Venus Trapped in Mars Sports and Lifestyle Blog Dallas

11 May 2016

Grow Your Blog || Take Action


Like some 1200 of you, I attended Helene's #MonitizeYourBlogWebinar last night and she said something that really struck a cord with me. I was actually working out and taking the webinar at the same time (subtle brag for working out) so I didn't write down the exact words, but in a nutshell she said that you really need to take action on your blog in order to be successful. 

I've never done all of the things you're supposed to do as a blogger. Take yesterday for example, I didn't personally share my post on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. Why? I have no idea. I just totally forget to I guess? There is no excuse really, but I will say I do a downright lousy job of "taking action" on this blog. 

So how did I grow my blog, if I'm so painfully lousy at doing the easy things like social shares? Well, for the first year I put a lot of money into advertising. At the time I had just moved to Dallas and was working full time at my current job, while still basically working full time at my job back in Knoxville as a marketing and graphic design consultant. It probably sounds like I was wearing myself thin with blogging and working two full time jobs, but  I really wasn't. I had no social life and nothing but time on the nights and weekends. Plus, I was making bank and had plenty of money to invest back into my blog. It was the perfect time for me to have started my blog. 

I bought sponsorships constantly, but I think advertising on other blogs was a lot different then. Every blogger offered sidebar ad space, and it was totally worth it. I'd pour myself a glass of wine on Friday night and by my third glass I'd be the proud new owner of 5 different sidebar ads! It was absolutely the most effective way to grow your blog, and would get me hundreds of extra page views every day. I like to think that I also had the content to keep the readers I was gaining. I worked hard on my posts because I knew I needed to make those new readers stick around. 

Now a days though,  I don't advertise. I don't have the money rolling in like I used to -- I don't work two full time jobs and CB and I like to drink beer and I own a $6,000 Jack Russell -- plus sidebar advertising just isn't readily available like it used to be. So when Helene talked about taking action, I really listened to her. 

We all need to do a better job of pimping our own stuff, finding new collaborations that we really WANT and growing our blogs. I too often shy away from doing any of those things because I feel like I'm being annoying... or perhaps I'm just straight up lazy. 

When you take action though, it honestly works. 

I am the world's worst blogger when it comes to just kicking back and waiting for a new email to pop up in my inbox that says, "X company would like to work with you and pay you $300 and send you their product." OH SWEET! 

Imagine how much more you could make though, if you sought out these collaborations. What if they were collaborations that you were genuinely excited to share with your readers?! 

On Monday, I told you I was going to contact some companies I really wanted to collaborate with. I found a contact through either their website or by just shooting them a message on Facebook asking-- Hey, who should I email about a blogger collaboration? 

And guess what happened...

Seriously, every single company I contacted emailed me back and wanted to work with me. All I had to do was take action.

This post, this post and this post were all collaborations I personally took action on, and made happen. I honestly feel like you can tell how much I enjoyed writing those, plus, how perfect are all of those posts for MY blog in particular?! 



Venus Trapped in Mars Media Kit || Located under the "Work With Me" tab at the top of the page 


So do what Helene said in her AWESOME webinar yesterday (p.s. did you hear about her new GIANT secret  project she released last night? It's freaking sweet and already killing it!!) and start TAKING ACTION on your own blog. Who knows what could happen, how much you could grow or how many cool things could come from it! 



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19 comments :

  1. I can't wait to watch the replay!! Love her. And you, duh.

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  2. I actually joined in on the webinar last night! It was actually my very first webinar, so I didn't know what to expect. But, it was so much better than I thought it would be! What stood out to me the most was when Helene spoke about effort. Effort is important all around when it comes to blogging or even making connections with others! So, I think, together, effort and taking action can really make a difference when it comes to blogging!

    Oh, and I joined blog boss babe last night! Super excited to see you as a mentor on there! :)

    http://www.nessasbliss.com

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    1. Absolutely. I need to put in more effort on getting out there to blogger events here locally. I get SO SHY though. It makes me so nervous to go to an event alone, but I really just need to SUCK IT UP and go. I'll thank myself later.

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  3. girl this is amazing. i feel like i could actually cry reading this. i am so lucky to have you in my life!!!

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  4. What I learned from this is that I need to hire you to make me a media kit :)

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  5. this could not be more true and i also need to do a better job at getting my blog out there to people for collaborations! look forward to continuing following your journey and success!

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    1. It's honestly nervewracking though, the fear of rejection is always lingering

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  6. You've inspired me! I wasn't able to make the webinar (TEARS) but I'm going to reach out to some companies right now!

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    1. YES!! Let me know how it goes!! I think Helene did have a replay of the webinar too!

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  7. I love this! Didn't get to watch the webinar live but I'm gonna do the replay (maybe while I'm working out... thanks for the idea! ha)

    Sometimes I'm the worst with taking action... like I still have email anxiety. But I know ya gotta hustle! (such blogger words)

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    1. I have email anxiety too... you're in good company!!

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  8. This is so amazing for you! Congrats on all the collabs!

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  9. This is amazing! you have so much to be proud of :)

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  10. I just discovered a product that I LOVE. You have given me the courage to reach out to that company and see if they're interested in collaborating. So thank you!

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  11. I really need to start taking action as well, one of my blogger fails. Plus I have great followers and awesome engagement on my posts but my page views are still way to low, I need to figure that baby out

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  12. Love this! Taking action really is key. And the reminder to do so is really helpful! P.S. Your media kit looks AMAZING.

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    1. I'm with you, a gentle reminder never hurt anyone! And thank you!!! :P

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  13. This was so encouraging-definitely following your lead and reaching out this week!

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  14. I've been thinking about how I miss my blog, and the interactions I had with people. I need to just take action in getting back to it. I think this is so awesome that you were able to do those collaborations. GO GIRL!

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