It’s been a long time since my last Ask Me Anything here on Making Sense of Cents.
Ask Me Anything is literally that – you can ask me anything. If you’re struggling to figure out what to ask, here are a few of the topics you may want to know more about:
- Personal finance
- Blogging
- My life
- Travel
- RVing
- Sailing
- Being location independent
- Business
- Making extra money
- Questions about my dogs
And so on, and so on.
Seriously, ask me anything in the comments below, and I will take the time to answer every single one. Of course, please nothing inappropriate or creepy. I’ll let you be the judge of what is creepy, I guess, haha!
All right, go for it, ask away!
P.S. If you’re looking to see all of the comments and questions, make sure to hit “Older Comments” or “Newer Comments” below. The comments break apart in pages once there are over 50 comments.
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Are you happy and fulfilled? Because you’ve reached your money goals and can truly do anything you want.. is it odd to find new meaning? In conjuction, is it difficult that many family and friends you have may not have the same opportunity so you have to make new sets of people to know? Ohh.. also do you invest in stocks?
Great question Linda 🙂
Yes, I feel happy and fulfilled.
Sailing gives me a lot to work towards still, as there is always something to learn, mistakes to be made, and skills that could be improved.
I have many of the same friends, and new friends from traveling. Not much has changed and I still get along with everyone.
I invest in stocks and in Vanguard funds.
I am personal finance and investment blogger. I am interested in how to increase traffic as well as monetize my blog, but getting the message out is more important to me. I follow Paul Merriman and have listened to all of his podcast and read his website weekly. I don’t care if all I do is promote his content because its so awesome and life changing. He offers great investment advise and wisdom in a field where so many personalities are screaming for attention and investment dollars. There are so many finance bloggers out in the industry that its hard to find my place, but honestly I’m ok being in the background as long as the message gets out.
Traffic is a question that I’ve gone over a lot, so I hope you don’t mind that this will be the same as what I’ve said to others (as it doesn’t really vary much anyways).
There are so many ways to grow traffic such as:
1) SEO
2) Pinterest
3) Facebook
4) Guest posting
5) Instagram
6) Starting a Youtube channel or podcastand so much more!
I recommend reading this for more info: https://fund-rise.live/2019/04/how-to-earn-money-blogging.html%3C/p%3E
Hi Michael,
I have a website ravibandaru.com. it is almost 4 months and i am getting lot of impressions but no ciicks. What do you think , i should do to improve CTR.
Thanks for your time.
Ravi
What do you consider a lot of impressions? Are those page views?
Hello Michelle,
What do you look for from guest bloggers?
Have you seen a loss in traffic from Pinterest? (It’s seems harder to work with right now, so wondering if this is impacting big, long-standing bloggers the same)
What systems have you put in place for your blog to make sure you don’t need to work full time?
What advice do you have for people just starting their own private FB group to help boost numbers quickly so that they don’t look too new? (I worry that having only a few people in the group will look weird to others and they won’t want to join)
Thanks for answering our questions!
Amanda
Hey Amanda,
1) Personal topics that are helpful, high quality writing, someone who has put the effort to look at other guest posts on MSOC to see what works well, and more.
2) Mine has been about the same for the past several years.
3) I have a virtual assistant and editors, someone who manages Pinterest, also funnels, optins, sequences, and more.
4) Share it with your email list, if you haven’t done so yet.
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for all this great content that you create. It has been very informative.
I was wondering, would you say college was worth it for you? What advice would you give a high school senior going to college this fall?
PS. Did you go to Wash U? Just curious. No need to answer it that’s too personal.
I think college was worth it as it taught me a lot about running a business as well as the legal side of it all. There’s a lot of areas/topics that I learned about in school that helped me with running my own business, that most other business owners have to learn on their own. So, it helped set me up for success.
I didn’t go to Wash U. My sister-in-law (and editor on Making Sense of Cents) did, though.
Hey Michelle,
Your story is very inspiring, I wish I was that gutsy. I have started blogging during the weekends, but lack consistency sometimes. Any tips on how you were able to continue the streak for 2 years? 🙂
Writing ahead of time is my VERY top tip for this. Being ahead in content is a lifesaver.
