Shopping for wordpress themes is fun and exciting, but I’m not going to lie it can be a real b**tch too trying to find the perfect one to represent your brand. I mean, this is YOUR WEBSITE, it’s the first impression people have of your business, it has to be beautiful and create a powerful, positive user experience! That’s a big role to fill!
Luckily, I’ve been at the blogging and marketing game for a LONG time and I’ve come across thousands of themes and different companies that build sites, and I’ve rounded up a list of some of my favorite places to buy cute wordpress themes perfect for bloggers or small businesses.
Here are some of my favorites, I promise you’ll find something cute you love at one of these shops!
Hello You Designs
I have several friends with a Hello You Designs theme and they all have the most stunning sites, so these themes deliver awesome results! Shop Here.
BluChic
My current theme is from Bluchic! All their themes are so pretty and feminine, and easy to install! Shop Here.
Bella Creative Studio
If you’re looking for something a little bit more inexpensive, most of these themes are in the $30-$40 range and are very light and airy in design, seriously such cute WordPress themes! Shop Here.
Kotryna Bass Designs
Another super inexpensive option for a beautiful WordPress theme, and they offer FREE Install services (at least they do right now at the time I’m writing this!). Most themes you can install yourself, but if you’re new to WordPress this is a huge value to have help with installation! Shop Here.
Restored 316
They have so many different styles to meet all types of different tastes, which is amazing! Their themes are built on the Genesis Framework which is good to keep in mind because you’ll need to have that, but they are functional and beautiful. Shop Here.
17th Avenue Designs
I love that they have a few different price options for their themes in different budgets. All of these themes are really feminine and sweet. Shop Here.
Pipdig
Pipdig has really beautiful, clean designs and they have SO many options! I’ve heard great things about their support team as well! Shop Here.
WP Royal
This company has a smaller selection, but I love that they have a couple of FREE templates to try use that are really clean and nice! Shop Here.
Studio Mommy
I love sTudio Mommy themes and they have really affordable options, whether you want something for just a blog or something that’s a little bit more built out (they have both premium and blog site templates!) Shop Here.
Hirschi Creative
This is a newer discovery of mine and I recently found out they’re local to Utah (like me!), and I LOVE shopping local! They have really fun, exciting designs that are a little bit more upscale. Shop Here.
Sky and Stars Design
This is a super cute Etsy shop that has hundreds of great reviews! I first discovered them when my friend purchased one of their themes, and I’ve been obsessed ever since! Shop Here.
Etsy
Speaking of Etsy shops, you can find just about anything on Etsy and their selection of cute WordPress themes from hundreds of talented designers is no exception. Shop Here.
Creative Market
I LOVE Creative Market! Similar to how Etsy works, brilliantly talented designers have small businesses on Creative Market that sell gorgeous, responsive WordPress themes. Shop Here.
I hope this list of shops is helpful with your search for the perfect, cute WordPress themes! If you know of any great places to buy themes (or maybe you sell them yourself!) drop them in the comments!
Earning money as an influencer is NOT for the faint of heart or the lazy. If you remember, I recently posted about the importance of investing in yourself and mentioned that I’ve been taking the LadyBossBlogger course, How to Make Money As An Influencer. Now that I’ve had a few weeks to digest all of the content, I want to share some of my biggest takeaways that I’ve learned about earning money as an influencer!
There is more than one way to make money
Maybe this seems like an obvious one, but it seems like most people assume that bloggers and influencers get all of their money entirely from sponsored posts and affiliate links. The truth is, there are so many more ways to earn money as an influencer!
There are way more ways to work with brands than just doing a sponsored post, for example, you can create content for them to use on their own social channels, or you can do sponsored videos or ads. You can also create your own product to sell, such as an e-course, and promote it. You can sell your own freelance services.
It’s important to diversify your income streams!
Like I mentioned, I’m learning there are so many ways to make money as an influencer, and it’s important to utilize multiple strategies to find what works best for you. The most successful influencers have a combination of income streams that make up their earnings as a business.
After reviewing the Lady Boss Blogger’s course, I’ve found several new ways to earn money that I wasn’t previously utilizing. I discovered some new affiliate programs, and I just sent out the third pitch email I’ve ever sent!
Joining the right affiliate programs is important
There are TONS of affiliate network programs out there, you need to do your research and join ones that are going to be the best fit for YOU and your brand. In the Lady Boss Blogger Course I took, Elaine Rau lays out a bunch of popular affiliate networks with information about using them, so you can make the most informed decision for yourself!
Planning is crucial
From creating a content calendar to staying organized and on top of your collaborations, planning out your content ahead of time is absolutely necessary to run a successful business as an influencer.
I already was using a content calendar to plan for regular Instagram posts, but something new I’ve started doing since taking the course is planning for sponsor content as well. This includes coming up with concept ideas that I can use to pitch myself, planning creative photoshoots and writing sessions, and organizing my calendar better.
If you earn money, it’s a business… which means you must pay taxes!
Ok, this one I did already know, but taxes are one of those things that scare the living shizz out of me because I’m terrified of doing them wrong! I literally have my dad help me every year as I’m doing them haha.
I’ve taken a bunch of social media courses before, and so far Elaine’s course is the ONLY ONE that talks about paying taxes as an influencer that earns money. She keeps it simple so it’s easy to understand and lays out the basics you need to know for paying taxes as an influencer, such as what form you need and how you need to pay them quarterly using income estimations.
Something else that I learned about is tracking my expenses better along with my income as an influencer. Previously I had just been tracking my income, but as a business, you are eligible for all sorts of deductions based on your expenses used for your business!
The course lays out a huge list of potential expenses that can be used as deductions, such as your website, costs for equipment or materials needed for content creation, any business tools you might pay for, and more. The list is super helpful!
The amount of earning potential you have depends on how much effort you put in!
This might be an obvious point, but it’s the most important one to remember. The more you reach out to brands, apply for partnerships, ask for campaigns, organically post about things you love, etc., the more opportunities you open up for yourself to potentially bring in money.
If you’re serious about earning money as an influencer, then you need to start prioritizing your business and creating opportunities for yourself. I highly suggest taking Elaine Rau’s course How to Make Money as an Influencer to give you a really good jumping-off point so that you have all the information you need to be successful with earning.
I actually have a discount code for you that will give you 40% off the course price (woo!), just use code: JESSICASOLIS at checkout!
Here are some other amazing resources Lady Boss Blogger has for you to check out:
As a small business owner, blogger, influencer, or whatever you are, there’s no doubt that investing in YOURSELF is the number one, best decision you can make!
I know, I know… It can be hard when you’re busy, juggling schedules of kids and your day job, trying to build connections for your brand, and did we mention remembering things like drinking enough water? Did you engage enough on instagram yet? Are you going to have enough money for bills this month? Is dinner burning in the oven????
Girl… I’m here. I get you. I see you. THIS IS MY LIFE.
And because I’ve been right there, I know how hard it is to take time away from the whirlwind of life to focus on our own personal growth and invest in ourselves. But if we’re ever going to get OUT of the whirlwind and take control of our business and build our dreams, it’s 10000% necessary, so I want to share with you some really easy ways to start investing in yourself that you can start doing now, without dropping all of the other balls you’re juggling in your life!
First up, let’s talk education!
Education is one of the most important steps you can take to really grow your business, because it’s going to help you understand the decisions you make and help you navigate those choices strategically!
