Ticket 2 Blog

• If the idea of asking for help with your work makes you feel vulnerable...
• If you're worried about how to find a person you can trust...
• If you want tips on working with other humans for the first time...

...this episode is for you!

Practical new habits you can implement to combat overachiever psychology.

Usual shownotes coming... someday.  Maybe.  No time for overachieving at the moment - haha :)

Is overacheiving... kind of killing you?

• Ever felt totally lost and uncertain what direction to take your creator life?

• How do you focus without feeling like you're losing out on one path or the other?

Links to references made in this episode:

• Episode 9 - in which Berna first realized she needed a break.

• The How to Make Hard Choices TED Talk by Ruth Chang

• Our fledgling Patreon!

• Places to talk to us online:

  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

    

Timestamp Listening:

• 1:36 . . .  the things Berna is trying to prioritize

• 5:26 . . .   how to prioritize your goals

• 5:53 . . .   the surprising choices that matter most

• 7:41 . . .  how to prioritize your life... passively!

• 10:06 . . .  how to prioritize... for control freaks

• 11:17 . . .  why we put part of this episode elsewhere.

• 12:15 . . .  why Berna recommends the '5 Whys' to prioritize your life

• 14:00 . . .  how to successfully take a break from life

• 16:36 . . .  a mental trick that will help you take a break

• 18:15 . . .  how taking a break fixes your brain

• 19:23 . . .  how taking a break is going to impact your followers

• 20:32 . . .  Berna's self-assigned homework

• 21:32 . . .  how to do Berna's homework with her

• 23:07 . . .  what Berna's dreading

• 23:54 . . .  what Jema's dreading

What should I spend money on as a new blogger?

• I keep seeing one professional blogging course after another. Are they worth it?  How do I know?
• If I decide to get a blogging-for-beginners course, how do I choose a good one?
• How do I know where to spend money for blog growth? SEO?  Graphic design?  Consultant? 

• How do I find the best blogging course?

Links to references made in this episode:

• The Don’t Keep Your Day Job podcast episode – (where Seth Godin explains the important money mindset you should have around things you do for your future vs. things you buy for yourself).

• Felicia's Wallet Video Series – (where you can follow Berna's change in money-mindset).

• Shawn Matthew's Swagbot Creative – (where you can connect with the miracle man who designed our logo if you’re in the market for that sort of thing).

• The 99 Designs logo package - (where you get multiple submissions from many designers.  But we were wrong about the price!  It's $299.)

• Our last episode about marketing – (where we talk about the importance of breaking things down into baby steps  vs. attempting to take an overwhelming bite... and ultimately feeling like a failure).

• The Monthly Report episode – (where we talked about the fact that there are some things that don't deserve your attention more than once a quarter – true for reporting, true for marketing!).

•  Places to talk to us online:

  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

Timestamp Listening:

• 2:30 . . . The mindset that will help you answer “what should I spend money on as a new blogger?”

• 5:22 . . . Two things that will happen if you invest money in your site

• 7:03 . . . What you need to admit before deciding where to spend money for blog growth

• 9:39 . . . Step one to do before shopping for the best blogging courses

• 10:48 . . . What will happen if you don’t spend money for blog growth

• 12:52 . . . The #1 thing to consider before purchasing a professional blogging course

• 18:46 . . . Two ways to know whether or not a course is going to be good value

• 21:28 . . . How to find the very best blogging course

• 22:49 . . . Berna's self-assigned homework from the episode

• 24:20 . . . How to get your Ticket 2 Blog fix between episodes

• 25:46 . . . Berna's biggest current fail

• 26:42 . . . Jema's biggest current fail

• 29:42 . . . Bloopers!  Imperfections: we've got 'em!

How do I start promoting my blog without feeling like a bragging, dancing monkey? 

• What kind of blog marketing strategy should I start with?g?

• How do I balance creating content with marketing content?

• What are some blog marketing exercises I should try?

Links to references made in the podcast:

• The episode where Jema explains why it's an abuse of your privilege to feel insignificant

• The How to Hire an Entire Marketing Team without Spending Any Money article

• HeartandHustleKD.com - the home of Kellie Drewelow, coach for multipotentialites i.e. people who are doing a million things all the time

• How to Juggle Multiple Projects - the episode Kellie loved

• Podcast Movement 28-Day Challenge - the awesome free way to start-your-podcast.  (We used it to start T2B, and it's an example of something that we are always marketing for free because it's awesome and we got such good value out of it.)

• The SEO Challenge sign-up!  Add your name if you want to get onboard for the next challenge.

• The Monthly Report episode where Berna learned how to measure (among other things) the marketing performance she hopes to see after implementing ideas from this episode.

