Why you might want to start a blog:

There are a number of reasons why a person might want to blog. I know some people who did it just to record their life’s journey, and to keep family updated.

If that’s you, you can skip this as there isn’t really a right way to do it.

I’m talking to those of you who want to blog professionally, earn money and commissions from it, or even just sell a product through it.

A great reason to start a blog is to establish an at-home business, with minimal investment. Another great reason would be to sell a product for an already established business. But to do either of these, you need your blog to stand out among others and to really present a professional, helpful resource. 

It takes some time and some investment (although minuscule in comparison to starting any other business.) But it’s not as hard as it might sound.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

Why I started my blog:

It started out on a whim to share deals on both baby and craft products when M was born, about two years ago. But it stopped almost immediately afterward, when I realized just how involved it was, and I deleted my posts.

I kept it live, because I had always wanted to blog about jewelry making, and share some tutorials. I just never had the motivation.

We moved to New York, and I was home all day with my then baby. I wanted to contribute to the household income and needed a way to market my handmade jewelry.

I was told to blog.

What I didn’t understand then was that it’s not instant: start a blog, sell jewelry.

But that’s when I started a disciplined routine of blogging on various assorted topics, with an “Etsy mini” widget in my Blogger sidebar.

Eventually, I learned a valuable lesson: I can help provide for my family through my blog itself. By offering the public my expertise and skills, I can actually help put food on the table. Now THAT is a great direction, and reason to start a blog.

It took me about a year after I actually started my blog to start earning those first few pennies, and a year after I started consciously blogging to start bringing in steady (if small) income. 

But it doesn’t need to take that long, if you do it right.

This leads me to the early mistakes I made, and my advice for those just thinking about blogging (or those of you who have just started out.)

How to start a blog on the right foot: 

1. Have something to offer, and offer that. Write what you know about.

Big mistake #1 for me was that I started out without direction.

Everyone has something to offer. It could be a talent, a unique perspective, or even just the ability to write a compelling article.

Choose your strong point and focus on that. Your focus CAN and SHOULD evolve as things move on, but having a clear starting point can help you attract a relevant audience. Writing about something you’re an expert on will ensure that you put forth quality content.

2. Focus on quality, not quantity. Make each post have viral potential.

Be your own judge, or get others to share feedback. Each niche is different and has a different timeframe. Start with fewer posts a week, but post regularly.

I had that stage where I thought that I needed to post something every day, and the quality of my work really suffered.

Spend more time on each post, it will go much farther than two lesser-quality posts would.

Another mistake in this area was focusing on quantity of followers instead of quality. I wanted vanity numbers on my Facebook page, and in my email list, so I’d offer prizes and giveaways. While giveaways are a great reader incentive, they are not a great way to get active, engaged followers. Many of them just like the page for the prize, have no interest in what I have to offer, and never engage at all – which actually hurts my page.

My energy would have been better focused sharing great content on my Facebook page, similar to my own content, so that people who want those types of posts follow me.

It also pays to invest in a quality blog design and quality images from the start. It will only save you work down the road.

3. Write less, promote more, learn even more. Network from day one.

Another big mistake of mine, as mentioned in number two above, was to try and shove out as many posts as I could. 

This not only causes quality to suffer, but it also neglects one important detail: promotion. Just because it’s out there, doesn’t mean anyone is going to see it.

There are many ways to promote, but one of the best ways is to network. Networking with other bloggers (which I personally do via groups on Facebook) is a wonderful way to learn. You’ll gain valuable information about blogging, as well as ideas and opportunities to promote your content.

A great way to promote from the bottom up is to tackle Pinterest with a set strategy. You don’t need a huge following there to get good traffic. 

I also highly recommend investing in a good blog planner from the start. It will really keep you organized, as well as give you the perspective you need to stay motivated when doing social shares.

4. Set aside an investment, and invest wisely.

When you go into blogging thinking you’re starting a “free” business, you’re going to take much longer to earn money back.

I did this and therefore refused to pay for hosting, refused to invest in CRAFTS SUPPLIES (which is rather sad considering this is very much a craft blog). Even so, I did eventually start, and payback started quickly.

Start a blog with a minimal budget – it can even be $50 a month, or less! If you really need to supplement with income, you can do that by trying to sell content to other bloggers in the meantime. (You can do this also via Facebook groups dedicated to that purpose.)

When you can invest in a decent camera (bonus points for a decent lens too), and learn how to use it. It will transform the reach of your posts!

I wish I had done this sooner, but I needed the push of my dear husband to go behind my back and buy one for me. This leads me to my final “mistake”, and one that I’ve shared with many other bloggers.

