Alexa Mason started her blog in 2012 after getting divorced and starting all over again. She took out a loan to buy a trailer which she moved to a spare lot beside her dad’s house. Alexa will be the first to tell you that it was a tough road, but her blog is now making close to $6,000 per month.[adrotate group=”4″]

Alexa’s story is not about getting rich quick. Her journey as a blogger is a lot of trial and error, and, of course, caffeine and sleepless nights. But, she did it. She is making a solid income with her blog.

In the following interview we will be covering several blogging related topics:

  • How Alexa started her blog?
  • How is she marketing her blog?
  • The way Alexa is monetizing her blog.
  • How does Alexa determine what topics to blog about?
  • …and several more important topics.

I recommend that you check out our “How to Start a Blog” post, to find out exactly what you need to get started on your own blog.

 

Success Harbor: What were your goals when you have started Single Moms Income?

Alexa Mason: I started Single Moms Income when I decided that I was going to be financially successful as a single mother. I used the blog to chronicle all the different things I was trying to do to both increase my income and create financial stability for my family.

Success Harbor: What were the most effective ways to drive traffic to Single Moms Income during the first year of blogging?

Alexa Mason: During the first year of blogging I guest posted like crazy. I submitted guest posts to dozens of blogs which really helped me build a readership.

Success Harbor: At what point were you thinking about monetizing your blog?

Alexa Mason: I thought about monetizing my blog from the very beginning but have drastically changed my strategy over the years.

Success Harbor: How many different ways have you and are monetizing your blog today?

Alexa Mason: I have tried many different things when it comes to monetization. Currently, I monetize through ad networks, affiliate links, sponsored posts, and a very small portion through products. Right now ad networks bring in the most income for me.

Success Harbor: How do you determine the topics that you write about?

Alexa Mason: I originally just blogged about whatever seemed interesting to me at the time. Because of that, I’ve written blog posts on many topics. I now just focus on the topics that get the most reader responses and most traffic. [adrotate group=”4″]

Success Harbor: What is your process for creating blog posts that are better than competing blog posts?

Alexa Mason: When I’m focusing on creating a piece of content I want to do really well I pay attention to detail. Instead of just giving my opinion or general information I like to make the post long and detailed with references to trusted sources.

I think the process of making a great blog post is fairly straightforward it just takes a lot of time to put together.

Success Harbor: What are your most effective traffic building tactics?

Alexa Mason: Right now most of my traffic comes from Pinterest and Google.

Long, detailed posts normally do really well in Google search and joining group boards on Pinterest and sharing each day helps generate a lot of traffic.

Success Harbor: Can you give us an idea of what you are spending your time on to keep your blog going and growing?

Alexa Mason: The top two things I spend my time one are writing and social media. Writing good content will always be number one.

Success Harbor: What tactics can you recommend to those bloggers who would like to get paid writing gigs? What process should they take?

Alexa Mason: You have to be okay with pitching yourself. I received all of my paid writing jobs by introducing myself to the people I wanted to write for. There’s a lot of competition on job boards when it comes to freelance writing jobs. Cold pitching is a much more reliable way to find writing jobs.

I have the step-by-step tutorial on how to find writing jobs here.

Success Harbor: What tactics can you recommend to those bloggers who have a hard time getting traction with their blogs? What process should they take?

Alexa Mason: Look through your Google Analytics account and pay attention to what type of posts do the best and where your traffic is coming from. Start writing more on the things that already do well for you and spend your time increasing traffic sources that are already strong.

Also, don’t give up. It can take a while to make a blog profitable.

Success Harbor: How can people find out more about you or get in contact with you?

Alexa Mason: People can find me on my blog, Single Moms Income and on Facebook.

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