I live in the Northern Hemisphere and switch from composting outdoors in the spring and summer to indoors in the winter.
As outdoor composting slows, the vermicomposting worms who lived outdoors in the Subpod spring through early fall are moved indoors for the winter to rest, eat, and produce worm castings. All which will be used in the spring for starting seedlings.
I was still on the search for an outdoor composter that I could use in the winter to turn lawn clippings and shredded paper into compost.
The Aerobin Composter fits the bill. The container is insulated to keep outside and retain heat inside. Internal temperatures are hot enough to kill weed seeds, breaking plant matter down more quickly.
One thing I didn’t know when I started using it is by filling it up more than half way, the process takes longer. Instead of dumping a pile of leaves (I made this mistakes at the beginning), I now alternate layering nitrogen (20% ratio) of spent coffee grounds, kitchen waste, cat hair, and carbon (80% ratio) sources of shredded paper and carboard.
I turn over my mulch in the spring and fall, but leave the soil alone. It allows me to clear out any weeds that may have shown up and saving time later in the season.
I reduce the amount of digging by the squirrels by adding the compost on the bottom, layering with top soil, topping off with mulch, and wetting everything down starts the process of getting the microbes and worms to start breaking everything down.
5. GEME
I was looking for a device to compost my cats poop, spent litter, and kitchen waste. I joked with my cats that it was time for them to stop living at home for free and pay their way.
I wanted to separate the cats waste from the compost I use in my veggie garden. My plan was to use the cat waste only in flower beds away from edible plants.
Welcome the newest addition my composting family, the GEME.
Of course as an alternative, you could dig a hole in the yard, insert a bucket with a top on, drill some holes. Once filled, you dig another hole in the yard and repeat the process.
Given I live in a state with four seasons, once the ground freezes and snow take over, the only option is to throw the waste in the trash or store it until spring in an airtight container. Eau de poo? No thank you.
In the past, I didn’t include the cat litter. Different opinions made me cautious to add it, but a representative from the company said it was okay as long as it is bio waste. I use pine pellets.
When the ground freezes and the bin becomes full (during winter), I put the excess compost in an air tight container to use in the spring.
Check out the before and after photo below.
I read up on the Bokashi method. Some use this method in addition to vermicomposting for processing pet waste. I was looking to compost my cats’ poo using the bokashi method and then use GEME to heat treat.
The device uses the aerobic fermentation method, which we call hot composting. During the fermentation, the GEME-Kobold (a heat-resistant composite microbial group) and the industrial-grade purification system can deodorize itself.
If using bio-cat litter, you don’t need to pre-treat it using the bokashi method and can put it directly into GEME
The best part is te GEME is super quiet, uses less electricity, and and there is no smell.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
Composting does take a little investment, but doesn’t have to be expensive. I love the idea of a circular system in finding another purpose for something.
In this case, kitchen waste, coffee grounds, cat hair, lawn clippings, contents from the vaccuum cleaner, and shredded paper can serve another purpose. Feed the soil to grow food.
I learned by adding compost and topsoil, soil retains more water and reduces the amount of watering.
I no longer throw away kitchen waste, have reduced garbage going into the bin (less to lift), and spend less time pulling weeds out of the garden. It’s been a win-win.
Add in rain barrels (check to see if your state allows the use of rain barrels to collect rain water) to reduce the amount of water runoff into the sewers and you save a little money on your water bill.
Instead, I began the process of tackling yard waste outside with Hügelkultur gardening (pronounced “hoo-gul-culture”). The German word for “hill culture” or “mound culture”. The technique involves layering the organic material of tree trunks and branches at the bottom level of a bed.
This technique is perfect for raised garden beds. Before adding potting soil, topsoil, and compost, bury organic matter (tree branches, leaves, shredded paper) at the bottom level of the bed.
As the organic material decomposes, nutrients are added to the soil.
The process can take a minimum of 5 years to fully decompose. As the organic material rots, you will notice the soil level going down. Just top off the raised garden bed with topsoil and compost.
2. FOODCYCLER
I was still looking for a composting alternative solution to converting kitchen waste into something I could use in my flower and veggie gardens. How could I reduce food volume and haul out less garbage every week?
The FoodCycler is an indoor electric composter bin that uses a grinding system to break down food scraps, meat, and bones. Once completed, the volume of the food waste is reduced and broken down into small powder-like granules.
It’s small enough to sit on a countertop and quiet enough to have in the kitchen. I have mine in the garage and let it do its job overnight.
Since it is indoors, no need to worry about the outdoor winter elements coming in and affecting it.
3. SUBPOD
A couple of years ago, I came across a company called Subpod based out of Australia. They have a motto that speaks clearly, “Feed the Soil. Feed the World”. Making composting part of everyday life and diverting waste from landfills is their mission.
Traditional composting can take a lot of time and effort. The subpod is different from traditional above-ground composting like a compost tumbler which you have to turn every couple of days. The smell of rotting food can attract rodents and pests.
