Hello Happy Site Owners and Webmasters!
Tips this week include:
The last of the Google Tag Manager and Optin Click tracking tutorials are finished in GA4 course!!!!
The GA4 affiliate program is opening, and a request for testimonials has been sent
Updates to the DIY SEO course and workshop order
Yoast SEO has a totally new User Interface coming in today’s update
Thrive has been acquired by WPBeginner
A post on how beauty bloggers make money that all bloggers need to read
Advice on building an online course that you need to read before you do it
Amazon Influencer program limits what they will pay commission on
Google may boost posts that have more than just an Amazon affiliate link
YouTube’s new Terms of Service revenue modules are rolling out
See graphs of just how fast AI is moving and monetizing
The Pro version of ChatGPT has been released
More free AI tools are on the way
Google Will launch 20 new AI products this year
A great example of using ChatGPT for research and ideas
Why you must pay attention to the AI tool license
Artists are suing AI image tools for using their work as the seed
Meta signs a deal with ShutterStock to train its AI with pro images
Listen to the Podcast
BlogAid Happenings
This past week I have been on fire making new tutorials for BlogAid courses and watching tutorials to learn new things, mainly AI related for both BlogAid and my other projects.
The AI landscape moves like high-water rapids and it’s a LOT to keep up with.
But, it will directly impact the way you use it, and how I’ll be using it in courses to teach you how to make the most of it.
So, I intend to keep Tips Tuesday what it has always been - a way for you to stay way ahead of the curves. And right now, that’s going to include a bunch of AI news in the mix.
BlogAid Course Happenings
Ultimate GA4 Course for Bloggers Tutorials are Finished!!
Woot!!!! I did a super happy dance on Saturday when I uploaded the last 10 of the Ultimate GA4 Course for Bloggers tutorials!!!
They were all on how to track your optin clicks, including what page those clicks were on.
And, they include using Tag Manager to do it.
GA4 Course Affiliate Program Opening
This past week I also touched base with past affiliates of BlogAid courses to invite them to be an affiliate of the GA4 course.
And we’re now lining up webinars for their peeps so they can see the power of GA4 and all you can do with it, including how easy it is to make custom reports that mimic the important data you’re used to seeing in Universal Analytics.
Over the next weeks I’ll be inviting course members to join the affiliate program too.
Request for GA4 Course Testimonials
I’m so delighted by all of the kind words y’all have expressed to me privately about how much you are enjoying the GA4 course.
Yesterday I sent out invitations to share your testimonials about the course with details on what to send in. So, look for that email if you’re already in the course.
And thank you so much for taking a couple of minutes to reply. It means so much to me and to the success of the course in helping as many bloggers as we can make the switch to GA4 easily.
DIY SEO Course Tutorial Updates
This past week I also began the process of revamping the tutorials in the DIY SEO course before we get started with our Quick Checks and Workshops.
The Google Connections section has been revamped with the removal of the Google Analytics connection tutorials, as they were for Universal Analytics, and nobody needs to connect to that anymore.
All of the Yoast SEO tutorials have also been updated. And I only had one new one to make for the changes to the Integrations section so far. But, the big UI revamp is scheduled to launch today, so I’ll need to revisit those tutorials and see what changed with the look and layout and language.
In a moment you’ll hear about a major change with ChatGPT that will directly impact the workshops I had planned to do with it in the course.
So, I’m revamping the schedule yet again for that to be later in the course too.
And that will also mean we will be starting the Quick Checks and workshops with what we can do and then I’ll circle back to these 2 developments and we’ll do those later.
Right now I’m updating the first set of workshops we’ll be starting with to ensure they have the most recent updates from Google, especially with regard to important ranking signals for 2023.
I’ll email all course members with our schedule as soon as I have it finalized.
That’s all the happenings around here. Let’s jump into this week’s news and tips.
WordPress Tips
Thrive Acquired by WPBeginner
The parent company of WPBeginner has acquired Thrive.
