Archives for August 2024

How to Start a Blog for Beginners: A Step-By-Step Guide

August 30, 2024

Last Updated on February 28, 2025 by Jan Barley

Starting A Blog Might Seem Daunting. However, In Time, Your Blog Could Become A Main Source of Income

I’m often asked, “How to start a blog for beginners?” because many people seem confused about how to start a profitable blog.If you’re in the UK, you probably Google “how to write a blog uk” and there is plenty of work to be found.

Yes, you can blog about your life experiences, share your innermost thoughts or tell stories about your cat. Still, did you know you can monetise a blog regardless of the niche?

Many blog owners have created 6-7-figure incomes from blogging, but is it really that easy? Yes and no, but you’ll learn more about successful blogging in this article, including blog monetisation strategies.

Why Start a Blog? What Are the Benefits?

Before learning how to start a blog, deciding why you want to follow this path is essential. What do you hope to gain, and what are your goals and expectations?

The power of blogging is you have a global audience. You have no restriction with location.

Blogging As A Platform For Personal Expression

Often, people associate having a blog as a place to offload your innermost thoughts and connect with like-minded people.

There’s nothing wrong with having an online journal, but reflect on your long-term goals. It can be tricky to monetise a personal blog unless you create merchandise.

The Potential For Monetisation And Passive Income

A blog presents a fantastic opportunity to create passive income from monetisation.

If you start with the end in sight, you will make better decisions about which affiliate programs to choose, what content to write, how often to publish and how to drive traffic.

I knew little about affiliate marketing when I started my website in 2017. Primarily, I used my blog as a showroom for my freelance services. I wish I had started earlier, and I encourage you to learn from my mistakes.

Building A Personal Brand Or Online Portfolio

If you are creative, like an artist or photographer, you may want a blog to showcase your creations. Your blog can help define and build your brand by sharing your portfolio.

Still, don’t miss an opportunity to create passive income from relevant affiliate offers, and write content that Google loves and helps your audience.

Developing Skills Like Writing, SEO, And Marketing

You can improve your chances of successful blogging by learning writing, SEO and marketing skills. I am an SEO writer, which has helped me get regular client work and get my content ranked in Google SERPs.

Blogging is pointless if you can’t get eyes on your published content. Developing additional skills that help you generate organic traffic is a must.

Choosing A Niche for Your Blog

Many people dislike this part of starting a blog, but it is essential to success.

Understanding The Importance Of A Niche

Instead of explaining why choosing a niche is important, I will share my story about choosing the wrong niche.

In the mid-2000s, I connected with a man teaching how to build an Amazon authority website. I learned loads, but he told us to choose a profitable niche and not worry about choosing one we love.

After choosing the baby equipment niche (like nursery gliders), I spent 18 months creating content, and when I stopped, I had 80 published posts.

I never had children and found it tedious writing about baby stuff each week.

The site started making money, but I lost interest in continuing.

I should have chosen the dog niche, which I never tire of writing or discussing.

If you’re struggling with blog niche ideas, try using Claude AI or ChatGPT to brainstorm.

Tips For Selecting A Niche You’re Passionate About

What do you enjoy doing most? What lifts your heart and makes you feel alive? Whatever that is, you can start a blog, write content about it, and align affiliate offers.

If you don’t connect to a subject, don’t pursue it. If you have limited interest in a niche, it will become challenging to stay motivated.

Evaluating Market Demand And Competition

If we continue with the theme of dogs, choosing that as a niche is too broad. The dog industry is enormous, and your little blog will get lost among the big boys who can throw money at sponsored ads.

Research areas of the dog niche where you can specialise. For me, that would be dog behaviour, as I am a qualified behaviourist.

I could create a course or research affiliate programs such as specialised behaviour courses, dog toys, and other items.

Selecting the Right Blogging Platform

Everyone has an opinion about the best option for a blogging platform. Still, choosing a blogging platform you feel comfortable with is vital.

I use WordPress because I find it easy. Others prefer Wix, Squarespace, Blogger, etc.

What To Consider When Choosing A Blogging Platform

The key factors when choosing a blogging platform are the following: –

Is it easy to use?
The cost of hosting
Is it mobile-friendly?
The speed of loading
Can you customise your blog?
Can you scale the blog as it grows?
Does it have in-built SEO or plugins?
Does the platform provide technical support?

Instead of asking for advice from others, research different blogging platforms until you clearly understand which one you might like.

I find WordPress blog set up easy, and plenty of YouTube tutorials exist for beginners. It comes with essential plugins for bloggers like Yoast SEO, and you have a blog theme selection.

Pros And Cons Of Self-Hosted Vs. Free Platforms

I make no apologies for recommending self-hosting. Starting a blog on free platforms might seem like a good idea, but you have little control over your content.

I started a Substack account in 2023 and published 40 posts. Then, Substack blocked my account for phishing, which I hadn’t done. Thankfully, I had kept copies of my work.

That was when I decided to build digital real estate with my self-hosted website.

You can write on a free platform like Medium. It’s an OK start, but if you’re serious about blogging, start as you mean to go and do it properly by choosing a blog hosting service.

My WordPress site costs me £7.20/Month for hosting, so it isn’t expensive.

Picking a Domain Name and Hosting

The next step is to choose a domain name and reliable hosting.

Tips For Choosing A Domain Name

Choose a domain name carefully because you can’t change it later without losing the traffic you’ve built up.

I decided to keep my Wolfheart site because it was an aged domain I started in 2017.

Ideally, choose a domain name that says what your blog is about. For example, my new dog behaviour site is speaksdog.co.uk (not live yet), which relates to my niche.

Understanding The Importance Of Web Hosting

It’s vital to choose an established, reputable web hosting company. The best blogging platforms provide secure hosting, load your blog fast, look good on mobile, have technical support and have other options such as email facilities.

A2 Hosting

I use A2 Hosting for one of my sites. The WordPress hosting has been seamless, and support is excellent.

I’ve Used A2 Hosting For One of Websites for Many Years & Always Been Happy With Their Service

Starting from $1.95, you can take your time to build your blog at an affordable price.

A2 Hosting has a 4.6* Trustpilot rating with 3k+ reviews.

Please Note: If you make a purchase from my recommendation of A2 Hosting, I may receive a small commission.

Choose A Recommended WordPress Theme

I’ve got an old theme on this website and I am loathe to change it because I know there will be technical bugs for me to sort out and I can’t face it.

I started a new vegetarian recipe blog in late January 2025 and I’ve installed the free version of OceanWP. You can get this theme (or one of thousands of others) by searching for themes in your WordPress dashboard. OceanWP has many thousands of recommendations and it’s been fairly intuitive to set up.

Writing Your First Blog Post

You have set up your website and hosting and are ready to write and publish your first blog post, so what’s the best way to get started?

Hey, if you want to generate additional income whilst you’re building your blog, read 38 websites that pay bloggers to write.

Creating a Pillar Post & Content Clusters

Before writing a word, brainstorm ideas for a pillar post. That is an in-depth post with multiple opportunities to write spin-off content (clusters).

For example, suppose your pillar post is “How to start marketing your business.” Content clusters could include topics like the following: –

Faceless marketing
Marketing courses
Pinterest marketing
Organic and paid traffic
Marketing for creatives
Social media marketing
Free marketing courses

Map out a content strategy for at least one month so you have plenty of blog content ideas ready to start writing.

Using On-Page SEO for Blog Posts

The basics of on-page SEO include the following SEO tips for bloggers: –

Compelling titles (up to 60 characters)
SEO-focused meta description (use the primary keyword)
Primary keyword – the main keyword for your SEO
Secondary keywords – additional keyword phrases
Semantics – use Claude AI or ChatGPT to ask for semantics for your article. Semantics help the Google bots understand your content and are a significant factor in ranking.
Add internal and external links
Add images and use alt text
Use Grammarly to edit and check for plagiarism
Use Microsoft Word to “Read Aloud”, as that enables you to hear mistakes and sticky sentences

Quick Tip: Use Claude AI or ChatGPT to generate semantics. An example script could be the following: –

“You are an SEO expert and have written an article entitled [insert title]. Please create [insert number] related keyword semantics (one per line)”

Promoting Your Blog and Building an Audience

When you first start blogging, you won’t have any traffic. Generating organic traffic takes time and requires a multi-prong approach.

