Getting famous online requires a lot more planning than using the “post and pray” method. However, searching online will bring you countless methods for how to gain more followers, increase your visibility, and manage your presence successfully.
Below you’ll find 4 of the most important tips for increasing your chances of making it big.
While we can’t guarantee that you will get famous online with these steps, they will certainly help!
1. Decide on your “niche”.
Your “niche” is basically your little corner of the internet. The first step to creating a successful online profile is to really decide what your passion is. What do you have expertise with? What information or knowledge do you possess that other people NEED? Now – go find community there!
When you think of your niche, think SMALL. It probably feels counterintuitive to narrow down the people you are trying to reach, but my specializing you are competing against a smaller number of posts for visibility. This method also benefits you because the people that you ARE reaching actually need what you are providing.
Pro Tip: Don’t just pick “busy people”. Narrow down to “athletic busy people” or “tea loving busy people”.
2. Post valuable content.
You have to bring value to your niche. People want to gain something from following you! This could be products they need, tips and tricks, or even solidarity. Either way, they have to connect with you and feel that you are solving a problem they have.
Finding community is incredibly important for this. For example: If you are focusing on the DIY niche – Post an Instagram Reel showing your niche how to stain an end table in under an hour. Bring the funny and relatable content!
Pro Tip: Look at your video and ask yourself, “Would I share or save this?”
3. Select 1-2 platforms to really dig into.
You need to learn about the algorithms (technical “formula” created for deciding which posts show up to many people and which don’t) involved on your favorite platforms. For example: Facebook likes to show posts that involve pictures of a face and that involve conversations. The more back and forth conversation, the more people that post is going to be shown to.
Once you have found your niche and decided on platforms – get involved in groups (on Facebook) or hashtags (Instagram) and interact with them! Build relationships with them! Providing value and answering questions will build credibility for you within the community.
Pro Tip: Utilize the search feature on groups or instagram to search for people’s questions in your niche. What questions do you have answer for? What problems do people have that you can solve?
4. Consistency, consistency, consistency.
This is probably the most important way to bring maximum visibility and engagement to your own posts. It is incredibly important to put content out on a frequent, predictable basis. People will come back to your account for your daily content! The more you post, the more people will be able to interact, and the more visibility you will have.
Have confidence! Yes, the internet can feel big and scary. But just take these steps one at a time and go for it. Find your people, dig in, and bring that value consistently. May your page views be high, and your bounce rate be low!
Is it time for you to go pro as a blogger my bloggy friend? Perhaps! In this episode, I’m sharing my key indicators to look out for that will tell you when it’s time to take the leap from hobby blogging to professional blogging.
One of the questions I’m frequently asked is when it’s time to take the leap from hobby blogging to professional blogging. Although this answer is different for everyone, I thought I’d share my key indicators that it’s time to jump off the hobby blogger train and into the glorious world of professional blogging.
You have more than a love for writing.
When you go from enjoying the act of writing to living it, breathing it, not being able to imagine a day without it, you’ve found that sexy, passionate kind of love that tells you this is something real. Perhaps you and writing started dating casually; suddenly, everything in your life is giving you reasons to write more. So you bump it up to seeing each other on the regular. Before you know it, you can’t stop. You don’t want to do anything else but write. You’ve totally found the one and you can’t go back.
You catch yourself making a plan.
You used to post on your blog when the urge struck, but for some reason you sat down and created an editorial calendar in Excel. You started thinking about what topics would get your readers attention, and you even pondered what the best headlines were for clickability.
You’re making enough money from your blog to quit your day job.
Seriously? If you’re already making enough to pay the bills, why are you still working that pesky 9-to-5? It’s quite possible that you could just do this full time — and perhaps make even more money!
You have to claim blogging income on your taxes.
When you start making serious money and accountants have to get involved, you’re a pro, dude! Just make sure you don’t blow this chance to work for yourself doing what you love — be smart about bookkeeping.
OK, this might not mean it’s time to go pro, but a viral post could be the perfect catalyst to shift into being a pro blogger. You know that saying, strike while the iron is hot? Well, do that!
You ooze expertise.
What happens when you become an expert on something and start posting a bunch about what you know? You’ve found your niche, my bloggy friend. Good for you! If people are picking up all that knowledge you’re laying down, then I think you might be flirting with professional blogger status.
Ideas flutter from your brain like migrating monarchs.
Even though it might not seem like it, the fact that your mind just keeps churning out blog ideas is HUGE! Some of the best professional bloggers can go into any situation and come out with one if not five different blog post ideas.
Self-starting is no problem.
As a professional blogger you have no real boss telling you what to do. Your only boss is you. You have to have the self-discipline to create a schedule and then stick to it — or your readers will tire of your inconsistency and head over to some other blog.
You’re good at interacting with your readers and other bloggers.
The more you engage with your community, the more traffic you’ll drive to your blog. Period.
Words like branding, marketing and reach are in your vocabulary.
When you start treating your blog like a business, you’ve definitely gone pro. Before you know it you’ll be creating spreadsheets of income and expenses, buildings lists of potential sponsors and reviews you want to pitch, thinking of guest post ideas for other blogs, and even having meetings with people to develop your blog into a household name.
Obviously, this is by no means a complete list of indicators that it’s time to take the leap from hobby to professional blogging — but these items scream pro to me.
I once saw bloggers as one of two people: They were either geeks hiding behind a computer writing desperate prose and sending them out to the abyss in search of other life forms or they were stay-at-home moms and ex-journalists begging for sponsorships and free products to review while slaving away at their computers hoping to get fame larger than a Kardashian’s rear end. Regardless of why they were blogging, I saw all bloggers as self-promoters; free spirits; Jacks-of-all-subjects, masters of none.
Since becoming a professional blogger myself, I know that anyone can be a blogger, many are seeking some kind of income from this trade and the lucky ones do make money from it…
I’ve spent an entire week at a computer only to find that I made a paltry $50 and that more than half of that was blown on large iced coffees to keep me awake long enough to keep writing. I’ve sent copies of my posts to “traditional” media outlets hoping they would find my writing amusing enough to give me a decent paycheck and although some did the gigs didn’t last long. I have even accepted assignments about “personal care” products and naughty conventions that made my mother’s Baptist skin crawl so that I could pay a bill. I’ve tweeted, I’ve facebooked, I’ve pinned, I’ve begged for shares and likes and even bribed a few folks to repost some of my posts – I’m not proud of that last one, but one thing has remained:
I wouldn’t trade any of this! Why? Because I love it! Blogging allows me to be myself with all of my quirks, and passion for writing and my ADD and… Squirrel! Hmm, I wonder what will be on the next episode of Blacklist. I think I could really use some more sequins on this shirt I’m wearing but I’m also kind of craving pizza right now. Oh wait! Blogging! Let’s get back to discussing that…
The truth is I am one of those pesky ex-journalists I spoke of earlier. After two magazine internships I was suddenly a newlywed, unemployed graduate with a journalism degree unsure of where my path would take me. Unwilling to accept that my career as a writer was over before it officially began and definitely not willing to move in with my new husband to my parent’s house I stumbled into a part time blogging job and suddenly I was the pot calling the kettle black. The profession that was once a punch line in jokes was now my profession!
