Teacher Blog Academy by Side Hustle Teachers

The end of the year is a great time to reflect, examine, and set new priorities for what’s next, which makes it the perfect time to do a review of your blog business. 

If the word review makes you shiver and think of your end-of-year teacher eval meeting, where you have to prove to your administrator that you’re an effective teacher, don’t sweat it. This is your business, and you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.

If it helps, this is not just a review, but also a clean-up, a chance for you to clear out some digital cobwebs, and spruce up a corner or 2 of your website.

And remember, teachers kind of have 2 year-ends, so feel free to do this in December, or June… or both!

I start this process with the review part because that informs the cleanup portion. It takes me a few hours if I do it all in one sitting, but it’s also possible to do a little bit at a time. And there’s no rule that says this has to be done by a certain date.

Finally, before we jump in, this is a big overview-type of process that I recommend for beginners. If you’re more than a couple years into your blog, check out a more nitty-gitty review process (then come back for the cleanup because he doesn’t talk about that).

Gather Your Information Data, Data, Data

Yes, we’re all data’d out, but this is your data. And it’s not being used for anything except to help you make informed decisions about your blog.

Data is information. 

Information is power.

Some things you’re going to want data for are your key performance indicators (KPIs) and can be gleaned from your Google Analytics account.

• Number of page views, sessions, and/or unique visitors per month. 
• Traffic sources.
• Top posts and pages
• Total email subscribers by month.

It’s All About the Benjamins (or Washingtons… whatever)

If you want your blog to make money, you need to track where your money is coming from. I can’t stress this enough.

Now is the time to dig in to how much you made and how you made it.

If you’ve been tracking your income and expenses, this will be easy. If not… well, it’s important. In this step we’re only focusing on income. You’d be amazed how many entrepreneurs don’t know how much money they’re bringing in! 

I check in on my blog money once a month to update my spreadsheet and move my money to the proper accounts, but even I was surprised at my income when I looked. I normally just put all the numbers in the right boxes, then close it up. This time I actually looked at the monthly and yearly totals and… wow! I hadn’t even realized I’d already surpassed my revenue goal for the year by October.

Sometimes numbers are fun!

The two things you need to know are:

• Your sources of income.
• How much each source earned.

Where Are You Spending Time and Money?

Not as much fun as the income, you also need to know where you’re spending money. If you don’t already, I strongly suggest setting up a business bank account and credit card. This not only helps you track your expenses more easily, but it also protects your personal accounts from legal action (provided you’ve set up an LLC).

You’ll definitely need to know:

• What you’re paying for in your business
• How much you’re paying

You should also do a time audit for your own information. This involves tracking what you do for your blog and can help provide valuable insight into strengths, weakness, and improvements you can make.

The goal is to find out what you’re doing in an average week, and how long you’re spending on it. With the other data you’ve collected, you’ll be able to see if you’re spending your most precious resource, your time, wisely.

Break It Down

Now that you’ve got all your data collected, you can start to scrutinize it. (You have no idea how hard I worked not to use the word “analyze” there, so as not to traumatize you.)

The good news is that you don’t need to make spreadsheets, charts, and tables to get what you need. You really just need to be able to answer these questions:

What trends do you notice? Are there particular post types on your blog (or social media, if you track that) that got more engagement via comments, shares, or sales? If so, when planning ahead you want to plan more of that type of content, and try to determine what’s working so you can use those techniques in other content as well.

You may also notice that certain times of year are peaks or valleys for your readership and/or sales. This is normal, and nothing to panic about. For example, September is a slow month at Side Hustle Teachers because my audience is focusing on back to school stuff. Knowing this is helpful because not only do I not freak out when my stats drop, I also know not to launch something new at this time.

Does your effort match your outcome? Are the places you’re spending your time benefiting your blog? For example, if you’re posting diligently on Instagram every day, are you gaining followers, and more importantly, are those followers becoming readers and/or customers?

While it can be a good ego boost to see our follower count go up, it doesn’t mean much if those followers aren’t clicking over to your blog, signing up for your email list, and making you money. For example, my engagement on Twitter was circling the drain (and I never enjoyed using the platform), so I deleted my account… and it felt great! 

What are your income producing activities? Knowing where your revenue is coming from, what specific tasks are moving your audience toward a sale? If 1% of people on your email list buy from you (a very normal statistic, by the way), consider the steps you take to get people on your list. At SHT, a good portion of our sales come from my free training, Profitable Blogging for Teachers, so I would examine the ways people can find this training.

If your blog is not making money yet, not to worry. Since email is far-and-away the most cost effective way to get customers, focus on your list. Even if you don’t have anything to sell yet, build your list. It is a marketing channel that will pay off big time in the future. In this case, you would address the question; What are my list building activities?

Now that you have a big-picture view of your blog, keep the information in a visible place. When you’re considering a new project, reflect on the questions above. Is the new project in keeping with the expectations of my audience? Do I have evidence that my audience needs or wants this? Is this going to build my income?

Pausing to deliberately weigh the costs (of money and time) and the potential returns of each project can prevent you from chasing shiny objects or procrastinating by taking on non-income-producing tasks.

Before we move on, there’s two more things to think about in your end-of-year review:

What did you love about blogging this year?

What did you not enjoy doing this year?

Remember that your blog is your business, and you get to design it in a way that makes you happy. If there are things you loved doing, moments that made you feel great, or connections made that you treasure, do more of that! When you look ahead to next year, plan more of what brings you joy.

Conversely, if there are things that just drain the life from you, feel really difficult, or you put off for as long as possible, find a way to do less of them. Maybe that means those things just don’t get done. Or, if it’s something that needs to be handled, like sending welcome emails to new subscribers, automate it with a tool like ConvertKit, or hire someone to do it for you!

Your business, your rules!

Clean It Up

While you’ve got all your data out and available, let’s see if there are some things on your blog that can be tidied up. This is an important part of your year-end processes because it will make for a much better experience for your readers and can help your SEO results, too.

Amp up your top posts. Once you know which posts are resonating with your audience over time, you’re going to want to maximize them. A few things I recommend is adding more internal links to other blog posts of yours. This will help keep people on your site longer and lead readers through more of your content, building a stronger connection, faster. 

Next, do some keyword research to find what people who are interested in that particular content might be searching for, then update your content to include these words or phrases. 

Lastly, review your post images. Update them if they’re outdated, and make sure you’re using a plugin like Social Warfare to make pinning and sharing easy.

Update or redirect old posts. If you’ve been blogging for more than a year, you may have some content that is a little dated, doesn’t 100% fit your niche, or you just don’t like. As you grow, this is totally normal.

You have a couple of options for what to do with this type of content. You can always update or improve upon old posts. That's one of the beautiful things about blogging! If there’s a typo, you can fix it. If there's something new you want to mention, add it in! No big deal.

But not all content is worth updating or fixing. Sometimes it’s better to just scrap it and move on. However, you don’t want people who find old links to be taken to get an error when they click, so I suggest you use a free plugin called Redirection. This allows you to point the old URL of the post you don’t want shown to another, related post that’s more in line with your current blog niche and standards. This way, when anyone clicks on the old post, they’ll be automatically taken to the new one.

Remove or update dead links. There are few things more frustrating for a reader than clicking on a link and going nowhere (or to an error page). This happens a lot with affiliate links as other sites make updates to their inventory or system.