There are a ton of resources out there RIGHT NOW that are easy to access online (so feel free to pop some popcorn and stay in your sweatpants while you learn!) One that I became aware of lately is Lady Boss Bloggers, which is a site started by Elaine Rau to help educate aspiring new bloggers and influencers. There are tons of free resources, articles, courses, and blog posts available!
I also had the opportunity to take one of the Lady Boss Blogger courses, How to Make Money as an Influencer. I want to state very clearly that this post is sponsored by Lady Boss Bloggers, but all opinions are my own and I don’t promote products that I don’t believe in. Period.
And I’ll be totally honest, up front I was very skeptical because I hate when courses cost money and you never really know if the material they give you is going to be worth the value. I was worried I would invest my time and energy going through a course that wasn’t valuable or had information I’d already seen everywhere else, but after running through the course I’m SO GLAD I chose to give it a try!
I’ve taken a lot of courses over the years (I even created my own course about Pinterest, as many of you know!), and the amount of educational value packed into a course is one of the most important things to look for.
If you’re interested in learning how to make money as an influencer, this course has just about everything you need. It dives deep into details about how to build your online brand and voice, and includes a TON of real life examples and real-world application, which for someone like me is super helpful. I feel like it had my creative juices going the whole time!
One of the hard things about educating yourself is not knowing what it is that you need to learn!
Sure, you might know what you want your business to look like, but WHAT do you need to learn so you can get there? The amazing thing about Elaine’s course I mentioned is that it breaks down everything very simply, there’s never any confusion about what the next step is or what you need to learn next.
The course clearly lays out what you need to start, how to build your brand as a creator on instagram, how the money-earning process works, and what you need to do to earn money yourself. It’s all step by step.
The second thing that it is imperative you invest in yourself, is TIME.
And wow, can this be a difficult one to accomplish! I know you’ve got a million things on your schedule, balancing work and family life, trying to find moments of quiet for even just a second of self care. Let me tell you, investing time in yourself IS self care.
Girl, you need to take care of you! Sometimes, investing time into yourself means giving yourself permission to rest. Sometimes, investing time into yourself means that you’re putting the hours in to work on projects that will help your business grow.
Taking the time to build your email funnels, curate content for instagram, and pitch to brands to earn money are all perfect examples of that! Another amazing way to invest time into yourself is to take an ecourse to improve your knowledge and help you build a strategy so you can work smarter instead of harder.
Another really cool resource that I found that’s FREE from Lady Boss Bloggers is this 5-day course on how to make money using affiliate marketing. It’s totally free, so the only investment you make is your TIME, and girl, you’re worth it! Gift that time to yourself!
If you’re trying to build your dream, you need to invest money into yourself.
I’m a frugal person with a family, so I’ll be the first to admit that spending money on anything for myself or my dreams can feel “selfish,” but girl, if you’re serious about building that business to support yourself and your family, it’s the furthest thing from selfish! You NEED to invest in yourself!
You can start small, investing in your online presence with a website and some tools that will help you build your brand. Something that I’ve learned since taking the Lady Boss Blogger’s course is that it’s important to invest in your own education and tools to be successful.
In the How to Make Money as an Influencer course I mentioned, Elaine walks you through the best resources to find and use that are free, and she makes some excellent recommendations for paid tools that are going to seriously uplevel your business and help you grow as an influencer. She helps you to understand exactly where it’s important to spend your dollars so you make the best investment for yourself.
Again, if you want to check out the full course for yourself you can take 40% off the price with code: JESSICASOLIS and you can find that link here!
I’m also giving away a FREE ECOURSE of your choice from Lady Boss Bloggers! Ahhh! The giveaway will be over on instagram this week so just pop on over there to enter!
For the giveaway, all you have to do is follow me, follow @elainerau and @ladybossbloggers, and then tag your friends in the comments on the giveaway post. The winner will be asked to share a post of themselves announcing that they won, and then you get a free course of your choice! Woo! Be sure you’re following me on instagram so you can enter as soon as the giveaway is live!
I hope this is helpful in convincing you that girl, it’s time you invest in yourself! There are a lot of ways to do it, you just have to start!
**Thank you again to Lady Boss Bloggers for sponsoring this post! You babes have created a kickass product!**
In case you’re interested, here are some additional Lady Boss Blogger Resources:
My girls are completely obsessed with animals (especially Emi!) and love animal shows, so when Disney+ came out last year with so many great movies and shows to watch for little animal lovers…. Our world was ROCKED.
I mean there are just SO many amazing Disney shows with animals, aren’t there??
So I asked the girls what their favorite Disney animal shows are and why, and I have a bunch of my own favorites, too! I took the list and compiled it all together here for you!
For your little ones that love animals (or for the kids-at-heart!), here are some of the best Disney movies and TV shows on Disney+ that you’ll want to see for yourself!
The Lion King
Both the cartoon and the new real-life adaptation are stunning. The music is totally original and makes my heart swell, and you get to see all of the classic animals that roam the African savannahs! I love that about this show! My girls both learned all of the African animals from watching this and The Lion Guard on repeat.
The Lion Guard
Speaking of the Lion Guard….. This is personally one of my favorite Disney Jr. shows to watch. I love kids movies, but kid tv shows often grate on my nerves haha. As fun as some of the others are, I get really tired of hearing Sofia’s voice haha. This one is different! I love the Lion Guard and that it always teaches principles of respect towards nature and each other. Plus they always have the best, catchy songs!
Finding Nemo and Finding Dory
These are both my very favorite under-the-sea movies in existence! I’ve always been so fascinated with underwater life, I’m convinced I’m a mermaid at heart (who else?), and I think the story in both of these movies is really touching and heartwarming.
Bluey
Ok I admit, I wasn’t convinced on this one at first… but my two girls LOVE Bluey! It’s all about this cute little dog. They get into mischief and fun, and the episodes are quick and perfect for some of the younger kids.
Lady and the Tramp
Speaking of cute dogs, Lady and the Tramp, the live-action movie!! Yet another one that I was not really convinced would be very good, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by! I think this one is a little better for slightly older kids (my toddler is completely disinterested), but perfect for those kiddos that love all things dog.
Zootopia
I’m not sure if I have ever cried harder in a Disney movie than while watching Zootopia! It tackles so many issues, from prejudice and bias, to racism and feminism, to crime and honesty. It’s so flawlessly done. I love that it teaches kids they can be whoever they want to be, and follow their dreams, regardless of who they are or what their background is. It’s beautiful.
A Bug’s Life
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and it’s still one of my favorites! I think it gives a fresh perspective on the roles bugs play in the environment in an easy-to-understand format, and the music is great. It’s a little non-traditional compared to the typical “animal” movie, since the animals are all insects! Super cute!
TOGO
This one is a little intense for younger kids and definitely more emotion stirring, but it’s done so well and has a beautiful story. My oldest loves this one.
The Crimson Wing
A documentary all about flamingos, if you’ve got a babe that loves the color pink, they’ll love learning all about these pink birds!
Unlikely Friends
Ok about this… hold onto your heart if you love animals because I serioulsy couldn’t stop “awe” ing at the tv the entire time. It’s sooo sweet! It’s a documentary and shows off all sorts fo animal pairs that you wouldn’t think could be friends, and yet they are. So cute!
Born in China
This one is my favorite documentary of all of them, and there are quite a few on Disney+ now! I love nature documentaries in general, but this particular one follows a handful of animals (specific to China geographically) as they are born and how they grow and live. It’s narrated by Jim Halpert… oops, I mean John Krasinski… and I think he does an amazing job of making it entertaining.
Ok I know Disney Plus literally has everything right now, and they add more and more daily! For you with animal lovers in your family, what are your favorite animal shows?? I need to add some more to our list!
