If you recall, I made $1820 in October 2016. In December, just two months later, I greatly increased my income to just over $3000!

While I’m still not totally comfortable sharing my numbers online, I know that it helps many others see what is possible through blogging, being a virtual assistant, freelancing, and other forms of online income. I don’t even have any products out yet, so don’t feel that it’s necessary to create an ebook or course to make good money online.

December 2016 Income

Okay, let’s dive into the details of my income for December:

• Affiliate Income: $170
• VA/Freelancing: $813
• Sponsored Posts: $720
• SEO Services: $1,385

Income: $3,088

Expenses

I purchased a few courses and renewed memberships related to my online business in December. All in all, I spent about $600 in expenses, making my total income for the month right at $2,400.

Total Income for December: $2,400

What Worked in December 2016:

• More services. In December, I started offering Pinterest management services along with content creation/management. Many bloggers need help scheduling pins and creating pinnable images so the services are in high demand.
• Increased affiliate income. My blog posts here on OIM are starting to take off on social media, and they are earning me affiliate income. My best affiliate products at the moment are Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, Lena Gott’s Blog Traffic eBook, and Tailwind.
• SEO position. In early December, I landed a freelance position with a SEO consulting firm. I managed a variety of services for four clients during the month. Services included writing blog posts, updating alt tags, meta tags, and page titles and descriptions, and scheduling social media posts.
• Blogging Giveaway. I put together a huge giveaway that went live on December 1. From it, I gained over 350 new email subscribers!

What Didn’t Work in December 2016:

• Twitter. I keep tweeting my new blog posts and even affiliate links. I’m just not getting anywhere on there. I’ll keep plugging away though, since it’s easy to schedule tweets with CoSchedule.

December 2016 Traffic

• Unique Visitors: 9,685
• Page Views: 15,450

I had a very good month, traffic-wise, on Online Income Mom. From October, my uniques and pageviews have both tripled! I consider that a win since most people were busy shopping for the holidays in December rather than looking up how to build an online income.

My most popular post in December was “PicMonkey Editor Tutorial: How to Create Pin-worthy Images”

What’s Next for OIM

I am working on some ebooks to put out in 2017. I am currently working on one about content creation and another about getting started as a freelancer. Hopefully the first one will be out in March!

I also want to get back to a consistent posting schedule here on the blog, which I slacked on in December and January. But, good things are coming!

How is your online income coming along?

The post Income Report: How I Made $3,088 in December 2016 appeared first on Online Income Mom.

I state semi-passive because you should always be promoting your links. However, you can earn from writing a single blog post that has affiliate links in it. Many bloggers love this method because it’s easy to get started. You simply sign up for affiliate programs, promote your links, and earn a commission!

But, there are some things you need to be aware of as you venture into affiliate marketing…

7 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1 – Jumping Right Into Paid Advertising

Once you have found a great affiliate product to promote, you may want to spend money to send a ton of traffic to your link or the posts where your linked have been added. However, if you aren’t carefully you will lose money with paid advertising.

Begin with free traffic methods, such as social media. Share your links on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Create great content around your affiliate links so that people click through and purchase on your recommendation. The time you spend working free traffic will likely allow you to profit much more in the long run!

Mistake #2 – Focusing Solely on Trend and Fad Niches

While hitting a topic while it is hot is a great idea for traffic and even affiliate income, it’s usually not a sustainable way to make money. Once the subject dies down, so will your earnings.

Mix the trends in with evergreen content (ideas you can benefit from for years to come) so that you milk the fads as they come and still have substantial income coming on a residual basis.

Mistake #3 – Promoting Shoddy Products

One of the biggest affiliate marketing mistakes you can make is promoting any and every product you come across. That is NOT how you find success! It is highly recommended that you only promote products and services you have personally tried. This lets you create helpful tutorials and reviews about the affiliate products, in turn giving your loyal fans the information they need to make a purchase.

A side note to promoting everything under the sun – you will soon be figured out. People will start to notice all you are blogging or emailing for is to make money rather than be helpful! Give more than you take, and always remember quality is better than quantity.

Mistake #4 – Not Building a List

Many affiliate marketers don’t realize the importance of building an email list. However, with a loyal list of buyers, you have the potential to increase your income with each email you send out. Start an email list with ConvertKit the day you get approved for affiliate programs. That way, you aren’t leaving any money on the table!

Keep in touch with your subscribers by emailing at least once a week. Provide helpful information related to your niche, and don’t be afraid to include an affiliate link or two.

Mistake #5 – Misleading Your Audience

Yes, this has been done. Affiliate marketers will lead their fans down the wrong path just so they can promote an affiliate product or service to “solve” their problems. It will not take long for someone savvy enough to call you out, and your reputation could be ruined.