A tool like SEM Rush’s website audit will give you a list of links on your site that are dead, then you can fix each one. I actually suggest doing this more than once a year, but life happens… so definitely make it part of your end-of-year cleanup

De-junkify your inbox. If you’re like me, you may sign up for a lot of free trials, trainings, etc. I also like to sign up for people’s email lists just to check out their nurture sequence. All of this means that my inbox gets pretty cluttered. Use this time of year to unsubscribe from things that are no longer serving you. This is another thing I recommend you do more than once a year (like daily), but it’s helpful to have a reminder.

The end of the year is a natural time to do a review and cleanup of your blog, but it doesn’t have to be done then. If you’re feeling a little unclear on where you’re going with your business, this process can help illuminate where you’re at, and what your options are.

Remember that in the end, your blog is yours and yours alone. Make informed decisions, but make ones that work for you and your goals, not because it's what you’re supposed to do or because that’s what anyone else wants.

With a new year, comes new possibilities. Looking forward is so important for content creators, but rarely do we give ourselves time to do it.

If I’m totally honest, I haven’t been good about giving myself enough white space to think about my business for several years. 

When Side Hustle Teachers started, I didn’t expect it to become so popular so fast. I really had to keep my nose to the grindstone and fix the little issues that sprang up… seemingly one right after another. It didn’t leave me a lot of time for reflection, and certainly not for projection.

This year, however, I’m not only demanding that I be more deliberate about the choices I make, but also about creating more time and space in my life so I can reflect on where I’ve been and think about where I want to go.

I have to constantly remind myself that my business is not school. I can take my time to consider my current situation. I can take my time to examine the options I have. I can take my time making a decision. And I can take my time implementing that decision based on my wants and needs.

So this year I’ve been contemplating this business I’ve built, and how I can move it forward in a sustainable way, and grow the company I want.

Let’s dive into my key areas of focus for 2023. Some of them might surprise you.

Rule #1: Simplicity is King

I’ve always been a fan of the KISS rule - keep it simple, stupid - but it’s never as easy to implement as it is to spout to others… or needlepoint on a pillow.

In 2023 simplicity is going to be my guiding star.

The longer I’m in business, the more I realize that I don’t want to hustle. I want ease. (And yes, I realize the irony of rebelling against hustle when my company is called Side Hustle Teachers.)

For a while I’ve been using one question to decide whether or not to take on something new; Is this going to bring ease to my life?

This simple question has allowed me to say no without guilt, hire help to get things done that I’ve been putting off for ages, and give my attention to things that are building my business and bringing me joy.

To be clear, I’m making simplicity a priority in all areas of my life, not just business. We’re in the (extremely slow) process of getting rid of stuff that’s been piling up, and we’re focusing on creating experiences instead of giving physical gifts. We’re not trying to be minimalists… but clearing physical space allows me to find more mental space… 

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.

Elimination, Automation, Delegation

To aid my search for simplicity, I’m following the eliminate, automate, and delegate model.

First - and this part has been happening for a while - I’m on the hunt for things I’m doing that aren’t necessary, or that can wait, or that are just a big ol’ waste of time. 

Entrepreneurs in all fields have a habit of taking on more and more to-dos until our lives are completely out of balance. This is very easy for side hustlers to do, especially teachers, because our jobs are already taking up our time and energy.

I’ll talk about a few things I’m dropping in the new year in the following sections.

The second step of this process is to automate whatever possible.

I’ve long been a fan of automation. It’s literally been essential to being able to grow my business while teaching full-time.  I automate my email marketing, my social media posting… even my Facebook “Lives” are pre-recorded because my family schedule doesn’t allow me to be available every Wednesday at 9pm.

Just note that before you start automating, you eliminate. There are a ton of tools available to help you automate pretty much anything, but most of them will cost you money, and they require time and energy to set up. Don’t waste your limited time and money on tools that help you with things you don’t even need to be doing.

Finally, if there are things that are keeping you from moving forward or making money, it’s time to consider hiring someone to help you. 

This person could be someone you work with in person or virtually, and can work as little as a few hours a week. You could also hire them on a project-by-project basis to take care of things you need done, but not on an ongoing basis.

In the past I’ve hired people to help me with SEO, graphics creation, email writing, customer support, and more.

All In on the Facebook Group

While I have a presence on multiple social media platforms, the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group has been my primary focus for a long time. In 2023, I’m going to go all in on this platform.

I’ve even deactivated my Twitter account.

Side Note: My deactivation decision was based on the fact that I never use Twitter myself (I find it annoying) and it’s the only platform on which I couldn’t get the handle of Side Hustle Teachers. Elon Musk didn’t factor in at all.

Also, though I’m not leaving Pinterest all together, since it’s not a major source of traffic for me, I’m paring back on my use. I’m only creating one pin per post, and everything is automatically posted. It’s very hands off - if it weren’t I wouldn’t use it.

Even my Facebook page isn’t a priority for me. Meta has been making it harder for pages to reach people organically (read: without paying) for a while, and it’s just not worth it for me.

Instead, my attention has been on, and will continue to go to the ever growing group of teachers that I’ve built over the last 3 years.

The group includes (mostly) daily prompts for members to share their thoughts, content, and wisdom. There are also weekly videos released on Wednesday that address mindset and common blocks that teachers hit when building a business.

My goal is to use the time I’ve freed up in other areas to be able to interact more with the SHT group members. When I take on too many things, my connections suffer… but the connections made through this business are one of my favorite parts!

All Roads Lead to Teacher Blog Academy

One of my biggest stumbling blocks as an entrepreneur has been creating too much stuff. This might just be me… or it could be a teacher trait since we’re all expected to be prolific in our classrooms.

If you’ve been around Side Hustle Teachers since the beginning, you may remember that I used to have a membership program. On top of that I sold each course from the membership separately… and I just kept making courses!

It was exhausting, and a constant struggle. I was creating, and promoting, and delivering digital courses all at the same time. And don’t forget about the weekly free content for my website and social media.

It took longer than it should have, but I finally figured out that that was a recipe for burnout.

The past year (ish) I’ve had 3 course offerings, with the Teacher Blog Academy being my signature program.

In 2023 TBA is going to be my sole course.

I haven’t figured out exactly how I’m going to make it work, but when I am realistic about my life, I just don’t have time to promote 3 different courses. So now all roads are going to lead to Teacher Blog Academy.

Practice Self-Promotion

Last year much of my time and energy was put towards creating TBA, launching it, delivering it, and creating an automatic system that would regularly promote the course for me.

I was also putting out this weekly blogcast, and trying to be as present for the SHT community… and, oh yeah, I have a job and a family.

One of the balls I (by choice) dropped was promoting myself outside the SHT bubble.

In 2023 I’m going to be reaching out to more podcasters and entrepreneurs for collaboration.

Even though I’m a blogger at heart, I love podcasts as a way to reach new audiences… though I’m definitely open to other opportunities, too.

Hint: If you’d like to have me as a guest on your show, blog, video series, summit, etc. reach out and we’ll see if we can make it happen!

While the Side Hustle Teachers community is still growing, I know that there are more teachers out there who I can help. 

I just have to reach them first.

This is definitely a priority in the new year.

Start My Book

Last, but not least, I’ve been thinking about writing a book for a reeeeeeeally long time, and I think this might be the year to make it happen.

A book is not only a fantastic way to help more people - especially if Teacher Blog Academy is my sole offering - but it can also serve as a business card and help get my name and this community out to more teachers.

Over the last 6 months all the potential topics, names, chapters, and themes I’ve had in my head for years have started to coalesce, which I’m taking as a sign to get started. 