(On a side note before we go, if you’re a Disney lover and an animal lover, you’ve GOT to add Disney’s Animal Kingdom to your list of places to go! I wrote a post about all the things you should have on your Animal Kingdom bucket list here, be sure to check it out!)
Ah, Disney, you truly have my heart and soul! I always get asked why I keep going back over and over, when I’ve already been and I have so many other places I could go.
My answer? DISNEY MAGIC.
It really is magical there! I know, the heat, the crowds, the tired feet, the screaming kids… those aren’t necessarily everyone’s idea of a dream. But Disney is SO much more than that. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or that I’m obsessed with Disney movies and I love the theming, but ultimately it all boils down to Disney Magic. They just know how to make it happen for every person that walks through those gates!
Obviously there are the big things that at are magical, but what truly makes the difference between Disney and just another vacation experience are the DETAILS. Ah, those little Disney details have my heart!
So, because I’m having major Disney withdrawals I decided to make a list of some of my favorite little things that Disney just does RIGHT, the things I love about Disney World, and turn them into a blog post!
And then I extended the invitation to you on instagram and got some of the most fun responses, so I included those in this list too!
Here are all of our favorite Disney details that truly make the Disney experience something magical!
The smell of the water rides!
Seriously, is there anything better or more familiar than the sweet smell of Pirates of the Caribbean or Splash Mountain? My nostrils are singing just thinking about it!
How Disney swirls the Dole Whips perfect, every single time!
Seriously, have you ever seen a single Dole Whip swirl that was anything short of perfect? Such a small touch that leaves me in awe.
Hidden Mickeys
They’re literally everywhere. Some obvious, some not. It’s the level of attention they take in creating every experience that seriously just blows my mind! Plus it helps to have hidden mickeys to search for when waiting in long lines or for shows!
The sounds of main street
Walking in the gates and waltzing down main street is my actual favorite thing to do in the whole world. I love hearing the performers, the hustle from the shops, the sound of the balloons banging against each other in the wind…. Ahhhhh it’s so good.
All of the intricate details!
This is a broad one, I know, but have you ever turned a single corner and not seen little details down to the last crevice?? The parks are exploding with beautiful details, hidden Mickeys, little nods to Walt, etc. I find new things every time I explore.
The cast members
10000% this one takes the cake! The cast members are absolutely unbelievable! They are so nice, they’re efficient, and they truly care about creating a magical experience for their guests. We’ve had so many lovely cast members that have given us beautiful memories and “magic moments” that have totally elevated our experience.
How nice everyone is
GUESTS INCLUDED! I mean I know there are always rude people just about everywhere, and I’ve certainly seen a few in the parks, but for the most part everyone is in such a good mood and so friendly. I love that it is so inclusive, everyone from all walks of like consider it a “happy place.”
The character voices making announcements
Someone on instagram mentioned that she loved when character voices tell you to keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times…. And I had never realized it before now but I LOVE THAT TOO. Such a fun touch!
The atmosphere changes as you travel to different lands
This is something that I’ll never understand how they accomplish over at Disney. When you walk into a new land, everything changes, down to the last detail! You become completely immersed in the new land with sights, smells, sounds, and atmosphere! It’s so cool!
The smell of the food
I can’t write about this one because I’m drooling all over my keyboard just thinking about it.
The sounds of kids running around delighted
I love, and I mean LOVE, seeing kids giggling and laughing! It’s the most contagious, delightful feeling! It’s so fun to hear kids that are so happy as they’re getting on rides, watching the characters, etc. What amazing, positive energy they give off!
Why does this make me so happy? I can’t explain it. It’s just so fun to see everyone walking around in their chosen style of Minnie ears. It’s like a form of self expression and I’m HERE. FOR. IT.
The magic hour, right after golden hour but before it’s fully dark- WOW WOW WOW. It’s cooled off for the day, but not cold. The lights are all on but the sky still has a little bit of blue. It’s a perfect couple of minutes. Truly.
Watching the candy makers in the windows
Watching them dip apples or make candy is so mesmerizing and magic! I know i keep saying that I love it, but I truly do love it, ha!
DISNEY COKE.
I swear, it’s the best on earth. Coke tastes better in Disney than any other place on earth. Totally worth the thousands of dollars per bottle, haha.
The penny stretching machines
Why are they so fun? I love that they have the penny stretchers through all of the parks and they all have different designs specific to the part of the park that you’re in. It makes for a fun little experience and souvenir.
The non-ride / non-food activities!
I feel like mostly everyone thinks of Disney and they think of the rides and the food (understandably so!) but there is so much to do that ISN’T one of those! Like playing the Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom game, or the Wilderness Explorers challenges over at Animal Kingdom.
There is seriously SO much to do, you could get away without watching a single show or doing a single ride, and you’d still have a full day! There’s something for everyone to enjoy.
The clacking noise of Thunder Mountain Railroad
Is there anything more exciting than that noise as it carries you up to the next big drop and rush?? #heaven
The smell of the churros
Can you believe I’ve never actually eaten a Disney churro? I go for the Dole Whip every single time! But man I love the smell! And one of these days, I’m going to snag one instead of the Dole Whip and the universe is going to stand still.
My hope is to keep adding to this list and letting it grow and grow. The amazing, wonderful little things about Disney that make it magic are truly infinite! What are your favorites??
It’s no secret that I abhor valentines day. I know, I know, I love pink, hearts, all things lovey dovey and sparkly, and yet I HATE this holiday. I can’t explain it haha. BUT… for the last few years in a row I’ve made a kind of tradition out of the holiday of love. While everyone focuses on sharing love for others, I think it’s important to also celebrate love for yourself, and in honor of self love treat yourself to a little gift!
Since then, I’ve created a gift guide every year for gift ideas to get for yourself for Valentine’s day, and I’m excited to share some of my favorite ideas I’ve found for this year!
Girl, you share so much love for everyone else, you deserve to share that same amount of love for yourself! And you deserve to treat yourself too! Here are some great ideas!
New hair products from Dae Hair
This is Amber Fillerup’s new line, and it’s so good. I got myself the deep conditioner treatment and it smells like a desert vacation. Yummmmmm.
New makeup brushes
When was the last time you bought new makeup brushes? There’s nothing more luxurious feeling than a brand new makeup brush!
Mini getaway
Head to the spa for a day or even take a weekend trip for some alone time to work on a passion project, meditate, or just relax!
Mammogram and Papsmear
Ok I know this isn’t a glamorous option, but I don’t know a single woman that doesn’t put this off. Girls, your health matters. Protect yourself and get it scheduled.
A new pair of unique Minnie ears!
So this is probably just for those of you that are fellow Disney lovers like me… but there’s never a bad time to buy yourself some cute ears! I even have a whole blog post about small businesses I’ve discovered that sell some of the most creative ears you’ll ever see, find it here!
Bloomsy Box Subscription
I actually included this in my christmas gift guide last year but it’s too good not to share again! Bloomsy box has unique, beautiful flower arrangements that you can have dlelivered to you on a subscription basis (you choose how frequent) and there’s nothing that brightens the day quitge like fresh blooms!
Boudoir photoshoot
Whether you have a partner or not, you deserve to feel sexy and beautiful! Hit up a local photographer, or even set up your own tripod and get creating!
New lashes from Glam by Sara B.
Hands down, the best strip lashes I’ve ever owned. I wear them over and over and over. They’re fantastic. Splurge for them, they’re worth it. Find them here and use code GLAM10 for a discount!
