

BookdesignandproductionbyChantalSteele,www.busybloggingmom.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT BLOGGINGBlogging isexcitingforanyonewho’spassionateaboutbeingtheirownsuccess.Themagicofblogging isthatitisn’texclusivetoanygroupofpeople.

Ifyou’reexcitedaboutbloggingnow,Ihopethatyoucontinuetobeexcitedandthatyourpassionforyournicheorexpertisegrowsandmultipliesasyourblogdoes.However,thetruthisthatlikeanythingworthdoing,blogging isalotofwork.

Blogging isn’tsomethingtoget involvedwithifyouarehopingtogetrichfast,andit’snotsomethingthatyoucanbesuccessfulatifyouarenotpassionateaboutyourtopicsandmessage.Blogging isfullofupsanddowns,anditrequiresalargeinvestmentoftimefromthestart.Thetruthisthatitmaytakemonthsorevenyearsbeforeyourblogisexactlywhatyouwantittobe.Ifyou’repassionateaboutsomethingandwanttoshareitwithothers,you’rereadytobegin!Ihopeyoufindthisbooklettobeausefultoolasyoubravelyenterthebloggingworld.

-Chantal

MAKING MONEY BLOGGINGIfyou’vedownloadedthisbooklet,it’slikelythatyouintendtomakemoneyfromyourblognoworinthefuture.Maybeyouaremotivatedafterreadingtheincomereportsprovidedbyotherbloggers.Youcanmakemoneyblogging,andthewaystodosoarealmostlimitless!Buthowdobloggersreallymakemoneyonline?Herearebriefexplanationsofthemostcommonwaystomakemoneyasablogger:

• Sponsoredposts– Youconnectwithabrandaboutaserviceorproductandwriteapostaboutit.You+brand+$+blogpost=sponsoredpost.

• Sponsoredsocialmediaposts– Thisiswhenabrandcompensatesyoutopostasyourselfonsocialmedia.

• Product/servicereviews– Thesecanbepaidoryoucanreceive“free”productforreviews.Youshareyourthoughtsaboutagivenproductwithyourblogaudienceandsocialmediafollowers.

• Adsdisplayedonasite– thiscanbedonebyusinganaffiliateprogramoranadnetworkthatdoesitallforyou.Youaremostoftenpaidperclickorlead.

• Affiliatelinks– YoudrivetraffictoanothersitewithauniqueURLandreceiveacommissionwhenpeoplesignuporbuy.

• Salesofself-publishede-booksorotherproducts– Thisiswhenyoucreateandsellyourownbooks,calendars,artwork,etc.onyourblog.

• Offeringservicestoclientsorreaders(thinkwebdesign,virtualassistants,socialmediamanagement,etc.)

Hopefullyifyou’vealreadystartedablog,you’reabsolutely100%sureaboutyourdomainnameandintendedniche.However,it’stotallynormaltotakeawhiletoclearlyidentifyyourniche.Usethispage(andthenext)tobrainstormforyourblogandhelpyourselfpaintapictureofwhereyou’dlikeyourblogtogo.Tip:Pickinganichethatistoobroadortoonarrowcanbehindering.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

CREATING A LOGO & HEADERIfthere’sanyonethingIwantyoutotakeawayfromthisbooklet,it’sthatyoucanabsolutelyblogwithoutspendinganarmandaleggettingstarted.Thereareseveralwonderfulresourcesoutthereonwhichyoucancreateyourowncustomlogos,headers,signatures,andothergraphics.I’mgoingtosharethosewithyouhere!TIP:Creatingfreegraphicsisespeciallyusefulinthepreliminarystagesofyourblogbecausethelikelihoodthatyouwillchangetheappearanceandmessageofyourblogishigh.

Resource#1:PicMonkey

PicMonkey isafreeoptionforeditingandcreating.jpgand.pngimages.Itishighlyuser-friendlyandofferseverythingyoumightneedtocreateprofessional-lookinggraphics,includingonesyoumightuseforyourlogoorheader. IusePicMonkey’s freeservicesforallofmybloggraphicsandsuggestthisoption.

Resource#2:Canva

SimilarlytoPicMonkey,Canva isafreeoptionforeditingandcreatingimages.It,too,ishighlyuser-friendlyandofferseverythingyoumightneedtocreateprofessional-lookinggraphics.Canva offersafewservicesthatPicMonkey doesn’t(likee-bookcoverdesign),butIamattractedtoPicMonkey’ssimplicity.