Now, I was making some money that was nothing to sneeze at, but still not earning enough to completely abandon my 9 to 5 job office temp job I had taken to make ends meet. I don’t know about you guys but it really frustrates me having to wear pants every day and I prefer blogging from home in my pajamas.
Luckily, at the beginning of 2014 I found the book “The Art of Freelance Blogging” and had an epiphany. Since I couldn’t earn enough money with my own blogs I figured why not start blogging for others? Before I knew it my first client landed in my lap. It was a travel agent that had a blog but didn’t have time to write it and I had the time and the need for income.
Some of my other blogging clients I’ve landed have included real estate agents, shrinks- er I mean psychologists, a golf company and a diamonds company. I’ve covered topics such as how to prepare for the best sex on your honeymoon, how to stage your home to sell it for more money, even what should be in your golf bag.
Between you and me – I know NOTHING about most of these subjects. It’ll be our little secret right? I research the topic and then write a post and voila- money in the bank! It’s like high school- memorize, regurgitate, forget! Only instead of trying to get an A on the final, I’m trying to pay my rent.
In my spare time I still work on my personal blogs but the important thing is I’m making money doing something I love. In fact by the time you read this I will have left my 9 to 5 office job to focus on writing full time!
Do you want to be a professional blogger too? If so, I’d like to invite you to join me on my journey. You’ll see the highs, the lows, the good and bad, the freebies and the fun of this exciting adventure. Maybe together we can both figure out ways to get rich using our gifts of writing these web log thingies that no one ever thought would last. So, let’s throw some words on a screen and send them out into the abyss in search of life forms, or at least making a living.
One thing not enough people talk about is the mental health of bloggers. In this episode, I’m discussing it along with what I do to cope.
The Mental Health of Bloggers
Today, I want to talk about the mental health of bloggers, and the importance of staying mentally and emotionally healthy. I want to cover a few things related to this topic because it’s so very important to me.
Interestingly enough, my own mental health is why there was a gap in my podcasting release schedule. Even though I’m new to the game, I had planned to release a new episode every week for 10 full weeks, at least in this first season of my show.
But, last week, I just could not bring myself to record.
Due to some personal issues, I simply made the tough decision to not even try and record. I now understand why so many podcasters tell people that if they’re going to start their own podcast they need to record several episodes ahead of time.
This way if they wake up one day and don’t feel like recording or they can’t record for some reason, they still have something to release on their scheduled day. Even though I did a lot of research and I had read that little nugget of wisdom from many experts that I admire, I was naive in believing that I could commit and just record once a week anyway.
How hard can it be to record and release a single episode I thought?
Well, when you’re dealing with anxiety and situations beyond your control, and there’s a pandemic going on, yeah….it can be really hard to record and release weekly.
Needless to say, I will be doing things differently by the time season two rolls around. But I digress. Let’s get back to the subject at hand, shall we?
The month of May has been designated Mental Health Awareness Month. According to Wikipedia, “Mental Health Awareness Month began in the United States in 1949 by the Mental Health America organization (then known as the National Association for Mental Health)…Its purpose is to raise awareness and educate the public about: mental illnesses, such as the 18.1% of Americans who suffer from depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder; the realities of living with these conditions; and strategies for attaining mental health and wellness. It also aims to draw attention to suicide, which can be precipitated by some mental illnesses. Additionally, Mental Health Awareness Month strives to reduce the stigma (negative attitudes and misconceptions) that surrounds mental illnesses. ”
My father committed suicide in December 2016 – just two days after Christmas. I don’t tell you this because I want pity, I tell you this so you can understand taking care of our mental health is so important to me.
My dad struggled with mental health problems all of his life, and many of the issues that plagued him, I see in myself. Witnessing his struggles lead me to leaving home as early as I could, and committing to trying to be as positive as possible for the rest of my life, despite everything he displayed.
In the days after his passing, I doubled down on that commitment to try and be more positive, and always look for the light in life. I know how easy it can be to sink into darkness, and fall down the rabbit hole of negativity…
And, I gotta tell you… being a stay at home blogger – it can be damn lonely. In fact, that loneliness, and solitude from the outside world can trigger many of my mental health woes.
Several of my bloggy friends have told me they struggle with mental health issues too. Interestingly enough, I’ve heard it said that creative people fight the most with inner demons. Depression, anxiety, feelings of low self-worth, lack of confidence – the list goes on.
Maybe you can relate.
So what can we do about it? While I’m certainly not a mental health professional and I would never claim to be, I can tell you things I’m doing to try and improve my own mental state.
What I Do When I’m Lonely
I go out and find friends. Okay, so it’s not as easy as going to the store to buy eggs, but when you put in some effort, you can find likeminded people to chat with.
The first place I look is Facebook.
There are literally thousands of Facebook groups for virtually any hobby or interest you can think of.
I love to craft so I joined a bunch of crafting groups.
I love blogging, so I’m in several blogging groups.
I love cooking so, okay…you get the idea.
What I have found in these groups, is that there are several people in them who just want someone to talk to as well.
Another place I look for bloggy friends is networking events and conferences.
I’ll be the first admit, this was easier before coronavirus. But I like to think we’ll get back to having live events soon.
I have met some of my favorite people in the whole world at live events.
The trick with these is to have some questions prepared ahead of time so you can engage with people.
And, don’t try to show off. I’ve learned the hard way that asking more about them than talking about yourself is the best way to go about meeting new people.
Finally, I look in my own backyard.
During the stay at home orders, I found solace in our neighborhood’s dog park.
I found a few women with adorable little dogs and I started looking forward to bring my mutts down to play with them every day.
It gets me away from home, and into nature. And, the conversations that ensue are enjoyable.
In a pinch, if I’m feeling really lonely, and can’t go out, I’ll call family members or friends on the phone just to chat about everything and nothing.
This image was on the top of the Google search results page for “Mental Health Awareness Month” and they had a statement that said Public Service Announcement.
I have really bad anxiety sometimes. To the point where if left unchecked, I’ll have a full-blown panic attack and be pretty much useless for several hours if not the entire day.
Lately, I’ve been obsessed with two things to help me through it.
The first is guided meditations. I love them. My favorite app for finding amazing guided meditations isInsight Timer, but I’ve also found some pretty good ones on YouTube.
The reason I used guided meditations in lieu of just trying to meditate on my own is that I have trouble with my mind wandering, and the guided meditations make it easier for me to focus on relaxing and let the world go.
When I can’t access a guided meditation for whatever reason, I’ll sit silently and just repeat the word release over and over again to myself. It may sound silly, but it was a trick I picked up I think from Brendon Burchard years ago, and in a pinch, it’s really helpful to me.
