The Ultimate Blog Podcast - 55. Content, Connection, and Getting Back to the Basics

Episode Date: January 3, 2023

Happy New Year and welcome back to another episode of the Ultimate Blog Podcast! It’s Amy here today and I have a solo episode for you. It’s an exciting time because the podcast has officially been launched for one year! Jennifer and I set a goal to be consistent and release a new episode each week in 2022 and we did it! On today’s episode I want to share more with you about consistency, content, connection, and getting back to the basics! Tune in to hear more!Thanks for listening! Connect with us on Instagram: @sparkmediaconceptsCheck out The Blog Depot. This is a community and course that we have set up for you if you need questions answered before you start your blog. Join the waitlist for The Ultimate Blog Bootcamp, our online course and coaching that helps you build the blog that you have always dreamed of.SHOW NOTES: www.sparkmediaconcepts.com/episode55

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast with Amy Reinecke and Jennifer Draper. We're on a mission to empower women who want to start or grow their own blog. This podcast is for women who want to learn blogging basics and who crave inspiration and encouragement. Whether you're just getting started or have been a blogger for years, we're excited to welcome you into this space where we are passionate about creating community over competition. We are bloggers who want to encourage you to believe in your potential, step outside the norm and step into a life where you create your own schedule, your own success, and your own story. Join us for weekly episodes as we navigate blogging

and work from home life, all while raising a family and having some serious fun along the way. Do you want to start a blog, but you aren't sure what to do first? Are you still wondering what you're going to write about and who your ideal reader is? Have you researched blog platforms only to be left with even more questions and have a no idea what platform to build your blog on. Guess what? We created the blog Depot just for you. The blog Depot is a nine module course that was designed for someone who thinks that they want to start a blog, but wants to build a solid foundation and ask themselves the important questions before jumping in. In the blog Depot, we will help you understand what you need to build a

successful blog and important questions to ask yourself. And we do it all with our self-paced online course and membership community. You get access to the course and community forum immediately upon signup. And as a special bonus, we do a live coaching call with Depot members every month. So you can talk to us about your specific questions and needs. We want you to feel confident when you decide to finally start blogging someday and the blog Depot will help you do it. It's only $47 a month, but if you sign up today and use code U B P 50, you'll receive 50% off your first month. The link to join us is in the show notes, and we can't wait to help you build your solid foundation in the blog depot. Welcome back to the ultimate blog podcast. It's Amy here, and I am so low today. And I just first and foremost want to say happy new year and welcome to 2023. I hope that this new year

blesses you and is an amazing year. I know that looking back on 2022, there's a lot to be thankful for. And one of them is this podcast. The ultimate blog podcast has officially been launched for one year. And I have a big smile on my face while saying that, because at the beginning of last year, the goal that Jennifer and I had was just to be consistent and release a new podcast episode each and every week. And we did that. And I had was just to be consistent and release a new podcast episode each and every week. And we did that. And I think there were times that we felt like, are we going to be able to do this? And is this going to be possible? But we went into last year with the podcast, with a plan. And I truly believe that plans are so important when you are embarking

on a new adventure, such as a podcast or a blog or anything that you decide to do like that. And one of the things that we did is we knew that we wanted the podcast for a number of reasons, but we also knew that there were going to need to be steps that were integrated into our business and into our schedule that made it possible in order for us to do it. Some of those things were hiring a podcast manager who could help run the backend side of things. We made sure to use a calendar link that we could inform guests and schedule guests and all of that. And we tried to stay ahead with interviews and that plan has worked and we're taking that into this year. One of the things that it really did teach us is that consistency is really important. And today I want to talk a little bit about consistency,

but I also want to just talk about getting back to basics. I think a lot of times we chase the shiny objects. We jump on the bandwagon and we listen to what everybody else is doing in this new strategy or this new thing. And, oh, I need to be on this platform where I need to be doing this in my business, or I need to stop doing this because it's not working. And I just want to tell you, stop, just stop for just a minute. And I want you to ask yourself, what matters to me? Where am I the happiest showing up? where am I the happiest showing up? Email marketing is an essential piece of blogging. Growing your email list is just as important as SEO and keyword research in our opinion.