With as little as 5 minutes a day, anyone can turn kitchen waste into nutrient-rich compost. All you have to do is throw in the food waste, mix it, and let the vermicomposting worms do the work.
Vermicomposting, or worm composting involves worms eating kitchen waste, using the worm manure (worm castings) to amend the soil, and turning it into dark nutrient-rich soil known as ‘black gold’.
The Subpod can be buried in the ground or a raised garden bed. Flowers and vegetables can be planted around the Subpod. Holes in the grow pod allow vermicomposting worms to move in and out of the pod aerating the soil.
There is another compost system called Modbed that works for those living in small spaces without a backyard. The Modbed looks great on balconies, patios, and rooftop gardens.
As the worms eat the kitchen waste, their poop (worm manure or worm castings) is left that can be used as a natural liquid fertilizer to make worm tea or sprinkled around plants as a slow-release fertilizer.
With underground composting, it stays underground. There is no smell and no mess.
Check out part 3 for additional ways to compost indoors.
Do you look at kitchen and pet waste going into the garbage and wonder how you can give it another purpose? You can give food and yard waste a new life by composting at home. Composting doesn’t have to be complicated. No longer are you limited to turning a compost tumbler over and over outdoors.
New products and devices on the market make it possible to compost outdoors indoors and keep pesky pests away.
I will share with you four products I own and use to compost kitchen, office, and pet waste.
HOW MY COMPOSTING JOURNEY BEGAN
My composting journey began with wondering how I could turn kitchen waste into something I could used in my flower and vegetable gardens.
I needed a solution that would take only a couple of minutes a day with no mess and no chemicals.
Started by burying the waste, but it quickly became problematic. I soon ran out of space and the squirrels were having a field day digging it up.
I came across the compost tumbler, but like a compost pile, you have to turn it regularly. While it’s great to be outdoors, it can prove to be challenging to maintain if you work full-time, have a family or take care of an elderly parent.
Most turn to the alternative option of using synthetic fertilizers because it’s cheap, largely available, and easy to use.
What I ended up doing was developing a layered composting approach.
SYNTHETIC FERTILIZERS VS COMPOST
Synthetic fertilizers cannot compete against organic matter known as compost. Synthetic fertilizers are man-made chemicals that harm the environment by killing off healthy microrganisms, strip away nutrients from soil, and requires more water.
As organic matter decomposses, it attracts microbes and worms who help to further break it down. What is left is nutrient rich compost containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium plants need to grow.
The slow release of natural fertlizer provides bigger yields, retains water, prevents soil erosion, and smells earthy.
Over time, overuse of synthetic fertilizers leads to nutrient deficiency. The nitrogen run off from liquid fertilizers into lakes, streams, and rivers produce overgrowth of vegetation and algal booms, creating “dead zones” where low levels of oxygen kill off fish. One example is the Gulf of Mexico.
Are you overwhelmed by the numerous plugins and security services available to choose from to secure your WordPress site from hackers?
Websites have become a playground for hackers to exploit critical flaws and vulnerabilities to perform unauthorized actions. WordPress sites are a common target due to its popularity and use by millions around the world.
An insecure WordPress site that uses weak passwords, operates outdated plugins, and themes, increases the risk of being attacked by hackers.
Your website can never be too secure. Having a layered security approach will strengthen website protection of your site.
These five essential plugins for online businesses will get you started on securing your WordPress website.
The first thing a bot does when trying to access your website is to brute force your account login settings. What does the term “brute force” means?
A brute force attack consists of a trial and error of guessing possible combinations of login information.
Weak and guessable username and passwords credentials, such as “admin” and “123456”, dictionary words, common names, and personal information are what make brute force attacks popular.
It’s not uncommon for users to use “admin” as both the username and password.
The amount of time it takes to crack “123456” is 0 seconds. How long does it take to break “admin”? 0.03 seconds.
If your account login username is using the default name “admin”, a hacker just needs to guess your password to gain access to your WordPress admin area and files.
Ensure to change your admin account login name from the default user name “admin” or “administrator” to something a name that is difficult to guess and isn’t the same name as your website domain.
5 Essential WordPress Plugins
Jetpack by WordPress.com
Jetpack provides 24/7 security protection from brute-force attacks (unauthorized logins) by scanning for malware and blocking malicious attacks on your site. Spam filtering detects and blocks unsolicited comments.
WP Security
The All In One WordPress Security plugin uses a security points system to gauge how secure your site is by taking you through the following general settings:
User Accounts
User Login
User Registration
Database Security
Filesystem Security
Blacklist Manager
Firewall
Brute Force
SPAM Prevention
Scanner
Maintenance
Check out this WordPress tutorial by SERT Media for a step by step instruction on setting up the All In One WP Security & Firewall plugin.
The most common type of spam on your site is the contact page and comments sections on your blog page.
Spammers fill out the comment or message fields with random and annoying spam messages.
