I have a question for you…
WHY????
Why don’t more bloggers poll their audiences? Why?
Bloggers spend oodles and oodles of time on the back end of things, pulling stats, looking up maps, and doing all these trainings and events and everything else under the sun to learn more about their audience. Yet, they never just simply ASK THEM!
I don’t get it.
Why don’t bloggers just ASK their audiences what they want? It seems so simple to me.
Every year, I do a poll and a giveaway. It’s pretty straight-forward and it’s something that I really look forward to each year seeing all your names and getting to know you more. Your struggles, your praises, your prayer requests, where you are in your life, and what I can do to serve those needs more.
To bloggers, I want to say…poll your audiences 1-2 times a year. Really ask them what they want. You’ll learn SO much, I promise you.
To my audience, THANK YOU. It makes me want to cry how proud I am of all of you. The comments that I receive are fantastic and so very helpful. You definitely are a group of ladies I’d want to hang out with in person.
Younique Giveaway Poll Results
One of the most common prayer requests I’m hearing from you guys…
- Pray for guidance (Reader, Mona)
- Pray for guidance and courage to follow and trust God explicitly to guide and provide (Reader, Genea)
- That God would show me how to make the most of my time (Reader, Linda)
- Pray for spiritual strength for all out Christian brothers and sisters (Reader, Tina)
- That God keeps you going to keep me encouraged!! (Reader, Michelle)
- Yes pray for me I need to step out in faith to be more of a go-getter… (Reader, Irene)
Wow. It blows me away. So many of the prayers are completely unselfish. You’re asking me to pray for others, pray for you to do the will of God, to obey Him, to know His will for your life. These are all unselfish prayers and speak magnitudes of your faith! To me, that is just so amazing and I’m thankful to be a part of it.
When I wanted to quit eBay and start blogging, it was NOT because of the money. My #1 goal was simply to have a more fulfilling life. To reach, serve, help, and love other people more than I could by reselling.
Three years later in blogging, and I’m STILL incredibly fulfilled and happy. Being a pro blogger for me was absolutely the RIGHT choice and I’m so glad God paved the way and convicted me to start a blog years ago. You guys make me so happy!
Some of my friends in person don’t understand why I get so much joy from blogging. I don’t think they get it. It’s not just this online thing, it’s a group of real live human beings on the other end of these words. You’re reading my words, you’re listening, and I’m reading your words and listening to you. While it’s not as good of a relationship as something in person, a blog allows me to reach the world, which I CANNOT do locally.
For me, blogging has changed my life, and you guys are the biggest part of that. Thank you! Every day I wake up knowing that I have people out there that support me. In a world where there’s so much meanness and nastiness, anger and hostility. And I hope that my blog is a little corner of the world that is free of meanness and nastiness as well. That I inspire, encourage, and come along side of, to edify you all. THAT’S MY JOB!
With that said, let’s get into the poll results. Are you curious to know? 🙂
I’m a HUGE name person. I LOVE knowing names. You’re not just a number to me. You’re a real person with a name.
Are you curious to know what the most common names that took the poll are?
The most common names are Michelle, Amy, Cynthia, and Tina.
* If you’re wondering why it’s fuzzed out at the last name on the list, it’s because the last name was entered in there. I fuzzed it out for privacy purposes. I’ve seen her name MANY times before, so I know she’s someone who’s been around a while. Big shout out- Hi Irene! 🙂
Told ja I love names! Don’t think I don’t remember them!!! <3
The next question I asked was topical…what topics would you like to learn about (in regards to making money from home)?
By far, the #1 response was blogging.
For me, it’s a delicate balance for sure. I honestly encourage just about everyone to start a blog. I don’t think most people realize the power blogging has over our culture, over each other, and over the world. Everybody deserves a place online that you can go and just BE YOU, and blogging allows you to have that little piece of the world that you can call your own.
