I can’t remember exactly how I first came across freelance writer, blogger, and mum to twins, Elna Cain, but I’m glad I did.

I stumbled upon Elna’s blog Twins Mommy at a time when I was feeling unsure about my blogging career. I’d had two babies in two years and my life changed completely. I knew I wanted to blog about something other than fashion & lifestyle but lacked the confidence to give it a go.

Elna’s content gave me the motivation I needed and the inspiration to start this blog.

I also saw the potential Pinterest had to drive traffic to my other blog My Fashion Life but had no idea where to start. I decided to purchase Elna’s course Ready Set Blog For Traffic (AF) and it helped me so much!

Elna’s down to earth writing style and her ability to explain things in a straightforward manner makes learning from Elna an absolute pleasure. I put the SEO and Pinterest tips I learned from the course in place, and within weeks my traffic had doubled.

So, naturally, I jumped at the chance to interview Elna. I hope you enjoy reading her answers as much as I did.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started on your blogging journey? 

I’ve been blogging since 2014 when my twins were toddlers. I had a few hours in a day to try blogging out. Fortunately, I decided on offering a service, freelance writing, when I started my website and within a few short months was able to make my first $1,000.

Over the years I’ve blogged, started coaching, and eventually developed courses to help writers and bloggers. From there I started Twins Mommy and grew my blog to help moms make money blogging and this opened the doors to starting more sites.

Overall, I have over seven blogs that I manage, and that most generate income for me.

Did you ever feel like giving up? And if so what motivated you to keep going? 

I never felt like giving up blogging, but I did feel like giving up with a business idea or course idea. In fact, that’s exactly what happened a few years ago.

I wanted to develop a course on starting a blog, but I got into my head too much and convinced myself that no one would buy this type of course since it’s readily available or that other bloggers already have this product. So, I never published it.

I’ve learned over the years that I have cultivated an audience that wants to learn from me and that it doesn’t matter what others have produced.

How do you manage to juggle blogging and motherhood? 

I’m still learning! When my twins were smaller and not yet in school, I would often blog around their nap schedule. So that meant around 3 hours a day and maybe 1 hour at night.

I wouldn’t blog on the weekends and for a while that worked great. As the twins grew and went to school, there were new challenges like hockey and gymnastics, field trips, and appointments.

So I mostly work in the morning and then take the afternoons off to do mom business.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

Monday’s are usually my content creation day. I will make three youtube videos, an Instagram Reel, a Facebook Live and I will upload a blog post.

Tuesdays are all about editing videos and blog posts or client pieces. Wednesday – Friday is winding down for me. I do Pinterest, update courses, learn something new like Facebook ads or using Instagram.  

Making money blogging can be hard for many bloggers. How do you successfully monetize your blogs?

For me, I started a service and I recommend that to bloggers that want to make money quickly. It’s easy to set up a page sharing your service like virtual assistant, Pin graphic design, eBook cover design, social media management or blog management services. From there market your service in your email list, on social media, and on your blog posts and guest posts.

Another way to start making money is to either offer a tripwire or a low priced offer. These products can be the same, but they function differently. A tripwire occurs when someone signs up to your email list and before they get their incentive, they are presented with this one-time offer, the tripwire.

This is usually a very low-priced offer – $9 and there is a timer associated. This drives up the conversions and makes it easy to gain sales. A low priced offer can be templates or a small course that you can offer on your blog or run Facebook ads with. Many bloggers have had success selling low priced offers – under $40. 

What was the biggest challenge you faced when creating your online courses? 

The tech issue was the biggest challenge for me, but my husband was able to help. The next challenge is maintenance. Some of my courses are tool-based or share strategies for social media and these things change and that means I have to update my courses. Sometimes that doesn’t happen for a while!

If you could go back to the start of your blogging journey, what’s the one thing you’d do differently?

For me, it would be to be more confident in my writing ability. I doubted myself too much in the beginning and I wish I hadn’t. Anyone can start freelance writing or blogging, you have to believe in yourself!

Which 3 blogs and podcasts do you read/listen to regularly?

Nowadays I try my best not to visit other sites as I don’t want to fall into the comparison trap, but for educational purposes, I enjoy Copyhackers, Copybloggers, and Neil Patel. As for podcasts I like Kate Doster’s Inbox Besties, the podcast on Do You Even Blog, and Mommy’s on a Call podcast.

Which 3 blogging tools could you not live without?

For me, that’s my SEO tool, Ahrefs, my editing tool Grammarly and I recently started using MarketMuse to help me with my editorial content for ranking purposes.

And finally, what’s the best piece of advice you could give to mum bloggers? 

Keep your head down! Try not to compare your journey to someone else’s journey. As well, believe in yourself and know that there is an audience for you!

If you want to grow your traffic, I highly recommend Elna’s course Ready Set Blog For Traffic (AF). You can also find Elna over at YouTube, Instagram, or at her Facebook Group – Mom to Mompreneur.