The good news is this plugin may come already installed on your WordPress. If not, just go to your WP dashboard. Click ‘Add New’ plugins and search for ‘Akismet Anti-Spam.’
Cloudflare
In addition to speeding up your website, Cloudflare provides a go-between your website and the webserver. Oh, did I mention securing your website with Cloudfare is free?
You can think of Cloudflare as the first line of defense. When users visit your site, they will first pass-through the Cloudflare network before a request is sent to your web host.
If you have ever visited a club, the first person you see is a bouncer at the front door vetting guests by checking IDs.
There is always someone trying to figure out ways to get past the bouncer with trickery and fake outs.
The individual knows they are not supposed to be there but will give the desperate tactic of sneaking in through the back exit a try. It’s worth a shot, right?
The bouncer tells all the other bouncers to be on the look for a person matching a description trying to sneak into the club.
Just like bouncers, Cloudflare works to keeps the bad guys (malicious actors) out of the club (their network).
Without Cloudflare, your website is naked, subject to slow page speed, bots, and hackers attempting to visit and conduct malicious activity.
WPS Hide Login
Protect and secure your WordPress admin area by hiding your wp-admin URL from being discovered by bots and hackers using the plugin WPS Hide Login.
You can change the URL to anything you want. Just make sure you can remember the name. How does it work you ask? Let me explain.
Everyone knows the very common URL wp-login.php. You don’t want just anybody knowing what your login page is.
The WPS Hide Login plugin hides your login page. When someone goes to your wp-login.php page, the visitor will be redirected to another page.
YouTube has a plethora of tutorials with step by step instructions on how to set it up this feature in less than a minute.
After securing your site, the next area of importance to visit your WordPress admin directory.
As I said earlier, Your website can never be too secure. Having a layered security approach will strengthen website protection of your site.
For more ways to secure your site, check out my post, 10 Online Security Tips, and remember always to use strong passwords.
With more individuals working from home, keeping your sensitive information and data protected and secured takes priority.
Just because a company allows employees to work remotely, it doesn’t mean the company you work for has the information technology staff or technical infrastructure to keep your personal information safe, keep your computer protected and updated, or stop a data breach in real-time by hackers attempting to access your information.
Issues concerning the security of electronic systems, devices, and information and ways to protect against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are critical to maintaining password hygiene and strengthening internet security.
Threats
Malicious code threats consisting of viruses, worms, and trojan horses can be installed on your computer and hidden without your knowledge, which creates a backdoor for attackers to access your personally identifiable information (PII).
Phishing, spear phishing, and social engineering threats use e-mail or website to solicit information by targeting a specific organization or group and seeking unauthorized access to confidential data through e-mail spoofing.
Using the same email and password for all of your online accounts makes it easy for hackers to access your online accounts. Avoid using dictionary words, your social security number, birth date, names, or information posted on your social media (i.e. name of a pet or bank vendor) as passwords.
Using free WiFi networks (i.e. airport, coffee shop, hotel, shopping center) may sound like a great idea to save a few dollars, but you don’t when the last time the company or vendor last changed their password.
Some places have the password posted on an information board or at the checkout counter for anyone to access.
Depending on the strength of a WiFi signal, it’s easy for an individual to sit in his/her car, exploit connections, and steal your login information to clean out your bank account.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
PII is any information maintained by a company that can be used to link or trace an individual’s identity. Examples of PII:
Name
Address
Social security number
Email address
Date of birth
Driver’s license number
Phone number
IP address
Financial, employment, or location data
Combining two types of PII, such as a person’s name with a birth date, identity thieves have all they need to commit identity theft and ruining your credit.
Protection of both work and personal information on your computer, mobile devices, or company-issued equipment can help to prevent attacks by putting to practice these ten online security tips.
Protecting Yourself
u003cliu003eMaintain and use anti-virus software and firewalls. u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eUse webcam stickers dots or sliders to prevent hackers from accessing your personal information on social media and spying through the camerau003c/liu003eu003cliu003eCreate long and strong passwords consisting of a combination of numbers, symbols, upper and lowercase letters.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eInstead of using free public Wifi at a hotel, use a pocket WiFi or hotspot on your smartphone when traveling.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eCreate a secure connection while visiting a website, conducting online banking transactions, and accessing business networks and shared drives over the Internet by using a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN is a service that hides your IP address encrypts all the data you send and receive through internet traffic and protects your online identity, making it impossible to read by anyone who intercepts it. If you need to use free public WiFi at a coffee shop, you need to secure your device with a u003ca href=u0022https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15u0026amp;aff_id=33152u0026amp;url_id=902u0022 class=u0022rank-math-linku0022u003eVPNu003c/au003e.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eAn open network allows hackers to sniff web traffic, send fake ads or links to click on which contain viruses. Encrypt data on your network.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eBack up your data.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eKeep software up to date.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eDo not store usernames or passwords in a spreadsheet. Use a password manager app to store passwords on computers and other devices. Password manager apps are a great tool to use to generate strong passwords. u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eAdd a layer of security by installing u003ca href=u0022https://www.techrepublic.com/article/two-factor-authentication-cheat-sheet/u0022 class=u0022rank-math-linku0022u003etwo-factor authenticationu003c/au003e to your technological devices and online accounts. The two-factor authentication app will generate a code.u003c/liu003e
Now that you know what you need to know about safeguarding your sensitive information, protecting your computer and it’s contents, whether it’s working from home, on vacation, or enjoying a pumpkin spice latte, is the same as locking your door when you leave the house.
