Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some posts from our favorite travel bloggers, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• Catch up with Geraldine at The Everywhereist.

• Twins that Travel admit that their Instagram life is a lot better than their real life.

• YUM. Look at what Ashley Abroad ate in Jordan.

• Here are some tips to beat jet-lag from World of Wanderlust.

• Adventurous Kate visited the midwest for the first time and dug Milwaukee!

• The Montreal Jazz festival, seen through the eyes of Savoir Faire Abroad.

• Legal Nomads‘ New Zealand photos are breathtaking.

• Travel With Bender‘s kids ran with the bulls in Pamplona!

As usual, some blogging, productivity, and creativity tips and resources:

• A travel blogger blogging about blogging! The Young Adventuress shares what she’s learned after 5 years of blogging.

• The Nectar Collective has 5 reasons why nobody’s reading your blog.

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• How to Identify KPIs for Your Blog

The post AmpliFINDS – July 17: Travel Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some posts from our favorite healthy living bloggers, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• Diane Carbonell has some feelings about “cheat days.”

• Nia Shanks weighs in on 30-day challenges: which work and which don’t.

• If you don’t have the time or money to join a gym, Cranky Fitness offers some gym workout alternatives.

• Here’s why you should maintain a healthy lifestyle while traveling, from Sweat Like A Pig.

• This honey almond & coconut granola from Peanut Butter Runner sounds delish.

• We can’t wait to try this lower body workout from Bender Fitness.

• Girls Gone Strong has some great advice on handling food pushers.

• Hungry Runner Girl‘s emotions affect her running.

• If you’re considering a paleo or Whole 30 diet, bookmark Nom Nom Paleo ASAP!

As usual, some blogging, productivity, and creativity tips and resources:

• How to make your blog safe and secure – from Bloggers Bazaar

• How to start a successful blog – from The Katie Show

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• What Brands Look for in Blogger Partnerships

The post AmpliFINDS – July 10: Healthy Living Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some posts from our favorite men’s lifestyle blogs, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• An important lesson from The Art of Manliness – how to fail and live to talk about it.

• Put This On does a weekly roundup of eBay fashion finds for guys who love a good deal.

• Here’s a review of the new movie Dope from Guys Gab.

• Speaking of movies, here’s a list of the 10 most expensive movies ever from High Snobiety.

• Kempt answers your most burning question – what is a fedora, anyway?

• Uh-oh, Taylor Swift. The Kentucky Gent isn’t pleased with you, and rightfully so!

• We want to go to there! Hypebeast has a photo tour of Bing Crosby’s old Palm Springs estate.

• If you’re the type who likes to read reviews before you shop for clothing, bookmark Well Spent.

• We can totally related to this post about Neflix binge watching on The Hundreds.

• This color-matching guide from The Subtle Things is great – and not just for men!

• Add Dennis Glanz‘s style blog to your reader ASAP!

• Bright Bazaar shares three different ways to nail (no pun intended) the gallery wall.

• The perfect charcuterie from Probably This.

As usual, some blogging, productivity, and creativity tips and resources:

• Very helpful – how to find clarity from Kelley With Love.

• Blog Better by Leap wrote up a useful FTP 101.

• Whoa – check out how Dolly Dowse tripled her blog traffic in just one month.

• From Blog Tyrant, some realistic benchmarks for your first year of blogging.

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• Is Blogging Sustainable as a Full-Time Career?

The post AmpliFINDS – June 26th: Men’s Lifestyle Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

But is it possible to earn enough as a blogger to do it full-time? And if so, is it sustainable long-term?

First, let’s talk money

Whether or not you can afford to quit your day job and live on blogging alone is completely up to you. You alone know how much you need to earn in order to maintain your lifestyle. So, once you determine the amount of money you’ll need to earn in order to blog full-time, the next step is to figure out if your blog has the potential to earn that much.

It’s easy to get excited when you read about how some top bloggers are earning upwards of $1 million per year. But it’s also very important to be realistic: highly-successful bloggers like BryanBoy, Pink Peonies, and Man Repeller are the exception, not the rule.

It’s a lot harder to determine earning potential for lower- to middle-tier bloggers, because most bloggers don’t disclose their earnings – talking about money is taboo, you know. But here at AmpliFound, we’ve got a ready-made case study: me!

