Ta kontakt med oss

AFFILIATE MARKNADSFÖRING

10 Passive Income Ideas for 2023

Publicerad

10 Passive Income Ideas for 2023

Our experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

  • Popular passive income ideas include online courses, as well as renting out property, tools, and equipment to others.
  • Payout amounts for passive income streams like royalties can vary depending on the medium.
  • Even though the goal is passive income, there may be a bit of active work required at the start.

Passive income isn’t exactly money for nothing. But it can be a great way to increase your earnings outside of a regular job.

The idea behind passive income streams is that you can collect money from something you own — be it a rental property, dividend-paying stock, or even your automobile — without a lot of sustained effort. However, many passive income ideas may require a significant upfront investment of time and labor to generate profits later.

“All passive income projects involve some form of time, energy, or financial commitment on the onset,” says Tiffany Grant, a financial literacy evangelist and host of the Money Talk With Tiff podcast. “Sometimes people will give up before it has a chance to truly take root and grow.”

See Insider’s picks for the best budgeting apps >>

With the hundreds of possible passive income streams available, which ones are the best for 2023? Here are 10 of the best ideas:

10 of the best passive income ideas for 2023 

1. Dividend stocks

Dividend stocks pay out a portion of a company’s earnings to shareholders on a regular basis, usually quarterly. Generally, companies that pay dividends have been around for a while and moved from the growth phase of their business and into maturity. For example, companies like Coca-Cola, IBM, and McDonald’s have paid increasing dividends for more than 20 consecutive years.

Generating income from dividend stocks is fairly easy, as dividend payment amounts can be found on most brokerage apps as well as the company’s investor relations pages. The catch is the amount of money required to generate a substantial income.

See Insider’s picks for the best online brokerages >>

For example, in 2022 Coca-Cola (KO) paid a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, providing $1.76 for each share investors owned throughout the year. Let’s say shares of Coca-Cola were selling for $60, you would need to buy nearly $410,000 worth to make $12,000 in dividends for the year.

Se även  Den här 34-åringen byggde en $15k/månad med hjälp av SEO för att dela sina hälsosamma recept

2. Bonds and bond funds

Investing with bonds or bond funds can be another way of generating passive income. Bonds are loan obligations issued by companies and governments to raise money from investors. When you purchase a bond, you are essentially lending money to the issuer for a set period of time, usually one year or longer. In exchange for the loan, the issuer promises to make interest payments throughout the life of the bond and return your initial investment. A bond fund is a pool of bonds managed by an investment professional. 

Here is an example of how a bond would work: You purchase a five-year $1,000 bond from Company X with a 2% interest rate. Each year, Company X will pay you $20 and at the end of year five, you will receive your principle of $1,000.

There are different types of bonds and bond funds with different levels of risk and interest rates. Government bonds issued by the US Treasury are recognized as one of the safest investments available but generally pay much less than comparatively riskier options like corporate bonds. Also note that the face value of a bond can fluctuate based on market conditions, if you hold the bond to maturity you will receive the principle, but if you sell the bond before the maturity date the value could be higher or lower.

3. Peer-to-peer lending

Peer-to-peer lending, also known as P2P lending, is a financial transaction in which individuals borrow and lend money to one another without the use of a traditional bank. Peer-to-peer lending allows individuals to act as a bank, providing money (generally between $1,000 and $25,000) to borrowers and receiving interest in return. This is accomplished typically online through a digital platform or marketplace that connects lenders with borrowers. 

4. Rent out your property or portions of it

Renting out a property or a portion of a property can be an excellent way to generate passive income or offset the cost of owning the property. Airbnb och Vrbo are some of the most common platforms used to list your property’s availability to potential guests. Before you rent, whether through an online market or on your own, you may want to familiarize yourself with any rules and regulations in your area.

There can be parts of the rental process however that may not be passive. This is the case if there is a maintenance issue on the property and could require you to hire someone to attend to the issue or fix on your own. These potential costs should be factored in as you approach this idea.

5. Royalties

Royalties are payments made to individuals or businesses for the ongoing use of their intellectual property, such as music, books, patents, and trademarks. These payments are typically a percentage of total sales generated by using the copyrighted material.