•  Places to talk to us online:

  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

Timestamp Listening:

• 1:14 . . . How to get over fears of self-promotion

• 6:44 . . . Berna's epiphany about how to measure herself as a creator

• 7:40 . . . 3 things that will quiet your marketing fears

• 8:53 . . . Why your marketing efforts are NOT you standing on a stage shouting vulnerably to everyone in the world

• 10:56 . . . Berna's current ideas about what "marketing" is

• 11:44 . . . The 3 most important digital marketing habits to cultivate

• 16:37 . . .  How to escape the worst parts of a marketing strategy

• 17:49 . . .  Blog marketing that always feels awesome and fun

• 19:09 . . .  3 marketing strategies you should use, why they're hard, and how they get easier

• 23:07 . . . Why you should implement these blog marketing tips only once per month

• 24:35 . . . The easy way to balance time to content creation & content marketing

• 27:24 . . . Berna's self-assigned homework from the episode

• 28:22 . . . An easy way to make the world more YOU-friendly

• 29:45 . . . What Berna's most dreading in her nomad life... and as a people pleaser

• 30:58 . . . What Jema is most dreading in her nomad life... and as a people pleaser

• 32:35 . . . Outtakes!

How do I look at my blog metrics without obsessing? 

• A a beginner blogger, what success metrics should I be tracking?

• What is considered good website traffic? 

• How many followers should I have?

• How many subscribers should I have?

• How do I get over the scariness of facing my numbers reality?

Links to references made in the podcast:

• The page about blog metrics beginners should track

• How Berna turned looking at her money numbers into a fun game that helped her to financial success.

• The episode we talked about Berna's Honda car battery dying

• The How to Get Free Flights and the How to Travel on $20 a Day info that Jema isn't sad about not forcing on sheep milkers.

• MOZ - one of the website statistic authorities giving website scores - in the form of DA and PA (domain authority and page authority). 

• Alexa - another website statistics authority that ranks sites globally and by region

• The packing list that we always talk about

• The free website Jema uses to check broken links

• Episode 13 - where we talked about the yucky aftermath of Berna doing a thing that got us a bunch of Instagram traffic

• Episode 5 - where we've talked about dealing with icky marketing

•  Places to talk to us online:

  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

• Jema's Wim Hof Facebook group you can request to join if you want an accountability partner for the 10-week fundamentals course

• Jema's Wim Hof Accountability email list... if that's more your speed.

Timestamp Listening:

Timestamp Listening:

• 2:00 . . . the most important thing to know about blog metrics
• 2:52 . . . how to know which blog metrics to track
• 3:16 . . . the four categories of tracking Jema uses
• 4:06 . . . the blog performance metrics that Jema actually likes tracking and where she gets those numbers
• 5:36 . . . things Jema tracks to have power in her industry and identify trends
• 7:03 . . . “important” blog success metrics that Jema tracks… with a heavy dose of skepticism
• 8:30 . . . why you don’t *have* to worry about bounce rates
• 11:13 . . one blog KPI it’s sometimes worth tracking
• 13:11 . . . why Jema thinks domain authority is bullsh*t
• 16:17 . . . what Jema does about broken links
• 17:33 . . . The google things jema cares about in her monthly report
• 18:10 . . . Berna’s empowering realization about what she should track
• 19:08 . . . Jema’s biggest blog metrics tracking mistake
• 22:15 . . . an empowering way to think about your blog success metrics
• 24:01 . . .  who you should be measuring yourself against
• 25:18 . . . how not to become a numbers-obsessed, over-stressed robot
• 27:03 . . . the thing in your life that will keep you on the path you want to be on
• 29:37 . . . Berna’s self-assigned homework from the episode
• 30:09 . . . another reason new creators should chill out about blog performance metrics
• 30:44 . . . the thing you should do before you start tracking ANY blog metrics
• 31:57 . . . how to get your Ticket 2 Blog fix between episodes
• 33:42 . . . what Berna is most dreading right now
• 34:59 . . . what Jema is most dreading right now
• 37:59 . . . Bloopers!

Will I lose readers if I change my focus?

(timestamps below)

• Is it a beginner-blogger-mistake to focus on too many topics?
• How do I reign it in? Should I?

• How do I find my niche if I have tons of passions?

• I'm scared to focus in on one thing and lose readers in the process.  Should I?

• Could I have a bigger impact if I just focus on one thing?

Links to references made in the podcast:

• Berna's fledgling (awesome!) personal finance creations

• One of Berna's top travel hack articles 

• The Blog Abroad - written by Gloria Atanmo (Berna's favorite travel blogger who she would listen to... no matter what Gloria talked about.)