I ran my own affordable fashion and shopping blog for seven years (from 2006-2013), and I’m ready to break the taboo and talk! First, some factoids about my blog:

• The majority of my blog’s revenue came from affiliate links (mostly ShopSense, some RewardStyle). I featured some sponsored content once in a while.
• In the blog’s heyday, it got an average of 75,000 unique visitors per month.
• I posted between 15-20 posts per week, and each post had an average of 5 links, which meant that the blog had an average of 75-100 affiliate links per month.
• I spent 15-20 hours blogging per week, on top of my full-time work.

Now, the earnings! Depending on the time of year, I’d earn anywhere between $300 and $2000 a month from my blog. The highest earning months were October (when I posted Halloween costumes every day of the month) and December (because of holiday shopping). Earnings would usually drop off significantly after the new year, and peak again in fall and winter. But the earnings weren’t consistent on a month-to-month basis, and even if I’d managed to earn $2000 every month, that wouldn’t have been enough for me and my family.

Since my story doesn’t apply to everyone, here are some more statistics for context’s sake:

In 2012, ProBlogger did a survey of 1,000 bloggers to find out their monthly earnings:

About 50% of the bloggers earned less than $100 a month.

Also in 2012, Jeff Bullas posted some statistics that showed that only 8% of bloggers earn enough to support a family, and 81% never even make $100 from blogging.

The moral of the story? Most bloggers will never make enough money to quit their day jobs.

Is Blogging Sustainable?

But say that you do. Say that you work really hard and build a great blog with high-quality content and engaged readers, and you earn enough money that you can support yourself or your family from your blog earnings. Does blogging in general have a future?

Well, I don’t have a crystal ball, but in the past year lots of big-time bloggers have moved onto other endeavors (see: Andrew Sullivan, Dooce, Young House Love). Furthermore, lots of really smart people are saying that blogging is on the decline.

In this article, Vox’s Ezra Klein claims that two things factor into the decline of blogging:

The first is that, at this moment in the media, scale means social traffic. Links from other bloggers — the original currency of the blogosphere, and the one that drove its collaborative, conversational nature — just don’t deliver the numbers that Facebook does. But blogging is a conversation, and conversations don’t go viral. People share things their friends will understand, not things that you need to have read six other posts to understand… The other reason is that the bigger the site gets, and the bigger the business gets, the harder it is to retain the original voice.

Nieman Lab‘s Jason Kottke has a similar outlook:

The primary mode for the distribution of links has moved from the loosely connected network of blogs to tightly integrated services like Facebook and Twitter. If you look at the incoming referers to a site like BuzzFeed, you’ll see tons of traffic from Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Stumbleupon, and Pinterest but not a whole lot from blogs, even in the aggregate. For the past month at kottke.org, 14 percent of the traffic came from referrals compared to 30 percent from social, and I don’t even work that hard on optimizing for social media. Sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy aren’t seeking traffic from blogs anymore. Even the publicists clogging my inbox with promotional material urge me to “share this on my social media channels” rather than post it to my blog.

And the folks at ProBlogger say:

So how many blog comments do you get, huh? Is it anything like the number you had four years ago? I doubt it very much. Practically every blogger I’ve talked to has said comments are on the decline. Why? Two words: social media. Readers are not only using social media to find your content, they are also using their favourite platforms to interact with it, and you. A reader is more likely to share your post on Facebook and leave a comment there than write something on the blog itself.

What does this mean for you as a blogger?

Does that mean that you might as well pack it in and give up your dreams of being a full-time blogger? Absolutely not, but it does mean that you’ll need to work hard to keep up with what kind of content and interaction resonates with your readers.

It’s also important to keep in mind that most top bloggers aren’t making 100% of their income from blogging. Successful bloggers often have side products or businesses that earn them plenty of money. For example:

• Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess have written books, developed two smartphone apps, and run an online shop where they sell craft supplies, e-courses, and more.
• Jessica of What I Wore has taught fashion classes at a local college.
• Joy of Oh Joy! regularly designs products for collaborations.
• Rach of Pink Peonies has her own jewelry collection for sale.
• Gala of Gala Darling, Shauna of Nubby Twiglet, and Kat of Rock n Roll Bride have collaborated on The Blogcademy workshops and online classes.
• Kendi of Kendi Everyday owns a brick and mortar boutique.
• And pretty much every top food blogger out there has written a cookbook.