One last tip, never leave your computer unattended and change your passwords regularly to keep the bad guys out.
You’re a new business owner or entrepreneur who is looking for resources on how to start a blog, use marketing by social media to promote a new Etsy store, use social media platforms (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter) to drive website traffic.
You don’t have a lot of money to spend initially, but to learn the art and science of everything about blogging on your own is a little overwhelming and could use a little help to lighten up the load.
Are blogging courses worth your time and money? The answer is yes. Let me explain why.
ARE BLOGGING COURSES WORTH YOUR TIME AND MONEY?
Advantages Of Taking A Blogging For Beginners Course
One benefit of taking an online course on social media marketing and blogging for beginners is saving yourself time spending hours online going down a rabbit hole reading multiple blogs and watching YouTube tutorials.
Someone has gone and done the research, the leg work, and can provide you tips and practices, success, and failures so you don’t make the same mistakes they did when starting out.
Did you know before starting a blog, it’s recommended to have 12-15 articles written? You might be scratching your head asking why.
Imagine having a blog with just five articles on the site. For one, it’s a waste of time and money to pay for a theme and domain with very few articles.
Second, once readers get through the five articles, one reader might return the week after to read a new post.
If you are not posting at least one blog a week or gaining subscribers through an email list to provide updates to, readers will lose interest and go visit another site.
If you’re intent is to create a play by play journal for friends and family, that is fine, but I thought you were looking to turn your side hustle into a full-time job where you can work from anywhere and set your own hours?
If you have at least 10 articles ready to publish and plan on writing one article a week, that is enough for readers to mull over while you work on writing new content.
I write articles three months out. The time allows me to make tweaks to my articles before being published and to research new content ideas.
It’s a nice cushion for when I experience writer’s block and need a break from my laptop to gain some inspiration from my other hobby of travel photography.
Taking a beginning blogging course online will teach you techniques on how to drive traffic to your website.
Website Navigation Design
One pet peeve of mine that is directly from my days in sales/retail management is a website that is hard to navigate when shopping online.
A second pet peeve is quickly building a site or a blog and not testing it before going live. This is a tell-tale sign of someone who lacks a technical background. What am I talking about you ask?
Ever visited a site that takes more than three clicks to navigate only to find that the article or clothing item isn’t there, or no longer exists because you see a 404 code?
The human attention span is short. Having dropdowns with no categories listed and no links are another example. Having a jacked website is a wonderful way to lose visitors.
When I was finalizing what kind of site I wanted, the first thing I did was visit blogs and sites and navigated their sites. Next, I sketched out on paper what I wanted my home page to look like.
I am not in the habit of throwing people under the bus and think it’s uncharitable to provide links to bad websites. We all have to start somewhere.
Here is some homework for you. Visit a couple of retail sites like Dr. Bronner’s (and their blog site), The Body Shop, AVEDA, Amazon, Target and a couple of blogs you have pins saved to your Pinterest account and spend a minute of two navigating.
Then ask yourself what you like or dislike about each site.
I know how to get past broken links and pages in order to find an article, I will only go the extra mile if the information I am searching for is worth the effort which is rare.
Beginner Blogging Mistakes
Too many individuals are in a rush to start a blog with bad information from social media posts that they will become an overnight success and make money right away.
While a blog site might look pretty and inviting, I don’t know about you, but I find writing articles a lot of work.
In a sea of bloggers, the only way to stand out is to use social media marketing to promote your blog online so you can spend more time growing your business and write about topics that interest your readers.
Before you decide to go all in, I have one word of advice. Don’t quit your day job just yet! Taking your time to learn how to set up your website and blog will pay off in the long run.
If the stuff I mentioned about issues with websites is new to you, have no ideas what I am talking about, no very tech-savvy, taking a blogging course teaches you step by step on how to navigate these problems with ease.
There are a lot of free blogging courses out there, but a little investment can go a long way to get in-depth information that you wouldn’t get from a free online course.
Online Blogging And Pinterest Marketing Courses
If you’re into social media, taking an online marketing course can teach you how to leverage your existing social media platforms currently in use.
I have two blogging courses that are worth investing in short-term for long-term gains on turning your start-up into a money-making business:
One of the things I like about winter time is the natural slowing down that occurs and being able to play catch up on things that go on the back burner from spring until fall.
I like to take advantage to learn something new while being snowed in or too lazy to brave the cold in favor of warmth and relaxation.