I’ll be self-publishing, and I’m hoping to have it ready for release for next Thanksgiving.

Stay tuned! And if you’re a member of the Facebook group, I’ll definitely be asking for stories, experiences, and opinions along the way!

If you haven’t started to look forward to the year ahead, maybe this will give you a little inspiration.

It’s so important to pause for a moment and get out of the “plan, craft, distribute” cycle of content so that you can think about where your business has been, how it’s changed, and where you want it to go from here.

Maybe that means you need to take a break from your blog for a little while. I’m going live in the Facebook group to talk about how I’m taking the month of December off and why giving yourself space to think is so important. Tune in live on Wednesday at 9pm!

As we approach 2023 - man, that sounds weird to say - I realized that I have been blogging for 10 years! 

I don’t actually remember the date, so don’t be expecting an anniversary party or anything, but I made my first money as a blogger in 2012. Holy crap, that’s a long time.

In those 10 years I was able to grow a successful mom-lifestyle blog that paid off my student loans, let us buy our cars with cash, and put me on track to pay off our mortgage in 15 years instead of 30. 

I also sold my blog when I was called to start Side Hustle Teachers and it grew faster than I anticipated. Blogging is a fairly low-key way to make money, but it still requires work, and I just couldn’t do both.

Now Side Hustle Teachers is a thriving blog with a highly engaged community, a new signature course that’s helping other teachers build and grow their own blogs, and a clear path to early retirement.

Over that time I’ve also discovered and consciously worked towards a more chill lifestyle, even as I continue to teach and my business consistently grows. I have more free time now than I did before I started my first blog!

When it comes to the business of blogging, a lot has changed, and that’s what we’ll be talking about today.

So let’s dig in.

Technology is WAY Easier

Let’s start with the best thing on this list. Tech is way more accessible now than it was when I started. Not only is it cheaper (yay!), but the improvements and upgrades have also made it easier for the average non-tech-geek to use, making the internet a much more user-friendly place.

When I first started, putting up a website took either a lot of money or extensive knowledge of coding and internet language. Yes, I had access to WordPress and ready-made themes (it wasn’t the really early days), but any changes needed to be done manually or via code… I broke my site many, many times.

There are also a lot more tools available to use online. Pretty much whatever you want to do online, there’s a tool you can use to manage it for you. From payment processors to schedulers to customer management to auto-responders… you name it, it’s out there. 

And - this is big - they all talk to each other! Your credit card processor talks to your bank, who talks to your business email, who talks to your email management system, who updates your database… It's amazing. You can integrate all your tools, making automation 1000% easier, and taking a ton of work off your plate. There are even tools that help your tools talk to each other if they don’t have built in integration (thank you, Zapier!).

And one of the few good things to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic is that, by forcing more people and businesses online, even more programs, platforms, and systems were introduced… and they’re not going anywhere.

All this makes starting a blog a totally doable endeavor.

I know many teachers are afraid of the tech that’s involved, but if you can handle the tech of a 21st century classroom, a blog is a piece of cake!

Social Media has Exploded

When I started there was Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest was still new and masquerading as a social network, and Instagram was just barely born. Social media was growing, but it was not the ubiquitous part of everyday life that it is now.

Cut to today when social media platforms abound and are some of the most trafficked parts of the internet.

For a while, every time a new platform was introduced, bloggers were encouraged to jump in and become founding members before it became big.

Side note, this was brought on by Pinterest, whose early adopters gained HUGE advantages on the platform, frustrating those who came after.

However, as we’ve seen, not all social media sites are created equally or are built to last… I’m lookin’ at you Periscope, Clubhouse, and Google Plus! 

Today, anyone who’s telling you to be on every social platform, especially when you’re new to blogging, is given sideways glances and dismissed as out of touch. This is a very good thing for your content and your sanity. My focus is on the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group. Everything else is extra.

These days it’s better to focus your time, energy, and creative skills on 1 or 2 platforms where you can build authentic connections and engage with your audience. If you want to have a presence on more platforms, you can use tools to automatically share the same content in multiple places so your apparent omnipresence doesn’t take any more work.

So when the next big social media app is introduced, don’t feel the need to dive in. Just grab your username so it doesn’t get stolen, and feel free to delete the app.

Standards are Higher

When I first started my original blog, I published a post every day.  Back then it was way easier to do that (though still crazy) because the internet rewarded quantity over quality. I still cringe when I think about some of the things I shared with the world. But I was trying to “catch up” with the people who’d been blogging for years, and volume sold.

These days not only do readers expect higher quality information, but search engines demand it.

I may have ranted about this before, but it bears repeating. Your readers expect and deserve quality posts. 

On top of this, Google now considers your site’s authority when ranking pages in search results. People and posts who cite facts, give value in their content, and meet other authority based criteria (there are hundreds of factors considered), will be boosted in search results, and therefore discovered by more people.

But it’s not just content quality expectations that are higher. Internet users expect a beautiful, user-friendly website experience when they land on your site. They expect high-quality images with thoughtful design, and they have a very low tolerance for poor sound quality.

Interestingly, while video quality is important, users will watch a video with poor video quality longer than they will watch a video with poor sound quality, according to VTRep.

With all the tools available to help, people demand quality.

I’ll add a side note here, though, and this is important. While people expect high quality, they also understand and are forgiving - even appreciative - of authentic imperfection. In my videos you may see my cat wandering around in the background. In my podcast episodes you may hear my daughter singing or other family life noise. No one complains about it. It actually helps me seem more real and relatable. So, in my early days I would have spent huge amounts of time re-recording or editing, these days I’m happy to leave that stuff in.

Saturation is Real

The internet was already starting to get crowded when I began blogging, but now it’s downright mobbed.

There are 600 million blogs on the web today, compared to about 100 million when I started. That’s pretty massive growth!

The good news is that the number of blogs continues to grow because blogging is a highly effective marketing strategy and way to build revenue. That means that even though you feel late to the game, you haven’t missed out. 

The bad news is that it can be harder to be noticed online with so many options. There’s a lot of noise online and sometimes it feels like you’re just waiting for your class to settle down and listen.

But the really good news is that if you want to be noticed, it’s pretty simple; Show up and be yourself.

It may take longer to build an audience, but if you continue to show up as your authentic self (and market your blog), your people will find you and stick with you.

So, a lot has changed in the last 10 years, but if I’m totally honest, most of it has made the online world better, more accessible, and more profitable.

And while it may seem intimidating to try to get into this space, there has never been a better time to give it a go. The internet has never been more readily available for those who want to form new relationships, build community, and make money. 

The time is now!

If you’re ready to give a go at this incredibly profitable realm, check out Teacher Blog Academy!

With the holidays approaching, you may find yourself noticing lots of posts popping up with gift recommendations and wondered if they really boost revenue (they do!) and how you can make one for your own blog.

A well done gift guide can be a fantastic way to increase your affiliate income. But a poorly done gift guide can actually damage the trust you’ve built up with your audience.

So before you go on your virtual shopping spree and start seeing dollar signs in your eyes, let’s talk about the right way to put together a gift guide.

Before You Start Know Your Audience

Creating a gift guide that actually generates income depends on your understanding of your audience and what they need. So before you start, make sure you have a clear picture of who they are and why they’re coming to your blog.

Their preferences are going to play into every decision you make, from which stores you feature to the price range of the items you select.

