Jan Barley

Is Catalyst Collective Worth It? Best Business Accelerator?

September 23, 2024

Is Catalyst Collective Good? 5,200 members think so, and there is still so much room for growth

Catalyst Collective is Brooke Shelton’s popular business accelerator for Instagram entrepreneurs. It’s a business community platform that teaches social media revenue generation skills for existing or new businesses.

I joined Catalyst Collective because I wanted to learn how to make money online without selling my soul. I’d heard such great things about the program and its founder. Joining the community felt like a no-brainer.

The Catalyst program provides a business scaling framework with training modules, Meta business coaching, and practical tasks within a thriving online entrepreneurship community.

Catalyst Collective is like a university for social media mastery. Pick what you want to learn and start tapping in to your dormant entrepeneurial skills.

This Catalyst Collective review covers the community, courses, pros and cons, pricing and my personal experience. We’ll examine online member feedback, explore Brooke’s background, and business automation methods.

What You Need To Know About Catalyst

Catalyst is a unique program founded by Brooke Shelton, a Meta expert. It’s a standalone program that teaches budding entrepreneurs content creation strategies using marketing automation tools.

Training modules cover subjects like developing an efficient social media monetisation strategy for passive income development.

The training is easily accessible, and the $399 cost provides lifetime access.

It’s a low-risk business opportunity as Brooke is one of the only businesses of this type to offer a *no questions asked” 48-hour refund.

Who is The Founder of Catalyst Collective?

Brooke Shelton went from corporate life to becoming a seven-figure Meta business coach. She’s a Duke graduate who studied under consumer psychology expert Dan Ariely.

Much of the training in the Catalyst community is underpinned by psychological principles.

Brooke started at Boston Consulting Group, focusing on sales and digital marketing.

At Meta, she trained Machine Learning models, developed ad policies, and helped sell $250M+ in ads. She also advised big companies on digital strategies.

Now, Brooke teaches others to build businesses using Facebook and Instagram. In Catalyst Collective, she coaches entrepreneurs on using social media for brand growth and wealth creation.

The Catalyst Business Community

The Catalyst Business Community Platform is second to none in my experience. Brooke doesn’t gatekeep business growth information and stays updated with Meta changes.

It is a supportive business community where many started as beginners and built entrepreneurial skills from the training. T

The 7 Steps Catalyst Teaches for Business Growth

Brooke Shelton’s 7-step business growth plan underpins everything we learn.

Step 1: Plan

You begin by crafting your strategic roadmap. This initial phase focuses on developing a growth mindset, identifying your target market, developing ideal client personas, selecting your specific market position and setting up sales funnels.

Step #2: Start

This phase focuses on establishing your digital presence. You’ll develop personal and commercial brand identities, create effective email campaigns, and secure your digital footprint.

You learn mastery of Meta’s algorithmic patterns to optimise your content reach, while utilising platforms to build a robust business foundation.

Step #3: Scale

At this stage, the focus shifts to accelerating growth through strategic content deployment. Learn to create viral-worthy reels and leverage Meta’s algorithms across Instagram, Threads and Facebook.

Step #4: Design

You learn how to improve your visual storytelling abilities through advanced content creation techniques. You will master the essentials of video editing, professional photography, and digital graphic design principles, and learn to produce polished, engaging content that your audience loves.

Step #5: Monetise

Develop multiple income streams through various business models. Create and sell coaching programs, digital courses, and membership communities.Explore lucrative opportunities in high-ticket affiliate partnerships and lots more.

Step #6: Automate

Many content creators experience burnout from trying to create content manually. Catalyst teaches you to implement efficiency through simple technological solutions. Leverage AI tools, automation platforms, and productivity software to streamline operations.

Because of Catalyst training, I am creating my first digital products, AI prompts for SEO content creation, YouTube monetisation and more. It’s super exciting.

Step #7: Elevate

The focus is on holistic personal growth, wellness, and long-term productivity. Incorporate cutting-edge productivity solutions, investment strategies, and manifestation techniques and align personal development with business objectives (yes, it’s possible).

I somehow got to the *elevate* stage early on because I wasn’t happy with my niche. Since then, I’ve realigned with my spiritual values. I completely switched my business model to align with my heart and started a YouTube channel on the law of attracton – far removed from my role as an SEO writer!

