Creating Multiple Traffic Sources for Your Blog
It seems everyone in the blogging world is buzzing about the latest Google update. All the changes have had me thinking just how imperative it is to diversify your blog traffic.
An update or an algorithm change can completely destroy your marketing strategy and traffic overnight!
So today we’re diving into how you can diversify your business and create various traffic sources and multiple streams of income.
This post contains affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own.
Read my full disclosure here.
So many bloggers are frantic right now over the traffic they’ve lost to the helpful content update Google just rolled out.
The same thing can happen with social media.
A social platform can become obsolete in the blink of an eye. Think MySpace or BoardBooster. If you are counting on one source for your website traffic you could end up completely blindsided.
Let’s look at how you can adjust to these changes, diversify your blog traffic and create multiple streams of income.
Pinterest Marketing
I could talk about Pinterest marketing for blogs and businesses until I’m blue in the face. It’s my number 1 source of traffic and I owe it all to Pinteresting Strategies (currently 20% off with coupon code BF2023) and the pin template subscription/Pinterest Mastermind group, formerly known as Pinteresting Pins on Autopilot.
Now called Content Creator’s Club, you get new pin templates (including high-quality stock photos) delivered right to your inbox each month!
The pins are bold and eye-catching. Since using these templates my Pinterest stats are way up (see below) and I’m breaking free of my usual branded pin designs. It feels very freeing!
You also get access to a private Facebook group AND regular coaching calls with Pinterest guru, Carly Campbell (Yes, I’m talking Carly Campbell AGAIN! Sorry, not sorry. The woman is unstoppable in Pinterest Land).
The templates are great. But after being a member for a while now, I think they are just a bonus. The private group is where it’s at. Seriously. Beyond valuable!
Have a closer look at exactly what you get below:
Content Creator’s Club
Or read my full review of the membership here:
Pinteresting Pins on Autopilot Review
P.S. The membership just got a major upgrade and now includes WAY more than just Pinterest help. Think eBook templates, social media templates, PLR products, and more! Read my review to learn more.
But hurry because it’s only open for enrollment for a short time!
The Email List
Your email list is by far your most valuable resource. As long as you nurture your list and keep providing value, you’ll have access to an engaged audience.
Your list is YOURS. No one can take it from you or change it. It’s in your hands. Take care of your list and they’ll be loyal to you.
If you haven’t started growing your email list, get started.
Like, today!
If you don’t know where to start, I highly suggest you find and follow Kate Doster and Liz Wilcox on Pinterest and Instagram.
These ladies are my go-to email list experts.
Side Note. Back by popular demand, Liz is opening up her membership’s annual pass until December 31st, 2023! If you buy the membership (where she writes your emails for you…just fill in the blanks) for a full year, you also get all her other products!
As a Passholder, you get access to ALL OTHER PRODUCTS for free. Yep. Free. Including the ones she creates over the next 365 days.
Kate created an amazing Email Template Set and it is SO worth the small investment to help you grow your email list and keep your readers coming back for more.
Get the Email Marketing Fairy Templates here (on sale until Sept. 30th with coupon code SEPT20)
Or try Kate’s Free email marketing webinar first to see if you like her style.
And there’s also Liz’s totally free email swipe copies to try out too. Find them HERE at the top right of the page.
If you’re brand new to email marketing you may find this helpful:
How to Get Started With Email Marketing (to make money)
Mailing List Platforms
So we know it’s important to begin growing your email list as soon as possible. But who should you use as an email service provider? There are a few really great email platforms out there.
I personally believe MailerLite is your best bet for creating and maintaining your email list when you are starting out.
A lot of bloggers start with MailChimp (I was one of them). But I struggled with the platform a lot. For me, it was quite confusing and I didn’t love the overall look of my forms and landing pages when I finally did figure out how it all worked.
I made the switch to MailerLite and wish I’d done it sooner! It’s much more user-friendly and offers better features than MailChimp, even on the free version.
You can send unlimited email campaigns, create beautiful landing pages, and customize absolutely everything! And it’s free for your first 1000 Subscribers!
There are also lots of helpful video tutorials on YouTube if you get stuck on anything.
Sign up for your free account HERE.
Get to Know Your Audience
As you grow your list, spend some time getting to know your audience better so you can keep providing value to them.
