Have you ever looked at other Homeschooling blogs and wondered how they make money doing what they do?
Have you ever wondered how it could be possible to find the time to blog?
Whether you’re a homeschooling mom or not – momming takes a LOT of time and focus – and it can seem completely impossible to even think about adding a blog to the mix!
Am I right?
But… what if you could turn that blog into a really fulfilling outlet? What if it could provide a way for you to connect with other moms and grow friendships from all over the world? What if it could add to your family income – all through working from home?
Just getting started with blogging? Grab our FREE Blog Starter Kit to get a bunch of resources, templates, and how-to guides to help make it easier to start your own successful blog!
It’s easy to look at successful blogs and feel overwhelmed or like you’ll never measure up. That’s why I’m so excited to share with you what these lovely homeschooling mom bloggers have to say!
Imagine yourself as sitting down for a cup of coffee with these ladies – and getting to pick their brains about blogging…
Then, start imagining the possibilities of starting your own blog – because, as a mom myself, I say “If I can do it, YOU can do it!”
Seriously!
Introducing…
Click on each blogger’s image to read their whole interview.
What is ONE piece of advice you would give to a new blogger starting out in your niche?
Be YOU. Do not worry about what others are blogging about, do what you are passionate about and what works for you. And don’t be afraid of your uniqueness. I think this is such an important thing to understand in the blogging world now. There are so many bloggers that it can be hard to stand to from the crowd! Don’t worry about comparisons and keeping up with others. Obviously you need to keep up with the trends and the current advice, but do it in your own unique way! – Karyn @ TeachBesideMe.com
One piece of advice I would give to new bloggers is to stay true to your voice. Although sponsored posts bring in good income, I have learned that it is important to choose carefully and not be afraid to turn down offers that would not resonate with my audience. In the beginning, it’s tempting to say yes to anything that comes along, but a loyal audience will be confused and will stop coming around if the content they expect from you changes too drastically. – Anne @ MyLearningTable.com
Find something that makes you unique from all the other homeschooling bloggers. It could be the number of kids you homeschool, your child’s learning needs, your method and approach to teaching, your geography, your faith…. find something you can take and own that will make you stand out. – Lisa Marie @ TheCanadianHomeschooler.com
How much time do you spend blogging each week?
Right now my blog is a full time job, but this is just for a season while my husband is in grad school. Normally my blog is a part time job with me spending as much or as little time as I desire. On average I would say I spend several hours per day blogging, but rarely full time hours. – Carisa @ 1plus1plus1equals1.net
Blogging is my full-time job. I divide my time between activities for my education blog and my Pinterest management business. I typically spend about 15-20 hours per week working on the education blog side of my business. – Shaunna @ FantasticFunAndLearning.com
I’ve chipped away at blogging bit by bit over the years and have nearly 600 posts and 30 products as a result! There have been seasons when I spent upwards of 15-20 hours a week on blogging tasks, but there have also been seasons where I’m lucky to find two hours to work each week. Currently, I’m spending 5-12 hours on blogging tasks. I’ll tell ya, though, actual blogging is a teeny portion. I’ll be the first to admit that all extras that go along with blogging these days – social media, managing plug-ins, newsletters – have really taken a lot of my joy away. – Cindy @ OurJourneyWestward.com
The short answer is too much! 😉 It really depends on what type of post I’m writing. If it’s a review for a book/product, I will spend more time to make sure I have included all intended details, but if the post is about a feast day celebration or homeschool activity, I can spend a few hours editing photos and blogging about our celebration or activity. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist so that is a blessing and a curse at the same time. – Tracy @ ASliceofSmithLife.com
I am not sure I want to admit that! 😉 I spend a lot of hours – 20/week, perhaps (probably) more. BUT, since I am earning an income, it is well worth my time. – Karyn @ TeachBesideMe.com
It’s funny, when I blogged as a hobby I had more time to spend on it. But now due to changing life circumstances and working as a virtual assistant, I can no longer spend my evenings blogging. However, my focus is now more concentrated on weekends to do as much as I can. In an average week I probably spend about 17-20 hours working on posts, scheduling social media, working on task threads with tribemates, emails, etc. If you add in the time spent using products we’re reviewing, this would go up significantly. – Crystal @ CastleViewAcademy.com
I spend approximately 15-20 hours/week. – Heather @ Lifeofahomeschoolmom.com
What is your favorite way to get traffic to your blog?
Also, learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so your content can be found through Google. If people can’t find you, they will not come! Feed Google. I share my intent to Google+ even though nobody really uses it. It helps content to come up in searches better. Also, I use the Yoast plugin on WordPress to help me with my SEO skills.