Se även  How to Reverse Video Search (& Why It's Useful)

The amount that can be made through royalties will depend on the type of product you produce as well as the frequency in which it is used. If you self publicera a book, you have the ability to change the price and have greater control on your income potential. But royalties on music can be different. For example, on some music streaming platforms it could take 250 plays for you just to make a single dollar. Keep in mind that notoriety and marketing can play a major factor in how much money can be made. 

6. Renting out your car

Similar to renting out a home or a room, you can also rent your car as well. Platforms such as Turo enable people to list their cars for rental. Rental payments may depend on the type of car, its condition, availability, and mileage.

There may be some upfront costs in terms of cleaning and maintaining the car, but once listed you can begin generating an income. Keep in mind that some rental markets are better than others and that the type of car you list could be more attractive to certain buyers than others.

7. High-yield savings and CDs

In most years, putting money into a savings account or certificate of deposit (CD) doesn’t yield enough returns to be considered a passive income stream. But things have changed with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Both high-yield savings and CDs were paying between 3-5% in early 2023. Both come with the added benefit of FDIC protection and without the worry of market volatility. This means that a depositor can earn a predictable return on the money added to the account.

It is important to note that CDs have a maturity date and if withdrawn before maturity, you could incur an early withdrawal penalty depending on the bank. Additionally, most high-yield savings accounts have a limit on the amount of transfers and withdrawals each month.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marknadsföring is an online business model that allows an individual to earn a commission from sales through referrals. Through this method, affiliates use their website or social media accounts to promote products or services for other companies. When a visitor clicks on a link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.

“I love that I can get paid for promoting products and services that I know and love,” Grant says. Keep in mind that if you’re using affiliate referral programs, you should disclose this to those you’re marketing to.

The potential income through affiliate marketing can vary by industry as well as the brand. For example, some companies may pay between $5-25 for every person that signs up through your link, while others may pay $75 or more.

Se även  Is user data truly protected in the Google Analytics universe?

9. Online Course and Products

According to a McKinsey & Co. studie, demand for online courses increased from 300,000 online learners to 220 million between 2011 and 2021. If you have a skill worth teaching to others, there is likely a market of participants.

“Although it takes some time, money, and energy upfront, once it is created, it’s done and can make money in perpetuity,” Grant says. That upfront energy could include synthesizing the information, recording, and editing videos and course materials. 

Course platforms like Thinkific och Läraktig allow course creators to offer payment plans to prospective buyers, which can provide a more stable cash flow over time. You could also opt for an affiliate model in which others can market your course and receive a share of the revenue.

If you’re unsure about what topics to teach, consider using your professional background as inspiration. “Since I already knew how to create guides, infographics and templates for my students in the classroom, I implemented the same strategy to monetize my ebooks, newsletters, and other forms of digital assets,” says Melissa Jean-Baptiste, a former educator and founder of the Millennial In Debt financial literacy blog. “I didn’t have to go learn all new skills or take an expensive certification. Instead I leaned, yet again, into my education skills and used that to make money passively with zero to very little overhead,” she adds.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that course creators will need to continue to promote and update the course materials in order to keep up with industry changes and ensure relevance.

10. Rent Your Tools and Equipment

If you have tools at home, you can rent them out to generate passive income. Similar to peer-to-peer lending or renting out your car, you can rent out repair tools like saws, drills, and ladders for an hourly rate. Online marketplaces like ShareGrid is a marketplace for renting camera equipment and marketplaces like Sparetoolz and FriendWithA allow users to list their tools. For a much broader range of items to rent out, Rentle may be a good place to begin your search as items from baby strollers to bikes are regularly listed.

You may want to take into account any maintenance cost for the equipment and have insurance when appropriate. With the right rental market and demand, there may be opportunities to scale and expand your earning potential.

Källlänk

Håll ett öga på vad vi gör
Bli först med att få de senaste uppdateringarna och exklusivt innehåll direkt till din e-postinkorg.
Vi lovar att inte spamma dig. Du kan avbryta prenumerationen när som helst.
Ogiltig e-postadress

AFFILIATE MARKNADSFÖRING

How Much Do YouTubers Make? How to Earn More & Top Earners in 2023

Publicerad

Hur mycket tjänar YouTubers? Hur man tjänar mer och tjänar bäst 2023

Are you thinking about starting another stream of revenue for your online business? Maybe you’re an influencer who wants to expand your reach with video content. Perhaps you are merely curious about the financial aspect of your favorite channels. No matter why, you have probably asked yourself this question: how much do YouTubers make? 