Consider the following questions:

• How would you describe your ideal audience in 1 sentence?
• What is this group looking for help with?
• What’s their budget? It’s okay if there’s a wide range here, just be sure to select gifts at all levels to appeal to everyone.
• Where do they already shop? If you want to introduce new stores, that’s great, but keep in mind that many people will spend their money at places they already know and trust over someplace new.

Choose a Theme

When thinking about your audience, there could be a million things they might want or need. Choose a specific theme to narrow your focus and create a through-line for all your recommendations.

Don’t worry if your theme isn’t a typical one. When my daughter was young I would have been thrilled to find a guide called, “Perfect Gifts for Little Girls Whose Moms Need to Get Work Done and Need Said Little Girl to Play Quietly By Herself.”

Sadly, I never found such a guide…

For this part, focus particularly on why your audience comes to you. 

Are you providing gift suggestions that your readers might want (and can forward on to their family and friends), or gifts that they can purchase for others? 

Is this guide meant to help them discover new, creative gifts? 

Or find bargains or tried and true classics? 

Or make gifts themselves with recommendations of where to buy materials and tools?

Note: If you’re having trouble with this at the start, put a pin in it and come back to this once you’ve found a few products to recommend. You might find a natural theme, or one may come to you as you’re doing your research.

Gather Your Affiliate Links

If you’ve dabbled in affiliate marketing, you already have relationships with some stores or brands. Now is the time to review your links and apply to any other programs with products or services you want to recommend.

Also take time to review the terms of service that are in place with each company so that you don’t violate your agreement and lose your affiliate status. For example, Amazon does not allow offline promotion, so if you create a downloadable PDF of your guide, you must link back to your gift guide post for Amazon products (rather than the item itself).

If you’re going to use affiliate marketing in your everyday blogger life - and why wouldn’t you? - I suggest creating a spreadsheet with all of your common affiliate links in it. It will really streamline the recommendation process and make your life easier.

Crafting Your Gift Guide Select Your Products

This is the fun part. It’s time to go shopping!

When choosing what to include and what to leave off your list, be selective. A list of 10 great, spot-on, you-read-my-mind gift suggestions is better than one of 50 generic ideas.

When you are curating your picks, always go back to your theme. If it doesn’t fit with your theme, or you have to do some mental gymnastics to try to justify how it fits, leave it off.

Consider why each individual item should be included and remember the golden rule; value first.

Make your recommendations based on the value they provide rather than the commission you can earn.

 

Grab or Make Eye-Catching Graphics

There’s a reason the flyers that come in the mail around the holidays are loaded with beautiful, inspiring, colorful, and fun pictures. 

Images sell.

That’s why Target doesn’t mind paying the crazy shipping cost of their holiday circular and Harriet Carter always sends a catalog in November… whether you want it or not.

We know that products with quality images sell better. Even the color, type, model, etc. in the image will sell better than other variations of the same product.

Most affiliate programs allow use of their images for promotion of their products or services, but be sure to check your terms of service agreement before sharing them publicly. 

If it’s a product you own, I also recommend getting some shots of you or your family using it, or the outcome of your use. This will put an even more personal spin on it, give you graphics no one else has, and your audience will know you’re not just blowing smoke.

I recommend a program like PicMonkey or Canva to create your graphics.

Don’t Forget the Text

In a printed guide, text is less important, but since this is a blog post, you need to keep the rules of SEO in mind. 

Google needs a minimum of 300 words to be able to understand and recommend your post in search results, so don’t skip this part. 

One simple way to add some text is to introduce your post with a bit about how you put it together and why you selected the items you did. This can help your audience see that you currated your guide with them in mind, not just anyone.

Another easy place to add text is to give a brief overview of each item, with specific things you love about it. Explain to your readers why they need this thing and how it will make their lives better.

Finally, wrap it all up with a quick summary and even an invitation to comment with their own favorite doo-dad.

Here’s another question I get a lot about this topic: Should I include my own products or services in my gift guide?

Maybe.

If what you sell fits into your list, your theme, and solves the problem you’re trying to solve with this guide, then yes.

If not, leave it off. It’s not worth turning people off when they get to your product because if it doesn’t serve them at that moment, the rest of the list would be tainted with your product pimping.

Last, but definitely not least, make sure that you are disclosing to your audience that the links you’re sharing are affiliate links. You don’t have to do anything dramatic, or plaster your blog with warning signs, but disclosure is the law.

Here’s the disclosure that automatically gets shared on all of my blog posts:

If you are using affiliate marketing regularly (highly recommended) you should add a disclaimer to every post and have a clear policy. If you need help with this, I suggest using a pre-made legal template that you can just plug your blog information into to cover your bases.

Gift guides don’t have to be just for December holidays either. You can create one for any gift giving opportunity. Think Mother’s and Father’s Day, Easter, summer birthdays… you’re only limited by your imagination! 

In the past I’ve created lists about how I set up my home office, and books I love and recommend, and I even have a Resources page that lives on my site permanently.

Be creative and selective, and your audience will thank you!

Know, like, and trust.

You may have heard those words before - you may have heard them from me - and thought, “That’s great… how do I do that?”

Even though we live in a time when we feel highly connected to people we only know from the internet - I have friends I’ve never met in my online due date group - you still have to put effort into forming authentic, human-to-human relationships.

Today I’m sharing 5 practical strategies to connect with your readers:

Be Yourself

Nothing turns people off more than a phony. Still a lot of bloggers think they have to be or act a certain way because that’s how “everyone else” is doing it.

Not true.

Your readers come to you because you’re you! So be yourself in your blogging.

Use conversational language and write the way you speak.

If you’re an English teacher, this may feel a little (or a lot) wrong, but bloggers don’t have to follow all the rules of grammar that you do in formal writing.

Blogging isn’t formal. It’s intimate.

Use the words you would use when having a conversation with a friend. Use punctuation in ways that would make your grammar teacher lose. her. shit.

Swear if you want to! Don’t swear if that’s just not how you roll.

Call your readers “dearies” or “y’all”… if that’s you. Or “peeps” or “home girls”... if that’s you.

To create a relationship your readers need to feel like they know you. And for them to know you, you have to be yourself.

Interact with Your Readers

Have you ever had a one-sided relationship? You know the kind where you’re always the one calling,  inviting them places, and making an effort? 

It’s like playing tennis against the drapes.

It’s frustrating and leaves you feeling used.

Don’t make your readers feel that way.

If a reader takes the time to leave a comment on your blog, respond.

If they reach out to you on social media, respond.

If they tag you in a post, leave a comment saying thank you and make a little joke, or ask them a question.

A blog post - even the most well-written one in the world - can only go so far in building relationships. So when your readers engage with you, let them feel seen, heard, and appreciated.

Beyond being a great way to strengthen your audience’s bond, this is also an amazing way to get more information on what your audience likes, doesn’t like, is frustrated by, and wants more of.

Go to Them

There’s an old saying, “If Mohammed won’t go to the mountain, the mountain must go to Mohammed.”

Your readers are busy.

As much as they love and value what you’re putting out into the world, you are not at the top of their minds day in and day out.

Sorry. (Not sorry.)

Show your audience some love by going to them, instead of insisting they come to you.

Social media is a fantastic way to do this. It lets you share your thoughts, ideas, insights, missteps, victories… and in lots of different formats.

I love having a Facebook group for the Side Hustle Teacher community because it allows me to get to know my audience, and them to get to know me, in a space that doesn’t have a built-in hierarchy. My blog is my site, I’m the expert, and it’s my platform. The SHT Facebook group is shared by the thousands of members, and is designed for interaction.