STYLE GUIDES: YOU NEED ONE!Astyleguideconsistsofthecolors,fonts,icons,logos,etc.thatyouwilluseonyourblog.Itisimportanttobrandyourselfassoonasyouhaveaclearvisionforyourblog,andhavingastyleguide(thevisualstuffyouwilluseoverandover)helpsyoudojustthat.Readersandcustomerscaneasilyrecognizeyourbrandwhenyouuseaconsistentstyleforyourgraphics.

Forexample,Iusethesametwofontsonallofmyblogimages,andIusejustonecolorschemeatalltimes.ThecolorsIusecanbeseenonmyimages,fontcolors,blogheader,andmore.Choosecolorsandfontsthatcontrastwellwithbothlightanddarkbackgroundsifpossibleandmakesurethatthefontsthatyouchooseareeasilyread.

Icreatedastyle“cheatsheet”formyselfsothatIcanquicklyreferenceitwhenIneedHTMLcolorcodes(like#ffffff,whichisthecodeforwhite.)IalsosometimesforgetwhatthenamesofthefontsIuseare,soIliketokeepthemonmystyleguide.Usethefollowingpagetohaveaquickandeasyreferencewhenyouaremakingyourbloggraphicsanddesigningyoursite.

SiteName:_____________________________

Font1:___________________________________

Font2:___________________________________

Font3:___________________________________

Color1:___________________________________

Color2:___________________________________

Color3:___________________________________

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IMAGE SIZE CHEAT SHEET

SEO

RefiningyourSEOskillswillhelpreadersfindyouandincreaseyourpresenceonline.Usethesetipstohelpsearchengines

findyourblogandmatchthemtoyouraudienceinaneffectiveway.

Tip1:DownloadapluginlikeYOASTSEOtohelpyoueasilyimplementSEObestpractices.Tip2:Choosefocuskeywordsthatareasrelevanttoyourpostsorpagesaspossible.Tip3:Useyourkeyword(s)4-6timesinyourpostorpage.Tip4:Includeyourkeyword(s)inthefirstparagraph(orsentenceifpossible)ofyouwriting.Tip5:Ifpossible,useyourkeywordsinaheadingsomewhereinyourcontent.Tip6:Includeyourkeywordsinthemetadesciption (thisiswhatshowsupinaGooglesearchbelowapage/postname.Tip7:Addhigh-qualityimagestoyourposts.Tip8:Besurethatimageshavealternativedescriptionsthatincludeyourkeywords(youcanaddthesewhenyouuploadtheimages.)Tip9:Useaplugintocreateasitemapsothatsearchenginescaneasilycrawlyoursite.Tip10:Addrelevanttagstoallofyourposts.Tip11:Lookintokeywordresearch(thereareton’softoolsoutthere)tohelpyourselfunderstandwhatmakesagoodkeyword.Tip12:ChangeyourURLpermalinksto”PostName”inyourWordPresssettings.Tip13:Makesureyourpostorpagetitleincludesyourkeywords.Tip14:Linktoyourself(internallinks)wheneverrelevant.Tip15:Getbacklinks(siteslinkingtoyours)asoftenasyoucan.

CONTENT IS KING

• Searchengineslikelong-formcontent.Makeyourposts1,000+wordslongtohelpyourselfrankhigher.

• Formatyourwritinginreader-friendlyways,usingheadings,smallparagraphs,andgraphicswheneverpossible.

• Focusonofferingsomethingtoyourreader–help,advice,instructions,encouragement,etc.

• Makesurethatyourpostsareatleast70%originalcontentinsteadofinundatingyourreaderswithsponsoredcontent.

• Trytohaveatleast10qualitypostsonyoursitebeforemarketingyourblog.

• Sharerelevantcontentfromotherbloggersonyoursiteandonsocialmediatogivereadersqualityinformationandhelpthemunderstandyourbrand.

• Includelinkstoreputableandrelevantsitesorarticlesinyourpostswheneverpossible.

• Bepersonalyetprofessionalinyourposts.

Step1:Setatimerfor5minutes.Step2:Writedownasmanypostideasasyoucanbeforethe

timergoesoff!READY? SET? GO!

