Why I Changed My Monetization Strategy (And Taking a Break From Creating Courses)

Elna May 16, 2018 47 Comments

*sigh

Do you know that feeling when you’re riding high and enjoying – no, LOVING – what you’re doing online?

Like, everything is clicking at that precise moment?

The blog posts you are writing are easy, the comments you see make you smile and feel good that you are actually helping other people.

Man, that feeling is amazing!

No matter what you are doing, you wake up every day feeling amazing and filled with tons of ideas for your blog and business.

But, then –

You realize, what are you really doing here?

What are you really working for?

A number of things happened recently, and I guess part of it is realizing the reason behind blogging.

My Plan for Twins Mommy

When I first started Twins Mommy, I had a blog plan in place. I even blogged about it.

My plan last year was to create courses. I succeeded in creating Ready Set Blog for Traffic. But, I also wanted to create another course about starting a blog.

I let that idea sit as I didn’t want to create just another start a blogging course that was either too on the surface or way too deep for a brand new blogger.

But, my husband wanted to buy some established blogs. Since we own several blogs, and has expertise in niche blogs, he wanted some more blogs. So I posted in my Mom to Mompreneur Facebook in December of last year:

And in January of this year a blogger reached out to me and wanted to sell her blog. This was a great opportunity as this blog was getting some visits a day (less than 50 a day), had social media profiles and even two Facebook groups.

So we ended up taking the blog and sat on it for several months. We didn’t do anything to that blog.

During this time I stood firm on an idea for a start a blog course and started creating video lessons and bonus materials.

I was in a groove. I was excited and couldn’t wait to share this with my followers.

A Change Happened Personally

During this time (early this year), we decided this was the year we would move. The place we are living in is just getting too small for this big family of four. So on top of finding a house, I was creating course lessons and my husband was sitting on this new blog.

In April of this year, my husband and I were talking about this new blog we picked up. It was a parenting blog and since parenting content isn’t something I’m really interested in writing about, we had to come up with a plan for content creation.

Since lifestyle blogs and guest posting is a strategy for traffic and monetization, we decided to try this out. So we made the blog – Imperfectly Perfect Mama – a completely contribution blog.

This means I have many mom bloggers’ voice on this blog, sharing their mom stories and amazing tips.

When Things Changed

Recently I received some messages about my business plan being too similar to another blogger. I’m not one to copy other bloggers. In fact, other bloggers copy me ALL. THE. TIME.

Plus –

Your blog ideas aren’t copyrighted.

You know, there’s no copyright on a blog post idea.

And although you want to create original blog posts, you don’t want to waste hours wrestling the “what to write about” fairy to the ground.

So when you’re filling up your idea bucket, cheating and stealing both work fine. Because when you do it right, nobody will ever know where you got your ideas from — by the time you write a post or a pitch, it’ll be your own.

In general, your ideas – whether written, talked on a Podcast or video, or on a Pin image – aren’t copywrited.

And as a freelance writer I know this. So when I see others with similar Pin styles or similar content, I know that the whole blogging world isn’t some unique place where every single blogger shares brand new ideas.

I mean SEO and blogging is years and years old and the only new things stemming nowadays are about social media platforms and tools/services.

It truly takes YOUR EXPERIENCE to turn something that has been blogged about thousands of times into a unique idea.

So, when accused of copying others isn’t something I take lightly.

Without going into what happened, this experience made me turn off on course creation – right now – and made me focus on what is really important.

My New Plan Doesn’t Involve Courses

Something that I really enjoy doing is creating course lessons. I’m a creative person and love designing new things whether it’s a Pin graphic, course lesson or blog post.

But, after all of that, I decided to take a break from course creation for Twins Mommy (I will still create courses for my other blog, Elna Cain). I started blogging so I can spend time with my family.

So, with this new plan I plan on spending more time with my husband and twins so that I can build assets rather than create a job for me.

I’ll pour my tips and strategies into my Mom to Mompreneur Facebook group.

I’ll also focus my energy on growing my traffic on all my blogs as well as updating Ready Set Blog for Traffic.

My husband is interested in getting more blogs in certain profitable niches too.

So, our current plan stems from growing niche blogs. Since I already have several blogs, this isn’t new to me. What’s great is I can hone my strategy, which later can become a signature course.

Yes, while I’m not creating courses right NOW, it doesn’t’ mean later I don’t come out with this amazing course dissecting this exact strategy to make a living as a professional blogger.