The brief stay indoors allows me to clean up my website, tweak a couple of articles, and learn how to maximize social media and online marketing.
Being a tennis fan, for two weeks, I sit glued to my tv watching the Australian Open wondering why I haven’t made the 17-hour trek out there yet to experience Melbourne in person.
Watching tennis balls fly back and forth for three to five sets makes me dizzy.
Watching, I mean listening to tennis balls and sneakers skid back and forth on the court for me is a great time to write three months out and knock out 12 articles while sipping on a glass of vino.
Online Course On Blogging
When it came time to start my blog, I felt like I had nothing to lose by signing up for an online course on blogging for beginners by one of New York Times best-selling authors with years of travel experience.
Nomadic Matt’s Superstar Blogging Course was within my budget compared to others that were asking for $200 or more and lacked the reputation Matt has built over the past 10 years.
The course takes you through the technical aspects step by step of getting your blog up and running, ways to monetize your blog through affiliate marketing, tips, and ideas on using social media to drive traffic to your site, and what mistakes to avoid.
How To Use Pinterest For Blogging
Pinterest is not only fun, free to use, but it’s an underutilized social media platform that is worth learning more about when it comes to Pinterest marketing.
The potential for steady and constant traffic from pins remaining searchable over time is huge. Check out these demographics of Pinterest users:
40% of New Signups are Men; 60% New Signups are Women
Half of Pinterest users earn $50K or higher per year
Pinterest users are under the age of 49
70% of users are female
50% of pinners live outside the United States
Millennials use Pinterest as much as Instagram
80% of US mothers who use the internet uses Pinterest
Learning the ins and outs of Pinterest and gaining an introduction to automated scheduling of pins are two reasons to invest in taking a Pinterest course.
The second online course I recommend is Pinterest Traffic Avalanche by Create and Go bloggers Lauren and Alex.
Free Pinterest Scheduler
If you are a Pinterest user who is still manually pinning, it’s time to start automating your pinning process.
To increase traffic to your website, you have to post multiple times a day on social media. The recommendation is to pin 10-15 times a day on Pinterest. Who has time to manually pin every day?
At first, it sounds easy, but what about when you go on vacation or go to a location with no cell reception or wifi? Automating the pinning process with simple Pinterest scheduling using an app like Tailwind will save time doing it yourself for free.
WhySchedule Pins On Pinterest
Scheduling pins allows you to focus on growing your fan base and learning new skills to build up your brand over time so you CAN transition from part-time side hustler into a full-time digital nomad.
What is $100 for a blogging or social media course compared to going from making no money from your blog to six figures?
Are blogging courses worth your time and money? The answer is yes if you’re willing to take the time to learn how to draw readers back over and over again to your site.
Check out this video on how one user went from 121 to 86,000 views on her blog in 5 months with Pinterest.
According to the non-profit organization Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund, as many as 70% of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries are unserved or underserved by financial institutions.
It is crucial to a country’s development to allow women to contribute to the household and bring income into the home.
Promoting women entrepreneurship advances gender equality, escape from sex trafficking and changes the lives of children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Wives who are in an abusive relationship, starting a small business gives these women the courage to say, “no more” to violence in the home and move their children to a safe area.
Finding Inner Peace and Strength
Entrepreneurship helps bring communities out of poverty and increase the quality of life for all. Stronger family bonds are created from increased income.
Following the Rwandan genocide in 1994, 70% of the population were women. Most were widowed through genocide.
To support themselves and their families, some of whom are HIV positive, these brave women weave baskets and sell them through Fair Winds Trading.
The craft of weaving colorful baskets by hand has brought Hutu and Tutsi women together and peace to their communities, heal from the trauma of murder and rape experienced during the genocide on both sides.
Rwanda’s “peace baskets” allow mothers to provide for their children’s future such as food, healthcare, pay school fees, and housing.
Bringing home a steady income reduces the stress of domestic life, domestic abuse, and increased respect for their wives from the sale of baskets.
5 Ways to Encourage Entrepreneurship
Charity begins at home, invest in her. Lenders all over the world make it possible for non-profit organizations to continue to transform lives globally hence improving living standards for women while improving humanity.
1. Kiva
For as little as $25, you help women invest in the next generation, health and education, and reduce poverty in 83 different countries. 100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes to funding loans.
2. Free the Girls
By donating bras to this non-profit organization, you are empowering survivors of human trafficking to become entrepreneurs by selling bras in second-hand markets throughout their community.
3. SCORE
Share your expertise in areas of marketing, social media, finance, and legal by volunteering to be a mentor for a future small business owner. Helping a prospective business owner to write a business plan increases the likelihood of the business succeeding.
4. United Prosperity
Become a social lender and provide a microloan to a woman entrepreneur to grow or start a small business. As the microloan gets paid back, why not repurpose to funds to help support another entrepreneur.
Providing feedback to another woman business owner can prepare her for the roadblocks ahead and set her up for success on how to overcome them successfully.
