When I first started blogging I had NO IDEA what the heck I was doing!

I honestly thought I would show up at the top of the google results just for existing (nope!). 

I knew there was a lot to learn so I started soaking it all in.  I was breastfeeding my 6 month old and still taking pump breaks at work so every pump break I spent scouring the internet for as much information as I could about online business, blogging, marketing, SEO, etc.  It was information overload. 

Everyone had some super secret method to get a million dollars yesterday with 5 minutes of work. I know that old saying “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is” so I was very skeptical of everything, and rightfully so.  I mean how do you know who has good content and who just has good marketing? 

I encountered quite a few people selling online courses about how to sell online courses with no refunds, insane prices, and “just trust me!”…um no I don’t think so.

I know I’m smart and that if this blogging thing could be lucrative, I could figure it out. So I started small and set realistic goals.

Create an online course in 30 days that does a $50,000 launch? Not one of my realistic goals.  Are there people who have done this before? Yes there actually are, but most of them already had substantial email lists to sell their product to.

Shiny Objects

It’s so easy to be distracted by the results of people who are 12 steps ahead of you. Their methods might be amazing, but are you ready for them?

A course about how to pitch a product to your email list won’t do you any good if you don’t even have an email list yet! If something is getting you excited, pause and ask yourself a couple questions.

Is it going to help you reach any of the goals you have set for yourself over the next 30 days? Or are you just excited about someday getting to step 12? 

Don’t have any set goals to accomplish in the next 30 days? You might want to change that!

So what were my goals just starting out?

Strategic Collaborations

My site started with the idea to share birth stories.  I didn’t just want “positive” birth stories but ALL birth stories because I think all types of births have something to say and can teach us more about ourselves.

I decided to narrow my niche to birth stories that answer the question: “What did your birth experience teach you about yourself?”

I decided to follow #birthstory on Instagram.  Many bloggers are women in their childbearing years and most of them are going to be sharing their birth stories on their blogs and their Instagram accounts.

So I searched for birth stories on Instagram by bloggers with a decent sized following and reached out.  I would tell them how much I loved reading their birth story and asked if I could share their story as one of my featured birth stories on my website. And you know what? Pretty much everyone said YES!

They didn’t have to do much other than email me a photo and the already written story or they would give me permission to copy the story directly from their website.  I just made sure to link to their website or social media accounts and they would give me a shout out on Instagram to all their followers that I was featuring their story.  This ALWAYS brought me new followers.

Learn basic SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Basically it means using specific keywords in your posts in strategic places to help your website show up in Google search results. It can get complicated and overwhelming so if you’re just starting out keep it simple.

If you were going to write a blog post about your doula services, you have to think about what someone would type into google to get the result you’re offering. If everyone is searching “Doula” and “San Diego” your blog post “I love helping pregnant women” probably isn’t going to show up as a search result.  You need “doula” and “san diego” to be included in the title of your blog post and heading. Instead maybe try “8 Reasons I Love Being a Birth Doula in San Diego.”

Even better would be something that encourages them to click and solves a problem: “5 Reasons You Need a Birth Doula If You Are Delivering in San Diego.” With SEO and blogging in general, specific is good.  It will help you narrow your niche, attract the right potential customer, and repel the wrong ones.

Create an Email Opt-in Incentive and New Subscriber Email Sequence

If you’re just starting out, this can sound like another language.  Basically it means that you have something created that can be used as an incentive to get a visitor to your website to sign up for your email list.

I spent so much time chasing the “shiny object” of more Instagram followers instead of working on this right away. It took months before I finally got my opt-in and emails set up and when I finally committed to making it happen, it was up and running in only a few hours. Why did I wait so long!?

My “opt in” is access to my free resource library.  I only give the password to my email subscribers, and it includes e books, templates, and more. This gives them something valuable for free in exchange for joining my community by email.

I then foster this relationship through weekly emails to my list, giving them more value.  When I have a product to pitch, I can “sell” it to my email list who already know and trust me and my recommendations.

Laser Focus

When you are just starting out, it can be exciting to look ahead and want to do everything.  Slow down and write out a list of goals.  Pick one medium sized goal each 30 days to work toward. Pick a few small goals you can accomplish in 1-3 days.

You eat an elephant one bite at a time (not that I recommend eating elephants!). Each of the little goals you accomplish will help motivate you toward your bigger goals and pretty soon you’ll be floating along on the motivation you’ve created for your self.  One achieved goal for your business (even a tiny one) is more powerful than 10 that are half way there.

So what are some of your goals? List them in the comments below and share this post so we can all grow together!