How AI is Affecting Blogging and Influencers (+ Tips on AI-"Proofing"* Your Blog!)

AI (Artificial Intelligence) programs have progressed by incredible leaps and bounds over the last year and will only continue to improve and become more integrated into our daily lives. I’ve been blogging for the past 10 years and have noticed a big change in the blogging world, for myself and acquaintances in the industry. Here I thought I’d share some of my personal observations as well as tips that will hopefully help preserve your blog against AI.
DISCLAIMER: This posts shares personal opinions/observations and predictions on how to help your blog in this changing world. I am not an expert and you should do your own research on these matters and use my tips at your own discretion/risk. Please also keep in mind that AI is rapidly evolving and observations and predictions shared in this post may not apply in the future.

How AI is Affecting Blogging + Influencers

Decreased Traffic

With people utilizing AI more and more these days, they tend to visit websites less. This is especially obvious with the integration of Google’s Gemini (AI feature), among others. Now when you Google something Gemini will often give you a summary of the best or most common answers at the top the search results. This might answer your question enough to keep you from clicking around at the rest of the search results.

Decreased Ad Revenue

This one is pretty straightforward… less traffic = less ad revenue. After all, websites get paid for ads based on how often an ad is viewed or clicked on and if there’s less traffic to a site, there will be less ad revenue.

Decreased Affiliate Link Clicks

Again, this one is pretty straight forward - if you have less traffic to your website, less people will be seeing and clicking on your affiliate links, meaning less affiliate income.

The decrease in traffic is really hitting ad and affiliate link revenue HARD for so many websites, not just regular blogs.

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How to AI-“Proof”* Your Blog

*It’s worth noting that I don’t think you can truly 100% “AI-Proof” your blog - AI tech is really good and only getting better — HOWEVER, I do think there are steps you can take to help preserve your blog, traffic, and income. They include:

Gain a Loyal Following

Try to gain a loyal following of people who read your blog regularly. Some ways you can do that is to regularly post engaging content to keep them coming back for more - maybe a regularly occurring series (like making over a room step-by-step or chronicling your decluttering or healthy-lifestyle journey). Or regularly posting new, great recipes to try. Try to find your niche and your followers will continue to check back in for more.

Keep a Loyal Following Across Multiple Social Media Channels

These days they best way to see and be seen (and have your blog be seen), is to post on social media. This is how a lot of people will discover your blog in the first place - but don’t put all your eggs in one basket! It’s important to try to gain a following across all social media platforms, that way if one goes down (or gets banned.. like TikTok may) you still have a reach across other platforms.

Write Detailed Posts with LOTS of Pictures (Especially for How-To Articles)

Right now for the most part AI is great at summarizing and giving general answers - but if people want specifics, especially for a how-to post, they will want lots of details, step-by-step instructions, and PICTURES. This is especially true for any kind of hands-on craft or DIY or home improvement project with a lot of nuances. Provide a lot of details and pictures and your post will continue to be more useful than a summary would be.

Utilize Keywords + Long-Tail Keywords

Keywords and long-tail keywords are important for your blog to place high in search results. After all, you want your blog post towards the top of search results if possible - even if AI has a summary of answers at the top. That way if people want to read a little more on the subject and scroll down a bit your post will (hopefully) be one of the top options to choose from to read more.

Keywords are straightforward words that describe your post, for example: “how-to”, “declutter”, “cleaning”, etc, - they are important but it’s easy to get lost in search results with just regular keywords. This is why it’s important to also include long-tail keywords which are the specific phrases that people might actually type into the search to find your post, for example: “how-to declutter your house with small kids”. In general, long-tail keywords give you a better chance at placing higher in search results.

Consider a Pay Wall to “Hide” Your Best Content

If you have REALLY good content that people would want to pay for, consider implementing a pay wall for readers to access it. Examples of this could be having readers pay for a course on your website or pay for access to an exclusive newsletter that offers info and content that they couldn’t find on your website otherwise.

I hope this post gave you some food for thought on how to preserve your blog and blog income in this rapidly changing world. Best of luck!

DISCLAIMER: This posts shares personal opinions/observations and predictions on how to help your blog in this changing world. I am not an expert and you should do your own research on these matters and use my tips at your own discretion/risk.
*I don’t think you can truly 100% “AI-Proof” your blog - AI tech is really good and only getting better — however, I do think there are steps you can take to help preserve your blog, traffic, and income. Please also keep in mind that AI is rapidly evolving and observations and predictions shared in this post may not apply in the future.