Try an interactive quiz using Typeform or Interact. People love a good online quiz. It can help you learn more about your subscribers and ensure you’re serving their needs.
Or simply ask your audience where they need assistance. Send out a simple email to your list and ask them what they’re needing the most help with.
You can then split them into groups so you know what emails to send them. And of course which ones will not be useful to them. When you know what they want you can serve them better.
This will lead to fewer unsubscribes and a much more happy, engaged audience.
And to really learn how to captivate your audience, check out this amazing course: Engaging Your Audience.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Diversify your blog traffic further by focusing on your SEO. Yes, the Google update is hurting some folks right now, but SEO still can’t be ignored.
When you need a recipe, a solution to a problem, or an answer to a question, where do you go?
GOOGLE! You want to make sure Google can find your articles when users are looking for answers. Google is an incredibly important and potentially lucrative traffic source.
The latest update is just competing with AI. We need to make sure our content is as helpful as possible, and use real life experience, original photos, etc. when possible.
SEO can seem confusing and overwhelming. The hardest part is being patient! It takes time but can really pay off in the long run. Once you know how to write well-optimized posts, the traffic will come.
Do as much research on SEO as you can. It is SO important to learn how Google, and other search engines work. It is well worth investing in some professional SEO training.
I found Easy On-Page SEO by SEO expert, Debbie Gartner to be a fantastic resource. This lady knows traffic! She gets around 350,000 page views a month! You can and will learn from her.
The eBook is very affordable and you get a lot of bang for your buck. I loved it so much I wrote a full review. If you want to learn more about this popular eBook, check it out HERE.
Invest in SEO and you will not regret it! I wish I had from day one.
Once you learn the basics, you’ll also want to consider investing in a keyword research tool.
The internet is a competitive place. Using a high quality tool like RankIQ (designed specifically for bloggers) can make or break your SEO strategy!
P.S. You can also take Debbie’s Free Intro to SEO Course if your budget doesn’t allow for the eBook.
Social Media Traffic
While social media can definitely be a great source of traffic, remember to never rely solely on social media to engage with your followers.
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter could change how they operate any day or simply cease to exist!
Try several different social platforms to diversify your blog traffic. See which works best for you.
BUT, don’t stretch yourself too thin. It’s better to be on only a couple social networks and be highly engaged than be on ALL of them and not have enough time to give them the attention they need.
If you feel you can do several platforms well, give them some love so you have traffic coming from multiple sources.
And remember to focus your attention on the social network your ideal audience prefers. This might not necessarily be your favorite.
Where they hang out will greatly depend on your niche. But there’s no point in only showing up on TikTok, for example, if your audience isn’t there. You’d be wasting your time and energy.
Spend some time researching where your readers are most likely to hang out online and show up for them there.
For relevant tips on gaining success through social media check out my Pinterest board below:
Create a Digital Product
Creating a digital product is a fantastic way to bring traffic (and income) to your blog.
It can be a simple freebie, printable, template, or an eBook that highlights your particular area of expertise.
You don’t have to create a big course or write a novel. An eBook can simply be a guide on something you’ve done, successfully, that you know can/will help others. As long as you’re providing something valuable, you can market it.
If you have an idea for a digital product but don’t quite know where to start, check out my in depth post: How to Make & Sell Your First Digital Product
You’ll learn the steps and tools needed to help you go from an idea to selling your product using your own online store.
When it comes time to sell your product I suggest you try Sendowl. Sendowl handles the payments and product delivery process for you. It basically acts as the middle man between your product and your customer.
Learn more in my post How I Use Sendowl to Make Consistent Affiliate Sales.
Affiliate Marketing
Become an affiliate for other bloggers and online marketers. Being an affiliate for someone else can add another income stream aside from selling your own products.
Try to promote only the products you truly believe in. You’ll feel better suggesting things you’ve actually tried and know will give your audience a helping hand.
If you’ve never been an affiliate before, ShareASale or Impact are great places to start. There are lots of merchants to choose from for various niches. Both are free to join and really easy to use.
Another way to become an affiliate for a product is to reach out to other bloggers you admire. If there’s a course you’ve taken or an eBook you’ve purchased, send the creator an email to see if they have an affiliate program.