This is one the biggest affiliate marketing mistakes you want to avoid. Once your reputation is gone, you will have a hard time getting people to trust you again.

The number #1 rule in affiliate marketing – always be helpful!

Mistake #6 – Not Connecting Promos to Newsworthy Stories

Relating your affiliate promotions to things going on in the world will help your readers stay on top of problems and present you as a helpful problem solver.

For example, when mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus are running rampant in a given area, discuss how a particular clothing line provides skin protection against the pests. This will make readers residing in/near the area thankful for a solution. They will likely click right through and buy some clothing!

On the other hand, if you simply talked about how stylish or comfortable the clothing is, that may not be enough for most people to buy. It’s all about connections and making your products seem like must haves.

Mistake #7 – Relying on Copy and Paste Content

Affiliate marketers need to be real when they are promoting a product. Copying and pasting a “swipe email” (emails provided by the product creator for you to use in promotions) doesn’t do you or your readers any favors. Use the swipe email as a starting point, but be authentic and share your own experiences or thoughts about the product.

Likewise for the product details on the sales page. The reader can click through and get that information. What they need from you are personal experience and opinions. Did the product work as described? What was your favorite feature? Provide the details a reader won’t get from the sales page!

Learn Affiliate Marketing from Someone Earning $50,000/Month With It!

If you really want to ramp up your affiliate marketing success, I highly recommend you take Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing by Michelle from Making Sense of Cents. With her blog, Michelle has had multiple $50,000+ months, just from affiliate marketing.

I took her course in 2016 and it helped me immensely on all of my blogs. I have put many of her tips and tricks into action and have seen great results!

Are there any other affiliate marketing mistakes you would add to this list?

The post 7 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes Bloggers Should Avoid appeared first on Online Income Mom.

I have tried almost all of these ventures myself, so I know they work. Even if I haven’t, I know people that have had success with the methods I am going to share below! Good luck!

10 Best Online Income Opportunities for Moms

1. Blogging

Starting a blog is a great way to earn income online. Even if you only have time to work on it a few hours a week, you can start to earn with ads, sponsored posts, or affiliate marketing. Starting a blog isn’t difficult at all, and it takes less than $50 to get started for your first year!

2. Virtual Assistant

There are many in-demand VA services that bloggers and website owners need completed. This may include pitching for blogger campaigns, creating Pinterest images, scheduling posts via Tailwind, managing social media accounts, or replying to emails.

You do need to be familiar with various social media tools and blogging programs in order to be a successful VA. However, you don’t need your own blog or any presence in order to make money as a VA!

3. Freelance Writing

This may be one of the best online income opportunities for moms if you are just getting started online. If you can write a 500-word article on a popular topic, you can sell the article for money! Many writers start out at $20 or more per article. Writing just 2 a day would be a great side income. This is actually how I made my first $1000 online, back in 2007.

If you want to start a freelance writing business, the only thing you really need is a website. It’s a good idea to start a blog, so you can house all of your writing samples for potential clients to see in one place.

4. Etsy Seller

If you enjoy crafting and creating handmade items, consider opening an Etsy store. It’s possible for moms to earn $1000’s per month selling on this platform. Popular examples of items that sell well on Etsy include personalized t-shirts, jewelry, and digital items like printables and invitations.

Related Reading: 10 Etsy Shop Tips

5. eBay Seller

Over the years, I have made quite a bit of money selling on eBay. It’s mostly been children’s clothing and baby items, but you can sell virtually anything you want on there. I know a couple of people that have made it big buying at yard sales and flea markets and reselling items for a profit on eBay. You could also act as a middleman for your family and friends, selling things for a small cut of the profits.

6. Affiliate marketing

I started to lump affiliate marketing in the blogging category, but this online income opportunity doesn’t require a blog to get started. With affiliate marketing, you sign up for networks and promote products on the seller’s behalf, earning a commission if a sale is made through your special links.

These links can be promoted on Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media websites. You could also promote affiliate products to an email list without having a blog. Once you are ready to start with affiliate marketing, I recommend you begin with Amazon Associates. You can also sign up for programs through Share-A-Sale.

If you want to ramp up your affiliate marketing strategy, I recommend you look into Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. It’s the most comprehensive course I have found for newbies and intermediate online income moms!

7. Online Tutor

Have an education degree? You can become an online tutor to stay home and make money. There are many programs on the internet that parents can use to get the help with subjects their children are struggling with. These websites hire work at home freelancers or employees to cut down on costs and make it more convenient for their customers.

8. Kindle Publishing

Another one of the best online income opportunities for moms in 2017 that deals with writing is publishing ebooks on the Amazon Kindle platform. This is free to do, and you earn 35% or 70% royalties (depending on the price of your book). I have experimented with Kindle publishing in the past and was able to earn over $5000 in one year from it. That may not seem like a lot, but imagine if I had gotten more serious with it!