Stance socks
Stance has taken the world by storm, and with good reason. Their socks are amazing! I have a few pair now and I feel like I’m living the luxury life every time they’re on my feet. I normally just get the cheap socks at Costco, so it’s nice to once in a while get a really awesome pair that I obsess over!
Classes for something you want to try
Pottery? Belly dancing? Skiing? Painting? Horseback riding? Ballet? Scuba diving? What’s something you’ve always wanted to try?! Get yourself a couple of classes or lessons and go enjoy yourself while you learn something new!
I started writing a caption for instagram about how to gain confidence after job loss, and it got so long that I decided to turn it into a full on post, ha!
This is a subject that is still something really sensitive for me. In fact, I wondered if I even had the guts to talk about it because even just thinking about losing a job makes me sick to my stomach. Literally. I feel like I’ve got PTSD from that trauma that I just haven’t mastered how to overcome, but I’ve come a long way in a year. The main thing is that I’ve figured out how to re-gain confidence after what happened. Now that it has been a year, I feel ready to share about gaining confidence after job loss.
For those of you here that have recently lost a job or gone through a job change that has really deflated your confidence, I hope you find this helpful and encouraging. I know it freaking sucks right now, but girl, YOU’VE GOT THIS. I promise.
My story.
A year ago, I walked into my office, fresh from breast reduction surgery, to find it totally empty. My manager was there with an HR representative, and a box for my things. To be honest, I’ve totally blocked out the conversation that came at that point. It’s a blur in my mind. I think I remember pieces of it… but mostly it feels like a big blank spot in my brain.
I remember walking out feeling totally blindsided and basically in shock at what had just happened. That day and the ones that followed were full of so many emotions, and all of them painful.
When the waves of shock wore off, they were followed by waves of panic. Panic about what I was going to do, my family relied on the income from that job. It was a really big deal. But the thing that surprised me the most about losing my job was not the fear that came with being jobless and having a family, it was the sudden, devastating blow to my self-esteem and confidence.
I’ve never felt so incapable, worthless, destroyed, invaluable, embarrassed, ashamed, or broken as I did in those moments.
The thing about losing a job is that it affects you on such a personal level, no matter what the “reason” is on the termination papers It always feels personal and it’s easy to come to the conclusion that somehow, you’re not skilled enough, worthy enough, good enough, etc. But this is a lie.
I repeat, this is a lie. Losing a job has absolutely ZERO impact on your value.
The Aftermath.
I sat in my car in the parking lot outside of my office for a very long time. I just couldn’t pull myself together enough to be coherent while driving. I remember calling my dad while parked., By the time I finally pulled it together enough to get home, he had sent me an email with some of the most powerful words I’ve ever had directed at me.
I’ve never felt so shaken in my confidence as I did in those moments, but reading these words changed my mindset. Truthfully, they are what got me through that time. I read that email multiple times, every single day. The subject line said, “Move Forward,” and in the email, he said,
“It’s ok to take a day, ball your eyes out, howl at the world for being unfair, and sulk, and even better if you only take the morning to do it. It is not okay to do it beyond today. Life keeps moving, and it moves really fast when you really need it to slow down. “
“Tomorrow…. You take the next step forward.”
So that’s what I did. I took the day to sit on the shower floor and sob while the water beat down on me. I called my mom and my aunt and vented my frustrations. I shut myself away and laid on the bed, staring at the wall and feeling numb. And then late that afternoon I took a deep breath, counted to five, and sat up.
I’m not sure why it is that the counting helps, but I’ve found that when I’m putting something off that I don’t want to do, it helps if I just take a deep breath, count to five, and force myself to do it. Then it’s done. It’s a great little trick.
Finding courage to have confidence moving forward.
The biggest adjustment the needs to be made when you’re trying to re-gain confidence after you’ve gone through something traumatic (like job loss), is your mindset.
The most important thing to remember is that no matter what the reason you lost your job is, it was a business decision. Whether you were laid off, let go, fired, terminated, forced to quit, whatever. Ultimately no matter how personal the situation feels, there was a business decision made to remove your employment at the company.
In the healing process, it’s crucial to understand this: IT. IS. A. BUSINESS. DECISION. You can’t go back and un-do it, no matter how nice or talented you are. Truth be told, this is life, getting ready to set you up for something even better.
I remember people telling me that these things “always happen for a reason,” and sometimes I believe that is true. However, sometimes things just happen, because that is life, and it’s our responsibility as humans to learn from it and grow with the changes.
Understanding that whatever the reason is for your job loss, it was ultimately about business, will help you focus your mind on the future.
The first step, evaluation.
The first thing I did after job loss to help me build confidence is I sat down and evaluated my life. What kind of life did I want to have? What kind of career would best suit that? What was I going to be happy doing?
In those fragile moments, it’s easy to settle for any old job because you feel like you just need *something*. But taking a few minutes to set your goals and expectations for yourself will help you direct that energy towards finding something that really is going to make your life better than before.
I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to share this list, or if it was too personal. But to help get your mind thinking about your own list, I’ve decided to share a few of the things that were on my list in regards to what I wanted out of my future job.
Here were some of the qualities I decided were important to me:
I want to have flexibility in my new position to be able to be the kind of mom I need to be for my kids (the ability to attend school activities, take time off if kids are sick, be flexible with daycare mishaps)
I will get paid what I’m worth, and not settle for less out of fear. If I find something that pays less than I’m worth and choose to accept, I will continue to search for something until I find the right fit.
I want the business I work for to be very concerned about their employees and their families.
I need the ability to work from home on occasion if an emergency or other situation something should arise.
I must connect with the person that will be managing me, and feel positive about entering a professional relationship with that person.
I will find a position that utilizes my strengths and skillsets, but also encourages growth and trying new things.
I will not work in a position ever again where I am severely micro-managed about every detail of the projects I work on, my creativity, or my communications.
I will not be abused in the workplace. I will not allow myself to be treated as though I am of lesser importance than any other person in the room.
I will work for a company that has good values and standards I believe in, and promote.
I will find a position that is a stepping stone to help grow my career. There will be room to grow and learn in that position.
Re-gaining control.
Going back to my story for a minute, I finally had the courage to stop laying on the bed staring at the wall. I called my aunt, and she gave me this brilliant reminder:
You cannot control what happened. It happened, and it’s done. But you CAN control what you do about it. Every thing you do from here forward is in YOUR control.
So, from here forward girl, I want you to know this: You are in control. You’ve got the power.
I made a list of everything that I was in control of that I could do about my unemployment situation. For example, updating a resume, messaging friends about job leads, and searching employment sites. I made notes of every business I came across online or driving by, and would check out their website for job listings.
Basically, I made myself BUSY. Instead of wallowing and stressing about my situation, I made a big old to-do list and got to work.
Now, I recognize that this is MY method, I’m a list person and I knew I wanted another job. However maybe you’re planning to take some time off for a while, or planning to start your own business, or something else.
Whether or not you are deciding to job hunt or go another path, the sting might still be there after the loss of your previous job. That is why it’s important to make a plan and take action to start living your new plan. When you feel like there is a purpose for what you’re doing, it’s much easier to feel confident in your actions.
Accepting failure.
Ouch. This one hurts. But unfortunately it is part of the process. My dad sent me a link to this incredible article about the importance of keeping a failure resume. If you have a minute, read the whole thing. It’s fantastic.
The article talks about how we learn so much more from failure than from successes. Evaluating what went wrong might be incredibly painful and invoke feelings of shame, guilt, or embarrassment, even if “what went wrong,” isn’t something that we could have controlled, but it’s a necessary step to find what you’re meant to learn from the experience.