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WRITERS’ BLOCK-BLOCKERS

• VisitStumbleUpon toseewhat’strendingontheweb.• SurfPinteresttoseewhatotherbloggersareuptoand

what’spopularrightnow.• Takeawalkandclearyourmind.• Visitbig-timebloggerslikeByRegina orotherbloggers

youadmiretogetinspired.• Search“blogincomereport”onGoogleorPinterest.

Readabouthowotherbloggersaremakingstuffhappen.• Gotothelibraryandvisitthemagazinesection.Flip

throughmagazinesthatarerelevanttoyourniche,upcomingholidays,etc.

• Checkoutsomebooksthataretotallyunrelatedtoyourblogtotakeyourmindoffofthingsandgainnewperspective.

• Revisityouroldpoststoupdatethemandberemindedofwhatyouoriginallyintendedforyourblog.

• Chatwithotherbloggersandentrepreneursaboutblogging.

• JoinbloggingFBgroupstobepartofbloggingchallenges,gettips,etc.

FILL THIS PAGE WITH WORDS THAT YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE YOUR BRAND WITH

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BLOG POST CHECKLIST

DoIlinktomyselfinthispost(anotherpageorpost?)

DoIlinktoanotherwebsiteinthispost?

DoIhelp,inspire,oraddvalueformyreaderinthispost?

DoIhaveaCTA(call-to-action) inthispost?

Ismyposteasytoreadwithheadingsandgraphics?

Aretheimagesinthisposthigh-qualityand”Pinnable?”

Isthispostlongenoughtorankwell?

Hasthispostbeenspell-checked?

HaveIusedSEObest-practicesforthispost?

BLOGGING TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1. SEO – Search Engine Optimization – a method to write and format your posts and pages to be found easily in searches 2. Plugin – Extensions of WordPress used for customizing your blog. Examples are YOAST SEO, Askimet, and SumoMe. 3. Content Upgrade – A freebie offered to readers in exchange for an email subscription. Can be a free workbook, calendar, etc. Also known as a ”lead magnet.” 4. Widget – A content area that performs a certain function. Most often seen in sidebars. (i.e. About Me widget) 5. Meta Description – The description seen by search engines on your blog or posts. Important for great SEO. Download YOAST SEO or other plugin for implementation. 6. Bounce Rate – The rate at which people are visiting your site and leaving without clicking on another post or page. The lower, the better. 7. Influencer – A blogger, writer, personality, etc. that has influence on a group of consumers. 8. CSS – “Cascading Style Sheet”- describes the presentation (colors, format, etc.) of a given page or document in markup language. Mostly for web designers (ignore it if you’re not one even though all blogs have CSS)

9. HTML – “Hypertext Markup Language” – A language for creating effects like color, size, graphics, etc. on webpages

10. Sitemap – A list of the pages on a website - used by search engines for “crawling” and ranking your site

11. Permalink – A permanent hyperlink leading to a given page/post. Example- www.busybloggingmom.com/blogging

12. Static Page – A page that stays the same instead of featuring the most recent posts or updating automatically.

13. Sidebar – Widget-ready area of the side(s) of a post or page. 14. Theme – The overall style of a blog, including headers, fonts,

formatting, layout, etc.15. Link Party – A place to showcase your latest work by

leaving a link to a post/page and visiting other blogs. 16. VA – Virtual Assistant – Remote workers that can be hired

for anything on the web, including social media work, marketing, writing, etc.

17. Affiliate Link – A link provided by a 3rd party that when used, drives business to the other party and often results in a commission for the link user (the blogger.)

18. Click-Through Rate – The number of clicks an ad receives compared to the number of times that ad is seen (a.k.a. an “impression”)

18. Unique Visitors – Number of unique individual viewers of your blog (as opposed to repeat visitors)

19. Conversion Rate – The rate at which readers/customers are purchasing from a certain marketing effort such as an email campaign.

20. RSS – “Rich Site Summary” – A summary of the content of a given page or site, used to make receiving updates easy for readers.

21. Opt-in – Usually used with a lead magnet or content upgrade, an opt-in is an opportunity for readers to subscribe to your site, workshop, etc.