But, I think the most important way to get traffic is to create content that people want to see! If you don’t have great stuff, people won’t care to read it. – Karyn @ TeachBesideMe.com
Pinterest, hands down. It has been my number one traffic driver for years. Over time I’ve created a system and now manage Pinterest accountsfor many other bloggers to help them bring in more consistent traffic to their websites using Pinterest strategies. – Shaunna @ FantasticFunAndLearning.com
My favorite way to get traffic to my blog is through email subscribers and posting my links on Facebook. Sharing my posts via Facebook on my personal pages and in groups is the one strategy that is working best for me now. – Tracy @ ASliceofSmithLife.com
The key to any successful blog lies in the strength of its email list. If you want to increase your traffic, increase engagement with your email list. – Heather @ Lifeofahomeschoolmom.com
How do you make money through your blog?
As a single mother who is solely dependent on income from my online businesses I try to have a wide variety of income streams so that if anything goes astray at a given time I’m not solely reliable on one income stream. I make money by selling my own products (preschool classroom and home preschool lesson plans available on my sister sites and on Teachers Pay Teachers but promoted mainly through Fantastic Fun and Learning. I also make money via advertising, sponsored content, and affiliate programs. – Shaunna @ FantasticFunAndLearning.com
I make money several different ways: through selling my own products (printables & books), through my ad network (AdThrive), affiliate sales, and sponsored posts.
I started selling my products last year after giving them away FREE for years. It has quickly moved to one of the top income sources for me! I am so glad I finally jumped into doing that! I also was part of a collaborative book project that has been really successful.
For affiliate sales, my biggest earner is Amazon, but I also have a few good ones within my niche that have been successful for me.
Sponsored posts come through networks that I am part of as well as independent companies who reach out to me. I have a media kit that I send to people who are interested in working with me that explains my rates and services. – Karyn @ TeachBesideMe.com
I make money on my blog mostly through products and affiliate promotions. I create Canadian-centric learning resources, usually focused on areas that are harder to find things for – like geography and history. – Lisa Marie @ TheCanadianHomeschooler.com
I make money through the sales of my own products and courses, along with sponsored content, paid advertising, and affiliate monetization. – Heather @ Lifeofahomeschoolmom.com
My blog is currently a side-gig. In other words, I don’t have to make money from it to support our family. And, as I mentioned before, until my kids have all flown the coop, I’m not going to pour full-time hours into it. That being said, I am making enough money to make the short time I invest worth it.
I’ve taken the rather bold stance to NOT be part of an ad network. Some people call me crazy and maybe I am. Here’s the rub for me…I can’t stand to be on a site where ads ruin my experience. We live in a rural area where internet speed isn’t always the best. When I click onto a blog where pop-ups are jumping out at me at a steady clip, I can’t even see the images because of ad coverage, and the whole site freezes because of the dumb video ad trying to load, I almost start to cry. I don’t want people who come to my site to ever feel that way. I want them to feel at home. After all, the entire point of my blog is to encourage mommas to find joy and creativity in homeschooling. If they leave crying over the ads, I’ve failed.
So, I’ve chosen two main modes of income – products and affiliate programs.
Products: I write creative homeschooling curriculum and sell it digitally using a WooCommerce shop on my blog. I have yet to sell via Amazon, but I realize I probably need to make that jump sooner than later. I did sell via some other platforms at one time, but found it difficult to keep up with everything that was involved in each of those spaces.I have one giant caution about product creation…make sure your products are good. Really good. There’s a ton of crap being created in the name of getting a digital product out there to sell. While you may sell in the short run, it will be hard to keep the momentum if your products aren’t top notch.
Affiliate Programs: I’m a huge fan of the Amazon affiliate program and use it frequently within blog posts and occasionally on social media. I’ve determined my audience really seems to prefer naturally integrated affiliate links versus obvious ad placement.
I’m also an affiliate of several homeschool friendly companies. There are several strategies I use with these affiliate links – reviews, evergreen posts, and social media shoutouts. Typically, I get paid for a review post and include affiliate links. If I just happen to be using the product and loving it, I’ll often naturally integrate affiliate links into an evergreen post. If the company is having a sale or I get a good picture of my kids using the product, I’ll direct affiliate link to the product on my Facebook page or some other social media account. – Cindy @ OurJourneyWestward.com
My income comes from many different places with the top being my own product sales. Affiliates, private blog sponsors and ad networks come right behind that. – Carisa @ 1plus1plus1equals1.net
Though it is still a work in progress, I make money through my blog from affiliate sales with direct links in relevant posts. I’m careful to only link products I actually use and like so as to remain authentic with my audience. – Anne @ MyLearningTable.com
What is ONE big blogging hurdle you had to overcome and what steps did you take to overcome it?
