Tips for Moving During the Holidays

Tips for Moving During the Holidays Blog Header

If you’re moving during the holidays, things can get hectic FASTER than with a normal move. The tips in this post might just save your sanity. Though this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.

5 Tips to Help You Stay Sane While Moving During the Holidays

Moving can be stressful enough on its own, but when you add the holidays into the mix, it can turn into a complete nightmare. The pressure of getting your move done and being able to spend quality time with family and friends is immense. I know because two Christmases ago I was pulling my hair out trying to keep up with everything on my to-do list, visit family and friends, and get ready to drive 800 miles from Tampa to Kentucky.

Because what’s wrong with uprooting your life of 30-plus years in the middle of a pandemic at Christmas? Needless to say, I wish I had thought things through a heck of a lot more than I did. So if you will be moving during the holidays, hopefully, these tips will help you stay merry and bright!

1. Prioritize and Plan Ahead

First things first – prioritize your tasks and make a plan ahead of time. Make sure to break down each task into smaller steps so that everything is organized and manageable. This way, you’ll be able to stay focused on what needs to get done. Also, don’t forget to leave yourself some extra time in case something unexpected happens! 

What does prioritizing tasks look like when moving during the holiday?

When it comes to moving, no one likes the idea of having to prioritize tasks. After all, it’s hard enough trying to remember what you need to do in the first place! But when you’re up against a deadline or have limited resources, prioritizing tasks can be a lifesaver. 

The key is finding out which tasks are essential and which ones can wait until later. The best way to figure this out is by asking yourself two questions: Is this task urgent? And does it require immediate attention? If the answer is yes on both counts, then chances are that task should be at the top of your list of priorities. 

On the other hand, if something isn’t as important or doesn’t need to be done right away, then it’s probably better off being pushed down the list for now.

For example, when I was planning my move in December 2020, I knew that certain things could wait while other things were urgent. So, I sat down with a spreadsheet and created a few columns:

  • Urgent
  • Semi-urgent
  • Low-priority
  • Can wait til the move is complete
  • Done

Under “Urgent” I included things like:

  • Declutter the apartment (so we would have a better idea of what we needed to pack)
  • Buy moving supplies (boxes, packing tape, bubble paper, etc…)

Under “Semi-urgent” I included things like:

  • Book our moving truck
  • Call the utilities company to set up services at new place

Under “Low-Priority: I included things like:

  • Close P.O. Box Account
  • Empty Fridge

Under “Can Wait” I included things like:

  • Get “we moved” postcards
  • Set up cable service

Then, as tasks were completed, I moved them to the “Done” column so I would have a space to let me know what was taken care of in case it popped in my head again.

And, as things changed in terms of priority level, I could easily cut and paste them into other columns.

If the organization part of moving isn’t your strong suit – hire someone who specializes in moving tasks. Or, consider buying a template/checklist on Etsy or a similar platform. Loads of people have gone before you, and if they can save you time, it’s a win as far as I’m concerned!

2. Start Early – Earlier Than You Think!

If you’re moving within the same city, about eight to twelve weeks before your move should be plenty of time to get everything organized and packed up. But if you’re relocating long-distance, then it’s best to give yourself at least six months so that nothing gets rushed or overlooked.

I wish we had taken more time to prepare for our move. Though we got it all done, we crammed in way too much considering Christmas and New Year’s week was the week of our move. If we had planned things earlier on, we could have enjoyed our holidays a LOT more than we did!

3. Hire Professionals (We Didn’t and it was a BIG MISTAKE!)

Nothing makes you a Scrooge when moving during the holidays quite like half-baked jerks breaking your favorite pieces of furniture and tchotchkes. 

I’ve spoken many times about this on this blog before, but if I could go back, the number one thing I would have changed would have been hiring professionals like the ones at Online Movers & Storage to make my move easier.

Enough can not be said about the importance of working with pros! We hired movers, sure, but we only hired them to pack the truck, and we didn’t do our due diligence in vetting the people we chose as much as we could have.

Had we used pros like the ones from Online Movers & Storage, we could have had a much merrier experience! 

Related: Check out my post “10 Things to Look for In a Moving Company.”

4. Ask for Help

This Goes BEYOND hiring professional movers. If I could go back, we would have:

  • Utilized meal delivery kit services
  • Asked friends to help us declutter – heck, we would have given away more stuff instead of trying to sell it on FB Marketplace
  • Taken advantage of free shipping for moving supplies and other organizational stuffs
  • Taken the doggos to doggy day care/left them with a friend for the craziest days

We also would have booked in more massages and other self-care activities. I know this probably sounds strange, but there’s so much that goes into moving that every sanity-saving activity goes a LONG way!

5. Utilize Time-Saving Strategies

We did use one incredibly helpful time-saving strategy. We meal-planned like crazy in the weeks leading up to the move. We didn’t have time to figure out what to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And, we also were trying to get everything we could out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry. So, creating a meal plan not only saved us the time and decision fatigue that comes with meals, but it also help us to use as much as possible before the move (which saved us money too!).

Other time-saving strategies I wish we had used:

  • Using colored duct tape for the different rooms (i.e. red tape for living room, blue for bedroom, green for kitchen, etc…) Spending time writing out those room names prior to the move, and then looking for the labels when unpacking takes more time than you would expect
  • Dropping off donations instead of trying to sell as much as we did – this took WAY more time and energy than it was worth
  • Decluttering more than we did – we spent too much time packing crap we didn’t need to keep
  • Planning meals and snacks for moving day – Moving is hungry work – having something close by will save you precious minutes (and calories!) Instead of taking a break to eat out or order takeout, we could have snacked on something simple like granola bars or trail mix while finishing up. 
  • Keeping all documentation in one spot – Gather utility bills and other paperwork early to ensure everything is taken care of before your move date. This way you won’t find yourself frantically searching for documents while trying to unpack! 

These are just five tips to help you keep your sanity while moving during the holidays, but it’s far from an exhaustive list. I’ll update this list as more ideas come to me.

If you have a move coming up, and you’re in the Coral Gables area, consider checking out my bloggy friends at Online Movers & Storage. These Coral Gables Fl Movers are pros at what they do, and their reputation speaks for itself. 

And, if you are moving during the holidays, I feel for you. I honestly wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But, hopefully, this post gave you some ideas to make it a less painful experience.

How Do You Start a Successful Podcast? 14 Tips

Man Podcasting at Standing Desk - How Do You Start a Successful Podcast

How do you start a successful podcast? We asked experts in the field to chime in with their best responses to this question. Below, we’re sharing what they had to say!

14 Tips for Starting a Successful Podcast

From collaborating with podcasts that cater to your audience to being a little less professional, here are the 14 answers experts submitted to us to the question, “What are some tips you have for starting and growing a successful, money-making podcast?”

  • Collaborate With Podcasts that Cater to Your Audience
  • Launch Your Podcast With a Few Episodes
  • Go Niche and Build From There
  • Create Content that Provides Value to Your Listeners
  • Ask Listeners for Reviews
  • Sell Merchandise
  • Invest in Good Podcasting Equipment
  • Offer a Premium Content Channel
  • Brand Yourself
  • Focus on Podcast SEO
  • Research and Prioritize Audience Pain Points
  • Be Passionate 
  • Avoid Inconsistency
  • Remember Your Listener’s Familiarity Level

Now that you know the rough idea of our expert tips, let’s break them down further in hopes of helping you start a podcast that is super successful!

Collaborate With Podcasts That Cater to Your Audience

Growing a podcast boils down to how you spread the word and get more and more listeners interested in what you have to say. And what better way to reach your target audience than find them on podcasts that are in a niche closely related to your own? 

It’s a foolproof strategy that ensures you’re reaching the right people, on the right medium. In fact, catching them on the right platform really matters because users scrolling through short-form content may not be interested in a podcast at that moment, but someone who’s already listening to a podcast definitely will be.

Harry Morton, Founder, Lower Street

Launch Your Podcast With a Few Episodes

On the launch day of your new podcast, publish a few episodes instead of one. This way, your listeners will have the content to engage with during the first days and won’t forget about your podcast so quickly, and you will reach better results with your promotion.

For example, a paid campaign for a single episode might have little to no results, while promoting a podcast with three episodes will interest more people and give you more followers. 

Eventually, it would be best to publish your episodes regularly. For example, every Wednesday at 5 pm—this will help your listeners remember when to look forward to them.

Natalia Brzezinska, Marketing & Outreach Manager, US Visa Photo

Go Niche and Build From There

If you think you can start a podcast about true crime or sports talk and make it big, I want a hit of whatever you’re on. For major thematic topics, like sports, cooking, and crime, the podcast market is insanely saturated. 

That is why I would say if you are dead set on starting a podcast and making some money doing it, get niche. 

You absolutely have to find a specialty where there is little to no competition. I’m not saying you have to create a podcast on insects found in the American southwest. Let’s not get ridiculous. But you need to carve out a niche where you can build a name for yourself as a thought leader and voice of expertise. Start narrow and build up from there.

John Ross, CEO, Test Prep Insight

Create Content That Provides Value to Your Listeners

One tip for starting and growing a successful, money-making podcast is to focus on creating content that provides value to your listeners. 

Make sure you’re covering topics relevant to your niche and providing valuable advice or insights in each episode. By doing that, people will recognize your expertise and be more likely to support you financially. 

Additionally, make sure that everything you produce looks and sounds professional. Invest in good equipment, work with a professional editor if necessary, and put out content that is consistent in quality.

Amira Irfan, Founder & CEO, A Self Guru

Ask Listeners for Reviews

At the beginning and end of each podcast episode, ask your listeners to subscribe and review your show, as it positively impacts your reach. You will also see that some subscribers who find a lot of value in your podcast will feel compelled to leave a review of their own accord. The more reviews you have, the more likely other people will notice and give your show a listen.

Cesar Cruz, Co-Founder, Sebastian Cruz Couture

Sell Merchandise

Selling merchandise is one solid way to grow and make money through a podcast. Fans love merchandise and having a lot of options for it is a great way to raise brand awareness. 

Merchandise is also a win-win for marketing because when a fan wears a t-shirt or hat, they are advertising the podcast for free. This gives the podcast some free exposure to whoever sees them wearing it.

Kevin Callahan, Co-Founder & CEO, Flatline Van Co.

Invest in Good Podcasting Equipment

While you don’t have to spend a fortune on innovative recording hardware or software, you need at the very least a good microphone to begin with. After all, a podcast with subpar audio is probably not going to be very successful. Nobody wants to strain their ears just to hear you and your visitors. A good microphone, a headset, and some simple audio editing software can significantly improve the sound quality of your podcast. 

And whether you will be successful in your new career as a podcaster will depend on how professional you seem. It is a simple decision because the initial investment is negligibly small compared to the potential rewards. 

A microphone is the most crucial component you need when creating a podcast. There is typically at least one USB port on desktop and laptop computers, allowing you to connect accessories like an external microphone. The good news is that a USB microphone with respectable quality is available for less than $50 USD.

Raviraj Hegde, Head of Growth, Donorbox

Offer a Premium Content Channel

My one tip to make money from podcasting is to release premium content. Although premium material can really be anything, some typical ways podcasters provide premium content include a look behind the scenes, ad-free versions of the content, early access, and live content. It could also include the ability for listeners to ask the hosts questions, allowing their personal queries to be heard and answered by professionals they trust.

I think that live content is best paired with a Q&A, as listeners can have their questions answered live. As well as this, it also feels much more personal as it allows them to hear you unedited. 

This is great for the travel industry, as getting to know who you are listening to and their personal tastes informs you of their personal outlook and helps you to know that you can trust their opinion.

Aiden Higgins, Sr. Editor & Writer, The Broke Backpacker

Brand Yourself

Even though it might initially appear contradictory, your best bet may be to stick with something more straightforward when branding your podcast. 

This stage is like search engine optimization (SEO); most of your audience will find you through a Google search or via iTunes/Spotify, so going with a straightforward name and logo while incorporating a few keywords might not be such a bad idea. 

Just be careful not to go overboard with the ton of hashtags and phrases, because that will probably have the opposite effect.

Kurt Uhlir, Chief Marketing Officer, Kurt Uhlir

Focus on Podcast SEO

Unless you belong to the Kardashian family, you must focus on the visibility of your podcast on search engines.

