***Updated Summer 2022
Still in the throes of summer break with your kids, or just want to work ahead? Either way, I wanted to throw out a few ideas for things you can be doing on your blog now to prepare for the fall.
That’s the hard part about being a blogger and a mom…all the times that we need to be preparing for the blogging busy seasons are the same times we’re busy with our kids.
I never feel like I’m fully prepared for the fall/holiday blogging busy season…but I try my best!
My summer blog revenue is usually the lowest of the year. Instead of working hard to increase income when I’d rather be outside with my family, I focus on increasing revenue for the fall and winter months by thinking ahead.
To me, as long as I am getting paid fairly for the time I’m spending on my blog, I don’t care if the revenue comes now or in 5 months. I just want it to arrive eventually!
Want to join me on this quest for boosted blog income later on this year? Let’s get started!
3 Simple Blogging Projects to Do NOW for More Revenue This Fall
Here are three things I like to do to get my blog prepped for the upcoming season in the limited time that I have between summertime family moments:
1) Write Some Christmas / Other Holiday Content
If you have never given holiday traffic a try, I highly recommend it. When you strike just the right topic, your traffic can soar and give you a nice bump in ad revenue!
I know it seems silly, but working way ahead on holiday content is imperative if you’re using an indexed based method of distributing your content (like Google or Pinterest).
Your content needs time to get indexed in those search engines. If you can publish it now, rather than waiting until November, you’re going to have a shot at getting found this Christmas. But if you wait too long to publish, your hard work won’t be found until the following Christmas.
For example, I like to add a Christmas printable or two to my blog post database each year. Those always bring great traffic for me and are super easy to produce.
Sometimes I will get comments like “there is no way to write Christmas content for my niche.” I have to say that EVERY niche can publish holiday content. You just have to think outside the box. I know this is true because I have a lot of different niches on my blog!
Here are some examples of Christmas content on WhatMommyDoes:
- 25+ Christmas Bake Sale Items
- How Much Should You Spend on Christmas Gifts for Each Family Member?
- Free Christmas Budget Worksheet
- Fun Family Christmas Tradition Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank
- Free Printable Christmas Wishlist Letter
2) Brainstorm a Black Friday Post
If you have any kind of audience that you can reach on demand, whether it’s your Instagram audience (which I am just now getting into myself), or maybe your mailing list….use it!
Everybody (or almost everybody) in the U.S. loves Black Friday deals.
I always wait until the last minute to put together my Black Friday post and email, but this year I’m brainstorming it by August so I’m not busting my tail to get it together the week of Thanksgiving.
Don’t overthink this – just put together something around a theme that you think your audience would like. This early on, I will just write the intro and blog post placeholder. Then I leave a space to put the deals in list form down the page.
When the time is right, you can just add in the deals.
If you’re collecting deals from fellow bloggers in your niche, I recommend emailing them ahead of time to ask for their discounts, when ready. You can go ahead and list their products without a price, then add in the actual amount once it is released.
For instance, if I was going to list deals for moms of toddlers, I could ask Becky Mansfield if she is going to run a sale on her potty training book. If she is planning to do that, I’d list the book image and a quick description in my post now then add the sale price/discount code when it goes on sale.
Simply put — I am setting myself up for success.
So easy.
Another idea could be a roundup of all the Amazon deals that your audience might like for that day. Although that one would be harder to prepare ahead of time.
Lastly, you could go the easy route. If you have several products of your own, list only the deals you’re offering on your own products.
You get the idea! Once you have this format down, you can reuse it in future years and just update the publish date on the post! This is the Black Friday post I did for blogging deals. I update it every year in mid-November.
3) Assemble a Gift Guide
Full disclosure: I didn’t understand what gift guides entailed for the longest time. Come to find out they are literally just lists of toys or gifts that you think someone might like to buy for a specific person.
You could go as broad as “Best Toys for Christmas 20XX” or as specific as “Gifts for Kids Who Love Art.” Anything goes as long as it fits with your audience’s interest.
I try to add a couple of gift guides per year which helps keep my Amazon income elevated during the holidays.
Here are some examples from my blog to give you an idea of what all goes into a gift guide.
Hint – If you brainstorm and do a bit of outreach you can probably get some sweet FREE gifts for your family just by promising to review the items on your blog (in the form of blog posts, Instagram stories, YouTube reviews, etc).
I’ve done this in the past for toy companies, but only when they contacted me. This year I’m reaching out for the exact toys we want.
Well, there you have it! Three small projects you can work on now that will result in a great injection of revenue later this year….right at the time of year when you might need some extra cash!
I know it seems weird to think that far ahead because it’s the middle of summer here in the US. When it’s hot, the last thing I want to do is think about is winter. But we need to think like magazine editors!
I hope the summer is treating you well!
Before you go, make sure to grab the Free Blog Traffic Bonus Guide for 3 simple ways to generate more traffic to your blog!
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