YouTube earnings aren’t as clear-cut as you might imagine. In part, this is because there is a lot of variation in traffic between channels. Another piece of the puzzle to consider is other ways that YouTubers make money from their content. 

If you find yourself wondering how your favorite channel does financially or are eager to start your own, here is what you need to know. 

Not Everyone Earns Money from Their YouTube Channel

Before we can dive into the specifics, it’s important to note that not all YouTube creators earn money from their videos. Especially for channels that are just getting started, there may not be any type of established revenue streams coming in. 

In fact, you may not even be eligible for the YouTube Partner Program until your channel has reached certain benchmarks (which we’ll cover in just a minute). 

Many companies might not be willing to take a chance on a newbie content creator for sponsored posts, but you could make some small income from affiliate marknadsföring if your audience is loyal. In the beginning, don’t expect to make much money from your YouTube channel until you qualify for Google ads. 

Requirements for Earning on YouTube Videos

1685162728 334 How Much Do YouTubers Make How to Earn More

If you want to earn money solely based on the views of your video content, then you need to qualify for the YouTube Partner Program. Even YouTube stars had to start from a place of relative obscurity before they made it big. 

De YouTube Partner Program requirements are quite clear, but they aren’t exactly easy to reach. There are separate qualifications depending on whether your most viewed content is in the form of longer videos or shorts. 

For those who make traditional videos on YouTube, you will need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past year. Alternatively, you could have 1,000 subscribers and 10 million public shorts views in the last 90 days.

Average YouTuber Revenue: How Much Do YouTubers Make?

1685162728 225 How Much Do YouTubers Make How to Earn More

Let’s say that you are well on your way to qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program. How much money do YouTubers make when they hit this momentous threshold? 

You might be able to earn a comfortable living doing nothing but creating videos with all of your new spare time. Keep in mind that for top channels, a lot of work goes into making new videos, editing them, and posting them to the platform, as well as interacting with followers. 

Enligt Zip Recruiter, the average YouTuber makes about $65,999 annually ($5,499 per month). 

Another way to think about how much YouTubers make is to consider it based on the number of views of their video ads. Most estimates place this at around $0.018 per view. For every 1,000 views of your video ads, you could make roughly $18.

Se även  Buddies Toro e-rig recension: en kraftfull hit i ett prisvärt paket | GreenState

Some niches may see a higher average YouTube pay rate with some estimates going as high as $0.03 per view (or $30 per 1,000 views).

Cost per Impression or Cost per Click?

Which type of ad revenue is more likely to earn money on your YouTube channel: cost per thousand views (CPM) or cost per click (CPC)? There are a couple of caveats to note about both types of ad revenue generated from a given video. 

First, let’s take a look at CPM. 

In order to make money on YouTube from advertisement viewing, your audience will need to actually watch the ad that plays before your video. They should watch 30 seconds of the ad on the average video. If you have a short video, they only need to watch half of the ad.

That being said, more people are likely to view the ads versus clicking them.

Now, let’s look at CPC. 

YouTubers make money from these ads only when someone clicks and interacts with the ad. Can you think of the last time that you clicked on an ad from your favorite YouTube channel? Chances are, it’s been a while. Only a small percentage of viewers will click on an ad unless it promotes some seriously engaging content. 

Creators can have both types of ads on their videos, but CPM is a little easier to bank on as it plays as an embedded video before, during, or after your content. On the other hand, CPC ads are typically displayed in the area around the video itself. 

What Influences What YouTubers Make? 

Some of the things that influence what YouTubers make are largely out of your control. Let’s take a deep dive into two of the most influential pieces of the puzzle when it comes to answering the question of the hour: how much money do YouTubers make? 

Plats

How Much Do YouTubers Make How to Earn More

What country are most of your viewers from? While your location as the content creator doesn’t play into your earnings through the YouTube Partner Program, your audience does factor into what people are willing to pay YouTubers for their advertisements. 

Generally speaking, audiences based in the United States tend to earn more money for content creators than those based in other parts of the world. Still, you will have some variation in pay in the US based on region. Some European countries will yield equally high returns. 

That being said, countries that don’t net as much in ad revenue include places like India and parts of the Middle East. 