Everyone is an expert.

Another way I go to my readers is via email.

If you’re on my list you hear from me regularly because I want to be part of your life. I want to pop up in your inbox and say “Hey! How’s it goin’?” 

And I loooooooove it when people email me back! It’s one of my favorite things!

Get Personal

Sharing personal stories is another way to make a genuine connection with your readers, and I highly recommend it.

Of course, you don’t have to share everything - some things should remain personal - but your audience wants to know that there’s a real, flesh-and-blood person behind your site. 

Stories about your life, mistakes, flaws - all the things that make you a human - helps your audience relate to you. It lets them see themselves in you, which is what we’re all looking for.

We all just want to know we’re not alone.

I share with my community members about my anxiety, my story of how I got started in blogging - including my first epic fail side hustle - and my over-the-top love of my pets.

I mention my family, but I tend to keep most of our day-to-day life to myself.

The personal things I share with my audience not only help me build a connection with them, and them with me, it also lets me show everyone that not everything is sunshine and roses… Things go wrong, I make mistakes… I even had a mild heart attack when my students found my blog. 

All these things make me a person, rather than a highlight reel.

Value First

The golden rule of blogging, always give your audience what it wants, needs, and can use. Provide value and everything else will follow.

One of my biggest pet peeves of our current age is the way news outlets rush to publish a story, but don’t have any information… so you basically get everything they know in the title. When you click on the article all there is are a couple of hastily written paragraphs that restate the headline and leave you annoyed.

There are several sites I won’t even click on anymore because I’ve been disappointed too many times.

Don’t be like that.

When your reader clicks to read one of your posts you want them to feel understood. You want them to say, “That’s exactly what I was looking for.” You want them questioning whether or not you have illegal surveillance in their house because you gave them the exact information they needed. 

Value builds trust.

Consistent value makes you who they turn to when they have a question. It makes you who they refer their friends to. It makes you their go-to person.

Regardless of how you choose to connect, making the effort to do so is 100% worth it.

Burnout is nothing to joke about. It’s real and it is vicious.

Blogger burnout has derailed many potential entrepreneurs and we don’t want that to happen to you.

The good news is that you can avoid this all-too-common phenomenon with a little planning, and a lot of self-monitoring.

Here are 4 tips to maintain a healthy schedule and avoid burnout:

Start as You Intend to Continue

We all know that when you first start a new venture you want to throw your whole self into it. This is normal, and honestly, it’s part of the fun of starting something new. When starting a long-term project like a blog, though, it’s important to set boundaries for yourself from the beginning so that your blog doesn't end up taking over your life.

I’m not going to tell you to limit yourself from working on your blog when you're super excited about it - that would be silly and counterproductive. What I am saying is that you need to remember that one of the best things about having a business like a blog is the freedom it creates in your life. Yet we teachers (little go-getters that we are) tend to approach blogging like we approach teaching… we’re all in, 110%, all day, all night… when we’re not giving 110% to teaching.

That is a recipe for burnout.

Instead, think about the things you had in mind when you started blogging. 

If you want to be able to enjoy a work-free movie night with your family every Friday night, give yourself a rule that there’s no blog work on Fridays after dinner.

If you want to be able to work from anywhere so you can travel with your son’s soccer team, then grab a laptop and make use of the time he’s at practice (and then put it away afterward so you can hear about the gnarly goal he made).

The fact is that nobody starts a business - even a blog - so they can be tied to their computer 24/7. So if that’s not your goal, then don’t start that way.

It will feel like there’s sooooo much to do, but honestly, I think that’s just life in the 21st century. Start building your blog how you want it to look in the long run.

Eliminate, Automate, Delegate

If you read blogging advice online, you’re going to find a lot of advice on things you “must” do in order to be successful. For full-time bloggers, maybe these things are possible, but as a side hustler, you have to be more discerning with what you take on.

I know I’m taking on too much when I start to feel unsure of what to do next. If I’m feeling stuck and procrastinating doing anything, it’s usually because I’m trying to do too much.

The first thing to do in this situation is to look at your list and take at least one thing off of it. Usually it’s something I read about someone else doing and decided that I had to take on, too. (No, that urge doesn’t go away as you get further into your journey.) Shift these things over to a Maybe Someday list, or just cross it out and move on.

The next thing to do is look for things that you can automate, like emails, social media responses, tagging and segmenting subscribers, your opt-in… automation is a huge time saver and it can keep you from going into burnout.

Truth be told, automation also makes your business more appealing to your readers. We expect things to happen instantly, so when people sign up for your email list, they want the freebie you promised right away… not when you get around to it after school, homework, dinner, and soccer practice.

The first task many bloggers automate is email delivery. It’s inexpensive and easy to use - and it’s a great investment because your email list is key in making money from your blog. I personally use and recommend ConvertKit. Another popular option is automating social media posts. I use RecurPost, but for beginners typically recommend CinchShare.

The last thing to try when burnout is on the horizon is delegate tasks to someone else. 

Some things just need a personal touch, or just need to be dealt with as they happen, but that doesn’t mean they need to be dealt with by you!

If you notice that you can’t get the meaningful items on your to-do list because you’re spending all your time answering emails, managing your Facebook group, or doing other non-zone-of-genius stuff, it may be time to delegate to a virtual assistant.

But, don’t forget that you don’t just have to eliminate, automate, and delegate business tasks. You can free up time and energy by applying this same principle at home. If you can’t get to your blog work because you’re too busy shopping, cooking dinner, and cleaning your house, get your groceries delivered, put Hello Fresh on auto delivery, or hire someone to do the cleaning.

Bonus: Hiring for your home is often cheaper than hiring a VA,

Repurpose Your Content

A mistake many bloggers make at the beginning (including yours truly) is creating new content instead of reusing what they’ve already got. 

You write a blog post, share it once, then move on and write something else… all while trying to think of something else to share on social media.

It’s exhausting, and can lead to not only business burnout, but also creative burnout. (That’s when you’re still passionate about your blog, but feel like you have nothing more to say.)

Instead, get more mileage from your blog posts and what you’ve already created.

When writing a post, craft a couple of different posts to use to share it, maybe grab a quote, and then share your post multiple times. A common misconception is that once you share a post, everyone has seen it. In fact, only about 1-3% of your followers will see what you share on social media. On top of that, many won’t be able to stop and read what you’ve written at that exact moment.

All that’s to say, keep sharing your content!

By finding ways to go deeper on your content, rather than coming up with new ideas to hit on surface level, you can engage your readers in new ways and promote content you've already created.

An example would be doing a weekly Facebook or Instagram live to answer questions about your latest post. You can use a tool like StreamYard to go live in multiple places at once, then download your video to upload permanently to YouTube.

Say No - A LOT

In my first several years of teaching I worked all the time. Teaching was my whole life, from the time I woke up, to the time I went to bed. From what I’ve heard, most teachers are the same way.

If they needed someone to be on a committee, I was your girl.

Schedule adjustments needed? Sign me up to help!

We’re having a dance? Awesome! I’ll chaperone!

It’s in our nature to do whatever’s asked of us, but it’s not necessary, and it’s not healthy.

The problem is that we feel like we need an excuse to say no, as if, “I’m tired and want to go home to want Netflix.” isn’t a valid excuse (it is).

If you’re going to grow a blogging business, saying no is going to have to become part of your vocabulary, because here’s the thing:

Every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else.