It’s always best to affiliate for a product you’ve found value in, and can genuinely recommend. Once you’re an affiliate you can write an honest review and link to the product. Or suggest it to your email subscribers.
Another option is the very popular Amazon Associates Program. Everyone has an Amazon account these days so it seems like a no-brainer to become an affiliate.
To learn how to sign up and get the most from the program, check out: How to Get Started as an Amazon Associate
Brand new to affiliate marketing?
I offer lots of tips and free resources here:
How to Maximize Affiliate Marketing Efforts (& Sales!)
Offer Services on Your Blog
Offering a service to your readers is a great way to create another source of blog traffic and income. People are on your blog looking for a solution to their problem.
Help solve that problem by offering your readers a done-for-you service or consultation.
Exactly what that service IS will depend on your niche and your area of expertise. For example, a lot of seasoned bloggers offer virtual assistant services.
Maybe you really enjoy designing Pinterest pins. You could offer design services or pin templates. You could also offer coaching services to other bloggers in your niche.
Basically, if you have a skill or know you can do something well, you can create a section on your blog called “Services” or “Work With Me” and sell your knowledge to others.
Or take it one step further and become a virtual assistant like I did. I turned my blogging skills into a thriving VA business. Now I make a full time income from the combination of serving clients and my blogging income.
And you can do it too! Don’t believe me?
Check out my latest post that explains exactly how to:
Become a Virtual Assistant While Growing Your Blog
Side note about offering services…
Just make sure you have proper legal pages set up on your blog. If you are providing consultations it’s so important you have appropriate disclaimers/disclosures on your site. You may need to set up a legal agreement, depending on the services you offer.
If you haven’t set up the legal side of your blog yet you can start with this free legal course below by blogger/lawyer Lucrezia Iapichino at Blogging for New Bloggers.
Sell PLR Products from your site
Another great way to add a new income stream is to sell PLR products on your site.
If you’re not familiar with PLR, it stands for Private Label Rights. In the blogging world, this term is usually used in reference to buying PLR printables to sell as your own.
Private label rights allow someone to alter existing content, or other digital goods, customize it and market it as their own work.
So if you’ve ever toyed with the idea of selling printables from your blog but just can’t find the time to actually create them, PLR products are ideal for you!
These products can generally be purchased for a really reasonable price. That one-time purchase at your end can then be transformed into an endless number of sales from your site.
If marketed properly, PLR products are usually a very good return on investment and can truly be a passive income source.
Find something you know would help your target audience, grab it, customize it, and sell it to your readers or offer it as a freebie to gain subscribers.
You save time and create endless opportunities for long term income!
For more in-depth info on selling PLR, and where to find beautiful, affordable products, check out this post:
How to Make Extra Money With PLR Products
Place Ads on Your Blog
Add ads to your site. This one is actually a really tough call. I personally don’t have ads on my site because I just don’t like the way they look. I want my site users to have the best experience possible. So I avoid them.
But LOTS of bloggers have great luck with them.
A common blogging goal is to be accepted into the big, high-paying networks, like Mediavine or Monumetric.
You need a lot of traffic to get accepted into those.10,000 page views a month for Monumetric and 25,000 sessions a month for Mediavine (which usually equates to around 30,000 pageviews).
Google Adsense is the most common ad network for new bloggers. Acceptance into Adsense is based on quality and content, more than page views.
It can really slow your site down though so you may want to hold off on ads until you have enough traffic to apply for one of the more lucrative ad networks.
You can always apply, install it and then see if it’s working well for your site. Everyone’s experience will be different. If it’s slowing down your site too much and you’re not seeing a good return on the ads, you can always remove it.
In Conclusion
I hope this gives you some ideas on how to diversify your blog traffic to add multiple streams of income.
Things have definitely changed. But that’s nothing new with Google. It will never stop changing! I really hope this helps you roll with the latest updates.
Remember, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify baby!
Related Reading:
20 Ten Minute Blog Tasks to Grow Your Blog
The Best Blogging Courses to Boost Your Income
How to Get Started as an Amazon Associate
Pin For Later!