Think about where you want your audience to be located before you start making video content. You may not make much money on YouTube without an audience in some of the higher-paying countries.

Niche

How many people are likely to watch your videos? It depends on whether you have a successful YouTube channel in a niche that people care about. Advertising revenue is a lot easier to generate when you create content in an area where people spend their free time consuming that content. 

Se även  Diversifiering av inkomstströmmar och webbplatsernas centrala roll för småföretagare | av Site Dominion | BELYSNING | maj 2023

Small Business Trends lists the top 10 YouTube niches as:

  • Gaming channels
  • Funny videos
  • Music videos
  • ASMR
  • Education
  • Life hacks
  • Personal finance
  • Lifestyle videos
  • Sustainable fashion
  • Software reviews

That isn’t to say that you can’t be successful with videos in other niches, but these tend to be the highest-performing videos on the YouTube platform. 

Why Subscriber Count Doesn’t Influence Pay – But It Helps

Once you reach that initial 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, it’s important to note that your subscriber count doesn’t actually influence your pay — but it does help! YouTube subscribers are likely to come visit your channel every time you’re finished uploading videos. 

They are committed to their channel memberships, and yours has been added to their list of favorites. 

Because you have more people tuning in to your channel, you have the ability to make money on YouTube when they come back. Oftentimes, loyal channel members will watch the ads in their entirety so that their favorite creators can earn a decent living. 

Once you reach that landmark million subscribers mark, many people point out that it becomes easier for others to find your videos. In turn, this allows you to get more views of your ads and make more money. It’s a great cycle, but it starts with getting those first few people to sign up for notifications. 

Get Seen with Optimized Videos

1685162728 15 How Much Do YouTubers Make How to Earn More

How can you make sure that you get more eyes on your videos? It starts with choosing the best topics and then optimizing the overall channel to be favored by the YouTube algorithms. On your own, this can be clunky and time-consuming.

This is why many YouTubers turn to TubeBuddy

It’s YouTube certified with an easy-to-use interface, and it can save you tons of time. 

TubeBuddy has a keyword research tool built into the platform to help you with SEO so that your videos are more likely to show up in YouTube’s search engine results pages. It streamlines your process, offers bulk processing for creating tons of videos, and gives you a detailed look at your analytics. 

For more information on how TubeBuddy can help you, be sure to view our full TubeBuddy review här. 

Other Ways to Increase YouTube Earnings

It’s important to note that you don’t necessarily need a million subscribers to increase how much you can earn with YouTube. Other streams of revenue can be equally helpful when it comes to bolstering your YouTube channel. 

Let’s take a closer look at three of the top ways to supplement that Google Adsense revenue. 

Affiliate marknadsföring

Affiliate marketing is a great way for YouTubers to make money in the early days, before they meet the YouTube Partner Program requirements. This allows you to promote products or services that you really love in exchange for a kickback from the company you promote. 

Se även  How A News SEO Conference Shaped A Community

You could do this in the form of review videos of your favorite products, encouraging people to purchase items using the links in your description. You can also link to items or services in the description of your videos for items that you used (think of items you use regularly that are high-ticket, like your camera equipment or microphone). 

For more information on what affiliate marketing is, see our full guide here. 

In addition to affiliate marketing, you might also create sponsored videos. This is a prime example of when you can review a product in detail. A company will pay you to create video content surrounding their products or services. 

The pay for this can be quite lucrative, especially compared to what you’ll make with an Adsense account. Revenue generated from sponsored videos is usually $10 to $50 per 1,000 views.

Established YouTubers make more money in this arena, as with most things. 

Merch

1685162728 3 How Much Do YouTubers Make How to Earn More

Last but not least, you could also create merchandise sales that will improve your income. You can use print-on-demand companies like Printify to create t-shirts, hats, jackets, and just about anything else your audience is willing to pay for. 

Keep in mind that you will need a website to direct people toward if you intend to sell your own merchandise with your branding. 

Top Earning YouTube Channel Creators

1685162728 306 How Much Do YouTubers Make How to Earn More

Have you ever wondered how much do YouTubers make and thought about your favorite channels? Let’s take a quick glance at what your favorite creators are really making, according to Forbes – the answer just might surprise you!