9. PLR seller

Yet another writing opportunity! PLR stands for private label rights, and it is content that you create once and sell over and over again. The trick is to price it low so that marketers and bloggers will grab your products and repurpose them for their own online businesses.

Tiffany Lambert is my unofficial mentor when it comes to PLR sales. She easily makes four- (and sometimes five) figures each month with her PLR store.

10. Direct Sales

Even though direct sales is all about selling physical products, you can do it solely online if you wish. Take LuLaRoe, for example. That may be the most popular direct sales venture on the internet right now. The LLR craze is going on full force in 2017, and sellers are really seeing it with their online income rising!

Many consultants have Facebook groups in which they run sales and deals inside. They may also host Facebook chats/parties every now and then to drum up new business. They then ship out the items once sales are made, so the only time they have to leave the home is to head to the post office!

Online Income Resources

Ready to start or grow your online income? Here are my most recommended ebooks and courses:

• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing: Perfect for those that want to increase their affiliate earnings. You will learn the techniques from Michelle of Making Sense of Cents, who earns over $50,000 in affiliate marketing with her blog!
• From 17K to 350K+ Page Views in 9 Months: Lena Gott uncovers the 17 ways she grew her blog from 17K to 350K+ monthly page views in just 9 months!
• How to Start Blogging for Less than $50!: If you are completely new, read my step-by-step blogging tutorial to get started!

Which of the best online income opportunities for moms have you tried? Any that you plan to add in 2017?

The post 10 Best Online Income Opportunities for Moms in 2017 appeared first on Online Income Mom.

I have used a number of keyword research tools over the years. For a while I stuck with Google’s tool (now called Keyword Planner), since it was free. However, since they now show ranges rather than exact numbers, it’s difficult to determine whether a keyword is worth working for.

Long Tail Pro was my favorite for a long time, but it has become very glitchy and hard to use. A couple months ago, someone mentioned Jaaxy in an affiliate marketing group, so I gave it a try. The free trial had me hooked within an hour of using it!

My Jaaxy Keyword Tool Review

There are so many ways that Jaaxy has helped me with my SEO and keyword research effects. To make things easy, I am breaking down the benefits of this keyword tool into a list of my 10 most favorite features!

Give Jaaxy’s Free Trial a Go Now!

1. Jaaxy is very easy to use and understand.

Jaaxy is a serious powerhouse when it comes to doing keyword research for SEO. I am really focusing more on getting traffic from Google and other search engines in 2017. I need to have a reliable tool that will help me pick the perfect phrases for my niches. This is where Jaaxy comes in – making keyword research a breeze.

I love how easy Jaaxy is to use and understand. Once you enter a keyword, you will receive similar ideas in a list to consider. You will also see the average number of searches a keyword receives in a month, as well as an estimate of the traffic you will receive if you land on the first page in the search results.

2. The easy to read green light.

One of my favorite features of the Jaaxy Keyword Tool is the KQI (keyword quality index). This is a light that turns green, yellow, or red, depending on the quality of a keyword. It gives me a quick glimpse into whether or not I should try ranking for a keyword phrase.

3. Helpful SEO score function.

The SEO score is helpful as well. The higher the number, the more likely you are to rank on the first page for the phrase you are researching. I always shoot for a 90 or higher SEO score.

4. Jaaxy keyword lists.

As you are doing your keyword research with Jaaxy, you can save phrases to a list. This allows you do your research all at once, then write the blog posts for each keyword phrase later. I currently have a list for each niche topic I write about across my three blogs.

I can choose to refer to the lists within Jaaxy at any time. I can also download a list as a text file or .csv file (which opens in Microsoft Excel). Keyword organization is made easy with Jaaxy!

5. Search available domains.

If you are working on niche blogs, you may want to grab a domain for a specific keyword. Jaaxy will let you search for available domains right within its platform. You can find out if the .com, .net, or .org is available without having to switch screens to search.

6. Check your site rank for a specific keyword.

My Jaaxy Keyword Tool review doesn’t just cover researching keywords. You can also search to see how well your blog is ranking for a given keyword. Type in the keyword and your domain, and Jaaxy will show you where you rank in.

7. Lots of training videos.

If you need help getting started, Jaaxy has a number of training videos to walk you through their tool. I have found it easy enough to use without watching the videos, but I know that many need that extra assistance. I’m glad you can easily find help with Jaaxy if you need it.

Give Jaaxy’s Free Trial a Go Now!

There you have it. My Jaaxy Keyword Tool review and the seven reasons why I love it the most. If you are interested in giving it a try, Jaaxy offers a free trial for 30 free searches. You have nothing to lose!

The post Jaaxy Keyword Tool Review: 7 Reasons It’s My Favorite Keyword Research Tool appeared first on Online Income Mom.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to wake up to a zillion page views and comments you could never hope to answer?