5. Self-host, and choose a good host from the start:

A self-hosted blog is one with its own domain name (as opposed to .blogspot or .wordpress) on its own website. You do this through a host.

Almost every blogger I’ve spoken to has made the same mistake: they started out with a free account on another website. Then they moved to a cheap host, which blocked them from growing. Eventually they agreed to pay.

Good, quality hosting for a small blog can cost about $10 a month (that’s the starting rate with my host, Black Chicken). You always need to pay an extra $15 a year for your domain name, and you’ll probably want to add the $10 a year for domain privacy so that your website isn’t listed at your home address.

What happens if you don’t?

Many people want to make sure that the blog will succeed before paying for any hosting. The problem is, that then you do need to move the blog once it does succeed. This can be pricey, time consuming, and slow you down in the long run.

People have also lost content and comments in the process, as well as traffic when redirects don’t go as planned.

As far as starting with a cheaper, unlimited hosting plan: They’re NOT really unlimited, even if they keep promising that they are. You can read more about my experiences/nightmares, but it comes along with lots of aggravation of host downtime, lost traffic, blocked growth, and, in turn, lost income.

All of this tends to happen at the point where traffic lost is income lost. While the limits set by hosts such as mine are scary, they do have a warning system in place when you are approaching your maximum bandwidth. It never happened to me.

I have unfortunately learned this the hard way: if you want to start a blog for income, and to become a professional blogger, start it the right way. 

The next step? How to get started finding sponsors for your blog, and of course, bringing in income.

Do you want to start a blog? What is your motivation? Comment below if you have any questions, or feel free to reach out to me!

Check out the rest of the “Behind the Blog” series! We are a diverse group of bloggers who will be sharing with you this year a monthly post about what goes on behind our blogs!

This month’s post is all about our blog beginnings. You can check out the rest of the posts here:

• Behind the Blog: Robb Restyle Beginnings (Robb Restyle)
• I never meant to start blogging but…. (Arts & Crackers)
• Behind the Blog: The Speckled Palate’s Beginning (The Speckled Palate)
• Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging (The Life of Jennifer Dawn)
• Behind the Blog: Blog Beginning (Twin Stripe)
• “Can I start a Blog?” This is my Story. (The Natural Homeschool)

The post How to start a blog on the right foot appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

I was sure I lost everything.

I hadn’t. 

There were a few strange files, which were swiftly removed. My website was down for just about 24 hours, and while the damage was hard to quantify, I knew it was there. My host was not helpful: insisting I pay more to resolve the issue? What exactly had happened? An expert I spoke to speculated that the host had put it there to get me to upgrade.

Not very many weeks later, things began to happen again. I visited my website, and got a strange message to install Wordpress. 

So did anyone else who tried to visit my website.

It was a nightmare all over again.

So what does a blogger do when a website doesn’t work? I contacted my host, of course. The nightmare just got worse. 

This issue was supposedly caused by “exceeded hourly queries” – something that is hard to explain or quantify, but apparently I was using too many resources. So, while it was re-established within the hour, it kept on happening multiple times a day, for a few weeks, until I had no choice left but to DO SOMETHING.

As bloggers, especially those who rely on their blogs for some amount of income, WE NEED STABILITY, RELIABILITY, SECURITY. We need to be able to have answers and some measure of control over our blogs. 

Now, there are a few things you should know about my second situation, with the “exceeded queries”: 

• I had been experiencing a slump in traffic, so it could not have been related to that.
• When my host told me that’s what it was, and I told them this, they said it was a single plugin causing problems. I performed tests to see which plugins used the most resources, deactivated them, deleted them, and the problem continued.
• I had an UNLIMITED HOSTING PLAN. Now, all hosting plans that are unlimited come with some sort of statement that establishes that it must be within reason. But I was far from a massive blogger, hitting 100k pageviews a month steady. I wasn’t exactly in the millions.  

So what exactly happened there, if I used cheap unlimited hosting plans?

Disclaimer: I am currently a Black Chicken affiliate. That means that if you sign up via my link I receive a small commission. That being said, it’s a service that I swear by, and recommend even without my affiliate link. I was an affiliate with my old host too, and I am NOT sharing those links around anymore. 

It is very hard to tell, but upon speaking to various experts, I learned that these plans aren’t really unlimited. They are bait, to get you in. Once you start getting serious traffic, you’ll start bumping into problems, all of which have one solution: pay more.

When the malware was found on my website, do you want to know what my host told me? You need to pay us for extra security! (I had various security measures already in place, including CloudFlare and others). 

When the “queries” were exceeded? I needed to “upgrade” my plan to include more vague, unidentified queries.