When you agree to be on that committee, you’re taking time and mental bandwidth away from your blog, your classroom, and your family.

A few years ago, I found myself a member of 2 district-level committees and serving as a scorer for reflection papers for new teachers… and quickly approaching burnout because I was doing all that and didn’t say no to anything in my business either. So - by default - I ended up saying no to rest, family time, and sleep.

I wrote to my assistant superintendent and told him I needed to step away from all of it, and refocused my energy.

Open committee seat? Administrative something needs to be done? Dance on Friday until 10pm? I’m sorry, I’m busy.

No explanation needed

And guess what. The world hasn’t stopped turning!

Boundaries are important in every aspect of your life. It’s not always easy to set them - or stick to them  - but if you’re going to avoid burnout, they’re essential.

Consider your priorities, create boundaries for yourself and your blog, and you will find it much easier to avoid hitting burnout.

In Teacher Blog Academy, we teach you how to build a blog in a sustainable way, with just the basics, and without any of the excess to-dos that aren’t necessary and just add stress to your life. To learn more go to teacherblogacademy.com

This question came to me from someone in the Side Hustle Teachers community, and I wanted to answer it here because it’s something a lot of people may worry about.

Here’s the question: “I want to start a blog, but I’m worried that my students will find it. What should I do?”

My question is, why?

Honestly, I understand the sentiment, but I also know that there’s no reason to be concerned about this.

Yes, if we put ourselves out there, our coworkers, students, and families might discover our blogs. But having a blog, even one for profit, isn’t anything to be ashamed of.  

These days upwards of 30% of teachers have jobs outside of school, and more and more of them are creating those jobs for themselves rather than working for yet another boss. For good reason - it’s awesome!

So, let’s just agree that unless your blog is about something illegal or is just bitching about your boss/ students/ job, you’re good.

The question I get next is usually, “Have your students found your blog?”

Yes. Yes, they have.

A few years ago, when I was still working with moms, a student found my Instagram account. (It wasn’t hard, my account had my name attached, but one student thought he was really clever for finding it.) He was going up and down the hall outside my classroom saying, “Side Hustle Moms,” in a loud voice, so I asked him what he was doing. 

He “confronted” me about my account. (Insert a creepy dun-dun-dun sound here.)

It was almost comical to see his face go completely flat when I wasn’t horrified to know he’d found me out… I just confirmed I had a business and that I helped moms start businesses.

Except for blocking a handful of students who followed my IG account, that was the end of it.

This year another group of students found my business. A couple have said they’ve listened to my podcast, and others have asked what Side Hustle Teachers is. 

Truth be told, I think they’re just trying to get me to go on a tangent and avoid doing work… or see if they can get a rise out of me… but after a couple days they just drop it.

I’m proud of my business.

I’m proud of the community of nearly 12,000 teachers I’ve built.

I’m proud of the hundreds of teachers I’ve helped through my courses and coaching.

I’m proud of the money this business brings to my family.

All that said, the question still stands. 

What should you do if your students find your blog?

Or parents? 

Or admin?

Take a breath. 

The first time someone from school finds your blog can bring on different responses from different people.

Honestly, when that original kid started shouting my business name down my hallway I thought I was going to throw up. It was an automatic, subconscious response. But once I took a breath, I remembered that I was still me, he was still a student, and my blog was still awesome.

Acknowledge your blog

Not only is it pointless to deny your blog once someone’s found it, it’s unnecessary. 

A simple, “Yes, I blog at Side Hustle Teachers,” is enough.

You don’t have to explain, justify, or tell your story.

A coworker discovered me on Facebook one time and told her it was my blog and that she should join my group.

Move on

Most of the time when it’s a student who brings up your business, it’s because they want to either get a rise out of you or get you off topic. 

Confirm that you have a blog so they know you’re not embarrassed about it, then carry on.

If it’s a coworker or admin, simply tell them you don’t use school time to talk business… and carry on.

Celebrate

With all the stuff on the internet, your blog got found! It’s easy to miss this fact in the moment when a student is asking about your blog… but this is a good sign. 

Your students or coworkers might not be your target audience, but the fact that you are being found and read by people other than your relatives and college roommate means that you are becoming more discoverable by everyone online.

So once you’re past the initial “oh crap” moment, do a little happy dance!

In order to make money online you have to be found by people. Sometimes that means people you wish wouldn’t find you. 

But don’t let the possibility of feeling awkward for 30-60 seconds stop you from building something great.

Teacher Blog Academy can help you get your blog up and running and making money faster and easier by following our 5 Step Roadmap. Learn more here.

Guest posting, also called guest blogging, is a process in which a blogger creates content for another site in order to build backlinks, expand their audience, and strengthen their authority. 

Early on in the world of blogging, guest posts were a hugely popular way to increase your search engine optimization (SEO) and grow an audience. In fact, anyone could write a 300-word post, share it on any other site, and boost their blog’s standing. It didn’t even have to be a good post.

However, in recent years Google (and other search engines) have updated their algorithms to limit the abuse of guest posts.

These days posts need to be both well-written and useful, but also relevant to the blog on which they’re posted… and the site should be in good standing, too.

Still, guest blogging can be a valuable experience if you do it right.

What are the Benefits of Guest Blogging?

Broaden your audience. A guest post can get your ideas in front of new people, ideally those who will click over to your site and become loyal, raving fans. 

Tip: Include a strong call to action in guest posts, and links to other posts on your site (if permitted).

Increase your traffic. When you bring more people into your world, the traffic to your site increases. The return on increased traffic is (usually) proportionate with the amount of traffic the site you’re guest posting on gets. B

Tip: Look for established sites that accept guest posts to get the most bang for your buck.

Build SEO cred. When search engines rank your website, they consider a number of factors - thousands, actually - and backlinks are one such factor. A backlink is any link to your site from another. 

Tip: Consider the authority of the sites you’re guest blogging on. 

Strengthen your authority. When you are granted permission to blog on another person’s site, it is an implicit endorsement of you and your business. You are borrowing the authority of the site owner because their audience trusts them to curate quality posts.

Tip: Look for bloggers who’ve built a loyal audience who trust their guidance.

Expand your web online presence. The more places you are online, the more likely you are to be found by those you can help. Guest blogging provides more access points to you and your content.

Tip: Target your guest blogging efforts on sites that serve similar audiences to yours.

When You Should Pass on Guest Posting

With all those reasons to guest post, it seems like a no-brainer, right?

Not so fast. 

Not all guest blogging opportunities are created equal. You need to closely evaluate prospect separately and make sure that the post you spend your precious time and energy creating is going to provide the benefits above.

Spam sites. The internet is littered with sites that provide little-to-no value and gain traffic by simply pumping out a constant flow of mediocre content. You don’t want to be featured on those sites. 

There once was a time when a site was a site, and Google hadn’t really figured out the difference, but those days are long gone. Search engines now rank sites for quality using an insane number of metrics. They also rank links leading from one site to another, so creating anything for those content mills isn’t going to do much except waste your time.

Too close to your products/ services. You don’t want to guest post for a blog who serves the exact same market in the same way you do, especially if they’re highly established and monetized. The blogs you post on should be related to yours, serving a similar audience, but in a different way. For example, a minimalism coach could work with a home decor blogger (think: How to Embrace Minimalism Without Making Your Home Look Sparse), or a classroom management blogger could partner with a Responsive Classroom blogger (think: 10 Morning Meetings to Reinforce Classroom Routines).