A Message of Hope Facing the Unknowns of Coronavirus

Definitely a very weird and uncertain time right now, but the sacrifices we make to stay home and away from others will hopefully make a huge (positive) impact in the trajectory of what's going on in the world right now.  I hope this time of home-quarantine for much of our society will have some very positive side effects - like quality time with our kids, the wonderful challenge of learning to homeschool, a renewed sense of frugality and being less-wasteful, and using social media as a beneficial tool to stay connected with family and friends.  And with the world learning to "work remote," hopefully there will be more work-from-home job opportunities going forward which will lessen society's need for commuting, large office buildings, and pollution.  

It definitely will be a very challenging time these next few weeks and months.  But I hope we remember what’s truly important, can support and learn from each other (from a safe distance), and realize that the sacrifices we make are for the greater good.  We will come out on the other side of this more resilient, self-reliant, and stronger than ever.  Stay healthy everyone!  <3

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• My Recipe for “Quarantine Chili”

• Emergency Preparedness Ideas and Planning Tips

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Why I Purged Who I'm Following on Social Media (And Why You Might Want to Too)

If you’re like me you probably get sucked into your phone too often, falling down the rabbit hole of continuously scrolling Instagram and Facebook. But it’s a New Year, new beginnings right? I recently took a good look at who I’m following on my personal and blog Instagram accounts and did some purging… in fact between my accounts I unfollowed thousands (previous to this I had never really unfollowed anyone!) and in doing so it greatly simplified my social media checking routine, spending less time online.

Who I Unfollowed

First, I know I personally feel a little hurt when I realize someone unfollowed me (why don’t they like me??) - but if you’re reading this and I unfollowed you please realize it’s nothing personal at all. Over the many years I’ve had social media I have followed thousands of accounts, but I’ve never actually reevaluated their relevancy to me as time went on and cleaning house was long, long overdue.

Here are some types of accounts that I unfollowed:

Accounts that are “Dead”: As I went through my lists, I found hundreds of accounts that have been “dead” for years… blogs or business accounts that have gone out of business or people that for one reason or another have just stopped updating a particular account. While these accounts aren’t cluttering up my feed, they aren’t doing anything for me either so I unfollowed them.

Accounts that Don’t Reflect Our Current Stage in Life: And then there’s accounts that used to be relevant to me but aren’t anymore… for example years ago when we were first starting our family I followed lots of baby-centric accounts and businesses. However our kids are all past the baby stage now and I just don’t need to know about the newest bottles or baby carriers these days. It’s definitely bittersweet closing the door on that stage in our lives but the practical reasoning is we just don’t need to be up-to-date on baby trends anymore. So any irrelevant accounts to our current place in life were unfollowed too.

Accounts that I was Following “Because Everyone Else Is”: There were plenty of accounts I was following strictly because they were big-name brands/companies or ultra-popular influencers or bloggers. I was mostly following them because I felt like I should be, even though most of their posts were essentially ads and I didn’t find following them enjoyable myself. I’m personally not a huge fan of impersonal/overly-commercialized posts so I unfollowed a lot of these types of accounts too.

Accounts that I Follow in More than One Place: I have both a personal and blog-related Instagram account and realized there were quite a few accounts that I was following in both places… this was kind of redundant as I was often seeing the same posts twice. I really didn’t want or need to see the same things over and over so I would decide where made the most sense for me to follow an account and would then unfollow it from my other account.

Accounts that Bring Me Down: Do what’s best for your mental health and your self esteem! Are there accounts that you follow that are too pessimistic? Or too perfect and it makes you devalue yourself subconsciously? Get rid of them. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life - only follow accounts that raise you up or inspire you in a positive way.

Accounts that I Don’t Enjoy: As I went through my lists of who I’m following I realized something - I honestly don’t enjoy fashion bloggers (no offense to any fashion bloggers out there!). As much as I love a good outfit inspiration I am not into “fast fashion” and I’m not someone who constantly buys clothes or the latest styles. I actually think it’s really bad for the environment to constantly consume clothing and accessories that will only be worn a few times (and a lot of these influencers will only wear items for a post or two then get rid of them). Fast fashion isn’t something I condone or enjoy so I won’t passively support it by following all those influencers.