I think my biggest hurdle to overcome was believing that I was worth earning money from my site. I did not think that my things were good enough to charge for and I waited way too long to believe in myself. I wish I would have started selling my own products and services earlier! Putting my first shop item up for sale was scary, but once people started buying things I started believing in myself more. – Karyn @ TeachBesideMe.com
There is always SO much you CAN do to grow your blogging business, but you don’t have to do it all RIGHT NOW. It’s easy to let blogging eat up all of your time, and before you know it your priorities have shifted away from why you originally started blogging in the first place (for me that has always been to be able to be home and care for my kids even after becoming a single mom).
It has been very important for me to set a realistic schedule that keeps my priorities in balance and to really try to stick to that schedule. I’ve also worked hard not to compare myself to what others are doing or what they have accomplished, so that I’m content with my schedule and the results I can get while keeping those priorities in line. I also keep note of key stats and accomplishments so that I can focus on what I have accomplished and not what I still have on my to do list for the future. – Shaunna @ FantasticFunAndLearning.com
Burnout. There was a point when I just wanted to put everything aside. I had to take a step back and evaluate what was most important to me and what I needed to do to keep it enjoyable in the process. For me that meant taking dedicated time off each year (it’s ok to not post every day), change up my blogging schedule, and put less pressure on myself overall. – Jolanthe @ HomeschoolCreations
My biggest piece of advice would be to be persistent and only blog if it’s something you love to do. If you don’t love it, it will show in your posts. – Crystal @ CastleViewAcademy.com
I like to write. I’m good at it. I don’t like many of the other things that go along with blogging, though. Heck, just hearing about the ever-changing must-do’s keeps me spinning in circles. You can imagine my frustration trying to actually stay on top of it all! So…I don’t.
I really have given up trying to do things the ways I’m “supposed” to and I’m trying to stay truer to my heart and my mission. As an example, I’m no longer listening and adapting to the latest guru’s advice about various social media platform growth. I’m just being genuine and fitting in what works for my schedule. I may not be growing by leaps and bounds, but I’m also not hustling at a time in my life when a hustle is just too much.
I should add that I have hired out help for some of the things that really do “have” to happen. I have a great webtech who helps me keep my blog in tip-top shape. I have also hired out things such as freebie creation, book formatting, and installing WooCommerce. Hiring a social media manager isn’t out of the question one of these days either. – Cindy @ OurJourneyWestward.com
What is one of my favorite blogging tools/resources and why?
PicMonkey & Canva photo editing tools have been great for me! It is an inexpensive way to edit photos and make pin-able graphics. – Karyn @ TeachBesideMe.com
My favourite blogging resource is Facebook! The most important information I’ve learned and the best help I’ve had along the way have been through Facebook groups. Large groups of people blogging in the same niche, and small tribes of just a few people with more diverse interests; all are great for asking about things I don’t know, bouncing ideas around, and supporting each other. Lovely friendships have been started that go beyond the groups….and when I’m having a bad day, there’s bound to be an appropriate meme in my feed that will make me smile. – Crystal @ CastleViewAcademy.com
Actually, one of my very favorite blogging resources is my Building an Effective Email List Course. It is run in a group setting and I learn so much from the course participants. I provide them with direct coaching for 8 weeks and they are constantly asking me questions that result in me learning new tricks and techniques which helps me to grow as a blogger…plus I’ve made some amazing friends! – Heather @ Lifeofahomeschoolmom.com
My blogging friends are the best resource I have by far! Some of them I’ve met in person at various blogging retreats, but most of them I’ve never met in person. However, all of them have become dear friends as we encourage each other and freely share blogging wisdom.
I can ask just about any question in the iHomeschool Network Facebook group or the Inspired Bloggers Facebook group and have several answers in a matter of moments. For those friends who are extra-close, we Voxer back and forth to ask questions, bounce around ideas, share advice, and even hold each other accountable to our personal blogging goals.
Even if I never gleaned anything at all from these ladies, their understanding of my life as a blogger would be enough! Most of my IRL friends just don’t get what I do or why I do it. Ever feel the same? – Cindy @ OurJourneyWestward.com
Thank you to all of these AMAZING homeschool bloggers who shared their insider secrets to monetizing their blogs. After reading through all of their tips and tricks, I truly hope that you feel geared up and ready to take on your own blog and start monetizing it, today!
Please share in the comments below!