Social Media Marketing

Choose up to three social media platforms to curate your blog content. Social media marketing can become frustrating with low reach, tricky community guidelines and a constantly changing environment.

I suggest committing to 3-6 months per platform to assess if you have an engaged audience. You also learn to adapt and improve your content over time.

Use Statistics to Measure Performance

I use Google Console mainly to assess which pages are performing best. After that, you can create similar content and use internal linking to get more views.

Google Analytics also gives a good overview of where your traffic is coming from and other statistics.

Pinterest Marketing

Don’t Ignore Pinterest. It Can Become An Epic Traffic Source With a Bit of Effort

I haven’t lumped Pinterest under social media marketing because it isn’t the same.

Even though it’s a slow burn, using Pinterest to promote your blog is a fantastic idea because the platform is a phenomenal search engine.

Anticipate 3-6 months before you see results from consistent pinning. Don’t give up because, in 12 months, your blog will get a lot of traffic and sales from Pinterest marketing. Pins are evergreen, so can generate traffic and sales for a long time.

At first, having enough blog content for Pinterest may be challenging. Create pins with blog links, as that is what Pinterest prefers.

Even though Pinterest guidelines say affiliate links are okay, my account got deactivated in June 24 for spamming. I can only track that back to an affiliate link I shared and a short link (read my post on preventing that from happening with your Pinterest account).

If you are Pinterest rookie, I have two free courses I recommend, plus paid courses and a fabulous Pinterest pin design course.

Monetising Your Blog

The final step in planning your blog is to monetise your content, and I have some essential guidelines to help you.

Build First, Monetise Later

When applying for affiliate programs, merchants often want to know how much traffic your blog gets. They will check your site to see how much content it has and whether it is high quality and relevant to their business.

After all, they want sales, so you are unlikely to sell anything if you aren’t generating traffic and only have a handful of blog posts.

I suggest monitoring Google Console stats and waiting to apply for affiliate programs until you have 10k monthly impressions (my site now has 30k/month as of August 2024).

Affiliate Programs or Affiliate Networks

This section is brief as I have a blog post on this subject.

I prefer affiliate programs to networks, and here’s why: –

I only recommend products or services I use, have used or know have an excellent reputation.
Most blog beginners head to networks like JVZoo, ClickBank and WarriorPlus. On these networks, products come and go and aren’t always good quality (IMO).
Building a relationship with an affiliate partner is easier than a network.

Monetise Your Blog With Ad Revenue

If you’re serious about how to start a blog for beginners and make money blogging, you will plan to monetise your blog with ad revenue. It can be one of the best passive income sources. However, you’ll need to do significant work to qualify for ad revenue programs.

Google Adsense

Google Adsense might say there are no minimum traffic requirements, but they won’t approve your application unless you have authentic content and high-quality traffic.

I stupidly applied when I practically had no traffic and received an instant rejection.

One helpful route to Google Adsense is to curate your content on YouTube. It creates another leg for monetisation. In addition, use YouTube to promote affiliate offers and send traffic to your blog.

In addition, you can pin your YouTube links on Pinterest.

Journey by Mediavine

Allegedly, Mediavine pays more than Google Adsense. Up until 2024, Mediavine had a minimum requirement of 50k monthly users. However, the new Journey by Mediavine requirement is only 10k monthly users.

It may take a year or so to build up to 10k monthly users because it isn’t the same as impressions.

You can find user stats in Google Analytics. Try not to get disheartened if your monthly user stats are low. That will grow by publishing consistent content and getting traffic to your blog.

Conclusion: How to Start A Blog for Beginners

Congratulations, you now know how to start a blog for beginners.

In this beginner’s guide to blogging, you’ve learned the basic steps to starting a blog from scratch!

Blogging for beginners isn’t complicated. Whether blogging for passion, profit, or personal growth, the most important element is to enjoy the journey and learn how to drive traffic to your blog.

Affiliate marketing for bloggers is something many fail to do. They quit when they don’t get results and creating consistent content seems too hard.

Patience is the key.

With practice, you will create a blog content strategy and learn how to write blog content that converts. You will start making affiliate sales and make passive income from blogging.

Starting a successful blog that pays you when you’re asleep will take time. It can become disheartening when you don’t see results, but if you build it, stay consistent and be patient, the rewards will come.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links on this page. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.

7 Ways To Develop A Content Strategy That Works

August 27, 2024

Last Updated on August 27, 2024 by Jan Barley

Develop a Content Strategy That Removes All The Guesswork Out Of Creating Content

If you want to develop a content strategy that works, you’re in the right place.

My niche blog has 234 organic ranking keywords (August 2024), and I only started my content strategy for this website in April 2024 after removing every page and post to start a new niche.

Much of my content is page one SERPs or featured snippets, and my site is still small.

People get hung up on planning a content strategy, but it isn’t difficult to plan and implement an effective one. It’s about producing good quality content that is relevant to your audience. That might include sharing your failures as well as the many successes.

Let’s dig in to see if you’re ready to start and create a content strategy for your business.

What is A Content Strategy?

A Content strategy is a roadmap for creating and publishing content for specific media for a target audience.

A well-crafted content strategy is a bridge between what your audience needs and your business goals. It involves carefully considering the type of content to create, when and where to publish it, and how to measure its impact.

At the heart of your content strategy, the goal is to attract the right audience. You might start to work on your blog with an SEO content strategy.

After that, you might curate the blog content for various social media channels in a different format, such as video content on YouTube, reels or stories on Instagram or bit-sized text on LinkedIn.

Does Every Business Need A Content Strategy?

From the get-go, you can make your job easier with a cohesive content strategy. It helps to manage your thoughts and ideas and plan months ahead instead of a mad panic each week trying to decide what content to create (as many businesses do)

Why Your Business Needs A Content Marketing Strategy

From 2022 to 2023, I wrote two blogs weekly for a start-up company whose website was not indexed on Google. I planned the entire content strategy.

For the first eight months, it went well. The founder left me to do my job, and the site gained 239 ranking keywords within that time. Many posts were on page one SERPs and a surprising DA53!

The website traffic was growing, trending upwards each week. CTR was good, and everything looked fantastic.

Then, the company hired a CMO who micromanaged the tiniest detail. He had no grasp of the importance of SEO and what it could do for the business had we kept going.

He took me off blog writing and assigned me to menial admin tasks.

It’s an understatement to say it was the worst four months of my working life. When I left, the website lost 50% of the organic keywords, and traffic declined.

The CMO criticised me for the drop in statistics, despite that he’d been the one who decided my SEO content skills weren’t needed.

#1: Define Goals for Your Content Strategy

What do you want to achieve with your content strategy? Publishing content for the sake of it is a waste of time. Here are a few possible ideas: –

Affiliate Marketing
Get Ranked in SERPs
Generate organic leads
Boost brand awareness
Make sales or appointments
Gain subscribers to your newsletter
Qualify for ad revenue with Google AdSense or Mediavine

Once you have established your goals, you can determine if a content strategy will help you achieve those goals and which media to focus on.

Before creating content, it’s essential to determine what stage your audience is at

BOTF (Bottom of the funnel): Your prospects have become familiar with your content and are ready to decide whether to buy from you. They could be a subscriber to your newsletter list
MOTF (Middle of the funnel: Your prospects understand their problem and seek solutions. Be aware some may not be ready to buy because they’re exploring free options
TOTF (Top of the funnel): The TOTF starts your prospect’s journey with your content. It’s your job to create awareness and maybe have a capture page offering a free lead magnet. The goal is to educate your audience and get attention to your products, services or brand.

When creating a content plan, determine a strategy for each sales funnel stage.

#2: Researching Your Audience for A Content Strategy

Time spent researching and understanding your target audience is worth the effort. It will help you plan an effective content strategy.

Where does your audience hang out?
What social platforms do they engage with?
What type of content do they prefer (video, stories, reels, text)?
Are they business-to-business professionals (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C)?