So, if you’re going to be a full-time blogger, always be on the lookout for (or create your own!) opportunities to expand into other avenues.

So, IS blogging sustainable as a long-term career?

Not for just anyone. But if being a full-time blogger is your dream, and if you’ve got the money, drive, passion, and ambition to give it a shot, then go for it!

The post Is Blogging Sustainable as a Full-Time Career? appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some impressive projects from our favorite crafting bloggers, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• Check out the beautiful maxi dress that Create/Enjoy made!

• We’re always blown away by the creativity and ingenuity over at Ikea Hackers.

• ArtBar made a woven wall hanging on a branch, and it’s fabulous.

• These kitschy cardboard cacti from The House That Lars Built would be really cute (and safe!) for a kid’s room.

• DIY wood scrap arrows for every room in your home from Infarrantly Creative.

• Alice and Lois‘s watercolor business cards will definitely make an impression.

• Ohoh Blog has a great roundup of DIY wine racks.

• We can’t wait to see how AKA Design‘s vertical garden comes together.

• Minted Strawberry‘s DIY pearl bracelet is simple and timeless.

• The DIY ombre curtains in Taylor Made‘s craft room are just perfect.

• A Little Craft in Your Day is an impressive crafting blog by two teenagers!

As usual, some blogging, productivity, and creativity tips and resources:

• A DIY and blog advice all in one post! Here’s a washi tape blog planner from Chic Steals.

• Advice from The Nectar Collective on how to shake off your online haters.

• 7 blogging mistakes that you don’t want to make, courtesy of Michael Hyatt

• PostPlanner has curated a pretty stellar collection of blogging tips.

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• Writing Resources – for Bloggers and Everyone!

The post AmpliFINDS – June 19th: Crafting & DIY Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some aspirational posts from our favorite home & decor bloggers, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• We want to pack it up and go live in this forest dome house that Moon to Moon featured.

• Kara Paslay‘s new dining room is one of a kind!

• How to freshen up your dining room from Simply Grove.

• Amber Interiors shares some advice on choosing the right sofa for you.

• Daniel from Manhattan Nest gets his hands dirty with a mudroom demo.

• Mrs. Lilien has rounded up some fun bamboo chairs that are sure to brighten up any home.

• If you like Chinese-inspired design, check out Chinoiserie Chic.

• Jenna’ Sue‘s bathroom vanity update is just fantastic!

As usual, some blogging, productivity, and creativity tips and resources:

• What are nofollow links, and why should you use them, from Bloggers Bazaar.

• From Jeff Bullas: how to get blog traffic from offline sources.

• Successful blogger secrets from Rebekah Radice.

• Business Insider has a list of ways that smart people sabotage their success.

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• How to Rebrand Your Blog

The post AmpliFINDS – June 5th: Home and Decor Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some droolworthy posts from our favorite food bloggers, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• This strawberry caprese with pistachio pesto from How Sweet It Is looks delicious and gorgeous.

• How cute and clever are these mason jar desserts from Popsugar?

• How amazing does Blogging Over Thyme‘s grilled corn and poblano guacamole look?

• The watermelon ice Pimm’s Cup that Pickled Capers whipped up will be our 2015 summer drink.

• Or maybe we’ll be drinking Glue and Glitter’s balsamic strawberry margarita instead!

• Baked asparagus fries with lemon pepper mayo? Yes, please, and thank you, Warm Vanilla Sugar.

• A roundup of sweet and savory summer salsas from Oh My Veggies.

• Did you know that burger blogging is a thing? Check out Burger Weekly, Burger Beast, Burgerac, and our favorite, The Bob’s Burger Experiment!

• If you’re considering trying Whole30, Grits & Chopsticks has some great Whole30 recipes to try.

• And if you couldn’t care less about Whole30, make Joy the Baker‘s chocolate mousse ASAP!

• The language is NSFW, but Thug Kitchen‘s recipes shouldn’t be missed.

• Sign us up for these puffy bacon twists with BBQ ranch sauce from The Food Charlatan.

As usual, some blogging tips and resources:

• CoSchedule has some helpful proof that emotional headlines get shared more on social media.

• If you’re being plagued by haters and negative comments, check out The Wonder Forest for advice on how to deal.

• Kyla Roma has three simple questions that you can ask yourself to help come up with blog posts that will resonate with your readers.

• Have you always wanted to be an author? Check out By Regina‘s advice on expending a blog post or series into a book!