Important Note: Don’t Try to Purge in One Day!

I made this mistake myself… when I first decided to clean house I stayed up really late one night and was determined to work my way through my list and clean it out in one go - but then Instagram blocked my account for 24 hours. If you do too much of one action in a short amount of time (like unfollowing other accounts), Instagram will flag your account as spam and lock you out temporarily… and apparently if you keep it up they will keep locking you out for longer each time, potentially banning you permanently (so scary!). Getting locked out for 24 hours was very frustrating, but it made me realize I have to tread lightly moving forward. When you’re purging, make sure to never unfollow more than a few accounts at a time and make sure to continue to use Instagram as you normally would (liking, commenting, engaging with others like usual). Purging your feed will be a work-in-progress for a while and will take time.

Who I Muted

Did you know you can “mute” accounts too? That way they don’t show up in your feed but you’re still following them. There were some accounts that I was following that I still wanted to follow to show some support, but were totally cluttering up my feed and driving me nuts… for example maybe you have an old school friend who has taken an endeavor into MLM sales. As much as you might love this friend and want to support her, you don’t want to see ten posts a day on essential oils, or fake nails, or eyelash serum or whatever it is that she’s constantly pushing. You’ll still show as a follower to her and it would be good idea to make a note to occasionally hop on over to her account to engage in a post here and there - but it’s not going to constantly fill your feed with stuff you’re not interested in anymore.

Turn Notifications OFF

If you haven’t already, it’s also a great idea to turn off Notifications Off across all your platforms. Seeing those little “dings” constantly come up when friends post, like, or comment can be overwhelming and drag you into checking your phone every few minutes. If you turn these off you’ll be less tempted to constantly check your phone - and make a point to only check it at certain times during the day. I have already had my notifications turned off for years now (it’s something I made a point to do a long time ago), and I will continue to keep them off.

Why My Social Media Experience is Better and More Efficient Now

After you’ve made sufficient progress purging who you’re following, you’ll notice that your feed is full of things that you actually want to see - no more “junk” that you used to waste time scrolling past everyday. Your feed will be full of accounts that you find positive, intentional, and inspiring - not to mention following less accounts will make it quicker and easier to catch up on recent posts every day.

And another positive side effect of my purge? It seems to have reset the algorithm for what I typically see in my feed. There were a lot of accounts I was following that I honestly had totally forgotten about because I hadn’t seen any posts by them in my feed FOR YEARS. But as I made progress purging who I was following I started to see those long-lost-to-me accounts in my feed again and it was so refreshing! I was able to re-discover a lot of accounts that I used to love following and it’s wonderful to finally see their posts again in my feed and reconnect with them. (And if you rediscover an account you want to see in your feed again, make sure to like and engage in their posts so Instagram will learn to continue to show them.)

Going Forward

Going forward this is something I definitely want to keep up with. I had neglected reevaluating who I was following for years and since I had let it get out of hand it took weeks for me to slowly purge since I had so much catching up to do. From now on this is something I’ll plan on revisiting at least once a year (I even put a reminder in my calendar for next January as part of my New Year’s Resolutions). Your social media feed should be enjoyable and inspiring, and it should be more efficient to check - by actively managing it hopefully you will see an improvement in your social media experience too.

So far I’ve really only tackled Instagram but I am planning on working to purge who I’m following on my other social media accounts too (especially Facebook and Pinterest) for the same reasons.

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5 Things I Should Have Done from the Start with my Handmade Business

I've been selling my hand-etched ornaments and other small crafts locally and from my Etsy shop for a little while now, and I've learned quite a bit during this time.  In the beginning I was totally "winging it" and looking back now there are a few things that I really wished I had started right from the get-go.  | This post contains affiliate links |

DISCLAIMER: Always consult a local tax and business professional for the best advice for your situation regarding finances and how to legally set up your business.

5 Things I Should Have Done from the Start with my Handmade Business 

Keep All Receipts

In the beginning this all started out more as a hobby than anything else, and so I never kept my receipts from supplies bought, postage, etc.  I really didn't know how much I was spending vs. how much I was making or if it was really profitable.  However, you need to keep track of how much you're spending for these things - this is especially important for taxes (whomp, whomp) since you can write off a lot of your expenses, but only if you have the receipts.  You can use a receipt organizer to make it a little easier to file and organize everything for your records.  