Be aware that social media platforms change constantly. For example, Facebook shares more video content than it used to, Instagram stories seem to get more sales than reels, and LinkedIn is a mixed bag of content.

Connect your site with Google Console and Analytics. I also recommend Metricool’s social media management tool, which is free for up to 50 posts/monthly.

If you connect to your accounts, the Metricool software gives helpful statistics on your posts and website.

One platform I have found helpful for research is Instagram Threads. For some reason, people actively share their problems and concerns there.

#3: Focus on Creating Niche-Specific Content

There are a bazillion pieces of content online that will never get seen. It doesn’t share value. It’s plagiarised, poorly put together or random content. For example, if you have a blog and your posts aren’t on page one, you might as well not have bothered creating that content.

Of course, not every blog post can get to page one SERPs or featured snippets, but that should be the goal.

Every piece of content you create should be like a mini business. It must have a specific job to do.

Before creating content, ask the following questions:

Is it evergreen content?
How will it help my audience?
What job do I want this content to do?
How does it compare to what’s already online?
Can I create more value than my competitors?
Do I want the content to educate, inform or entertain?

#4: Measure The Results of Your Content Strategy

I use Google Console statistics daily to assess what content ranks in SERPs and what people click on. Once you have enough traffic, it creates an interesting overview of your audience’s needs and interests.

If you have a post outperforming others, create more of that, but be prepared to adapt as trends change.

Measure metrics in Google Analytics, such as the following: –

Audience Consumption: How long do they spend on a page, page views, bounce rate, etc
Social Sharing: What content resonates with your audience that makes them share?
Where Did Your Audience Come From?: Direct, organic, social media

Dig deep into Google Analytics to get a clear overview of what your audience enjoys and how they found your content.

If you have a sales funnel, you can monitor statistics there, too.

#5: Listen to Customer Feedback to Improve Your Content Strategy

It’s essential to focus on the human aspects to develop your content strategy and not only study data and statistics.

Ask customers for feedback, and you may discover missing elements in your content strategy you could improve. If you have customer-facing staff, encourage them to ask for feedback, too.

#6: Maximise Your Content Strategy

Once you have an effective content strategy and see results, the next step is to amplify your efforts.

For example, several of my blog posts performed much better than others, and I soon observed a popular theme. Subsequently, I began writing more on that subject.

I observed what was and wasn’t working on social media channels and switched my content strategy to reflect the results. For example, I changed my approach on TikTok and noticed more people saving my video content.

If your audience likes your content, give them more.

#7: Curate Content as part of Your Strategy

Creating content is time-consuming, and it can soon become a daunting task.

During the first few months, be prepared to adapt your content strategy to improve results.

Content curation is a massive time saver. Here is how I approach the task: –

I create video content for TikTok
I curate to Instagram: That said, IG has poor reach for me, so I am assessing results and testing IG stories
I write blog posts
I curate blog posts to video content (I’m just starting that in preparation for a YouTube channel)
I curate blog posts for Pinterest pins

If this workflow seems like a lot, you could try the Repurposing platform to make the task quicker and easier. I have written a review of Repurposing, which you might find helpful.

Conclusion

I hope you understand that developing a content strategy isn’t difficult. That said, for most, implementing a content strategy is the challenging part.

Understand that you might make mistakes and encounter mental or tangible roadblocks (such as Pinterest suspending my first account, which threw me for a loop).

If you stick with it, you will refine your content strategy and build a tried and trusted recipe you can count on to bring positive results.

The most crucial step is in the planning and research.

Avoid publishing content on any platform for the sake of it or because it’s too time-consuming or you can’t be bothered to plan. You’d be better off not publishing anything than doing a half-assed job.

Another consideration is the ROI on social media platforms. If your audience isn’t there or your content isn’t talking to them, it’s time to review your content strategy and adapt it.

Yes, there may be a period of trial and error, but in time, you’ll better understand what to publish and where.

Content Strategy FAQs

What Is A Content Strategy?

A content strategy is planning, creating and publishing content consistently to your blog, website, or social media channels, including on-page SEO, blog content, videos, reels, stories or text posts.

What Is A Content Strategy Framework?

A content strategy framework clearly outlines how you will create content, such as a keyword strategy, pillar post and content clusters. It will include when, where and how often you will publish

Why Is A Content Strategy Important?

There are several reasons why a content strategy is essential: –

Your content must be good if you want to rank in Google SERPs. That includes keywords and semantics, readability and potential for conversion
Creating content without a plan is painful, and you may procrastinate without a content strategy

What’s The First Step For Creating A Content Strategy?

The first step to develop a content strategy is to determine your goals. What do you want the content strategy to do? Get leads, sales, and subscribers, or build a brand?

Once you decide on your goals, mapping out a content strategy becomes easier.

Free Pinterest Courses: My Top 2 Recommendations for 2025

August 22, 2024

Last Updated on April 24, 2025 by Jan Barley

If You Have A Business, Pinterest Marketing Can Drive Lots of Organic Traffic

Free Pinterest courses are available online, and these two examples are both excellent for teaching you about Pinterest strategies, professional pin design and branding techniques.

When I started pinning, I had no idea what to do. I created mediocre pins and didn’t know about Pinterest SEO, even though I’m an experienced SEO writer.

In my experience, most free courses are generally sub-par, a cheap, sneaky way to get you to buy a paid course.

It’s not often I’m surprised by free content. Mostly, I’m disappointed. However, this article is about two free Pinterest courses that I loved, and I went on to buy paid Pinterest courses with the creators.

Why Bother With Pinterest Marketing?

Pinterest is a phenomenal search engine. The platform can create a lot of organic traffic if you have a blog, sales pages, offers, and even a brick-and-mortar business.

Many people don’t realise the power of Pinterest. Or they post a few pins, don’t see results and give up.

Pinterest is a slow burn. It can take 3 – 6 months to start gaining traction, and if you can stick it out for a year, you’re off to the races.

Your pins become evergreen content, meaning they will generate traffic for years to come.

My strategy is pinning only one pin seven days a week. I create and schedule content on a Monday and forget about it until the following week.

Creating pins and scheduling directly on the Pinterest platform takes me around two hours.

Some people post multiple pins daily. Earlier in 2024, I used to pin twice daily. Then, Pinterest deactivated my account, and I never got it back. Yes, Pinterest’s Community Guidelines are strict.

I made a couple of silly mistakes that cost me months of work. If you want to start pinning, read about my experience and how NOT to get your account suspended.

Anyhoo, let’s get to the details about the free Pinterest courses.

Free Pinterest Strategy Guide

Amy, the course creator, is a Pinterest Manager with years of experience managing Pinterest accounts.

The free Pinterest Strategy Guide is online, but it’s text-based. That doesn’t mean it’s less valuable than a video course. The guide details some aspects I was unsure about Pinterest, and you are probably too.

You will learn what changed in the Pinterest algorithm and how it affects your account.

The free course highlights the #1 mistake most people make that the Pinterest algorithm does not like. Moreover, it teaches you how much fresh content you need to pin.

In addition, you’ll learn time-saving tips about getting more eyes on your pins without creating thousands of them.

The FREE Pinterest Strategy Guide is a text only course – with some audio – but it’s great value for no cost

What’s Inside the Free Pinterest Strategy Guide?

2-sec Intro
The #Hashtags Controversy
Pinterest – the Dumpster Fire
Repin-Gate (and the Drama that Ensued)
FRESH! FRESH! and more FRESH!
How Many Pins per Day?
Pinning Other People’s Content (3rd Party Pins)
Low Impressions Are Actually a GOOD Thing?
The CODE Behind the Repin Problem
What Classifies a Pin as a REPIN?
How to Get Ahead
Idea Pins (formerly Story Pins) — [Part 1]
New Menu & Hidden Idea Pins — [Part 2]Umm, Summary Please?
How to Tell if the Pinterest Advice You’re Reading is Outdated (Sneak Peek Video)

More Resources

I Need Help with Pinterest SEO!
I Want to Learn More About Scheduling Shortcuts!
I Need Help with Pin Design!
How to Become an Affiliate

There’s a lot to unpack in this free Pinterest Strategy course. Still, the takeaways are better than many paid Pinterest courses I’ve seen.