And since I know I’m not creating more courses, this is a huge weight off my shoulder. I couldn’t believe how I felt the next day knowing this.

I can now focus on my passion projects:

Reading, editing and formatting Imperfectly Perfect Mama’s guest posts
Creating pins for all my blogs
Creating blog posts for my blogs
Doing more Facebook Lives (after the move)
Being more involved in my Mom to Mompreneur Facebook group
Answering my emails

I love blogging, connecting and Pinterest 🙂 And, now that is my sole focus and I love it.

Blogging Comes Down to Serving Others

I’m truly humbled by this amazing mompreneur community. I smile every time I read posts in my Facebook group or my blog comments:

This all boils down to serving others.

Are you serving your people? Serving your audience doesn’t have to include course creation.

It can include eBooks, printables, blog posts, podcasts, emails, masterclasses, and more. And for me – niche blogs 🙂

47 Comments

Hi Elna, I really enjoyed this post! I’m getting a blog off the ground, but halted a bit because I believe I may want to sell it a few years from now. Is it wise to have my name in the blog if I want to sell it later?Reply to Natarielle

Hi Natarielle, Good question. If you know you want to sell your blog down the road, then don’t put your name on it. I have my blog Elna Cain and I can’t sell that! But, that’s okay because I don’t want to!Reply to Elna

Hi Elna, I don’t see anything wrong about copy writing ideas for a blog post to make it thorough and perfect e.g. if I find 10 ideas to work on your blog for busy parents I can find more ideas to make it 20 ideas or 30 ideasReply to Sameh

I just started my blog, and you’re my go to site. I love your graphics and how your page looks. Thanks for all the helpful blog post!Reply to Keyla

Hey Keyla, Aww thanks so much! Glad I’m your go-to blogger 🙂Reply to Elna

Hey there Elna, So happy for you that you found your why. I took a break from courses as well and am focusing on serving my audience through videos and I’m going to launch a monthly membership before the end of June. The membership will be on going because as you know once you have a course, you get paid but then when you update it you don’t get paid anymore. ? Plus, I do my best work talking with people and cheering them on rather than being passive through a course. Looking forward to your lives! Hope you and the family have a great summer! ❤️, LindseyReply to Lindsey

Hey Lindsey, Good luck no your membership site! That’s a big goal for a lot of bloggers but boy it takes a whole bunch of content and updates for that! I just don’t have the time to manage all of that. Kudos to you! I can see the difference with courses vs. membership sites. But I always that there has to be new content each month to make worthwhile like challenges and new courses and webinars and expert sessions etc… too much for me right now! Good luck!Reply to Elna

Hey there Elna, Am I weird for thinking that a membership site sounds easier than courses? I’ve decided that my membership will based on 3 things. A monthly action plan, 1 group training call and a private facebook group. That’s it. No courses. No webinars. No expert sessions. No live meet-ups. I’ve tried those kind of memberships and they are overwhelming. I want mine to be focused on taking action steps to grow your online presence with the accountability that is missing in this online space. So we will see and I’ll check back in with you in a few months and let you know! Hope you and the family are having a good summer! xo, LindseyReply to Lindsey

Hey Lindsey! That sounds awesome! But, to me memberships seems like a lot of work. I read Eden Fried’s post and she said she took 6 months to create the content for her membership site! That’s a lot! But your membership sounds different and awesome! I just understood these monthly memberships to have new content either as courses or videos or challenges etc.. Your way does sounds much easier!Reply to Elna

Your email comes at divine timing. Just this last month I decided I need to change some things and I actually closed down my coaching and training business. While I’m working full time, I plan on slowly building another business with a different passion of mine – event planning. It’s exciting when we finally realize it’s time to let go of something that is no longer serving us.Reply to Desiree

Hey Desiree, Good for you! Yeah, what’s great about starting a blog and making a business out of it is how it’s up to us if we want to pivot and change! We are in control!Reply to Elna

Hey Elna, It feels good to be here today. You know change is the only thing that’s constant. A successful life is a life filled with positive chances. Being a conscious decision, I know your change is positive. One thing I read that I think is the winner is the fact that you want to focus your energy on growing your traffic. I encourage this as this is where the business is. Drive more targeted traffic to your blogs and with a great monetizing strategy, you will fill your chicks with smiles. Regards to your husband and kidsReply to Enstine