• The Budgetnista - home of Berna's favorite personal finance content creator, Tiffany Aliche

• An example of how to nest a new project with what you're already doing: Check out how this podcast appears on Jema and Berna's internet homes.

• The last episode where Berna had a brand identity crisis: Why Projects Fail... and What Your Audience Thinks

• Regina's Ideal Reader Profile

• The episode about taking a break from your life: How to Juggle Multiple Projects 

• The How to Have Time for Everything exercise that Jema just did again on her break that showed her how important it is to be intentional about what you do with your time... so you don't miss out on things like fireworks shows.

• Places to talk to us online:
  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

Timestamp Listening:

• 1:42 . . . Why you probably don't have to worry that much about how to brand yourself

• 4:54 . . . when beginners SHOULD focus on one topic

• 5:30 . . . the niche ideas Berna's juggling

• 6:15 . . . how Jema's website changed with new niches
  (and how many years it took)

• 8:42 . . . how to start a new site... without starting a new site

• 9:27 . . . what fans need to know about projects vs. what you need to know

• 11:17 . . . why you don't lose followers when you switch niches

• 12:32 . . . how to talk about your many niches without sounding like a hot mess.

• 14:59 . . . why you're probably the only one who's confused about your brand identity

• 16:10 . . . why losing followers should make you happy

• 17:58 . . . how many iterations Jema's audience has stuck with her through

• 19:56 . . . what your main goal should be as a creator

• 22:29 . . . Berna's homework

• 23:38 . . . Berna remembers her last brand identity crisis

• 25:09 . . . A technique to get niche-level results... without being forced into a niche

• 28:26 . . . Berna's biggest fail-of-the-moment

• 29:26 . . . Jema's biggest (airport!) fail-of-the-moment

Is there a sane social media and content creation strategy?

(timestamps below)

• Which social media platforms do I need to be on? 

• Which social media platform is best for business?

• How do I choose which format to use for an idea (video? blog? insta post?)

• How do I choose which platform an idea belongs on?

•  

  Which platform(s) do my followers want me to be on?

• Which channels best serve my goals as a content creator?

Links to references made in the podcast:

• The episode where we explain Warren Buffet's favorite exercise for clarity around everything from which social media platforms to use to what you should be doing right now with your time and life.
• The episode that you didn't see any publicity for because Jema thought it was more important that Berna get an opportunity to learn about her boundaries/the reality of "sunset."
• Internships!  If you think you'd like free lessons on how-to-do online creator life, email us with a list of what you'd like to learn and why and your thoughts around why you'd make a good student.
• Case study: Jema's website that she hasn't spent much time on this year (because of the podcast) but that is still doing just fine.
• Places to talk to us online:
  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

Timestamp Listening:

• 1:42 . . . how to choose a format and venue for your content

• 4:00 . . . the best social media platform for marketing if you're a travel blogger

• 4:46 . . . a tool to discover which platforms to be on and which content formats to use.

• 9:10 . . . why Berna struggles so much qth the "what social media should I use?" question.

• 10:10 . . . an analysis paralysis cure for format and content decisions

• 10:37 . . . the cue content creators should take from farmers

• 11:31 . . . the responsibility content creators have to their ideas

• 12:29 . . . the mistake that kills ideas

• 13:32 . . . how to overcome analysis paralysis: method 2

• 13:46 . . . how to know the importance of each of your ideas

• 14:07 . . . where ideas come from and how to get more

• 14:42 . . . one thing that happens a lot in this podcast

• 15:25 . . . what you risk when you wait to take action on an idea

• 15:52 . . . the empowering process you should follow when creating

• 16:34 . . . how long you have to capture and start leveraging on an idea

• 18:11 . . . what working for Instagram's CEO taught Berna about workflow while

• 18:58 . . . how to eliminate a big barrier to progress in the creative process

• 21:30 . . . our whole episode summarized in 28 seconds

• 21:58 . . . how to empower yourself to live in ways that DON'T screw you over

• 25:38 . . . the exercise to figure out which platforms you should be on

• 28:32 . . . the hard thing creators have to do to be successful

  30:49 . . . Berna's self-assigned homework from the episode - that's she's really excited about.

  32:30 . . . how to get your T2B fix between episodes

  34:24 . . . what Berna's most dreading right now in her life

  35:49 . . . the surprising thing Jema is most dreading

  37:30 . . . how you can hear the funny stories that happen behind the scenes

   

How Do You Make Money as a Digital Nomad?

(timestamps below)

• How can I create an income and a living as a digital nomad, without selling out or compromising my morals?
• How can I overcome my fear of lack of money as a creator?
• How can I develop better emotions around money so I can focus on having the courage to create?

