(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)
This last year has been a big year for Snail Pace Transformations. I entered 2013 with just over 4,000 unique visitors and just over 10,000 page views in the month of December 2012 and I am ending it with over 63,000 unique visitors and over 117,000 page views in the month of December 2013.
I have a lot of people to thank for those growing numbers. So many people who have read or shared my blog, or gave me wisdom on how to improve.
One source of wisdom I tapped into this year that helped me grow were ebooks. Inexpensive and quick to read I found them to be a wealth of knowledge of what it takes to create a growing blog.
Here are 5 ebooks that have helped me grow my blog numbers
For the longest time I struggled with feeling like I was playing with writing and it was holding me back in giving my blog my all. Then I read Jeff Goins “You Are A Writer So Start Acting Like One” and I no longer feel like I am a child playing pretend. I am a writer who operates a professional blog.
Now that the new year is upon us I want to go back and read iBloom in Business again this is a great book for thinking through exactly what you want to do with your blog. It will help you set clearly defined goals and help you lay out realistic steps for those goals.
3. Pinterest Savvy: How I Got 1 Million Followers
At the beginning of 2013 I really had not done a lot on Pinterest. I had a follow button on my sidebar and I had slapped up a few random boards and pinned only about once a week. I was missing out on a valuable source of traffic that I did not fully understand until I read all 3 out of 5 ebooks I am sharing with you.
Pinterest Savvy was the first of the three ebooks I read discussing Pinterest. When I had finished reading it I felt like my brain was going to explode. Not that the content was over my head, Taylor does a great job describing things in a very visual way that suited my visual learning style to a T. No my head was exploding with all the good information of when to pin, what to pin, how to organize your Pinterest boards and more.
4. Pinteresting: Pinterest Strategies for Brands and Bloggers
I read Pinteresting after Pinterest Savvy and although it does go over much of the same material the added insight I got from Pinteresting makes it well worth its asking price; even after reading another ebook on the same topic. Tabitha Philen does a great job in explaining the ins and outs of Pinterest in simple easy to understand terms and includes various free printables to help you grow your Pinterest in an organized manner.
5. How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul
If you can only afford the time to read one book right now that will help you grow your blog, I suggest you purchase How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul. I read this ebook days after it released in late September 2013 and by following the tips in it for 30 days I doubled my income, doubled my Pinterest followers, doubled my unique visitors and grew my Facebook page significantly, and I am still following those tips months later and still seeing great growth. Ruth Soukup covers everything from content to presentation, to building traffic (excellent chapter on Pinterest) ad revenue, to time management.
(I can’t finish this post without also sharing with you one book that also helped me grow my blog this year. It is not an ebook but a full length book that you can also get in real paper from. The book is Platform by Micheal Hyatt This book will really help you to set a firm foundation for your blog to grow from)
If you are a fellow mom trying to grow your blog into a steady income source without letting it take over your life join my Snail Pacing Bloggers Facebook Group.
Get snail-e-mail in your inbox each week!
A weekly email with the feel of snail mail. A peek into my week, a few deals so good I just have to share, and links to all of Snail Pace Transformations latest posts!
Thanks for this list! I have read How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul and it is a truly incredible book. Now I am reading Pinteresting (love Tabitha!) and I just got Platform yesterday. I’ll be checking out your other recommendations too – thanks!
Just a suggestion but for your site Alisha you might want to think about creating a few Baby themed community boards on Pinterest and contact a few other bloggers who do baby DIY’s and such call it “all things baby” or something like that so it is broad enough to attract a lot of pinners who might want to join.
This is a great post. I loved the book by Jeff Goins and I enjoyed Pinteresting but haven’t done much with that knowledge yet. I have “How to Blog for Profit” and need to read it! Thanks for the inspiration to work a little harder!
Love this list! My Amazon wishlist just got a nice boost. Thanks! I also realized I bought one of the books a while back and forgot about it. *blush* I should probably go through my library and find other gems I may have forgotten about.
Don’t blush I do that all the time too! In fact I just realized I used paperbackswap credit to order a book I already had on Kindle form! Slapped my forehead over that one.
Wow! These books look great. Thanks for the recommendations. Very inspirational… Warmest wishes, Jane
What a great list. I have ‘How to Blog for Profit’ and absolutely love it. I am working through it bit by bit after reading it all the way through (it’s just so fascinating!!). I have also purchased ‘Pinterest Savvy’ and am slowly getting my head around Pinterest. It truly is a fascinating Social Media platform. Thanks for the other suggestions. Will definitely be adding them to my reading list.