However, starting a blog can be a “bandwagon” thing. It seems pretty popular right now. Everyone’s doing it. So, be sure that if you are starting a blog, it is for the right reasons. And that’s a balance too…
On the one hand, you want to know that the full time hours you are putting into a blog (if you’re a pro blogger or plan on becoming a pro blogger) can pay for your time. Example, if I didn’t get paid blogging, I couldn’t do it. Because I’m a single mom, I have to make money on my blog to be ABLE TO spend so much time giving out so much free content and making this blog great for you.
At the same time, I don’t want to be all about money. I never have been, and I never want to be.
Listen my background is in banking. I have touched more cash than most. Hand me a million dollars in cash and you WON’T see my eyes bug out like they do on TV. I’m used to it. All cash is, is paper with green ink on it. That’s it! You can’t take it with you when you die. Yes, you wanna make a living. You wanna make your family’s life better and have a cushion, but we never wanna chase the gold. And I can tell you right now, that the bloggers or people who put money first (in ANY endeavor they’re doing) are usually the people who never make it IN that endeavor.
Because we’re smart. We know who’s fake and who’s not. And there are fakes in the blogging world too. Be careful who you follow. ANYONE can double their Google Analytics stats EASILY and then claim to have a high number of page views a month and it sounds impressive, but it’s not real. Some are genuine and don’t know, but some do it purposely. My point is, there ARE sharks out there and you have to be careful who you listen to.
Do your homework. Don’t follow everything anyone says. If someone says they have it all figured out, they are lying.
Be a blogger because you want to help the world and make a difference. Because you want to invest in those around you. Yes, to help your family financially too, I get it, but always with a “people first” mentality.
This past year, I have not shared my traffic or my income. I’ve laid low. But that does NOT mean I’m not slaying it behind the scenes over here! My stuff is still pretty hot. I just keep to myself. I don’t want to attract the gold-chasers. I want to help REAL people. REAL moms who want a better future and to help their families. I want to help YOU!
If you are in blogging or want to start blogging solely for the money, don’t waste your time starting a blog. You most likely will not make it. People are smart. They know…
Now, if you want to change the world, if you have something to say, if you want to serve those around you (and yes, make good income while doing it), then blogging is absolutely a great tool for you. And I’d encourage you to do whatever it takes to blog. Because blogging can change your life. And if you are already a blogger, fantastic. I’ll tell you what, email me! I’m not kidding. Email me or comment on this post and tell me that you’re not solely interested in the money as a blogger, because I will go to great lengths to get to know WHO YOU ARE and support your blog in any way I can! You are EXACTLY the person I want to be around. Because it seems to me, the world needs more people like YOU!
The world seems so money-hungry, it makes me sick! And I am in no way judging anyone. It’s between them and the Lord, but you can tell who’s for real and who’s not. Follow someone long enough, you’ll know!
Second place went to how to resell and third to general business successful tips. Goody!
Reselling can absolutely change your life as well as blogging. The second I got out of the homeless shelter several years back, it was the first thing I did. I remember getting some clothing from a free curb alert (yard sale leftovers) on Craigslist. I turned around, picked out all the brand name stuff that sold on eBay (looked it all up), then sold that stuff there.
The rest, I sold for 50¢-$1 each clothing article on Craigslist in batches by size. I made $300 from that alone. I lived in an apartment at the time and had an outdoor shed at the top of the balcony that was super clean and kept the clothes out there in large garbage bags. I laid bags out on the floor to put the clothes on and sorted them in boxes I got from the recycle bin (again clean). Doing that helped me pay my bills and I was able to stay home with my kids!
I do NOT believe there are truly very many women who want to be home with their kids, that can’t. You just have to find what works for you and that’s MY job to teach you how! So, THANK YOU for telling me you’re interested in this topic and you can be sure there will be lots more information coming up. I’ve been making money from home for over 18 years! I’ve done just about everything and not been scammed once. I have lots to teach you and I’m so excited to get started.