Midway through the guide, the course creator offered a 50% discount off the Pinterest Rank Boost 2.0, an SEO course, and I snapped it up.

Unlike the free guide, Pinterest Rank Boost 2.0 is a video training course, which is my preferred way of learning to be honest.

Moreover, if you love the training, you can register to promote Amy’s courses for a commission if you are an affiliate marketer.

Pin Design Masterclass

Designing pins is fantastic fun, but I wasn’t creating a brand. Nobody would have been able to identify my brand from any one pin.

Visibility is everything on Pinterest. The visual impact of your pins can mean a significant difference in saves and outbound clicks, which can help build your business.

The 5-part Pin Design Formula Masterclass is just under one hour and value-packedKristin is a professional graphic designer and isn’t stingy with this free content.

You will learn enough to start creating professional-looking pins with a brand design.

The pre-recorded masterclass teaches you how to create irresistible headlines that attract views and get people to click for more.

The hour-long masterclass covers essential topics such as:

Crafting compelling headlines that drive clicks
Techniques for creating unique pins that stand out
Time-saving design hacks for efficient pin creation
Key elements that significantly increase website traffic
Strategies to boost your visibility and establish a professional image

You learn simple but powerful techniques to help your unique pins stand out among the masses on Pinterest.

In addition, Kristin shares time-saving hacks to speed up the pin design process

If you are familiar with Canva, you have a head start as Kristin teaches you professional design techniques using the Canva platform.

After watching the free 5-part Pin Design Formula Masterclass, I purchased Pin Design Perfection, which has helped me enormously to master pin design and branding.

Recommended Pinterest Tools: Pin Generator & Pin Inspector

If you’re serious about Pinterest marketing, you’ve probably come across Pin Generator and Pin Inspector—two popular tools designed to help you grow on Pinterest. Still, which one is right for you? It depends on whether you want to grow fast, save time or both. The following is a quick breakdown to help you decide.

Pin Generator Review

Pin Generator is an AI-powered Pinterest automation tool that helps you create, schedule, and post pins automatically—saving you tons of time. It takes me around an hour to create pins on Canva, another hour to write descriptions and another hour to schedule the lot. It gets tiresome after a few months of that weekly regime.

✅ Pros

Auto-generates pins from your website or blog (no manual design needed!)
Bulk scheduling to keep your Pinterest active 24/7
AI-powered designs that match Pinterest’s best practices
Keyword optimisation to boost SEO and reach more users
Time-saving—great for bloggers, businesses, and content creators

❌ Cons

Limited design customisation. It’s not as flexible as Canva, where you have design creativity. Still, the design is less important if your messaging and CTA are spot on. Only you can decide whether you can let go of the creative aspect of Canva.

Try the free cost savings calculator on Pin Generator

Is There A Free Plan?

No, but they offer a free trial to test how it works before committing. You can then pay a monthly subscription or get a generous discount when choosing an annual plan. Pin Generator also offers a time-activated lifetime plan.

Who Should Use Pin Generator?

It is ideal for bloggers, business owners, and Pinterest marketers who want to create more pins and save time by automating pin creation and scheduling.

Choose Pin Generator if you want a hands-off, automated Pinterest strategy with AI-generated pins and scheduling.

Pin Inspector Review

Pin Inspector is a Pinterest keyword and analytics tool that helps you find high-performing keywords, trending pins, and competitor insights.

✅ Pros

Find viral Pinterest keywords to help your pins rank higher
Analyse competitor pins to see what’s working in your niche
Discovers trending topics so you can create content people are searching for
Great for SEO—helps optimise descriptions for better visibility

❌ Cons

Erm! Can’t think of any. It’s an affordable tool for improving Pinterest results

Pin Inspector offers a one-time payment for lifetime access

Is There A Free Plan?

No, but Pin Generator offer a surprisingly reasonable one-time payment (no monthly subscription!), which is great for long-term use. There’s often a $20 discount on the website homepage, too.

Who Should Use It?

Perfect for Pinterest SEO experts, bloggers, and marketers who want to boost visibility with the right keywords and trends.

Pin Inspector is excellent for researching trending Pinterest keywords, platform trends, and competitor strategies to improve Pinterest SEO.

Conclusion

Don’t sit on Pinterest if you need traffic to your business. Grab a free Pinterest course and start building organic traffic from pinning.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links on this page. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.

Inner Bloom MRR Digital Course Review 2025

August 21, 2024

Last Updated on December 27, 2024 by Jan Barley

The Inner Bloom Academy is A Digital Course Created by Women for Women

The Inner Bloom MRR Digital Course is a one of a kind product for women worldwide.

There have been times during my life when I have struggled with my identity. I never became a mum but often felt a sense of purposelessness and disconnect from my inner value.

Perimenopause caused me to feel anxious and invisible, and menopause was the unpleasant icing on the not-so-tasty cake.

In addition, I became a widow at 61, losing my fiancé of 18 years in a cycling accident. I lost my loving anchor and buffer against the harsh world.

Finding my inner strength and self-worth as a woman alone in the world was challenging.

While juggling our responsibilities and navigating life challenges, it’s easy to neglect our needs, personal growth and a sense of purpose and fulfilment.

What if there was a way to boost your income and nourish your mind, body, and spirit without sacrificing your beliefs and values?

The Inner Bloom digital MRR course is a wealth and well-being academy created by women for women.

This article is a review of this female-driven master resell rights product.

What is the Inner Bloom Digital MRR Course?

Inner Bloom is a transformative digital course and community created to support and empower women at all stages of life.

Inner Bloom built its foundation on the belief that true success encompasses external abundance and inner harmony.

The founders understand a woman’s journey to achievement is multi-faceted, requiring not just savvy business skills but also a healthy mindset, self-love, and a powerful vision for the future.

Moreover, that’s why Inner Bloom’s comprehensive platform offers a holistic approach to wealth and well-being, equipping you with the tools, resources, and support to bloom into your fullest potential.

What’s Inside the Inner Bloom Sanctuary?

70+ Healers, Practitioners & Coaches: An invaluable community with tools and resources to inspire, heal and educate
Mental Well-Being: Inner Bloom’s entire business model focuses on developing a healthy mindset, exposing limiting beliefs and replacing them with empowering ones
Emotional Well-Being: Inner Bloom supports women healing from past trauma and transforming self-sabotage into healthier patterns
Spiritual Well-Being: Learn to explore your spiritual side in a safe environment
Nurturing Community: Inner Bloom is the perfect online sanctuary for women to retreat from our harsh and chaotic patriarchal world

What Training Do You Get With the Inner Bloom Academy?

The Inner Bloom training is second to none for its community of women.

Feminine Business Toolkit

Say goodbye to struggle and burnout, and hello to flow and magnetic attraction.

Meditations & Activations

This bundle of gentle practices helps you create a daily routine for relaxation and growth. Discover your authentic self.

Womens Empowerment

This bundle will unlock your deepest potential if you’re ready to step into your unapologetic self. You will release past limitations and own your power.

Spiritual Concepts

Learn how to connect to universal energy, an untapped source of abundance. You will begin experiencing the magic of connection that you may be missing.

Manifestation

Manifestation needn’t be woo-woo, fluffy kittens and unicorns. Many modern neuroscientists espouse the science between how we think and what we can manifest in our lives (Look up Dr Tara Swart on YouTube).

The Inner Bloom Toolkit will teach you to become a powerful creator of reality and manifest the life you want.

What Sets Inner Bloom Apart From Other Master Resell Rights Products?

Inner Bloom Supports Womens Business & Personal Growth

Inner Bloom embraces that lasting change doesn’t happen fast, and that’s why you get lifetime access to the product and community.

Above all, each flower in your garden is unique. Some need shade, and others need sun. They are unique colours and sizes and levels of gorgeousness. We women are all exceptional in our own way, like the flowers in our gardens.

Inner Bloom’s Mindset Coaches encourage you to go deep and identify what might be holding you back so that you can crush your limitations and negative self-beliefs.

