If you’re an online business owner, there are generally two things you want – more traffic and more revenue. But what if you’re in a super competitive niche? Striving for those two things can be even tougher.
On the podcast this week, we’re talking with someone in that exact position and learning more about how to grow on Pinterest.
After years of struggling to grow her food blog, Carrie Forrest of Clean Eating Kitchen finally hired some help and saw her traffic and revenue skyrocket.
In this episode, you will learn:
- What it was like to transition from hobby blogging to professional blogging
- Strategies she used to grow her traffic and revenue
- Obstacles she faced when trying to grow her blog
how to grow on pinterest
Carrie started blogging in 2009 as a hobby. She just wanted to put her voice out there and connect with people, and didn’t even think of it as a business. She started monetizing in 2011, but it was really small scale.
As she was transitioning from hobby to business, she had to let go of the personal side of her blog and focus more on helping other women. Now she tries to put her readers at the center of her posts, but does still struggle to connect with her audience.
As a food blogger, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking there’s not space for you in a saturated market. Carrie believes there’s room for more if you find a niche and focus on a specific audience. She has a gluten free and dairy free food blog targeted to women with chronic illnesses.
spending money to make money
In 2018, Carrie got some coaching and started doing things like keyword research. Her page views started going up and she started making more money.
Then, in 2019, she got hit with a Google Core update and her traffic was cut by 60%. It took her a year and a half to recover! During that time, she decided to double down on her business. She got an SEO audit, took a food photography course, and really started diving in to keyword research. In 2020, she started making a full-time income.
In June of 2021, Carried hired more food photographers and writers. Since then, her traffic has increased by 60%. She has been outsourcing for about a little over a year and while she has to let go of a little bit of control, it’s worth it to her so she can help other women.
RELATED: How to scale a business by hiring well
New business owners have a hard time deciding whether to spend money to make money or to invest in the growth of their business. But as a business owner, it’s so important to work ON your business, not just IN it.
Carrie advises people to focus on what makes them unique, as well as what brings out their passion.
You can find Carrie at her blog, Clean Eating Kitchen, or on Instagram @cleaneatingcarrie.
For further reading/listening:
- Why Simple Pin is starting a Shopify store (podcast/blog post)
- Balancing Business and Health (podcast/blog post)
- How to build a sustainable revenue stream in your business (podcast/blog post)
- More on the Simple Pin Accelerator client service