22. Sponsored Post – A post for which bloggers are paid to write about a given product or brand.

23. Long-tail keyword – 3-4 word, very specific keywords24. Gravatar – “Globally recognized avatar”- A picture or graphic

that represents a user25. Page (as opposed to post) – A place for static information,

often seen in menus

WHERE TO FIND HELP•WordPress.org (oryourownplatform)helpforums.Youcaneitherreadthequestionsaskedbyotherreadersorstartyourownhelpticket.• TheNectarCollective– Freetips,tutorials,andwebinarsfortroubleshootingyouremaillistsetup,SEOhelp,productcreation,andmore.• ByRegina-- Findallkindsoftutorialsandtipsforallthingsblogging.• Pinterest• TheSocialMediaExaminer(website)• ProBlogger.com• TheBlogStylist(website)

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES

• Youshouldhavesocialmediaaccountsforyourblogonthese5platforms(ifnotmore):Pinterest,Facebook,Twitter,Instagram,StumbleUpon.• OtherusefulsocialmediaplatformsareGoogle+,Yummly (forfoodblogs),Bloglovin’,LinkedIn,YouTube,andTumblr.• Socialmediashouldnotjustbeusedtoshareyourowncontent– youareoftenpenalizedforthis– andyoushouldshareothercontentregularly.• YoucansavetimebyschedulingcontenttobepostedwithprogramslikeTailwind(Pinterest),Hootsuite,Buffer,andEdgar.• Youshoulddevelopastyleguidetouseconsistentlyifyourpostsonsocialmediaaregoingtoincludegraphics.• Remainingconsistentwithyoursocialmediapresenceisimportantforyourexposure.• AddyourpostsandpagestoStumbleUpon toreachvaryingaudiences.• Apply/signupforbusinessaccountsonsocialmediawheneverpossible.Theyoftenofferimprovedservicesandbetterexposure.• Usetheanalyticspagesassociatedwithyourdifferentsocialmediaaccountstoanalyzethedemographicsandbehaviorofyourviewers/readers.

50 TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED1. GetyourselfaGravatar.Thiswillhelpreadersidentifyand

recognizeyourmoreeasily.Signupforfreeatwww.gravatar.comandquicklyappearmoreprofessional.

2. SubmityourblogURLtomajorsearchengines.Thiswillhelppeoplefindyouandincreaseyoursearchrankings.

3. SubmityoursitemaptoGoogleoruseapluginthatwilldoitforyou.ThishelpsGooglecrawlyoursiteandimprovesyourrankings.

4. Makesurethatallofyourblogimagesare“Pinnable.”High-quality,verticalimagesworkbestandshouldbeincludedineverypost.Makesurethataddagreatdescriptionintothe“alternativetext”boxwhenyouuploadyourimages.

5. JoinblognetworkinggroupsonFacebook.Youwillfindotherblogsinyourniche,havethechancetopromoteyourself,beinspired,andfindcollaborationopportunities.

6. Useoriginalimages(yourown!)wheneverpossible. Ifyoudonothavehigh-qualityoriginalimages,findCC0licenseimages(freeforanyuse)atsites likePexels orLibreStock.

7. CreateuniqueandcustomizedgraphicsforyoursiteusingafreeeditorlikePicMonkey orCanva.

8. Createanopt-inform(emailsubscriptions)foryourreadersonyoursiteandputitinrelevantandeasily-accessible places.

9. Makesurethatyouhavesharebuttonsforsocialmedia.Youwantreaderstobeabletoshareyourworkeasily.IusetheSumoMe andJetpackplugins.

10. Setgoalsforyourblog.Thensetactionstepsforeachgoal.

11. Recordyourstatsandexpensesmonthly.Measureyourprogresstokeepyourselfmotivated,accountable,andaware.

12. Havealegalpagewithaprivacypolicyandadvertisingdisclosure.Protectyourself.

13. Settle intoanicheandhoneinonyourexpertisetogaincredibility.

14. Replytothecommentspeopleleaveonyourblog.Peoplelikehumaninteractionandyouaremorelikelytohaverepeatreaders.

15. Handlenegativitywithgrace.Ifthereisanegativereactiontoyourblog,don’tgiveintonegativity.Bepolitebutstillacknowledgethethoughtsofyourreaders.Agreetodisagree.