  1. MrBeast: $54 million
  2. Jake Paul: $45 million
  3. Markiplier: $38 million
  4. Rhett and Link: $30 million
  5. Unspeakable: $28.5 million
  6. Nastya: $28 million
  7. Ryan Kaji (Ryan’s World): $27 million
  8. Dude Perfect: $20 million
  9. Logan Paul: $18 million
  10. Preston Arsement: $16 million

If you have wondered whether it’s possible to really make a full-time income using a Google Adsense account and other revenue streams with your videos, these successful YouTubers make plenty of money through their videos and content. 

Final Thoughts: How Much Do YouTubers Make? 

Are you ready to start making more money? Your success on YouTube depends on finding creative ways to start making money, whether that means affiliate marketing or Google Adsense videos. You need to make sure that you optimize each and every one of your videos using tools like TubeBuddy. 

This enables people to find them quickly and easily when searching for content that is just like what you do, whether that’s unboxing videos, reviews, or helpful life hacks in your area of expertise. 

How much do YouTubers make? It really depends on how much time and effort you put into building your subscriber count and creating high-quality content. But it’s more than possible to earn a solid income on YouTube with some of these tips! 



Källlänk

Håll ett öga på vad vi gör
Bli först med att få de senaste uppdateringarna och exklusivt innehåll direkt till din e-postinkorg.
Vi lovar att inte spamma dig. Du kan avbryta prenumerationen när som helst.
Ogiltig e-postadress
Fortsätt läsa

AFFILIATE MARKNADSFÖRING

The Top 12 Myths of Affiliate Marketing

Publicerad

The Top 12 Myths of Affiliate Marketing

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Affiliate marknadsföring is a popular strategy businesses use to drive sales and grow their brand. Although it’s one of the most popular marketing tools in the booming creator economy, some misconceptions about using affiliate links can prevent bloggers from benefiting from them.

1. Affiliate marketing is dead

Statista shows that from 2010-2022, U.S. affiliate marknadsföring spending has steadily increased, reaching $8.2 billion in 2022. Clearly, this channel is not only not dead but also thriving. These days, over 80% of brands run affiliate programs, with 16% of online orders attributed to affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing drives sales and is used by anyone from media companies, such as Business Insider and The New York Times, to smaller startups and brands that use it through referral programs.

2. It’s too much work

Modern tools make creating an affiliate link easy. Bloggers can start posting affiliate links and earn money from them on day one.

Popular programs include Amazon Associates, ShareASale and Commission Junction. The idea is to connect customers with brands through relevant content and tools by posting affiliate links that generate sales.

Related: How to Start Your First Affiliate Marketing Campaign

3. It’s passive, low-effort income

While some believe affiliate marketing is too much work, others mistakenly believe it takes virtually no work. Although implementing these links is indeed easy, bloggers need to work on their content, presence, and credibility and attract followers to generate sales and make money with affiliate marketing.

Se även  11 bra sätt att haka på läsare 2023

Influencers must be mindful of conversions since they are paid by actions. This means that more active calls-to-action, more selling content and more creative product presentation will be needed.

4. Size matters

A common misconception is that only influencers with a big audience can benefit from affiliate marketing. The truth is that conversions play a bigger role than audience size.

Not only do micro-influencers (those with 1,000-100,000 followers) perform at least 90% of successful influencer marketing, 90% of brands actively want to work with them through affiliate strategies. Because of their smaller followings and high engagement rates, micro-influencers are often seen as a cost-effective way for brands to reach targeted audiences and drive sales.

5. Affiliate marketing blocks other income streams

Earning through affiliate programs does not prevent bloggers from entering into direct contracts with brands, but it does help them attract the attention of companies they’d want to work with.

Additionally, affiliate marketing often becomes a stepping stone to working more closely with the brand. Active blogger partners always have an advantage when selecting brands for the partnership since they have the results and audience data to back up their “influencer” status.

Related: Hur man startar affiliate-marknadsföring utan pengar 2023

6. “My audience is too niche”

Believe it or not, a niche is often good for affiliate marketing.

Remember, you can’t be successful if you’re trying to appeal to everybody. Having a specific niche is good because it gives you a clearly defined audience with reliable preferences, tastes and buying habits. Brands know these things, so if your niche has gained interest from fans, it can earn interest from brands, too.

