BEFORE YOU INVEST IN THAT EXPENSIVE BLOGGING COURSE, READ THIS FIRST.
* This post contains affiliates; however, they are courses I RECOMMEND because I’ve purchased them with my own money. They are affordable. If I wanted to get rich, I would promote the expensive ones (and I’m definitely not). I've purchased and used all the resources below.
Below I’ve updated the list of affordable blogging courses that I’ve taken and recommend (I’ve even thrown in a few freebies). These courses are perfect for the new or experienced blogger’s alike. They are filled with in-depth strategies that will help you gain traffic and make more money.
As a blogger, continuous education is incredibly important. Between content creation, SEO optimization, managing and converting social media followings, and monetization, being a blogger requires a full education in everything.
However, there tends to be a growing trend among new bloggers who feel like they have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to “make it”. This is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. Here is what I’ve found:
Yes, you should invest in educating yourself. That’s how you are going to learn, stay motivated, and eventually make it full-time. There is no way someone knows all of this information unless they learn it from someone or somewhere.
I recommend taking new courses every few weeks. They don’t have to be expensive or overly time consuming. However, they can help you accelerate the growth of your business while motivating you to keep going.
When you do this, choose wisely. There is no reason to break the bank over a blogging course. It would defeat the purpose as to why you are doing it anyway. I have WAYYY overpaid for courses before and found that they are never worth the expense. Find courses that suit your budget.
That’s why I highly recommend you try to find niche specific courses instead. These often deliver better results for much less money. There are some incredibly successful bloggers out there who create courses at a cheap price.
There are even FREE courses that can help you do the same thing.
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
— ANTHONY J. D'ANGELO
BEWARE OF OVERPRICED COURSES
I remember receiving my first pitch from a blogger who wanted me to spend over 1,000$ for a marketing course. After hours of reviews, I quickly learned that NOT paying for that course was the best decision I ever made.
I decided to take the money that would have been spent on that ONE course and buy numerous e-books, cheap niche specific course, Udemy courses,AND try out monthly subscription memberships. All for less than a typical self-promoted blogging course.
Best. Decision. Ever.
MY LESSON TO YOU
Here is the deal: I never recommend that you spend THAT much money on a single course from a single person (trust me, I have made mistake elsewhere in life). Their method may have worked for them, but unless you have the exact same niche, the exact same website, and run your business the same way as they do, that course won't be the answer to your prayers.I guarantee that there is always going to be another blogger selling a more successful package at a cheaper price.. you just have to look for it.
“Their method may have worked for them, but unless you have the exact same niche, the exact same website, and run your business the same way as they do, that course won’t be the answer to your prayers”
BLOG TRAFFIC COURSES
READY SET BLOG FOR TRAFFIC
If you are looking to gain blog traffic, this is the number one course that I recommend. It’s created by one of the absolute best online entrepreneurs that I’ve been following. She has created multiple money making blogs, a successful freelance business, and has a strong presence on social media. Buying this course helped motivate me to push my page views over that 50,000 a month mark. Not too mention, she keeps adding more and more content all of the time (and if you have the course you get these updates for free).
Her content includes video, written instructions, group boards, tribes, and MORE!
Below is an image from the course’s founder!
Ready, Set, Blog For Traffic page view analytics.
About the course creator:
Elna is a full-time blogger and freelancer. She does a fantastic job of going in depth on how to gain blog traffic, and she would know - as she became a full time blogger in 6 months twinsmommy.com and elnacain.com.
Topics that are involved in this course include:
A list of over 300 group boards
Making Pinterest Work For You
How to Guest Post
How to Earn Backlinks Easily
Pinterest SEO
How To Fix a Failing Pinterest Account
How to Do Promoted Pins
In-depth SEO
When to Worry About SEO
How to Market Around Amazon
And so much more!
It’s literally a Pinterest, blogging, and SEO course all in one.
Price only: $79
You can grabReady Set Blog for Traffichere.
2.PINTERESTING STRATEGIES: FROM 0 TO 200,000 PAGEVIEWS A MONTH
This is the number one Pinterest course I recommend for new and veteran blogger’s alike. It’s the most in-depth Pinterest course I’ve taken (I’ve taken 5). She breaks down analytics, Pinterest SEO, setting up a successful Pinterset course, the use of unique images, and so much more. The best part is she backs it up with her actual analytics, where she has received 20,000 to 30,000 pageviews a day!
Most importantly, she shows you how to succeed without purchasing Tailwind (I’m a fan of Tailwind but not if you are on a budget). It’s all done by only manually pinning. Yes, you can have hundreds of thousands of pageviews a day from Pinterest and only manual pin.
Carly’s analytics using her Pinteresting Strategies.