The other thing I do frequently is what I call my word vomit sessions. I open a Google Document in Chrome and I will turn on the voice typing feature and I literally just start talking about everything going on in my head.
I don’t set a timer, though some of my bloggy friends have recommended that. But, I just sit there and talk out everything I’m thinking at the moment. I don’t censor myself, and I don’t try to have any rhyme or reason. I literally just word vomit all over the document.
Within a few sentences, I already start feeling better in most cases. Other times, I’ll have to sit there for a while and just keep word vomiting until everything is released from my brain. Occasionally, I’ll re-read what I’ve written because good ideas for my business or blog posts I have to write will end up on the page. However, more often than not I will instead release it all, and then not read it again.
I keep this word vomit document on my computer and I’ve dated each entry. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll go back and read it all and it will make for good material for my memoirs. Then again, it might sound like the ramblings of a person who doesn’t have all their crayons in the box. I’m not sure.
Other Things I Do When I’m Feeling Anxious
Meditation and word vomiting are my favorite things to do when I’m feeling anxious, but other things I do to calm myself down include, but aren’t limited to:
— Going on long walks – I call it pounding pavement. When I’m incredibly anxious and can’t stop fidgeting, sometimes I’ll throw my sneakers on and walk until it hurts. I sometimes won’t even bring my dogs. I’ll just walk and try to focus only on the scenery around me and let go of everything else. I make a point to look at everything I see and really think about it so that whatever is making me anxious is not the focus.
— Taking a long shower – I’m talking the kind where you just stand in the water and don’t even actually soap up. Have you ever done that? There is something about the hot water just flowing that soothes me. I would take more baths, but our bathtub is small and because of that, it doesn’t give me the feel I want from a bath.
— Cooking – I love to cook. But I hate doing it unless the kitchen is spotless, and my husband agrees to clean up after. When I’m feeling anxious I’ve been known to make incredibly elaborate meals just to have something to keep my mind busy, and off of whatever is making me anxious.
— Do a craft – I love working with my hands and creating something from nothing. Lately, I’ve been pretty obsessed with some Dollar Tree craft groups I found on Facebook. The members come up with some of the most creative crafts I’ve ever seen and they mainly use products from the dollar store to make them.
— Take naps – I know – this one isn’t possible for everyone, but when I’m so anxious that nothing else helps, I go take a nap. I’ve recently found a great trick for falling asleep quickly. Here’s the video that explains the trick:
What I Do When I’m Feeling Sad
One of the first things I do when I’m feeling sad is pray. Whatever you believe in doesn’t matter, but for me, praying helps me a lot. I often will begin by saying something like, “Spirits show me another way.” Or “Spirits help me transform this sadness into love.”
Often times when I’m feeling sad there is a feeling of being unloved under the surface. When this happens, I just pray to feel the love that I know deep down is in my life. I remind myself of my husband who loves me, my family and friends, my dogs, and so on and so on.
Other times, I just have to love myself and tell myself it’s safe for me to feel loved. It’s safe for me to be happy.
One thing that helps me when the sadness is just unwavering is to search for comedy videos, memes, photos, and even clips on TikTok. I keep a file on my computer called my smile file. It’s filled with silly images that make me laugh. And, when I’m in a rut, I’ve been known to open it up and go through the images and laugh until I cry.
Speaking of crying. Sometimes, when I’m feeling sad I will give myself permission to just be sad and cry it all out. I’ll go into my bedroom with a box of tissues and simply cry until I have no more tears left to give. It is often cathartic. But, while doing it, I do my best to not let my mind wander to more things to be sad about because then it becomes that much harder to come back from a downward spiral.
Many of the things I do when I’m anxious I’ll also do when I’m sad.
Another thing that helps me a lot is called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT. It’s also commonly referred to as tapping. I’m so not good at explaining how EFT works,but you can learn more about it here. For now, the Reader’s Digest version of tapping is that you tap on pressure points to relieve stress, anxiety, sadness, etc…
I first learned about EFT from Denise Duffield-Thomas and she is incredible about transforming one’s thoughts about money. I’m sure she’ll come up on this show again soon because her trainings around money have really helped me to not be so afraid of making a living doing what I love.
One of the best resources I’ve found for tapping videos isBrad Yates on YouTube. Brad has videos on tapping through everything from anxiety to debt to unemployment to mending a broken heart. I highly recommend checking out his YouTube channel.
What Does Mental Health Have to do With Blogging?
Now, you might be wondering, what does mental health have to do with blogging? Well, if you’re like me, when you aren’t in a good headspace, you can’t be creative. Work becomes difficult. And everything just feels like you’re trying to run through mud.
Like any job, it’s hard to be a productive blogger when your mental health is suffering. Though buzzwords like self-care only became the popular thing to discuss in what feels like just the last five years or so, it really is important to take care of ourselves.
One of my favorite sayings in the whole world is “You can’t give from an empty cup.” Though I often fight it, I’ve been trying to remember and commit to this sentiment over the last several years because it’s so true.
If we are supposed to put our oxygen masks on first in a dangerous situation, it stands to reason that we must fill up our own cups first if we hope to have anything to give to others. It’s taken me a long time to realize that minding my mental health is not selfish. It’s about making sure there is enough of me to give to myself and others. It’s about making sure I’ll be here when people need me.
Other Things I Recommend for Help with Mental Health
To wrap up this episode, I want to share a few more things I recommend to help you with your own mental health journey. Some of these are things I can honestly tell you I still struggle with, but hey, I’m a work in progress.
First, get enough sleep. As adults, we should be aiming for between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. I will tell you that this has been a serious struggle for me in recent months. I’ve actually been sleeping in a broken pattern where I’ll pass out for a few hours, work, and then pass out again. I’m working on this one y’all.
Second, be mindful of what you put in your body. I’m horrible at this one, but what we eat has been proven to have a direct effect on our minds and hearts. We need to be eating a healthy, well-balanced diet to perform at our best.
Third, and this is a huge one for me is to seek counseling. I hate that the idea of therapy is still so taboo. I am proud to share that I’ve consulted with and sought help from multiple counselors or therapists. We don’t make a big deal out of going to get a physical with our primary care physicians, and we shouldn’t make a big deal out of seeing a therapist or counselor either.
I can honestly tell you, without a doubt, I would be in a much darker place today had it not been for some of the amazing mental health professionals I’ve spoken with over the years. And, there are resources for you if you can’t afford one.
When my dad passed of suicide, I couldn’t work for several months which meant that my income didn’t exist during that time. Here where I live, a nonprofit provided me with free counseling to get me back on my feet. They even helped me handle the financial blows that I dealt with as a result of being out of work.
If you take nothing else from this episode, please take care of your mental health and seek help and guidance when you need it. And don’t be ashamed if you need more help than others. I’d rather everyone go to a therapist and get help with their mental health problems than read another family member, friend, or acquaintance has taken their own life because they couldn’t cope.