Learn from an ex Meta Sales & Branding Expert and take your business to the next level

Catalyst Collective Pros And Cons

In the months I spent researching Catalyst, I couldn’t find anyone with a negative thing to say about Brooke, the course or the community.

That’s’ like finding unicorn poop. In most digital marketing communities, you can usually find dissatisfied customers spouting off on social media.

Pros

Installment plans for payment
It’s quick and easy to set up for beginners
The community “energy” and support is great
48-hour *no questions asked* refund guarantee
Weekly Q&As and helpful Instagram audit calls
Brooke continually updates and adds training material
Lifetime access to Catalyst training and the community
It’s a one-time fee of $399 with no monthly subscriptions
The Catalyst Community is highly active and engaged

Cons

I’m struggling to find cons, and I can say that because I bought several courses in 2024 that weren’t a patch on Catalyst Collective.

Digital marketing is booming, but it’s not easy for beginners. Creating content that converts is a skill. It’s not just a case of banging a few images together in Canva.

The two courses I bought previously, focused on money. The training was poor, and anyone struggling with sales didn’t get the support they deserved.

Catalyst Collective is the polar opposite of my previous experiences.

Brooke is high-energy. She’s a positive person who talks fast. Some people aren’t fans of that
Some say that the training isn’t beginner-friendly. Brooke took that on board and launched Catalyst Spark launches. It’s specifically for beginners, a $55 training introduction to the principles of Catalyst
Catalyst is not free – it costs $399 to join the Catalyst Collective community. There are instalment plans available through Klarna, Afterpay and the like

The Best Business Transformation Course

Is Catalyst the best business transformation course? Yes, in my experience, it is. Certainly, for the price, it is incredible value. Brooke has her finger on the pulse and members have a voice. We ask, Brooke finds a way to make it thappen.

What I’m learning is so much more than I expected and the training is transforming my approach to my business.

The Catalyst program starts with creating a business plan, defining your customer, and choosing the right tools like sales funnels and product selling platforms.
Catalyst training provides a digital business transformation, teaching you how to scale your business using viral reels, organic growth, SEO, and analytics.
You will learn to sell through DMs, stories, and Instagram Shops, plus boost visibility with Instagram and Facebook ads and copywriting.
Catalyst covers creating courses, memberships, and high-ticket affiliate marketing. The automation phase introduces AI, software, and global teams to streamline operations.

I cannot believe the effect that Catalyst Collective training has had on me. I’ve literally dropped most of the things I was doing and now focusing on what fulfills my soul and is more likely to be profitable long term. I’m even getting back into my art and working on it to launch a new business.

The New Brooke Bot

Brooke created a bot for the Catalyst Collective Community and it is on fire! Need your Instagram bio rewritten? Wanyt ideas and scripts for reels, stories and more?

My First Impressions of the Catalyst Community

I’m ADHD, so I get easily overwhelmed when faced with too much information. Catalyst was all in one place on the Skool platform. Recently (Aug 25) it switched to the Kajabi platform.

Each module is a standalone. You can choose where to start once you have worked through the setup.

The training is clear and easy to navigate. The content downloads are generous, and the video content is high quality.

It was easy to follow the steps to get my affiliate links from the Beacons platform, which takes payment for Catalyst sales. That took around thirty minutes because, in typical ADHD style, I tried to rush it.

Brooke gives you a selection of cards to work through to plan your IG stories, which makes it faster and easier to create stories that work.

How Catalyst Changed My Entire Aproach to Business

Within the first six weeks, the Catalyst training modules turned my business on its head. I went from focusing on the *make money online* niche to entirely hating it.

In addition, I initially focused on selling Catalyst to others. Yes, it is a fantastic business growth program for any aspiring entrepreneur, but only focusing on selling it is not a sustainable path. Moreover, that doesn’t lead to personal or entrepreneurial growth. Plus, that is no longer an option.

I cannot remember which module hit home, but it felt like a sucker punch in the face.

I took two months off and refocused on my core strengths, writing and SEO. I’m a spiritual person who likes to inspire others. I wanted to connect with my inner joy. Just talking about making money left me cold.