And in order to grow your list, you need a reliable platform that will allow you to connect with your community and turn them into email subscribers. That's where ConvertKit comes in. ConvertKit is the go-to marketing hub for creators like you that helps you grow and monetize your audience with ease. ConvertKit allows you to grow your audience and reach, put your funnels on autopilot and earn an income with your email list, all with an easy to use platform that is approachable, even for beginners. Click the link in our show notes to learn more about the different plans that ConvertKit has and how it can help you propel your business to the next level. What have I told you? I want you to take a deep breath and I want you to look at the basics

that your business needs and ask yourself, how am I doing with those things? The basics of blogging are truly what I believe make us successful. So do you have a positive work-life balance? Does your work inspire you? Does your blog inspire you? Are you feeling drained or are you feeling energetic when you get to work on your blog? Do you enjoy the challenge of blogging or do you feel suffocated by this work? Do you have a plan for your business? Do you know what you're working towards or are you just working day in day out with really no goal in mind at all? So back in episode 52, we talked about goal setting. If you haven't listened to that, go back and take a listen because I think it will really help you reframe some of the goals that you might have for this year. We've gotten really

positive feedback about that episode. But today I want to talk about those basics because I think that's where we get lost. I think we do chase the shiny object. And I think that then we tell ourselves, well, it's not working or I'm not successful, or I'm not growing at the rate that I want to, or I think I should be. But as you go into this new year, I want you to know that any dream that you have for your blog business can happen, but there's a couple things that you have to take into account. Two things, time and patience. No business has ever been built overnight. So if you don't feel like you're growing as fast as you should be, I just want to remind you that every business grows at its own

pace and at the pace that usually you can attain at that time. If growth is your goal for 2023, let's ask some important questions here. And when we talk about these questions and these reflections that I want you to have with your blog or with your business, I want you to do it without judgment. So first and foremost, are you creating content on a consistent basis? Now, consistency means something different to everybody. Consistency for some could be three days a week. Consistency for some could be three days a week. Consistency for some could mean one day a week. It could mean twice a month.

Whatever you have decided is the amount of time that you can put in. I want you to ask yourself, was I consistent? Answer that question without judgment and ask yourself, is this a good goal going into this year or does it need to be adjusted? Another thing to ask yourself is, are you optimizing your content? So are you doing keyword research? Are you looking at SEO? Do you know how to do keyword research and SEO? If that answer is no, I would encourage you to find a way to learn more about it and how you can learn to infuse that into your business as you're creating content.

Keyword research and SEO truly does make a difference. And essentially what it is, is you are learning what people are going into Google and searching for, and you're creating content that matches it. That is a very, that is a very, very basic understanding of keyword research, but you essentially want your content to meet the user intent for somebody who's coming into Google and looking for content like you're creating next with the content that you are creating. Are you tracking the date, tracking the data to know what your audience is engaging most

with? Maybe you think that they really want to know a lot about running and come to find out half of your audience doesn't even run. And so are you targeting the right people? Are the right people finding your blog? If not, why get curious about that? Ask yourself, are the right people here? If not, how can I better communicate what this blog is about and what I'm about and what I'm sharing to attract the right kinds of people? Because we're not meant as bloggers to serve for everyone. Not everybody is meant to be on our blogs.

We are meant to serve the people who need the kind of content that we're creating. Another question to ask yourself is, are you promoting your content on a platform that makes sense for your blog? ask yourself is, are you promoting your content on a platform that makes sense for your blog? I personally with love your body well, and also with spark media, we, for instance, do not promote on TikTok. It's not that it doesn't make sense for us. It's that we don't have the capacity for it. And at this point, it's not important to us either. I recognize that there are so many people out there becoming like TikTok famous and growing like huge followings and honestly bringing a lot of people to their blogs as well. But it is just something that we

have gone back and forth on and just ultimately decided that is not an area that we want to grow in or spend time on. And that's okay. So if that's Instagram for you, if that's Pinterest for you, if that's Facebook for you, just know that Pinterest for you, if that's Facebook for you, just know that you don't have to be on every single social platform because there's a lot of them out there. And like we always say, your blog is your home base and your blog is the most important thing. So if you can only work on one platform, have it be your blog, focus on keyword research and SEO, and then move forward from there. Last question I want you to ask yourself is, is there something in your business that's no longer serving you? And what can you let go of? And I know that that is a really scary thing to ask yourself, but I think that's the part

of the new year, turning the page and the new chapter that I would really encourage you to have an honest conversation with yourself. What is working and what's not, what do I hate doing or what just, what do I feel like I'm not good at or what area do I feel like I could have help in and can that area be let go? Or is there any way that I can have help with it? We tell our students all the time that pivoting is part of the job description when it comes to be a blogger, it really is part of the job description when it comes to be a blogger. It really is part of the job. We have to learn new things. And when you learn to pivot, you learn, you can grow in different ways. But I still believe that those basics are really, really important.