Think about the type of person that you want to be, and how you can learn from your failures to improve who you currently are and work towards becoming that person.
Creating confidence.
No matter what your next step is, you’re going to be much more successful in anything you attempt if you’ve truly got confidence and believe in yourself.
I know, I know, easier said than done. But you can do it. Get out a notebook (or your phone) and make a list of what makes you happy, and everything you’re grateful for. Thinking about things you’re grateful for will help get you into a positive headspace for this next part.
Once you’ve made that list, start reflecting inward. Think about the things that you’ve accomplished, your successes, and your talents. You are strong, and smart, and a valuable, unique individual with so much to offer! Reach inward and make a list of all of the things you love about yourself and the things you’re good at!
Once you’ve got your list, keep it somewhere that you can access it easily. Any time you start feeling down, or afraid, or nervous- pull it out and read it. Remind yourself as often as you need to that you are a talented creature of significance, and don’t settle for less than you deserve!
To be perfectly honest, I still very much struggle with my confidence after what happened. Every time I start thinking about someone losing a job, I feel the urge to vomit. I have to physically remind myself REGULARLY that I have skills and talents to share, and that I’m valued and worthy at my new job. I still keep my list I originally made so that I can pull it out anytime, and sometimes I even add to it.
Conquering fear.
Sometimes it can be hard to separated ourselves from the circumstances surrounding us. It’s easy to wrap up our value as a person in things that happen to us. But it’s not fair to ourselves to do that. We may not be able to control the things that happen to us, but whatever happens, does not change the fact that we have so much to offer to the world.
Finding courage to move forward is a marker of your strength and resilience. As time passes, focus on the things that make you unique and submit to a spirit of learning as you explore the new possibilities.
It’s hard to imagine when you’re in the thick of it, but things DO always get better. when I first lost my job, I remember feeling confused. I thought I was so happy at that job and mourned not having it anymore. The new job I ended up getting was infinitely better, in so many ways. I can’t even imagine having ever been happy at that old job compared with the happiness I feel now. My experiences is personal, and every one is different, but I firmly believe that no matter how dark things feel in the moment, they do always get better.
I am a person that has had job loss happen to me, but I’m so much more than just someone that lost a job. I’m a dedicated worker. I’m creative. I possess so much positive energy. I have unique talents and skills to share. I’m a mother. I’m a friend. I’m a daughter and sister. I’m sometimes funny. And guess what girl, YOU ARE TOO.
You are so much more than what has happened to you, and you will rise above this. Like a phoenix, when the light inside you flickers out, you’ll rise from the ashes as the whole damn fire.
The first time I heard that someone could make money on Pinterest, I was like, WTF is that real?? Sign me up!
Nothing sounds better than pinning to my heart’s content and earning the dollars while I do it. Am I right?
Unfortunately for me, I was quickly grounded with the earth-shattering revelation that…. (drumroll please) …. It’s not that easy.
Damn.
But it is TOTALLY POSSIBLE and actually so, so easy! Pinterest is such an incredible marketing tool to use and it’s totally free, WHY NOT use it to make yourself some money?!
So I thought I’d put together a list of all of the best tips for earning money through Pinterest for you!
Alrighty, pop some popcorn and get comfy, this is going to be kind of a long post with a bunch of information, let’s get you earning money on Pinterest!
First things first… you’ve got to set up your account the right way!
Not the left way, and not the wrong way (hehe, bad dad jokes…) but for real, you want to make sure your account is optimized for earning! If you didn’t already know, I actually have a full Pinterest strategy course that goes over Pinterest strategy and setting up your account for success in depth, but here is a good place to start!
Make sure your account is set up as a business account!
You definitely need access to those analytics so you can see what you’re doing that is successful and track the progress.
Make sure your profile is updated!
You will want to have your main website listed, a strong bio, and a good photo. Having these things helps establish your brand and helps narrate your story as a business. You want people to consider you an authority and take direction from your recommendations. Additionally, having a well-established profile improves likelihood for others to follow you and grow your audience.
Get yourself a website if you don’t have one!
With Pinterest, it’s all about directing traffic to your channels to help you grow your brand and earn money. It’s best to own your own site if you can. You can, however, use a free website or even just link your Instagram profile in the meantime until you decide to own your site. Just a note of advice though, if you plan to create a business that earns money, you’ll need to invest in a site for yourself at some point. Even if it’s just basic.
The more views you have, the more times your content will be seen by others which leads to more clicks on your pins.
Focus on pinning consistently (I use Tailwind to help me with this) and using good SEO strategy when you pin. This will improve the number of views your account and pins get.
Make sure when you create your pins, that you are using good principles of design.
You want to create strong pins with good design and enticing captions. Having a strong pin makes all the difference! Instead of just pinning random things, intentionally create pins to convert.
Alrighty, do you have your account basics all squared away? Awesome! Let’s get earning!
There’s two types of ways to earn money on Pinterest. Each way can be broken down into multiple faucets to help you earn.
First, you can create monetized content. The second way is to use your knowledge and/or experience with Pinterest as a tool for earning.
So the first thing that’s important to understand is that Pinterest is a SEARCH ENGINE. Not social media, not a store, not a blog. Think of it like Google. People are going to Pinterest to search for ideas, and the results pop up in the form of pins. Pins lead to other sources, so in our case, we are using our pins to lead to money-earning sources.
These money-earning sources could be anything, you can get creative with it! But most commonly, some strong money-earning sources include affiliate links, blog posts, and products.
Affiliate Links
Affiliate links are great because there are so many ways to earn! Whether you are a part of a big affiliate program like RewardStyle or Shopstyle Collective, or you are part of a small, local brand that has an affiliate program (like I am part of Shine Cosmetics!), there is a lot of potential to earn money this way.
One way you can use affiliate links is by using your personal link directly on the pin. For example, say you have an affiliate link for a cute pair of earrings. You could create a pin using a cute photo you snapped of yourself wearing the earrings. Then write the description and be sure to focus on the earrings. Be sure to leave a call to action, such as “click through to check out these earrings and purchase,” or something like that.
Then when you put the pin onto Pinterest, you can use your affiliate link as the link that the pin goes to, so anyone that clicks on your pin is going through your affiliate link.
Now a word of caution with this, and this is really important…
There are several programs that do not allow you to use your affiliate links on Pinterest. A big example is Amazon’s affiliate program. You can get reported and be removed from the program, and negatively impacted on Pinterest. Be sure to check your affiliate program rules before using any links to make sure you’re within the guidelines.
The good news is, there is a great work around! If you have an affiliate link that you can’t put on a Pinterest directly, put it into a blog post or an instagram post instead! Then use your Pinterest pin to link to that post instead!
For example, I have a link for my very favorite ice packs to use after surgery. It’s an amazon link, so I can’t put it directly on Pinterest. Instead, I wrote a blog post about breast reduction surgery, and I included the affiliate link for the ice packs there. Then I created a pin for the blog post on Pinterest, and I use Pinterest to get traffic over to the post.
The more traffic I get over there, the more clicks/sales I make from that link.
Blog Posts and Articles
Writing your own blog posts or articles is like having a little GOLD MINE because there are so many ways to make money, and Pinterest helps with that by getting more people to your blog. The more people you get to your posts, the more they’re worth!