Here is what Catalyst Collective training led me to:

ONLY writing inspirational and educational content that I enjoy
Focusing on tasks I enjoy and that are more likely to create long-term passive income
Focusing on search engine marketing (Google, Pinterest, YouTube) and spending less time on social media
Creating a set of powerful AI prompts to help writers research, write and edit content in a fraction of time and effort
Refocusing on my publishing career: Researching, writing and publishing books on multiple platforms using free and low cost tools

Ultimately, Catalyst Collective helped reconnect me with what’s important to my soul, and stop messing about with activities that drain me of energy.

That is what entrepreneurial skill development is all about, and Catalyst taught me that.

What Do You Get Access To With the Catalyst?

Catalyst is value-packed:

The Brooke Bot
Weekly Q&A sessions
Business strategy sessions
Done-for-you lead magnets
Catalyst Spark: A low cost intro course
Live marketing workshops, including sales and branding
Done-for-you templates – Instagram stories, reels and images
Lifetime access to all courses, including weekly additions
Personalised Instagram audit calls: Members get fantastic feedback

Bonuses include:

PLR Vault
7-Figure Mindset course
Advanced sales course
In-person networking events
Done-for-you ads and sales funnels

It’s a comprehensive resource for business growth and marketing skills.

Who Is Catalyst Collective For?

Catalyst Collective is for anyone determined to break free from the traditional 9-to-5 and launch an online business.

Whether you’re interested in coaching, content creation, course creation, business growth, digital marketing, or running an e-commerce brand, the Catalyst program provides the necessary tools.

The platform offers a self-paced curriculum, weekly workshops, and a supportive community of *angels* to guide you in building a business you can be proud of and working toward financial independence.

The Catalyst Collective Program is ideal to learn how to create additional income streams. It provides business models and expert guidance on side hustles like affiliate marketing, dropshipping, and user-generated content (UGC).

If you want to scale an existing business online, Catalyst offers tools such as sales funnels, branding workshops, and Instagram audit calls to streamline your brand and automate growth.

Conclusion

After wasting money on disappointing and expensive courses, I took my time before jumping into the Catalyst.

My biggest regret is that I didn’t join Catalyst sooner.

Brooke adds new content weekly. If we ask for something, she finds experts and adds it to the community at no additional cost to members.

FAQs

Is There A Refund Policy?

Yes. Catalyst Collective has a *no-questions-asked* 48-hour refund.

When Did Catalyst Start?

Brooke launched Catalyst in January 2024 on the Skool platform.

How Many Members Are There?

The community is still relatively small but growing. There are 4k members (October 2024)

Is Catalyst Suitable for Beginners?

Yes, Catalyst is suitable for beginners. It helps if you have some experience of social media marketing, but it isn’t essential. The program takes you step by step, showing you how to build online business visibility.

How Does Catalyst Collective Work?

Catalyst is an affiliate-based business growth program that teaches you how to start and grow a business. You pay a one-time fee of $399 for the training, which gives access to the Catalyst community, course modules and weekly training.

Is Catalyst Collective Worth It in 2025?

If you want to start and build a business in 2025, Catalyst teaches you everything you need to know, including developing an entrepreneurial mindset.

What’s Included In Catalyst Collective?

You get lifetime access to the training, updated regularly, 70% commission on sales, weekly Q&A and sales and marketing meetings (all available on replay). You become part of the Catalyst community, where you can get support at all levels.

How To Make Money With Catalyst Collective?

You make money with Catalyst Collective by learning high-income skills to create digital products of your own, monetising Instagram, learning sales and copywriting skills, and much more.

Can You Make Money On Instagram With Catalyst?

No income guarantees exist because making money with Catalyst Collective depends on multiple factors. If you commit to the training and implement the new skills, you can succeed on and off Instagram.

Is Catalyst Easy to Get Started

Yes, there is no complicated setup. If you want to promote Catalyst and earn 70% commissions, you get step-by-step instructions in the first training modules. It took me about thirty minutes to be fully operational.

Is Catalyst Instagram Business Automation For Beginners?

A few people say they don’t think Catalyst is suitable for beginners. You need a basic understanding of social media and have the time to learn content creation skills.

From my perspective, the self-study training is easy for beginners as long as you don’t rush the training.

The biggest mistake beginners make with Catalyst is rushing to sell it before fully immersing themselves in the training.

4 Reasons It’s Important to Get Social Media Shares?

September 10, 2024

Focusing on Social Media Shares Will Help Your Business Growth

Social media shares are more important than vanity metrics. Likes and comments aren’t much of a factor in social media growth.