It may sound cliche, but the world really does need you. You are loved. I love you. And, I want to see you succeed and thrive.
Conclusion
I hope this episode was helpful. It was meant to be inspiring and break away from the stigma that so many people feel about discussing mental health. I’ll be the first to tell you that I know I struggle with mental health issues and I’ll never shy away from seeking help for those issues.
We all deserve to be here, and we all have a mission and a purpose. But to fulfill that, we have to take care of ourselves first. Alright, that’s all I have for now my bloggy friends.
Until next time, may your page views be high, and your bounce rate be low.
Thank you so much for listening, and I’ll catch you guys next time.
Most bloggers never make money from their blogs. That’s why in this episode, I’m covering 10 ways to make money as a blogger indirectly.
10 Ways to Make Money As A Blogger
What’s up you guys?!? Famous Ashley Grant here, and today I want to talk about how to make money as a blogger. One of the common misconceptions about blogging is that you can just start one day and then make a boatload of cash. Now, believe it or not, this actually is possible. But it’s the exception and certainly not the rule! There are some new bloggers who hit the virality jackpot with their very first post and start making money right off the bat. Again though, these folks are MAJOR OUTLIERS… for the rest of us….
We have to get a little creative if we plan to make money as a blogger. And the truth is we may never make money from our blog itself. In fact, according to Blogging.org, 81% of blogs never make more than $100 directly from their blog over the blog’s lifetime. That’s why many bloggers who are making a full-time living actually are doing it indirectly.
What You Need to Know to Make Money as a Blogger
Before we completely dive in, there are a couple of things you need to know about trying to make money as a blogger. First and most importantly, is that it’s going to take work. If you plan on using your blog as a get-rich-quick scheme, then this episode definitely isn’t for you, and I recommend that you go ahead and skip it.
To Make Money as a Blogger Directly
You can add affiliate links and Google Adsense to start monetizing right away – even doing this though, you won’t make a bunch of money right out of the gate
You’ll need to figure out your niche – the bloggers that make the most money have a niche – in fact, a lack of a solid one is what has prevented me from hitting it BIG
You’ll need to add LOTS of QUALITY posts
You then need to start getting eyeballs on those posts and even that might not be enough
It might get frustrating at times because if you are like most of the bloggers I know, you’ll have days/months, maybe even years, where you’re not making as much money as you would like.
You might not make “real” money for months or even years – maybe not EVER 🙁
It has taken some bloggers years to make more than a few hundred dollars from their blogs
Pro Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger worked 80-100 hrs a week for the first several years, and even now usually puts in at least 60 hours – but he makes $100,000 a month now on his blog! I recommend you read his guide on how to make money as a blogger – HOW TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING (FREE GUIDE FOR 2020)
If you’re smart you’ve started growing an email list — and that list means you have potential income opportunity. I’ve told you guys before, that I’m really bad about this. I don’t have an email list, even though I know I should.
Think about what product or service you could sell to your email subscribers. Whether it’s your own product or someone else’s for which you get a cut of every sale, you’ve got a chance to get paid.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
And again, this is not get-rich-quick. Sure, with YouTube you could go viral, and suddenly be able to make an influx of cash. But, like with blogging, this is the exception and not the rule.
If you have a strong speaking voice and think you could reach a broader audience, podcasting might be a good fit for you. While some people believe that it’s just as hard to build a podcast following as it is to build a blog following, others believe podcasting is more appealing in our fast-paced society because no one takes the time to read anymore.
As for YouTube, people love watching videos, so why not leverage that platform to make a little cash? Of course, you will need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watched hours before you can monetize with Google Adsense, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start making money right away. Product links, affiliate links, and links for your services can all be added to your description box!
You could simply read your blog posts to your viewers, tell your viewers about your blog posts, or show what you are writing about. For example, if you have a cake decorating blog you could create videos of you decorating cakes. Craft blog? Create short how-to clips. When you have enough source material, edit the clips into a full-length video that you can sell.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
Depending on your message and your blog’s niche, you could start making money from speaking at various engagements. Say you’ve got a knack to describing how to build the best chicken coops; you might just be able to land a speaking gig at a farming conference.
Note: In lieu of cash, some speakers are paid with tickets and hotel reservations for the conferences or expos they’re participating in. That’s as good as cash to me, baby. Am I alone in that? Tweet me at @AshleyisFamous and let me know.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
Develop a large enough knowledge base and you’ve got the opportunity to organize and distribute your knowledge in book form. Thanks to the joy of online publishing platforms like Kindle, Lulu and others, you don’t even need a publisher. You could also sell your book as a PDF downloadable directly from your website. Of course, you’ll use your blog to promote the books you create.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
5. Hosting Workshops – live and virtual / Teaching Courses
It’s been said that it takes as much effort to write a book as it does to plan and sell a course. Why not do both? Take your lessons from your book and create videos with visual elements and combine them with group coaching to walk your students through every step of what you know. Bonus points if you get an outside sponsor to help subsidize your costs. You get more bonus points if you film everything that happens at the event and then sell the digital sessions. Ah, multiple levels of income potential from one event — it’s a beautiful thing!
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
As a blogger, you have set yourself up as an expert in your chosen field. You could become a consultant in your area of expertise. You might even look into consulting about blogging (although if you’re not making any money at it, you might want to give that potential income stream a pass until you are). Of course, some topics are more profitable than others, but if you’re interested in giving one-on-one advice there might be someone out there willing to pay you for your time.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
As a blogger, you’re already learning how to use Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This is a valuable tool that many business owners are looking for. Perhaps you can manage their social media feeds for them and get paid while you do it!
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
I’ve seen bloggers create everything from journals to planners, custom aprons to lipgloss, essential oil blends, spice kits, budgeting planners and so much more. You can easily create digital products with just your laptop and have them ready to sell as fast as you can create them. While physical products will take more time and resources, you can certainly develop those and make money too.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
Perhaps the skills you have learned from running your blog make you a perfect candidate for a new “real job.” Your blog might be the ideal resume. Should you choose to go back to the dark side 9-to-5 world, you could keep building your blog on the side while bringing in a steady paycheck. If that’s how you want to roll, more power to you!
What are your favorite ways to make indirect blogging income? Please tweet me at @AshleyisFamous and let me know because I’m ALWAYS looking for additional revenue streams!
10. Ghostwriting and Freelance Writing
Now, before you tell me you’re not a writer, take a look at the number of posts you’ve written on your blog. If you’ve formed coherent thoughts into complete sentences, you’re a writer my friend. Maybe not a good one, but a writer nonetheless. With the decent portfolio your blog posts comprise, you can find yourself some freelance writing gigs — becoming a ghost blogger like me or pitching magazine, newspaper and website editors to write content for their outlets with your own byline.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
Does organic traffic feel elusive? If so, you need new tactics. In this episode, I’m sharing 10 ways to promote your blog for free!
