Blogger overwhelm is real guys. 

Yes, we can make money as bloggers AND it’s worth pursuing. But there’s just so much to learn. 

Am I right?

From SEO to list building to affiliate marketing, to pitching brands…

And then there’s the big wide world of social media – Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat…oh and now Clubhouse. Sigh.

The list of everything you need to know and how you to market yourself goes on….and on…and on. The result? 

You’re left feeling all over the place. Not knowing where to put your time and energy. 

Blogging is so much more than writing. It’s a business just like any other.

That’s why it’s important to know how to blog smarter so you can maximise your time without losing yourself.

So how can you learn everything and get it all done too?

Yesterday, while sipping on a warm cup of tea on what was a chilly but bright day, I pulled out my phone and did what always makes me happy – I listened to a podcast.

It was episode 29 of the now-defunct Biz Mavens Podcast and it featured editor of Smart Blogger Kevin J. Duncan. 

Kevin is one of the best bloggers out there and his blogging tips were fantastic but it wasn’t till the end of the episode that he revealed his biggest gem – how to be a successful blogger. 

It was a very simple tip and one that I think is especially important for us mums who don’t have much time. 

C,mon spill, I hear you cry!  

Well, it simply is to master one skill before moving to another.  So simple, yet so true.

Taking blogging one step at a time stops overwhelm and you’re more likely to not give up.

Want to know the best part? It frees up your time because you don’t have to learn all the things, all at once. 

But what should you master first and in what order? 

1. Content creation 

It goes without saying that you need content to have a blog. Focus on building a library of quality blog posts that solve your reader’s problems.

Master writing well and learn how to create engaging content that speaks to your tribe. Understand why it’s important to use catchy headlines and work on improving your headlines.

2. Master one form of traffic growth

You’ve created all that amazing content and now you need an audience. There are lots of ways to grow your blog traffic, but I personally think it’s best to master SEO first and foremost before even thinking about social media.

Why?

Well, understanding SEO means you can create content that Google loves. And if Google loves your content, you’re guaranteed consistent and reliable traffic.

But it takes a while for this to happen so it’s best to write SEO optimized posts, and let them take the time they need to work their magic.

Carve time out to understand the basics of SEO, then make sure any blog posts you’ve already written are optimized for SEO as soon as possible.

Once you’ve gotten to grips with SEO then work on promoting your blog posts on social media.

Pinterest is proving to be the best at boosting traffic, but it really does depend on your niche and where your tribe can be found. Choose one social media platform to focus on and be consistent.

3. List building

Okay you’ve got the content and you’re getting traffic. Brilliant!

Now you can work on capturing your audience with your email list. What you’re aiming for is to have a tribe of readers who want to hear from you.

You can let your email list know when you’ve published a new blog post, or have a product you’d like to recommend. And when/if you decide to sell products you can give them the heads up on that too.

Get to grips with list building, find out what a lead magnet, opt-in form and an email sequence is and how you can best use them.

Put together a strategy to increase your subscribers and slowly put it into action. To begin with aim for 100 subscribers. 

4. Money, money, money

Now that you’ve got your tribe, it’s time to put an income stream in place. I’d say to start with affiliate marketing.

Research which types of posts generate the most affiliate income and how best you can promote affiliate products to your growing email list.

If you’d rather not go down the affiliate marketing route, master pitching to brands instead. Learn how to create a media kit. Make a list of 10 brands you use or fit in perfectly with your niche and get in touch. Tell them what you do and how you can help them. 

Traffic, List Building, Monetization..

Alright, now that you’ve got the swing of things, you can go back to traffic and master another growth strategy such as guest posting or a different social media platform. 

Or you can work on making money from another income stream like launching your own products 

Or create shiny, brand new freebies to increase your subscribers….

You get the gist right?

To recap, master content creation, one growth traffic technique, building your email list and one income stream.

Once you’ve done this then move back and forth between growing your traffic, to building your email list and mastering another income stream depending on your goals. 

This will ensure that your time is spent where it most matters. 

And when you do come across useful info I want you to promise you’ll file it away in a your bookmarks and only go back to it when you’re ready to take on that particular skill. 

Because information overload is not pretty. Trust me.