Whilst we all love the dopamine hit of someone giving our content a thumbs up or making a positive comment, you get a better ROI (return on investment) if you can get people to share your lovingly created post, video or reel.

Why Is It Important To Get People To Share Your Content?

There are multiple reasons for encouraging more shares, but here are the four most important factors in sharing social media content.

#1: Your Content Gets A Longer Lifespan

The more people who get eyes on your content, the better. When someone shares your content, their audience becomes your audience. If the sharer has a large following, whoop, you hit the jackpot.

On most social media platforms, your content disappears shortly after publishing, from minutes to hours, depending on the platform. Sharing helps keep your content active for longer, maybe for several days or weeks.

#2: Sharing Increases Your Reach

Social media shares help your content to get in front of a new audience, potentially your ideal customers. Ordinarily, you wouldn’t have access to this audience, or it could take months or years to reach them.

Depending on your content strategy, sharing can lead to increased followers, email subscribers, or buyers.

#3: The Algorithms Boost Your Content

Most social media algorithms aren’t spectacularly affected by vanity metrics such as likes. The algorithms react to early engagement when people favourite, share or comment.

Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok roll out your content to a small test audience. If it gets low engagement, the algorithms stop showing your content, and it bombs.

If you’re stuck in the 200 club on TikTok, try creating more relatable content.

When someone shares your content, it signals to the algorithms that it’s good quality, engaging and might attract more viewers. After all, that’s what social media platforms want.

Subsequently, the algorithms will push your content to a broader audience.

#4: Sharing Builds Brand Credibility and Authority

When building your brand, sharing helps to increase your authority and credibility within your niche.

Whether we like it or not, we humans are influenced by popularity. We want to follow and engage with those brands that stand out and others like them.

How to Encourage Shares

Although it might seem baffling to find a way to get the lurking, silent followers to engage, they can share without getting noticed.

Here are four of the best ways to encourage social media content sharing.

Create Relatable Content

One of the most challenging aspects of marketing is to put yourself in your audience’s place. Even if you’ve experienced the same challenges, creating relatable content is tricky.

Try to dig deep into creating content likely to resonate with people on an emotional level.

Many people constantly share huge income claims on social media (FTC disapprove of this practice), thinking it will persuade people to buy from them.

In some cases, yes, people get sucked into believing they can have the same results. Though, for most of us, it feels like a punch in the gut if you haven’t yet had any financial success.

It’s not relatable.

If you’re earning £2k/month and someone shares their £20k/month success, it’s challenging to imagine 10X your income. It’s also content that is unlikely to get shares.

Share your challenges and the things you’ve overcome. Think about what matters to your target audience. What worries them? Maybe it keeps them awake in the early hours. What would help them and move them enough to want to share your content?

Encourage Engagement

Online communities have hundreds of thousands of people who remain silent, never engage and lurk frustratingly in the background.

Yes, it’s annoying when you cannot get your audience to talk to you, but remember this saying: “The true meaning of communication is the response you get.” It’s a neuro-linguistic programming presupposition.

People love to do things when asked. Fundamentally, we are compliant morons because we crave the feeling of importance. When we’ve done something (we consider) helpful, we like to tell people about it.

Ask your loyal followers to share your content if they found it entertaining, helpful or inspiring. Add a caption like “Share with someone who needs to hear this today.”

Make It Easy for People to Share

Check that your content is available to the public to share. Usually, there’s a share button that people click on and share with their followers in seconds.

Provide Value

All the social media gurus bang on about creating value, but it’s not always easy to know what content represents value. We know that social media shares are the most crucial element to growing your business, so we must put ourselves in our audiences shoes.

As a blog writer, I focus on writing content that Google loves. Typically, that’s educational, entertaining (make them laugh), meaningful in-depth, a listicle (5 types of blog content Google loves), trending or anything that evokes a response.

It’s challenging to cut through the white noise of colourless content on social media if you create the same content as everyone else.

Don’t be afraid to stand out. Share an opinion, even if that goes against the masses. Nobody became successful from being vanilla.

Conclusion

Views and likes have little value for social media growth. It only makes us feel good temporarily.

When you start creating content, please take a moment to think about whether it’s shareable. The more shares you get, the more followers (your ideal tribe) will enjoy and share your content.