Episode 3 – Show Notes
This episode is all about tactics for promoting your blog and driving traffic to your website for free. Ashley shares 11 tips, including guest posting on other blogs, participating in blogger roundups and link parties, doing joint giveaways, using your email signature, getting media coverage, writing for sites like Medium, strategic use of social media, getting interviewed on podcasts, interviewing experts yourself, networking online, and speaking at summits and conferences.
Ashley explains each traffic-building strategy in detail and emphasizes the importance of promoting your content everywhere possible and connecting with others in your niche. She wants to help bloggers grow their audiences organically without spending money on advertising. The episode is filled with actionable tips bloggers can use right away to increase visibility and get more eyeballs on their websites.
Here are the most important timestamps for this episode on promoting your blog:
1:35 – Ashley introduces her 10 best ways to promote your blog for free.
2:41 – Ashley explains how guest posting works and why it’s her #1 favorite traffic strategy.
4:17 – Ashley talks about participating in roundups and link parties to tap into new audiences.
5:09 – Ashley covers doing joint giveaways with other bloggers.
8:45 – Ashley suggests using your email signature to promote your blog.
9:27 – Ashley talks about different tactics for getting media coverage as a blogger.
11:59 – Ashley recommends writing for sites like Medium to establish expertise.
13:02 – Ashley stresses the importance of strategic social media use.
15:45 – Ashley explains how guest podcasting can drive new traffic.
17:20 – Ashley talks about interviewing experts and quoting them.
18:33 – Ashley suggests networking online through groups.
20:40 – Ashley does a quick recap of all 11 free traffic-building tips.
Let me know if you need any other important timestamps highlighted!
Welcome to Episode 2 of the Bloggy Friends Show where we chat about The Not So Wild World Of Ghostblogging.
Episode 2 of the Bloggy Friends Show Notes
In this episode of the Bloggy Friends Show titled “Ghostblogging,” Famous Ashley Grant discusses her experience and insights into the world of ghostblogging. She shares how she got started, the challenges she faced, and the opportunities it presented. Ashley emphasizes the importance of being a good writer and learning the client’s voice. She also talks about the benefits of ghostblogging, including the ability to work from anywhere in the world. Ashley offers advice on breaking into the industry and highlights the significance of having writing samples, or clips, to showcase your skills. Overall, this episode provides valuable information for those interested in pursuing a career in ghostblogging.
Tune in on YouTube instead:
How to Become a GhostBlogger
What’s up, everyone? Famous Ashley Grant here, and welcome to the ghostblogging episode of the Bloggy Friends Show. Before I dive into today’s content, I just want to thank everyone for their reactions to my first episode. I was so scared to release this podcast. For years I’ve wanted to do an online show you guys, and every time I started to write an outline or record audio, I would just tuck it away and push it to the side. It’s why I released the first episode on April Fool’s Day, honestly. I want to release weekly episodes on Fridays, but I chose a Wednesday for the inaugural episode just so it could fall on April Fool’s.
I figured if it sucked I could just say it was a joke. Ha!
But so far, everyone has been so supportive. You all have been so awesome with your messages, comments, and words of wisdom. I know I’ll probably keep being scared for a while. But, I’m going to keep trying and powering through the fear because I have big plans for this show and future projects, and my goals aren’t going to accomplish themselves. Anyway, I just wanted to share how much I appreciate the feedback, and let you know that I’m going to keep going and keep chasing my dreams. I’m grateful to have such amazing people in my corner rooting me on.
Alright! Enough of this sappy show of emotion. Let’s get into today’s content. Shall we? I want to talk about ghostblogging. Ya know? This episode is going to serve a little bit as a time capsule in a way because right now in 2020 we’re living through a pandemic. Something that was never even on my radar.
Because of miss coronavirus, so many people are losing jobs or having to transition their 9 to 5 jobs into stay at home work. Many entrepreneurs I know are still working, but even they have taken pay cuts and had struggles as a result of these insane times. I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve worked from home for more than a decade. Sure, I’ve had a few 9 to 5 stints here and there, but for the most part, I’ve been a work from home writer.
As the workforce has been changing, I’ve gotten questions from people about how I’m still earning a living, and how they can do it too. So that’s what I want to talk about today. The not so wild world of ghostblogging.
What is a ghostblogger? Odds are you know what a ghost writer is, but just in case you don’t — a ghost writer is a writer who pens content on behalf of another individual, in their voice (or as close to it as possible when you don’t share a bloodline, and might never even have met in person) and with their byline. Ghost blogging is very much the same thing, only instead of writing books, pamphlets or press releases, you write blog posts on behalf of someone else (i.e. the person who pays you and strokes your fragile self-confidence by telling you how amazing you are).
I focus strictly on blog posts. Both short and long form, but blog posts only nonetheless. Why did I choose ghost blogging?
As I mentioned in the last episode, I got into ghostblogging in January 2014 when it literally landed in my lap. A lady I had met asked me if I would be interested in writing her blog posts because her writer was quitting, and she didn’t have time to produce her own content. Because I was losing work at the time, I jumped at the chance.
That first year was a whirlwind of chaos and learning curves. I had to learn the client’s voice, and then as I gained new clients, I had to learn their voices too. It ended up being an amazing year though, and I earned enough to go on my first vacation in years. We went to Thailand, and while we were there I realized that I could turn this into an amazing business working from anywhere in the world. Though my name wasn’t on the blog posts, I was making good money, and I knew I could keep working on my own blog in my free time.
I’ve ghostwritten books and press releases and landing pages too. But blogging always ended up being my favorite type of content. That’s why I started turning down offers for other work, and focused mainly on ghostblogging.
Since that first year, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to get into ghostwriting. I thought this would be the perfect time to lift the curtain and tell you everything I know about breaking into the world of ghostblogging.
For starters, you need to be able to write a blog post. There are plenty of places to learn copywriting, and with practice you can fine tune your process of researching and writing both short form and long form pieces.
You have to be a decent writer. You wouldn’t go to a hairstylist who gets lots of complaints online that they don’t know how to style hair, would you? Wait a minute – Am I the only one getting flashbacks to the movie Grease when Frenchy accidentally mismatched the colors and turned her hair pink in beauty school?
I can suddenly hear Frankie Avalon singing Beauty School Dropout…
Just me? OK … moving on!
Back to the importance of being a decent writer; notice I didn’t say the greatest writer who ever lived (that’s why we have editors). Imagine you and another person are being chased by a bear — you don’t have to be faster than the bear, you have to be faster than the other person who is also being chased by the bear. It’s the same with writing. All you really need is to be better at writing than the person you’re writing for!
The number one question I get from people thinking about becoming a ghostwriter is “Do I need a website?”
To this I say, no. Not exactly. But what you do need, is clips. You need some kind of proof that you can write.
Interestingly enough, when I start ghostblogging, I did not have a “traditional” or “typical” writer’s website. Sure, I had clips of pieces written, but not an actual website.
In fact, my first ghostblogging client found me because she saw stuff I had written in the newspaper and in local magazines.