Empowerment Coaches help you discover your authentic self, find your voice and step into your purpose.

Inner Bloom Therapists and energy healers use various tools to help you work through past traumas or life challenges.

Spiritual Guides & Mentors help you find your light, using tools and techniques to guide you to connect with your higher self.

Manifestation Coaches teach you the science of creating the life of your dreams.

Business Coaches take you on a journey to create a business you can be proud of, combining proven strategies and techniques for success.

The Power of Positive Thinking

At the heart of Inner Bloom philosophy is the conviction that a woman’s mindset is the key to unlocking her greatness.

We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you think,” which is a truism for everyone.

How you perceive yourself and your capabilities shapes your entire world – from the opportunities you pursue to the goals you set and achieve.

That’s why Inner Bloom places such a strong emphasis on cultivating a healthy, empowered mindset. Through carefully curated content, you’ll dive deep into the transformative power of positive thinking, affirmations, and visualisation.

Gain the invaluable tools and strategies to tackle business obstacles with a bounce-back attitude, and build an unwavering belief that your success is not just possible but inevitable.

Income and Impact: A Win-Win Proposition

Like most women, you probably find yourself navigating the delicate balance between your professional ambition and personal fulfilment.

You probably relate to the inevitable guilt of balancing your career with caring for your family.

Inner Bloom understands the challenge and supports you in achieving personal and career balance. The training offers a unique opportunity to boost your income and make a meaningful impact on your life and the lives of others.

Through the done-for-you digital product suite, you can become a reseller and keep 100% of the profits. That means you can earn additional income by selling access to the transformative content, which includes masterclasses, mini-courses, audios, and more.

There is no requirement to sell the Inner Bloom course. Indeed, there are multiple benefits to becoming part of the community and working through the training.

Not least, you are part of a nurturing sisterhood that genuinely cares for each other.

The rewards extend far beyond the financial – by sharing Inner Bloom with other women, you will empower them to start a transformative journey of self-discovery and growth.

A Supportive Community of Sisterhood

Inner Bloom firmly believes in the power of sisterhood and mutual support. That’s why the platform fosters a vibrant community of like-minded women, all committed to supporting each other and celebrating one another’s successes.

Through the interactive forums, live workshops, and exclusive events, you’ll have the chance to connect with a diverse network of individuals, each bringing their unique experiences and perspectives to the table.

Together, you will navigate the challenges and accomplishments of entrepreneurship, personal development, and life in general, drawing strength and inspiration from one another’s stories.

What You Get When You Join Inner Bloom Academy

Inside the Inner Bloom community, you’ll unlock a vast array of resources and tools to support your journey of wealth and well-being. Here’s what’s in store:

Master Resell Rights: Sell access to the Inner Bloom Academy and keep all the profits.
100+ Hours of Life-Changing Content: Dive into a treasure trove of masterclasses, mini-courses, audios, and workbooks covering mindset, manifestation, self-love, emotional and spiritual well-being.
On-Demand Learning: Explore the self-paced, interactive platform to learn and grow at your own pace.
Lifetime Membership: Enjoy exclusive access to the Inner Bloom universe with no upsells or additional fees.
Live Workshops: Attend monthly live workshops with expert coaches and inspiring women, fostering deep connections and sharing invaluable insights.
Interactive Platform: Access the Inner Bloom dedicated app and chat forums for guidance, support, and accountability from our vibrant community.
Bonus Materials: Receive 30 done-for-you ebooks with private label rights, giving you a head start on your selling journey.

Whether just starting your personal growth journey or seeking a fresh perspective, Inner Bloom welcomes you to explore, learn, and bloom at your own pace.

You can experience the transformative power of inner and outer wealth, where your income and impact go hand-in-hand.

Conclusion: Unlock Your Potential with Inner Bloom

Women possess an innate power for transformation. As we traverse through the cycles of womanhood, with the ever-changing hormones, we affect the lives of those around us.

Inner Bloom wants to help you harness that power, guiding you on a journey of self-discovery, professional growth, and meaningful contribution.

Inner Bloom is not your typical master resell rights product. It is so much more than that. It’s a unique experience for women where you can dig deep into your inner world, expand your external experience and enjoy the support of thousands of women on a similar journey, but all unique on their paths.

In conclusion, Inner Bloom is also one of the lowest-priced MRRs in the digital space at only $222 (October 2024).

Find out more about Inner Bloom Here.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links on this page. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.

The Pros and Cons of Affiliate Marketing: Is It Right for You?

August 16, 2024

Last Updated on September 6, 2024 by Jan Barley

Starting An Affiliate Marketing Business Needn’t Be Complicated Once You Know What To Do

You might not consider the pros and cons of affiliate marketing, but there’s a lot to unpack before you start promoting your first offer.

I started this journey in late 2023, driven to learn digital marketing. Affiliate marketing falls under an enormous umbrella within the digital marketing space.

I began by selling master resell products, but I don’t want the responsibility of setting everything up myself, including payment processors.

Affiliate marketing has become a popular way for anyone to earn money online. Still, like any business model, it comes with advantages and challenges.

Sadly, many people give up on affiliate marketing because they make the typical rookie mistakes that lead to getting no sales.

Affiliate marketing is surprisingly simple to understand, but it takes time to make consistent income.

This article explores the interesting pros and cons of building an affiliate marketing business to help you decide if it’s the right path for you.

Pros of Affiliate Marketing

I love affiliate marketing, and I hope you love it, too. There are so many aspects in its favour that even total beginners can enjoy.

#1: Low Startup Costs

One of the most appealing aspects of affiliate marketing is the minimal initial investment required. Unlike traditional businesses, you don’t need to create, stock, or ship products.

Your main costs are setting up a website and potentially investing in marketing tools.

I pay £6/month for WordPress hosting and $27/month to Systeme for marketing tools.

You need a professional website with a custom domain because most merchants won’t entertain partnerships without one.

The only exception is if you are a social media influencer with a significant following.

Additionally, later, you might want to join Journey by Mediavine’s ad revenue program and earn passive income.

#2: No Customer Service Hassles

One of the biggest hassles with selling digital products is dealing with customers. They aren’t always reasonable.

You’re not responsible for product fulfilment or customer service as an affiliate marketer. The merchant handles these aspects, allowing you to focus on marketing and content creation.

Freedom from responsibility was the primary factor that fueled my interest in pursuing affiliate marketing.

#3: Flexibility and Location Independence

Affiliate marketing gives you total freedom to work from anywhere with an internet connection. You can set your hours and build your business around your lifestyle.

Once you start earning recurring income, you can live life like one big holiday.

#4: Passive Income Potential

Once you’ve created content, set up your affiliate links, and targeted traffic sources, you can earn money 24/7, even while you sleep. This passive income aspect is particularly appealing to many aspiring entrepreneurs.

Still, let’s not beat around the bush. You won’t start making affiliate commissions immediately. It takes commitment to consistently create content on your chosen platforms, such as your blog, YouTube, TikTok, social media or communities.

Content creation might sound like an easy job, but it can be tricky to stay motivated when you’re not seeing financial results. You must push through if you want to make affiliate marketing your full-time income goal.

#5: Diverse Product Options

Whatever niche you are in, there are countless affiliate programs available. You can choose products aligning with your interests and audience needs. This diversity allows you to create multiple income streams without depending on a single product or company.

It’s essential to choose affiliate partners relevant to your niche. Otherwise, your offers may confuse your audience. For example, I promote marketing tools, digital products like Threads UNLEASHED, courses, hosting, AI tools, and software that I use or have used.

The Cons of Affiliate Marketing

There are some disadvantages to affiliate marketing, although, in my opinion, they are easy to overcome.

#1: Fierce Competition

The low barrier to entry means many people are trying their hand at affiliate marketing. You become a blur in a crowded marketplace, which can be challenging, especially in popular niches.

The SaaS (software as a service) industry is highly competitive, though it’s one that newbies often target because it typically pays well and offers recurring income.

If you choose a competitive niche, try to create something unique around your offers that draws people’s attention.