To truly become a content creator, avoid publishing content for the sake of it so that you can tick it off the weekly list. It is better to post less but publish more meaningful content that has a better chance of getting shared.

15 Common SEO Mistakes Beginners Make & How to Avoid Them

September 9, 2024

Most SEO Mistakes Are Easily Avoided. Use Common Sense & Follow These Guidelines

Common SEO mistakes beginners make are easily avoided by checking through this list.

SEO (search engine optimisation) needn’t be complicated. Indeed, the simpler you keep it, the better.

Failure to address some of these SEO mistakes beginners make can hurt your search rankings.

Understanding these common SEO mistakes and learning how to fix them is crucial to driving traffic, improving visibility, and ranking higher on SERPs (search engine results pages).

In this guide, we’ll walk you through 15 common SEO mistakes beginners make and provide actionable tips to avoid them.

#1: Ignoring Keyword Research

Beginners often assume they know what their audience is searching for and skip proper keyword research. I get it. SEO tools like Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and SEMrush help identify high-traffic, relevant keywords that align with search intent but are expensive.

You can use free keyword research tools such as Ubersuggest and Google Keyword Planner. You can also get ideas from Answer the Public.

Without research, you may target irrelevant terms or miss opportunities to rank for valuable keywords.

#2: Keyword Stuffing

In an attempt to rank for a particular keyword, beginners often overuse it in content unnaturally. Unfortunately, keyword stuffing could incur search engine penalties.

Content should be readable for humans and not written in a way that doesn’t make sense. Google prioritises helpful content that flows naturally and provides value to its users.

Pick a primary keyword and use it around 2-3 times per 1,000 words. Research primary keywords and semantics because adding these to your content helps the bots make sense of your content.

#3: Neglecting Article Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Add meta tags – descriptions and title tags – to your content. It makes your content more easily understood by users and search engines.

If these elements aren’t optimised or are missing, search engines might pull random snippets of text to display in search results, reducing the chances of users clicking through to your site.

Ideally, add your primary keyword at the beginning of the title and the meta description.

Example

Primary keyword: smooth-coated dog breeds

Title: 14 Smooth-Coated Dog Breeds That Are Perfect Family Pets

Meta Description: 14 smooth-coated dog breeds that are the perfect pet for all the family. Discover everything about these family-friendly breeds from a dog behaviourist.

Titles should be up to 60 characters, and descriptions should be up to 160 characters.

#4: Not Optimising for Mobile

With more users browsing on mobile devices, search engines like Google have adopted a mobile-first indexing approach.

Websites that are not mobile-friendly, with tiny text, poor site structure, slow-loading images and complicated navigation, or content that doesn’t resize properly will see drops in search engine rankings, and visitors will likely leave.

#5: Using Non-Descriptive URLs

A common beginner’s mistake is creating URLs (slugs) that don’t describe a page’s content (e.g., “www.website.com/page1”).

Descriptive URLs help users and search engines understand the page’s purpose. A well-structured URL should include relevant keywords and be easily readable.

For instance, for the doggy keyword, a suitable URL would be www.website.com/smooth-coated-dog-breeds

#6: Ignoring Local SEO

For businesses serving a local area, optimising for local search terms is essential.

Beginners often forget about creating or optimising their Google My Business profile, using location-based keywords, or building local citations.

Neglecting local SEO means you could miss out on business from nearby potential customers searching for your services.

#7: Overlooking Site Speed

Page speed is a crucial ranking factor.

Slow-loading websites frustrate users, increasing bounce rates and reducing dwell time, negatively impacting SEO.

Compressing images, using browser caching, deleting inactive plug-ins and reducing JavaScript and CSS bloat are essential for improving site speed.

#8: Failing to Build Internal Links

Your content needs internal links. It helps search engines to crawl your site effectively and distribute link authority (or PageRank) across your pages.

Beginners often forget to add internal links to posts and pages. That leads to orphaned pages (pages with no links to them), poor site structure, and missed SEO opportunities.

When developing your content strategy, focus on starting with a pillar post with multiple content clusters so you can interlink all of the content.

#9: Not Optimising Images

Large image files can hinder your website’s speed.

Beginners often overlook image optimisation by failing to compress image sizes. Avoid using big PNG files. JPEG images are smaller.

Alt text (adding relevant alternative text to an image file) is essential for accessibility and gives search engines more context about the image, which can help with image search rankings.