Y’all may recall that I recently reported on another plugin they recently purchased, and I gave a long list of the popular plugins they own.
In the past 2 years, a whole big bunch of popular themes and plugins have been acquired by just 3 companies, including WP itself.
I think this speaks volumes about how unsustainable the freemium method we’ve been enjoying for the last decade is not working for the devs and companies who can’t afford to support the free versions alongside the increased pace of development with WP and security and such changing every 5 minutes.
As online business owners, we should accept that much of what helps makes us money is worth supporting by paying for it.
And acquisitions like this are the only way to sustain the freemium model where the bulk of folks using something are doing so for free.
Monetization Tips
How Do Beauty Bloggers Make Money?
The nice folks at Blogging Pro have an excellent post on how Beauty Bloggers make money that I think is important for all bloggers to read.
Beauty bloggers are some of the highest paid content creators - and that has a lot to do with the multiple income streams they have created for themselves.
And that diversification is the very thing I hope all bloggers have a look at because any single stream could be hit at any time. In fact, you’ll hear more about that very thing in just a moment.
Online Course Building Advice
One revenue stream for you to seriously consider, to capitalize on your expertise, is to make a course.
The nice folks at The Tilt put together the top 5 things you need to keep in mind when building your course.
And let me tell you, these are the very things I see newbie course owners trip over every time. They’ve got their attention squarely focused on the course modules and not on the marketing.
Think like a publisher. They don’t care if you can write a book or record an album or make pretty drawings. They care if you can sell those things.
In fact, the most successful authors always pitch the outline of a book to a publisher, they never write it first. And they include how they are going to market it.
So, see this quick post on The Tilt for all 5 tips to consider before you build your course.
Amazon Influencer Pay Change
I heard that folks in the Amazon Influencer Program got notified that their commissions would no longer include any items outside of the category associated with their affiliate link.
Thanks to one of my Hubber clients, Sharon of BackYard Addict for letting us know that some bloggers are screaming about this.
I’m a bit concerned that this may be a pilot of more commission drops. And I’m wondering how the category will be determined.
For instance, on Heartwood Art, I link to the category page for hammers, as they are so brand independent. But what if that person also buys a circular saw? Is that still in the broad category of tools, or is there a distinction between hand tools and power tools?
And what if they buy wood glue, or stain? Those certainly aren’t tools, but they certainly are related to the project.
So, we’ll see what comes of this.
But, it’s just one example of why you need multiple streams of revenue, and why having your own products is key to your financial success.
SEO Tips
Google May Boost Reviews with Multiple Seller Links
I’ve been reporting to you since last year that Google is determined to de-rank fake review sites that have been created by SEO Pros who have never once used any of the products they are reviewing.
And, Google is desperate to find in-person reviews, mainly videos, of folks who actually show themselves using the product and giving it a review.
Those review posts are getting highly ranked.
And now Google will likely be rolling out a perk they’ve talked about since last year, for any posts that have more than one affiliate link to that product.
Of course, this is taking a direct shot at posts that only link to Amazon - as that’s all most of these fake review sites do.
On Heartwood Art, I had planned to also link to Home Depot and maybe Lowe’s for things like tools and such too. But at the time I was setting it up, they were changing their affiliate programs. And I have no idea what they are doing with it now. But when I eventually flip back to doing tutorials on how to use tools, I’ll be doing reviews of them too, and I will be researching other affiliate programs besides Amazon.
Video Tips
YouTube’s New Partner Program Terms of Service is Released
Because YouTube is going to allow monetization of Shorts on Feb 1, they also needed to change how the terms of their Partner Program works.
Basically, they’ve made it more modular, and you have to accept the terms for each.
The modules include:
Watch page monetization module for long-form content
Shorts monetization module for ads that play between Shorts and for YouTube Premium subscription
Commerce product addendum - this includes fan-funding features
You have until July 1 to accept the new Terms.
AI Tips
See How Fast AI is Moving and Monetizing