But, how can YOU break into ghostblogging? In other words, How can you prove you know how to write without a website?
Write on Medium.com
Write on other people’s blogs. This is called guest posting and I plan on doing an entire show about that in the future
Write on your own blog
You could even write mock posts on Google docs that you can share with potential clients. The main key is to write something on a platform that gives you a link that you can send to someone who asks for clips.
I get it! Building a writer website can be time-consuming, and most people looking to break into ghostblogging want to start working right away. Building a website can take significantly longer than you might have time for. So, if I was starting over again today, and couldn’t build a website…here’s what I would do….
Create a Facebook fan page and call it something simple like Ashley’s Ghostblogging Business – these are FREE!
Write a post, or a few posts on Medium.com about the type of content you want to be hired for.Yep, I’m talking niches people. The cool thing about blogs is there are LOADS of topics…so you can set yourself apart by becoming an expert in one topic and get lots of work in this area.
When I first started ghostblogging, I was writing almost exclusively for travel agencies. I got really good at knocking out posts quickly because of how many assignments I had in the travel niche. And, the best part? I started learning how to come up with blog post ideas because I had written so much about travel in a short period of time. In one year alone I wrote more than 100 posts on travel. It’s crazy when I think about how much I have grown since then.
Start thinking about what topics interest you. Odds are there are businesses related to your topics. For example, if you love jewelry, perhaps you could work on blogs for business owners that run Etsy businesses or homemade jewelry. If you’re all about fitness, perhaps you could write for a personal trainer or even a gym franchise. Maybe you could talk until you’re blue in the face about homeschooling – there are virtual business owners that need writers to post about that too!
If you can’t find businesses that are related to your topic exactly, are there ones out there that interest you just enough? Probably! The possibilities are virtually endless.
But let’s get back to my “what I would do if I was starting today” scenario…
Once I had a Facebook page up, and a few posts about the topic I want to write about published on Medium.com – I would then:
– create a Paypal account if I didn’t already have one
– create a contract for clients
– decide on your pricing strategy
– get on Canva.com and develop some graphics announcing that I’m a writer for hire
After the business side of things was handled, I would start going about finding my first clients.
You need clients if you’re gonna make any money, am I right?
Where are these potential clients, you ask? Everywhere, my bloggy friend! They are online, offline, and they might even live next door. In fact, they might not even have a blog yet.
Odds are you already know someone (or you know someone who knows someone) who needs a writer. To start, I would go to my current network of friends and family. I would share my clips and ask them if they know anyone who would need a writer for content like this.
If I didn’t get any bites, I would start searching for businesses I’d like to work with. I’d grab my local chamber of commerce directory, join networking in person and online, join Facebook and LinkedIn Groups and basically tell everyone and their brother I’m open for business. All the while, I’d continue writing on Medium and other platforms about the topic I want to ghost blog about. I’d share the posts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with a simple message that said something like “I you need content like this, DM me”
Now, I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret I don’t think I’ve shared anywhere else. When I’m in a pinch for client work, and leads are drying up, I go to PR and Marketing Agencies. Here’s the thing – all of their clients need content and they know it. They can have in-house staff do most of it, but sometimes they will bring on outside contractors to knock out the work that much faster. That’s where people like me come in. This allows them to get the job done, look good to the client, and I get paid. Everybody wins.
Most of the work I have gotten has been via referral, but when I really need work, I often will go back to the list of agencies I haven’t pitched yet and throw my hat in the ring. More often than not I get a message back that they don’t need anyone right now, but that they will keep my information on file because they like to have a pool of writers. Follow up when you need more work, and reach out to new places as often as you can. You never know when a pitch will yield work – it could be immediately, or it could be far down the road. That’s why you have to continue pitching yourself.
I will tell you I also have gotten work on sites like Upwork and Fiverr. Now, listen. I know these websites get a bad rep, and yes, there are a lot of jerks on there looking for cheap labor. BUT! You can actually secure work on these platforms, you just have to be careful. Still, I agree that these platforms are more of a last resort than where you should begin your hunt for clients.
Other places I have found writing gigs have been on job boards, by attending conferences, and even by being a guest on radio, television, and other podcasts. In fact, one podcast I was a guest on yielded more than $400 in a single day. I got to promote my business, and landed an easy $400 while providing content to the podcast host. It was a wonderful experience, and I have since been on other podcasts getting my name out there. Again, you never know where your next gig will come from, so you have to keep marketing and promoting yourself.
One place some of my writing friends have found success in landing gigs is Facebook Marketplace and in Facebook groups where you can “sell your content.”
If you’re like me and hate putting on anything but yoga pants, you’ll likely want to look for most of your clients online. Believe it or not, I’ve never met 90% of the people I’ve worked for. We literally handle all of the elements of our business online. It’s awesome!
I love ghost blogging as a business because I get to make my own hours, and work at my own pace. I negotiate my rates, and then do the work and get paid. It’s truly been the most fruitful work of my writing career.
Let’s talk about what to do once you land your first client. You’ll first negotiate and agree on the terms of your writing gig. Save your emails and get everything in writing. If they want to chat on the phone or via Skype, that’s fine, but do yourself a favor and send them a recap email of everything that was said and get confirmation so you can ensure you are on the same page. You may want to get a contract in place as well to protect both you and the client.
Before you write a single word for them, agree to details like the date of delivery, whether or not your fee includes a re-write, whether the tone will be friendly or professional, the keywords they want included in the post, approved places for research…and so on.
You also need to agree on the method of payment, and how invoicing and payments will be handled. Some writers I know charge non-refundable deposits up front, and others charge the full amount once the job is done. You have to decide what works best for you.
After everything has been agreed to, it’s time to get to work. Here’s my suggested workflow for writing assignments:
Step 1 –
Get the topic the client wants along with the keywords they would like you to include in the post. If they have any research they have already done on the topic, go ahead and get that from them as well.
Step 2 –
Remember, only AFTER agreeing to terms, topics, word length, etc… should you start writing. Now it’s time to start researching your topics
Want to understand jet lag so you can ghost blog for travel specialists? Fly to Thailand, like my husband and I did earlier this year. It’ll make you a better blogger.
If you’re writing for a photographer, you’ll need to research their photography style and website and the photography topics they want to cover in their blog posts extensively so you can write with authority. With their byline on the post, their reputation is on the line. I suggest going after clients who need the type of content you already know about. It will make your life much easier.
When I started writing for travel agents I had to do a ton of research that might not have taken so much of my time if I’d initially known more about the travel industry than how to book a ticket online. After years of working with and ghostwriting for travel agents, I’m still learning and doing quite a bit of research — but at least I have a better grip on the subject. My industry-specific know-how now helps me assist in coming up with post ideas and knowing where to go to even begin the research process.