Supply & Materials Records

Knowing how much everything costs for your business (craft supplies, packaging materials, etc) as well as how much you use is important for planning ahead and having enough materials on-hand.  In the beginning you can expect a learning curve where you'll run out of padded envelopes or ribbon from time-to-time.  But figuring out your demand and flow of goods and materials can help make sure you always have enough supplies on-hand without having too much surplus (also not good).  

Separate Bank Account

Keeping a separate bank account really helps keep track of expenses as well as makes sure you're only spending what you're making and not more.  Consider opening a new checking/debit account (and possibly a credit card) and use those methods of payment for all business related expenses - buying supplies at the store, shipping items, etc.  When Etsy payments are deposited, or checks from wholesale orders, they should go into this checking account.  By only using the money you're making to spend on expenses you won't go into debt.  Also make sure to set some money aside to pay yearly or quarterly taxes if applicable (your accountant can help you figure that out).  

Better Overall Financial Record Keeping

Keeping track of expenses vs. income can be hard and it's easy to forget infrequent or small expenses that can really add up (yearly website hosting, Etsy listing fees, advertising, items sent to bloggers for collabs, etc).  You'll definitely want to create or purchase a spreadsheet template to keep close tabs on all of these expenses.  

Rather than try to make one myself, several months ago I purchased the Etsy Seller Spreadsheet from Paper + Spark and was really impressed! Janet from Paper + Spark is a Certified Public Accountant, so she really knows her stuff. The Etsy spreadsheet template can input all the data (sales, Etsy selling fees, listing fees, etc) right from Etsy and populates them into the spreadsheet for you so you don't miss anything. There are also sections you can customize so you can put in expenses from website hosting, office supplies, etc or income from local craft shows or wholesale accounts. It can be hard to realize how much Etsy's cut is (they charge a listing fee, a transaction fee, and a percentage of the sale), so seeing just how much their take actually is has helped me adjust my pricing better. Recording all these details was so important to finally see what my bottom line actually is - I really wish I had kept better track of everything right from the beginning!

I had purchased Paper + Spark's original spreadsheet, but Janet's since come out with more detailed spreadsheets as well as “bundles” that include documents to help you with inventory, pricing, and selling on other platforms (Shopify, Square, etc) so you can decide what spreadsheet and package is best for you and your business. And the best part? Paper + Spark’s customer service is AMAZING! Janet will continue to make available the latest version of your purchases each year. That way if Etsy or another platform tweaks anything, you’ll know that your current spreadsheet will be up to date and working properly.

Social Media + Collaborations

Never underestimate the power of social media!  Social Media is the place to see and be seen - make sure you're always posting, commenting, and connecting with other handmade buisnesses, gift shops, bigger brands, and bloggers.  Always use hashtags on Instagram, but hide them in your first comment so they don't clutter up your caption.  In particular, Instagram is a great place to get exposure - in fact my photos have been reposted by brands like Nuby, Kohl's, and Yankee Magazine and one was even featured in print in Martha Stewart Living Magazine!  I was also contacted by Food Network Magazine to be a contributor for one of their articles.

Another great way to gain exposure and a following is to reach out to bloggers for collaborations (collabs).  Usually this entails you sending your product to them, free of charge, and they will style and feature your item on their blog and across their social media accounts.  You could also team up with them to host a giveaway.  Some larger bloggers may also charge you a fee to collab with them, but many bloggers will feature for free if your product fits their aesthetic.  This is a great way to get your name and your products out there and increase your following.  And don't write-off the power of smaller bloggers either - sometimes the smaller bloggers (aka, micro influencers) have the most active and devoted followings.  

DISCLAIMER: Always consult a local tax and business professional for the best advice for your situation regarding finances and how to legally set up your business.

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Looking for FREE Etsy listings to get started?  

If you're thinking of opening a brand new Etsy shop, please feel free to use my referral link HERE - and we'll both earn some free listings on Etsy :)

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- I purchased Paper + Spark's products myself and was so impressed that I chose to become an affiliate.  All my opinions are my own and I honestly love her product.  As an affiliate, if you purchase anything from her site using my links I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you -

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