I am finally sitting down to do a big blogging Q&A! This is something I have wanted to do for a while now, because I have been getting more and more DMs pertaining to blogging. Many of you want to know how it works, how to get started, how to work with brands, etc. I want to start by saying I am not in the “influencer coaching” or “blogger coaching” niche. There are plenty of awesome people who make it their mission to teach others how to become influencers/bloggers/content creators. In this post, I will be punting a few questions to my favorite ladies in that niche.
Let’s get into this blogging Q&A!
WHERE TO START
I’m going to start this blogging Q&A off with the most popular question I get. The most popular question that I get regarding this topic is “where do I start?” or “how do I start a blog?” and the answer I give most of the time is very simple: just start. That might sound like a bad response, but the hardest part is putting yourself out there! When I started blogging, I did not know what I was doing at all. I started posting my outfits and my daily life. Slowly, and I mean very slowly, more and more people started showing interest in my content.
Below are my first two “blogger” photos I ever posted! The left is the first one Michael ever took of me (he’s come a long way, right?) and the right was taken by the amazing Ali Payne! She used to practice on me when she first started photography, and now she’s a major rockstar photographer!
SOME HELPFUL RESOURCES
When I first started, I had no guidelines, no handbook, no nothing. Now, there are tons of resources out there (like, an overwhelming amount) for you to learn the ropes of blogging/content creation.
One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is Blogging, Unscripted by Danielle Gervino. She has a whole episode dedicated to starting from scratch! It would be very helpful to those of you who are interested in pursuing this type of career. She also just REALLY has a voice for podcasting, I could listen to her all day long, haha!
Another resource I will share is my friend Tara’s new course: The Influencer Blueprint. She actually gave me a 20% off code to share with you guys if you decide to take her course! She is super knowledgable about this industry. There are tons of free downloadable tools on her website, even if you decide not to take the course. If you do decide to invest in the course, use code MOODYWIFE for 20% off!
THE CAMERA I USE
I use a Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera. I switch between two lenses. One is an EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM Zoom Lens. The other is a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Standard Lens. My husband, Michael, takes all of my photos. He actually knows more about operating the camera than I do, haha!
HOW DO BLOGGERS MAKE MONEY
This is also a popular question that I knew needed to be in this blogging Q&A! Before I get into this, it’s important for me to mention that you don’t need to pursue blogging for the money. I am in LOVE with what I do, and I felt that way before I ever made a dime. It is so fun connecting with you all, chatting about the makeup or clothes I like, and sharing daily encouragement with you. I would do that even if it paid me nothing. It can take years before you ever start seeing income. I would advise you to have the attitude that you are blogging just for fun, and see what happens!
REVENUE STREAMS
There are a few different revenue streams for bloggers to make money through. The main ones I utilize are affiliate programs and sponsored posts. If you have been following me for any length of time, you are likely familiar with LTK. That is where I am able to share my outfits, makeup, home decor, etc with you and you can shop everything I’m sharing. When you shop those links, I receive a very small commission. The same thing goes for Amazon; when I share an Amazon affiliate link, I receive a small percentage of that sale. This is also true for my Amazon storefront! I only share things that I either own, or would buy, so I never just throw out links to make a quick buck. I put a lot of effort into building trust with you all so that you know I’m always sharing quality products.
The other revenue stream is the brand partnerships, or sponsored posts. This is where a brand will pay a flat rate for a blogger to post about their product on social media or in a blog post. You can see examples of my recent sponsored posts here and here. I’ve also done sponsored blog posts here and here. As I mentioned with the affiliate links, I only EVER share sponsored posts if I actually like the product. For every one brand partnership I accept, there are probably 30 that I decline. I am extremely picky with what campaigns I participate in, to make sure it’s always something you, my readers, will benefit from. If I’m not providing value to YOU with my content, I’m not doing my job right!
HOW TO FIND BRANDS TO WORK WITH
One of the questions I got was how to partner with brands, so I wanted to touch on it briefly in this blogging Q&A. I’m not super comfortable going into full “coach mode” with this, so I will point you in the direction of the podcast I mentioned above or my friend Tara’s course because those resources can provide better help and guidance than I can.
I will say when you are starting posting, make sure to tag brands and use the hashtags that they use, like “#TargetStyle” if you’re tagging Target. This helps you get noticed by them and could potentially turn into partnerships down the road.
3 TIPS FOR GETTING TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG
#1 Share your blog! That may seem silly but after I’ve slaved over a blog post, it’s easy to click “publish” and close my laptop. Make sure you are sharing about your new blog posts on Instagram stories, Instagram in-feed posts, Facebook posts, Twitter, wherever you have a platform!
#2 Create an email newsletter! If you have a blog and aren’t trying to grow your email subscriber list, you absolutely need to start now. That is the easiest way to get your new blog posts straight into the hands of your readers. That is also where you can communicate with them if, for whatever reason, something happened to social media. Flodesk is my favorite platform for creating email newsletters. It’s so easy to use! Sign up here and get 50% off your subscription just for being part of the Moody Wife community!
#3 Utilize Pinterest! I have heard from every “blogging guru” that you need to be using Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog, but it didn’t click for me until recently when I realized 45% of my blog traffic comes from Pinterest. Every time you hit publish on a new blog post, try to always create a Pin to promote that post on Pinterest!
BEST TIP FOR NEW BLOGGER
My biggest tip for a beginner blogger is to not care what people think. Sometimes I wish I had started pursuing this career earlier. It was a dream of mine for years before I ever began, but I was too scared about what people would think or if they would make fun of me. In fact, I started my blog and stopped a few times at the beginning because I kept getting worried that I people were laughing at me. I really regret that, but I am hoping you will learn from my mistakes and just go for it. Don’t wait!
COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY
It’s very hard to avoid falling into the “comparison game” when you are spending so much time on social media. I don’t think this ever really goes away. I struggle with this often, so I take a lot of social media breaks. It’s not so much comparing myself to other girls in a superficial way (even though I do have those thoughts at times!) it’s more-so that in this job, you can see what everyone else is doing. I can work so hard one day and then see that someone posted two try-on hauls, a reel, and a blog post in one day and think “man, I am failing at this!”. That’s more where I struggle – comparing my career to others.
I try to schedule days to give myself a break from my phone and just be in real life for a day. It’s hard to constantly see what other people are doing and not feel like you are behind.
Comparison is part of the human experience, though. A friend of mine told me recently that while I’m feeling inadequate compared to one girl, there’s another girl who’s feeling that way while looking at me, and another girl who’s feeling that way towards that girl, and so on. Everyone is experiencing this. It’s important to just keep your blinders on and focus on what YOU can do. Focus on creating the content you want to create, connecting with your audience, and not paying much attention to what’s going on with everyone else. It’s nice to scroll every now and then for inspo, but I try not to get lost in the scrolling and instead, put my head down and work. This job is hard, but so so so worth it!
It’s easy to be intimidated by how many people are in this industry now. It seems so over-saturated. It can be tempting to think, “everyone is an influencer now, so there’s no point in me trying!” but the last piece of advice I’ll give you is this: the Internet does not have your version yet. Yes, there are a lot of bloggers, content creators, influencers, TikTokers, etc. out there. But there’s no YOU yet! You have a unique, special voice that deserves to be heard. Put yourself out there, be consistent, be yourself, and the right audience will find you.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
I hope this blogging Q&A has been helpful to you. Make sure to check out the resources that I shared, as those girls are in the “influencer business” niche and have tons of helpful tools available for you to use! I always say there is plenty of room at the top for everyone to succeed, so I wish all of you who are aspiring to become bloggers the best of luck! 🎉