Hi Enstine! Thanks for your support! Yes, growing traffic is a fun thing for me. I like trying new strategies and seeing what works and tweaking things here and there!Reply to Elna

Elna, The notion of you copying someone else is the funniest thing I’ve heard all day…. You’re one of the most legit people/bloggers out there. Just remember… No matter what, you’ll always be: “The Queen of Pinterest” 😉Reply to Carrie

Hey Carrie! Thanks so much for your support! As a freelance writer for big digital brands I know a thing or two about copywriting 🙂 Aww thanks for the Pinterest title!Reply to Elna

Hi Elna! I’m so sorry someone accused you of that. You did a beautiful job of turning it for your advantage and finding another direction you were wanting to explore. With that said, you have haters when you are doing something right. #winning I loved both of your courses, and I’m looking forward to more in the future when you once again return to course creation.Reply to Deanna

Hey Deanna! I love your blog (Did you change the URL???) and love that you are still blogging. Thanks for your support! Yes, I’ll probably do courses later and can’t wait but for now loving this traffic building for my websites!Reply to Elna

Thank you Elna ! I did change my URL thirtyonemom was so confusing it was like is it 31 or thirty-one? My 8-year-old was trying to figure out how to spell to spell it, “Mom is it 31 or thirty-one?” and that opened my eyes, ha ha ha.Reply to Deanna

Yeah, that makes sense! I like your new URL name 🙂Reply to Elna

Thank you! 🙂

It’s a shame about the accusations, but your shift in focus sounds like this will be a blessing in disguise. It’s also really refreshing as a new blogger to read something that isn’t telling me I have to hurry up and create an ecourse to be successful. I believe this event will be the catalyst to a whole new season of inspiring bloggers. Cheers!Reply to Jenny

Hi Jenny, Thanks so much! Yes, I feel this is a blessing in disguise. I just moved and finding myself more involved in my life than in the online life and I like the switch!Reply to Elna

Hi Elna, It is awful that someone accused you of copying. Seriously. You really do need a thick skin online – don’t let it get to you. It is good that you are taking some time off to reflect. As a mom of grown children (teens and early twenties) spending time with your family right now is also very important – it goes way too fast. Looking back, I wish I had stepped away from some of the time sucking online stuff to just smell the roses and enjoy family life. It’s what really matters.Reply to Neena

Hi Neena, Yes, you do need a thick skin for sure. I didn’t let it get to my head, I just refocussed and looked the real reason I’m doing this. Thanks for your support and yes I’m working hard at being in the moment and enjoying my 5 year old twins!Reply to Elna

I totally feel you Elna! As human beings, we’re always making changes here and there, evolving and that’s totally normal and expected. We’re not trees 😀 I used had a transcription ecourse on my blog for about three years – my own – and it was very popular, but there just came a time when I really needed a break. Felt kind of overwhelmed and it even occurred to me that I wasn’t spending as much time with fam as I wanted and that was a major point of working from home. I have since changed the ecourse into an ebook and I’m happier now, and focusing on growing my blog. God speed on your new endeavour! I’m sure you will soar.Reply to Sheeroh

Hi Sheeroh, Thanks so much for your support. What a great idea to turn a course into a book. This does free up a lot of time with course support! That’s a great idea that I’ll pocket 🙂 I’m so happy you feel more balanced doing all of this!Reply to Elna

Hi Elna! I’m so excited to hear your new direction (booo on the negative copyright comments!). This is exactly what I’ve decided to do as well – niche blogs! I have my main detox niche, but I just bought 2 niche sites to expand. Although I think I took on wayyy too much considering my current season in life (homeschooling 3 young children & with a chronic illness). As you probably know, there aren’t many mom bloggers doing this, so I’ve been flying blind for the most part. So excited to hear your experience & how you manage it all moving forward! Congratulations on your decision, your move & the more time you’ll have with your family!!Reply to Jordan

Hi Jordan! You’re such a great writer and I’m so proud of all that you accomplished (even after your chronic illness). Thanks for your support on my new direction. It’s excited but a bit time consuming too (but more fun)! I’m sure there are moms that are similar to your story; you just have to look at network!Reply to Elna