If you are looking for other ways to support global citizenship, check out my post, 6 Small Acts That Can Change the World for more ideas on how to contribute and support the growth of female entrepreneurs.
Alright, we are in the home stretch here. I have a couple more tips before I set you free to go take on society with your soon to be an impressive social media marketing strategy.
While Pinterest marketing will drive traffic to your website, blog, or online store, another resource to add to your toolbox is email marketing.
Remember, when I mentioned how I use an automation scheduler to post new content to my social media accounts and new blog posts on my website?
Email Marketing
Email marketing is another tool to help promote your business with email and social media. You have to be careful with automated tools.
I like MailChimp because it is free up to 2K contacts. What do you get with the free plan?
One-click automation, basic templates to create a landing page on your site to signup new users, and email notifications to subscribers when a new blog post shows up on your website.
After 2K subscribers, there is a monthly fee starting at $9.99.
Another reason I went with MailChimp over another competitor is I tend to go with companies who give back to the community.
When doing research, the first thing I do is visit the ‘About’ page.
MailChimp’s focus on corporate citizenship, working to tackle intergenerational poverty and promote creative expression through the arts was the make-or-break moment.
Another popular email marketing application that is popular among bloggers is ConvertKit.
I will talk about ConvertKit in a little bit here as I need to go over plug-in and compatibility issues in a bit more depth.
If you haven’t noticed, many of these platforms promote content on multiple social media platforms. You don’t want to get spammy and lose customers.
I recommend starting small, so you can learn how these platforms complement and sometimes cause problems with one another due to coding.
One thing I didn’t mention is WordPress has stunning templates you can choose from to create your website. It saves on learning how to code.
Learn a little code to make minor changes to your website that doesn’t come with your theme. While a lot of the themes are free, pursuing customized options is something to consider.
I decided to go with a customized theme through Theme Forest. It wasn’t that expensive and came with 12 months of technical assistance from the developer for a couple of bucks more instead of the standard six to help me in case I have issues with my site.
Sure enough, two months after my website went live, I started experiencing technical issues.
ConvertKit
Ok, let’s talk about ConvertKit. First off, I love their marketing package but ran into a compatibility issue with my WordPress site.
As you search for more ideas to create a rock star website, a lot of plug-ins will get recommended.
While the plug-ins do a lot of cool things to save you time, compatibility issues can cause your site not to work correctly.
Maybe the compatibility issue is because I went with a different theme. I don’t know.
I love how my website works, so if I have to choose between changing my theme or disabling a plug-in, I am going to get rid of the plug-in and apply some code.
Even though a site marketing a plug-in says it is compatible with WordPress, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, I still recommend learning a little bit of code.
You can easily add a simple string of code to the backend of a page in place of a plug-in.
These types of problems, just like at your place of work, seem to occur when a security update occurs, and something ends up breaking. In my case, the images and logo on my site looked larger than life and were misaligned.
As I was adding plug-ins, I experienced compatibility issues with ConvertKit.
After turning on and off plug-ins to find the problem and conversing with my developer, I had enough. After the 30-day trial; I decided a trial run with MailChimp.
MailChimp
For up to 2K subscribers, it’s free through MailChimp. After the 30-day trial, ConvertKit pricing for 0-1K subscribers is $29/month. Start with the free option for now.
As your business grows and you make money, invest the profits in upgrading to another flexible plan for more bells and whistles. Setting up the email portion is smooth.
This tutorial I found on YouTube is all I needed to get my email campaign set up and add a free e-book of 10 recipes I created as a free thank you gift for my subscribers.
Even with all the best online marketing, the best way to get the word out when attending in-person workshops and networking sessions is to have a business card on you.
For less than $20, you can design and get 100 business cards shipped to you for free from Vista Print, Moo, or print your own using Avery template 27883 and a ream of cardstock. You never know who you will meet on that next plane ride!
Deciding When To Register A Business
Creating multiple streams to make money through ads and affiliate marketing doesn’t stop there.
Creating an e-course, e-book, or a product or service can be a game-changer. If you plan on selling something on your site, you will need an EIN.
LLC and EIN can be accomplished separately. Legal Zoom has an excellent package that includes both for a good price.
I see registering a business the start as getting it out of the way, so you don’t have to do it later and is one less thing to remember.
When the time is right for you to register your business name, it is a good idea to look into separating your finances from your business and the tax advantages of doing so.
Stock Photography
The last money-saving tip I will recommend is instead of paying for images or risking legal action of copyright infringement by taking a screenshot, using a snipping tool to gather an image on the internet without the owner’s permission, go with free to use images for online marketing called ‘stock photography’.
Here are some examples of companies offering free stock photos:
Canva
Pixaby
PXhere
Flickr
Freepik
Unsplash
Pexels
Protecting Your Privacy Online
In part 1 of this article, I mentioned the importance of picking a hosting site that provides 24/7 customer service and a constant scanning of vulnerabilities and protection from hackers.