It is interesting to note that 13.6% of today’s listeners search Google for new podcasts to listen to. Therefore, you want to boost your SEO to take into this delicious Google cake.

Aside from strategically integrating keywords into your podcast episodes, you want to maximize your podcast metadata. Ensure relevant and high-volume keywords are inserted into the meta titles for your podcast pages.

After this, it is crucial to invest in building a healthy portfolio of backlinks to your site. Get quality linking from some of the most reputed podcast directories and strive to appear on other top-notch podcasts.

Lotus Felix, CEO, Lotusbrains Studio

Research and Prioritize Audience Pain Points

If you already have a niche, congratulations. Now you need to use platforms like Quora, Reddit, and Twitter and filter the searches to see what topics or issues keep your potential audience up at night. After that, prioritize the cases/pain points in order of urgency and create podcast episodes.

The monetization part starts when your listeners identify with the pain points you address. From there, you can begin doing product tie-ins and affiliate marketing.

For example, besides making natural placements in your recordings, you can transcribe each episode, optimize it for SEO and publish the text as a blog post at the bottom of each recording. In the article, you can then place your affiliate links.

Ernest Bio Bogore, Content Strategist, Creatory

Be Passionate 

To have a successful podcast, speaking about something you’re passionate about is crucial. Choosing to embark on topics you care about illuminates your energy, a necessary factor to draw in new listeners. 

You build an engaged and loyal listener base by tapering your podcast towards a niche audience and delving deep into the content you’re passionate about. And as your podcast grows in popularity, so will your opportunities to generate revenue and influence an even larger audience. And the best part is you won’t get bored!

Mina Elias, Founder & CEO, Trivium

Avoid Inconsistency

People are attracted to consistency; they want to know what to expect out of their interests. Therefore, a podcaster should stay as consistent as possible by establishing an obvious message from the moment of the podcast’s first air date.

It’s crucial to remain as consistent as possible with your podcasting style, schedule, and theme. Consistency means that you stay on topic, you stay true to your beliefs, and you stay true to your brand. This will help your listeners know what to expect from your podcast as a whole, and what to expect from new episodes.

Being consistent also helps you connect with your listeners. Listeners that understand who you are and what you talk about will form a connection. While it may not be a face-to-face connection, it’s a connection nonetheless.

Listeners who feel connected become regular listeners, effectively driving up your number of listeners and building brand awareness, two very important elements of a successful, money-making podcast.

Ana Codallo, CTO, Key Opinion Leaders

Remember Your Listener’s Familiarity Level

With setting up a podcast that is about something professional, such as a specific type of business or industry sector, I think it’s really important that you don’t overfill the podcast with industry experts. 

While this is a good idea for you to engage people you would have already engaged, it may end up turning off the more casual listener, or somebody who is not at the same level in your industry.

Having a co-host who is not as much of an expert can be extremely beneficial for that podcast, as they will ask the questions that the typical viewer might want to be asked, allowing them to understand more of what is being discussed and making the podcast more human and engaging for everyone. 

For example, in a legal podcast, having somebody who might interject asking for more information about the words being used can really help the listener gain more from the podcast than two experts assuming their listeners know all the official lingo.

Martin Gasparian, Attorney & Owner, Maison Law

50 Things I Like About Myself

I was challenged by my therapist to write a list of 50 Things I Like About Myself. Here’s what I came up with. I hope it inspires your own list!

My Therapist’s Challenge

Recently, my therapist challenged me to write a list of 50 things I like about myself. I struggled with this because self love is not something I’m very good at. But, I managed to get 20 on the list by the time we had our next session.

She pressed on though and kept encouraging me to write the other 30. This has been going on for a few weeks, but I kept resisting. I just didn’t think I could fill out 50 things I like about myself.

For the last several days, my homework was to do some self reflection. She said for 15 minutes a day, go into a quiet space (without your phone!) and just sit with your thoughts. Another thing I’m not good at – sitting with my thoughts generally sends me into a panic and before I know it I’m scrolling Facebook and TikTok.

Still, a deal is a deal and I promised myself I was going to give this a fair shot. So, today is the fourth day in a row that I’ve left my phone on the desk and sat in a chair staring into the abyss. The first day, I unexpectedly just started crying through most of my 15 minutes and it actually turned into a couple of hours of self reflection.

Day two – well, I only sat for 45 minutes, but I started to gain some clarity on myself and what I want from this crazy thing called life.

Day three – that ended up being quite a doozy because it brought up some thoughts that turned into a roughly four hour discussion with my husband about things we want to do and things we need to do.

Then today – for some reason, the list of 50 things I like about myself was heavy on my mind. So heavy in fact, that I sat outside in a chair staring at the sky stumped about what I could add to my journal before my next therapy appointment on Wednesday.

When I got hot enough from the sun switching positions and hitting my skin, I came inside, and I opened my mind even further.

A Moment of Inspiration

I decided to read some lists others have written about self love to inspire me to think more deeply about things I actually like or love about myself.

I was surprised as I started thinking about myself how much more easily I wrote out 30 more things I like or love about me. I added my full list of 50 things to a special sheet to re-read in moments of self doubt.

Below is my list of 50 things I like about myself. I share it in hopes that it will inspire you to write your own list. Self love is important, and we all need to learn how to love ourselves. I’m still very much a work in progress, but I feel like this is the best start on my path I’ve had in years!

Finally! 50 Things I Like About Myself

  1. My cooking. I’m a damn good cook. My husband and I barely like to go out to eat anymore because we prefer my cooking
  2. My creativity. I love how creative I am in business and in life
  3. My boobs. 😆 it feels funny to say that, but I’ve always loved having bigger boobs
  4. My smile. When it’s an authentic one, I feel prettier
  5. My bright blue eyes.
  6. How I take care of my dogs
  7. I’m good at drawing from examples. Like I can look at a cartoon and draw the characters pretty well.
  8. I like that I’m pretty good at talking to strangers
  9. I want to help other people
  10. I am always trying to learn something new
  11. I like that I’m always trying to think of ways to make my life easier and better
  12. That I advocated for myself to try therapy again
  13. That I’m trying to improve my life and mindset
  14. That I’ve not given up on life
  15. I love how much I love to laugh
  16. I love my ability to make others laugh and feel better
  17. Though my feet hurt right now (I have plantar fasciitis), I love that they have carried me through life so far
  18. I love my hands that type out my blogs and articles for myself and my clients.
  19. I’m loyal, though I fear I’m too loyal at times
  20. I like that I always want to do the right thing even when I don’t know what that is
  21. I’m always looking for an easy solution to complex problems – thinking outside of the box is a good thing
  22. I like my desire to see the world – I like that I’m open to seeing and trying new things
  23. I like my sense of adventure – even when it’s not as open-minded and free as I would prefer
  24. I like my ability to take random ingredients and come up with new dishes
  25. I like that I don’t want to just quit people or projects
  26. My legs that have supported me and been strong for me
  27. My cute haircut and my willingness to randomly chop off all my hair when I want a change
  28. I like that I care so fiercely for others – my open and loving heart is a good quality
  29. I went against what others told me and married my husband when I did. We celebrate 16 years Friday 7/29/22
  30. I like that I try new things even when I’m uncomfortable
  31. I like my rhythm and the way I can move my body when a good beat comes on
  32. I like my singing voice most of the time 😆. I love learning songs and then singing them
  33. My ability to retain lyrics and movie lines and blurt them out at random
  34. I like my sense of humor. I find some things funny that other people don’t, but that’s okay. Life is more fun w/ laughter
  35. I love my ability to love others
  36. When I do ask questions to get answers to things I don’t know/understand. Even when I feel silly asking questions, I like what the answers reveal. I want to ask even more questions and feel comfortable asking
  37. I like how many chances I give people. Though sometimes I shouldn’t with some people, I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt
  38. I’m looking for the good in others – I want to believe everyone has good in them
  39. I love my curiosity – I want to know alllllllll the things
  40. I love that I want to share the success stories of others. I want everyone to succeed, and I love sharing the cool things they are doing
  41. I love that I’m able to take care of myself. I am grateful I can wash my body, brush my teeth, cook for myself, etc…
  42. I love my woo woo and witchy ways. I abandoned that side of myself for too long, and now I’m embracing my inner witch and loving it
  43. I love that I always try to finish what I start. Though I have abandoned many projects, I’m grateful and proud of the ones I completed!
  44. I like that I got my college degree. Even though I don’t really use it, I’m proud of myself for completing my education to the level I did, and honestly think about getting my masters and PhD someday
  45. I like that I am 37 years old. While it bugs me I haven’t accomplished as much as I want to by now, I feel fortunate to be 37 because it wasn’t that long ago (in the grand scheme of things) where women and men didn’t make it to this age
  46. I love that ideas pour out of me as effortlessly as water from a waterfall. I’m a constant source of ideas
  47. I like that I take risks. Some of my big risks have blown up in my face, but some actually turned out okay
  48. I love that I have achieved many of my goals. I REALLY want to work on remembering this when I’m feeling down or like a failure – I’ve actually accomplished a lot – some things that people dream about and never achieve I have done
  49. I love my commitment to making my life better. I will never stop trying to make things better
  50. I love that I have survived 100% of my bad days and will continue surviving!!!

Your Turn – Write Your Own List!

Like I said, my hope with sharing this list is to inspire you to think about what you love about yourself. Here are some links to some of the posts I read that inspired me to finally complete my own list:

100 Things I Love About Myself by Olga Phoenix

40 Things I Love About Myself by Niklas Göke

65 Things I Love About Myself by Mindy of This Fairy Tale Life

20 Things I Freaking Love About Myself by Sara of Fabulous & Fatigued

How Video Can Help Build Your Brand and Grow Your Online Presence

Image Source

Do you ever feel like you’re invisible online? You post great content, but it seems like nobody’s noticing. The good news is that there are things you can do to help people see you and your work. One of the best ways to get noticed and build your brand is using videos.

According to Wyzowl’s recent research, 93% of marketing personnel that use video says it helped them increase brand awareness. People are also interested in learning about new products and services through videos. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed said they’d prefer watching a short video rather than reading text on the page or listening to an audio version.

Video is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal, but many people are unaware of how to make use of it or what it can do for them. In this blog, I’m going to show you how it can be used as an effective strategy for building brand awareness and growing your online presence.

Video Content Ideas

Unlike traditional text-based content, videos are visually engaging and help capture potential viewers’ interest. To create effective video content, you need to come up with various interesting ideas. Here are some content ideas to get you started:

1. Introduce yourself and your brand

With regard to growing your online presence, nothing beats a great video introducing yourself and your brand. Regardless if you’re just getting started or an old business looking for new exposure, video can be a key component in exponentially growing both yourself as well as what it stands for.

First, think about what makes your brand unique. Are you known for your high-quality products? Or maybe you’re known for offering excellent customer service? Either way, focus on highlighting those key strengths in your video. Once you’ve imposed who you are as a brand, it’s time to introduce people to your team members.

If possible, try to get interviews with your employees to showcase their talents and personalities. Add some dynamic music or cool graphics if you want to really ramp up the energy level of your video. And most importantly, be sure to hit all the big takeaways at the end so that viewers remember what makes you special.

2. Showcase your products or services in action

This could be a short commercial explaining how your product works. Keep in mind that potential customers will be watching your video, so you want to make sure that they come away with a positive impression of your business.

You can also do a live stream product demonstration. This is an excellent way to show off your product in real-time and answer any viewers’ questions. People generally have short attention spans, so you want to make certain you can hold their attention throughout the entire video.

Remember to test your device camera before you do the live stream. You don’t want any unexpected issues popping up while you’re on live. And finally, make sure that you have good lighting and sound quality so that viewers can see and hear what you’re doing clearly.

3. Share customer testimonials

Many businesses are choosing to rely on video testimonials as a way to showcase the positive experiences of their customers. These videos allow potential customers to hear firsthand accounts of how well your product or service works, and they serve as an effective tool for promoting brand awareness.

Furthermore, video testimonials engage viewers uniquely and personally, allowing them to connect with others who have used your product in question. When selecting customers to feature in your testimonial videos, choose those that are articulate and have a strong story to share.

4. Make videos that are funny or entertaining

Funny or entertaining videos are a great way to create a buzz online and promote your brand. After all, who doesn’t love to laugh? While you want to make sure that your video is entertaining, you also don’t want to lose sight of your overall message.