CHEAP UNLIMITED HOSTING PLANS ARE NOT UNLIMITED! THEY ARE JUST LIMITED IN A WAY THAT YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND.

Naturally, I was fed up. 

I was fed up with not being in control of my own business.

I was fed up with not being able to rely on my website to be up.

I was fed up with having to circulate back ten times, verbally bully and threaten to leave each time I needed customer service.

I was fed up with having to speak to a different rep WITHIN THE SAME CONVERSATION, that was composed of copy-paste repetitive answers that did not answer my unique situation.

I was fed up with not knowing what I was paying for, what I was getting.

I was fed up with not having options and details laid out clearly in front of me.

I was fed up with devious, non-straightforward sales techniques.

So, I left.

I switched to Black Chicken Hosting and I am now paying double the price. I receive an answer within minutes. My plan is limited, yet I have never received that warning that I have used up 75% of my allowance. Oh, did I mention that my company sends a warning if I am approaching my limit?

My website has been down twice, for a few moments, and my new host got it back up promptly. The second time it was literally a few seconds – I only noticed it because I had saved a draft at exactly that moment (bummer.)

So what are the red flags in cheap unlimited hosting plans that are unreliable?

Here are a few things that I noticed in common, among all the sincere hosting recommendations I received:

• They all have a few levels of plans clearly laid out, with pricing.
• They have prompt and local customer service, often very personalized. This is because they tend to be smaller businesses – not huge establishments.
• They are more personal, and have real people behind them (similar to above.)
• Their rates are higher. There is no question about it. 
• They don’t over-promise. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
• Every single blogger you ask will recommend them. Every single one.

There were a few hosts that I looked into, and eventually I chose Black Chicken because of rave reviews and competitive (but not ridiculously cheap) rates. 

I always said with my former host (which I will not mention so as not to single out one company when I’ve heard such complaints about quite a few) that I’d be glad to pay even double the price, if I knew I’d have customer service, and if I knew what I was getting. My blog was growing, I knew I couldn’t get away with paying that little forever, I just needed clarity and stability. That’s exactly what I have with Black Chicken. 

The staff helped me figure out which plan was best for me, and transferred me over in middle of the night. My host tried blocking their logins, and gave them issues, so it took longer than expected. They undercharged me, and even billed me for less than the budget I gave them for the tranfer! They also set up CloudFlare for me, at no additional cost. 

I was so pleased with them, that I wanted to write this post right away. I decided to wait a few months, though, to make sure I was really happy with them – and I still am. I am paying $21.99/month for their Rancher plan, which offers me plenty more than I need with just under 150,000 pageviews a month. I have that reliability, and stopped obsessively checking if my website is working.

So, should you avoid cheap unlimited hosting plans?

To tell you the truth, I did enjoy my low bills for a year. And for a blogger who wasn’t earning that much, it was nice not to have too much overhead.

But the aggravation that it caused when my blog was growing was horrendous. 

Ideally, if you could afford it, I’d recommend starting off with a host that you can stay with. 

Since starting off, you can use a smaller plan (Black Chicken’s start from $9.99), it’s probably worth it for most bloggers. That being said, may of these cheap unlimited hosting plans offer lucrative sales for new users. But read the fine print. Those specials last for a year. It costs to transfer your website, unless you’re a pro and can do it yourself. So, in the long run, you won’t be losing that much, if at all. And you’ll be saving yourself plenty of panic and aggravation later on.

That being said, may bloggers are hesitant to pay too much from the start, not knowing if they’ll even continue past the first few days. 

If it’s so important to you to give it a fair try first, you might want to start on blogger first for free. Setting up a redirect and transferring the website that way is much easier to DIY with plugins designed for that reason (though I wish I’d started out self-hosted.)

So, I’m not sure I’d resist those discounts, but if you want to start off with cheap unlimited hosting plans, I’d highly recommend switching over the second you start getting regular traffic. 

It’s just now worth the heartache. 

The post The truth about cheap unlimited hosting plans appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

It’s not just about earning money – it’s about justifying the time spent (for me, all day), and justifying the monetary investment (on hosting, craft supplies, any advertisement that you do, or services that you purchase).

This post offers a step-by-step guide to help you start earning money off your blog, big or small. It’s not about getting to the pro-blogger stage of earning six figures, but it’s the first step toward generating a consistent income.

Please note: This post contains some affiliate links. I have, however, shared my honest experiences with each one, and shared with you the networks that don’t offer affiliate bonuses  that I love too.

Increase your traffic.

The first step toward finding sponsors for your blog is clearly to have people visit. Focus on improving your traffic before tackling sponsored posts. 