#10: Lack of Quality Backlinks

Backlinks from established, high domain authority (DA) websites are a strong ranking signal, but beginners often focus on getting as many backlinks as possible without regard for quality.

Spammy or irrelevant backlinks can lead to Google penalties. Building organic, high-quality links from reputable sources in your niche is essential.

You can check your backlinks and scores with Ubersuggest.

#11: Ignoring User Experience (UX)

SEO isn’t just about keeping the search engines happy; it’s also about creating a positive user experience.

Websites with confusing navigation, poor design, slow page load times, or excessive ads deter visitors. High bounce rates and low dwell times send negative signals to search engines, impacting rankings.

If you have an in-depth, heavy word-count article, intersperse images throughout the content.

To improve the user experience, have plenty of white space on the page, with no more than 3-4 sentences per paragraph.

#12: Not Updating Aged Content

Many beginners create content and then leave it untouched.

However, outdated content that no longer reflects current trends, facts, or search intent may drop in rankings over time.

Regularly updating content ensures it remains relevant and aligned with evolving search queries. Additionally, periodically updating content helps with organic ranking.

#13: Not Using Analytics Tools

SEO is a data-driven process. Without using SEO tools like Google Analytics and Search Console, beginners miss critical insights on how their website performs.

These tools provide data on keyword rankings, traffic sources, user behaviour, and potential issues, helping to refine SEO strategy.

For example, you can see which articles get the most clicks and target your content strategy to provide more of that content and link internally with the high-performing content.

#14: Ignoring Voice Search Optimisation

As voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are becoming more popular, optimising for voice search becomes crucial.

Voice search queries are longer and more conversational, and beginners often forget to target these long-tail keywords.

Optimising content to answer common questions and using natural language increases the chances of ranking in voice search results.

#15: Overlooking HTTPS Security

Security is a ranking factor, and websites that don’t use HTTPS encryption are marked as “Not Secure” by browsers like Google Chrome.

An insecure site deters users from trusting your site and can hurt your search engine rankings. Beginners often skip this critical step, leaving their sites vulnerable and less competitive in search results.

Conclusion

By avoiding these basic 15 SEO mistakes, beginners can set themselves up for long-term SEO success.

Master Resell Rights vs Affiliate Marketing. Which is Best?

September 6, 2024

It’s Essential to Consider the Pros & Cons of Master Resell Rights and Affiliate Marketing

Master resell rights vs affiliate marketing offer unique opportunities for entrepreneurs. But which one is right for you?

I have tried both and have a preference.

Still, this article aims to assess these popular online income-generating methods independently.

81% of business brands rely on affiliate marketing to generate additional business, and experts suggest the digital product market will reach $331 billion by 2030?

It’s a booming industry.

Master resell rights and affiliate marketing can potentially transform your online business – but understanding their differences is crucial for success.

What Are Master Resell Rights?

Definition And Explanation Of Master Resell Rights

Master Resell Rights (MRR) is a licensing agreement granting you permission to resell an MRR product. Your customer then has the same resell rights, and so do their customers.

That means you can sell the product as your own and allow your buyers to do the same.

With most MRR, you cannot alter the content significantly, but you can sell a ready-made product with minimal work involved.

Types Of Products Typically Offered With MRR

Most Master Resell Rights are digital products such as courses, e-books, software applications, audio programs, graphics packages, and website templates (such as Canva).

Some popular niches for MRR products include social media marketing, personal development, health and wellness, and business strategies.

The advantage is these products are often professionally created and ready for immediate distribution, saving you time and resources in digital product development.

Benefits Of Using Master Resell Rights Products

MRR products often come with pre-made sales materials such as landing pages, email swipes, and graphics, which can significantly reduce your marketing workload.

Another benefit is the potential for higher profit margins from digital product reselling than affiliate marketing, as you keep 100% of the sale price rather than just a commission.

Potential Drawbacks And Challenges

One of the most significant drawbacks I found discouraging was that we get paid directly for the more expensive MRR products, such as courses.

Although that sounds fantastic, it means connecting with a payment processor, and herein is my issue.

Payment processing for digital sales can be tricky, especially if the product is high ticket and you have a lot of high value sales.

Some payment processors dislike the MRR business model and class it as “predatory”.