That makes me laugh! YOU copying someone else….I’ve known you too long and watched/read all of your creative strategies develop along the way. You are very unique and far too talented to ever NEED to copy anyone. On the moving front, how did that go? Guess what, I’m moving too….in two weeks! We’re in escrow right now and have to be out on the 31st but our new place won’t be ready until the 7th, so things are definitely exciting right now! I have so many things that I want to do and also (whispering) a new blog to unveil this fall that I’m so stoked to work on this summer 🙂 Anyways, always good to catch up with you and visa versa 😉 JessReply to Jessica

Hi Jessica! This made me laugh!! Thanks for your support and love. Stuff like this happens all the time so I should get use to it! As for the move, it went over good. My twins slept in their new room and were good and now they are in school. We are still living in boxes and totes though! Oh, and a bird totally flew into the place when I was BY MYSELF! Totally scared the SH*T out of me. I ran outside and yelled at my neighbor to help me. He was very kind but told me that he thought with all my yelling that he had run over a child (since I was yelling at him as he was coming home from work). Crazy day! But, loving the house and neighborhood. I hope you have a good move too and can’t wait to see your new blog!Reply to Elna

I’m sorry to hear that someone threw such accusations at you! But I hope this new route you’re heading will work out for the best. It can be funny what sorts of things help us realize what really matters and find the right direction!Reply to Kim

Hey Kim, Thanks a bunch! I’m doing okay and my new strategy will be good for sure!Reply to Elna

Sorry about that, Elna! I hate to hear that you encountered any trouble. Keep doing your thing. Congratulations on the big move! 🙂Reply to Gabriella

Hi Gabriella, Thanks for your support! I’m moving on to better things 🙂Reply to Elna

Hey Elna, what a refreshing update! I love that you’re getting into niche blogs, and building out a portfolio of assets. This is similar to what I’m doing, so I’m excited to see that a veteran blogger like yourself sees the value in it! Blogs can sell for 30x monthly revenue, so even growing a blog to $1K/month is a $30K asset on your hands. And if you’re building an email list, building white hat backlinks, and have a lot of good organic traffic, it can sell for even higher. I think one thing that is most impressive about what you’re doing is how you build these contributor blogs and actually build traction to them. I would love to know more about how you get these started, and how you’re finding these writers to write for free on your site. Anyways, keep up the great work, and hope you’ll keep us updated on your progress! Best of luck!Reply to Chris

Hey Chris, That’s so true I love building quality assets. I don’t even monetize many of my sites for months (or years) until they have built a nice audience. I took my latest contributor project IPM from 600 visitors a month to 40,000/mo in less than 30 days, mostly through Pinterest. In Facebook lots of people want to guest post on good looking, growing sites with traffic, so It’s a win-win for everybody.Reply to Elna

Hi, Elna, I wish you the very best of luck with the changes you are planning. I’m so sorry about the copying allegation. But we all know it’s not true. I’ve said before that I have learned a ton from you. So, you can rest easy knowing you helped so many newbies like me. I’m so glad you will be still active in the Facebook group. Change gives new direction and new opportunities. All the best.Reply to Poovanesh

Hi Poovanesh, Thanks so much. I’m excited for my new business strategy. This means I can really get the posts that I have really great and share good tips for sure! Thanks for coming over!Reply to Elna

Hi Elna, I think it’s wonderful that you’ve decided to concentrate on other things and shift your focus a bit. We all need to experiment on different things before we find out what’s really working for us. Personally, I feel online courses take up way too much time making and it’s a lot of hard work. Regarding the copying issue, please don’t feel bad. As a Creative, these kind of experiences make you stronger. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth for a couple of days, (weeks even) but you will eventually get over it. As a comic artist, I was once accused of copying another artist by said artist. I make comics pertaining to curly hair and daily life, so another artist (who focuses only on curly hair) felt I was copying her by making comics on the same topic and she published three blog posts (and posted on all her social media) targeting my Instagram account and directing a mob of her trustworthy followers to post hate comments. What hurt me was she never even tried to clarify the issue with me before doing this. She’s made an assumption and went on FULL HATE MODE. I tried to write her an email saying that all my comics are based on difficulties that I have as a curly haired woman and my followers’ experiences of course but she replied with more hate and anger telling me not to contact her. She then went on to tell her followers that I’m a liar and a thief. I realized that writing to her was a huge mistake because in the end Elna, you cannot reason with irrational people no matter how calm and polite you are. It was disturbing but I thank my stars that I had over a 100K followers who follow me on my account and they stood by my side and defended me by replying to each and every negative/hate comment. I’m sharing this experience with you because I feel it will make you feel better. You’re not alone. 🙂 What most people don’t understand is that ideas cannot be copyrighted. And if you’re talking about a certain topic (that’s relatable and popular), ideas are going to clash – like it or not. The book Steal Like An Artist explains this beautifully. A must read if you’re a Creative. If I write anymore, this comment will become an email/ebook. 😛 So I’m going to conclude by saying that we are all on your side. You take the time to write long, detailed posts and you are meticulous and organized in writing down your experiences and posting screenshots so whoever said that your business model is a copy of someone else’s obviously hasn’t bothered to learn your story. My love to you and your work. Don’t ever stop creating Elna. You’re an amazing woman and your BLOG rocks! <3Reply to Angela

