The $192K/Year Mom Blog: "How My Blog Became an Online Course Goldmine"
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The $192K/Year Mom Blog: "How My Blog Became an Online Course Goldmine"
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The $192K/Year Mom Blog: "How My Blog Became an Online Course Goldmine"
Imagine diving into the heart of a journey where resilience transforms ordinary into extraordinary.
This is the story of Hilary Erickson, the visionary behind Pulling Curls. What started as a humble blog, born out of the chaos and love of motherhood, evolved into a thriving online business that supports families far and wide.
But how did a simple "mommy blog" morph into a business generating $192K a year?
It wasn't just about sharing stories of parenting woes and wins; it was about filling a gaping need with unparalleled expertise and genuine care.
The Spark Behind Pulling Curls: A Tale of Motherhood and Motivation
Meet Hilary Erickson, the creative force and founder of Pulling Curls, an online haven for families seeking guidance on pregnancy, parenting, and home organization. Launching as a blog in 2005, it was Hilary's way of sharing her life and challenges while raising two young boys. The site's name, a playful ode to her own curly hair, reflects the personal touch and humor she brings to her work.
By 2016, Hilary expanded her reach by introducing The Online Prenatal Class for Couples. This course, along with The Organized Home and Family Routines launched in the following years, built a comprehensive suite of resources for families focusing on the core areas of pregnancy, parenting, and home management.
Hilary's journey into this field was shaped by her extensive experience as a nurse in labor and delivery, a role she began in 2001. This background gave her unique insights into the needs and concerns of expecting families, driving her to create content that fills a critical gap in prenatal education. Her pivot to focusing on Pulling Curls full-time in 2020 marked a significant shift, dedicating herself entirely to supporting families through her online courses and content (π Donβt miss the βLong-Tail 200K Users/Month Strategyβ at the end of this post!).
Despite the challenges of building a business from scratch, Hilary's Pulling Curls has thrived, with income averaging around $16,000 a month. This success is even more impressive considering it was achieved with minimal initial investment, relying instead on Hilary's commitment, resourcefulness, and a willingness to learn everything from YouTube tutorials.
The Evolution of a Dream: From Nursing to Nurturing Through Knowledge
Hilary's path from a childhood dreamer to a professional nurse and then to a successful blogger and podcast host embodies her deep-rooted love for writing and storytelling. Growing up with aspirations of writing, she faced the hard truth from her parents about the financial instability often associated with the profession. This practical advice steered her towards nursing, a career that promised security but couldn't quench her thirst for creative expression. Her passion for writing lingered, manifesting in a unique dream job: writing for a medical drama, inspired by her love for the show ER.
The world of blogging, especially popular among mothers in the mid-2000s, became Hilary's canvas for blending her professional knowledge with her personal experiences. Initially, Pulling Curls was a hobby, a space for Hilary to share her life and insights without any commercial aspirations. The turning point came in 2014 when she began to leverage Pinterest, transforming her blog from a personal project into a platform that attracted significant traffic.
Hilary's venture into pregnancy-related content was marked by apprehension. Her position as a labor nurse posed a potential conflict of interest, making her cautious about the topics she explored on her blog. Despite these concerns, the positive reception to her initial pregnancy posts encouraged her to continue. Her background in teaching prenatal classes, coupled with the realization that the financial compensation did not justify the time away from her family, nudged her further into focusing on her blog.
In 2019, seeking to broaden her reach and deepen her connection with her audience, Hilary launched a podcast. This new venture was a strategic move to complement her blogging efforts, offering another layer of support to her growing community. Through her blog and podcast, Hilary has created a space where her early dreams of writing, her professional expertise, and her personal journey as a mother converge, providing valuable resources and comfort to families worldwide.
Pioneering the Digital Prenatal Space: Hilary's Leap into Online Education
Hilary encountered a pivotal moment when she recognized the traditional Tuesday night schedule for prenatal classes wasn't fitting the needs of expectant couples, nor was it compatible with her own life. This realization sparked the idea to move her prenatal class online, a concept that was nearly unheard of at the time. Despite skepticism from many who favored the traditional in-person approach, Hilary proceeded with her vision, launching The Online Prenatal Class for Couples in 2016, initially as a book under a different title before quickly transitioning it to an online course hosted directly on her website.
The following year, Hilary expanded her online course offerings with The Organized Home, aimed at helping families declutter and organize their living spaces. In 2018, she introduced Family Routines, focusing on structuring daily life for the family unit. These courses, driven by her personal enthusiasm for organization, complemented the prenatal class by addressing broader aspects of family life.