Step 3 –
Write the post by the date you said you would and send it to the client either as a Word document, a Google doc or in the body of an email (how you submit your work will depend on what you and the client agreed to ahead of time) i personally prefer Google Docs because I can access them anywhere with WiFi and both I and the client can add comments directly into the document for edits and ideas
I have to take a quick moment here and reiterate something of great importance. Always meet your deadlines! Trust me, the fastest way to lose your blogging clients is to be late and/or drop the ball completely. If they want a post every Friday by 5 p.m., you better make sure they get their posts every Friday by 5 p.m.! Bonus points if you’re early because then they really know they can rely on you.
Here’s the thing, in the past 13 years I’ve written a lot of content. I’ve also been an editor and a manager and someone who hires and fires writers. Nothing irks me more than a writer who can’t meet a deadline. Especially if they don’t communicate with me that they will be late with a good reason. I personally have blacklisted writers who can’t communicate, follow instructions, or meet deadlines. I don’t want that to happen to you. So, just please, communicate with your clients and be on time. Okay, end rant.. Back to my suggested steps for your workflow
Step 4 –
Rewrite the piece if necessary. This may be needed a lot in the beginning as you learn your client’s voice.
Remember, the whole point of ghostwriting is to allow your client to take the credit. If they would never use certain quotes or say certain things — like “dude” or “awesome” or “put a pin in it” — you’ll need to adapt to their way of writing. For example, one of my clients hates the phrase “not so much” and another doesn’t like any references to tofu in her healthy eating blog posts.
In the beginning, you need to interview your client thoroughly to learn how they talk and what they want to get out there to their readers. Both your credibility and your profit margin shrink every time you have to revise a draft because the voice is off.
Step 5 –
Invoice the client for the work provided.
Add terms and conditions for when you want to be paid. Set this precedent in the beginning so there are no surprises. For example, every invoice I send out states TERMS: NET 30 days, and past due amounts are subject to a $10 or 10% late fee whichever is larger. Because I’m clear on this, there isn’t a surprise when a late fee invoice is submitted.
Now for the hardest part about being a ghostblogger… well, at least it is for me.
You have to keep your work a secret.
If you can’t handle keeping mum about what you’ve written, ghost blogging might not be a good option for you. I sometimes have trouble with this myself because I’m one of those vain writers who can’t wait to tell everyone about my latest work (surprising, I know), but unless your client is OK with going public about using a ghost blogger, you better keep your mouth shut. In fact, don’t be surprised if you have to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which means you could face legal ramifications if you don’t keep quiet about your work!
The truth is ghost blogging requires a lot of work, but when you’re willing to put in the effort you can develop a pretty decent stream of income before you know it. So, the question now is what are you waiting for? Get your clips together and start looking for work today!
That’s all I have for today’s episode. I hope this was inspiring and gave you a glimpse into being a ghostwriter. Thanks for listening, and Until next time, may your page views be high, and your bounce rate be low.
I’m so excited to have finally launched my Bloggy Friends Show! Join me on my journey and let’s be bloggy friends!
Welcome to the Bloggy Friends Show!
Who is Ashley Grant?
Ashley, who goes by the tongue-in-cheek moniker “Famous Ashley Grant,” first got started in journalism in 2007 when she was in college. Her first paid writing gig was for the Tampa Bay Times in 2008.
In 2009, Ashley was given the nickname “Famous Ashley Grant” by a hotel concierge she knew. She thought it was hilarious and decided to lean into the silly name, even ordering business cards with it.
Ashley has made her living as a freelance writer and ghostwriter since 2009. She loves writing for others but also hopes to build her personal brand and become “internet famous” under her own name some day.
What will the Bloggy Friends Show be about?
The goal of the Bloggy Friends Show is to “inspire, educate and connect” with other bloggers.
Specific topics Ashley plans to cover include:
The realities of blogging after you launch a blog
Ghost blogging
Promoting your blog
Making money blogging
Interviews with other bloggers
Ashley wants the show to celebrate the blogging community and create a space where bloggers can learn from each other. She coined the term “Bloggy Friends” to refer endearingly to her fellow bloggers.
Watch the episode on YouTube instead:
Welcome to The Bloggy Friends Show Episode 1 – Show Notes
What’s up, everyone? Famous Ashley Grant here and it’s my sincere pleasure to Welcome you FINALLY to the bloggy friends show. I’ve been talking about starting this show for years now. Though I can’t quite say What it is exactly that has prevented me from starting it, a series of events in the past year has led me to realize there’s no time like the present 2 just launch it already.
I know one thing that has held me back has been the fear of putting myself out there, especially considering that most of the work I’ve done in the past 6 years didn’t even have my name on it. I’ve been a Ghostwriter since 2014, but long before that is when my writing career actually began. But I’m getting ahead of myself
In this first episode, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself, share how I got into blogging and explain the origin story of my silly moniker that I’ve been touting since 2009. I’ll also share what my hope is for this show and what future episodes will look like. so let’s Dive In!
In 2007 my very first written piece was published under my name in my university’s newspaper. I was working towards my journalism degree, and getting clips was required for one of my classes. A few short months later my first paid piece was published in a local Tampa paper called TBT which stood for Tampa Bay Times. I have to say from that very first piece in February 2007 in the University of South Florida Oracle newspaper, I was hooked. For me, there was nothing quite like having your name displayed and a story you had written being visible for all of your peers to see. then when I got the gig with the TBT I was on cloud nine and convinced that I wanted to be a writer for the rest of my life.
Fast forward to 2009 and I had several writing gigs under my belt, I was writing stories for various news outlets both online and in print. About that time, I was covering a lot of local Tampa events and at 1, in particular, I met the guy who would give me my moniker Famous Ashley Grant.
His name is Ron McDougall, and at the time he was known in Tampa as Ron from the Don. He worked for the famous pink hotel in St. Petersburg, the Don Cesar as a concierge. Needless to say, conversations that ensued with him were always entertaining and I quite enjoyed chatting with him. One night when I was covering a story as I walked into the room he blurted out “ oh my God! It’s the famous Ashley Grant!” I thought it was hilarious and I couldn’t stop laughing. That night, he cemented it by calling me that multiple times and introducing me to several people as the Famous Ashley Grant. I can hear him now saying to people, “Do you know the Famous Ashley Grant?”
When I got home, after a little too much white wine I confess, I accidentally ordered business cards with that name on it. When they arrived, I busted out laughing but realized that I couldn’t exactly return them. So I thought why not, I’ll just hand them out and see what happens.
Incidentally, I started introducing myself as Famous Ashley Grant, and it was the first year that I made full-time income as a writer. As the momentum picked up during that year I got excited and so I bought the domain thefamousashleygrant.com and decided I was going to keep using that name because every time someone met me and I used it they would either laugh or they would roll their eyes. But the key was they would never forget. And that became essential for me to get more work.
Slowly but surely maintaining the level of work that I was getting became a little bit harder because anytime advertisers would pull out the first people to go would always be Freelancers which is what I always was. A freelancer. Come 2013 I was making significantly less income and begin looking for other opportunities. Then, in January 2014 ghostwriting literally landed in my lap. Suddenly, getting gigs was easy again, as long as my name wasn’t on the byline.