As I mentioned before, a great way to earn money is to have Pinterest direct traffic to a blog post where you are sharing affiliate links. Another way to use those links more effectively is to write specifically about a product that helps solve a problem in some way. Writing a blog post that solves a problem using a product will explode the amount of money you can make from a blog post. It’s much more effective than just a post that for example, just has links to the outfit you wore in the photos (and not much to do with the post).
Let’s take a look at a really good example of how this works.
Say a blogger takes my Pinterest course and decides that they want to use the affiliate link. (I have an affiliate program set up.) Instead of just sprinkling it into posts wherever, they could write a whole post featuring the course as a solution for a problem.
For example, maybe they write a blog post called, “best courses for bloggers to take” or “how I started making thousands using Pinterest”or something similar, and they specifically talk about the course they took and how it helped solve a problem for them. A viewer is much more likely to be clicking on the link to purchase when they read a full article supporting the product. That makes these types of blog posts bigger money-earners.
Another great way to earn money using Pinterest for your blog is by using it as leverage.
Pinterest helps you drive traffic to your blog, which makes your blog content more valuable and desirable for marketers! You can work with brands and earn more money based on the amount of traffic you have. The more people you can direct to your blog from Pinterest, the more site traffic your website gets. This ultimately means you can charge more to do sponsored posts, ads, reviews, etc.
Selling Products or Services
If you’ve got a product, SELL IT! And get that sh*** on Pinterest immediately so you can make more sales! Pinterest can drive so much traffic to your website to help you sell your products! If you sell a service, it’s also a great way to get awareness about your business and to book clients.
Focus more of your time creating pins specifically to drive sales to your product, no matter what it is!
If you don’t have a product… .it’s time to get one.
Selling your own products or services is one of the fastest ways to bring in more money, and potentially a LOT of it. It doesn’t matter what you seel! Whether it’s hand-made products, or digital services, or anything else. You can use Pinterest to sell your product and get it in front of potentially millions of people.
Now, I’m personally not into sales and didn’t really want to make a physical product and have to figure out shipping and stuff. Instead, I opted to go for the digital product route and created an e-course. The great thing about e-courses and e-books is that they are typically low cost (or free!) to create and so easy to manage.
Every single person has something of value they can share, so USE THAT to create your own product.
Love photography? Take some photos and sell them as stock photos. Are you a creative writer? Write stories or sell your services as a freelance writer. The possibilities go way beyond tangible items.
You’ve got brilliance inside of you that needs to be shared!
Get that brilliance into the form of a product you can share with the world. Then use pins on Pinterest to direct traffic to your sales sites where they can purchase your products, and cha-ching, cha-ching! You’ll be earning in no time.
How to earn money on pinterest using your knowledge or experience as a tool (instead of creating monetized content)
Monetized content is basically everything we just talked about, but there are many more ways to make money using Pinterest that aren’t just linking to money-earning content! These ideas for earning money on Pinterest are more service-based and definitely great ways to bring in the dough!
Pinterest Virtual Assistant services
As a Pinterest BOSS with great strategy, you can take that knowledge and sell it as a service!! You can offer your services to help businesses or bloggers manage their pinterest profiles and improve their sales through Pinterest. This is especially great for people who want to expand their brand using Pinterest, but don’t have time to do it themselves.
If you’re not quite a boss on Pinterest yet, don’t worry! You can get there! You can still offer services once you’ve got a good grasp on the subject and learn as you go. The more expert level you become, the more you can charge!
Sponsored Pins
Guess what girl, you are a badass and companies WANT YOU. They really do. They want you to promote them, they want your audience, they want what you have to say. Once you’ve started to build up a little bit of an audience and reach, you have very significant value to brands! This is because you can pin their products and share their content to such a huge number of people!
You can pitch to companies, or they may even reach out to you. There are a lot of ways that sponsored pins and collaborations can work. Most typically, there will be some kind of requirement for you to pin their content, or create your own content using their products. Then they’ll pay you for pinning and/promoting that content to your Pinterest audience.
If you want to work with a company, consider reaching out and don’t be nervous! You have a lot to offer! Start by pinning their content regularly in a way that feels authentic to your brand, and start engaging with their pins and content. Then get your email pitch ready and hit SEND! Sponsored posts are a great way to earn money with Pinterest.
Use Pinterest as leverage to earn more
If you’re working with brands to create sponsored content, whether it’s on instagram, blogs, etc. you can add Pinterest to your services to help improve your worth to the company. Add your Pinterest reach (and other relevant statistics) to your media kit when you are pitching so you can show off your stats, that is a huge selling point!
When you create content, offer to pin what you’ve created for the collaboration, or to create additional pins for the content, as a service that a business can purchase from you. It might just be a one-time thing that you can offer to pin the blog post you wrote for them. But you could also think bigger, such as promising to pin several of their pins a month each month for an extended time.
Just make sure that if you have any kind of compensation for this agreement, that you have a contract in place to protect you and the business.
Pinterest Consulting
So this is something that kind of falls into the “virtual assistant” category, but I wanted to give it its own section. There is so much that you can do with consulting! As a virtual assistant you would just be doing the actual pinterest work for the person that hired you, but as a consultant you can help guide others to do it themselves.
For example, I personally sell consulting services where I’ll review the client’s Pinterest account and review their strategy. (If you’re interested in a Pinterest review by me, please email me at heysunnyjess@gmail.com) Then I give them recommendations to help improve their strategy and grow their brand.
It’s a one-time service, though I’ve done a handful of clients that have come back to me after for a second consultation or private training. It’s a great way to use your skillset on Pinterest to earn money!
I hope this post helps you with earning money on Pinterest!
I know I mentioned it a few times thorughout this post, but I have created a full Pinterest strategy e-course that dives deep into Pinterest marketing. It walks you through, step-by-step, how to be successful using Pinterest to grow your brand and business! It’s super inexpensive (because I know what it’s like to be frugal!), and full of info! I would LOVE to help you launch your business growth to the stars through Pinterest!
If you found this post helpful, be sure to check out my course and share with your friends!
As always, I am so grateful to have you in my corner, and I love you!
Hey babes! Now that I’m a year into the breast reduction recovery process I wanted to pop on and share everything about my process, the products that helped, the things I wish I had done differently, and my overall feeling after breast reduction surgery.
I hope any of you considering or preparing for breast reduction surgery will be able to find some useful information, and if not….well I guess I’m not very useful then haha.
Let’s start with the basics!
I had my surgery in the beginning of January 2019, and I had a bilateral breast reduction with free nipple grafts. If you want to learn more about the details I have a whole post about my surgery story here.
Breast reduction recovery is no joke! I haven’t ever had real surgery before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have had babies so I figured it wouldn’t be worse than that, right? Wrong, ha! I delivered my babies vaginally and was lucky to have fairly easy recoveries with them, so I was super not prepared haha.
BUT I will say this… it wasn’t terrible either, it was always bearable and I’m so happy with my decision to do it, even though the recovery had some pain.
Immediately after surgery
When I first woke up I didn’t feel much of anything, I was just very, very nauseated from the anesthesia. Nausea is super common, so if you can, keep some barf bags around. I love these ones here and had some leftover ones after my pregnancies where I was really sick. Super cute and honestly they’re just good to have in the car in case you or your family gets carsick, so worth the few bucks!
For the first two days, I had drains put in and had to “bleed the lines.” I know. Gross. Haha, but really it wasn’t as bad as it sounds! As the drains filled up, I would just have someone help me (thanks mama and baby daddy) to disconnect the drain, empty it, and reconnect it.
Something that really helped was keeping a notebook close by so I could track how much the drains were filling up, and I was able to track all of the medications I was taking and at what time.