And at the heart of all of it, I believe that there are two main things that matter most. And that is content and connection, the kind of content that you're creating and the connection that you have with the people who are coming to your website, go into this year and remind yourself of your why maybe you need to write it down and have it at your desk. Maybe you need to post it on the wall. Maybe you can go into your voice memos and record your why and go back and refer to it often. Make sure your why is worth fighting for and make sure your why is something that you truly believe in.

Maybe your why has shifted. Maybe it's time to pivot while you're doing this. That's okay too. That can totally happen. I think as we grow and as our business changes, we also realize that it might be serving a different purpose than we initially thought it might allow your why to be the fuel that helps you build the muscle of consistency, be persistent in your business and don't sell yourself short. I know it's really scary sometimes when we set new goals for ourself or when we've decided to pivot

or when we're going to let something go. Basically anytime there's change involved, that can feel really scary. But when you show up as your true authentic self and you're aligning with what your goals are and what you want for your life, truly beautiful things can happen. You can find a piece that maybe you are looking for. You can find growth that you didn't think was possible. And I want you just to take a moment and I want you to ask yourself, what would my life look like? If, if you achieved your why, if you had the work-life balance that you desire, if you learn to shut your computer at five o'clock and you don't go back to it for the rest of the night because you deserve the time to rest. If you know that you are capable of getting a post out a week, but you're just not making the time to do it, do it. And then ask yourself, how would I feel if I was consistent

in that piece of my business? I want you to focus on your impact versus all the numbers. There's so many numbers in blogging. There's, there's the money, there's the traffic, there's the sessions, there's the posts, there's all of it. What if instead you focused on impact? What kind of an impact am I making? That goes back to connection. You know, we hear all the time, like that's how you grow. It's true engagement and all of that. That's what connection is, is finding the people who need the content that you're creating. And the only way you're going to find those people is if you get back to basics, ask yourself, are the basics of my business attainable? Do I need to adjust?

What needs to happen? How can I think about this differently? How can I do this? Is there anything in 2023 that looks different than it did in 2022? And so you need to adjust anyways, because that's part of life too. Our life changes, which means that our productivity can change as well. You know, I have a little one at home still, and she's not in school full-time yet. And so I know in a year and a half when she's in school full-time with her brothers, my know in a year and a half when she's in school full-time with her brothers, my life will look a little bit different. And I remind myself often that this season, I only get the season once. I don't get to go back. I don't get to get a three-year-old back. So I need to enjoy the time I have with her now. And I work when I can, and I have to learn to let

go of the rest of it because I'm truly living the life that I want to live by being home with my kids and also providing income for my family. That's what I wanted. And your why could be different, but ask yourself, are you showing up in that space the way that you want to? And if not, what needs to change in order for you to do so? If no one has told you yet this year that they believe in you, I would like to do so. If no one has told you yet this year that they believe in you, I would like to be the first each and every one of you listening to this episode has a passion or a story or a purpose that is worthy of sharing. It can be the driving force behind the good that you put out in this world. And I'm begging you not to sell yourself short this year.

Step into what you want. Remind yourself that you are worthy of it. You are capable of it and you can absolutely crush it. Make a plan for yourself, but most importantly, don't forget the joy. Enjoy this process this year. Enjoy this brand new book with a fresh page today. I wish you all the success this year. I know you can do it and I can't wait to hear about it. Thanks so much for tuning in today. If you'd like to continue the conversation about blogging with us, please find us on Instagram at spark media concepts.

You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter where we share blogging tips and inspiration. You can sign up by finding the link in the show notes. For those of you who are ready for the next step and want to start your own blog, join the waitlist for the ultimate blog bootcamp. The link to join the waitlist is also in the show notes. Go out and make today a great day.