Side Hustle Spark 278: 21 Top Blogging Tips (ryrob.com)

Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay

Just passing along more helpful content from ryrob.com.

This post incorporates both Ryan’s 21 Blogging Tips from a Blogger Who Makes $30,000 a Month YouTube video and a collection of blogging wisdom from many others.

Challenge: Find three pieces of applicable advice shared by those folks.

I liked some of his summarizing points:

“Treat your blog like a business.”

“Take the tips that sound right to you and apply them…pick up what does work for you, what sounds most genuine…and relates to where you’re at in your blogging stage today.”

“Take the mindset of experimentation…and if something is getting results, double down on that.”

Side benefit of this post: You will most likely hear of new blogs that will benefit you.


Side Hustle Spark 239: acorns.com, Pat Flynn’s Income Stream, ryrob.com, and 7-Day Startup

For today, revisiting well-received posts…

Side Hustle Spark 128: Look behind the curtain at ryrob.com. https://sidehustlecurator.com/2020/11/12/side-hustle-spark-128-look-behind-the-curtain-at-ryrob-com/

Suggestion 78: The 7-Day Startup Dan Norris. https://sidehustlecurator.com/2020/08/26/suggestion-78-the-7-day-startup-by-dan-norris/

Side Hustle Spark 111: Pat Flynn’s Income Stream https://sidehustlecurator.com/2020/10/12/side-hustle-spark-111-pat-flynns-the-income-stream/

Suggestion 79: Check out acorns.com. https://sidehustlecurator.com/2020/08/27/suggestion-79-check-out-acorns-com/


For a subject-by-subject look at sidehustlecurator,
check out my Posts Organized by Topic page.

Forge ahead, side hustlers!

Side Hustle Spark 228: Blog layout tips from Ryan Robinson

Ryan Robinson covers blog layout with a post that could easily qualify as a mini-course.

In fact, this is a ‘pour yourself some coffee, sit back, and take notes’ kind of post. (Suggestions: Open a Google Doc and copy/paste the ryrob.com tips most helpful and relevant to you. To further cement the information, read it aloud. Record yourself, even.)

My goal after reviewing this post: Make at least three immediate changes to sidehustlecurator’s layout.

As you can see, I have not been overly invested in layout and design.

I want to deliver the content to you folks and move on.

But who’s fooling who(m)? (The grammar gods are annoying at times.)

A better design will more effectively provide content for the audience.

For now, because I want #228 ouit there today, I’m sticking with my utilitarian design for this post and plan for improvements next week.

Sections of this post that I will click to first:

Ryan also covers building engagement, calls to action, branding, page load strategy, image quality, and designing a relatable layout.


Finally, use the comment box to let me know if there’s a more helpful way that I can curate/present content like this for you.

Side Hustle Spark 205: “Organize your stuff!” Today: Blogging Content

Gee, you’d think after 200+ posts, I might get around to organizing some of the content.

So I’m working on a page where posts are sorted out by tags and categories.

Here is the beginning of my organizing process. More will be added, of course.

For now, I hope the topic-centered approach is helpful.

Topic: Blogging

Side Hustle Spark 204: Bloggers’ reports and best affiliate marketing blogs

Some of the affiliate blogs mentioned in the post

Click the image above for a one-minute peek at two sites delivered in my Scoop.it feed.

I’ve also added a link to Ryan Robinson’s latest income report. People seemed to appreciate a previous post to an earlier income report of his.

Just for grins, here is a look at Create and Go’s income report.

Links to the posts highlighted in the video are below:

18 Best Affiliate Marketing Blogs & Affiliate Marketers Every Beginner Should Follow in 2021

100 Blog Income Reports to Inspire Your Blogging Journey (Note: some reports date back to 2017, but can still serve as a tool for inspiration.)


Side Hustle Spark 176: Chris Guillebeau (Side Hustle School) advises on a personalized journal

As I’ve said before, I could probably just hitch my wagon to and pinpoint good stuff from certain folks or sites.**
Copyblogger, Side Hustle Nation, and ryrob.com come to mind.
And then there’s Chris Guillebeau of Side Hustle School whom I’ve followed since 2014.

Because I’ve also dabbled with a journal prototype, I found a recent episode of his podcast even more relevant than usual.

As Chris points out in the opening, you may have no interest in producing and selling a personal journal, but many of the steps–his word, ‘pathway’– apply to other projects.

Here is the direct link to the actual seven-minutes of audio.

His key points:

  • Projects like this come down to a. design b. printing and c. marketing.
  • Look to team up with designers/contractors [Upwork and Fiverr].
  • Printing options: local, national, or international. At one point, he did use printingforless.com.
  • International printing may be cheaper, but adds variables like lag time [shipping].
  • His advice: For a first project, avoid international printing.
  • Marketing: Think about marketing from the beginning of the project.
  • It’s not just about the product, it’s about the message.
  • Start with message, then explore design.
  • Copyright? Everything that you make on the Internet is automatically copyrighted. It doesn’t mean it won’t be snagged by lazy, low-life toads. [My term, not Chris’s. He’s much more diplomatic than I am.]

Here is a three-page PDF of my own journal prototype–two actual pages that I would have duplicated and a page of links.

** But where’s the fun in that?

Side Hustle Spark 140: 6 Steps to Stop Procrastinating

In keeping with Side Hustle Spark 138, I found Chris Dritsas’ guest post on ryrob.com helpful and relevant.

Holidays for many side hustlers the holidays are a time when they’re putting in the extra time. But these not-so-normal times may well generate a few extra rationalizations for easing off the gas pedal.

Some favorite takeaways:

  1. Your brain is programmed to accomplish short-term tasks for more immediate gratification.
  2. I like the Warren Buffett strategy of listing several goals, then paring it down to five goals, and then to one goal.
  3. I had heard, but never really learned, the term, ‘kaizen’–small steps toward continuous improvement.
  4. Chris uses Trello for his ‘break it down’ strategy. I went ahead and signed up. I had done so four years ago and never followed up. Gee, seems procrastination really is hard-wired into some people.
  5. “You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”
    –Steve Jobs [I just installed the Escape 2 app to keep me focused.]
  6. I liked the quick bullet-pointed review at the end of the post.

Of course, the enduring notion rattling around in my head is: “Am I creating these posts to put off my other projects?”

I’ll just set that aside for another day.

Forge ahead!

Side Hustle Spark 128: Look behind the curtain at ryrob.com

Yep, I’ve never really spent time looking at online entrepreneurs’ income reports. A lost opportunity to learn. [Challenge: Get past the ‘Geez, I’m getting left in the dust!’ reaction and strap on your thinking cap.]

Here is expert blogger Ryan Robinson’s October income report…

What stands out:

  • Net profit: $19,356.67 [a drop in revenue! I’m thinking a number of you might endure that kind of decrease.]
  • Affiliate earnings from Bluehost: $16,750 [whoa!]
  • Blog traffic: 321, 352
  • New email subscribers: 2,476 [also a decrease, which tells you he’s still doing a lot of things right.]

Look for yourself and check out both his earnings and expenses. You may well learn of some new digital tools and pick up hints about Ryan Robinson’s approach and strategies.