caitlin e shogren

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3-month check-in: Successful Lifestyle Blog Tips and Ideas

So, I’ve been writing blog posts and promoting my successful lifestyle blog for about 3-months now and I thought I’d share some lifestyle blogging tips and some of the best promotional ideas I’ve come across.

While the past few months of lifestyle blogging have blown by, I still have many blogging tips to take advantage of and use for my blog.

I’ve signed up for quite a few masterclasses, email list series, and Pinterest boards that vow to help, which have helped me produce better blog content, keyword SEO research and building my own email list. A lot of bloggers have been really helpful and have given me many pieces of advice from where I started from.

Currently, I’m in search of a Pinterest Strategy Course. I’ve found a few that I like but not sure who’s to pursue and which is the best deal.

So here are a few of my blogging tips and blogging aspirations for the future:

How to Use Pinterest Strategy Tips

I feel like I’ve taken a few too many Pinterest Strategy for Bloggers masterclasses. Here are a few notable ones that I would suggest if you’re struggling to grow your Pinterest following.

3 Ways to Use Pinterest to Quickly Grow Your Traffic + Audience by Melyssa Griffin

I’ve actually signed up Melyssa’s How to use Pinterest webinar twice. I haven’t been able to invest in business with her course as of yet, but it seems like she’s gotten some great reviews. Her webinar for growing your blog with Pinterest has helped me put keywords and how to use SEO on Pinterest. If you’re questioning why Pinterest is vital to creating your successful blog, Melyssa’s course is a great starting point.

I will be happy to note, Melyssa did not focus a lot of her time on herself. Her class started with Pinterest myths and strategies you could use. The last part of her class was focused on her class, however, complete with bundles and savings.

How to Double Your Leads & Sales in the Next 30 Days using Pinterest by Rachel Ngom

Rachel’s Pinterest strategy is my most recent Pinterest masterclass. Her class Pin 2 Profit is pretty popular as well, but probably not as well known as some of the other Pinterest Strategy webinars and classes that are promoted.

Rachel’s Pinterest strategy webinar started with an introduction about herself and then started filling in the class about Pinterest Marketing stategies that she had learned over the years since she started her blog. Again, she ended with a pitch for her Pin 2 Profit, but still provided a lot of useful information to help me navigate my Pinterest Strategy.

4 Steps to Double your Traffic and Email List in 30 Days by Sandra Clayton

Sandra helped me understand what not to do with a Pinterest strategy. It’s not just about what not to do, but why people use Pinterest, both as a consumer but also as a business owner. She wants you to gain traffic to your blog without much effort from you compared to other social media platform strategies.

Sandra does talk about the competition that you are against when starting your Pinterest business account. Graphics and topics are also discussed in her hour-long free Pinterest strategy webinar.

Email Marketing

Building your email list is a big topic that Melyssa Griffin talks about in her free how to use Pinterest strategy webinar. Email is one of the few marketing platforms that you are able to retain control of and not have to rely on someone else’s algorithm.

I finally set up my email list a few weeks ago. I haven’t gotten many hits or subscribers to it yet, but I’m still learning how to build my email list.

I know building freebies is a big suggestion to many bloggers who are trying to build their email list, however, I’m still trying to decide on helpful freebies others would like to have promoted. I’ve been thinking about possibly creating a freebie for resumes, design portfolios, and cover letters.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is has been expanding for Creatively Working. I’ve added a Facebook Group, Instagram Strategy, and posting content on LinkedIn as well.

I’ve had to look for help on these platforms, but I’m still actively looking for ways to implement those strategies. Here are two of my favorite classes to increase engagement on social media platforms:

Grow Your Facebook Group by Christina Jindalli

Christina does many different things as a blogger, but most recently, she’s started a free 3-part masterclass about constructing Facebook Group growth strategies.

The free masterclass helps identify why a Facebook group is vital for blog community and how to interact with them. Not only that, but she helps attack the way to gain new group members and how to approach them within your blog content.

InstaGrowthBoss Free Masterclass by Elise Darma

Elise is a master at Instagram. She’s an Instagram marketer, so she knows her stuff about this social media platform.

Not only does Elise provide her free masterclass, but she also provides you with a few freebies that will increase your engagement with your audience on Instagram. While most bloggers focus on Pinterest, following Elise’s advice on Instagram is a refreshing breathe of fresh air.

Lifestyle Blog Posts Ideas

I’ve been trying to stay consistent with my successful lifestyle blog posts over the last few months. I’ve started to hit a stride of writing 3 blog posts per week. Each post is about 1,000 words, give or take.

I’ve been contemplating switching my blogs from using pins as the top image to normal photos for the top image. I’d still like to include a few pins to my posts but not sure how it would affect my conversion, or if it would hurt my Pinterest Strategy.

I try to offer as many topics that relate to successful lifestyle blog tips or blog ideas, but I feel like the content just falls a bit flat. Not always mind you, but sometimes it feels like it.

Being more focused on the successful lifestyle, I’m able to change my topics somewhat, but I’m now getting to the point that I can put related content into each of my posts a few times. I enjoy giving readers the options to relate to the content that I am giving them.

Money-Making Blog Posts

While I’m still not writing with affiliate links, I’m also not focusing on where I can insert them in after the fact. Most of my blog posts are focused on providing successful lifestyle tips and don’t focus on selling any particular item or good.

I know I would like to focus on gaining legal pages for my blog before I start selling anything. I think that is the safer bet. I know I need a privacy statement probably the most at this point, but other than that, most of the legal pages I need are, I believe are part of using a money-making blog.

I think I’ll be mainly focusing my money-making blog posts on affiliate sales and sponsored posts. I’m not a fan of using ads to make money on my blog. Especially due to the cluttered aspect they provide for the aesthetic of a blog.

I know starting a blog is not easy. I’ve been putting a lot of time into creating a great and readable blog for my audience. I know I could be putting in more time but I’m also trying to keep a work-life balance in my pursuit to grow and establish my blog.

If you would like to see more about how I’m growing this successful lifestyle blog, subscribe to my email-newsletter! I’ll be posting new ways to grow your own successful lifestyle blog, current life ambitions, and exclusive content for Creatively Working on a bi-monthly basis.