You’d neglect your own blog. As a part-time blogger, you have to be careful about giving too much time away at the expense of your own blog. Guest blogging takes time - you have to do your research, pitch the blogger whose site you want to contribute to, and then you have to write a truly kick-ass post that will inspire their followers to click over to your site and find awesome stuff. 

If life is too crazy to take all that on AND write a weekly post for your own blog, put a pin in guest blogging until the next vacation.

How to Find the Best Sites to Blog For (for your blog)

Research. Do your homework before making contact with any bloggers. First, see if they accept guest posts. If not, and they’re an established blogger, it’s likely their policy not to permit others to share on their site. You can try to reach out anyway, but don’t hold your breath.

You also want to look at the types of posts they share. If they are a step-by-step how-to website, you want to match your proposed guest blogs to that.

Finally, spend some time looking at what has already been written about on their site. Nothing will kill your chances at guest blogging like suggesting post ideas that are already on their blog.

Find a Peripheral Blogger. As mentioned above, the best blogs to write for are ones that serve your audience in a different way than you do. This allows you to offer content that’s of use to the site’s owner, but also guides them towards your blog.

Consider niches that are one level broader or more niched down than yours. For example, sustainable living and bee keeping, natural lawn care, canning food, or even alternative energy. Or mom lifestyle and mindful parenting, meal prep, calendar management, money saving tips for families, or homeschooling.

Consider the benefit (for both of you). A guest post should provide an upside for both the contributor and the site owner. Before you start planning a post, think about what you hope to gain from sharing on this particular site. Of the many benefits I mentioned above, which are your biggest priorities, and does this site provide opportunities to meet those goals?

Similarly, when asking other bloggers to borrow their blog space, you have to answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” What can you provide for their audience that they can’t?

If you’ve done a thorough job finding someone who writes about a connected, but divergent, topic to yours, this will be easier to come up with.

At the end of the day, being a guest on someone else’s blog can be a fabulous opportunity, when done right. But it’s not the quick and easy path that some purport. It takes time and effort, and remember that any post you write for another blog should be your A+ stuff. 

Only you can decide whether or not this is a good fit for you at this time.

Please note: Side Hustle Teacher is not accepting guest posts at this time.

Once you tell people you’re thinking of starting a side business, you will find yourself presented with all sorts of opportunities. In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions in the Side Hustle Teachers Facebook group is, “what should I do for a side hustle?” And believe me when I tell you, if you post that question, you will get hundreds of responses.

In reality, there’s more to picking a business model than just picking something other people have found success with, especially for busy teachers.

Over my 10 years of blogging, coaching other teachers, and running a Facebook group of thousands I’ve found that those who are successful not only think carefully about what they’d like to do, but also how their side hustle will work with their teaching lives. 

I’ve determined that there are 4 traits a side hustle must have in order to work for educators. 

Let’s dig in!

1. Makes Use of Your Teacher Skills

Teachers have a ridiculous amount of skills. Beyond the obvious ability to explain difficult concepts to young people, there are countless other skills required to navigate a classroom. Think about the organization, planning, and preparation for each lesson. Consider your communication skills; being able to create analogies out of thin air, talking upset kids off a ledge… or their parents!

Let’s face it. You have mad skills.

That said, teachers have a difficult time identifying their skills because we’re too close. We also tend to overlook innate gifts and natural talents because we think they don’t count. A skills assessment tool might be able to help you pinpoint not only what skills you possess, but those you enjoy utilizing.

After all, when you start a side hustle, it should be something you enjoy doing!

The reason this is so important is because building a business requires so much new learning on its own. There’s tech stuff, jargon, and other industry-specific stuff you’ll need to develop. If your side hustle itself is also something new to you, you’re going to struggle… way more than you need to. 

Find a hustle that builds on skills you already have AND (I would add) something you love to do.

So even if your friend swears that anyone can make a million dollars with their food based-company, it might not be a great fit for you if your idea of workin’ it in the kitchen is cleaning up the takeout containers.

For me, blogging was a perfect fit because I’m a strong communicator, I’m organized and good at breaking concepts down into bite-sized pieces for my readers, and as a hard-core introvert I prefer to work alone and without a set schedule. I am very self-motivated and I like to help people, so… blogging!

2. Allows You to Work When and Where You Want

I know there are people out there that think teachers work a few hours a day and have tons of time off… but they’re idiots and we know better. So let’s just acknowledge that teacher’s schedules are insane, definitely extend beyond the school day, and are often unpredictable. (Like when you plan to leave at 3:30 one day, but can’t because a couple kids decided to act up, so now you’re at school calling parents and writing reports until 5. Ugh.)

Knowing that, building a side hustle that is not dependent on me showing up at a particular time is a big priority for the teachers in the Side Hustle Teachers community.

The ability to work on your own schedule is one thing I’ve found is key to the success of a teacher’s side hustle. But not just that, being able to work from wherever you are is equally important.

For example, I’m writing this post from the lobby at my daughter’s gymnastics class. This just happens to be an hour I have free and is perfect for writing… but I’m not at home. Thankfully, we live in the time of the laptop and wifi. I don’t need to be holed up in my office to get stuff done.

3. Be Your Own Boss

Teachers have enough bosses. We have principals, assistant principals, team leaders, department heads, instructional coaches, superintendents… and let’s not forget parents who like to boss us around, and (more and more lately) their children who do the same.

When you’re looking to start a side hustle, the last thing you need is another person telling you what you can and can’t do, how to do it, and when you have to get it done.

One of the things Side Hustle Teachers find most valuable is the ability to run their business how they see fit.

This is an extension of being able to work when and where you want, because as your own boss, you can also choose what you’re going to work on, and what you’re going to ignore. Unlike teaching, which has a million tasks that you’d rather not do, if you don’t want to dance around and point at things on Instagram for your business, you don’t have to. 

Does that mean you won’t have to do anything groan-worthy for your business? Sadly, no. Even if you’re not big on budgets, you still have to run your numbers. However, there’s a lot more flexibility of what “have to” do, AND who has to do them. 

Yes! You can outsource things you don’t want to do.

As a blogger, I get to choose what I write about, and who I get to serve. When I wanted to narrow my focus from side hustles in general to blogging, I just did it. I get to show up for my group on Facebook and ignore TikTok. If I want to sell physical products someday, I can do it, with no restrictions from a company or boss.

4. You Can Earn Multiple Streams of Income

The average millionaire has at least 7 streams of income. The average teacher has 1.

Why is this important?

Well, earning money through multiple sources means that you not only have money coming in from different places, it provides added security in case one of those streams dries up.

When it comes to a side hustle, it’s important to choose one that will allow you to build multiple streams of income. It doesn’t have to all happen at once - in fact, it’s probably best that it doesn’t - but you should be able to see a clear path to earning in several ways.

For example, if you start out selling your time through a coaching service, can you think of some physical products you could offer in the future, or a course… or adding another product?

Here’s the thing about multiple streams of income as a teacher; You want to make your various streams of income flow through a single business. 

This is key.

You are a busy teacher. You don’t have time to run multiple businesses!

And if I’m being totally honest, even if you had time, it’s not a good strategy to have several unrelated businesses.

With my blog I earn money through ads, occasional private coaching, my courses, like the Teacher Blog Academy, and affiliate marketing. (Blogging provides for other revenue streams, too, that I choose not to utilize.) And everything is managed, marketed, and integrated with my blog, so I don’t have to try to juggle 4 separate businesses.