My favorite place to go to when writing a blog post is a coffee shop. While it is free, accessing public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or a hotel puts you at risk for hackers gaining access to your information through malicious means.
A layered security approach for your devices (smartphone, laptops, desktop) that includes Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Linux, Blackberry, and Windows Phone combined with a virtual private network (VPN) reduces the threat from online threats of cyberattacks.
Hackers take advantage of an unsecured connection to obtain sensitive data such as your personally identifiable information, usernames, and passwords to gain access to your bank accounts.
Adversaries can trick you into using a rogue Wi-Fi network, intercept your data from a man-in-the-middle attack, and distribute malware on your computer.
If you travel to some of the developing countries, you will notice that the internet connection is slow and the same people visit that location every day. The owner has likely not changed the password so anyone can get online.
I hope this four-part blog post has given you the confidence to take the steps to ditch the 9-5 cubicle farm and become your boss!
Just think how much you will save in time and stress from not having to make the daily commute. Winning!
Curious about what motivates a person to want to become an entrepreneur? Click here to learn about these ten factors and see if your reasons are the same.
Imagine signing up for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram while trying to build a new website, write one article a day to create interest in your blog and get it off the ground while planning future articles, and create a new product all at the same time.
That’s five accounts and article writing you have to manage by yourself.
I am going to let you in on a little secret. You know all those emails you get throughout the day, perhaps while you are on your lunch break?
An automated scheduler can post throughout the day for you for less than $10/month.
The Power of Artificial Intelligenceand Blogging
A lot of online marketing and social media platforms these days use an automated scheduler for emailing newsletters to subscribers and posting to social media.
I write blog posts up to three months out. It’s great because I can plan my posts a year in advance, research a topic, and tweak my draft posts until it’s time to publish.
Notifications of new blog posts are posted to my Twitter account. The same goes for my Pinterest pins and Instagram posts.
Using a scheduler to publish new blog posts every Monday at 1 p.m. on my website allows more time to focus on producing quality content for my readers.
While I am traveling throughout the year taking photos and writing articles, my partner in crime AI is posting for me.
AI knows when users are online and pick the best time to share content taking the guesswork out of it.
Scheduling Tool to Promote Pinterest and InstagramPosts
Now you can sign up for all of those social media accounts, but I recommend starting with two.
Learn the complete ins and outs before adding more to your portfolio. The two I recommend are Pinterest and Instagram for a good reason.
My third recommendation is Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram.
The Tailwind App is the number one social media scheduler.
Here is how the application works. You schedule your Pinterest pins, and Instagram posts 30 days or more out. What is a pin, you ask?
It consists of an image or a video containing a description and link that directs users to the designated website (like your website).
300 million people are active on Pinterest every month.
How would you like to have an increase in traffic by 778% in two months?
Another added benefit of the Tailwind App is it works with Pinterest.
It makes sure you aren’t posting the same content to the same boards by spacing your pins out.
The safety net helps avoid your pins and your account from getting flagged for being too spammy and getting deactivated.
There goes your website traffic.
How much does it cost? The free trial includes 100 pins on Pinterest and 30 posts on Instagram.
After the free trial, the lowest plan starts at $9.99 per month.
The Tailwind App is great for lazy pinners like me. What have you got to lose?
Scheduling Pins and Social Media Posts
If you have a Facebook account, the Tailwind App gives you the option to post to your Instagram account automatically.
It comes in handy if you decide to take that much-needed vacation and need a break from technology.
I don’t use Facebook as I didn’t see an increase in traffic to my site. Instead, get an SMS notification when it is time to post to Instagram.
I create my content months in advance. I like having the option to make tweaks to my posts before publishing on Instagram.
Another added benefit by integrating AI with your website and social media platforms, you can take a proactive approach to figure out the next steps in growing your business instead of constantly reacting.
How would you like to take a deep into the marketing aspect of your business to increase revenue, research more affiliate marketing opportunities to generate additional income, write an e-book, or create a shop of Etsy?
Overwhelming? Not so with your partner in crime AI!
Create Engaging and Interesting Online Content
Do you consider yourself a good writer? If you answered no, the fourth recommendation is to sign up for Grammarly.
The add-in works with Windows, WordPress, and Microsoft to automatically check for grammar mistakes making your writing more engaging.
While free to use, the premium version has more advanced proofing tools.
If you’re in college or work in occupations in which require writing a lot of papers, sales proposals, case studies, or a doctoral dissertation, the plagiarism tool is a bonus.
Who doesn’t want to be a better writer?
Let’s pause here for a minute and let me sum up the recommended website, social media, and e-course tools I mentioned earlier before adding the last tidbits to this post.
1. Sign up for one blogging course and one social media course.
2. Research your target audience: gender, age, country, buying habits, etc. to effectively create brand awareness and increase website traffic.
3. When launching a website, go with a host that provides 24/7 customer service and is continuously scanning for vulnerabilities and prevents cyber attacks.