Your video should be related to your brand in some way, so be strategic about the topics you choose. For example, if your company sells cat toys, try creating a funny commercial or sketch that incorporates cats somehow.

The key is to think creatively and find ways to approach your content from an unexpected angle. Just make sure that it’s still on-brand! You can even consider doing a live stream of your employees doing something silly; just be sure to keep it light-hearted and fun.

5. Create a behind-the-scenes video

People like getting a behind-the-scenes look at how things are being done. Your customers will be interested in seeing what you’re all about, so don’t be afraid to give them an inside peek.

You can do this in multiple different ways. For example, you could create a video that takes viewers on a tour of your company headquarters or production facility. If your business is online-only, you can still share a behind-the-scenes look at how the product is being made and shipped to customers.

Related: Check out Veed.io and learn about their AI Video Generator!

Creating a Successful Strategy

Let’s say you now have your video content in place, and you’re ready to get started. Now what? The first consideration should be your overall strategy. Here are some tips to make sure that you’ll get the most out of your video content:

1. Upload your videos to YouTube and other video sharing platforms

By uploading your videos to multiple platforms, you’ll be able to reach a wider range of people. Not only will this give you a larger audience for your content, but it can also help you to attract new viewers and subscribers. It will also give you a chance to interact with other brands and build up your network.

2. Optimize your videos for search engines

Just like with written content, there are a number of ways to make sure your videos are as search engine friendly as possible. Start by doing your research and using keywords throughout your video title, description, and tags. You’ll also want to make sure your videos are high quality and engaging – after all, that’s what people are looking for when searching online.

3. Embed your videos on your website and blog

By embedding them directly into your content, you allow visitors to easily and quickly engage with your videos without leaving your site. Furthermore, the more visitors watch and interact with your videos, the better they will rank in search engine results. This helps to boost traffic to your site, increase brand awareness, and grow your audience overall.

4. Share your videos on social media

Start with the platforms you’re already using. If you’re active on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, share your videos there first. Find some relevant hashtags and use them when you post. This will help people searching for specific content find your videos more easily.

Bottom Line

When people see faces and hear voices, they get a sense of who you are and what your brand is all about. This is why video becomes such an important tool if you want to grow your online presence and build your brand.

By producing engaging video content and creating a successful marketing strategy, you’ll be on your merry way to increasing views and engagement across the board. And with all the benefits video offers, there really isn’t any reason not to start planning your shoot today.

About the Author Jennesa Ongkit is a content writer for VEED.IO. She has a passion for writing and enjoys exploring new ways to communicate ideas. Jennesa has a background in marketing and advertising, and she loves using her skills to help businesses grow. When she’s not writing, Jennesa enjoys spending time with her family and playing with her pets.

Student Loan Costs: Are You Feeling the Crush?

Feeling the crush of student loan costs? This guest post from Money.com may help.

Maybe you’re a high school senior looking forward to graduating and attending a fab four-year college next fall. Or a college grad hoping to maximize your skills base and earning potential by pursuing a graduate degree. I don’t blame you—or your parents, if they’re helping to finance your education—if you’re stunned by the cost of higher education today. Or perhaps you’re just one of the 43 million Americans who currently carry student debt and wake up every morning wondering how you’re going to manage to pay off your loans. The average college graduate in the US today has somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000 in student debt.

That’s a big nut to crack. But by most accounts, it’s worth chewing on. A recent report from the Georgetown University Center on Education revealed that college graduates are likely to earn more than $1.6 million in their lifetimes than their high school graduate friends. That’s a big incentive for getting that diploma to hang on the wall.

But like a million ads for a million different products have asked before, “Why pay more?” Whether you’re just investigating college costs or already sitting on a bunch of student loans, you need a strategy. The goal? Paying as little as you can for the high-quality education you deserve. Let’s take a look at a few of the steps you can take to put that plan into action.

Best Tip of All: Let Someone Else Foot the Bill

No, we don’t mean your parents—though many students do rely on their folks for financial support while they’re pursuing their degrees. And that’s okay! Moms and dads want to do their best for their kids. Let them do their loving parent thing. It’s why you were born. But keep in mind that you can reduce the financial burden on them—and yourself—by pursuing scholarships, fellowships, and other financial awards. The organizations that fund these scholarships run the gamut from colleges and universities themselves to corporate entities like Coca-Cola to labor unions and professional societies. According to a 2022 report, more than 1.7 million such grants are awarded every year. Private scholarships alone total of $7.4 billion annually. Students who receive scholarships receive an average of more than $7000 per year. So do yourself a favor. Seek out websites that aggregate and organize scholarship information for you. Put your name on some scholarship alert mailing lists. And make friends with the financial aid officers at the university you choose to attend. When you’re trying to fund your college education, free money is the best money.

The Wild World of Student Loans

Granted, you might not be able to fund your entire college education through scholarships. That’s when borrowing money comes into play. The vast majority of students take out student loans. In fact, 79 million Americans have taken out student loans. Students borrow an average of $30,000 over the course of their college careers. Some loans are funded privately, but many students also take advantage of federal student loans. Each type of loan has its pros and cons

So what’s the best kind of student loan for you? That depends on a few factors.

Federal Loan Perks Explained

A well-qualified workforce drives the US economy so it’s no wonder that the federal government supports higher education. How much support? There are about 1.7 trillion dollars in federal student debt out there. Students flock to federal loans because they offer some significant perks. Let’s run through them.

  • Applying for a federal student loan is easier than applying for a private loan. Forone thing, there’s no need to supply a credit history when you apply. That’s especially important for younger students who have not accumulated or paid off any debt. Most high school seniors don’t even have a credit score yet.
  • You don’t need a co-signer to apply for a federal student loan. So if your parents or another family member can’t back you up on a loan, you can still get the money you need to pursue your degree.
  • Federal loans come with fixed interest rates. That means you can lock in a rate for the term of your loan. Interest rates are relatively low right now, but they’re predicted to rise precipitously—and soon. So it’s likely that locking in a low rate now can save you thousands over the lifetime of your loan.
  • Federal loan interest rates are typically lower than private loan interest rates. Right now, the rate is hovering around 3.73% for undergraduate students. Private loan interest rates vary according to your credit score and the term of the loan you take out. And they vary from day to day. For the month of April 2022, the average private student loan interest rate was 4.78%. The rates for a 20-year loan are higher than that. Federal student loans may offer loan repayment terms up to 30 years. If you choose a longer term, your monthly payments will be lower, but the lifelong cost of your loan will be higher.
  • The interest on a federal student loan may not begin to accrue until you graduate. That varies on the type of loan you take out. This feature is attached to Direct Subsidized federal loans only, which are granted on a needs basis. With most private student loans, interest begins to accrue from the date you receive your funding.
  • With a federal loan, your repayment options may be income-driven. So when you’re just starting out in your career and aren’t earning as much as an experienced employee, your monthly payments may be more affordable.
  • Federal loans may be more forgiving than private loans. For example, when the economy tanked at the beginning of the global pandemic, the government paused loan payments to give students and borrowers a chance to recover. Payments on federal loans are still paused. They’re scheduled to begin again this August, but some experts are predicting that the pause may last into 2023.
  • Federal loans offer deferment and forbearance options. Let’s say you hit a rough patch: you lose your job or suddenly have unexpected medical bills to pay. Federal student loans offer the option of suspending—sometimes for up to a year— while you’re resolving your financial problems. Keep in mind that interest may continue to accrue during this period.

So Why Would Anyone Take Out a Private Loan?

Given the many advantages that federal loans offer, why might you consider investigating private student loans? For one reason, it’s just good business to educate yourself on all of your options. But there are other reasons, too.

  • Private student loan rates range widely, even from the same lender. The interest rate you’re offered will depend chiefly on your creditworthiness. Sometimes, particularly if you have a co-signer with a terrific credit profile and take out a relatively short loan, a private lender may offer you a lower rate than the government can. Private student loans are best for borrowers with excellent credit histories.
  • Private loans have higher limits. The amount of money you’re allowed to borrow from the federal government may not cover the entire cost of your education. In fact, it likely won’t. As an undergraduate, you can borrow about $31,000 in federal money. Even if you attend a public university, you may have to spend considerably more than federal loan limits allow. If you’re attending a private college and have not secured any scholarships, that’s almost a dead certainty. With private student loans, you can typically borrow up to the full cost of your education.
  • Private loans offer greater term flexibility. If you’re in a position to take out a very short-term loan, you can pay a low rate and also decrease the overall cost of borrowing money for your education. Private lenders offer variable loan terms and there’s no penalty for early payment.
  • Private loans are available with fixed or variable interest rates. Federal loans are only available as fixed-rate loans. So depending on where interest rates go, you could wind up spending more as you repay your federal loans. If you take out a variable-rate loan through a private lender, your rate will fluctuate periodically. That can be a blessing or a curse. When interest rates go down, the interest you pay on a private student loan will probably decrease.

Managing the Debt You Already Have

Whether you’re mid-stream in your college career or mid-stream in paying off your loans, you can often find a way of shrinking the chunk of money you pay in student debt. It’s a good habit to periodically investigate whether student loan refinancing can save you some cash. When you refinance your student loans, your lender will pay them off. You can then start fresh with a clean slate.

You may find yourself in several circumstances that could make refinancing your student loans a smart move:

  • This one’s a no-brainer: you took out your student loans when rates were higher than they are now.
  • Your finances have improved and, along with it, your credit score. You may be earning more now. Perhaps you’ve been diligent about making on-time payments on all of your credit accounts. That’s the kind of thing lenders take positive note of and reward you for with lower rates.
  • You can afford higher monthly payments now. Refinancing into a shorter-term loan can earn you a better interest rate.

Next to a home mortgage, your student loans may well represent the largest debt you ever take on. Understanding the ins and outs of education financing will help you make better decisions for yourself, whether you’re taking out new loans or refinancing existing loans. There are vast resources available online to help you get up to speed. And if you can’t find the answers you need online, don’t be afraid to ask questions—whether you bring them to the financial aid office of the school you’re attending, your lender, or your financial advisor. And as you would when considering any large purchase, before you take out a loan, make sure you shop around.

Author Bio:

Susan Doktor is a journalist, business strategist, and principal at Branddoktor. She covers a wide range of personal finance topics, including debt and investing. Her contribution to this blog comes to us courtesy of Money.com.

101 Best Affiliate Programs for Bloggers 

Are you a blogger who wants to earn passive income on the side? If so, it’s time to get into affiliate marketing! In this post, I’m sharing the best affiliate programs for bloggers.

Want to just jump to our list of the best affiliate programs for bloggers?? Click here!

How to Choose the Best Affiliate Programs for Bloggers

When you’re just starting out as an affiliate marketer, you might feel a bit of overwhelm just trying to determine which products you should be promoting. You want to cater to the needs of your audience, and you also don’t want to waste time promoting things that won’t pay off for you.

There are several ways to go about choosing the best affiliate marketing program so that both consumers and you, as an affiliate, will feel as if your needs are being met. Financially, you want the best return possible for every review that you create.

But you never want to gain that money as a result of misleading or disappointing your followers. Choosing a reliable, high quality affiliate program will not only ensure that your promotions convert into sales, but it will prevent refunds that can take your commissions back as quickly as you earned them.

Pick Affiliate Programs That Have the Right Types of Products

If you are new to affiliate marketing, you have probably been instructed or instinctively believe that you need to pick an affiliate marketing program that will earn you the most money.

That is definitely an important aspect of being an affiliate marketer, but it’s not the most important one. If you fail to serve the needs of your followers, you will either not generate any commissions whatsoever – or the sales that you do convert will quickly be refunded for a lack of quality and relevancy.

You need to focus initially on finding the affiliate programs that have the right kinds of products for your target audience. Think about what pain points or obstacles they have in their life, and what products you feel can help them overcome those.

Another angle that you can focus on are the benefits or improvements that people want to enjoy in their lives. If you can find products that will give them better quality of life in some way, it’s a good sign that you can earn from your promotions.

Some marketers will oddly enough promote products that don’t have much to do with their target audience or their needs, just because they see it converting well in another niche.

There are many ways you can find crossover niche topics, if you are struggling to find many affiliate marketing programs in the overall broad niche that you chose. For example, if you are in the stress niche, you can find products for sleep, exercise, and other topics that tie in nicely with your original one.