During the first part of breast reduction recovery, you’re typically on some narcotic pain medication, prescription-level Ibuprofen, and a stool softener. I was also on anti-nausea medicine to help with the vomiting. Between trying to remember all the different pills, feeling miserable, having to empty drains, etc. I just found it super helpful to keep track on a notebook.
Controlling swelling
In the first few weeks, you can’t use ANY heat at all to help with pain. Instead it’s recommended to ice and take an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen.
I found the absolute BEST ICE PACKS EVER for breast reduction recovery, they’re round and kind of squishy and the perfect size. It was so easy to slip them into the surgical bra or just sit with them on my poor swollen boobs. The best thing is that they freeze quickly too, so if I fell asleep using them and they thawed out, I could pop them into the freezer and be able to use them again pretty quickly after.
The doctor recommended to me to ice as often as I needed, with a 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off guide to start. I found that I usually would ice for like a half hour or even an hour and it really helped with the pain. I’m not a doctor, but this worked for me to help control the pain that came from swelling and even directly on my incision.
Something else that really helped was keeping on the surgical bra or wearing a tight tshirt to apply just the slightest amount of pressure when I felt like the swelling was really bad.
Don’t forget to stay on top of your medications!
I usually like to go for as long as I can without taking anything and only want to take something when I absolutely NEED it, but let me tell you what- that was a mistake this time. I thought I could handle it, but as soon as it wore off I felt like I was dying, the pain and swelling were so bad.
Once I finally took my medication, it took a lot longer to take the edge away too, so especially in that first week, just stay on top of it and save yourself the pain. Take it at the exact number of hours that you’re supposed to instead of waiting to see if you need it, I promise it will really help minimize your pain that first week.
Also, if you don’t have a jade roller for your face… time to get one! (Check out this one on Amazon!) I put mine in the fridge or freezer and then I’d roll it over my boobs when they felt extra sore and it helped SO much, I can’t recommend it enough.
Even now that it has been a year, I occasionally have swelling (for one reason or another) and this helps with that! Sore period boobs? GOODBYE. It’s the best.
Showering
I was not allowed to shower for the first week. With my nipple graft, I had a cast sewn onto the nipple to keep it protected while it was healing and those were not allowed to get wet under any circumstance, so I had to sponge bathe and load up on dry shampoo.
A week after my surgery, I had an appointment where they removed my first set of dressings and replaced them, and they gave me clearance to shower. The very first time I took a shower I almost passed out actually, I think the smell of the surgical stuff combined with the hot water just made me really dizzy.
My doctor warned me that this is something very common, so definitely watch out for that and maybe sit down your first time, or have someone help you stand.
Like I mentioned, for the first week I didn’t change dressings really at all. I came home from the hospital with casts sewn on to the nipples, bolsters and tape along my main incisions, everything wrapped up in guaze, and then a surgical bra to hold it all together.
After the first week at my first doctor appointment, they removed those things and gave me some medicated fabric (no idea what that’s called? ha!) and guaze and gave me clearance to shower. I changed out these new dressings once a day every day for a couple of weeks.
Something else that was helpful is I also grabbed a couple of soft sports bras from Target so I could change out of the medical bra and use other options so they could be washed and rotated out. I loved just basic ones, but I highly recommend anything with a front clip, it’s hard to lift your arms up over your head right after.
Sleeping
Ugh. No good answer for this one haha. I am by nature a stomach sleeper, and you just can’t do that while recovering from breast reduction surgery. If your incisions don’t go too far to the side, you might be able to roll slightly to your side (with some pillow props) and sleep that way, but my doctor recommended staying on my back for at least 6 weeks and honestly, even if I had tried to sleep any other way I think I only could have on my back!
I kept a pillow for under my back so I was slightly at an incline which I feel like helped relieve some pressure and pain from my chest area and that seemed to really help.
At first, especially laying down, the incision along the bottom feels like the worlds sharpest underwire so it helped if my body wasn’t stretched out flat, so I tried to used pillows to prop up and kind of curl around it, which really helped with sleeping.
After the first several weeks I gradually had less and less pain on the incision and was able to roll more and more to the side, and eventually was able to get back to my normal position. I think it took about 4 months before I was really there.
Breast reduction recovery requires some downtime. My surgeon let me know that they usually will recommend taking anywhere from 2 and 6 weeks off from work to rest and recover. The first week is spent mostly spent resting. After that they suggest getting up and walking around regularly and you can start doing more of your normal routine while still taking it easy.
The key to successful breast reduction recovery is to FOLLOW THE RULES. After surgery, you won’t be able to lift things (even lightweight things) or do any actions that cause a pushing/pulling motion, such as vacuuming or loading the dishwasher. That type of twisting and lifting motion can really disrupt the delicate new scar tissue trying to develop and cause serious issues, so take these regulations seriously.
After 6 weeks, I was given clearance to start working out again, but with careful consideration in mind about lifting and any motions that might cause tearing on the new incisions. My doctor suggested each week to build more intensity in my workout, and then at 3 months I was cleared to return to pretty much any normal activity.
This may vary depending on the level of procedure you had and your doctor, but from what I’ve heard from others and researched, this downtime is pretty common for everyone.
At this point I was feeling pretty good and had returned to all of my normal activities. It took me a little longer to be able to sleep on my stomach again, but I was able to easily by about 4 months post-operation.
My doctor did tell me that it would take about a year for my breasts to really settle and fully heal, and while for the most part I feel fantastic, I do have some days where I notice extra swelling or slight pain along my incision. The scarring will take some tie to fade but I’ve actually been really impressed with how well my scars have faded already.
At this time, they’re definitely still visible but they’re pink instead of angry red, and the puckering that I have in some areas has started to iron itself out a bit.
I hope this helps a few of you get some details about the process and learn a little more about what you can expect! This is my personal experience and of course, please consult your doctor about any serious questions! If you have any questions for me, I’d love to hear them, just ask in the comments or come chat with me in DMs on instagram! I’d love to connect.
Who here has spent HOURS on Pinterest, pinning your heart out, only to see little to ZERO results? Why isn’t the traffic going to your site? How are these influencers getting hundreds of thousands, or even millions of views? WHY AM I EVEN DOING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Girl, I’ve SO been there. It took me YEARS of research and experimentation to finally discover what really makes Pinterest marketing work, and even more importantly, I discovered the Pinterest marketing MISTAKES I was making that were preventing me from having success.
If you’re struggling to grow thorugh your pinterest marketing strategy, you might be making one of these mistakes! But the good news is, YOU CAN FIX IT! You’ve totally got this! And I’m going to lay it all out here for you so you can slay your goals.
Here are the pinterest marketing mistakes you might be making, and how you can turn them around into successful parts of your strategy.
Mistake 1: You’re putting too much focus on gaining new followers
Believe it or not, followers do NOT matter on Pinterest the way that they do on other social media platforms, because technically Pinterest isn’t social media… it’s a search engine! Pinterest’s algorithm will only show your pins to a handful of followers anyway, and while increasing the number of followers you have will certainly increase the number of people that see your pins to some extent, it’s really quite limited still.
If you really want your pins to be seen, then stop focusing your energy and time on building followers and instead, start using that energy and time to really NAIL your SEO strategy. Having strong SEO on your pins is going to help you to be seen in more searches, repinned by more users, and improve your site traffic. You don’t need a single follower to have your pins seen and clicked on!
Mistake 2: You’re not re-pinning your old content
When I first started using Pinterest, I would pin my content ONE TIME. And then I waited for the traffic to roll on in.