What exactly is a viral blog post?

The term is very subjective. For some, a viral blog post would mean one that gets 1,000 page views in the first couple days of publishing. Others may think 500 page views is enough to be considered viral. Still other bloggers may want 10,000 page views to the post in order to think it’s a viral hit.

Getting your first viral blog post

The problem is, obtaining a viral blog post is not an absolute science. Once you have a huge readership, you have a much better chance of course. Just put it out there and let your minions spread the word, right?

What about the little bloggers though? How do we give ourselves a good shot at the viral blog post?

11 Tips to Increase the Chances of a Viral Blog Post

1. Pick a solid topic that will make people talk.

The topic has to be interesting, timely, and one that will appeal to many people. If you write too narrow, you are limiting your blog post’s reach. For example, a post that deals with potty training a child (something EVERY parent will experience at least once) has a better chance of being more popular than a post about potty training a ferret.

2. Make sure your topic and keywords are searched regularly.

You will want to do some keyword research before your write your post if you want it to go viral. The phrase you target needs to be one that gets a fair amount of searches each month. Use good SEO tactics to get the post on the first page of Google and other search engines. This, along with social media, will help boost your post into viral status.

3. Keep the posting reasonably short so that people will finish and share.

Avoid a lot of fluff in your epic blog post you are hoping will go viral. It needs to be straight to the point, solving the issue for the reader that is coming to get the information you present. Add images and break up long blocks of text so it’s easier to read as well.

4. Make sure you have no typos or errors.

A blog post with tons of glaring errors will not become very popular. Your grammar doesn’t need to be perfect, but it’s important that you at least proofread your post before publishing. Send it to a friend to read over if you can, or use Grammarly to check for any issues.

5. Add pics and diagrams when possible.

Not only do images help to break up the text of the blog post, they will also help you get your point across to the reader. Illustrate your content as much as you can so it’s easy to understand. Sometimes, it’s the fascinating images that cause a post to go viral.

6. Make it easy to read and use a simple font.

A common, easy to read font is essential if you want a viral blog post. Avoid fancy scripts, even for headlines. Break up your text with subheadings, which help your reader move from one point to another. They also help the search engines determine what your post is about, so they are great for SEO too.

7. Submit to all social media.

You must get the ball rolling on a post if you want its view to skyrocket. Make sure you publish updates on all of your social networks for exposure. Use CoSchedule to schedule updates for the next two months on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. Tailwind will help you get the word out on your pins for the post as well.

8. Communicate with your readers on the post and on social media.

Be sure to answer any and all questions and comments about your blog post. This shows you are there for a two-way communication and aren’t simply throwing words out there for people to read. Loyal readers like knowing there is a human behind the posts they are reading, and if you create a connection with your fans, you greatly increase the chances of a viral blog post.

9. Share others work and encourage them to do the same.

Blogging is a lot of “you do mine, I’ll do yours”. In order to get your blog posts shared by more people, share content from your favorite blogs. There are many Facebook groups that make this sharing easy. Participate and give so that you can receive!

10. Link to other posts and also to your own.

Sharing links to back up the claims you make in your blog post increase your authority. They prove you know what you are talking about, so people are more likely to share your helpful posts. Plus, the more you interlink your own posts, the more exposure you give them when someone clicks on any post on your blog.

11. Make your posts easy to share.

Social share buttons are vital on every blog post if you want one to go viral. Social Warfare makes it easy to place buttons at the top and bottom of each post on your blog. With this WordPress plugin, you can also specify which image will be used when a reader shares to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.

You can do all of these things and more and still not guarantee a viral blog post. The best you can do is follow a pattern and routine of good practices and set yourself up for success. If you do this, sooner or later you will hit a big one.

The post 11 Tips to Increase your Chances of a Viral Blog Post appeared first on Online Income Mom.

Since I have really started focusing on Online Income Mom, I have been reading more blogs that discuss making money online, growing blog traffic and being more productive. I have them all listed in a (free) Feedly account, so I can quickly see who has updated each day.

Below are my favorite bloggers that share their expertise on Blogging, Social Media, and Working from Home. Many share what’s work for them in income reports, or helpful tip and list articles to help you grow your online business.

11 Successful Blogs on Building an Online Income You Should be Reading

1. Single Moms Income

Alexa has been blogging for a few years, and her blog contains a wealth of information for making money online. Even if you aren’t a single mother, you can benefit from the topics she covers. I love seeing her monthly income reports – they are very inspirational!

Posts I love from Single Moms Income:

• 50+ Legitimate Work From Home Job Opportunities
• 7 High-Paying Online Jobs

2. Twins Mommy

This blog is quickly becoming a very successful website. Elna got her start in freelance writing but is slowly transitioning to making more money with blogging and product creation. She shares a monthly blog growth update, so you can see firsthand what she is doing.  I have also enjoyed her posts on email marketing. That’s something I have always struggled with, so it’s great to get so much insight from Elna.

