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Update: The Blog Builders Podcast has been approved and is now in iTunes.
In this episode of The Blog Builders Podcast™, I interviewed Beckie Farrant, CEO of an incredible blogging business that includes three super high traffic blogs: Infarrantly Creative, Roadkill Rescue, and Knock Off Decor.
Combined, these sites did over 2,000,000 (yes, I got the number of zeros right) pageviews last month alone.
I couldn’t be more stoked about this interview. I learned a ton. Some of the highlights for me:
- How Beckie used unique positioning and a coordinated launch to get Knock Off Decor to 300,000 pageviews within three months (!!!)
- How she got other people to create most of the content for two of her sites
- How she was able to figure out ad layering to improve her own revenue and basically double the revenue of many consulting clients (amazing)
- How she learned how to make the jump into hiring help so that she could focus on what matters the most
I’ve found that most bloggers, up until this point, have been unable to think about their blogs as a business. Beckie has an incredible story that proves that blogging can be an amazing business if you’re willing to treat it like one.
I hope that you enjoy this interview as much as I did!
P.S. – If you’re a blogger who gets traffic but doesn’t have the revenue numbers that you would like to have, I would highly recommend getting in touch with Beckie. By using ad layering, you can probably make huge gains in the amount of revenue you can produce from your traffic.
Chris Troutner
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Court, you have got to go into more detail on layering the ad networks that Beckie talked about! That is totally new information for me. I would love to implement multiple add networks to my blog, be able to cherry pick the types of ads presented to my readers, but ensure I have enough advertisers to prevent the ads from getting repetitive and stale.
Very exciting information!
Court
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Yep – layering ad networks is huge for people who are making money with a CPM model. It makes it so you are always displaying prime ads instead of the filler ads that have lower payouts. Super simple, but awesome.
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog
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This is such a great interview!! Beckie is such a dynamic speaker and obviously so passionate about excelling in this blogging business. I first heard her speak in person at a conference in June 2012 and she is right, she has identified herself as a leader in our niche through consistently being ahead of the curve. So inspiring, thank you so much for the interview!
Court
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Hey Karah!
I was definitely very lucky to have Beckie on. She was an amazing first guest! 2012 was an amazing year for her and this year is going to be even better. Her January was awesome. Super happy for her!
gail
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LOVE beckie! she’s one smart business lady for sure! I enjoyed the interview. Pinned it!
gail
Court
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Thanks gail – that’s super nice of you to pin it for me! Looks like you have a beautiful site – let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.
Cathy
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Are you planning on putting your podcast on itunes?
Court
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Hey Cathy!
Yeah – right now I’m just waiting on approval! It was submitted on Friday. It can take a few weeks but hopefully the approval will come through sooner!
Beckie
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Thank you Court for the incredible opportunity to be on your blog and to be on a podcast. I really appreciate all you are doing to help bloggers (like myself) step up our game and make our brands better.
Court
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No Beckie thank YOU. It was so awesome to have you. I’ve had a lot of great feedback already and a lot of people have downloaded it so far. That number should go up quite a bit once it gets into iTunes.
Next year we’ll have to do it again – I definitely am going to want to get an update!
Mike @ The Financial Blogger
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Hey Court!
Nice podcast, I loved the interview! I’ve been running my blogs like a business since 2008 and you are right; it’s hard to find people treating their blogs like a business!
I didn’t know Beckie so I have now three more blogs to read
. I like her clean layout with clever ad layering. Thx for this great found!
Cheers,
Mike.
Court
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Hey Mike!
I’m glad you liked it – I really liked it too. Beckie is a genius. She has a great approach and I learned a ton by interviewing her, even though I already knew her well. It was great to hear her story of how she became as successful as she is.
Good to hear from you Mike!
Shannon AKA DESIGN
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Fabulous interview! I had no idea it was your first podcast! WTG! (Found it via Pinterest). I’ll be reading your blog and I’ve contacted Beckie for some coaching!