Make sure your blog design looks great.

Having a convincing blog design is a surefire way to make your blog look serious enough for potential sponsors. You want branding, a great logo, and legibility above anything else.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you are not using wordpress.com as you may NOT offer advertisements or sponsored posts if you are on that platform. If you still need a free option, use blogger. However, I highly recommend self-hosting using wordpress.org. It’s a lot simpler than you might think, and not that expensive. It also looks much more professional to potential sponsors.

Please be aware: budget hosts that promise unlimited traffic will eventually cap you, but in a more discreet way. I am working on finding a better host now, and will share my recommendation once I have one.

Create evergreen content.

No great blog survives solely on sponsored posts. You want to show brands that you can create a killer blog post, without the pay. 

Create engaging posts that DON’T focus on affiliate sales, or a specific sponsor. 

I’ve seen many posts that encourage you to create product reviews on things that you already own, to convince brands to send you products to review. That is great advice if you have a review blog. However, to get people to PAY you, you’ll want to show that you can create helpful, informative posts in your niche. 

Later, you’ll create sponsored posts that flow seamlessly with that evergreen content. (Here is a great example of a sponsored post I did for Nautica that fits in well with the rest of my blog.)

Get social, be social.

Make sure you are on as many social networks as possible, and then master two. The rest you can automate using various plugins, however, you do want to be there. Many social campaigns will expect you to have a basic presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (read my tips here), and Instagram. Some also require Google+. 

Have a media kit. 

While this is not a must, I have been contacted to work with brands directly via my media kit. 

If you scroll to the top of this page, you can see in my top menu, it says “advertise.” That is easy for brands to find, but not in the face of my readers, and that has all the information potential advertisers need to see if they’d like to work with me.

Advertisements:

Sidebar advertisements are a great place to start! They offer passive income (meaning, you don’t need to do extra work.) They won’t provide a full source of income, unless you have a lot of traffic, but the little bit extra should definitely cover hosting fees!

I don’t recommend selling them yourself, unless you are a local or very targeted blog. Otherwise, you can look into ad networks. Here are some of my favorites: 

• Adsense – is great for those of you starting out! They are my first and foremost network that I worked with.
• Sovrn – I use them to supplement Adsense. So far, so good.
• The Blogger Network – if you have higher traffic, consider The Blogger Network for your ads. They offer higher rates, but do have minimum requirements. I am currently working on switching over to them for my blog.

Join networks!

The best way to start finding sponsors for your blog is to join networks that connect advertisers to bloggers. These networks coordinate sponsored posts within various niches, and with major national brands. Most of my sponsored work, actually most of my blog income, comes from this. Apply to ALL OF THEM that you are eligible for – as your sponsors will likely come from a mix, and the more networks you join, the more likely you are to have a steady stream of sponsors.

Check each network’s individual requirements. If you don’t get accepted to one, see what you can improve, and try again a few months later! I was rejected to Pollinate when I first applied. I re-applied after my blog re-design and got accepted. 

Here are some favorites:

• Sverve – They were one of the first I worked with, and offer multiple opportunities at a variety of price points.
• WebFluential – I just joined this one and it looks promising! Their network basically creates a media kit for you that’s connected to your social channels, so that it auto-updates. Their estimated pay on tweets for my not-too-huge account is very decent.
• IZEA – This is possibly one of the best networks, as you can more or less set your own rates. They also offer sponsored social media posts (such as tweets or Facebook status updates.) I’ve found that upgrading my membership with them more than paid for itself, however even if you start out with the free option, you should find opportunities with them. This network is great for international bloggers too.
• TapInfluence – I’ve been using them a lot lately. You also get to set rates, though I started really getting jobs with them once my pageviews got higher. They also offer sponsored social media posts. 
• Clever Girls – I LOVE their campaigns! They also have some social media campaigns that pay well. They have a minimum requirement of 10,000 monthly impressions.
• Social Fabric – They have fun campaigns, and a few new ones a day to apply for. The pay doesn’t go too high once you are overloaded with assignments, but to start with, they offer a reliable, steady stream.
• WeaveMade  (7,500 pageviews minimum) / Pollinate (2ok pageviews minimum)  – these sister brands are geared toward different size bloggers. 
• Influence Central – I have yet to be accepted to a campaign of their, but you might as well try. I have some blogging buddies who do get regular sponsored posts with them. 
• iConnect (formerly Double Duty Divas) – with their re-brand, they started paying okay too! I like working with them because their campaigns are fun.
• Mom It Forward – Most campaigns have high minimum monthly visitor requirements, however they do pay accordingly.