Evaluate the Quality of the Product

Once you find the programs that have the types of products your target audience will find useful and relevant to their lives, you want to take some time to evaluate the quality of the products you are considering promoting.

Even though someone else has created and is selling the product, you will be acting as the middleman that connects a trusting audience with the vendor. So you will share the responsibility of whether or not this product is a viable option to spend money on.

As an affiliate, you need to think about how your loyal followers will feel after they have purchased a particular product and used it. If you are sending them offers for low-quality products, they will no longer trust your recommendations, and you will ultimately sabotage yourself and lose money.

If you are promoting info products, you can ask for a review copy that will allow you to go through the product and make a genuine recommendation or review about it. If it’s a tangible product, you may have to purchase it yourself, so that you can report on things like durability, ease of use, and so on.

Look Into the Reputation of the Vendor

Something that you may overlook, especially if you see a product on a bestseller list, is the reputation of the vendor. Many online entrepreneurs are awarded accolades and make hundreds, if not thousands of sales, regardless of the fact that their product fails to deliver in terms of quality.

Sometimes, it may not even be the quality of the product, but other reputation issues that you want to be aware of. Keep in mind that when you recommend a product to someone, you’re not just recommending the product itself.

That customer, the one you sent to this individual, is going to be put on their list and manipulated over the course of time. Sometimes, they are treated very well and they will appreciate that you connected them with a new resource.

But if the reputation of the vendor is one where they mistreat their subscribers, such as scamming them out of their money or making poor recommendations to them, you will need to shoulder some of that blame.

Not only do you have to look at the reputation of the vendor, but you need to look at whether or not they have had any problems in paying commissions to top-performing affiliates.

You want to make sure that you will be paid what you are owed, and that may include the prizes you have won in a contest. Sometimes, people will discuss this type of bad behavior on social media platforms, and sometimes they will name these unreputable vendors in forums.

Analyze the Type of Experience Your Customer Will Have

While product quality and reputation are both important, you also want to think about what the experience will be for your customer after they purchase a product from a specific individual.

Customer experience includes a wide range of things. It starts with their ability to see and navigate the sales page. You want to make sure that the sites and programs you are sending people to are mobile-friendly and that they load quickly for your subscribers.

The next part of the process will be the purchasing experience. Ideally, you want to go through this process yourself so that you can see if there are any obstacles to purchasing or downloading the product.

After they buy it, are they shown the one-time offer upgrade? Are they sent to a download page or are they emailed a download link? If any of these steps are skipped, you may want to reach out to the vendor and ask them to remedy the situation before you mail out your promo for it.

Another thing you want to consider is what the post-purchase experiences are like for the people that you are sending to this vendor. For example, is this vendor someone who is responsive to customer service questions?

What kind of emails are they going to be sent by the vendor after they purchase a product? You want to know if you are setting your followers up to be spammed incessantly or if they will be treated well by the new vendor.

You can’t micromanage every vendor on a regular basis. Predicting the future of how they will conduct themselves is out of your hands. But what you can do is look at previous behavior to see if there are any complaints about the experience others have had with this vendor, and go through the process yourself to see what you think.

Choose an Affiliate Program That Offers You the Best Compensation Opportunities

Now we get to the part that you are probably most interested in. Once you have ensured that your customer will have the best possible experience from start to finish, you can consider selecting an affiliate program that is based on your financial needs.

After all, you are becoming an affiliate marketer so that you can earn extra money online, whether it is from digital or tangible products. The first thing you want to look at is the percentage you will be paid by the vendor as an affiliate whenever you make a sale.

Most vendors will split the profits with you 50/50. You will usually see a 50% commission that you can earn across the board, which includes not only the front end but also the one-time offer upgrades and any downsells, too.

From time to time, you will have a vendor set your commission at 100% for a front-end product. They plan on offering a low ticket, front-end item so that they can get many sales and affiliates promoting for it.

They make their profits through the rest of the funnel, on higher priced upsells and downsells – not to mention future promotions that will go out to this buyer, who is now on a list as a subscriber.

In addition to considering the commissions you will be earning, you want to look and see how many items are in their funnel, and what you could be earning as a whole with each promotion.

Next, you have to look at the amount that the product is selling for. If the price point is $7, and you are earning 50%, that’s only $3.50. But if the product is $27, you stand to earn much more.

A lower price point is definitely okay if you are just starting out and want to gain some good statistics for your username on a specific platform. Or, if the vendor is willing to offer 100% commission for a lower price point, you might want to consider that as well.

Sometimes, neither of those are true, and you simply promote a low ticket, 50% commission product because you know it’s a perfect fit for your audience and you want them to be aware of it.

Another way you can analyze an affiliate program to see if you will make money through your promotions is by looking to see if they have one of two things: a cash prize contest, or some type of residual payment option that will pay you month after month, such as a membership.

Select Vendors Who Offer Support for Their Affiliates

Lastly, you want to choose affiliate marketing programs that will support you as a beginner affiliate. There are many vendors who will provide you with many resources that can help you hit the ground running.

Look for a JV (joint venture) page that includes demo videos or screenshots, swipe files that you can use in your emails, banner ads that you can place on your blog or in your e-mail when you write a review, and most importantly – their contact information so that you can reach out and get the support that you need.

By paying attention to these six factors when you are choosing an affiliate program to promote as a new marketer, you will increase the odds that you will have a profitable and successful career reviewing and promoting products to your target audience.

101 Best Affiliate Programs for Bloggers 

Are you a blogger who wants to earn passive income on the side? If so, it’s time to get into affiliate marketing! Below is a list of 101 of the best affiliate programs for bloggers. Let’s dive in!

  1. A2 Hosting
  2. Adobe
  3. Amazon Associates
  4. Awin
  5. Barefut Essential Oils
  6. Barkbox
  7. Beautylish
  8. BestSelf
  9. BH Cosmetics
  10. Bluechic
  11. Bluehost
  12. Blurb
  13. Bonsai
  14. Booking.com
  15. Buzzsprout
  16. Castmagic
  17. Chewy
  18. CJ
  19. Clickbank
  20. Clickfunnel
  21. Cloudways
  22. ConvertKit
  23. Creativebug
  24. DestroyDepression
  25. Dreamhost
  26. eBay Partner Network
  27. Elegant Themes
  28. Elementor
  29. Engage Bay
  30. Equifax
  31. Etsy
  32. Fitbit
  33. Fiverr
  34. Flexjobs
  35. FlexOffers
  36. FoxyNails
  37. Freshbooks
  38. Generation Tea
  39. GoDaddy
  40. Gold Medal Wine Club
  41. Grammarly
  42. Greater Minds
  43. GreenGeeks
  44. Health IQ
  45. Hello Fresh
  46. HoneyMoney
  47. HostGator
  48. Hostinger
  49. INeedMotivation
  50. Interact
  51. Jillian Michaels
  52. Kinsta
  53. LiquidWeb
  54. Makeup Geek
  55. MindBodyRecovery
  56. Mindvalley
  57. Mosaic Weighted Blankets
  58. Namecheap
  59. Native Remedies
  60. Nomatic
  61. Nordstrom
  62. Online Therapy
  63. Overstock
  64. Panic Away
  65. Pepperjam
  66. Petco
  67. Physician’s Choice
  68. PicMonkey
  69. QuickBooks
  70. Rakuten LinkShare
  71. Razer
  72. Scrapbook
  73. SellHealth
  74. Semrush
  75. ShareASale
  76. Shopify
  77. Simple Truths
  78. SiteGround
  79. Skillshare
  80. Skimlinks
  81. Skyscanner
  82. Spocket
  83. StitchFix
  84. Styled Stock Society
  85. Sunbasket
  86. Tailwind
  87. Target
  88. Teachable
  89. The California Wine Club
  90. Thinkific
  91. Thrive Market
  92. TransUnion
  93. Travelpayouts
  94. Tripadvisor
  95. Tula
  96. Twitch
  97. Ultimate Bundles
  98. Vitamix
  99. Wix
  100. WP Engine
  101. Zazzle

9 Ways to Increase the Monetization of Your Online Business

If you are looking for a way to improve your online business, this is an excellent place to start. These nine strategies will help you increase revenue and get more out of each customer.

9 Ways to Increase the Monetization of Your Online Business

If you are an online marketer, chances are you’re a self-starter who prides yourself on being driven in the pursuit of a successful entrepreneurial career. But even those who have no struggles with productivity or with learning the ropes can hit a wall when it comes to maximizing their profit potential.

What often happens is a niche marketer will immerse themselves in the tasks presented to them to complete a business model. For example, they might start off launching a blog as an affiliate marketer or create an info product that they sell on a third party platform.

What they don’t know is that there are additional ways they can boost the revenue that funnels into their bank account. Most of these options take very little added effort, but they must be activated in order to start working for you.

Below, you will find nine different strategies you can use to quickly increase your earnings and gain an edge over the competition. With this added income, you can outsource or delegate tasks you no longer want to do, reinvest in your business by getting new tools and taking new courses, or simply use it to enhance your lifestyle in any way you see fit.

Engage in Ongoing Affiliate Recruitment

There are many digital info product creators who have come online with a desire to share the information they know with others. This is a lucrative business model for many different niches.

You can launch a digital course on how to grow tomatoes, how to lose weight, how to start an online business, how to care for your pet, how to prevent your body from aging fast, and many thousands of other topics.

For most digital product creators, their focus is put on brainstorming an idea that will sell, making sure the information is thorough and valuable enough for the buyer, and learning how to technically put the pieces together so that the course goes live and people are able to buy it.

What you may be neglecting is one of the most lucrative aspects of your task list as an info product creator. Having a JV (joint venture) page in place is not enough to put a powerful affiliate strategy in your corner.

You have to identify and nurture relationships with top affiliates in your niche who will sign up to promote your product when it launches. Not only does this increase your immediate income, but it adds a huge number of subscribers to your list that can be profited from at a later date.

The key in activating this simple tip is to be strategic in how you look for and communicate with these prospective affiliates. You want to look on leaderboards, launch lists (aka: your competitors), and ask others who would be the best affiliates to have in your corner.

You have to take a little bit of time to get to know what they promote, how they promote (so that you can provide them with all of the readymade materials they need), and what kind of perks they’re looking for when they agree to send their list to your offer – then deliver for them.

Don’t rely on the simple task of creating a JV page and hoping the right people will sign up. Unless you have built an amazing reputation for your brand, chances are it will get ignored unless you are proactive in targeting the right affiliates.

Host a Contest for Your Launches

Another thing you can do to increase the monetization of your online business is to make sure you are hosting contests whenever you launch a new product. There are specific launch calendars available to online affiliates so that they can choose which promotions they engage in based on whether or not the vendor is offering prize money.

If you’ve never hosted a contest for your launches before, there are a few things you need to remember so that you don’t soil your reputation in the process. First and foremost, you always want to make sure that you have the funds to pay out the prize money at the end of the launch.

There is nothing worse than an affiliate giving it their all to promote you and help you make sales, only to not be rewarded in the end because you spent what should have been their prize money.

One way you can avoid this is to set minimums on the prizes. For example, first place may have a $500 prize attached to it, but the affiliate has to have a minimum of 100 sales.

As the money is coming into your online accounts, make sure you leave in enough to be able to payout the prizes. So if you know you have $750 in prize money to pay out, and you have taken in $2,000, you only want to withdraw $1,250 and leave the remainder in your account to send to the winners.

Don’t host a contest where the only winning prize is whether or not someone gets bragging rights. This is an embarrassment to both you and the affiliate. The prizes ideally should be cash, but sometimes vendors will offer things like laptops, smartphones, or even a trip somewhere.

If you do offer vacations or products, you will also want to have an alternative, equivalent monetary prize that they can choose if they don’t want that item. You will have to choose whether or not your contest is based on the number of sales someone has, such as 100 sales total, or if you want it based on the revenue earnings they brought in, such as $2,500.

You might have someone who wins who has fewer sales, but who has earned more because they heavily pushed the upgrade offers in your funnel. All of this can be determined when you technically set up the contest on the platform of your choice.

You want to make the prizes enough so that it’s worth it for an affiliate. Having a $25 first place prize is usually not enough to entice top affiliates to get onboard. At the same time, you don’t have to offer a $10,000 prize for a simple eBook course that you are selling for $17.

You can have more than one contest during your launch. You might have one for the first 24 hours, the last 24 hours, or one in the middle of the launch to help with lagging sales.

