To learn more about Kara, check out Happy Go Lucky spotlight.
Kara Harvey, founder of Happy Go Lucky, started blogging 10 years ago. Home with a brand new baby and with her husband deployed for 9 months, she needed a creative outlet to help make the time go by faster, and turned to blogging. She had no idea that it would one day turn it into her dream job. Kara has been an influencer with Linqia for 5 years and has successfully grown her blog readership during that time. Read on for Kara’s tips on how-to organically increase your blog’s unique monthly visitors!
You have a very high number of unique monthly visitors to your blog! What advice do you have for other influencers who want to drive more website traffic?
Pinterest brings in the most traffic for me right now so I would definitely recommend taking good pictures and pinning them to multiple boards. Join group boards and make sure to pin other pins regularly!
You create some amazing DIY content that our brands love. What content do you find performs best with your audience and keeps them coming back?
Recipes are my most popular posts; especially easy recipes. I’ve found that people want recipes that don’t require a lot of ingredients and take less than 30 minutes to prepare.
Do you implement any sort of SEO strategies for your blog (such as keywords) to generate better Google search results?
I just started focusing more on SEO and I’ll be honest, at first it was like learning a foreign language. It’s time consuming but definitely a must for bloggers. I’m updating old blog posts, using the Yoast plugin, and using Semrush for keywords. I updated my recipe plugin with a new one and I started using Social Warfare. I’ve even started taking new pictures for really old content. It’s a process but definitely worth it.
What is your favorite kind of content to create?
My favorite content to create are free printables – especially anything that has to do with teaching and teacher appreciation. Love all my fellow teachers out there! I love creating and designing printables, art work, and gift tags. I especially love that I have the platform to offer freebies for my readers.
How do you determine what type of content performs best? Do you check blog comments or Google Analytics data?
I use Google Analytics Data to keep track of my best performing posts and I make sure to pin those regularly to multiple group boards. I then make sure I’m linking to other blog posts within those blog posts.
Do you ever have creative slumps where you are unsure of what to write about? How do you overcome these creative blocks?
I don’t have creative slumps but I do feel defeated sometimes. I have a journal with tons of ideas and blog post ideas but fall in the trap of comparing myself and my blog to other bloggers and that’s when I know I need to take a step back and remember why I started my blog in the first place.
You have proven that you can take on a variety of sponsored work, from recipes to crafts. What are your favorite type of Linqia programs to work on and why?
My favorite types of Linqia programs are when I get to team up with a brand that I already buy on a regular basis. I’ve done a few campaigns for Huggies because I’m already buying huggies. My ultimate favorite is when I can pair my passion for teaching with a Linqia campaign. For example. I was able to work with Goldfish crackers and share our love of reading with our favorite afternoon snack.
What is the most important thing you have learned as an influencer? What do you think is the most important thing for new influencers to know when building a large blog readership?
Be honest and transparent and keep it real so your readers can trust you. Most importantly, have an authentic voice.