Use affiliates.

Don’t underestimate the power of affiliate links! They are also more passive than sponsored posts. You have more control over them, so that you can decide how to use them.

Their use is always disclosed, however you can make it blend really seamlessly. For example, when I list craft supplies, I include the links to them as affiliate links. Then I let it sit, and the little bits add up. Some favorites include: 

• Amazon – because they sell anything and everything! Sometime people buy what I linked to, other times they buy other essentials. 
• Escalate – this is great for anyone who wants to focus on higher – paying commissions on individual links. The possibilities are more limited, however it’s worth incorporating their links into some of your posts. 
• Ebates – This cash back website has a basic “refer-a-friend” program. It’s definitely worth incorporating a few of their links on your blog. 
• Shareasale.com – you can choose to join individual programs via this website. Choose the ones that most fit your niche. Commissions are usually higher than on Amazon, and the cookies last longer (meaning the time frame that they have to purchase from that website for it to be considered your referral). 

Some great programs to join on ShareASale: 

For craft bloggers: Craftsy is a favorite – they have a “lead” commission too, which works for referring new people to their free courses too.

For parenting/kid fashion bloggers: Tea Collection is my highest earner to date. I love sharing about Gymboree, as it’s a favorite of mine. Shutterfly is also a popular choice.

For lifestyle or fashion bloggers: Julep is great because you get a bonus for referring people to their free trial too.

Disclose!

Whether you’re dealing with sponsored posts or affiliate links, always include a very clear blurb on your posts that notifies readers of the relationship with the brand, as I did in the fourth paragraph on this post. 

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR FINDING SPONSORS FOR YOUR BLOG? DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENT BELOW, AND I WILL REPLY SHORTLY!

The post HOW TO GET STARTED FINDING SPONSORS FOR YOUR BLOG appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

For me, blogging is a full-time job. That means I do a LOT from my phone. 

These apps provide me with the most functionality  I can get out of it. 

Heads up: these are NOT affiliate links, and they are all for Android phones. They are simply the apps I use in my day-to-day blogging life. (some of the website sign-ups are referral links that give me more storage, because why not? But the apps are all those I personally have on my phone right now. as we speak.) If you’re looking for apps for bloggers for you iPhone, check out this great list by Singing Through the Rain.

Yes, this is the geek in me talking – I absolutely love writing about apps, and even though this isn’t a tech blog, I do try to introduce you to my favorite ones that can fit into your lives. So heads-up bloggers, your lives are about to get just a little bit easier!

16 Must-have apps for bloggers: 

1. Gmail – What? Gmail?

As a blogger, you probably get lots of email, and being able to take care of those on-the-go is a huge time-saver! If you upgrade to the latest version of Gmail, you’ll see that you can actually add your blog email account too! Isn’t that cool?

2.  Analytics – if you are an analytics stalker like me, you’ll love this app! It gives you the basic functions you need to see how traffic is going. I’ve also experimented with the gAnalytics app too. I like them both, but kept the first. 

3. Pinterest – I am a heavy pinner as you might know, and do NOT schedule out pins! I like to pin them live… Pinning on the go not only saves time, but I also find the app much easier and quicker to scroll through than the website. 

4. Facebook Pages Manager – I’m not sure this extra Facebook app is necessary (unless you ONLY have a page, and no personal profile) but I do like having it. That way, I know that I’m not accidentally liking or replying as myself. I also like the ease of replying to messages via the app. 

5. MailChimp – I used to just let my newsletter pass me by without knowing who opened or how many clicked. Now I check in quickly on the MailChimp app. If you don’t use MailChimp for your newsletter, you might want to try! I find it easy to use and I get views to my blog by having a weekly RSS feed go out. 

6.  Adsense – if you use Adsense for your ads, you can keep track of revenue using their app! Again, I prefer their at-a-glance display options over the website’s interface.

7. Crowdfire – This free app has so many uses! You can use it to find out who you are following that isn’t following you. You can also make use of it for scheduling tweets AND for reminding you to post photos on Instagram. That’s the closest I’ve gotten to Instagram scheduling. 

8. Statcounter – if you’re REALLY obsessed with your stats, like me, you might want Statcounter. It has a feature that Google Analytics doesn’t have – tracking EXIT LINKS! So you can see WHO you are directing traffic to, how many times they click your affiliate links, or banner ads. 

9-10. Package tracking – Whether you focus on reviews, or you want to know when the product for a sponsored campaign is on the way, both FedEx and UPS have tracking apps that allow you to find out when a package is supposed to arrive. 