During 2024, I observed many people losing their payment processor accounts, and, for me, that was simply too stressful. It was the prime reason I turned to affiliate marketing.

4 disadvantages of master resell rights products

Market Saturation – As more people promote the same products, it can lead to price wars and reduced profitability.
Product Quality & Relevance – Unless the creator updates content, it can go out of date, and you have no control over product quality.
Low-Quality MRR Products – Poor quality products can potentially damage your reputation.
Customer Support – You may have to deal with customer support customer support for digital products, such as refunds.

master resell rights vs affiliate marketing disadvantages

Weight up the Pros & Cons for MRR & Affiliate Marketing

Understanding Affiliate Products

How Affiliate Marketing Works

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model.

Businesses pay affiliates an agreed commission for each sale or lead they bring to the company via a unique affiliate link and managed with affiliate tracking software.

Types Of Affiliate Products And Programs Available

There are affiliate products and programs for every imaginable niche, for physical and digital products. For example, Amazon offers an affiliate program for their products.

Affiliate programs exist for travel booking, web hosting, financial services, and more. Programs have different commission structures, such as the following:

Pay-per-sale (most common)
Pay-per-lead
Pay-per-click.

Some programs offer recurring commissions for subscription-based products, while others provide tiered commissions or bonuses for high-performing affiliates.

Advantages Of Promoting Affiliate Products

Affiliate marketing is a low-risk, flexible business model requiring little to no upfront investment.

Many affiliate programs provide marketing materials and support, making it easier to promote their products effectively.

Suppose you promote affiliate offers with recurring commissions. In that case, the potential for passive income is a significant advantage, as you continue earning commissions from your content or marketing efforts long after publication.

Common Hurdles In Affiliate Marketing

While affiliate marketing can be profitable, it comes with challenges. One of the primary hurdles is standing out in a crowded marketplace, as many affiliates may promote the same products.

Affiliate marketing success requires creativity and a unique marketing approach to building trust with an audience, as overly sales-focused content can turn off potential customers.

Beginners often fail to be compliant because they don’t realise the legal requirement to disclose affiliate relationships.

Comparing Revenue Potential

Profit Margins For Master Resell Rights Products

Master resell rights (MRR) products typically offer higher profit margins as you keep 100% of the sale price.

If you promote organically on social media or your blog, it’s a cost-effective business model. Still, remember you will pay transaction fees to the payment processor.

Commission Structures In Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate commissions vary from 5% to 50% of the sale price. Digital products often offer higher rates (30-50%) than physical goods (5-15%).

Some programs provide recurring commissions for subscription-based products or tiered structures rewarding higher sales volumes. For instance, Systeme pays 60% recurring lifetime commissions.

To build passive income, target affiliate programs with recurring commissions.

Factors Affecting Earnings In Both Models

Before choosing between master resell rights products or affiliate marketing, consider the following factors.

Pricing strategy (for MRR)
Your marketing skills and reach
Market demand and competition
Seasonality and industry trends
Quality and relevance of products
Your time and resource investment
Traffic sources and audience engagement
Commission rates and conversion rates (for affiliates)

Time and Effort Investment

Whether you choose MRR or affiliate marketing, there are a few considerations for time and effort.

Setting Up A Master Resell Rights Business

Setting up an MRR business involves sourcing quality products, creating a distribution system, and developing a marketing strategy.

Initial time investment is moderate to high, including product evaluation, website setup, and sales funnel creation.

Suppose there are any technical aspects to set up like sales funnel creation, that’s where most beginners struggle to get going.

Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing

Starting affiliate marketing requires less initial setup than MRR.

My advice is the following:

Choose a niche – ideally, something you are interested in
Build a blog generating a minimum 10k monthly impressions (merchants reject your application if you have no website, traffic or social media presence)
Select affiliate programs you use, respect, or have an excellent reputation
Choose programs with minimum affiliate commission rates of 20% and ideally lifetime recurring commission (these factors mean your efforts compound over time for passive income streams)
Read the affiliate program’s terms and conditions
Write product reviews and comparisons on your blog
Select social media platforms to promote (Pinterest is great for driving traffic to your blog posts)
Monitor results & adapt over time

Whichever Business Model You Choose Effective Marketing Strategies Will Determine Your Success

Ongoing Work Required For Each Model

MRR: Regular tasks include customer support, product updates (if allowed), and continuous content creation and marketing. Time commitment varies, but expect at least 10-20 hours weekly.