Building Blocks of Success: Navigating the Digital Course Landscape
Seeking a more robust platform to host her growing suite of courses, Hilary moved to Teachable in 2017, a decision that represented her first significant investment into the business. This platform provided a more user-friendly and scalable solution for her courses, contributing to their growth and success. However, in a strategic move to regain control and flexibility, she transitioned back to her platform via Thrivecart Learn in 2022.
The financial aspects of launching and growing her online courses were managed with prudence. The initial costs were minimal, thanks to leveraging her existing platform, allowing Hilary to pilot her idea without a significant financial burden. The shift to Teachable, while more costly, was justified by the value it added to her offerings. Throughout, Hilary self-funded the development and expansion of her courses, relying on the revenue generated from her site to support and sustain the business.
The Online Prenatal Class for Couples has established itself as a leading resource for expectant parents, garnering hundreds of positive reviews and high recommendations. While The Organized Home also performs well, particularly in terms of search engine visibility, it is the prenatal class that remains the standout offering, reflecting Hilary's deep expertise and passion in the field of prenatal care.
Over time, Hilary experimented with different pricing models for her courses, ultimately finding that a simplified structure with a low-price guarantee for the comprehensive prenatal class at $79, and an all-inclusive option at $179, resonated best with her audience. Despite fluctuations in sales post-2020, her courses continue to generate significant monthly revenue, underscoring the enduring value and impact of her online educational resources on families worldwide.
The Growth Engine: Crafting Content That Connects and Converts
Hilary's approach to launching her business reflects a blend of pragmatism and organic growth, steering clear of the conventional launch strategies that many new ventures rely on. From the outset, Hilary grappled with doubts about the viability of her venture and faced the common hurdle of imposter syndrome, questioning her own expertise despite her deep knowledge and experience in her field.
Pulling Curls evolved gradually, without a formal launch, benefiting significantly from a strategy focused on creating evergreen content that continues to yield returns through advertising and affiliate income. Hilary's philosophy towards building a web presence emphasizes speed and agility over perfection. She advocates for getting a website live as quickly as possible, a principle that has guided not only the development of Pulling Curls but also her subsequent venture, The Pregnancy Nurse.
With The Pregnancy Nurse, Hilary applied the same principle of prioritizing early action over initial completeness or aesthetic polish. She launched the site with the understanding that its value and visibility would grow over time, leveraging the "SEO juice" that accumulates as a site ages and develops (πSpeaking of SEO; Check out the 200K Visitors/Month tactic at the end!). This approach underscores a long-term view of building an online presence, where early and consistent action is valued over waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect look.
The financial strategy behind Hilary's ventures has been self-reliant and incremental. She self-funded her initiatives, reinvesting the revenue generated from the sites back into the business. This sustainable model allowed her to grow her online platforms organically, without the pressure of external funding or the need to meet immediate profitability targets. By relying on the income her sites generated, Hilary was able to maintain control over the direction and pace of her business's growth, ensuring that it aligned with her values and the needs of her audience.
Navigating the Digital Currents
Hilary's strategy for attracting and retaining customers centers around personalized engagement and leveraging her unique voice. The key to her success has been her direct involvement in content creation, ensuring that every piece resonates with authenticity and expertise. Recognizing the diverse interests of her audience, Hilary has implemented a highly segmented newsletter strategy using Birdsend, a platform that allows for detailed targeting at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This approach ensures that subscribers receive content tailored to their specific interests, whether it's about pregnancy, Disneyland, or other topics, enhancing the relevance and value of each communication.
Opt-in incentives tailored to different audience segments further refine her strategy. Tools like a Disneyland trip calculator or a hospital packing list for pregnancy have been effective in not only growing her subscriber base but also in ensuring that the content aligns with the specific needs and interests of her audience. Regularly cleaning her newsletter list to remove unengaged subscribers has improved the overall engagement and success rates of her campaigns.
Hilary's approach to sales and promotion has evolved to focus more on education and less on aggressive sales tactics. By positioning her courses as solutions to specific problems without pressuring subscribers with relentless sales pitches, she has seen an uptick in conversions from her newsletter.
Organic Growth Over Paid Promises
Despite experimenting with paid advertising through Facebook, Pinterest, and Adwords, Hilary has found that her strengths lie in organic traffic generated through SEO and Pinterest. This focus on organic growth is supported by her use of tools like RANK IQ for keyword research and insights from Google Search Console to identify and fill content gaps, demonstrating a strategic approach to content creation based on what her audience is actively searching for.