11. Flipagram – If you’re an Instagram user, you’ll love Flipagram! It makes it easy to create stop motion type videos from a series of images. You can see what I did with Flipagram below. (Note: this can help you out with some sponsored campaigns).

 

A video posted by menucha (@menuchadesign) on Jul 1, 2015 at 7:33am PDT

12. Image editing – While I usually use Photoshop for image editing, and I will not deny that I can NOT do without it, I sometimes like to do something quick and spontaneous (such as a cute captioned image to share on Facebook).  I recommend having at least one app for that. Befunky is my go-to for mobile image editing!

13. Evernote – If you don’t use Evernote for blogging, you’re missing out. Like, really missing out! I should probably write a whole separate post on ways to use Evernote for blogging, but for now, I’ll leave you with: drafting blog posts, clipping articles to read, keeping track of where you share posts, sharing documents with other bloggers, creating reminders, taking and annotating screenshots, taking notes and storing tickets for conferences… I have Evernote on my phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, husband’s tablet, spare phone… so that I have the information wherever I am. 

14. Pages manager – This separate Facebook app for pages does make it much easier to share and schedule posts. 

15. LinkedIn – it’s the face of professionals – including professional bloggers! I just started using this as I’ve been neglecting sharing my posts to LinkedIn. Having the app handy makes it much easier. 

16. Cloud Storage – Which blogger doesn’t use cloud storage? While Evernote (see above) does work to some extent, it’s a note format, not a file format. I use both Drive (mostly for shared files) and Copy (my go-to for storage, for transferring files from phone to PC and vice versa, and for sharing too.) Copy offers lots of free storage.

Which apps for bloggers do you use? Comment below!

The post 16 Must-have Apps for Bloggers appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

I figured, I’ll be explaining to many people how I did this, when I did not have access to my website or plugins. Some hosts have the ability to back up from the back end, some don’t. FireFTP allows you to place it in any folder you want, as long as you can login to your website. You do not have to have access to Wordpress to do this. 

I use FireFTP primarily because that’s what I was taught to use when I studied web design. There are other options, but I find this one very reliable, easy, and convenient. 

Yesterday, my host suspended my account, due to some infected files. That means, that I was not able to reach my Wordpress dashboard to find my backup plugin. I wanted free access to my files, to back up my blog before I removed those files to make sure they wouldn’t affect my site. They are now safely removed. But having the ability to create a totally new update of my blog, including the post I had published the day before, and the draft I had written five minutes before,  meant the world to me. 

How to back up and restore your blog using FireFTP:

1. Download FireFTP FREE here. Follow the instructions to add it to your  browser, and then restart it.

2. Open FireFTP by clicking on options – the lines to the top right of Mozilla FireFox. Click on “Developer”. There you’ll find FireFTP. It opens in the browser window.

3. Connect your blog! In the top left corner, you should have a drop down menu. Click on it, and choose the option to add your blog. The account manager screen will pop up.

Name your blog (this doesn’t really matter – it’s for you.) Your host should most likely be ftp.your blog name. Fill in your username and password. This is the one assigned by your host, not your Wordpress account. Click OK. In the white area at the bottom, with the blue and yellow text, you will see updates.

4. You have a split screen. The left side is your local folders on your computer. The right is your website. Be very careful – don’t delete or modify anything from the right side! 

To back up your blog, create a new folder somewhere you’ll find it on your computer. Find it among the local folders. Click the TOP button (should say “download” when you hover) to download your entire website build to that folder. 

If you need to restore for whatever reason, click the upload. But be wary of deleting everything on your site. Only upload a clean copy if you need to!

You’ll see the status of your backup on the bottom. Note: it takes a VERY long time, as your website is full of great content! It can also add more time once you thought it was done, if the amount wasn’t calculated properly. It took me nine hours to backup my site yesterday…

On a final note, make sure you do backup regularly! Hacks, malware, and spam can happen to anyone.

Also, make sure you update plugins, themes, and anything else regularly, and don’t click on any links that you don’t recognize.

Stay safe and happy blogging!

Got questions on how to back up your blog using FireFTP? Ask away!

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 Disclaimer: Due to some backlash I feel the need to explain: I am not a pro blogger, an expert, or anything of the sort. I am writing this to share my personal experiences so that you can try it too. I have told so many of my blogger friends to try this, and those that have have seen their numbers going up. I have been at a slow and steady climb, with CONSISTENTLY high numbers and that is what makes me happy. Having consistent and reliable traffic  (that doesn’t rely on other larger bloggers sharing my content) is what makes me happy and secure in my blogging world.