Affiliate Marketing: Ongoing efforts focus on content creation, SEO, and audience relationship-building. Time investment ranges from 5-15 hours weekly, depending on the scale of operations.

With both business models, the goal is to master traffic generation techniques to drive potential buyers to your offers.

Scalability And Automation Potential

MRR: Scalability involves expanding product lines and automating delivery systems. Challenges include managing increased customer support and maintaining product relevance.

The downside of taking on more MRR products is giving potential customers too much choice. That can cause confusion and limit sales.

Affiliate Marketing: Highly scalable through content marketing and SEO. Automation possibilities include email marketing sequences and social media scheduling.

When you have learned how to generate quality traffic, you can start promoting high-ticket affiliate offers,

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Understanding MRR Licenses And Terms

Review MRR license agreements carefully. Key points are resale rights, modification limitations, and distribution restrictions.

It’s concerning how many people break the rules and guidelines and lose access to the MRR product.

Ensure compliance with terms to avoid legal issues. Keep records of purchased licenses. Understand the difference between MRR, PLR, and other license types.

Compliance With FTC Guidelines For Affiliates

Affiliate disclosure requirements are mandatory.

Disclose affiliate relationships clearly and conspicuously. Use precise language and place disclosures near affiliate links or at the beginning of content.

Avoid deceptive claims about products or earnings potential and stay updated on FTC regulations.

Protecting Your Business And Customers

Implement secure payment processing. Use SSL certificates for websites. Create transparent privacy policies and terms of service.

Protect customer data in compliance with regulations (e.g., GDPR). Consider business insurance. For MRR, ensure product quality to minimise liability. For affiliates, vet products before promoting.

Choosing the Right Path for Your Business

Assessing Your Skills, Resources, And Goals

Evaluate your strengths: writing, technical skills, marketing experience.
Consider available time and capital.
Determine short and long-term business goals.
Assess your motivation levels. How will you cope if you don’t get a sale for months? 90% of people quit for this reason.

I think we each have a personality suited to MRR or affiliate marketing. You may not know your preference until you get started.

Combining MRR And Affiliate Marketing Strategies

Blend your approach for diversified income. Use affiliate products to complement your MRR offerings. Leverage MRR products to build an email list for affiliate promotions.

Create content around your MRR products and include relevant affiliate links.

Tools And Platforms To Support Your Chosen Model

Most MRR creators supply tools like sales funnels and email campaigns, but some don’t.

I use Systeme to set up sales funnels and capture pages. Aim to build your email list to share valuable content and promote offers.

You can create email challenges, set up evergreen webinar content, host courses, and create a community on Systeme.

Expert Tips For Maximising Success In Either Approach

Diversify traffic sources to reduce risk.
Prioritise building an engaged audience.
Focus on niche markets for less competition.
Continuously test and optimise your strategies.
Invest in ongoing learning to stay current with trends.
Provide exceptional value to stand out from competitors.
Ideally, choose programs with analytics and performance tracking, so you can monitor results from your efforts.

Conclusion

Content marketing for affiliates and master resell rights products offer exciting opportunities for online entrepreneurs. Your choice depends on your unique skills, resources, and business objectives.

Your results will improve if you learn SEO for digital product sales and marketing. Whatever you plan to do to make money, focus on creating long-term income diversification strategies.

What I like about affiliate marketing is that I am not responsible for payment processing, product creation, customer service or refunds.

I also love recurring affiliate programs commissions.

Whichever path you choose, remember that success comes from effective online marketing strategies.

In addition, it requires determination, adapting your skills and learning on the go. If something isn’t working, evaluate your process and make changes.

It can take months to get your first MRR or affiliate product sales. If you keep going, build content and stick with it, the results will come. After that, scaling an online business becomes easier.

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

August 30, 2024

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

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

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.

Best Affordable Pinterest Course for Beginners

Until recently, I recommended a few Pinterest courses, but not all are suitable for beginners, and some are expensive.

Then, in August 2025, Meagan Williamson contacted me to say she was creating a new and affordable Pinterest beginners course together. From my experience with Meagan, I KNEW the course would be good, but what materialised was even better than I expected.

Want to know more? Read my in-depth review of the Pinterest for Beginners course.

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.