16. Sharelovewithotherbloggers.Commentonotherblogs,shareotherpostsonsocialmedia,andinteracttobuildcommunityandgainrespectinthebloggingworld.

17. Joinlinkpartieswhenrelevant,asoftenaspossible inthefirstfewmonthsofyourblog.Linkpartiesareawonderfulwaytogaintrafficandgetcomments.Followthepartyrulesanddiscoverotherblogstomakenewfriendsandlearnfromothers.

18. Asimplebutattractivethemeisimportant.Standouttoreaderswithoutmakingyourblogdifficulttonavigateorread.

19. Spellcheckisamust.Donotlosecredibilitybymakingsimplespellingmistakes.

20. BoldfocuskeywordsinyourpostsandonyourpagesforSEO.

21. UseWordpress.org forumsfortechnicalhelp.Ifyou’rehavingaproblemwithWordPress,it’slikelythatsomeoneelsehashadthesameproblem.

22. ReadRuthSoukup’s,“HowtoBlogForProfit:WithoutSellingYourSoul.”

23. Followbig-timeblogslikebyRegina,DalePartridge,TheNectarCollective,andmorefortips,help,andinspiration.

24. Postoftentoincreaseexposure.Googlelikesregularpostersandyouwillclimbtherankingsifyouhavemorecontent.

25. Followyourownfollowersbackonsocialmediaanduseittogaininsightaboutyouraudience.

26. Onlybeanaffiliateforcompaniesthatyoubelieve in.27. Scheduleyourpostsandsocialmediainteractionto

maintainexposureandsavetime.28. Usethesamefontstohelpcreatearecognizablebrand.29. Putyourblognameorlogoonyourimages.Themore

eyesthatseeyournameorlogo,thebetter.30. Askpeopletofollowyouonsocialmedia inyourposts.31. Linktoyourselfinpostsinordertoreducebouncerates

andengagereaderslonger.32. Alwayspreviewpostsbeforepublishing.Usethepreview

tooltoseehowyourpostwilllookbeforepublishing.33. Checkimagepreviewsonsocialmediabeforeusingthem.34. Trytopostandthetimeofdaythatyourreadersare

online.YoucanfindinfoaboutoptimaltimesforvaryingsocialmediaplatformsontheSocialMediaExaminer.

35. Pinotherpeople’simagesregularly.Therecommendedamountisabout10pinsperdayinordertokeepfrombeingpenalizedbyPinterest(yourownimagesarelesslikelytobefoundinsearcheswhenyouarepenalized.)

36. Createyourownlinkpartytobringmoretrafficandgettoknowotherbloggers.

37. Donotpostaboutyourselftoooften—focusonhelpfulcontentforyourreaders.

38. Stayinspiredbytakingbreaks,readingotherblogs,surfingPinterest,usingStumbleupon,andreadingincomereports.

39. Scheduleyoursocialmediapostssothatifyouneedtotakeabreakfromblogging,youcandosowithoutsacrificingtoomuchexposure.

40. Don’tputallofyoureggsinonemonetizationbasket—useseveraldifferentwaystoearnfromyourblogwhenpossible.

41. AddyourpagesandpoststoStumbleUpon togainnewtrafficandexposure.AddaStumbleUpon buttontoyoursiteandpostssothatreadersandotherbloggerscaneasilyshareyourideas.

42. Subscribetoblogsyouadmiretoseehowtheirauthorsaredoingemailmarketing.

43. Backupyoursiteregularlytoavoidlosingyourcontent.44. Haveatleast15postsbeforeyougoliveandstart

advertisingyourself.45. Don’taddunnecessarypluginstoyoursite. Theywillslow

yoursitedownandcanconflictwithoneanother.

46. UseGoogleAnalyticstoanalyzeyourprogress,audience,anditsbehavior.

47. Ensuremobileresponsiveness. Makesurethatyouhaveagood,easilynavigatedmobilesitebyusingapluginlikeWPSmartMobileifyoudon’thaveamobile-readytheme.

48. Trytoguestpostonotherblogswheneverpossible.Themoresitesthatcredityouandlinkbacktoyoursite,thehigheryouwillrankinsearchengines.

49. Createanopt-ingift(leadmagnet)whenyouarereadytogrowanemail list.Thisaddsvaluetothereaderandcompelsmorepeopletosignup.

50. Havefun!