Hi Michelle,
How have you seen your financial priorities change as your blog has grown? What was important to you at the beginning and what is most important to you now?
In the beginning, it was all about no longer living paycheck to paycheck, as well as paying off my debt. Now, it’s more about being prepared for decades in the future, and helping those around me.
I think I’m getting to the point with my blog where I need a VA/ helpful person/ fairy godmother to help with… something. I’m trying to keep on top of things and… drowning. Quietly. But I’m not entirely sure what I need!
How on earth do I find someone and how do I start them off? I’m so worried they’re going to do something awful and ruin my reputation or crash my site or something equally dramatic. Any tips on finding someone and getting started?? Thank you
I recommend reaching out to Kayla (from this guest post- https://fund-rise.live/2018/06/how-kayla-earns-10k-month-from-home-as-a-virtual-assistant.html%3C/a%3E%29 and seeing if she has a virtual assistant that she can recommend to you. She teaches on the subject, so she probably knows many good people.
Can you share your guidance on how to set up a shop page with thumbnail affiliate links? I am creating a materials shop page for my membership and not sure where to post my disclaimer or if there’s anything else I need to do. Thanks!
Setting up something like this would entail a lot of work, so I simply cannot do that justice by just helping you over comments. You may want to seek out a course on setting up an online shop.
For your disclaimer, though, it should always be before your first affiliate link.
Michelle
Do you buy traffic?
What is the source of your traffic?
Step by step how do you build traffic
1) I pay for both Facebook ads and Pinterest ads.
2) Google, Facebook, Pinterest, emails, direct, Instagram, etc.
3) Traffic is a question that I’ve gone over a lot, so I hope you don’t mind that this will be the same as what I’ve said to others (as it doesn’t really vary much anyways).
There are so many ways to grow traffic such as:
1) SEO
2) Pinterest
3) Facebook
4) Guest posting
5) Instagram
6) Starting a Youtube channel or podcastand so much more!
I recommend reading this for more info: https://fund-rise.live/2019/04/how-to-earn-money-blogging.html%3C/p%3E
Hey Michelle!
One business/blog question, one travel question.
Business/blog: I’m in a group with newer bloggers and many feel that long-form blog posts don’t get read. I notice a lot of your posts are on the longer side (which is how I write as well). What would you say to newer bloggers about writing long-form content (such as, how it helps with SEO, conversions, sign-ups, sales, etc…)
Travel: Have you ever traveled to the Polynesian Islands, such as Bora Bora, Fiji, Tahiti, and so on? What did you think of any of those places? My wife and I dream to visit there once our online businesses take off.
Thanks!
-Dave
For the most part, longer usually means better quality (although, I know that is not always the case). It helps to get your point across, helps with SEO, etc.
I haven’t been to those places yet, but we are hoping to sail there one day!
Hi Michelle,
I would like to sell an ebook on my blog but can’t seem to figure out to connect paypal as I am not a registered business.
Thanks xx
I have never sold an ebook so perhaps this blog post would be more helpful to you – https://fund-rise.live/2018/09/how-alyssa-is-making-200-a-day-in-book-sales.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Or, you could just create a business.
Hello Michelle,
You are a great inspiration! You are often the example I think of when I reflect on my own business, which I just launched (woohoo!). I’ve had a blog for a while, but I just launched a copywriting business.
I’m really curious if you have any tips for generating leads through blogging, a lead magnet or otherwise? How did you get traction with your blog? I would love to hear any suggestions you have, thanks!
Thank you Angela!
Lead magnets are great – I highly recommend them. They help to build traffic as well as build income, subscriber numbers, and more. Other ways to gain traction include social media (such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook), guest posting, taking part in podcast/youtube interviews, and more.
Hello Michelle,
Thanks for opening this up for questions.
What are all the ways you earn an income? What’s your favorite? And what one do you recommend the most for newbies for making money online. I’m a first time mom wanting to be able to stay home and still have paycheck coming in.
Thank you so much for your time.
I’m not sure if you are aware, but I posted income reports for years and I shared where my income came from in those – https://fund-rise.live/extra-income%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
My favorite way is through affiliate marketing. Newbies can do it too.
Hi,
Do you know how to build a dropshipping business?
John
I don’t have one, sorry.