Angela, Thank you so much for sharing your story. It was a real pick-me-up for sure! It’s just a fact that what you do online can be subjected to being stolen. I had another new blogger steal EXACT blog posts (words and images and all) + EXACT email freebies (EXACT words in email). I fortunately did politely contact this blogger and they have since removed it. But, they are still blogging and probably are copying/stealing someone else’s content. The only thing to protect you really is to be authentic, to show your face and share personal details that relate to only you. I try to do that on my blog by sharing my story and that makes it truly unique! Thanks so much for your suggestion of that book!Reply to Elna

Oh yes, that happens a lot. I used to get very irritated initially when people would steal my work and take the time to remove my watermark and repost my comics and call it their own. Initially, I was able to take down those posts by filing for Copyright Infringement on Instagram. But later I realized, that they themselves are paving their way to failure. How many comics are they going to steal? Eventually, they’ll get tired and move on to something else. You can only be a dedicated thief for so long, right? 😛 So I learnt to let it go. You can’t spend 3 hours a day chasing people that steal your stuff unless of course you have the money to employ someone to do that for you. And that’s exactly what I was trying to get at. By sharing your story and building a unique brand, you are achieving everything you dreamed of. 😀 And that’s plenty. Don’t worry about anyone else. Just focus on your own blog and life. You can’t go wrong hon. 🙂 Lots of love, AngelaReply to Angela

I just cant belive that some people are rude,I mean.. ahh I just started this blogging and it is hard ,baby isn’t sleep that well so my blogging start is really slow. But hey, that’s life. On Google when I was searching about blogging tips, your post showed up and man, I was so happy your posts helped me. I have learned so much, and I am still learning. You are an amazing person, mom, and influencer…you have all my support, and the first thing I have learn from your posts and blogging is that all bloggers need to support with each other. But someone probably doesn’t feel that way, and I am sorry for that person. I am sorry because she/he wants be able to be every amazing blogger, like you.. keep up twins mommy u rock..??Reply to Maya

Hi Maya! Thanks for your support. I have no hard feelings about all of this change. I’m sure it was inevitable. This frees up time to enjoy my twins 🙂Reply to Elna

What a great post. Sometimes change is good. As a new blogger, it’s so nice to see you (an experienced blogger) write about your challenges and your plans for the time being, as well as your plans for the future. I enjoyed reading this because it makes you seem more “real”, if you know what I mean. Yes, you’re an established and experienced blogger and writer, but you’re still a human being and you’re allowed to change paths and try something new. I love it and I appreciate your transparency. As always this is being repinned ASAP. xxReply to Mallaury

Hey Mallaury, Thanks so much! Yes, being authentic is something I value a lot. I want to deeply help other bloggers and other mom bloggers and sharing my successes and fails will hopefully help you all. While I don’t consider this a fail, it’s a pause and a new direction. I’m excited!Reply to Elna

I can’t believe you were accused of copying someone else cuz people copy your stuff all the time. In fact, you’re an influencer AND a nice person. Okay, I don’t know you personally, but I have that feeling. I loved your blogging course and found it hugely valuable. Anywhoo, thanks for sharing your new strategy.Reply to Amber

Hi Amber, Yeah, the blogging world has an underworld for sure and bloggers step on other bloggers’ toes sometimes on purpose or accidentally. In my case, it was accidental, but that wasn’t what this blogger felt. I’m not closing the doors and I don’t want to appear weak saying that someone else is deciding for me. But, it just made me realize the important things like WHY am I doing this? It’s to share my days with my family, not sit on a laptop all day and “work.” I want to sit at a laptop and enjoy my day and have time for my family.Reply to Elna