#2: Lack of Control

You don’t control the products you’re promoting, their pricing, or the overall customer experience. If a merchant changes their affiliate program terms or discontinues a product, it can directly impact your income.

Your ONLY job is getting traffic to the merchant’s page. After that, it’s their job to convert viewers into buyers. Sadly, many merchant websites are informational without considering the psychological reasons people buy.

#3: Commission Volatility

Affiliate commission rates can change without notice. A program that once offered high commissions might reduce rates, affecting your earnings potential.

My advice is not to put too many eggs in one basket. Have multiple offers with a variety of merchants.

#4: Delayed Gratification

Building a successful income-generating affiliate marketing business takes time. It often requires months of consistent effort before seeing significant results, which can be discouraging for those seeking quick profits.

My first affiliate commission was $11.38. Honestly, it felt like winning the lottery! Somebody had taken the time to read my article, click the link and buy a product.

Getting my first sale kept my motivation going.

#5: Constant Learning Curve

The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Staying competitive requires continuous learning about SEO, content marketing, and emerging platforms or technologies.

Think on your feet and study analytics. Find what content drives traffic to your affiliate offers and adapt your approach.

Sometimes, merchants make poor decisions that upset their customers or affiliates. Always be prepared to switch to an alternative merchant if the offer is not beneficial to potential customers.

Is Affiliate Marketing Right for You?

Affiliate Marketing Can be – And Should be – Fun

A “certain type” of person enjoys and sticks with affiliate marketing because it can be tedious initially.

To see if affiliate marketing will suit you, consider the following questions:

Are you patient and willing to put in consistent effort without immediate rewards?
Do you enjoy creating content and engaging with an audience?
Are you comfortable with the idea of selling and promoting products?
Can you adapt to changes in the digital marketing landscape?
Are you self-motivated and disciplined enough to work independently?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, affiliate marketing could be a good fit for you.

How to Choose the Best Affiliate Merchants

These tips are the ones I learned the hard way!

#1: Affiliate Network Or Affiliate Program?

Affiliate networks like Impact, Partnerstack, JVzoo and Clickbank have thousands of products, but they’re the first place most newbies start looking for affiliate offers.

Therefore, you’re not standing out promoting these offers.

Affiliate programs are independent of networks. You approach the merchant, and they approve and provide an affiliate link.

Some merchants partner with networks, such as SurferSEO with Partnerstack and Ubersuggest partners with Impact.

#2: Recurring or One-Off Payment?

100% recurring for me.

What’s the point of working hard to drive traffic to an offer paying 20% one-off commission when you can divert attention to an affiliate offer paying 20% monthly recurring commission?

Systeme.io is one of the highest paying programs. It pays a staggering 60% recurring lifetime commission. Some affiliates in the Systeme community are making considerable monthly income.

#3: How Much Commission Does the Merchant Pay?

Many novice affiliate marketers think Amazon is the best place to start affiliate marketing.

Amazon affiliate program pays 3-4% commission. You’ll have challenges making enough money to live on unless you’re selling high-ticket items.

Even with a high ticket item, imagine selling a $2k product and getting paid $60 for your efforts.

My minimum criteria is 20% commission. Ideally, I choose merchants with high commissions, like Systeme.

#4: Does the Merchant Pay Lifetime Commissions?

Ideally, choose a merchant that pays lifetime commissions because that starts working towards building a significant passive income.

#5: How Long Does the Merchant Track Cookies?

365 days/year is the preferred cookie tracking.

#6: Does the Merchant Have Analytics?

Detailed analytics helps you stay motivated when you can see that you’re driving traffic to your offers and from where.

#7: Does the Merchant Offer Instant Affiliate Approval?

Most merchants don’t offer instant approval. They want to check that you have some experience and a live website with relevant content or active social media channels.

Some affiliate networks have filters so you can search for merchants offering instant approval.

My Top Tips For Starting Affiliate Marketing

Only represent merchants whose products or services you have used or that have excellent reviews (I always search on Trustpilot)
Publish at least twenty blog posts before applying to merchants
Attach your website to Google Search Console and Google Analytics so you can regularly assess which pages get the most traffic
After #4, optimise your top-performing pages and interlink to relevant content on your website
Pin blog posts on Pinterest to drive more traffic (anticipate 3-6 months before seeing results, but Pinterest is a goldmine for affiliate marketers)
Build an email list. You can have up to 2k subscribers on the Systeme free plan
Don’t settle for anything less than 20% commissions
Always choose recurring commissions
Join an affiliate marketing community
Start a YouTube channel

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is a genuinely fantastic way to build recurring passive income. It takes a lot of work initially without results, so be prepared for the long game.

The best time to start is today. In 12-24 months, affiliate marketing could replace your full-time income.

There are also spin-offs, such as teaching others how to become affiliate marketers or creating courses that you can promote to your YouTube channel subscribers, email list, and communities.

Remember, success in affiliate marketing doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey that requires persistence, strategy, and a genuine desire to provide value to your audience. That said, affiliate marketing can be a rewarding and profitable venture if you’re willing to put in the work and play the long game.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links on this page. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.

Is Systeme.io The Best Free Marketing Platform for Beginners?

August 14, 2024

Last Updated on April 24, 2025 by Jan Barley

Is Systeme.io the Best Free Marketing Platform for Beginners & Experienced Marketers?

Is Systeme.io the best free marketing platform for beginners in 2024? It certainly has been for me. If you want lead generation software, Systeme.io is an excellent start for beginners.

Since joining, I have completed the overall platform certification and sales funnel builder training. There are 140k+ members in the Facebook group, with many crushing their marketing efforts using Systeme.io.

A staggering 64% of small businesses struggle with managing their marketing efforts effectively. Some marketing platforms seem to make it their mission to overcomplicate things, so people give up because there’s too much vertical learning.

If you’re tired of juggling multiple marketing tools and paying hefty monthly subscription fees, Systeme.io could be the answer.

I managed my free account for over a year before upgrading to the starter plan. I’d started building offers and funnels and needed more marketing tools.

What is Systeme.io and How Does it Work?

Is Systeme.io the best marketing platform for beginners and experienced marketers?

Systeme.io is an all-in-one marketing platform. It’s an ideal platform for beginners and offers a certificated course that teaches you how to navigate the dashboard.

Is Systeme.io really free? Yes, it is. The lifetime guarantee isn’t hype. It’s free as long as you stay within the parameters of the free plan.

Understanding Systeme.io’s Features

Sales Funnels: Systeme.io gives the user a choice from multiple templates for different purposes. The drag-and-drop feature is easy to use once you figure out how the sales funnel process works. You can create numerous options for order forms, opt-ins, upsells, and thank you pages and track funnel analytics.
Email Marketing: You can easily build an email campaign and subscriber list. You can send newsletters, broadcasts and automated email sequences with the free email marketing software.
Membership Sites: Create an online course and sell gated access to content. You can choose to give full access or drip feed to your students.
Affiliate Management: It’s easy to track affiliate links, monitor performance and automate payments.
Blogging: You can create one blog with unlimited posts with the free plan. It has basic SEO, but considering it’s free, it’s not a bad starting option.

What Do You Get With the Systeme.io Free Plan?

Systeme.io’s Pricing Plans Are Generous. You Get a Lot of Value for Your Subscription (Pay Monthly or Annually)

Systeme’s free lifetime plan is generous. Here is what you get: –

One tag
24/7 support
1-click upsell
One workflow
One order bump
One coupon code
One A/B split test
One custom domain
One automation rule
Three sales funnels
Up to 2,000 contacts
One email campaign
Run an affiliate program
Stripe & PayPal Integration
Up to 15 sales funnel steps
One blog with unlimited posts
One course with unlimited students
One community with unlimited members

What Are the Limitations Of the Free Systeme.io Plan?

The main limitation of the Systeme.io FREE plan is having only one automation rule, tag, and workflow. Still, if you build one course with an offer, these limitations shouldn’t be problematic.

The Starter Plan at $27/month gives you: –

5 workflows
10 tags
10 automation rules

The increase in these three sales funnel building tools give you the flexibility for creating more offers.