Court
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Thanks Shannon, I’m glad it wasn’t painfully obvious.
Tricia @ SimplicityInTheSouth
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Such an inspiring interview! I’ve also read Beckie’s blog story which is a wealth of information and inspiration as well. Beckie mentions that she went through about 50 ad networks before narrowing it down to the 10 that she is using now. Which 10 does she use? Thank you, Court, for sharing your first podcast. Looking forward to the next one!
Court
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I’m glad you liked it Tricia! Yeah, I read Beckie’s blog story too – there’s awesome information there for sure. I’m not sure which 10 she uses. She’s always saying that the ones that work well would be different for almost every site!
Cloud
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That was one the most interesting and informative podcasts
i’ve listened to in awhile
( yeah, including interviews of Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, etc ) !
Court,
my 2cents; you need to speak your blogsite address a few times
during the podcasts,
yeah, promote your guests, and Promote Your Self.
Court
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Hey Cloud! That’s great feedback. I didn’t even think about telling people where they could find me! I’m really glad that you liked it. I learned a lot from talking to Beckie. It was a privilege to have her.
kimbowest
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This was AMAZING! so amazing that i’m completely overwhelmed and don’t know where to start! i’ve got to hire me some becki! loving your book and site as well court! It doesn’t overwhelm me *as much* as everything else does!
Court
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Hey Kimbo! I think that everyone gets overwhelmed. I still do sometimes, even after eight years or whatever it’s been now. I’m glad that you’re liking the site so far. I look forward to talking to you more!
Kaaren
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Where do I find your ebook?
Court
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Hey Kaaren!
You can find the book here:
http://www.theblogbuilders.com/seo-for-creative-bloggers/
Angie
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Found your site through Infarrantly Creative. Loved the interview and looking forward to exploring your blog better as well.
Court
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Glad you liked it Angie! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you out. Your site is actually the first one I’ve seen in your niche – can’t be a bad thing! How’s it going so far?
Angie
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Things are going well. I have not found any other blogs like mine – which is great on the one hand and a little challenging for other reasons. Traffic is increasing steadily and I seem to have garnered the attention of choreographers and dance teachers which is helping things continue to grow.
Like so many bloggers, I am continually trying to best decide how to balance my time to be most efficient and still be a great Mom to my 3 kids and not constantly attached to the computer. I completely felt like your interview with Beckie was for me. My husband walked in the room when she was talking about her husband saying, so you do this, it takes a ton of time, and how much are you making – boy could we relate.
I spent the morning blogging and listening to your first two Google Chats – great stuff. I patted myself on the back for the things I am already doing and made notes on the things I need to implement. Glad to have found your site.
Bettsi
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Beckie is amazing! I’ve been following her for a couple of years and she is not a girl that does things halfway! Thanks for this podcast, Court. I really learned a lot of good, valuable information.
Court
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Yeah I’ve only known Beckie since late last year but you’re right – she’s definitely all in. Her work ethic is incredible and that’s how to get places!
Al3ab
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Good article, thanks
anacatherine
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Nice article you create. Thanks
Jann Newton
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I really learned a lot from this interview! I have recently started reading Becky’s first blog. It was great to hear about how she started out, and how she has grown with her blogging business. Great job, both of you!
Court
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Thanks Jann. Have you seen Beckie’s blogging story on Infarrantly Creative? I bet you would really like that if you’re just getting started!
Prime Outsourcing
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Beckie is just amazing and you also. Thanks Court for sharing this wonderful interview. It’s really worth the time listening to both of you. I would love to share this to my team and to our staff doing blogs, seo, and web marketing. Very helpful indeed.
Shauna @Satori Design for Living
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Becky’s story is crazy amazing! I’m sharing your e-book and site with my readers today as a great resource for blog building.
Shauna @Satori Design for Living
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Oops, I mean Beckie!
Court
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Thanks Shauna, that’s so nice of you! I’m going to head over and check out your site!
Sonja Foust
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This one really helped me out! Thanks, Court and Beckie!