Posts I love from Twins Mommy:

• How to Optimize Your Blog to Increase Your Email Subscribers
• 8 Emails You Can Send That Aren’t About Your Latest Blog Post

3. Moms Make Cents

Also a newer blog, but McKinzie is killing it with her Pinterest strategies. I love how transparent she is in what works for her to grow traffic and subscribers. I have been on Pinterest for years but still benefit from reading the tips she shares here.

Posts I Love from Moms Make Sense:

• 35+ Free Online Course For Bloggers + Online Biz Owners
• 29 Income Reports To Propel Your Blog’s Success

4.  Making Sense of Cents

This blog is a powerhouse! Michelle originally started to blog about personal finance, which she still does, but she also shares how anyone can start a blog that makes money. Michelle currently makes over $100,000 per month through blogging…with about $50,000 of that being from affiliate marketing each month. I took her affiliate marketing course that she recently released, and it has helped me improve my strategy when it comes to promoting other people’s products and services.

Posts I Love from Making Sense of Cents:

• 40+ Side Hustle Ideas and Tips From The Experts
• Ways To Make An Extra $1,000 A Month

5. Real Ways to Earn Money Online

Anna has been blogging since 2010, and shares hundreds of ways that you can work and make money from home. Over 28,000 subscribers receive her weekly newsletter with job leads and other helpful information. Anytime I hear about a new online opportunity, I check Anna’s website to see if she has reviewed it. I trust her opinion and use her blog for research when deciding where to spend my time!

Posts I Love from Real Ways to Earn:

• 100 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Online
• $20 Work at Home Jobs Paying $20 an Hour or More

6.  The Busy Budgeter

While Rosemarie’s main focus is on budgeting and saving money, she also has a lot of posts on making money from home. She has been blogging about two years, and currently, makes five figures a month from The Busy Budgeter! I love learning from her since her site became one of the more successful blogs in a relatively short amount of time…some bloggers don’t reach that level until 4-5 years in.

Posts I Love from The Busy Budgeter:

• When to Hire Help for Your Blog (and which tasks should be outsourced.)
• How Many Pageviews Do You Need to Make Money Blogging?

7. The Work from Home Wife

Like me, Angie has been working from home since 2007. She got her start as a virtual assistant but later started blogging to help other make money online. She offers a number of topics that you can learn in order to build an online income, including blogging, freelance writing, selling on eBay, and more.

Posts I Love from The Work at Home Wife:

• Great Ways to Work from Home on a Tablet
• How to Sell Your Photos Online for More Cash with Less Work

8. What Mommy Does

I had the pleasure of meeting Lena at a blogging conference last year, and have been following her fabulous blog ever since. She is a CPA turned stay at home mom, and this woman knows her stuff when it comes to making money with blogging! Her first ebook chronicles how she took her blog from 17K to 350K page views in 9 months. It is definitely an eye-opening read, as is all of her posts about making money!

Posts I Love from What Mommy Does:

• 10 Things I’ve Sold by Accident Online as a Blogger
• The Money Making Theorem: How to Set Income Goals So You Can Earn $1000+ Extra Each Month

9. Believe in a Budget

Kristin is simply amazing! She can teach you how to start a side hustle or how to rock Pinterest. I have her Pinterest templates for Canva and they are amazing! I use them for the pinnable images you see on the blog here. Her monthly income reports are super inspiring, detailing how she’s making the shift from freelancing to passive income with products!

Posts I Love from Believe in a Budget:

• How I Launched a Profitable Blog Month-by-Month
• 3 Easy Ways to Side Hustle This Week

10. Redefining Mom

Not only does Monica talk about building an online income, she provides very helpful spreadsheets to help you organize your life and business! I love being a part of her Facebook group which is all about helping busy moms building their online incomes!

Posts I Love from Redefining Mom:

• 5 Must Listen Podcasts for Women Entrepreneurs
• 7 Guilt Free Ways to Make Time for Yourself

11. Horkey Handbook

Gina is another blogger that got her start with freelance writing. She was making $4000/month within the first six months of building her freelancing business. Now, she teaches others how to become a freelancer and a VA with her courses.

I am actually in her freelance writing course, and I can tell you first hand it’s awesome. It starts with the basics and works you up to creating a presence online and pitching clients so you can be successful with your business. You can get a free writing course from her too!

Posts I Love from Horkey Handbook:

• Being Authentic Matters
• How I Got Published on Scary Mommy

What are your favorite successful blogs on building an online income to follow?

The post 11 Successful Blogs on Building an Online Income You Should be Reading appeared first on Online Income Mom.