With the free plan, you cannot migrate your courses or offers from another platform. That functionality is only available on the $97/month unlimited plan.

Migrating your accounts is worth it because the Systeme team can handle the entire migration process.

What’s Available on Systeme.io?

Systeme.io’s Dashboard is Easy To Navigate

The Main Dashboard

Contacts & tags
Funnels
Email campaigns, newsletters & tags
Blogs
Automation rules & workflows
Products: Physical, orders, coupons, courses & communities
Sales: Transactions, subscriptions, affiliate invoices & my affiliate program

The Affiliate Dashboard

Shows what you have earned from affiliate offers

The Student Dashboard

This area is where you will find the courses you have bought. As a paid member, you get regular access to many free helpful courses to help you grow your business.

The Marketplace

The marketplace has multiple products offering affiliate opportunities for low- and high-ticket products. You can promote any of them without waiting for approval.

Systeme.io User Experience And Interface

I find the Systeme.io interface easy to navigate, but I’ve used the platform for several years. That said, finding your way around is easy without much effort. The interface is user-friendly, clean and easy to navigate.

It is mobile responsive. When building a sales funnel, you can switch between laptop/pc view to mobile view, which means you can design the perfect mobile user experience for your viewers.

Building A Sales Page is Simple Drag & Drop With Elements (on the left)

The Pros and Cons of Using Systeme.io Free Plan

No marketing platform is perfect. Systeme.io nails most things we marketers need, but here are what I consider to be the pros and cons.

The Pros of Systeme.io

The free plan gives you access to everything you need to create one course, sell an offer and build a subscriber list without paying a penny
You have 100+ ready-to-go templates to choose from for landing pages and sales pages & they’re adding link in bio templates soon
Systeme.io listens to user feedback and regularly updates and improves the platform
Promote Systeme.io and make 60% recurring commissions from sales.
Automation rules and workflows decrease manual time
You can set up affiliate programs for your offers
The intuitive email editor is great for beginners
Detailed knowledge base and video guides
Multiple payment processor integration
Easy drag-and-drop course builder
The interface is user-friendly
Huge Facebook community
Excellent customer support
Mobile responsive design
Free email list building
2-factor authentication

Read: How to Make a 6-Figure Income Building Sales Funnels

The Cons of Systeme.io

The community feature lacks social interaction elements. Hopefully, in time, Systeme.io will make it more like a Skool community where members can engage with each other
Funnel editing is a bit of a learning experience. It’s best to play around with one until you figure out how to move everything about, add images and videos, change colours and fonts, etc
The Systeme.io video training can be a little fast and challenging for complete beginners
One tag, workflow and automation role in the free plan does limit your capacity to maximise the use of the three free sales funnels
You cannot test your funnel process without making a live payment
You cannot change payment details unless you cancel your plan
The email design lacks advanced features

Systeme.io vs Clickfunnels: How Do They Stack Up?

Is Systeme.io the same as Clickfunnels? They provide similar marketing tools, and both have an excellent reputation.

However, Systeme.io vs Clickfunnels is an entire blog post I will write soon. Here is my quick overview of both marketing platforms.

Systeme.io vs Clickfunnels: Both Are Serious Contenders for Marketing Tools

The main difference between Systeme.io and Clickfunnels is the price.

A Clickfunnels subscription is $97/month
The Systeme.io Free plan is, well, er, FREE

OK, the free Systeme.io lifetime plan has limitations, but if you’re new to marketing tools, you can play around with the features and upgrade to the starter plan for $27 when ready.

Systeme.io’s pricing is generous, and they often offer price deals on unlimited plans.

Webinar Functionality

If you want a webinar hosting platform to run webinars, Systeme’s Webinar plan includes a vast increase in marketing tools features, plus webinar facilities for only $47/month.

The Unlimited Plan includes FREE migration from other marketing platforms.

Create and Host Your First Course for FREE

Create your first course or course bundle on Systeme IO entirely for free

I built the Systeme 8-course bundle on Systeme in July by integrating it into one course with eight modules. I was shocked at how easy it was. It was something I had put off for months for fear of getting overwhelmed learning something new.

If you host a course somewhere like Kajabi, Mighty Networks and Thinkific, you might pay upwards of $99/month.

Create your first course on Systeme.io, integrate your payments, add a custom domain, and build a sales page. Then you are off to the races, my friend. On the $27/month Starter Plan, you can create and host five courses.

With Systeme’s AB testing tools, you can experiment with sales pages to see which works best. The Systeme.io templates are great for beginners, and you will soon be creating sales pages like a pro.

You can even add funnel building to your list of skills with the free funnel-building certification training.

You Can Drag & Drop Modules With Systeme.io’s Easy-To-Use Course Builder

Conclusion

I don’t apologise for saying that I think Systeme.io is the best free online marketing platform. Though I’m now on the paid $27/month Starter plan, I intend to upgrade to the Webinar plan in 2025.

I want to create evergreen webinars, a great traffic generation exercise.

Is Systeme.io perfect? No, there is a learning curve, but you’ll experience that with any platform requiring a grasp of technical understanding, such as workflows, tags and automation tools.

The secret is these seemingly technical aspects aren’t as complicated as they seem. I was surprised by how easy it was after watching a tutorial.

Clickfunnels is a fantastic platform, and you can test it out with a 14-day trial. It seems there’s a division between those who love Clickfunnels and those who love Systeme.io.

Ultimately, it’s your choice, but you cannot go wrong with Systeme’s free marketing software.

FAQs

Is Systeme.io Good For SEO

If you start a blog on Systeme.io (you get one blog with a free plan and unlimited posts), the SEO is basic. You will need to optimise all blog posts to start ranking on Google.

Is Systeme.io Free Forever?

Yes, the free unlimited plan is for a lifetime if you stay within the parameters of the free plan.

Is Systeme.io Completely Free?

Yes, Systeme.io is entirely free on the lifetime free plan.

Is Systeme.io Suitable for Beginners

You might experience a bit of a learning curve, but that applies to any marketing tools and software.

What Happens if I Have More Than 3 Sales Funnels on the Free Plan?

You can deactivate the excess funnels. They will stay in your account, ready for when you wish to upgrade or swap over another funnel you’re not using.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links on this page. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.

Pinterest Account Suspended? What To Do If It Happens to You

August 9, 2024

Last Updated on April 24, 2025 by Jan Barley

Losing Your Pinterest Account Can Feel Awful. Still, You Are Not Alone. It Happens to Many People

Pinterest account suspended?

Picture this: You’re casually browsing Pinterest, minding your own business, when suddenly – BAM! A big red button on your login page says your account is deactivated.

No warning, no explanation. It’s just digital exile.

Has it happened to you? You’re not alone in this Pinterest purgatory. It happened to me, and I didn’t like it one bit.

Pinterest’s overzealous spam detection is snagging innocent accounts left and right. And their customer service? Well, let’s say it’s not winning any awards.

The worst part is that you’re primarily negotiating with bots, which never ends well.

Pinterest account recovery is NOT easy. Even if the algorithm caused an incorrect Pinterest suspension, you might not get your Pinterest account reactivated.

Still, don’t lose hope – I’ve been there and done that and am here to help you navigate this frustrating event.

I admit I didn’t get my account back, but I’ve learned a lot from the experience. Not least of all that: –

Pinterest doesn’t care about you
We (actually) MUST read Pinterest’s Community Guidelines
The algorithm is draconian – think the worst controller in history
Your appeals go to bots- speaking to a human is challenging, if not impossible
You might not get your Pinterest account reactivated – cutting your losses and starting again might be the best option

The first step is to clarify if your account is genuinely suspended. We’re talking about complete lockout – no logging in, pinning, or any Pinterest activity.

If I tried to look at my page, I received a warning message, followed by an email stating that someone was trying to log in to my account.

If you can still access your account but reach has plummeted, it might be the Pinterest spam block instead. That’s a different beast, a different battle.

I hope, for your sake, the lockout is not a genuine deactivation.

My Pinterest Account Deactivation Saga

I schedule my pins on a Monday morning. For three months, I had built up the number of daily pins to three, spread from morning to evening, seven days a week.