• Here are some business lessons you can learn from Taylor Swift from Blogging and Co.

• Suffering from blogging burnout? Wonderlass has got you covered.

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• What can LinkedIn do for your Blog?

• Blogging Lessons from Kill Bill, Volume II

The post AmpliFINDS – June 5th: Food Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

This week, we’re featuring some wonderful posts from our favorite stylish fashion bloggers, as well as some helpful blogging tips as usual.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• Dylana Suarez rocks a classic trench coat.

• Whoa, check out J’adore Fashion‘s statement heels!

• Spring perfection from Kendi Everyday.

• Nany’s Klozet‘s outfit would be perfect for a music festival.

• If you’re looking for affordable basics, don’t miss Jaclyn Day‘s roundups.

• The Dainty Squid‘s owl dress is just adorable.

• Style Girlfriend offers men’s style advice from a woman’s point of view.

• Tying a scarf as a beach cover-up from Extra Petite.

• If you’re on a strict fashion budget, bookmark Penny Pincher Fashion, Penny Chic, Chic on the Cheap, and Broke and Beautiful,

• But if luxury’s your thing, check out Damsel in Dior, fashiontoast, the Glamourai, or Pink Peonies.

As usual, some blogging tips and resources:

• The 18 Best Blogging & Publishing Platforms on the Internet Today – The Next Web

• 7 Blogging Superstars Reveal Their Secrets – Heidi Cohen

• How Blogging has Made Me a Better Writer – The Gift of Writing

• 51 Free Blogging Tools – The Savings Opportunity

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• When to Use Video Instead of Images

• 5 Lessons Bloggers can Learn from Romy & Michelle

The post AmpliFINDS – May 15: Fashion Blogger Edition! appeared first on AmpliFound.

Come check us out every Friday, when we’ll be sharing the best blogging-related links from across the web, whether they’re useful how-tos, or just something amazing that one of our favorite bloggers is working on.

And if you’ve got a great blog post or article to share, drop the link in a comment below. Maybe we’ll share your AmpliFIND next time!

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

• In honor of Mother’s Day: Why Your Mom Was Right About Blogging from Copyblogger.

• Buffer has collected some very valuable blogging advice from 16 experts.

• We love these gorgeous negative space photos rounded up on At Home In Love.

• 5 reasons every blogger needs an email list from Just a Girl and Her Blog.

• Kaleidoscope Blog has a list of 15 places to promote your blog posts.

• Don’t miss the Met Gala red carpet coverage from Tom & Lorenzo and Go Fug Yourself.

• Jeff Bullas has some tips on visual social media.

• The Lingerie Addict wrote a very thoughtful post about body snark in the blogging community.

• Improve your blog’s SEO by optimizing images with these tips from White Oak Creative.

• Some thoughts on balance and feeling overwhelmed from Freckled Italian.

• These homemade chocolate poptarts from Lark & Linen look divine.

• How to say no from Louise Androlia.

• There’s no DIY better than an easy DIY, so check out Winston & Main‘s paper flower printable.

• Christine in Spain shares her favorite blogging tools and resources.

And here’s what happened on AmpliFound this week:

• 5 Blogging Lessons Learned from the Harry Potter Series

• Three Tasks a Blogger Should Outsource

The post AmpliFINDS – May 8 appeared first on AmpliFound.

But the most magical thing about the Harry Potter series is there are a lot of blogging lessons to be learned from the characters. Well, maybe that’s not the most magical thing – but nevertheless, here are five blogging lessons you can learn from the Harry Potter series.

Suffice it to say, this post has spoilers galore! You’ve been warned!

Be Resourceful, like Harry Potter

In his fight against Voldemort, Harry was brave and he was lucky, but most of all, he was resourceful. Remember when he destroyed Tom Riddle’s diary with the basilisk fang? When he used Felix Felicis to get Professor Slughorn’s memory? Or when he used Polyjuice Potion and Decoy Detonators to sneak into Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic? Or the innumerable times he used his invisibility cloak? Harry used the tools he had at his disposal to help himself succeed.

The lesson?

Be an enterprising and inventive blogger. There are countless valuable tools out there that you can use to help you succeed. For example:

• Blogging Platforms (Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr, etc.)

• Productivity Tools (IFTTT, Buffer, Eggtimer, etc.)

• Organizational Tools (Evernote, Trello, Dropbox, etc.)