When I started blogging, Pinterest wasn’t yet a thing. I didn’t worry much about my images, only adding them in product reviews and maybe doing a Wordless Wednesday every now and then.

Boy, have things changed! Thankfully, the PicMonkey editor came along right about the same time I started really focusing on Pinterst and creating pin-worthy images. Because of it’s user-friendly interface, I recommend it for beginners who want to create images that will get pinned again and again.

PicMonkey Editor Tutorial: How to Create Pin-worthy Images

Before we dive into creating pin-worthy images using PicMonkey, we need to talk about where to get images for your post. I typically use a styled stock photo, cropping and adding text to get that irresistible, pinnable look. However, you are free to use your own original photography if you choose.

Now, you can’t just rush off to Google, search for the photo you need, and slap it on your blog as your own. There’s illegal, and you can be sued for stealing someone else’s image!

Grab the Cheatsheet!

Create beautiful, pin-worthy images for your blog posts every time with this free cheatsheet!

Success! Now check your email to download your freebie!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

Give me the goods! Powered by ConvertKit

However, there are plenty of free and paid websites that sell rights to stock images so you can use them without getting yourself in trouble. Check out these free places:

• Pixabay
• Unsplash

McKinzie at Moms Make Cents has an awesome resource for more free styled stock photos!

I also like these paid stock photo resources:

• Deposit Photos
• Adobe Stock

Okay, so you have a great photo you want to turn into a pin-worthy image. Off to the PicMonkey editor we go!

Selecting the “Edit a pic” button in the center of the screen brings you inside the PicMonkey editor with a basic image. You want to find the one you have saved on your computer, so click “Open” in the top menu and load the image into PicMonkey.

Here, I am working with a photo I purchased from Adobe Stock for just $1.

Sizing the Image for Pinterest

The first thing you want to do is resize the image so that it is long and vertical. If you take a look at Pinterest, you will see the longer pin images attract more repins. I like for my images to be 735 x 1300+ pixels. You can adjust this by going to the resize option in the menu.

If you have a photo that is more horizontal in nature, you can crop a section of it to use as your Pin-worthy image. Simply set your crop dimension option to “Pinterest pin” and it defaults to at least 735 pixels wide.

Adding a Text Overlay

The PicMonkey editor is installed with many free fonts, but with the Royale plan you can use the fonts installed on your computer. I personally love doing this because I have specific fonts I use for my brand.

There are a few different ways you can create the text overlay so that they image is easy to read and ready to for many users to pin!

There’s the total, semi-transparent overlay. This will completely cover your image with a colored overlay so your text really stands out.

You can also do a smaller overlay, taking up as much as the stock image as you wish.

To create either of these overlays, move down to the “Overlays” menu. Under the “General” section, click the rectangle shape to add it to your image. Click the corners and outside lines of your rectangle to shape and move it as you wish. Then, use the shape’s pop-up menu to set the color and fade (transparency).

When you are satisfied with the overlay placement, it’s time to add the text! Venture to the “Text” menu in the PicMonkey editor. Choose the font that best fits your brand and add in the text. Choose a title or phrase that will make the Pinterest user want to click.

Something enticing like “10 Ways to….” or “The 1 Simple Trick to…” work great! There will be a pop-up menu for the text settings as well. They allow you to change the color, size and fade of the text.

Use two fonts to really make certain words in your title stand out. For example, I wanted Simple Ways and More Time to be eye-catching. How many of us could use more time?? And how many want it to be found in a SIMPLE way?!

Don’t forget to include your blog link! This will help you watermark your image so someone else won’t steal it for their own website. It also helps people find the owner of the article, should they come across your image somewhere other than Pinterest.

When you are finished editing your image, click Save in the top menu of the PicMonkey editor. Specify your file name, and ensure your graphic is the proper size. There is also a quality setting, which I leave on “Pierce” to keep the file size small. Click “save” and choose where you want the image to be saved.

Voila! You now have a pin-worthy image ready for your blog post!

Grab the Cheatsheet!

Create beautiful, pin-worthy images for your blog posts every time with this free cheatsheet!

Success! Now check your email to download your freebie!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

Give me the goods! Powered by ConvertKit

Do you use the PicMonkey Editor to create your pin-worthy images?

The post PicMonkey Editor Tutorial: How to Create Pin-worthy Images appeared first on Online Income Mom.

The “Build a Successful Blog” Prize Pack, valued at $200!

Bold Beginnings eBook ($12) by Chantal Steele

Chantal is all about helping moms find their potential in the blogging world on her blog, Busy Blogging Mom. Her ebook features over 100 pages of information and guidance to help you grow your blog. Chantal includes the strategies she uses to take new blogs from 0 to 30,000+ page views in just 3 months!

