Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this case study is how wholly unremarkable it really is.
The steps aren’t revolutionary. The topic is almost mundane. And yet with consistent effort this simple blog is earning over 10K per month.
Here are the tips I was able to gleam from its owner, 27 year old Lucy (not her real name.)
1: Pick a visual niche. While this isn’t mandatory, it’s worked really well for Lucy. She works in a specific interior design subniche that allows her to post amazing before and after photos.
2: Do keyword research. Lucy attributes much of her success to targeting the low hanging fruit of keywords, the ones that are sought after but don’t return many quality results.
3: Post often. Lucy posts nearly every day, and every post contains at least one if not many photographs.
4: Use social media. In Lucy’s case, she’s a huge fan of Pinterest because it allows her to use her photos to the fullest and gain free targeted traffic.
5: Self-host WordPress. Get your own domain and choose your webhost carefully. Don’t spend a lot on your theme, at least not at first. Choose one that’s inexpensive and looks good.
6: Choose your niche carefully. If you’re blogging purely because you enjoy it and don’t care if you make money, then skip this step. But if you want to build a five or six figure income, you’ve got to choose a niche that’s easily monetized.
7: Blog often. Choose a publishing schedule and then stick to it. Don’t let a week go by without publishing if you want to post daily, or a month go by if you want to post weekly. Consistency is important for SEO as well as keeping the interest of your readers.
8: Do the things that make you money. It’s easy to get lost on the little stuff that doesn’t matter. If you can’t see a direct return for your investment of time, then maybe you don’t need to do it. If it’s working, do more of it. If it’s not working, then don’t beat your head against the wall.
9: Get traffic. The more traffic you get, the faster you can sign up with an agency to earn ad revenue. And this revenue can be substantial. The first month Lucy ran ads on her blog she made $2,100.
10: Promote affiliate products. Amazon will pay you 3% while programs such as ClickBank pay 50% or more. Create your own products and earn 100%.
11: Add a podcast. If you’re up for it, add a podcast. Interview experts, tell stories, entertain and promote your site and your products.
12: Improve. Invest in blogging courses, SEO course and anything that will make you better at what you’re doing. Invest in one course at a time and implement as you go. Don’t buy a dozen courses and then forget to take them.
13: Become a marketing expert at one social channel. If you chose a niche that lends itself to the visual, then get great at designing pins for Pinterest. If your niche would do better in Instagram, become an Instagram marketing expert. It’s better to ‘own’ one channel and build a huge following there than to spread yourself thin over many channels.
14: Stop wasting time. Whatever it is that you’re doing that isn’t moving your blog forward, just stop doing it. This includes excess television time, too.
15: Don’t settle for just one income stream. Or two. Or even three. The more income streams you have, the better/safer your business is. When you have enough traffic, you can sign up with an ad network and make passive income displaying ads. From day 1 you can begin promoting your own products and or affiliate products. Create courses, host events, partner with other people… when you control the traffic, there is an almost endless array of possibilities for adding income streams.
16: Build a brand. Building your own tribe of people is paramount to getting them to return time and time again. Your brand is what they look for, associate with and respect.
17: Build a list. No, list building is not dead. Lucy offers a $49 product of hers for free if they input a special code word and their email address into the sales form. This converts like crazy because people are getting a $49 product for free. And she ensures she gets their best email address because half of the product is drip fed over a 10 day period, thereby ensuring they also build the habit of opening her emails.
17.5 Consider SMS. If it’s right for your niche, consider sending out SMS messages with discounts and special offers. Because the conversion rates on SMS can be outstanding, this alone can add hundreds or thousands of dollars to your monthly income. Take a course on SMS marketing and learn all you can to make the most of it.