So I’ve been doing that while also trying to get more gigs under my own name ever since. Of course, I continue to try and get internet famous enough to make full-time income as Ashley Grant, but in the meantime, I’m truly loving how many clients I’ve helped to get their story and content out there for their businesses.
So there you have it. That’s the backstory of how I got into blogging and how I got my moniker. Now you might be wondering, why call this the bloggy friends show? The truth is, the life of a writer can be a lonely one. A while back, I started calling my friends who were writers and bloggers my bloggy friends. I liked the idea That anyone who was a friend of mine had a special title of being my bloggy friend, and I often will say “let’s be friends” to people as I hand them my business card.
What will the show be about? I wanted this to be a show about bloggers, for bloggers, by a blogger. it won’t be about how to start a blog though. In my opinion, there’s plenty of posts, podcast and vlogging episodes, and articles about blogging.
So what I want this to be is a place about the wild world of blogging after you launch, or even after you’ve been around a while. I want it to be a place to hang out and learn about bloggers that are actually doing this and read their stories. I want it to be a space to learn about the latest news that could impact your blog, revenue, and business. But most importantly, I wanted to be a party to celebrate the coolest people in the blogosphere, and celebrate all the amazing things they are doing online. The goal of this show is to inspire, educate, and connect.
I plan to release 10 episodes or so per season as podcast, and in the first 10 episodes it’ll just be me jamming I’m blogging. I want to talk about ghost blogging, promoting your blog, making money, and things like that.
Then later, I’d love to do a series of interviews with bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and even brands all with the theme of connection and becoming bloggy friends! So that’s what you can expect from me and the show. I do ultimately hope to share episodes and other clips that didn’t quite make sense to make a full podcast episode out of on YouTube as well. Without further ado, let’s jam on all things blogging!
I’m working on a proper website and social media handles for this show, but for now, you can find me as FamousAshleyGrant.com and as Famous Ashley Grant across social media. Let’s be friends! I’d love to connect with you. Until the next episode, may your page views be high, and your bounce-rate be low!
Got an email today that put something in perspective for me, and confirmed a thought I’ve had for a while….you can’t rely on a SINGLE source for your business to succeed AND maintain success.
The email I got was from a lady I’ve been following for a bit…her Youtube channel was randomly deleted by Google and she is fighting to get it back. There was nothing she did that caused it, it was a legitimate glitch that caused it to be deleted. And, the reality is it may be gone forever with no recourse, or anything she can actually do about it.
This happened with a website of mine years ago – I didn’t own it completely and it randomly got deleted after a hack from a hacker in a foreign county. Still hurts thinking about that loss honestly, but back to the Youtube gal.
The problem? She has built a significant portion of her business via Youtube. She receives most of her leads and hence makes most of her business income thanks to Youtube.
Where are your promotions at online?
This is similar to something I’ve seen other business owners doing – building nearly all of their business on Facebook, or Twitter or Linkedin.
Building your brand across multiple platforms is great, but you must make sure that no matter how you’re promoting yourself that you’re not relying on JUST ONE platform. If at any given moment it vanishes, it could cripple your business.
Now, this lady is pretty resourceful, and I’m sure she’s collected many email addresses and will ultimately be fine. However, the difference is she has been doing this 6 years and may be able to recover faster than other people who are still new in business.
I’m not 100% sure what will happen for her, but obviously I’m wishing her the very best.
Don’t focus all your promo efforts on one platform!
The bottom line is, don’t rest all your business plans on one platform. Especially one you don’t own. You must realize that when you do that if the platform ever vanishes or your account is randomly deleted, it can cripple you.
In all honesty, this is why I’m a huge fan of cross posting. I’ll take the same piece of content and use it in multiple ways so that no single platform is ever getting all of the focus. Some people have called me crazy for doing this and have said I could build my business faster if I would just focus on ONE.
But to them I say this – if Facebook vanishes tomorrow, I’ve still got Twitter. If Twitter vanishes, I’ve still got Linkedin, and if they all vanish, I’ve still got my website and my personal database of contacts. I won’t quit, and hopefully it means I won’t fail.
I felt compelled to share this, and I hope it gets you thinking about how you’re promoting yourself. I also hope that you avoid focusing all of your energy on a single platform you don’t own. Happy Monday my fellow entrepreneurs!
Thanks to my membership in the Tampa Bay Bloggers and their partnership with the Straz Center I received two complimentary tickets for the purposes of review to Love Never Dies. This has not impacted my review and all opinions below are my own.
“Only For You” – Mary Michael Patterson (“Meg Giry”) and the Ensemble of Love Never Dies. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Okay so look. I LOVE musicals. Like, wish I was the one singing and dancing on stage kind of love for musicals. M’kay? So, please go into this post knowing that first and foremost so you don’t just think I’m hatin’.
I want to start by saying that the cast, the sets, the singing, the overall production of Love Never Dies – they were all absolutely stunning. I loved the set so much, it was just gorgeous! And, the singing gave me goosebumps in the best way. Just awesome. Everything was going great. At intermission I was on cloud nine. I even tweeted this:
Gardar Thor Cortes (“The Phantom”) and Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”) star in Love Never Dies. Photo by Joan Marcus.
And then…the last frikkin number came, and what happened after ruined EVERYTHING!!! I won’t spoil it in case you’re going to go see it. BUT!!! Love Never Dies ended in the worst way of EVER!!! I hated it. I was fuming. I was crying like a blubbering frikkin’ mess, and then I was pissed off the entire way home. I thought musicals were supposed to have a happy ending dammit! This one did not, and it made me mad. Like so mad I couldn’t even tweet about how I was feeling about it for more than an hour.
Meghan Picerno (“Christine Daaé”) stars in Love Never Dies. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Here’s the thing – if you want to believe the end is happy, leave after you see the peacock. Let Christine sing for you, and as soon as the song ends and the peacock goes away – LEAVE. THE. THEATER!!! Then, pretend the ending was a lovely, sweet one, and you’ll walk away feeling like it was one of the greatest musicals perhaps of all time. BUT, if you want to get mad, sad, heartbroken or any other array of negative emotions…stick around for the horrible conclusion that left me wanting to punch someone.
This is one time I wish somebody had warned me about the ending. It’s the one time I wish someone had said, Ashley LEAVE after the song in front of the peacock. If I had known and walked away, I would have ended the evening feeling that it was a fabulous night out, and simply an amazing production.
I want to reiterate at this point that I LOVED all of the rest of the show. It kept me on my toes, and falling hard for some of the characters. Maybe that’s why the ending made me so upset. Or maybe it’s my own life experiences that made the last moments of the production ruin the entire show for me. I’m not 100% sure. What I do know is this though – that to me was how NOT to end a musical.
Love Never Dies is playing at the Straz Center in Tampa through December 17, 2017. To see all of the shows playing at the Center, click here.