The nice thing about many of these sources of revenue is that they are passive. I don’t have to be involved in the sales or delivery in order to make money. 

Ads are placed on my site, and I make money when people see and click on them.

I created my courses once, and make continuous money as people buy them.

I add affiliate links to my content and on social media, and earn commission when people buy something through them.

Side note: When I was on a recent vacation, standing in line for a ride, I got a notification that someone had bought a course - now that’s passive income!

Teachers need to think carefully about which side hustle they choose. There are a lot of opportunities around, but not all of them are a good fit for educators. For me, blogging was an easy choice. It checked all the boxes above, and has proved to be a perfect fit for myself and my family.

If you’re ready to learn more about blogging for money, check out my free training, Profitable Blogging for Teachers.

When you’re first building your blog, you’ll make some design choices about the aesthetic of your site. You’ll choose colors and fonts, and maybe a simple logo, and you’ll run with it.

But at some point along your journey, you’re going to decide that everything about your site is wrong. You’ll decide that your colors are hideous and your fonts are unreadable, your logo is annoying… and maybe even the name of your site is all wrong.

This is normal.

It happens to everyone.

The truth is that your site will need a refresh every now and then, and it’s good to do so. People expect modern designs and functionality, and in order to provide that, you have to update things.

But, you shouldn’t give in to every urge to rebrand your site. 

While it’s a completely normal desire, and an occasionally necessary thing to do, sometimes - oftentimes - there are better things to do with your time.

When NOT to Rebrand

I would argue that in 9 cases out of 10, especially if you’re in your first year of blogging, you should not rebrand your site. In those early years there is almost always something more productive you can do with your time (or money, if you’re paying for the rebrand).

Here are some of the most common wrong reasons for starting a rebrand I see in students and clients. And let me just state for the record… I have done all of these things. 

You’re Bored. 

As you’re starting your blog, there will be lots of things to be done - big and little - and it will feel like you’re never going to finish. But you will. And then you’ll find yourself with more time on your hands… and it will feel wrong. 

But being bored, or feeling like you have too much free time isn’t a good reason to shake things up. Instead, take this extra time and dedicate it to tasks that will grow your revenue. 

• Get your content lined up for the next few weeks. 
• Craft some social media posts to bring more people to your page. 
• Network with other bloggers. 
• Create a freebie to get people on your email list. 
• Promote your paid offer (if you have one) or an affiliate item.

Or just enjoy having some extra time! One of the great things about blogging is that it doesn’t require you to hustle and grind every minute. You can take it easy!

Changing your colors or even the name of your site isn’t going to make you any more money. 

You’re Avoiding Doing Something Uncomfortable

Think about the list of things above. Does the idea of doing any of those things make you want to hide? Well, the digital equivalent of hiding is tinkering with your website.

The thing is that rebranding feels productive. You do X and something happens on your website. Instant gratification!

Not only does reaching out to other bloggers feel scary - you have to put yourself out there - but there’s no instant payoff. It takes time to build relationships and figure out how to build a genuine, mutually beneficial partnership. 

When you create a freebie as an offer to entice people onto your email list, it takes time for them to discover it and sign up. Then you have to email them! Again, putting yourself out there.

I get it.

But your blog will not grow if you don’t step outside your comfort zone. 

You’re Sabotaging Yourself

This is a sneaky one because we often don’t realize this is what we’re doing. The desire to rebrand our site often sneaks up on us just as we get the pieces of our business into place and all we have to do is continue executing our game plan.

Sabotage is the cousin of boredom, because it often occurs after we complete a big project, meet a big goal, or finally create a kick-ass strategy to move your business to the next level. 

This is when the urge to break everything hits us.

I found myself in a self-sabotage moment very recently and actually called on my coach to talk me off the ledge.

I launched Teacher Blog Academy in April, created a free training to drive people to TBA, and updated my nurture sequence (and have a VA working on it from this point on). 

I had checked off all the items on my list, and had a long-term strategy in place… so naturally I started thinking about blowing it all up.

Not literally of course, but in the past my go-to move would be to either create something new (i.e. a new course or program) - which I don’t want to do for many reasons - or take my site apart and redo it.

This time, however, I scheduled a call with my coach and we figured out what tasks will actually move my business forward the way I want it to work… without me breaking my site!

I know it sounds absurd, but fear of success is a very real thing, and it sneaks up on you when you least expect it. 

So before you start to “fix” your brand colors, fonts, blog name, overall niche, etc. check in with yourself to make sure you’re not simply bored, avoiding the uncomfortable (yet productive) tasks, or trying to sabotage yourself before you reach the next level.

When You Should Rebrand

Now that we’ve gone over all the reasons you should leave your site the heck alone, let’s talk about when a rebrand is appropriate.

Web design doesn’t change as frequently as fashion, but your site should evolve with the times and reflect the fact that you are a modern blogger.

Does that mean you have to jump on every trend that comes out? Absolutely not. Just keep in mind that websites, like spaces in your home, can get dated. And whether it’s fair or not, people will disregard advice from those they don’t see as “current.”

In order to avoid the pitfalls above and make sure that your rebrand is actually a good use of your time, I recommend giving yourself a rebrand timeline. Decide in advance when you’re going to update your site so that when you find yourself bored, or procrastinating, you already know rebranding is off limits.

1-2 Year Refresh

Every couple of years schedule yourself some time to do a brand refresh. This does not mean choosing new colors, fonts, and completely redoing everything about your site. This is a good time to update your graphics templates, maybe choose a new script font, and update your professional photographs.

Look for some minor tweaks you can make to the look and functionality of your site that will make a better experience for your readers and be more aesthetically pleasing, but don’t require you to take a sledgehammer to your site.

Consider this the web equivalent of giving a room a facelift with some new paint and a trip to Home Goods for decor items. You’re not going to be using power tools, but your time in the room will be elevated when you’re done.

5-8 Year Full Rebrand

Occasionally - like once every several years - you’re going to want to make some major upgrades to your branding and website.

To be clear, if you like your brand colors, etc., there’s no requirement to change them. Recently Denise Duffield-Thomas, my money mentor, updated her branding and the basic palette stayed the same. Instead of going for a completely new look, she shifted her aesthetics to center more on the deeper blue tone in her established brand colors, and added a peachy accent color.

This is also a time for you to update your website by refreshing the structure and setup of your pages, and modernize the user interfaces, menus, etc.

This is an extensive project and can take quite a bit of time and/or money to complete, so it’s not something I recommend often. 

If we go back to our home analogy, this is a major renovation that will disrupt your life (business). 

Side note: When you complete a full rebrand, you have to decide whether or not to go back and update the graphics for old content. In my opinion, if you have chosen a new palette for your site, it’s suggested to update, which means recreating social media and blog graphics for all your old posts. If you’ve simply refreshed your existing palette, no need to create new graphics for old content.

The Bottom Line

Unless your site is literally turning readers off and making them leave in disgust, there are better ways to spend your time than playing with colors and whether your menu should be centered or left justified. 

Be honest with yourself about whether or not you're simply trying to make yourself feel busy or avoiding tasks that give you butterflies. 

Most of the time, your site is just fine.

Use your time to create great content, build relationships, and market yourself to grow your audience.

When it’s time to update, do as little as possible. Yes, I just said that. Do as little work on your website and branding as possible. 

Want to get your site off on the right foot? Check out Teacher Blog Academy! We’ll not only get your blog built right, there are bonus modules on choosing your colors and fonts and how to create a simple logo!