• Content Ideation Tools (Buzzsumo, Google Trends, TheNeeds, etc.)

Try out as many tools as you can, and add those that you like best to your blogging arsenal.

Overcome Your Insecurities, like Ron Weasley

Being best friends with the famous Harry Potter and the brilliant Hermione Granger would make almost anybody feel like a second (or third) fiddle. And poor Ron also had a whole slew of remarkable brothers and Ginny to contend with at home! No wonder he often felt invisible.

Ron often let his  insecurity get the best of him, like when he was jealous of Harry’s participation in the Triwizard Tournament, when he got tongue-tied around girls, or when his nerves affected his Quidditch playing, but he was eventually able to overcome his inferiority complex to help Gryffindor win the Quidditch cup and to play a huge, important role in the downfall of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

The lesson?

Bloggers are no stranger to insecurity. It’s hard not to feel jealous of hugely successful, top-tier bloggers like Oh Joy, The Bloggess, or Smitten Kitchen. They’ve got hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of followers, they’re widely respected and adored, and they’ve turned their blogs into full-time careers.

But don’t let that stop you from blogging. Instead of giving up because you’ll never be as popular as those bloggers, use their accomplishments as inspiration to work even harder. Even if you’re never more than moderately successful, you’ll still have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your best.

Have a Thirst for Knowledge, like Hermione Granger

When Hermione wasn’t busy helping save the wizarding world from evil, she almost always had her face buried in a book, whether in the library, or in the Gryffindor common room. She loved to read and that’s what made her so successful. She was always the first to master spells in class, and got the best grades of all of her classmates.

More importantly, her intelligence and research skills often helped Harry in dangerous situations. She was the one who realized that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk and that it was using the pipes to get around the school. She figured out that the Sword of Gryffindor would destroy a horcrux. And her repeated reading of “The Tales of Beetle the Bard” was what led to Harry’s knowledge of the Deathly Hallows.

The lesson?

Use Hermione as inspiration when blogging. Read other blogs to get content ideas. When writing posts, be sure that, when necessary, they’re well-researched and accurate. And never stop learning about blogging. In addition to AmpliFound, here are some wonderful resources that can help build your blogging skills:

• Blog Ambitions

• Minimalist Baker Blogging Resources

• The Blog Herald

• The Blog Stylist

• A Beautiful Mess Blogging Tips

• Amy Lynn Andrews

• Hello Brio

Be a Non-Conformist, like Luna Lovegood

There’s no question that Luna marched to the beat of her own drummer. She was a completely original free spirit and couldn’t have cared less what others thought of her, even when they called her “Loony Lovegood.” She did what she wanted, wore what she wanted, and believed what she wanted. She owned her individuality, and did so proudly.

The lesson?

It’s fine to look to other bloggers for inspiration, but don’t straight-up copy what other bloggers are doing. Figure out what makes your blog unique, and embrace it. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel and come up with a far-out concept if you don’t want to – just be sure that your own distinct personality comes through in your writing.

Evolve and Grow, like Neville Longbottom

Neville was even more insecure than Ron throughout most of his time at Hogwarts. He was timid and forgetful, and frequently bullied by Draco and Professor Snape. But when Voldemort and his Death Eaters returned to power, he knew he had to stand up to them.

Neville didn’t have Harry’s natural talent or Hermione’s smarts, but that just inspired him to work even harder during DA meetings to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. By his final year at Hogwarts, Neville had become much more brave and confident. He lead many students in a revolt against Snape and the Carrows, and he showed tremendous courage during the Battle of Hogwarts – standing up to Voldemort, and, most importantly, beheading Nagini. By the end of the series, Neville was a completely different person.

The lesson?

Like everything based on the web, blogging is ever-changing. So allow yourself and your blog to change with the times as well. Embrace new social media platforms. Keep up with the latest technology (is your blog mobile-friendly yet?). Redesign your template when it feels stale.

Just as importantly, allow your content to evolve. Just because you’ve done things one way for a long time doesn’t mean that you have to continue doing so. A shift in content or even a rebrand can help you feel revitalized when you’ve been in a creative rut.

What blogging lessons have you learned, from pop culture or from any other source of inspiration? Share with us in the comments!

Header image courtesy of http://www.keepmum.net/

The post 5 Blogging Lessons Learned from the Harry Potter Series appeared first on AmpliFound.