Se även  Google försöker hålla jämna steg med AI-drivna sökrivaler

7. Brands only care about sales

Sales are no longer the only available form of brand partnership. Brands are willing to collaborate with other targeted actions that generate awareness and credibility, such as starting a trial period, installing a mobile app or requesting a free consultation.

These alternative forms of action are suitable even for bloggers who are particularly sensitive about maintaining their audience’s trust and wish to foster a relaxed atmosphere.

8. It’s not a viable long-term plan

Long-term partnerships are common in affiliate marketing because both parties benefit from sustained collaboration: You get to know the audience better, so your offerings are more relevant, and the audience builds trust in you and the brand.

Cultivating a relationship with the audience and building trust allows marketing expansion to include content like online courses, software and other digital products.

9. It’s too late to get started

The misconception is that there is too much competition in affiliate marketing. However, with new companies emerging each year, the range of advertisers to promote is constantly expanding. Blogs that provide value will always stand out and have access to profitable brand partnerships.

Related: 8 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting Affiliate Marketing

10. It’s just advertising

When Forbes surveyed millennials, 84% said they hate advertising, so equating affiliate marketing to advertising can make it seem unappealing.

Se även  Buddies Toro e-rig recension: en kraftfull hit i ett prisvärt paket | GreenState

However, as an affiliate, you only recommend products you have personally tried and liked while providing valuable content to your audience. Your readers will appreciate your tips and personal experience because they don’t want to spend their time and money experimenting. Affiliate marketing provides a more authentic and unique approach to promoting products.

11. You need a blog to be an affiliate

To sign up for affiliate marketing programs, you just need a following somewhere that will see and click your custom links. Having a community is much more important than being on a specific platform.

For example, beauty influencers often promote brands through sponsored content on their social media platforms by creating makeup tutorials and including affiliate links to their websites in the description box of their videos.

12. Affiliate marketing is expensive

Affiliate marketing is the least costly way to monetize a blog on any social media platform. You can create a website for free and maintain a following using tools that social networks provide. For example, banners, plugins and CPA tools are usually accessible for free within affiliate marketing platforms.

While it is true that you will need to invest time and potentially some money to market your blog, it is no more expensive than monetizing through any other available tool on the market if you plan to make it a full-time job and earn a substantial income.

Källlänk

Håll ett öga på vad vi gör
Bli först med att få de senaste uppdateringarna och exklusivt innehåll direkt till din e-postinkorg.
Vi lovar att inte spamma dig. Du kan avbryta prenumerationen när som helst.
Ogiltig e-postadress
Fortsätt läsa

AFFILIATE MARKNADSFÖRING

Hur denna 35-åring tjänar 6 figurer/år från sin bakblogg när hon jobbar deltid

Publicerad

Hur denna 35-åring tjänar 6 figurer/år från sin bakblogg när hon jobbar deltid

Jessica Holmes was working as a copywriter when she decided to start a blog as a side hustle.  As she was teaching herself to bake, she thought she’d start sharing her creations. 

Over the years, Jessica built up a solid fan base through a combination of consistent posting, high-quality recipes, and lots of engagement with her followers. During lockdown, her traffic went through the roof, and after the pandemic, her readers stuck around. Eventually, she was able to quit her day job. 

Today Jessica is earning 6 figures a year from her baking blog, Sweetest Menu, which allows her to work part-time and stay home with her daughter and newborn baby.

Keep reading to find out:

  • Why she created her blog
  • How she made her first dollar
  • What happened when Covid hit
  • How long it took for her to be able to quit her day job
  • Her top marketing strategies
  • Her views on SEO
  • How she approaches keywords
  • How she creates content
  • Her favorite tools and resources
  • Her greatest challenge
  • Her biggest accomplishment
  • Her main mistake
  • The advice she would offer other entrepreneurs

Meet Jessica Holmes

My name is Jess and I’m the self-taught baker and writer behind the food blog, Sweetest Menu. I live in Melbourne, Australia, with my husband, Josh, my two-year-old daughter, Lucy, and my newborn son, Jack. 

I graduated from university with a degree in communications and worked for over a decade as a copywriter. In 2014, I created my website, Sweetest Menu as a side hustle.

After six years, my blog started to make more money than my full-time day job. I decided to pursue blogging as a full-time career in March 2020—quite a time in the world to make a big change!