Links to references made in the podcast:

• FAQs about how Jema makes money
• Meg Jay TED Talk about spending your time intentionally
• The Brene Brown book with the quote about the creator doubt never going away 

Places to talk to us online:

1. Ticket2Blog.com
2. Instagram
3. Facebook
4. New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

Timestamp Listening:

0:42 . . . Who are these people? Jema & Berna introduce themselves

2:52 . . . How Jema started her first online business (and why she quit immediately)

4:47 . . . The first two mistakes Jema made while trying to make money as a digital nomad

6:10 . . . The 8 different ways you can make money as a digital nomad (and why Jema does basically none of them)

8:11 . . . The two big things Jema does do to make a living as a digital nomad

10:24 . . . Why twenty-somethings need to figure out what they care about right now

12:19 . . . Why Jema hated making money as a digital nomad (at first)

13:53 . . . Berna's biggest money struggle as a freelancer 

15:30 . . . How Jema manages her earnings, saving and investing goals as a digital nomad

16:08 . . . How Jema survived on a $20-a-day digital nomad income

17:28 . . . That time Jema ran out of money and had to take a job shoveling horse sh*t (true story)

20:25 . . . Why Jema refuses to try and earn a six-figure income as a digital nomad

21:02 . . . That time a friend got tricked by a sellout blogger

22:06 . . . What would it take to become a super-rich digital nomad?

26:50 . . . Should digital nomads take on commissioned work when their own content isn’t making them money?

29:28 . . . Why you should set your freelance prices higher than you think

31:50 . . . What it feels like to battle imposter syndrome and not valuing yourself enough

33:30 . . . Why the world’s best animators still feel imposter syndrome and self-doubt

35:10 . . . Berna’s self-assigned homework challenge

36:39 . . . Berna pledges to fight her fear of money loss by defining the value of her time

38:34 . . . How you can catch Ticket2Blog on the internets between episodes

40:32 . . . Berna’s biggest win of the week (how she learned to make friends with math)

42:00 . . . Jema’s biggest fail of the week (why she’s so freakin’ cranky today)

How Do You Deal With Money Fears?

(timestamps below)

• What do you do financially to live life on the road long-term
• How does your budget change when you start to work AND travel?
• How often should you spend huge amounts of money on fancy dinners or adventure activities?
• How do you keep the need for security from taking up too much of your travel time?

Links to references made in the podcast:

• How to work exchange like Jema was when recording this ep
• How to house sit like Berna was when recording this ep
• How Jema affords to travel
• How to travel on $20 a day
• 6 Unspoken Truths About Making Money While Traveling
• How Berna went from hating budgeting to cashed-up globetrotter
• Youthnotes - one of Berna's passions
• Gifts of Imperfection - the Brene Brown book that reveals what's actually important to you... isn't on a bucket list
• Jema's packing list she didn't even know was #1 on Google because she was so focused on just doing what she loved
• The story of the two women who did what they loved when they were down to just $300 in their pockets
• The become-a-house sitter program and team those women designed after house sitting for years.
• The free videos they made about creating a roaming income.
• The job where I made thousands of dollars a month.
• How to design an accountability partner relationship 
   
• Places to talk to us online:
  • Ticket2Blog.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • New Blogger Support Crew (also Facebook)

Timestamp Listening:

• 3:10 . . . Jema's travel budget when she first started traveling
• 5:01 . . . How long Jema went before needing to adjust her budget
• 5:46 . . . Why Jema picked New Zealand to start her travels
• 7:23 . . . - Jema's second spending shift and why it happened
• 10:31 . . . - Berna questions her budget
• 11:21 . . .- How to balance the urge to spend big
• 12:27 . . . - Work and travel misconceptions
• 14:11 . . . - How do you make time for the "travel" part of work and travel?
• 16:28 . . . - Why your travel/work default will screw you over and what do to about it
• 19:50 . . . - Did Jema get financial stability in her life after she started working on her blog? 
• 20:09 . . . - what newbie travelers don't know about travel that causes them to drive themselves into the ground
• 22:12 . . . - how to work remotely AND be happy
• 25:02 . . . - how to do what you love without worrying about money
• 30:13 . . . - how to stop worrying about having enough money
• 31:21 . . . - what's it was like for Jema to have plenty of money
• 33:09 . . . - the two forces that calm money anxiety
• 35:21 . . .- the most important ingredient to get what you want out of life - money or otherwise
• 36:55 . . .  Berna's self-assigned episode homework
• 38:00 . . . - how to pick an accountability partner
• 39:45 . . . - How to get your Ticket 2 Blog fix between episodes
• 41:17 . . . - Berna's biggest fail of the week
• 42:39 . . . - Jema's biggest fail of the week
• 45:41 . . . - outtakes!