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April 2022 Valerie & Valise Income Report
Busy, busy, busy – that's how April sticks out in my memory. For the first time in two years, I feel like April began to give us a sense of returning to some normalcy. I spent a lot of time on planes, some of it not even wearing a mask; I went to conferences and events, many of which not even wearing a mask; I ate in restaurants and went to parties and traveled almost-normally...
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What is the Content Challenge
& How Does it WorkFeeling stuck on growing your site? Have a serious case of burnout or writer's block? I've been there – many times. Most people are surprised to learn that since I'm generally super productive and get a lot done but I (like everyone) struggle with my motivation. I've also worked to overcome those issues by finding tricks and techniques that motivate me even when I'm not feeling the fire inside on any given day, week, month, or even season. (Yes, I've taken whole seasons off from some sites!)...
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Jordan Traveler 1 Year Report
[CASE STUDY]People often ask me how I choose to start sites about different destinations, and why. The reality is that each answer is different. When it comes to my Jordan Traveler site, it was a memory of a trip six years ago – almost exactly around this time in 2016 – that left such a strong impression that I want other travelers to have the same experience. And I was fortunate to have that own experience again recently...
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How Often to Publish on a New Site:
My 10/10/10 Website Launch PlanSo you've decided to start a new site? Awesome! When I started Site School, it was always my goal to help both first-time and repeat website owners create sites that bring them joy and earn them money. This means that, from time to time, people in the community will be in the "launch" phase of their first/latest site and need help with that process as much as any other part of the business like monetization through ads and affiliates or product brainstorming...
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6 Important Areas of Focus for Your SEO Strategy in 2022 (& Beyond)
If I've learned anything over the eight years since I started running my first site, it's that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) never stops changing. As soon as you think you've figured out what Google wants, the world's biggest search engine improves its algorithms, changes its criteria, or releases some update that upends all we've been focusing on...
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March 2022 Valerie & Valise Income Report
After a six-month break, I'm back to publishing these income reports! I've had some requests for them, which I know is just y'all being nosy about my income – but it's cool. I understand that having benchmarks to compare your strategy and success is important, which is why I want to continue to share these reports. There aren't many bloggers doing that, and we all need it to help understand how our industry is growing and maturing...
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Follow the Butterflies 2 Year Report [CASE STUDY]
Ah, Follow the Butterflies, my Harry Potter blog and my little pandemic project. Like many people, I picked up new hobbies when the pandemic began and travel stopped – one of which was a site dedicated to my love of Harry Potter. In the two years since, my team and I have worked to grow Follow the Butterflies into a healthy little niche site...
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8 Powerful Ways to Demonstrate E-A-T & Boost Your SEO
SEO is a world of acronyms. Heck – SEO itself is an acronym (Search Engine Optimization) though most of us forget that as we talk about and work on our SEO every single day. Unfortunately, SEO is an active process for most website owners – after all, the word is "optimization," not "optimized." The SEO strategy that used to work for you might not work anymore, and you need to be constantly learning and adjusting to help your website succeed with Google...
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Soup Whoop 1 Year Report [CASE STUDY]
Y'all know I'm a travel blogger, right? Like many of you in the first half of 2020, I found myself wondering what I could to diversify my income to ensure against well, what started in the first half of 2020! To that end, I had always been kicking around the idea of starting a food blog, and I finally pulled the trigger one year ago when I launched Soup Whoop...
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Eat Like Bourdain 9 Month Report
[CASE STUDY]After penning a heartfelt letter at the one-year anniversary about how his death changed my life, I wondered: how can I continue to honor Bourdain's legacy and stretch my creative wings. That's why when the idea to start Eat Like Bourdain popped into my head, I knew I had a solid idea. Helping others explore and support the restaurants and other tourism businesses he visited is a good way to ensure his impact continues for years...
