Minuca Elena Shared Her Blogging Journey

I’ve started Interview series on Blogail with Jane Sheeba and today, I have Minuca Elena with us. She is known for creating influencer roundup that provides huge knowledge and traffic to her blogs.

She does not only create quality content but also helps bloggers connect with influencer via roundups.

Lets begin with question which I asked below 😉

1. Hey Minuca, Please tell us about yourself and blogs that you’re managing now?

Hi, Ravinder. Thank you for inviting me on your blog! I am a freelance writer. I create a premium type of content, expert roundups. I create expert roundups that provide quality content, bring huge traffic and get backlinks. I also help bloggers connect with influencers. I blog at MinucaElena.com.

2. How did you start blogging and publish your first blog if it’s still alive then share little about that blog?

I started my first blog in December 2015. My first post was an expert roundup where I interviewed 40 bloggers about their biggest challenges in their online activity. That post allowed me to connect with a lot of influencers and I soon got clients for my services.

3. During beginning days of blogging everyone faces challenges. Have you faced any challenge in your blogging journey? If yes what was that?

Yes, I faced many challenges, and I still do. I don’t think that being a newbie is about how long ago you started. It’s more about a level of skills you have. I’m still a newbie if I compare myself with top bloggers like Darren Rowse or Jon Morrow.

My main difficulties were learning SEO. I had no idea how to do on-page optimization or keyword research. I learned a lot about search engine optimization from my friend, Russell Lobo, who is an SEO expert.

4. How do you manage your blog and what strategy do you follow to improve your blog ranking and traffic?

It depends. My target audience is bloggers. I write on topics that they are interested, like how to get traffic, how to come up with new blog post ideas and similar topics.

I am focusing a lot of building my brand by featuring on as many sites as possible. I do that by providing excellent tips on the expert roundups that I am invited. It’s also very useful for getting free backlinks.

I am very active on social media, especially, on Facebook groups and Pinterest. Pinterest is an awesome source of traffic that bloggers often ignore. I’ve recently written a blog post on how you can use Pinterest marketing to grow your blog.

5. I think or says that Blogging is not an easy task but some newbies take it wrong. What do you want to say about this to Newbies who start blogging after looking at the income of bloggers?

I was discussing this problem with a friend a few days ago. I think that most bloggers don’t make a profit online. I’ve met bloggers that have spent hundreds, even thousands of dollars on courses, plugins, themes, writers and are still struggling to earn income blogging, months or years later.

I think that one of the best ways of learning how to make money online is to start by working for a successful blogger as a VA. This way you are paid for your work, and you have the chance to learn more. You can do easy tasks like, social media management or creating images for blog posts. Over time, you can learn valuable skills, like email marketing, and use them to grow your own blog.

 6. We have many monetizing methods to make money. Which one do you follow and which is one best?

I earn money from my freelance writing. My posts are a premium type of content that get a lot of traffic, even on a new blog.

I think some people start blogging as a hobby like many lifestyle and mommy bloggers do. Then, when they already have established a faithful audience, they realize they can monetize their blog. Other bloggers do as you said, they see top bloggers that earn a lot of money and they want to do the same.

The thing is that the internet marketers that became rich online are the top. They are not the average blogger. They spent many years until they reached that income. Newbies think they will earn monthly thousands of dollars from their first year of activity and that rarely happens.

I don’t think there is one monetization method that is the best. I know a lot of bloggers that earn money through affiliate marketing, Adsense, selling eBooks or video courses. It all depends on your skills and your audience.

Entrepreneurs that have eCommerce sites earn a lot of money. They use blogs as a way of getting potential customers on their site. Having an eCommerce site is very different than having just a blog. Even if for blogging all the top bloggers recommend you to use WordPress, for an online store Shopify is a better choice. You can find out more details about the best eCommerce platforms in this roundup that I made.

7. When did you make your first income from your blog and how did you feel when you get that money in your hand?

I’ve earned my first online income two months after I started blogging. I felt great seeing that I got money in my PayPal account. It gave me a lot of confidence to continue.

8. I’ve seen many bloggers who faced obstacles from family. Have you faced any?

No. I’ve got a lot of support from my family, especially from my mom who although doesn’t understand internet marketing, she trusts me and always encourages me.

On the other hand, my friends are very reluctant about my work. They tell me all the time to get a real job, at least part-time. I don’t get upset with them because I know they only want what’s best for me.

9. Motivation keeps us going. What and who motivates you the most for your journey?

My mom motivates me and also friends that I got to know through blogging groups or have participated in my roundups. I also get a lot of encouragement from my boyfriend who is also in Internet Marketing, so he understands me and my work and motivates me.

10. People often talk about SEO and everyone has their thought. What you think SEO is and How anyone can optimize their blog well? Share some tips for our readers.

SEO = blogging biggest mystery. 🙂

SEO is difficult, but fortunately, I like puzzles and learning new stuff. Now, I’m very fascinated by link building. It’s something very complicated for most bloggers that pay a lot of money for it, but I get lots of backlinks for free, with little effort.

11. Once I read ” Blogosphere is becoming crowed now days ” on your blog. What do you think about challenges bloggers will face in upcoming days and how they can overcome this?

I think that bloggers face so many challenges because there is a lot of competition. I’ve read that ten years ago it was super easy to rank in Google, even with poor content.

Now, it’s not that simple anymore. I think that bloggers should focus a lot on building an audience on social media, get traffic to their blogs and convert it into subscribers.

12. Everyone has favorite blogs in their list which they read regularly. Can you share your list of favorite blogs?

I read Backlinko, Pro Blogger, and Smart Blogger.

13. I’ve seen many guest post of yours on many top blogs. So want to know How do guest post help in blogging and what are benefits of guest blogging?

I don’t do guest posts. I was hired to make the posts you saw. I only did a guest post once, and that was for Huffington Post.

Publishing content on top blogs will help you bring your content in front of a bigger audience than you have. Also, the backlinks from sites that have a high domain authority will help you with your site’s SEO.

14. Last but not least, Newbies keep looking for tips from top bloggers. So what message will you pass to our readers?

Figure out who you want to attract on your blog. Understand the needs and the worries that your audience has. Your posts, products or services should offer them a solution that will help them improve their life or their business.