Check Past Content for Links that Convert

If you want to increase the income of your online efforts, you may want to spend time going back to fortify the profit potential of every piece of content that you have published for your brand.

Early on in your journey, chances are you neglected to add things like hyperlinks to your own products that you now have, offers that you are an affiliate for, and even banner ads that could be strategically positioned within the content to help you earn more.

Some people may only want to go back a week or two in an effort to check their content, but in terms of search engine optimization, you will want to go back to the very beginning.

Content that has been around longer may have had a better chance of being indexed and ranked in search engine results pages (SERPs) then newer content that you have recently published, that may not have been crawled by search bots yet.

This is a good time for you to check for broken links or outdated links that are pointed to products you may not want to promote anymore. Log into the dashboard of your blog and start at the beginning with the very first post, working your way toward the more recent content.

On each blog post, you want to make sure that you have included hyperlinks to your products or those you are an affiliate for. You may need to add a little bit of text if you don’t currently see any opportunities on that post for monetization.

You want to do the same with any kind of multimedia that you have online. This may include going back to old YouTube videos to add profit potential to your descriptions, or to your podcast episodes to do the same.

You can also go to your social media posts on sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and the elsewhere and double check to make sure that they are all monetized and that you have left no stone unturned.

Another place you want to check is in your email autoresponder system if you are utilizing follow up emails that are dripped out to your subscribers over time. Make sure your emails are all current and up-to-date in terms of the information they provide, and monetize each one in some way – whether it’s a link to one of your own products or to someone else is that you are an affiliate for.

Secure Special Deals for Your Subscribers

If you’re looking for a very quick and easy way to increase your online earnings, look no further than your competitors. The people that you are going up against in your niche will be launching products that you can promote as an affiliate.

What happens to most digital info product creators, is they launch a course or membership program that may or may not do well during the launch period. After that initial release, the product is often set on the back burner where it doesn’t make them as much money, if any.

Many digital info product creators have to continually release new products in order to keep their income flowing. You can look at their back catalog and find products that they have released in the past that you feel will be beneficial for your subscribers.

Reach out to these vendors and see if they can arrange for a special deal for your list. This can be for an evergreen, permanent promotion such as a blog post review – or, it can be a temporary promo code that they set up for you for a short time that you can email your list.

Sometimes, they will put the product back to launch pricing for you, which can be a significant discount for your subscribers. Other times, they may take more than one of their products and bundle it up together with others that they have and discount it as a whole.

There are some digital info product creators who, once a product launch period is over, take it off the market completely. Periodically, they may take it out of the vault for a short sale, and they may be able to arrange something like this for you and your list.

Allow Sponsors to Leverage Your Content

Another easy way that you can monetize your online business is to enable sponsors the ability to leverage your content for their own promotions. You want to be selective about who you allow to sponsor your content.

Obviously, you don’t want to allow anything unsavory or offensive. Ideally, the sponsor should be aligned with whatever niche market you are in. It wouldn’t make sense to have a sponsor involved in the toy niche if your niche is all about anti-aging.

When you allow sponsors to have a spot in your content, it can be done with text, image ads, with video or verbally. It all depends on where you are hosting your content and what makes the most sense.

For example, if you have a podcast that you want to allow sponsors to promote on, then that will be a verbal ad placement that is spoken at the beginning, middle, or end of the podcast.

If you are allowing someone to sponsor your TikTok account, then you will usually be creating short videos for their brand that you then upload to your channel. You can use hashtags and text along with the video to let people know it is a sponsored post.

You can do the same on other social media sites, such as Instagram, Snapchat, and even YouTube. You might be able to charge a different fee based on the placement of the sponsored ad or the length or size of the ad itself.

Turn on Creator Funds Whenever Possible

Many social media sites have built-in creator funds that you can tap into if you are a proficient content creator. Not only do you have to have good content that viewers, listeners, or readers feel is valuable, but you need to be releasing content on a regular basis.

If you have a large following on social media accounts, they will often invite you to be part of their creator incentive program. These are often not immediately lucrative to small accounts, but for those who have a large following, you can earn a lot of money.

Facebook now owns Instagram, but both sites have incentive programs as does Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Twitch. Go to the social media platform of your choice and look to see if they have a creator incentive program and find out what the requirements are in order to participate.

You also want to make sure that you are abiding by any rules that they set forth so that you don’t mistakenly lose your account and become ineligible for further monetization on their platform.

Then, begin researching strategies that are ethical and above-board (and allowed by the platform) to help you get more views and ultimately, more money from your content efforts on these social networking sites.

Host Live Events and Let Your Expertise Rake in Money

If you enjoy hosting live events on your social networking accounts, then you may want to use this talent to help you earn more with your channels. TikTok is probably the best example of a social networking app that allows creators to go live and profit from it.

With a minimum of 1,000 followers, you can begin going live on this app to your followers and also end up in the feed of people who don’t yet know you as they scroll through their For You Page.

If you are providing an entertaining or informative live event, they have the ability to send you gifts or tip you at that time. You can also put strategic monetized links in your bio that they can follow when you verbally give them a call to action to check it out.

There are many people who are raking in a lot of money with live TikTok streams who are doing nothing more than creating arts and crafts, scratching off lottery tickets, eating in front of the camera as if they are chatting with a friend over lunch, or giving great insight about a specific niche topic.

Before you start creating your own live events, make sure you get on the app and see what other people are doing so that you can beat the competition with something viewers find more engaging and also know how to prevent trolls from getting the best of you.

Flip Private Label Rights with a Goal of Pure Profits

If you have space online, whether it’s a blog on a domain that you own or social media profiles, pages and channels, then you have the ability to take what is called private label rights (PLR) content and monetize it without having done the work yourself.

You want to find a PLR producer who has a similar style to the content that you already upload to your accounts. That way, you have very little tweaking, if any, to do. Take the content and insert your own affiliate links or links to your products so that you can have a great return on your investment.

Private label rights are very inexpensive and you can find content in many different media formats. While text PLR is most prevalent, you can also find images such as social posters, video PLR, and even audio content that you can claim as your own and monetize any way you see fit.

30 Day Marketing Monetization Plan

Learn how to monetize your online marketing business and start bringing profits to your website in 30 days with this 30 Day Marketing Monetization Plan.

30 Day Marketing Monetization Plan

When you think of an online entrepreneur, you most likely automatically assume that the individual pursuing this type of career would maximize every chance they get to monetize their business.

The truth is, most online marketers get so wrapped up in the minute details of niche selection, content creation and launches that they fail to seize every opportunity to earn profits.

Many Internet marketers fail to succeed just because they forget – or don’t know how – to monetize their business. When it comes to earning, they primarily have tunnel vision for product launches and short term affiliate promos, and some aren’t even doing that yet – they’re just slapping up blog content and being baffled that it hasn’t converted for them.

The fact is, there are many opportunities that are overlooked, which could add up to a hefty sum of money streaming in on autopilot. These passive and proactive profits are what set experienced marketers apart from green ones.

Day 1: Find the Gaps in Your Online Monetization

When you are starting the process of monetizing your marketing efforts, there are a few days in the beginning where you have to analyze what you’re currently doing and take some steps to make sure you are generating a profit.

On day one of your 30 day plan, you will be conducting an audit of how you have currently been setting up your business for success financially. You need to look at your blog, your email autoresponder system, your products, your lead magnets, and all of your social media accounts and pinpoint exactly how often and how you are setting up some sort of monetization.

You might be shocked to find that very few of your blog posts have any type of link that would help you earn money in them. You may find that on social media, you are active and engaging, yet have no form of profit potential being shared.

For now, you just need to take stock of what you have done in the past and what kind of profits that has generated for you. After the 30 day plan is complete, you will be able to monitor the changes in your income and see how the improvements have helped.

Day 2: Gather the Links to All of Your Products

On the second day of your 30 day journey, you want to gather the links to each and every one of the products you have created and sell online. Whether they are links to content packs, courses, memberships, printable or even tangible products, you want to have all of the links readily available at your fingertips whenever you need them.

Make sure you have them organized in a way that is logical (with a short description to act as a reminder of what it is) so that if you need to pull a link to use in your online communications or content, it will only take you a split second.

If you make it difficult for you to find, you might end up passing up the opportunity to monetize a situation. You might be in a rush or tired, and instead of sharing the link that would earn you money, you simply send your product as a freebie or share the name of it.

Day 3: Apply for and Organize Links to Affiliate Programs

To get you ready for maximum profit potential, you need to take a day to find products that you feel will convert well with your target audience and apply to their affiliate program.

As you do with your own product links, you need to organize these affiliate links in a logical manner. For example, you might have a category for courses that teach people things, a category for tools they may want to invest in, and so on.

These are going to be links to affiliate products that you can promote on an ongoing basis. This is not where you will be housing affiliate links for a specific, temporary launch that someone is having.

Day 4: Set Up Strategic Coupon Codes for Your Products

Even if you don’t use these regularly, you want to set up an evergreen coupon code for each of your products that you can give to a specific affiliate or customer directly whenever you feel it is appropriate.

You can place these codes in a separate file of their own, or beside the links to each of your products that you have organized. You might want to make more than one discount code, such as one that takes a little bit off the price of the product, or one that takes a significant amount off.

It’s good to have these coupon codes readily prepared and available for you to use anytime you need them so that you don’t have to stop what you’re doing and go through the process each and every time.

If you are regularly communicating with your target audience, and you recognize that some people maybe on a budget where they can’t afford your product, you’ll be able to quickly pull the coupon code to share with them and make the sale rather than miss it.

Day 5: Approach Vendors for Special Deals that Benefit You and Your List

In addition to having your own discounts for customers and for affiliates to use with their audience, you want to spend a day securing evergreen coupons with some of the vendors whose products you will be recommending on a regular basis.

Make sure you specify that you would like it to have an indefinite activation, and not something with a beginning and end date. This will work best for evergreen courses and tools, but not so much for short-term launches.

Sometimes, you will find vendors who can set up a separate sales page and listing on a third party platform that is specific for your customers. These will usually begin with some sort of wording such as, “For Friends of (your name)…”

Day 6: Turn Your Posts Into Partial Product Reviews

Now you are going to begin the process of going through your existing, current, and future content and updating it with whatever form of monetization you feel would work best.

First, start by going back through the blog posts that are performing best for you in terms of traffic. They may not be converting into cash for you yet, so you need to study each one and see where you have failed to monetize it so that you can add a bit of revenue.

One of the best ways to add a form of income to your blog posts is to spot those moments where you have mentioned some sort of product or strategy. For example, you may have mentioned in passing that you conducted some keyword research.

Take time to create a call out or separate section of that blog post that explains which keyword tool you use, and why. Make sure you link to it with an affiliate link and any type of discount code that you have for your readers.

As you continue publishing now and in the future, have a step on your publishing checklist that course is you to pinpoint somewhere within the content that you can find a product to create a mini review of within the post.

Another example would be if you created a blog post about how you lost wait after turning 40. You may have traditionally just shared your story as a way to bond with your readers, but now you want to find an opportunity to include a few lines that point them to a product that you recommend to help them with the same.

You can include a short segment that introduces them to a course or tool that will help them if they are on the same journey and are struggling. You don’t need to turn the entire blog post into an infomercial, but understand that your audience has landed on your page for help, so you want to go above and beyond your storytelling and give them direction they can act on, even if that means sending them to a product they need to buy.

Day 7: Monetize the Tip Articles You Publish

Whenever you are sharing tips on your blog, such as, “How to Lose 10 Pounds in 14 Days,” you are conveying valuable information to your readers at no cost. The key is to make sure that your content is effective enough that if your reader closed their browser and walked away, they would be content with what they learned.

However, when you add some form of monetization, such as a hyperlink to a product that you are an affiliate for, or one of your own products, you are helping them reach their goals faster and easier than if they only implemented the tips that you have shared.

You may have read various articles in magazines or online about tips for adhering to a keto diet plan, for example. These are usually one or two sentences long, and are meant to intrigue the reader so that they want to find out more.

You want to find the meaty courses that will take them by the hand and walk them through all of the intricate details of the direction they need to be on. For example, a simple tip blog may have advice that says, “Brace yourself for experiencing the keto flu.”

It might expand on it a little bit by explaining what the keto flu is. A full course about the keto diet would help the reader prevent the symptoms, and add more details about what they can do to quickly get over this issue.