With the book, you get:

Blog Traffic eBook ($25) by Lena Gott

I met Lena at a blogging conference in 2015, and I had no idea what a mentor she would become for me! Her blog, What Mommy Does, is an excellent resource for making money online.

Lena has sold over 700 copies of her informative book on blog traffic. The ebook shares the 17 strategies she used to boost her blog from 17K to 350K pageviews in just 9 months. This lady now makes over $9,000/month from blogging, so she is definitely someone to pay attention too!

What you get inside Lena’s Blog Traffic eBook:

Tailwind 6-Month Membership (~$50)

Tailwind is an amazing service to schedule and locate quality content to share on Pinterest. It is what I use on a daily basis, and I love it!

How to Write Blog and Web Content More Quickly ($19) by Laura Pennington

Laura has been a freelance writer for over five years. She enjoys sharing her knowing for content creation and securing clients with her students on her website, Six Figure Writing Secrets. This course will help a blogger write more content in less time!

Pinterest to Profits ($97) by McKinzie Bean

If you are ready to rock Pinterest, you need this course from McKinzie of Moms Make Cents. She has over delivered with this course, providing information on setting up your profile, Rich Pins, creating the perfect Pinterest images, and helping make a pin go viral. There are lots of bonuses included too!

Blog Boosting Analysis ($47) by Kecia Hambrick

Let me use my eight years of blogging and creating web content to help you boost your blog! I will take a look at your blog and suggest areas to improve in gaining traffic, monetizing your blog, and getting more loyal readers. This service has been requested more than once, so I am throwing my service into the ring for this giveaway!

The post Build a Successful Blog Giveaway {$250 Prize Pack} appeared first on Online Income Mom.

There are a list of things you need to do to get your blog ready for 2017. I have listed a few of these below, but you can access the full list by downloading the free printable checklist with 15 tasks to do now to ensure your blog is looking great in 2017!

Get the Free Checklist!

Get my FREE "15 Tasks to Get your Blog Ready for 2017" checklist and start organizing your blog today!

Success! Now check your email for your checklist!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

Send it my way! Powered by ConvertKit

15 Tasks to Get your Blog Ready for 2017

1. Update your “About Me”.

Take a look at the photo on your About Me page. Is it more than a year old? Replace it with a newer one. Read through the details on the page, and update ages, locations, or anything else that has changed. Add a few new links to the page, showcasing newer posts that have been popular on your blog.

2. Check for broken links.

It’s not good for your readers to have dead and broken links throughout your blog. If they click and can’t find what they need, they may get frustrated and leave your site altogether. Use a broken link checker plugin to easily find URLs that need to be replaced or removed.

3. Clean up categories and tags.

Throughout the year, you may have created new categories or tags for your blog with great intentions. However, if you only have 1-2 posts in these groups, you can certainly do some clean up. To keep your blog user friendly, limit your categories to 10. Add the most popular ones to your navigation menu so your readers easily find what you have to offer.

4. Update social media bios.

Your blog isn’t the only thing in your online business that needs to be updated for 2017! Make sure your Twitter and Facebook bios are up to date. Reword them to include new keywords and phrases that are pertinent to you and your blog. Consider new cover photos if the ones you have been using are more than 6 months old.

5. Refresh older blog posts.

It’s possible your blog contains outdated information. You may have written about something time-sensitive that is no longer happening, or has changed dates and times. Make sure you venture back through older posts and add or remove any necessary details. This is a great way to have new content to feature when you are too busy to write something completely original!

6. Create new pinnable images.

Take a look at your Pinterest analytics. Is there a certain style of images that have been getting more pins than others? If so, it’s time for a refresh! Sort through older posts that you want more traffic to – or that deserve more traffic.

Create new pinnable images using one of these 3 simple image creation tools and pin them. You can also schedule them to pin with a service like Tailwind – which I recommend in order to really get your content out there on Pinterest.

7. Reflect on your most popular posts.

Now it’s time to look at more stats, this time from Google Analytics. Look into your most popular posts for 2016. Create new post titles from the ones that are getting your blog the most traffic. That way, you can interlink the posts and boost your traffic in the new year.

8. Get a new blog design or logo.

Many bloggers like to get a new look for their blogs when a new year is starting. It’s like a chance to start fresh! You can purchase a theme to tweak on your own, or hire a professional to create new logo or design for you.

9. Declutter your sidebar.

Evaluate the banners, images, and other items you have stashed in your sidebar. Are there any outdated ads? Feature some of your most popular posts in your sidebar to put your blog’s best foot forward in 2017. You can also feature banner ads for affiliate products to increase your blog income.

10. Create new opt-in forms.

It may be time for a refresh in the freebies you are offering to build your email list. Sometimes, just the look of a new opt-in form will get more people signing up. The difference may catch more eyes. Better yet, leave the current form and add a new one somewhere else on the blog to double your chances of getting more subscribers!