All that to say, those topics won’t take away from the stuff already being produced on this site. Call me crazy but, I like talking about multiple things. 🙂
For the binder, first place so far is a blogging binder (the wheels are already turning in my head!) and a Pinterest Binder, followed quickly by a saving money binder.
I gotta tell you, Pinterest excites me. Again, I’m over here in the shadows. Not making any waves, just keeping my head down working, but if you track stats, you’ll see that God has definitely blessed me in the Pinterest area. I’ve completely trained my AMAZING personal assistant, Katie, on Pinterest and she has discovered a couple sneaky tricks on her own as well!
Let me tell you, the both of us on Pinterest is like a storm you can’t contain. It’s incredible to see the growth and I have, yes, HAVE, figured out some neat NEW tricks that I’d love to share with you to get your Pinterest account better.
Likewise with the course, pretty consistent answers, blogging is in the lead, by far, Pinterest is next. General business tips and saving money are neck and neck for third place.
This next question, “Are you currently making income from home?” I was totally just curious about.
The results surprised me a little bit, to be honest. Only 23.2% thus far in the poll are making income from home. With as EASY as making money from home is, we gotta get you on this. 🙂 I know there are many women out there who want to simply help their families and this is a noble endeavor that I fully and whole-heartedly support. Let’s get you to that point (if you want to!) Let’s go! I’m ready!!!
Which is why I’m so glad I asked the next question. You all were VERY honest with me and I value that SO much, thank you!
Most answers said fear and time.
Time, I totally get it. I’m a single mom raising two young kids with absolutely no help at all. I don’t have family close to me. My ex-husband is far, far away and doesn’t contact them or anything. It’s just me. Thankfully, they are both older now (11 and 8), so they are much more self-sufficient than a baby would be.
For the fear one, meh…I’m the opposite. I will cross the street without looking both ways because I want something on the other side. I jump before I look. Especially if I know something is God’s will. I go for it. Because I KNOW the ONLY WAY I’LL FAIL is if I DON’T TRY!!!!!
Someone asked me if I ever fail on the poll…I seem so successful. Yes, I do fail. All the time. But, because I’m always out there trying, I also succeed a lot. 🙂
And look at that comment, “Being a wife and mother to 10 and homeschooling is my first priority…..” YES!!! Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Family always comes first. I work on my blog when my kids are at school and when they are sleeping or having quiet time (I put them in their rooms an hour early each night for quiet time before bed).
While I used to have to work 80+ hours a week to get established in blogging, our family (together, including the kids!!!) made that choice to get ahead and get to where we are now to have a better life so that I COULD spend time with them in the future (which is now!). And you don’t have to spend that kind of time to make it in blogging, please don’t get me wrong, but if you want to be a pro blogger, making full time income, you’ll have to put in full-time hours, especially in the beginning.
Alright, those are the answers. What do you think? Was it what you expected? A little different? Did you like seeing what others are saying?
Don’t forget if you haven’t already entered into the giveaway, you can enter 1 entry here and 1 entry here and a third entry form down below!
Two lucky winners will win a jar of not available anywhere else, completely sold out Younique Brilliant. I’m so excited to give these bottles to you guys. Seriously. Younique is THE best company out there. I am obsessed with their products.
I used to have to wear liquid foundation to cover my imperfections on my face and because their face wash and creams are so fantastic, they make my skin a beautiful color, all pigmented correctly- I get red 🙂 and I don’t have to wear ANY foundation at ALL anymore. My skin looks passable as if I WERE wearing foundation! All I use is concealer (as my powder). It’s my secret weapon!
I also really ADORE the night moisturizer and the mask. OHHHHHH, the mask! I mix it with an organic powder clay I have- not sure if you’re supposed to do that or not, lol….kids, don’t try this at home 😉 and the results are FANtastic! Here’s where I order Younique from.