I have shared my traffic stats openly so that you can see where I am, to be totally open and transparent, and not to pretend that I’m something that I’m not. If you are going to look at my numbers and decide that I have nothing to tell you, skip this. If you have greater traffic than me, but not from Pinterest, you may want to consider this good advice. If you’re ahead of my game, feel free to contribute to the discussion so that we can all learn. Even it’s Facebook or Twitter that you’ve mastered (you can see from my stats that I haven’t).

And if all you’re looking at is the final number, and not my growth rate (I had just 2000 followers a few months ago, and 10,000 pageviews) and my pageviews in relation to the age and size of my blog (I have about 150 posts and not all are relevant and updated), then you have unfortunately missed the point. 

Okay, so Pinterest strategy isn’t really about blog design… except that it is! The first step of your Pinterest strategy should be having great Pinterest graphics. I have two tutorials on that, plus some great photography and editing tips.

The next step is HOW you’re pinning – and WHAT you’re pinning.

Part 1. Is Pinterest strategy even a thing?

If you haven’t specifically searched “Pinterest strategy”, you may think it’s ridiculous – and even an exaggeration. Really, does everything have to have a strategy, a tutorial, and a set of instructions?

Here’s a little peek into my Google Analytics from this past month. It’s a pretty average month for me – I’ve had better and worse.

As you can see, about two-thirds of my traffic comes from Pinterest. Since this dashboard counts sessions from each source, and not actual pageviews, each visit from Pinterest leads to ever more pageviews than the sessions listed.

My traffic is still not huge. It’s pretty small-medium if you’d say, however it’s viable. It’s what brings traffic, allowing readers to then click around, subscribe, and remain regular visitors. It is what brings traffic to sponsored posts, which then brings me more.

All this started when I started having a Pinterest strategy. So that would be my first piece of advice: HAVE A STRATEGY!

Part 2. Which types of posts succeed on Pinterest?

There is a bad name out there for Pinterest among the un-crafty, and men. Contrary to popular belief, the most popular posts on Pinterest are NOT undo-able DIY projects, 10-word-long recipes, and ridiculous beauty hacks.

Pinterest is a place where people who tend to be more visual (which is almost everyone these days) search and browse for things that interest them. That includes parenting articles, app roundups, product reviews, and anything helpful. Yes, helpful is a key word here. People on Pinterest are looking LESS for stories and MORE for solutions. 

2 reasons DIY is not necessarily the traffic-driver on Pinterest: 

1. People sometimes just stop at the visual inspiration. They can learn a lot by just looking at the photo. (Note: this is another reason there are so many “Pinterest Fails”. People stop at the photos and don’t click through for actual instructions.)
2. They often tell a story, rather than solve a problem.

Some Pinterest DIYs that DO solve problems include:

1. Roundup posts: since they are based on a particular theme (a particular “problem” – such as how to entertain teens, as opposed to a one time experience that entertained a teen).
2. Seasonal posts: Since that is a common “problem” at the time and people are seeking a solution.

Here is another screenshot, showing my top 10 performing posts on Pinterest (from the last quarter):

Not a single craft. While crafts and recipes DO receive Pinterest traffic, it’s harder to earn, and not in the same bulk. They can get LOTS of repins, but fewer people click through.

My primary way of increasing Pinterest traffic to crafts is to include them in roundup posts. 

So, my big tip here is to CREATE A BEAUTIFUL “PINNABLE IMAGE” FOR EVERY SINGLE TYPE OF POST. MAKE THE TITLE OFFER A SOLUTION TO THE READER. 

Part 3. How does success on Pinterest work?

To develop a successful Pinterest strategy you need to know how Pinterest works. The key here is to give it time. Here is a screenshot from Google Analytics of the same stats as above, except with different dates. I chose the dates based on the publish date of my most popular post above: “10 Great Finger Foods for a First Birthday Party“. It starts the day that was published and counts three months in.

That post didn’t even make the top ten. One reason is that I did not yet have a strategy then. The main reason, though, is that it was a single pin that randomly “took off” months after it was pinned

That’s not the only one it happened with. Every single one of my top pins in the first screenshot took off later on.

So Pinterest traffic happens in two stages:

1. The immediate traffic from pinning a post as it’s pushed out to feeds
2. Momentum that both builds up with time, and seemingly random pins that “take off”.

Those two are usually unrelated, with the first being easier to predict (according to what I mentioned above). The second usually includes those that did well immediately, however it’s much more random.

The second is what “makes your blog”. While I was away for two weeks, doing NOTHING for my blog, my traffic hardly went down. It dipped only by a few hundred a day that I was losing by not having immediate pin traffic. But I still had over a thousand daily visits from my “viral” pins.