Day 8: Use Case Studies Strategically Two Ways for Profits

Another way to monetize your online efforts is to use case studies as a way to generate profits. There are two different ways you can use these to your advantage. First, if you are an affiliate for a product (such as a course) that you, yourself want to go through, consider offering and in depth case study as a bonus for those who buy the product through your link.

Not only are you earning commission off of the sale of the product itself, but many people will buy through your link solely to access the case study where you share your thoughts about the implementation and results of using the product.

Another way that you can use case studies to your advantage is to conduct open case studies on your blog. These are perfect for evergreen products. you have to be careful not to share the details of the course (in terms of what it is teaching exactly) when you conduct a public case study for people who may not have purchased the product yet.

You can be fairly generic about it when you blog openly about your case study. You always want to include your affiliate link in the beginning, middle, and end of your blog post.

When you speak about the actions you have taken, you can tell the reader which section or module or chapter you are working on that day, how much time it took, what your opinion is of what you learned, and what the results were.

What you don’t want to do is give them a step-by-step account of what you did, because then you are not only infringing on the vendor’s knowledge that he or she expects people to pay for, but you are shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to affiliate commissions.

Day 9: Monetize Your Image Inserts on Blogs

Many bloggers understand the importance of breaking up long blocks of text with whitespace or with images. However, there are too many who use random niche relevant images and don’t take time to monetize them.

For example, if you are writing a blog post about how important it is to optimize your site for search engines, you might have traditionally gone to DepositPhotos or iStock Photos and downloaded an SEO stock image.

While this may help you achieve your goal of breaking up content and giving the readers eyes a break, you are missing out on the ability to add some form of revenue with this one action.

Instead of using a simple stock image, you can find an image such as any cover or course image on the joint venture (JV) page of a product that you want to promote and use that in the middle of your blog post.

Make sure that you hyperlink the image so that it directs your readers to the product using your affiliate link. You want to make sure that the link opens in a new tab so that you retain the customer on your blog without losing them.

They will have the opportunity to follow the new tab and purchase the product that you are recommending, and after the purchase is completed, exit that screen and continue reading your blog.

Day 10: Make Money with Your Sidebar Ads

Depending on the blog theme that you are using, you may have the opportunity to monetize your sidebar. The sidebar can be on the left or right side of your blog, and gives you ample space to include hyperlinks to products that you promote as an affiliate as well as links to your own products.

You can use text links or images that are either square or vertical. Just make sure that the dimensions fit accurately. Again, you want to make sure that these links and images open in a new tab so that you don’t lose your customer.

Many vendors and affiliate programs will provide you with readymade code that you can paste into your blog’s sidebar. They will be populated with your affiliate link. Make sure that you center the links and ad images in your sidebar so that they line up nicely.

Day 11: Cash in on Blog Post Banners to Other Offers

While you may be using banners in your sidebar, you can also use them underneath your header as well as directly in each piece of content that you publish on your blog. Consider linking out with banner ads to products that you feel are well known and respected.

You want to make sure that the products you are linking to using these banners will be around a long time. You don’t want to have to go back through hundreds of blog posts to update outdated affiliate links.

So for example, you may want to use a banner ad to something like HostGator, Aweber, or something else that’s been around for years. What you don’t want to do is use a banner ad under your header or in a blog post that links to the bestseller of the week on a third party platform.

These are the types of products that are often not supported by the vendor for very long, even if they have thousands of sales in the beginning. You don’t want to find out months down the road that you have a high traffic pulling blog post that has been linking out to a dead product, causing you missed sales.

Day 12: Don’t Forget to Monetize Your Lead Magnet

Whenever you are starting out as an online marketer, you may have big dreams of quickly and easily building a list of high converting subscribers. You do your very best to conduct research about their pain points and what type of lead magnet would pull them in and convince them to hand over their contact details.

You work hard to create something unique that your readers or viewers will find value in, regardless of the fact that it is a free gift. But did you know that you can also monetize your lead magnet?

For example, if you are in the online marketing niche and you want to build a list of newbies who are just starting out so that you can teach them the ropes, your lead magnet might be a free guide for how to start a business using a blog.

Make sure that you initially sit down and write a soup to nuts report that will knock their socks off and endear them to you. After you have completed the creation of your lead magnet, go back through each individual page and look for opportunities to add a hyperlink that will earn you money.

With the example mentioned above, you might link out to a domain registrar, a hosting company, a package of themes or plugins, a keyword tool, and even a private label rights (PLR) store so that they can hit the ground running with plenty of content for their blog.

Day 13: Include a Profit Strategy with Your Welcome Email

When you have a new subscriber opt into your list so that they can receive the free gift, you want to take time to welcome them to your list and explain a little bit about what it’s like to be on the receiving end of your emails.

You might talk about how often they should expect to hear from you, what types of content you will be providing to them, and invite them to connect with you directly so that you can meet their needs.

But what you can also do in the welcome email is add a single monetization link. you don’t want to have a spammy welcome email that starts off on the wrong foot. But, you can add a message such as, “Ready to get started? If you want to build your blog today, read my free gift about blog opportunities for WAH moms and then sign up for my newest blog course here to walk you through every step.”

This is not an in your face method of promotion, but instead allows the new subscriber to decide whether or not they are ready to take the next step. People like to be presented with choices, and this is something they can bookmark and come back to if they feel it’s too soon.

Day 14: Have a Profit Plan for All of Your Broadcast Emails

Everyone has a different strategy for how they send out emails. Some upload a series of follow up emails, while others prefer to use broadcast emails that only go out to those who are subscribed at that very moment.

Whenever you are sending out broadcast emails, you want to always ensure that you are providing some sort of value to the reader, even if they don’t purchase anything that day.

Start off with some personalization where you either discuss something about your own life or ask them about something to do with theirs. Then, you can follow that up with both a value based tip email and a recommendation for a product that you have either launched or that you are an affiliate for.

Because these are broadcast emails, and will not be seen by future subscribers, you can use these two promote short-term launches that are occurring on a regular basis. Check the launch calendars on Muncheye, JVZoo and Warrior Plus, and sign up to the affiliate list of the vendors that you like to promote so that you can recommend the 72 hour to one week launches to your readers.

Day 15: Check to Make Sure Each Follow Up Email Is Monetized

Even if you are using follow up emails as your preferred communication with subscribers, you still want to make sure that each follow up email is monetized in some way.

You can create a mixture of value packed tip emails that go out to your subscribers with a mention of a product and straight review emails, but you need to make sure that everything is evergreen so that your links will work months or years down the road.

It’s a good idea for you to create a spreadsheet or list where you keep track of what is being promoted on what day of your follow up email series. That way, if you find out that a certain product is now defunct, you can quickly go in and change the hyperlink to a different product that is currently active.

Day 16: Monetize Your Video Channel

If you are using video as one of your media formats online, you need to make sure that each one of your creations is monetized both on screen and in the description area. The reason you want to make sure it is hyperlinked on screen, as well as verbally mentioned, is because many marketers will embed your video into their blog, cutting out the description area that may contain the live hyperlinks.

Video editing software makes it very easy to include callouts within the video during the presentation that don’t interrupt the flow of speech, yet will stand out to the viewer so that they can make note of it or click through to whatever you are recommending.

Depending on where you are using video, such as YouTube, you may be able to turn on the option to monetize your video channel based on the number of views that you get. If you start seeing a heavy dose of traffic to your videos, you will want to monetize the views to add an additional income stream to your content creation efforts.

Day 17: Profit from Each of Your Podcast Episodes

Many people have not yet chosen to test their abilities with podcast publications. This is an extremely easy and free media format that all niche marketers should be using to the best of their ability.

You can use a platform such as Anchor.fm to host and syndicate your podcast, and it won’t cost you a penny. What’s better is that they have a built in ad platform that you can use to earn from your episodes.

You can also secure sponsors on your own who will pay to have a mention on your podcast, and you can set the pricing according to when and how long the mention will be.

For example, you might charge more for a mention in the middle of the program than you do at the beginning or end, or vice versa. Another way you can monetize your podcast is too verbally send listeners to a specific page where you have an offer, or add the link to the description area so that they can click on it and go to the page easily.

Day 18: Use Your Facebook Profile to Generate Income

Many marketers are using their Facebook profile, not to connect with just family members and offline friends, but also to network with other marketers and even customers in their niche.

You can monetize your Facebook profile by using Facebook Live videos, where are your friends can listen to you as you are speaking, and you can send them to specific offers or pages that you know will earn you money.

You can also use your profile to post whenever you have a launch, a blog post that you have monetized, a new video that you can profit from, and more. By using your profile in this manner, more people can see it based on the engagement it gets, and it also has the ability to be shared by others.

Day 19: Set Up a Facebook Group That Earns for You

A Facebook group can also be very strategic for niche marketers. Where a profile is meant for a mixture of business and personal life posts, a Facebook group can be a place where people join with a specific intent to learn more about a certain topic.

In your Facebook group, you can share links to your blog and videos, and you can also post affiliate links and links to your products directly in the feed of the members. What you don’t want to do is have a group that includes nothing but affiliate link spam.

You still want to make sure that you are providing value to the group members so that existing members want to stay, and the group grows with new members who have joined because of the size of the group and the activity level you are providing.

Day 20: Turn Your Facebook Page Into an Informative Profit Puller

You can set up a Facebook page that represents your brand and allows you to promote your products, talk about projects you have in the works, make recommendations as an affiliate, and so on.

If you are going to be running paid ads that will give you a good return on your investment, then you can use your Facebook page to do that with. Of course, you always want to make sure that your page is a representation of the value you provide to your target audience as a leading niche expert.

Day 21: Monetize Your Instagram Account

There are many different ways you can earn money from an Instagram account. This is a more aesthetic account than other social media networking sites. Of course, you can make money as an affiliate marketer or as a vendor who recommends your own products.

But you can also earn money by accepting sponsors who pay for you to share information about their products as part of your Instagram stream. You can even get paid to make a video or upload an image and simply give a shout out to a product or brand.

There are many people who engage in collaborations with other Instagram influencers. Together, you can monetize your accounts for an event or product launch that you are doing together.

Day 22: Use a TikTok Account to Increase Your Income

There are many niche leaders who are making money using TikTok. On this platform, you are free to discuss your products or those you recommend as an affiliate marketer. You can have a link in your bio.

You can also enable your account to get paid for the video views that you received using the TikTok Creator Fund. You can accept sponsor ads, engage in collaborations with other TikTokkers, and more.

They even make it easy for you to accept tips from your viewers, and viewers can send you gifts whenever you are hosting a live video. There are certain requirements you need for your account in order to be able to use some of these monetization features, but if you continue putting out good content and grow your channel, you should be able to profit from it quickly.

Day 23: Profit from Niche Pinterest Boards

Pinterest is a great place for you to promote your products directly as well as the blog post in which you recommend other peoples’ products as an affiliate. The one thing that will make you stand out on this social networking site are the Pins themselves.

You can make gorgeous Pinterest graphics using a free tool like Canva and upload them with strategic hashtags to help targeted visitors find and follow your Pin links. Make sure you join group boards too, so that your monetized links are shared widely.

People and brands pay for sponsorships if you end up having good success with your Pins, so be open to having others pay to be placed on your boards if you have lots of followers.

Day 24: Release a Viral Freebie with the Intent to Make Money from It

Many marketers mistakenly forget that they can release viral freebies on a regular basis. Instead, they make one free gift and use it as a lead magnet to build a list. You can create short, targeted reports that others can rebrand with the links intact.

That means they can put their name on it And use the PDF to send out to their own subscribers as a valuable gift. You are helping them provide value to their audience, and they are helping you by leaving your links intact that will help you earn a commission or direct sales.

If you are a vendor who has a large list of affiliates, you can even create these re brandable reports that will be populated with your affiliates’ links, so that you both benefit financially from the process.

Day 25: Monetize Your Forum Signature Files

If you are a niche marketer who is routinely involved in visiting forums online and helping your target audience achieve their goals by answering their questions and concerns, then you want to make sure that you have monetized your participation using a signature file.

A sig file, as it’s more commonly known, is a text or image that is shared below every comment that you make on a thread. Many forums allow you to hyperlink your signature file so that it links out to your own site or one that you are an affiliate for.

If you are heavily involved in a forum that does not allow signature files, you can always sign your comments with instructions to check the link in your bio, if the site allows you two have a link to your domain there.