About the course creator:
Carly runs a successful blog where she brings in upwards of 200,000 pageviews a month - which started with Pinterest. I watched her from when she was happy to make 1,000 to making tens of thousands.
Topics included in the course:
How to setup your Pinterest account successfully
How to join the RIGHT group boards
Why group boards are still important
How Pinterest SEO works
The Tailwind Pinning Strategy
How to Use Analytics the RIGHT Way (Not Pinterest Analytics Either)
Using Pinterest and Google
And so much more!
Price: 47$
If you are interested in her Pinteresting Strategies Ebookyou can find that here.
3. AFFILIATE MARKETING FOR BLOGGERS: EVERYTHING YOU ARE MISSING
Carly also offers an affiliate marketing course. It’s important to note that she has made a large chunk of her affiliate money through her Mom blog (not just blogging about blogging like so many are concerned about). She goes through all of her strategies in this book - including interesting perceptions on how she converts her audience (including email) without bombarding them with offers all of the time.
I recently took this course and I highly recommend it. It’s an affordable way to both learn and critique your blogging affiliate strategies. She covers topics such as email marketing and using Amazon. This becomes a GREAT deal when you bundle it with her Pinteresting Strategies course. You can grab the links below.
You can grab Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers: Everything You Are Missing here (highly recommend it!).
Or you can buy the bundle (Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers: Everything You Are Missing) & Pinteresting Strategies together) for $85 - plus a bunch of freebies!
4. MAKING SENSE OF AFFILIATE MARKETING
There is only one course I recommended for over $100 and that is Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing by Michelle Schroeder. She is the queen of affiliate marketing and her course is AMAZING.
She is the famed blogger who has made
When you have mastered something that well… you should charge over $100 for it.
Yes, I bought this course and loved it. It covers absolutely everything you will ever need to know about affiliate marketing from the best of the best.
When blogging millionaire Michelle Schroeder offers a course for ONLY $197 (one-time payment - forever accessible) you take it.
Income report fromMaking Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
About the course creator:
Michelle Schroeder started a personal finance blog that now makes over 1 million dollars a year. She has traveled the world by RV, boat, and now possibly flight? Her story going form saving money to making money is one worth reading. Make sure to check out her story on how she built a 7 figure business yourself.
Michelle Schroeder makes over 1 million per year blogging! Check out HER course!
What’s included in the course:
Everything you need to know about affiliate marketing
Access to arguably the most successful finance bloggers there is
An incredible Facebook group
Facebook promotions
Mentoring (via the Facebook programs)
A chance to join her affiliate program if you like it (which pays for itself)
Although a bit higher in price than other options; the value you get is the highest. It's an in depth course form a leading authority. I bought her course last year and it paid for itself immediately.
Price: $197 or a payment plan of (105$) for each month.
You can grab Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing here.
5. THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONVERTKIT
Email marketing is incredibly important when building your online brand for a few main reasons:
They are choosing to hear from you
Much higher conversions on affiliates
Allows you to promote your blog posts to your audience (help SEO)
Measurable results (literally see what works and what doesn’t)
However, finding the right email service, setting up sequences, and preparing opt-ins can be overwhelming. That’s why I found the perfect affordable course to kick start your email marketing success!
It not only teaches you how to grow your email audience, but how to automate it as well.
Price: $59
You can grab The Complete Guide to Convertkit here.
FREEBIES
WEBINARS
Have you ever scrolled through Facebook or Instagram and noticed a sponsored video or photo talking about a successful blogger and their masterclass? I see them constantly. Although some of them can be nothing more than an annoyance, you will occasionally find some serious value.
It’s completely OK to sign up for webinars and not invest in the final project. Sometimes you will gain a lot of value and sometimes you won’t gain any - but either way you aren’t out anything.
That’s why for new bloggers or bloggers on a budget, these can be one of the best resources you have. Take advantage of them.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Although not exactly a course, THE RIGHT (strong emphasis on the right)Facebook groups offer incredible mentoring and teamwork.
When you have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the web's best bloggers, you should take advantage of it. These people know how to run a business, and they are offering you COMPLETELY FREE guidance along the way. I still suggest enrolling in some sort of in-depth course; however, if you can't even afford that OR want a mentor to help you put it together, you could completely try out Facebook groups.
Be sure to check out my favorite 5 Facebook groups right here!
WHY EDUCATING YOURSELF IS IMPORTANT
It's absolutely essential that you take classes to grow as a blogger. In fact, I try to take a new class every month; whether it be in blogging, freelance, or social media. This gives me a chance to grow and try new things. I highly recommend you try it too.
You can also check out my article on how I made my first 1,000 right here!
Looking to start your own blog or go self-hosted? Then check out my step-by-step guide.
