How to Build a Blog to Reach $100,000 per Month with Jennifer Maker

      Side Hustle Nation focuses on enhancing your personal profitability. To achieve this, we frequently collaborate with companies that align with this goal. If you register or make a purchase via one of our partners’ links, we may earn compensation—at no additional cost to you. Learn more. Jennifer Marx from JenniferMaker.com launched her site in the DIY/crafting niche in late 2016 as a hobby. She progressed from earning $33 in her first month to consistently reaching six figures monthly today.

      Tune into Episode 381 of the Side Hustle Show to discover:

      Why she chose to concentrate on blogging

      How she gained her initial momentum

      What currently drives her traffic

      And how she has built an email list that is nearly the size of Cleveland's population!

      Related: Take a look at my complimentary course on how to create your own website.

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      What Inspired You to Start a Blog?

      In 2016, Jennifer began a blog to share recipes and craft ideas with her daughter. She had an interest in blogging and enjoyed using Pinterest, so she sought to learn how to publish content online. Eventually, she created three sites and decided to test Google AdSense on one of them. A year later, she received a $100 check, which was a complete surprise but a welcome one, especially since her business was struggling at that time. “It was a sign,” Jennifer recalled about that $100 check. “I’m going to turn this into a real venture and put in serious effort,” she stated. After incorporating some affiliate links and producing more content, she earned $33 in her first month of focusing on her blog.

      Did You Worry About Competition Back Then?

      “I have learned that it's never too late to start anything,” Jennifer told me. At 47, when she started her blog, she had substantial experience in writing, teaching, and other necessary skills for running a successful blog. Despite recognizing that the craft space online was saturated, she believed she had something distinctive to offer and didn't hesitate to enter the niche.

      How Did You Gain Initial Traction? What Were Those First Few Months Like?

      “I was laboring in obscurity, and no one could find me, which I wasn’t comfortable with,” Jennifer said. She began learning about various methods to enhance her visibility. Given her focus on crafts, Pinterest was a natural platform, being highly visual. She devoted as much as 6 hours a day to understand Pinterest and how users leverage it to generate blog traffic. “Once I had a solid foothold, I turned to Facebook,” Jennifer explained. More specifically, she joined numerous Facebook Groups where craft enthusiasts gathered. She actively contributed helpful responses to questions and shared her own projects when appropriate, directing traffic to her blog. These were her two primary strategies for gaining traction initially. After four months, she was receiving over 10,000 page views each month from Pinterest and Facebook.

      What Currently Works on Pinterest?

      “You need to create amazing items that grab attention,” Jennifer advised. This perfectly suits the crafts niche, allowing her to showcase images of her projects. She mentioned that even in a non-visual niche, one can still stand out by producing excellent graphics and pins. A piece of advice she shared is to understand what Pinterest users are searching for, rather than focusing solely on your own ideas.

      What’s Your Pinning Strategy?

      Jennifer has a launch strategy for her new pins. After completing a blog post, usually of the “how-to” variety, she designs a specific pin for that post, ensuring it is pinned to the most relevant board with aligned keywords. She then shares her post and pin across all her social media channels simultaneously, aiming to boost engagement on the pin. She encourages followers to repin, share, and continues to repin to additional boards in the following weeks. According to Jennifer