4. Start with two social media platforms. Once you know the ins and outs, add additional accounts to your portfolio as needed.
6. Sign up for Grammarly to further engage your audience.
7. Seek out a mentor to help grow your online business.
In part 4 of 5 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog online, I will share tips on deciding which email marketing service to choose, deciding when to register a business, stock photography, and protecting your privacy online.
Starting a business and establishing a website domain doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
The biggest challenge you will face is learning how to market to your target audience using Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to drive traffic to your website.
There are plenty of resources on YouTube that explains how these platforms work.
Pick your resources wisely when searching for videos on Pinterest marketing, affiliate marketing, social media, blogging, and how to make money online.
I will share some throughout this four-part post that helped me at the beginning to get over the learning curve of blogging tools, email, and online marketing.
Take The Time To Learn About Blogging
Take the time to learn the process of growing a start-up, blogging, and online marketing from start to finish, so that you don’t have to spend time fixing costly mistakes later.
There is no reason your blog and social media sites can’t be up and running in less than a month.
Sure, you can get everything done in a week, but putting all your eggs in one basket will cause confusion and frustration, especially when it comes to posting on multiple social media platforms.
If you’re working a full-time job in which you are looking to leave in the future, taking small chunks to learn the process, start to finish, will pay off in the long run.
Seek Knowledge, Not Information
There is no need to reinvent the wheel here. That is where online blogging and social media courses come in.
If you don’t have an information technology (IT) background or know very little about social media marketing, I have two courses I recommend completing before starting your website and online marketing campaigns.
No, they don’t cost thousands of dollars. It’s a small short-term investment with big returns.
Best Blogging Course For New Bloggers
Nomadic Matt’s Superstar Blogging Course guides you step by step on the technical aspects of getting your blog up and running, ways to monetize your blog through affiliate marketing, tips and ideas on using social media to drive traffic to your site, and what mistakes to avoid.
Matt’s courses were within my budget compared to others that were asking for $200 or more that lacked the reputation he has built over the past ten years.
I have followed his travel blog for many years on best practices to stretch my travel dollars.
The online course can be completed at your own pace. After taking the course, the next step is to find a website hosting service.
WordPress And Website Hosting
After searching around comparing different companies, the hosting company that made the WordPress set-up a painless process was Bluehost.
WordPress sites are a frequent target for hackers due to its immense popularity at being one of the world’s most popular website builders.
A blogger I follow talked about her experience in having her website hacked due to a lack of security and a weak password.
With 24/7 customer support, continually identifying vulnerabilities while protecting my site against cyber threats, the 30-day free trial is the reason why I committed to a three-year plan.
I sleep well at night. Enough said.
The Power of Social Media
After selecting a domain, the next step is learning how to use social media for marketing your business.
I will be honest this was a learning curve for me. Why?
If you want to get your name out there, you have to post to social media multiple times throughout a day. Who has time for that while working full-time?
Social media, digital marketing, and artificial intelligence (AI) are the perfect marriage.
Remember, when I mentioned earlier that social media is a big driver of traffic to my website? What I didn’t say was which platform it was. Here is my website traffic breakdown for the last 30 days:
Social: 88.00%
Organic Search: 9.50%
Referral: 1.50%
Direct: 1.00%
The top traffic source driving visitors to my website is Pinterest. Are you surprised by that?
I am sure you were thinking of Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter as the top visitor traffic driver.
Traffic is free on Pinterest. Before signing up for a business account, I was already using Pinterest as my favorite go-to for easy recipes and workout tips.
If you already have an account, it’s easy to switch to a business account on Pinterest in a few minutes.
Pinterest Marketing
Pinterest is not only fun, but the potential for steady and constant traffic is right for you from pins remaining searchable over time. The demographics of who uses Pinterest is interesting as well:
40% of New Signups are Men; 60% New Signups are Women
Half of Pinterest users earn $50K or higher per year
Pinterest users are under the age of 49
70% of users are female
50% of pinners live outside the United States
Millennials use Pinterest as much as Instagram
80% of US mothers who use the internet uses Pinterest
One of the keys to building a robust online presence is knowing your target audience!
Remember earlier in the post why I shared that little info about internet users broken down by country?
For one entrepreneur, one single pin drove over 80K views a day. I say again that is free traffic, my friend!
The second course I recommend is Pinterest Traffic Avalanche. You could spend all day searching online on how to use popular social media platforms, but what is missing in a lot of online posts and YouTube tutorials is the AI integration piece.
To drive traffic to your website, you have to post multiple times a day on social media and create 10-15 pins a day if you’re on Pinterest.
Automating the process saves time in doing it yourself, so you can focus on growing your fan base and say adios to the cubical farm for good!
In part 3 of 5 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog Online, I will explore more about the power of artificial intelligence, why every new blogger needs a scheduling tool for Pinterest and Instagram, and the importance of creating engaging and exciting content for your customers and readers.