I had 8.9k monthly views, increased engagement, and traffic flowed nicely to my affiliate offers and niche website.

That Monday morning was as typical as any before.

Tuesday morning, I opened the app to check my stats.

And there it was ….

That horrid BIG red button stated that Pinterest had deactivated my account.

I felt sick…

An email pinged in confirming Pinterest had deactivated my account for spam.

Damn?

Spam?

Like you, I manically searched Google and TikTok for answers.

I wanted my bloody account back!

Here’s the kicker: So much advice “out there” claims that Pinterest will reinstate your account quickly if you’re innocent.

Spoiler alert: That’s complete hogwash.

Pinterest’s system is about as reliable as a chocolate teapot.

So, if you’re staring at a suspended account message, take a deep breath. Maybe pour yourself a stiff drink. Then, let’s get to work.

Pinterest Account Suspended? Your Burning Questions Answered

I searched Google for hours trying to find a solution to my deactivated pinterest account. Here are some of the questions you might be asking.

How Do You Know Your Account Is Suspended?

Scenario 1: The Real-Time Suspension Shocker
You’re pinning away when suddenly, a message pops up declaring your account suspended—game over. No more Pinterest for you.
Scenario 2: The “Your Account Has Been Suspended” Email
Not online? You’ll get a charming email informing you of your digital downfall. Either way, you’re locked out of your Pinterest account faster than you can say “algorithm error.”

Why Did Pinterest Deactivate My Account?

There are two main reasons for losing your account:

#1: Accidental Spam Shenanigans

Maybe you were a bit overzealous with your pinning strategy. Common slip-ups include:

Using short links
Duplicating pins galore
Pinning the same URL daily
Unsolicited DM pin-bombing
Using “cloaking” such as a forwarding URL
Using outdated tactics like hashtag overload

My mistake was using short links, and I had a forwarding URL on one of my pins. Both of these errors were the first time I had made the mistake.

Pinterest is NOT forgiving of our humanness.

#2: The Dreaded Algorithm Glitch

These glitches are more common than you’d think. Sometimes, it’s a widespread issue affecting thousands.

#3: Sensitive Material

Don’t post nudes or anything that constitutes sexy
Avoid posting images of children

#4: Copying Someone Else’s Content

Design pins of your own. Do the pin design course that I did to learn how to create beautiful pins that convert.

Other times, it’s random; Pinterest’s finicky algorithm singles you out.

How to Appeal To Reactive Your Pinterest Account

Go to the Pinterest Appeal page and submit your appeal.

Step 1: Submit help tickets like you’re trying to cash in a winning lottery ticket.
Step 2: Copy and paste your appeals to save your sanity.
Step 3: Thank Pinterest in advance for the help you hope to receive.
Step 4: Don’t waste time getting angry, whiney or demanding answers. Pinterest isn’t big on explanations.

Pro Tip: Play the advertiser card. Pinterest seems to perk up when there’s potential ad revenue on the table. It didn’t work for me, but it has for some.

Crafting Your Help Ticket

Start with something like this:

“Dear Pinterest team, my account was mistakenly suspended for spam. I assure you I’m a dedicated creator who values the Pinterest community. If any missteps occurred, they were unintentional. Please have a human review my account. Pinterest is crucial to my brand, and I’m eager to continue contributing quality content.”

If that doesn’t work, try the advertiser angle:

“Hello, Pinterest team. I urgently need assistance. My account was incorrectly suspended, halting my plans for an upcoming ad campaign. I’m committed to Pinterest’s creator code and providing value to pinners. Please help reinstate my account so I can rejoin the Pinterest community and explore advertising opportunities.”

The Pinterest Waiting Game

Recovery time varies wildly. It could be hours, or it could be months.

I usually got a rejection email (bot) reply within an hour, but I never got my Pinterest account reactivated.

Harsh reality check: No platform owes us the right to use it. That’s why I wrote about the danger of not owning our content.

When something happens like this, it’s a stark reminder to diversify your traffic sources and build your email list.

Suspension-Proofing Your Pinterest Strategy

Don’t use link shorteners.
Don’t use URLs with forwarding.
Read Pinterest Community Guidelines
Avoid anything remotely spammy. When in doubt, don’t.
Consider hiring a Pinterest expert or coach to keep you on track.
Stay updated on best practices. Join Pinterest marketing groups, read blogs, and listen to podcasts.

What Happened to My Pinterest Account?

I submitted four appeals and received four rejections.

My stress levels were off the roof. I decided it was less stressful to start again.

I opened a new Pinterest account in July 2024 and started scheduling one pin daily.

Even though Pinterest is 100% OK with promoting affiliate links on pins, I no longer do it.

Instead, I write blog posts and link pins to them. My blog is a claimed website on Pinterest.

Whenever I open my Pinterest account, I feel hesitant and anxious about it happening again.

Should You Rely on Pinterest For Traffic?

Categorically, No!

I’m focusing on driving traffic to my blog from writing SEO blog content. Yes, Pinterest is a fantastic search engine once your account builds momentum.

Still, I will NEVER rely on Pinterest again.

I advise you to start a blog and learn to write SEO content.

If you can’t be arsed to learn SEO, try SEOWriting AI or SurferSEO to help you write SEO content without all the keyword research stuff.

Final Thoughts

Fighting an unfair Pinterest suspension is frustrating, but don’t give up.

If you’re innocent, keep pushing. Unfortunately, these algorithmic hiccups are now part of the Pinterest game.

The platform never used to be so draconian, but it is what it is, and we must learn to manage our relationship with Pinterest.

Learn as much as you can about Pinterest. Read my article on free Pinterest courses to help you get started.

If you’re ready to take Pinterest seriously, read the best Pinterest courses and best pinterest pin design course articles.

Focus on being the best creator you can be. ALWAYS have a backup plan for your traffic. I’ve considerably increased traffic to my site and work hard to maintain consistency.

Work hardest on the things you own.

Remember, you’re not the first to experience a deactivated Pinterest account. When you search for a solution, you will see hundreds or thousands of people who have lost their accounts.

Stay persistent, stay positive, and may the algorithm never judge your pin content as spam.

If not, F*** em and do your own thing.

Recommended Pinterest Tools: Pin Generator & Pin Inspector

Pin Generator Review

✅ Pros

Auto-generates pins from your website or blog (no manual design needed!)
Bulk scheduling to keep your Pinterest active 24/7
AI-powered designs that match Pinterest’s best practices
Keyword optimisation to boost SEO and reach more users
Time-saving—great for bloggers, businesses, and content creators

❌ Cons

Limited design customisation. It’s not as flexible as Canva, where you have design creativity. Still, the design is less important if your messaging and CTA are spot on. Only you can decide whether you can let go of the creative aspect of Canva.

Try the free cost savings calculator on Pin Generator

Is There A Free Plan?

Who Should Use Pin Generator?

It is ideal for bloggers, business owners, and Pinterest marketers who want to create more pins and save time by automating pin creation and scheduling.

Choose Pin Generator if you want a hands-off, automated Pinterest strategy with AI-generated pins and scheduling.

Pin Inspector Review

Pin Inspector is a Pinterest keyword and analytics tool that helps you find high-performing keywords, trending pins, and competitor insights.

✅ Pros

Find viral Pinterest keywords to help your pins rank higher
Analyse competitor pins to see what’s working in your niche
Discovers trending topics so you can create content people are searching for
Great for SEO—helps optimise descriptions for better visibility

❌ Cons

Erm! Can’t think of any. It’s an affordable tool for improving Pinterest results

Pin Inspector offers a one-time payment for lifetime access

Is There A Free Plan?

No, but Pin Generator offer a surprisingly reasonable one-time payment (no monthly subscription!), which is great for long-term use. There’s often a $20 discount on the website homepage, too.

Who Should Use It?

Perfect for Pinterest SEO experts, bloggers, and marketers who want to boost visibility with the right keywords and trends.

Pin Inspector is excellent for researching trending Pinterest keywords, platform trends, and competitor strategies to improve Pinterest SEO.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links on this page. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.