Why She Created Sweetest Menu

Rewind back to 2014. 

I was working full-time as a travel copywriter. I was also finishing up a diploma in graphic design and was looking for somewhere to channel my newfound creative skills.

It was also a time when food blogs were taking off. Since I was dabbling in the kitchen and teaching myself how to bake, I decided to make my own food blog, without any intention of creating a business. 

I started publishing and sharing my own dessert recipes. They were very basic and so were my photography skills, but I was having the time of my life. 

After 18 months, I was completely obsessed with blogging and had cultivated a small readership online. I decided to put some ads on my blog and in the first month I made $50. I was in awe that I could make money doing something so fun.

My growth was slow and steady from that point, growing gradually year after year. Once I began to really understand SEO and the concept of creating good-quality content, my growth began to accelerate.

And when Covid hit and much of the world was in lockdown, my growth hit the roof, with millions of monthly pageviews. 

1685097748 538 How This 35 Year Old Earns 6 FiguresYear From Her Baking Blog

How Much She’s Earning

I currently make over six figures a year almost entirely from ad revenue. It took six years to get to that point, but I have managed to sustain that level of income for over three years now. 

Se även  En omfattande guide till LinkedIn-sponsrade uppdateringar

The downside of relying on advertising revenue is that it’s very unpredictable. You earn different amounts throughout the year, which can make it hard to plan and budget your income. 

Bloggers typically earn more in quarter four with higher RPMs. And if you’re a baking blogger like me, Christmas is a particularly profitable time of year. 

I used Google AdSense for a few months but I already had enough of a readership to apply for Mediavine. I heard great things, so switched over as soon as I could.

I’ve been a member of Mediavine since 2016 and they manage all my advertising for me. I can’t speak highly enough of their amazing customer service, I see them as part of my team! 

I’m currently on maternity leave so I only spend around 15 hours on the business a week. Prior to that, my work hours would be around 20-25 hours per week. 

As for traffic, my blog receives about half a million page views per month.

Jessica’s Top Marketing Strategy

So much of blogging and content creation is focused on SEO and social media. But one thing that I have always tried to do is make time to prioritize my audience. 

I love connecting directly with my readers and I plan in time and space to do that regularly. Answering comments and questions in a timely manner is one really easy way to do that. I read and answer every blog comment or question on my website myself, and I chat with my readers every day on Instagram. 

Even in the content creation process, so much of our time is directed towards sökordsforskning and SEO. But if I get constant reader requests for a certain recipe, I will definitely add it to my plan. 

At the end of the day, if SEO and social media went away, there’s still a strong cohort of readers who come directly to my website when they want to bake. And at the core of it, they’re the people I want to create content for!

The Importance of SEO

SEO is the lifeblood of my business and currently accounts for over 65% of my traffic. 

For social, I focus mainly on Pinterest and Instagram as they are the biggest traffic drivers and the best places for me to connect with my readers. 

My strategy with both as changed significantly over the past few years, and I’m still learning how to use video to best connect with my audience. 

My favorite thing to do is teach readers how to bake, so I love to use step-by-step videos to show my readers how to make my recipes on Instagram Stories. 

1685097748 578 How This 35 Year Old Earns 6 FiguresYear From Her Baking Blog

In 2017, I had my first SEO audit with a professional consultant. It really helped me understand the purpose of SEO and how I could be more intentional when creating my content. 

Se även  Google försöker hålla jämna steg med AI-drivna sökrivaler

SEO is complicated, but when I finally understood that many of the rules are really just directing us to make the best possible content with the reader in mind, I was able to do a much better job. 

When creating recipes, I currently use KeySearch to double-check traffic volumes and do a little competitor analysis. I’m usually looking to ask two questions: 

  1. Are people searching for this recipe? And if so, how are they searching? (For example, what words are they actually using?)
  2. Could I rank for this keyword?

But as I mentioned above, even if I can’t rank for it, it doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t create and publicera that recipe.

I want readers who come to my website to find whatever recipe they are looking for, so I do a mix of SEO-focused content and reader-inspired content. 

Jessica’s Content Creation Process

As a creative person, I love to create recipes and content that I’m genuinely passionate about. I always start with an idea that is sparked either by something I’ve tasted out and about, seen on my travels or has been requested by a reader. 