Her content strategy is meticulously planned, involving regular updates to existing articles, the creation of new content based on SEO research, and a weekly podcast episode. This consistent output ensures that her sites remain dynamic, relevant, and engaging.
Affiliate marketing forms another pillar of Hilary's strategy, allowing her to monetize her platforms by promoting brands and products she genuinely loves. This not only adds value to her content but also builds trust with her audience.
Partnerships with ad networks like Mediavine have contributed to her revenue stream, complementing her income from courses and affiliate marketing.
Hilary's advice to others in the digital space is to view their online endeavors as a job that requires daily effort and commitment.
Expanding Horizons in Pregnancy Education
Hilary's current status reflects a mix of challenges and successes as she navigates fluctuations in sales and continues to develop her online presence. Despite a recent dip in course sales, the reasons for which remain unclear, Hilary focuses on the aspects of her business that she can control without dwelling on speculative explanations for these trends.
The growth and impact of The Pregnancy Nurse have been significant, with the site now generating substantial ad revenue and affiliate income, in addition to funneling leads to The Online Prenatal Class. Hilary finds particular satisfaction in crafting in-depth articles that incorporate studies and evidence-based practices, distinguishing The Pregnancy Nurse as a valuable resource for expectant parents seeking reliable information.
In response to the challenges posed by social media, Hilary has strategically scaled back her efforts in this area, choosing instead to concentrate on her strengths in writing and content creation.
Traffic to her sites remains robust, with The Pregnancy Nurse attracting nearly 100,000 pageviews per month and Pulling Curls around 200,000. The combined ad revenue from both sites contributes significantly to her income, supplemented by consistent earnings from course sales and affiliate marketing. This diversified revenue stream underpins the financial health of her business.
Hilary's daily routine is disciplined and focused, dedicating 4-6 hours to writing, SEO optimization, and course development (PS. Donβt miss our pro section at the end: π Long-Tail Breakthrough: A 200K Users/Month Strategy). Her work schedule is thoughtfully structured around her family life, demonstrating her ability to balance professional ambitions with personal commitments.
Looking ahead, Hilary has set her sights on expanding her influence within the field of pregnancy education. She aspires to leverage her expertise and unique perspective on a national stage, contributing to the dialogue on improving the pregnancy experience for both healthcare providers and patients. This goal reflects Hilary's broader vision for her work: to make a meaningful difference in the lives of families during one of the most significant periods of their lives.
Lessons from the Trenches of Entrepreneurship
Hilary's journey in building her business is a proof to the power of perseverance and the importance of maintaining momentum through the natural ups and downs of entrepreneurship. One of the most valuable lessons she's embraced is the necessity of continuous action. Hilary underscores the significance of pushing forward, recognizing that the path to success is punctuated by varying degrees of traffic, income, and motivation. Her commitment to "just keep going" has been instrumental in navigating these fluctuations and sustaining the growth and success of her business.
An enlightening insight from her experience is the acceptance of publishing work that may not always meet the highest standards she sets for herself. In the realm of pregnancy education, Hilary acknowledges that what she might consider her B or C level work still surpasses the expectations of many and provides valuable information to her audience. This realization has allowed her to contribute consistently to her field without being hindered by perfectionism. Moreover, Hilary highlights the flexibility of digital content, noting that initial offerings can always be refined and improved over time, emphasizing the evolutionary nature of content creation.
Hilary's experiences with partnerships have taught her the importance of careful selection and the inevitability of taking risks in business relationships. While some alliances have not turned out as hoped, and she has encountered misleading advice along the way, these challenges have not deterred her. Instead, they've provided valuable lessons on the complexities of collaboration and the critical need for discernment in choosing partners. Hilary approaches these experiences as learning opportunities, choosing not to dwell on setbacks but rather to view them as integral steps in her business journey.
Curating the Perfect Online Business Toolkit
Hilary utilizes a suite of tools and platforms tailored to the specific needs of her online business, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in her operations. Each tool plays a crucial role in different aspects of her business, from website hosting to email marketing, course hosting, customer feedback, and podcasting.
For website hosting and technical support, Hilary relies on WPTechs. This choice reflects her need for reliable hosting and expert assistance with technical issues and code-related tasks, allowing her to focus more on content creation and less on the technical intricacies of running a website.
Email marketing is managed through Birdsend, a platform she turned to after a less than satisfactory experience with Convertkit. Birdsend's affordability and responsive customer service have made it a valuable asset for her email marketing strategy, enabling her to maintain effective communication with her audience without incurring excessive costs.