Grab the free checklist for all 15 tasks to get your blog ready for 2017!

Get the Free Checklist!

Get my FREE "15 Tasks to Get your Blog Ready for 2017" checklist and start organizing your blog today!

Success! Now check your email for your checklist!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

Send it my way! Powered by ConvertKit

What are you doing to get your blog ready for 2017?

The post 15 Tasks to Get your Blog Ready for 2017 + Free Printable Checklist appeared first on Online Income Mom.

But, where should you put your money?

If you are still in your first year of blogging, or the first year of investing in your blog, the following 5 things are probably the most important for you. They will ensure you look professional, get more done in less time, and find success with your blog!

Top 5 Investments to Make in your First Year of Blogging

1. Reliable Web Host

In order for your blog to stay up and running, you need a quality web host. Free blogging sites aren’t recommended by most because you don’t truly own your space. The blog could be deleted at any time without a notice or reason. It’s happened to many people on Blogger or the free WordPress.com.

Note: A free WordPress.com blog is not the same as the free WordPress.org platform. With WordPress.org, you have to install it on a hosting plan – see what I mean in my “How to Start a Blog” tutorial.

I recommend Siteground for web hosting. They offer super fast loading times for your blog as well as superior customer service.

With Siteground, you can get one year of hosting for about $48. Siteground will give you a free domain name too!

2. Professional Theme

If you want to be taken seriously as a blogger, you have to look the part. A high quality blog design is important. It needs to be clean, easy to navigate, and have your blog title prominently displayed at the top. Avoid too many bright colors or the black ground with white text. It’s just difficult to read – and downright annoying to the eyes!

I have used a number of themes in my 9 years of blogging, but there are a few I recommend. Genesis Themes are great for beginners. You can customize these without knowing any fancy coding. Plus, there are many styles to choose from! I like Lifestyle Pro to start out with, myself.

3. Pinterest Scheduling Tool

If you are only going to choose one blogging tool to help you gain traffic and readers, let it be something for Pinterest. Most bloggers can’t be on Pinterest throughout the day (for a total of 2-ish hours), pinning their content as well as quality posts from other bloggers. However, that’s what your account needs in order to stay active and be pumping out useful pins that others want to re-pin.

The solution? Tailwind!

Why Tailwind? I recommend it as the best Pinterest tool for a number of reasons. It’s the only approved Pinterest Marketing partner, so I feel safe using it. It won’t get my account banned, as long as I am using it as it’s recommended.

Also, the Tailwind Tribes feature has been amazingly useful in exposing my content for more repins as well as finding content I can share with my own followers.

And the analytics in Tailwind?! They are insane! It’s important to see what pins are doing the best to get your blog more page views. The number lover in me gets a little excited every I look through my stats on Tailwind.

SCHEDULE 100 PINS FOR FREE WITH TAILWIND NOW!

4. Email List Builder

In orer to engage with your readers, you need to start building an email list. FROM DAY ONE.

This is the only way to ensure your loyal followers get notified of your new posts. Sharing them on social media isn’t a guarantee, especially with the way that Facebook only shows you the posts they want you to see. It’s very easy that people can miss your posts, even if they would like to read them!

Having an email list lets you place yourself right in the inbox of your biggest fans. You can email them each time a new blog post goes live. Plus, you can communicate with them on special deals, exciting contests or challenges, or offer subscriber-only content they will find super helpful.

ConvertKit is my top choice for building my email list. I started with Mailchimp, but ConvertKit was designed with bloggers in mind. The automation, segmentation, and tagging just can’t be beat! With ConvertKit, you won’t pay for the same people multiple times, even if they sign up for every different freebie you offer.

5. One eBook or Course

In order to grow your blog, you need to invest in your education. Just like you would go to college to get a fancy job, you need to learn all you can about online marketing, blogging, web traffic, and conversions.

Why do I say to only get ONE ebook or course your first year of blogging?

Because it’s SUPER easy to get overwhelmed. There are so many books and courses out there, you can easily buy them up and then not know where to go next. It’s called “info overload” and it is seriously a real thing.

Choose one area where you’d like to grow your blog. Maybe you want to grow your email list. Or increase your page views. Or start monetizing with affiliate links. No matter what your goals, stick to one course until you have finished and implemented it.

I have a few helpful blogging ebook and course recommendations on my Resources page if you’re interested!

Wrap Up

Of course, there are many other things you could invest in for your blog. Some may buy plugins, a professionally-designed theme, services, or coaching. The options are endless to what you can purchase in order to grow your blog. However, I do think the 5 listed here are the most essential if you are starting out.

What investments are you considering? If you’re not new to blogging, what investments do you think are the most important in a blogger’s first year?

The post Top 5 Investments to Make in your First Year of Blogging appeared first on Online Income Mom.