After doing some keyword research and competitor analysis, I then go through the recipe testing process. This is one of the most time-consuming parts of blogging for me. 

I try over and over to create a reliable recipe that works for everyone, whether they’re a novice or experienced baker. Amazing results for minimum fuss is my motto!

Once I have the recipe down, I’ll take and edit the photos and then craft the post. After it’s published, I’ll promote it using social media and my newsletter. 

I try to publish one new recipe a week but sometimes it can take longer if the recipe is particularly challenging. I’m still consistently reminding myself that it’s not about quantity but rather, quality. So if I have to take a bit more time to publish the best possible recipe so be it! 

I use Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Her Email List

I do have an email list and I encourage readers to sign up for my newsletter in order to receive new recipes, baking tips, and ebooks. 

I love to keep in touch with readers that way, and often encourage them to write back and tell me what recipes they want to see or what baking questions they have. 

Email marketing is something I really want to prioritize this year.

At the moment there are over 10k people on my list.

Her Favorite Resources

I absolutely love the Food Blogger Pro podcast and Top Hat Rank webinars. They’re full of amazing advice for bloggers, whether you’re a novice or an experienced online publisher. 

Her Top Three Tools

If I had to list my top tools, they would be:

Google Analytics and Google Search Console: Two free tools from Google that are so helpful in tracking analytics and keyword rankings. 

Se även  Is user data truly protected in the Google Analytics universe?

KeySearch: A basic but affordable keyword research tool, KeySearch is great for beginner bloggers.

Canva: I use Canva to easily create pins for Pinterest and marketing materials like ebooks and media kits. 

Jessica’s Biggest Challenge

For sure this would be time and trends!

In this blogging game, you never seem to have enough time to do everything. There is always more content to create, more improvements on your website, and more things to learn.

It’s a wonderful thing because it means it’s never boring, but I constantly have to fight the feeling of always being behind. It’s like having a to-do list that never gets smaller—it only grows. 

Keeping up with changing trends is also a big challenge, particularly with the changes in social media we’ve seen in the past few years. How the platforms are responding to content can really impact your traffic and your content creation strategy. 

To do this job well, you need to be flexible and agile—two things that don’t come easy to me personally.

As the blog has grown, I’ve had the ability to outsource a few tasks. I work with NerdPress to manage the technical side of my blog (they are incredible at what they do). And I have two amazing virtual assistants that help manage my Pinterest, Facebook, and e-post marknadsföring.

Her Most Important Accomplishment

When I first started blogging, I was too shy to tell anyone about it. But when my blog overtook my day job in earnings, I was finally able to be really proud of what I had accomplished. 

How This 35 Year Old Earns 6 FiguresYear From Her Baking Blog

I also had my recipes published in one of Australia’s biggest food magazines. To walk into the supermarket, open a magazine and see my work—that was a highlight! 

What She Wishes She Knew When She Started

In many ways, I wish I knew that it’s possible to make a full-time income (and more) online. But at the same time, I’m glad I didn’t have that pressure on myself straight up. Instead, the business was born out of a genuine passion for creating and sharing amazing recipes. 

I do wish I started my blog on WordPress. I began on Blogger, then moved to Squarespace, and then finally made the switch to WordPress. I immediately saw an uptick in traffic and had so much more control over the backend of my website. I regret not making the move sooner. 

Jessica’s Main Mistake

My biggest mistake was not treating my blog as a legitimate business sooner. It’s very easy to feel like it’s just a hobby or a small side endeavor. But the truth is, it’s a real business and it should be given that respect, by you and those around you.

Her Advice for Other Entrepreneurs

Never stop learning.

Everything online is constantly changing, whether it’s SEO or social media platforms, we have to be agile as content creators. 

We need to keep up with trends and rules and not be afraid of change. So keep learning, keep listening to podcasts, reading blogging resources (like this one), and keep on top of what’s happening in the industry.

And make sure you take yourselves and your business seriously. It could change your life!



Källlänk

Håll ett öga på vad vi gör
Bli först med att få de senaste uppdateringarna och exklusivt innehåll direkt till din e-postinkorg.
Vi lovar att inte spamma dig. Du kan avbryta prenumerationen när som helst.
Ogiltig e-postadress
Fortsätt läsa

Trendigt

sv_SESvenska