Adding New Income Streams to Your Blog
I wish I’d seen this post when I started blogging. There is so much pressure on new bloggers to do everything. At the same gime, you’re trying to learn how to blog from writing content to the tech stuff. I totally agree with your – content first for about 6 months and then start with one new thing at a time. Great post.
https://www.bloggerzune.com/2020/04/good-content-marketing.html?m=1
Thanks for the kind words. It’s so overwhelming to get it all done right away. Everyone wants to see it all start paying off. I wish more beginners realized that blogging is a long burn. Definitely not a get rich scheme. But it IS attainable. But not if you burn yourself out! Thanks for the comments, Natalie 🙂
Hi Karen,
great post! Just wanted to let you know, that you are doing something right. According to our data you are one of the fastest growing Pinterest Accounts in the affiliate marketing niche. Keep Rocking! You belong to our Pinterest Influencers here -> https://pingroupie.com/influencers
Such a well put together article! Very informative. These are all great ways to diversify your blog traffic.
Thanks so much Alyssa! Glad you enjoyed the tips 🙂
I think having multiple streams of income is really important for bloggers. That way you won’t freak out as much over things like Amazon dropping their percentages or a Google algorithm change when it happens. When one income stream dries up then at least you have another!
Exactly, Heather! I wrote this post before the change to the Amazon affiliate program. But it just goes to show you how things can change overnight and leave many bloggers scrambling to create new income streams.
I love how simple you keep everything in this post! With Amazon slashing their commissions, I’ve started to look to diversify more.
Thanks, Breanne! The drop in Amazon’s commissions is the perfect example of how important it is to diversify blog traffic!
This is a perfect post for new bloggers. It takes out so much confusion for new bloggers. Many times information overload can be harmful to someone who is starting from scratch. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, Nadia! Glad you enjoyed my blog diversifying tips 🙂
These are all awesome tips. Speaking of Pinterest I really need to up my game. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Kimberley! Glad you found some useful tips!
Great tips! Now I just need time to implement them all!
Haha! Isn’t that the truth!? Thanks for the comment Katherine 🙂
Great resources! Thank you for sharing!
I agree that it is important to not focus on just one traffic stream and that is why SEO is so important. I definitely want to work on email list building as this is something that I need to improve on.
Building an email list takes time and patience. But it can really pay off in the long run. Definitely worth the effort. Thanks for commenting Ana 🙂
I still have to work more on these lists. We get Amazon, but we don’t have enough traffic or people clicking it through our website. I hope our Google traffic can grow next year, and we can benefit from this blog soon.
I love the idea of creating an interactive quiz – and I can see how that would be a really effective way to engage my blog audience. Thanks for putting this together and sharing it!
No problem Lydia! Who doesn’t love a quiz?? Glad you found a useful tip for diversifying traffic. Thanks for the comment!
Wow this was such an amazing and helpful post. I didn’t even know some other ways of diversifying my blog traffic. Thanks so much!
Thanks for the comment, Komal! I hope you found a new traffic strategy to try.
Very helpful! I also use mailerlite and working with SEO. Hopefully I can come up with a digital product, blogging is a marathon, long journey but fun!
Perfectly said. Blogging is totally a marathon! It’s the small wins that keep it fun and interesting 🙂
Thank you for this! I’ll definitely try this to drive and diversify traffic on my blog.
You’re welcome, Mark. I hope you found a few ideas to add an additional traffic source to your blog.
What you have written here will be a real game-changer for so many bloggers. We should never only have one source of blog traffic. I started growing my email list from day 1 of my blog and the same with learning about SEO.
Thanks for the great advice.
Have a great week.
Lisa 🙂
Thanks Lisa! I hope the post helps out some beginner bloggers and inspires they to create multiple traffic sources for themselves.
Great post. Something I wish I had seen when I started blogging. but better late than never 🙂
Haha, very true! Most useful to a beginner but always a good reminder 😉
Very informative. Lots of good tips.
Thanks for reading Shelley.
These are all amazing tips! I work as a blog moderator so I find this really helpful. Thank you for sharing these with us x
So glad you found the traffic tips helpful. Thanks Martina!
Such a valuable resource, especially for new bloggers! I agree that it’s so important to not put all your eggs in the same basket and diversify your traffic and income as much as possible! thanks for sharing
Thanks Natashcha! I see so many people who are only utilizing one platform and it makes me nervous for them! Thanks for the comment 🙂