As you are immersing yourself in the community and people are finding value in what you share, they will want to follow the links to see what else they can learn from you, whether it’s free on your blog or in a paid product.

Day 26: Turn Private Label Rights Content Into a Profit Machine

There are many Internet marketers who purchase private label rights content that they can use on their blogs, in emails, as lead magnets, on social media, and even as products that they can sell.

Unfortunately, most people simply copy and paste the content into their blog or wherever they are using it, relieved to have readymade content at their disposal. You want to make sure that you go through each piece of PLR that you are using and add hyperlinks (and additional text, if necessary) so that you monetize the content and get a return on your investment.

Day 27: Make Sure You Monetize Your Members’ Area

If you are successful enough to have launched a membership product, you don’t want to stifle your profits by neglecting to monetize the dashboard of the new member. There are many different ways you can monetize your members’ area.

You can include banner ads from sponsors that’s around the core content that they have paid for. You can also include upsells or cross sells for additional products that you have or that they originally passed up when they first purchased the front end offer.

In each lesson or segment of your members area, you can also include links to affiliate offers that relate directly to what you are discussing in that module. You can also elevate your income and present them with a one on one coaching opportunity.

Day 28: Create Additional Income from Your Coaching Business

Regardless of what type of coaching business you have, there will be many ways you can monetize your coaching business. Every time you have a discussion with a client, make a note about the things they need specific help with.

As part of your coaching process, send them a summary after the coaching call that includes what you discussed along with a list of resources that you feel can help them further.

For example, you may be coaching someone about business success, but they mention how sluggish they feel due to a poor diet. In your follow up call you may instruct them to work on their nutrition, and also provide them with a link to something that will help.

There are other ways you can add revenue to a coaching program. Usually, if someone is able to afford one on one coaching, they may also be able to afford mastermind groups or retreats that you host at a higher price point. And of course, you can provide them with links to other courses that you have in your online empire.

Day 29: Cash in on Kindle Books After the Sale

If you are a niche expert, you may be using Amazon Kindle to self-publish online. Please be aware that they do not allow you to link to a lead magnet page where you are collecting customer information.

However, you can mention the name of your website You have to be careful with live links because Amazon is very selective about what they allow you to send their readers to.

If you send them to your main website, make sure you have something specific on that page that welcomes readers and give them a call to action on what they should do next, such as where to find your in-depth courses or recommendations.

Day 30: Take Time to Earn Revenue from Your Customer Service Replies

This last strategy is something that you may not have considered, and it may not work every single time you communicate with someone. However, it’s worth noting that when someone reaches out to you directly – whether it’s a generic inquiry or a specific question, you have an opportunity to profit from the exchange.

You never want to do that in lieu of providing value and assistance to your customer. But you can add it to your communication. Some people add a call to action, a teaser, or a straight hyperlink to another product that they have created in their signature.

But another way that you can monetize your customer service replies is to spend a few moments being thoughtful about what it is the customer needs help with. They may need more than just a simple, brief answer from you.

You can give them some basic advice and then also direct them to the courses and tools that can help them get past whatever obstacles there facing and achieve the success they desire.

When it comes to monetizing your career as an online marketer, get in the habit of not rushing the publication of content or your engagement with others, and stop to consider whether or not there’s anything you can present at that moment that would result in a sale or commission for you.

The one thing you want to make sure of is that you are not adding links that don’t contribute to the other person’s journey, just because you want to increase your own earnings.

Every time you monetize a piece of content or a communication, it should be with the purpose of helping others so that you elevate your brand as one that can guide people to the tools and courses they need to succeed.

Over time, you want to check the links that you have positioned on your blog, in emails, and even on social media and update them so that they are providing the best option for your followers.

Even if the link is still active, you may have found a better product or tool that would benefit your readers more. By staying organized with your monetization efforts, this will be an easy project that you can even outsource to a virtual assistant.

30 Day Launch Jacking Profit Plan

Need to make money fast? Here’s a simple, step-by-step launch jacking profit plan that can help you start generating income immediately.

30 Day Launch Jacking Profit Plan

When it comes to earning commissions from product launches in particular, not evergreen products that you happen to want to showcase, it can be tough to carve out any sales when you’re competing with other hungry affiliates who are all promoting on the same day at the exact same time.

It seems like those with the biggest lists and heavyweight reputations are able to take the lion’s share of sales, leaving newer affiliates and those with smaller lists to barely eke out a few small commissions – hardly making it worth their effort to promote.

But there is one strategy that puts everyone on a level playing field, and because many don’t know about it – or don’t take the time to implement it – you’ll have an increased ability to stake claim to more commissions and climb the leaderboard for cash prizes.

Below, you’ll find a 30-day plan of bite-sized tasks you can implement on your blog and on social media to make this approach work for you. You can use it week after week to promote the launches you feel are worthy for your subscribers.

Day 1: Make Sure Your Blog Is Filled with Relevant Niche Content

In order to get the full benefit of implementing a launch jacking strategy, you have to set yourself up for success as an affiliate with the vendors you plan to promote. Unless the vendor is already acquainted with you, then you will be an unknown affiliate and possibly have no known stats that they can check out ahead of time.

A launch jacking strategy requires you to have advanced access to certain information that will help you position yourself in the search engine results pages and elsewhere early on.

So if you are approaching a vendor as an unknown or inexperienced affiliate, you want to be able to refer to a flourishing blog in your communication with them so that they can see that you are serious and have expertise in the subject matter.

Not only will this sometimes sway their decision on whether or not to approve you as an affiliate if you are lacking proven stats on the platform that they are selling on, but it can also help you secure an advanced review copy of the product, which will help you with your launch jacking strategy.

If you don’t have time to create a massive amount of content, consider publishing some private label rights (PLR) articles on your blog to help beef up the quantity before they go take a look.

Make sure that you invest in well written PLR content that will represent you in a positive light. You can either publish the PLR as is or tweak it so that it has your personal insight added to it.

Day 2: Spend Time Analyzing the Buying Habits of Your Target Audience

As you make plans to embark on a launch jacking campaign, you want to begin analyzing the previous purchases of your target audience. If you have a record of sales or commissions, you can look at your own conversion rates to see what people were buying through your links.

But even if you have never sold or promoted a single item, you will be able to look at listings on third party platforms to see what has been sold recently in large numbers, and what the conversion rate looks like.

You can do this on sites like Warrior Plus, JVZoo, and ClickBank. You can also look at things like social media chatter and forum posts to see what the audience is buzzing about when it comes to digital download products.

Day 3: Conduct Some Launch Jacking Keyword Research

In order to effectively run your launch jacking promo, you will need to have some keywords on hand that will help you post to your blog in a way that elevates your content to the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages).

You can use keyword tools or look on other affiliates’ and vendors’ websites and social media accounts to see what keywords and tags or hashtags they are using in their product reviews for related products.

To find these, look for a similar product that has launched on one of the platforms and go to Google and type in the name of the product and the word review. You can go to some of the blogs that are positioned on page one and right click and select View Source.

Here, you will be able to find the keywords and tags that are used to help this particular blogger rank high in the SERPs. this will be beneficial in helping you map out your own content for upcoming launch jacking promos.

Day 4: Study the Upcoming Launch Calendars

In order to plan your first launch jacking campaign, you have to first know what is coming up for a launch in the near future. You don’t want to select anything that is launching days away.

The idea is for you to be able to publish your review content early enough for it to get indexed by search engine bots and ranked well early on. Try to find something at least two weeks, but preferably three weeks away.

If you have a blog that routinely gets indexed on a daily basis, then you may be able to get away with a shorter timeline. But you need to know how often Googlebots are visiting your site and plan for the longer term.

You can find launch calendars for digital info products on sites like Warrior Plus, JVZoo, and MunchEye. Some vendors are good about giving plenty of advanced notice on these sites, while others do it at the last minute.

Be aware that there are also some vendors who will plan to launch something weeks away, and then fail to complete the launch without removing the listing, which will leave you with nothing to promote. So you want to make sure that you are targeting the launches of productive and reliable vendors.

Day 5: Get Signed Up to Affiliate Lists of Those You Want to Promote

Another way that you can get notice about what types of launches are releasing is to sign up directly to the affiliate list of the vendors you know you’ll want to promote. Most successful vendors have separate lists for their buyers and for their affiliates.

You can also see if they have a Facebook page or group for their affiliate program, and begin networking with them on a personal level so that you stay informed before the masses.

Day 6: Choose Your First Upcoming Launch to Dominate

When you are looking at the various launches that will be released within the next three weeks, you want to take several different things into consideration before making your choice.

First, you need enough time to prepare your review content and bonus and give it time to rank in the search engines. So the date of release will be your first criteria. The second thing you want to consider, is the quality of the product that you will be promoting.

You may not know what the exact quality is yet, if you haven’t seen the product, but you can get an idea of whether or not a target audience will enjoy the product based on the reputation of the vendor.

If they are known for releasing top quality products, then that would be a safe bet. You want to make sure that the product you are considering is highly relevant to your target audience, whether those are your blog readers, email subscribers, or social media followers.

Another thing you want to consider is whether or not the product is going to be priced right for the consumers you are promoting it to. If your list is made up of a majority of newbies on a budget, then promoting a high ticket, advanced product will probably not succeed, even if you are launch jacking.

After you have considered everything that will benefit the customer, you want to look at your own perks. Is the vendor paying enough in commissions to make the launch jacking process worth it for you?

If you have two similar products that you are considering, and one is only paying 10% commissions on a low cost item, and another is paying 50% commissions, then you’ll want to choose the one that works in your favor.

Lastly, you want to see if the vendor has set up a contest with cash prizes that will provide another level of profits for you. Some people will have a contest listed, but the prize is simply bragging rights, so make sure you check out the fine print before selecting your product for this activity.

Day 7: Study the JV Page Carefully

On day seven, you want to make sure you go over the joint venture (JV) page with a fine tooth comb. Here, you will find many of the details that you will need in your upcoming launch jack review.

It should have everything from the exact date and time of the sale (from beginning to end) to a layout of the funnel so that you can see how the upgrades and downsells flow and what your commission is on each.

Keep this page bookmarked so that you can refer to it quickly and easily as you create your launch jacking content. You also want to go ahead and submit your request for approval to promote the product so that the vendor will have your links ready as soon as possible.

Day 8: Reach Out for a Complimentary Review Copy

Today, you will want to reach out to the vendor or their affiliate manager and request an official complementary review copy or advanced access to the course. Not every vendor is willing to go this route, so it’s important that you find out early on whether or not you will be able to see the product.

It is still possible to conduct a launch jacking campaign without an advanced review copy. The only difference is the level of details you will be able to provide, but it doesn’t vary too much, because you never want to give away what’s inside the course anyway.

You can still set up an official launch jacking review campaign, and then purchase the product yourself on day one of the launch and increase the details of the reviews that you have published on your blog.

When you approach the vendor asking for a review copy, keep in mind that many freebie seekers also hit them up for a free copy, with no plans to promote. Therefore, you may want to tell the vendor what your plans are, including the fact that you would like to prepare an in depth review ahead of time.

Some people are afraid of admitting that they are engaging in a launch jacking campaign. Any competent vendor will be appreciative of your advanced efforts because it means they will see a surge of sales that can put them on the best seller list and increase the number of affiliates who get onboard.

Day 9: Make a Decision About the Type of Review You’ll Create

There are three different types of promotions that you can use to make sales with a launch jacking campaign. You need to decide which of the three you want to pursue. The first one is a straight promo, where you are not reviewing the product, but simply letting others know about it.

This is a very surface level promotion that does not provide the buyer with any deep insight about the product. Still, you will see some sales if you are able to rank your posts well.

A real review will include your insight about what is included in the course, along with the quality of the information being provided. You can go over the pros and cons of what you find, and the benefit of owning this particular course.

Lastly, you can create the most in depth launch jacking campaign possible. A case study can be used as either a broad account of what you experienced, or as a private, in depth account where are you showcase what you did and what the results were to those who buy the product through your link.

You can refer to this in all of your upcoming blog posts as an exclusive bonus reserved for your buyers. This is not even something you have to do ahead of time period you can purchase the product on the day of the launch, and rip your case study out to your buyers over the course of several weeks.