You’re aiming for both types of traffic: 

The immediate traffic adds up and is essential to your blog. That depends mostly on the following you have, the size of your audience, as these pins show up as new pins in followers’ streams. So you want to expand your audience. One way is to join group boards. This is a great way for a smaller blogger to get a huge audience quicker.  The best way to expand an audience on Pinterest is to pin consistently, every day, high quality pins. 

The viral pins are important as well, as they bring in more organic traffic, without requiring active work. While there are a few key elements here, it is mostly random, and sometimes even come from boards with few followers, as shown below.

To start with, make sure you have proper keywords, great images, and that you are pinning to appropriate boards. Make sure your boards have relevant titles and descriptions with matching keywords. This helps you rank in searches, and gives you a big boost. Try to get as many repins as possible to give pins that are already performing well a boost. Join pinning parties. Network with other bloggers. Get rich pins.

TRY TO GET AS MANY PINS ON YOUR POSTS AS POSSIBLE – the more you have, the more likely it is that one of those will take off.

Part 4. The bottom line: My Pinterest strategy

1. I pin all day, every day. Every time I see an interesting article that I like, I pin it.

2. I try to go on “pinning sprees” during key times. These are different for everyone. You can find it out by seeing at what time your traffic is highest. I usually do mid-afternoon and evening. During these sprees I pin OTHER PEOPLE’S CONTENT! This is what helps me build my audience. Which essentially leads to more traffic for me.

3. I pin only  high quality pins whenever possible. I pin to relevant boards. I make sure all my pins lead to relevant links, and not to spam. The quickest way to do this is to pin rich pins only (the kind where you see a little preview, with the website’s logo). If I really like something and it’s not a rich pin, I’ll just click on it to make sure it’s not spam.

4. When a post first goes live, I pin it first to my blog board.

Follow Menucha @ Moms and Crafters’s board Moms and Crafters: On the Blog on Pinterest.

5. I pin my own content daily. I do this by repinning one of my own pins from my blog board. I keep track of pins in a messy list, making sure to spread out the frequency of a single pin, and not to pin a single post to the same board for a while (to avoid spamming).

6. I only pin one of my own for every 5-10 I pin for others. This is very rough, and just a vague number to keep in mind.

I’ll admit that occasionally I lapse for a day or two, but I do this most days of the week to keep up the momentum.

Pinterest can be a major traffic source for any type of blogger. There is lots more I have to share, but I’m not about to start a new series on this, as I do have to go back toward what my blog is really about (I have some great awesome, doable crafts just waiting to be posted…) If you have any questions, ask them below and I’ll be happy to answer – usually within a day or two. 

The post How to Develop a Successful Pinterest Strategy appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

When a page is image-heavy it takes longer to load. Google doesn’t like pages with long load times. That causes you to rank lower. The solution is to look for the smallest possible file size without losing actual quality.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

Color format and size:

To start with, you also want to make sure your images are in the right color format so that they look right. You’ll want to make sure they are the correct pixel size so that they look great (aren’t too small) and yet aren’t larger than they need to be (longer load time).  You can read this article to understand better what I’m talking about.

Reducing pixel size is the easiest, quickest way for you to reduce the file size of your image. You can do it in any photo editor under your image size options.

What is the correct pixel size? There is no single correct answer for this, but here are some things you can take into consideration:

• Social media share sizes – what size will you want them for pinning and other social media shares?
• 600 pixels – I like my images to be at least this width to be clear and beautiful.
• The width of your text body – it definitely doesn’t need to be wider than this.
• Height – don’t forget that if it’s too long, readers will need to scroll to see the whole image. Since it’s best if an image is seen in a single eyeful it’s best to avoid this. (I have this sometimes with my main pin image).

While Wordpress does have the option to resize built in, this only compresses the appearance of your image, not the file size. So set the file size in your image editor whenever possible.

Saving for the web in Photoshop:

This is my mega trick for you, the one that saves you loads of time.

Photoshop has an amazing feature built in called “save for web”. This is under file>save for web and opens a new dialog box with various options. You can choose how many you preview at once, and play with different options for file formats. You have a preview that shows a true-to-size version so you can see how low you can get. It also shows the file size underneath so you can go with a mix of “no loss of quality” and “smallest file size.”

I definitely recommend photo editing in Photoshop as it gives you the most control over your images. I do use Photoshop as a rule…

For other editors, usually saving as a PNG helps. Just make sure you’re starting out with the correct pixel dimensions, as explained above, and you’re already way ahead of the game.

Did this help you? click the sharing buttons to the left so that it can help a friend! Ad make sure to check out the rest of my blog design series to learn how you can have a beautiful blog.

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