Ahem. FAIL.
Don’t make my mistake! You CAN and SHOULD be pinning your content multiple times! You can pin the same content to multiple boards, or go back and re-pin older pins again so they stay top-of-feed for other people. You can also create multiple pins for the same piece of content.
You can create new pin images with similar (but different) titles and new images, and create fresh new pins for all of your content, new and old. This is a really great trick to help your content go viral. If you have a piece you’re proud of or that seems to perform really well, then keep making new pins for it and adding them to Pinterest!
I have a few articles personally that consistently bring me traffic, so I create several new pins for each of them on a monthly basis and pin them.
Mistake 3: You don’t have your account set up the right way
The best advice I’ve ever gotten is that if you want to be a business, then ACT LIKE A BUSINESS. So first things first, don’t use a personal account for your business when it comes to Pinterest. When you switch your account to a business account in Settings, you’ll have access to a bunch of features like Analytics that are really going to help you use Pinterest to grow your brand awareness and business profits.
Once you’ve set up your account for a business, you’ll want to claim your website and activate rich pins. These are both tools that will help you grow as a business on Pinterest.
Finally, you will want to optimize your account by strategically using keywords in both your Pinterest name and bio, and by branding your account so it has a consistent look and feel!
Mistake 4: You’re not using a scheduler to stay consistent
The real key to success on Pinterest is consistency. I know everyone says that, but there’s a reason for it. What they don’t say however, is what “consistency” means. If you’re adding a couple of pins every week, technically that’s “consistent,” but it’s not likely to be enough to really explode your site traffic and help with the growth of your business.
What you need to do is be pinning multiple times a day, every single day, and if possible to be pinning at times when your audience is most available. That might be easy enough for some people but it eats up a lot of time and I don’t know about you, but I’m BUSY. Ain’t nobody got time to be spending the entire day hovering Pinterest to create pins at the right time 24/7, 365!
Enter Tailwind. I know, I know, if you follow me on instagram you’re SICK of hearing about Tailwind by now, but I can’t praise the platform enough! It’s absolutely such a time-saver and I attribute so much of my success on Pinterest to Tailwind! Recently, I wrote a post about how I get over 8 million monthly views, and I talked a lot about how Tailwind is a major factor in that success!
So what exactly IS Tailwind? In plain and simple terms, it’s a pin scheduler! Basically once a week, I sit down and create a bunch of pins and add new re-pins to my Tailwind schedule, and then it automatically pins them at my most optimal times every day!
I can adjust how many pins I want to pin in a day and if I want specific times, and it does all of the work for me. Instead of spending 8-10 hours every week pinning content to try and stay consistent, I spend one hour and get all of my work done for the entire week. It’s a total game-changer, and totally worth every penny! Plans start at about $10 a month (if you pay for a year) or $15 month to month, and you can cancel any time. It’s an incredible resource for growing your brand using pinterest and hands down,l one of my most important tools I use for my business.
Mistake 5: You’re not doing any keyword research
Understanding how keywords work and what makes something a “keyword” can be tricky, especially if you’re not super familiar with marketing. Keywords are basically the main word that someone will search for to find your article, so nailing this process is vital to the success of your pins.
A lot of times, I’ve seen people use traditional keywords that are searched all the time. For example, “hairstyles” is a keyword that is widely used, but it is massively overarched so if you’re using a keyword like that, your content is going to get buried. Instead, you want to focus on more niche and specific keywords, and even long-tail keywords, to help your pins stand out in search results.
You will want to use keywords in your pin titles and pin descriptions to help improve the chances of being seen and clicked on. To come up with the keywords you use, you should do some keyword research! I love to use keyword tools, like Neil Patel’s Uber suggest or keywordtool.io to see what is trending, how frequently the keywords have been searched, etc.
Then I make a list of the keywords I feel are strong and I’ll include them in my pin as it gets uploaded.
Another great way to research keywords is by using the Pinterest search engine! I’ll type in a related keyword to search it, and then Pinterest will pop up a bunch of suggestions that are related. Those suggestions are great examples of some keywords you can use.
Mistake 6: You’re not planning your pins according to season
Pinterest is like a massive central list for people to come together and share ideas, and a huge number of those ideas are related to seasonal themes! If you plan out your content just a tiny bit so that you’re pinning seasonal content during the right times, you’re pins are going to be wildly more successful.
For example, if you have some Valentine’s Day content, you can start creating pins about 4-6 weeks prior to the holiday to help it get the most visibility possible. If you only pin it the week before, you’re not going to have as many viewers because by the time the holiday comes, the Pinterest audience is moving on to the next thing and is no longer interested.
When you are creating content for your blog or to pin, think in relation to how much time you want your pin to circulate through the season, and plan around that.
Mistake 7: You’re not optimizing your pins to help conversion
It’s one thing to have pins that get seen by millions of people on Pinterest. While it’s certainly nice, it really doesn’t matter unless you have pins that CONVERT.
In plain and simple terms, that means that people are clicking on your pin all the way through to reach your website. Who cares if the pin gets seen in a pinterest feed if no one clicks on it to read the article you wrote? The point here is that you definitely want to make your pins converting pins!
I remember the very first pin I created that actually went viral and comparing it to my other pins. I noticed it had a few more things that my “regular” pins didn’t have. For example, I had taken a lot of time to create a strong, beautiful, attention grabbing design and I had used an attention grabbing header. I also used several keywords in the title AND in the pin description, and at the end, I included a call-to-action to tell people to click to read the full article.
Previously, I hadn’t done really any of those things on my pins, but I’d read some tips online and decided to give it a go on this pin, and bam! Viral pin.
What I learned very quickly is that the amount of effort you put into creating a pin with a strong design and alluring title is going to help optimize your chance of conversion. More people will see it, and actually click through to read.
Mistake 8: You’re not pinning your own pins enough
I mentioned earlier that I used to pin my blog posts once, and then I’d wait around and hope some traffic would roll in.
Do not repeat my mistakes I beg you, hahaha!
When you have a blog post you’re ready to pin, create a really great pin image, strong title and description, and pin it to your board. Then pin it to other boards and any group boards where it might be relevant.
Then come back next week and create a new pin image for the same article and do it all over again! You can pin your content AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT! And guess what- you really SHOULD be doing that to help keep your content active. The more times you add it in a pin onto pinterest, the more likely you are to get seen- especially if you are using new imagery and new descriptions and keywords each time because you’ll reach a broader audience!
There is a lot of grey area and debate about how much you should really be pinning your own content. I’ve seen people say only pin 1 of your own pins for every 10 pins that you do, and I’ve seen others say that 70-80% of your pins should be your own content.
Personally, I’ve had amazing success following a 4/5 rule, meaning I pin 4 pins that are other people’s content for every one of my own. Sometimes I will do more like 3/4 instead of 4/5, but that’s always about the ratio I maintain.
I find that sticking to this really helps grow my account because people are interested in the content I’m pinning and I’m not being too spammy with my own stuff, so they’re more likely to follow me. However, I’m still pinning enough of my own content that it’s driving traffic to my blog.
I recommend that regularly you go through your blog posts and determine which pieces are performing the best, and creating new pins for all of your top performers. I also create new pins regularly for whatever my several most recent posts are. This way, I always have new pins to post on Pinterest so my feed still feels fresh, and not like I am just repining old stuff. 🙂
I hope identifying these mistakes will help you to develop and build your Pinterest strategy and that you start seeing some major growth! If you’re serious about growing your business using Pinterest, you can find my super affordable, easy Pinterest e-course here!