Hilary hosts her online courses on Thrivecart Learn, using Thrivecart for the checkout process. This combination facilitates a smooth and secure transaction process for her customers, enhancing the overall user experience and streamlining the sales funnel for her digital products.
For gathering and displaying customer testimonials, Hilary uses Endorsal, a tool she discovered through Appsumo. The appeal of lifetime deals and the platform's functionality in showcasing positive feedback has made Endorsal an integral part of building trust and credibility with potential customers.
Her podcast is hosted on Libsyn, a widely used platform among podcasters. While she finds it satisfactory, this choice underscores the importance of having a reliable hosting service that can support her podcasting needs and help her reach her audience through audio content.
Finding True Value in Resources and Relationships
Hilary's insights into the resources that have shaped her approach to online business underscore a preference for actionable advice and authentic expertise over the often sales-driven landscape of online courses and B2B marketing for content creators. Her skepticism towards certain online courses and marketing tactics echoes concerns about the quality and integrity of some educational offerings in the digital space.
Podcasts:
The Blogging Millionaire stands out as a valuable resource for Hilary, appreciated for its practical tips and straightforward approach to blogging success without the pressure of sales pitches. This podcast offers her actionable strategies that can be directly applied to her work, enhancing her content creation and distribution efforts.
Books:
"The Gap and The Gain": This book offers insights into focusing on progress rather than perfection, a perspective that likely resonates with Hilary's pragmatic approach to content creation and business growth.
"The Big Leap" by Gay Hendricks: Explores overcoming self-imposed limitations and expanding one's potential, a concept that aligns with Hilary's journey of transitioning from nursing to becoming a full-time online educator and content creator.
"Building a StoryBrand" by Donald Miller: Provides a framework for clarifying one's message to improve communication with the audience, a principle reflected in Hilary's targeted and audience-centric content strategies.
Hilary's preference for books over online courses reflects a desire for deep, thoughtful insights at a more accessible price point. These resources have influenced her strategic and operational approach to her business, as well as shaped her philosophy towards creating meaningful, impactful content that genuinely serves her audience
Advice for the Aspiring Entrepreneur: Real Talk from the Front Lines
Hilary offers grounded, practical advice for entrepreneurs stepping into the digital content creation and online business arena, emphasizing the importance of perseverance, discernment, and realistic expectations.
Persistence and Work Ethic: Hilary stresses the importance of consistent effort and treating your online endeavor as a full-time job. Success in the digital space doesn't happen overnight; it requires daily commitment, akin to nurturing a traditional business. This approach underscores the reality that building a sustainable online business is a marathon, not a sprint.
Skepticism Towards Online Courses: While acknowledging that targeted learning can be beneficial for filling specific knowledge gaps, Hilary advises caution against the allure of online courses promising secret formulas to success. She emphasizes that most achievements come from ongoing hard work and realistic goal-setting rather than shortcuts or hidden strategies. This perspective encourages new entrepreneurs to critically evaluate the educational resources they invest in and to focus on applying consistent effort to their projects.
Valuing Relationships: Hilary highlights the significance of trust and intuition in business relationships. Experiences of feeling "burned" by partners or collaborators should serve as cautionary tales, prompting entrepreneurs to listen to their instincts and approach future collaborations with caution. This advice speaks to the importance of building a network based on mutual respect, transparency, and aligned values.
Managing Expectations: Dispelling myths of overnight success, particularly those proliferated by social media influencers, Hilary reminds aspiring entrepreneurs that building a profitable business is typically a "slow burn." It involves substantial upfront work and the accumulation of gains over time. Entrepreneurs should temper their expectations with the understanding that financial stability and growth are achieved through consistent effort and resilience.
Hilary's advice offers a realistic roadmap for entrepreneurs, emphasizing the value of hard work, the need for critical evaluation of advice and courses, and the importance of nurturing positive business relationships. Her insights encourage a balanced approach to entrepreneurship, where success is viewed as the result of dedication, learning, and strategic planning.
A Call to Action for Future Innovators
As we close the chapter on Hilaryβs inspiring journey from the early days of Pulling Curls to its status as a beacon for families navigating the challenges of pregnancy, parenting, and home organization, we're reminded of the power of perseverance, passion, and the impact of sharing knowledge. Hilary's story is more than a success story; it's a call to action for all of us to pursue our passions and make a difference in our corners of the world.
If Hilary's journey resonated with you, or if you found a nugget of wisdom in her approach to building a thriving online business, we encourage you to share this article with your network. Let's spread the inspiration far and wide, supporting others in their quests to turn dreams into reality.
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