Day 10: Create a Bonus for Your Launch Jacking Promo

If you aren’t using a case study as a bonus, then you will want to come up with some other type of bonus that you can use in your launch jacking promo. There are many people who will specifically search online for bonuses that are being released with the launch.

Your bonus can be anything that pairs well with the original product. For example, if you are promoting something for bloggers, then you can provide them with some niche private label rights content that they can use on their site.

If you are promoting a course that informs people about how to do something, you can also create a bonus that goes above and beyond and teaches them additional tips or something related to the original topic.

Day 11: Understand the Rules of Promotion Posts

Before you start promoting anyone or any product, you need to understand the rules of your affiliate review posts and promos. Usually, these rules are placed at the bottom of a joint venture page for affiliates, but many don’t see them and end up breaking the rules and having their affiliate approval revoked.

First of all, most vendors do not want you sending any spam from any traffic sources that could cause them problems. They also don’t want any kind of negative language used in the promotion of their products.

You’ll sometimes see affiliates use click bait headlines, such as, “Is (product name) a scam?” Or, they might say something like, “Don’t buy (product name) until you read this!”

These are the kinds of posts that many unknowing consumers will see and assume the worst of the vendor or product. They don’t know that it’s a specific keyword strategy, so it’s understandable that vendors don’t want you to engage in this behavior.

You want to make sure that if you do have to buy the product on launch day, you clear your cookies and don’t purchase through your own link. Many vendors will ban you as an affiliate if they see you doing that.

You also want to make sure you are not bribing people to buy through your link with things such as a cash rebate. It’s okay to offer a bonus that adds value to the purchase, but not a cash discount.

Day 12: Create a Teaser Post and Spread the Word

One of the first pieces of content you want to create as someone who is conducting a launch jacking campaign is a teaser post. This is something where you are simply giving your readers or followers a heads up that there is something on the horizon they are going to be very interested in.

You can let them know a few basic details, such as something the product will help them with. But don’t tell them everything, including the product name, because then they will begin searching for more information about it and may end up following another affiliate.

Once you have your teaser blog post published, you want to send a link out to both your email subscribers as well as placing it on all of your social networking profiles and groups that you operate online.

Day 13: Write a Generic Keyword Post for the Type of Product It Is

The second piece of strategic launch jacking content that you will create is one that capitalizes on a generic keyword or phrase. This will be something that the target audience will type in when they are searching for this type of product or course.

For example, they may go to Google and type in best page building tool. So you want to create a blog post about that keyword phrase, if that is the type of product that you are going to be promoting during this launch phase.

In this generic, strategic post, you do not want to name the product yet. You also don’t want to link out to any specific products. Instead, use the keyword phrase and some variations of it to help you rank high in the search engines and discuss things in a broad nature.

For example, you may cover things like what a page building tool it can be used for, who needs it for their online sites, the approximate price range of most page building tools, and so on.

You will not be sending links out to your list yet for this post and the ones in the immediate days following this. These posts are specifically for search engine bots to crawl and begin ranking for you.

Day 14: Write a Review Keyword Post for the Product

On the third day of your strategic content for the launch jacking process, you will write a review keyword post for this particular product that you will be promoting. This is usually no secret at this time because people will have started to hear a buzz about a big launch on the horizon.

You want to use the product name and the word review in your title and throughout the content, along with variations of that phrase, such as, a review of (product name). You still do not want to include your link just yet, but allow readers to get a little more insight about the fact that you will be thoroughly reviewing with the product in the coming days.

You can tell your readers who the vendor is, and what you know about previous products that they have launched in the past. Let them know why you are going to be conducting a review of the product when it releases.

Again, do not send this to your list or post it on social media just yet. As search engine bots crawl and index your content, it will be closer to the date of the real launch, if not during it, and your links will be live during that time.

Day 15: Write a Review Post for Who Would Benefit Most from the Product

On the fourth day of your content creation process for the upcoming launch jacking strategy, you want to create a review for the product based on who would benefit most from owning it.

With digital info products in particular, as well as tools, buyers often want to know if the product is a good investment for everyone, or just newbies or advanced marketers. It can be very frustrating for a consumer to purchase a product, only to find out everything in it is very basic and covers things they already know.

Likewise, it can be just as annoying for a newbie to purchase a digital course, and discover that the content inside is addressing information they are not yet familiar with, which is too advanced for their level of skill.

Make sure you are using the name of the product in this post, but do not include your affiliate link yet, because the launch will not be live. Again, do not share this post with your list or social contacts yet, that allow it to be crawled by Googlebots.

Day 16: Write a Review Post About What the Product Is

Your fifth day of content creation for your lunch jacking process is to write more about what this particular product is. You want to explain to your readers a little more than what normally goes into a sales page for many vendors.

With digital info products in particular, vendors will often choose some sort of snazzy product name that doesn’t tell the buyer anything about what it does or what it is. For example, if it is an AI program that creates content, it might be named AIMER stand for artificial intelligence marketing earnings revolution, or something equally ridiculous.

Likewise, the sales pages that your buyers will be landing on are often so vague that the buyer gets to the end of the page and is no more informed about what the product is than when they first landed there.

Sometimes, the JV page is more informative about what the product is than the actual sales page that consumers will be reading or watching. The only thing you want to be careful about with this particular review post is that you don’t give away any information that is actually part of the product or course.

Day 17: Write a Review Post About the Differences Between This Product and Others

On the sixth day of your content creation process for the launch jacking strategy, you will be writing a review post that talks about the differences between this particular product that is launching and other ones that are like it in the marketplace.

For example, you may have seen dozens of puzzle creation tools being launched on sites like Warrior Plus. Each time one is launched, even if it is by the same vendor, you need to take time to pit the new one against others that are on the marketplace and tell what makes it better than the others.

Day 18: Write a FAQ Post About the Product

On the seventh day of your content creation for your launch jacking campaign, you want to create a FAQ (frequently asked questions) review post that answers any and all potential questions or concerns people would have about the product.

For example, one time the most common questions consumers like to know about digital courses is whether or not they will need to spend more money on tools to implement the strategies that are being taught in the course.

Sometimes, vendors will give the information in the front end, and make it apparent in the upgrade offer that the strategy will not work unless the buyer also purchases the upgrade.

Day 19: Write a Post for Tips on Using or Getting the Most Out of the Product

On the eighth day of the content creation process, you want to create a very helpful post as part of your review campaign that provides additional tips or information about how the consumer can get the most out of their purchase.

For example, if the vendor has a string of upgrades, such as five to six offers, then you might explain to your readers which ones you think are most viable and helpful. Or, you can discuss a tip specifically about the front end product.

For example, if you are promoting a plugin that automatically builds review pages for niche blogs, then you might offer an additional tip about adding more content into each page that is created so that it’s not so thin and will rank better.

Day 20: Write a Review of Your Experiences with the Product

On the ninth day of your review process, you want to create content that shares your own experience with the product. This does not have to be an in depth case study, but just and opinion generated piece of content that lets people know whether or not you feel it is a worthy purchase.

This will only work if you have received an advanced review copy. If you have not been approved for an advanced review copy, but you have purchased products from the same vendor before and enjoyed them, then you can make this post about that previous experience and what you hope to find in the new product.

Day 21: Create a Similar Review Series for YouTube

Once you have your text based content written and uploaded to your blog so that it can begin being indexed by search engines, you want to work on creating a similar review series for your YouTube channel.

Some marketers are comfortable being on camera and discussing products in this manner. But if you are not comfortable with that, you can create a slide presentation using a free tool such as Canva end use a screen capturing tool to record yourself talking about it as a narration to the slides.

For screen capturing, you can either use a tool like Camtasia – or, use a freeware version like CamStudio. Make sure you edit it so that it is polished and professional before you upload it to your channel.

Day 22: Embed the Videos with Your Text Reviews

Today, you are going to capture the embed code for each of your review videos and embed them on the corresponding text post that you uploaded to your blog. You can place these in the beginning, middle, or end of your post.

This will help your human visitors who arrive on your site and have a preference of one of the two media formats. If you have time and want to go above and beyond, you can even extract the video and upload it as a podcast that you embed on the blog as well.

Day 23: Plan Your Emails Based on the Contest(s)

If the product that you are promoting is hosting a contest (or multiple contests within the launch), then you will want to plan your emails according to the timeline of when you would win the most prize money.

For example, a vendor may only have one specific overall contest based on the volume of sales or the total revenue. If you are involved in a revenue based contest, then you will want to push the upgrades heavily in your promotions, since those are usually priced higher than the front end.

Or, they may have an opening contest where the first 24 hours determine the winner. They might have periodic surprise contests sprinkled throughout, and a contest for the final 24 to 48 hours so that they can see a big push in sales before their launch ends.

You can strategically plan when you send out specific mailers based on how hard you want to promote the product according to the contest timelines. You definitely want to include a strong call to action and a sense of urgency in certain emails, such as the final 24 hours.

Day 24: Create a Set of Social Media Posts with Images

Today, you want to go ahead and create a set of social media images that you can use in the posts that you place on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. You can also whip up a short text based posts to go along with it, if applicable.

You can schedule these to go live on the day of the launch, or upload them manually. make sure you include the link to the product as well as any and all hashtags or keywords that will help your post get found by interested consumers.

Day 25: Launch Day To Do Tasks

On launch day, you want to be up and ready before the launch actually goes live. About an hour beforehand, you will want to go in and add your affiliate links to the blog posts and videos that you have already uploaded for Googlebots to begin indexing.

Now that they have had time to get indexed and rank well in the SERPs, having a live link is imperative because when the launch goes live, people will begin using search engines to find out more information before they spend money.

This is when they will find your high ranking blog posts and videos, find out about your bonuses and in depth reviews, and purchase through your link. You want to make sure you queue up your emails for your subscribers and share the social images and posts at lunchtime if you are doing it manually.

Day 26: Play Up the Bonus Offer in a Follow-Up Email and Promo

If you have created or are going to offer a bonus to those who buy through your link, you want to play up this slant heavily in all of your communications. Many consumers will buy through your link specifically because you are offering a bonus and someone else is not.

There are a few people who will be loyal to a marketer based on the value that they provide, regardless of whether or not they have created a bonus. But with human nature, most well find the person with the best bonus to buy from.

Day 27: Promote the Upgrade Offer(s) Heavily

Another thing you want to do is promote the upgrade offers in your emails and posts. Even if it is not tide into the contest prize money, it’s important that you urge your readers to consider the upgrades, assuming they are worthy of the investment.

Some people claim to hate one time offer upgrades, but the fact is, it is a chance for consumers to get a big discount on something relevant to what they just purchased, so it’s a win-win for everyone.

If you want to, you can introduce a new bonus for the various levels of upgrades. For example, you might offer a bonus of a 5-page report if they buy the front end through your link.

If they buy the first upgrade offer, you might offer access to an in depth case study that you have created. If they buy a higher ticket upgrade offer, such as coaching, then you might offer something bigger, such as a custom item or access to a membership.

Day 28: Send Out an Urgent End of Sale Reminder

Regardless of whether or not the contest is based on a final 24 hours push. You want to send out an urgent reminder whenever the sale is drawing to a close. There are many subscribers and followers who will initially read your review and make a mental note to buy it later that day or in a few days.

Having the reminder and the urgency is beneficial for those who don’t want to miss out on the purchase of the product, along with the discount that they will be getting with launch pricing.

Day 29: Select the Next Product You Plan to Launch Jack

As the launch jacking process is winding down, and you are collecting your commissions and prize money, you want to immediately begin planning the next launch jacking promo that you will be doing.

Take a look at the launch calendars and see how products have been promoting recently with your target audience. You want to keep an eye on your email inbox for any concerns or questions your buyers had so that you can tweak and perfect your launch jacking process each and every time.

Day 30: Publish a Teaser About Your Next Launch Jacking Promo

To keep up with the momentum and excitement, you want to immediately publish the next teaser about whatever launch you have chosen to cover in the coming weeks. Be sure to send this out to your new and existing email subscribers and get to work on the content and research that you will need to carry out to succeed with the next launch.

One of the biggest perks to mastering the launch jacking process is that vendors will begin to sit up and take notice of your ability to dominate their launches and when prizes.

This will turn into additional opportunities where vendors are having their affiliate managers contact you ahead of time to see if you will promote their product. They will automatically hand over an advanced review copy, and may provide you with additional perks such as a bump in commission and a spot for an ad on their download page.