How to Be Flexible and Make Investments to Grow Your Brand

Thank you to NJ SEO for sponsoring today's post! As always, all thoughts and opinions are solely my own. 

When it comes to your blog and branding, you do everything you can to have an appealing view while still staying true to your mission and what you want your blog to be like. Growth is always the goal, and it's the true key to success - but it often requires being flexible with your growth strategies and taking time to make investments that'll benefit you in the long run! Like most, this industry requires a lot of hustle, constant growth and staying current to trends. Here's some of the most important investments you can (and should!) plan to include in your growth plan:
With so many tools and strategies out there all claiming to help you grow, prosper and meet all of the goals you have in mind, it's NOT easy to decide what's worth your time and what isn't. It's easier said than done to spend money all to make money, but still essential!

1. Props, Camera and Photo/Editing Equipment: you don't have to spend thousands, but having good equipment that helps you to take top notch photos and media for your blog really is important, and makes a huge difference in the appearance of your work. Whether you're going to invest in a good camera and some lighting, or hire a professional - it's money well spent and you'll see that in your photos. Here are some must haves for photography that are all available on Amazon to consider!

2. Hosting, Design and Technical Support: buying your domain is one of the first things you do when you decide you have big dreams for your little corner of the internet. It's almost an essential cost, and well worth the money. It doesn't have to be expensive either! GoDaddy offers domains, web security and more for very affordable prices and their customer service is awesome. Having an appealing design to make your readers attracted to your blog is also important - again, doesn't have to cost the price of a mortgage (it can if you'd like it to though! LOL) with lots of affordable options out there, but the appearance factor has a lot to do with who sticks around on your page. Easy navigation and appealing colors right off the bat will determine how many readers perceive your blog.

3. Educational Resources: taking e-courses, buying e-books, hiring a blog and brand coach - these are all resources that will help you grow your blog and make you see things from another perspective and in ways you hadn't thought of. There are a LOT of courses and books out there, and some are worth your time and hard earned money more than others... But if you look into taking a course or hiring a strategist to help, make sure they can offer exactly what you're looking for. When you find one that can, it'll be worth the money and likely result in you making more than you were beforehand. A lot of times, courses I've taken have paid for themselves which is always exciting! It's all about giving yourself the flexibility to grow.

4. Scheduling Tools: this is something that may not seem to be as much of a necessity, but it's also one of those things that you don't realize HOW much you need it until you have it! For example, I had always gone onto Pinterest 2-3 times a day and pinned a bunch of pretty things to my boards. Or when you open up Twitter and tweet whatever comes to your mind. These are great, as real time activity is still important; but having content scheduled at all/strategic times of day is so important in a busy, constantly moving lifestyle that is social media. Engagement goes up and instead of spending a ton of time worrying about what goes out every single day, you can take the time one day a week to schedule content a week or two at a time and thus save yourself a lot of time. It may not seem like a necessity, but believe me - I thought the same before I invested in a good scheduling tool! #totalgamechanger

5. SEO Services: this is probably one of THE most important things you can invest in! Time is money and money is growth, and SEO is such a huge part of getting your hard work seen, noticed and liked. Search Engine Optimization basically is where your organic traffic from Google searches comes from. When you click on a link via Googling it, you're helping that site's SEO. It sounds easy, but there is SO much that goes into it. It's a lot to learn and handle, and investing in hiring someone who really knows what their doing when it comes to SEO is one of the most important things you can pay for. So much so that I saved the best for last here! ;) It's such an important tool that I'd say if you're going to pay for one or two things right off the bat, let it be to help with your SEO. It's one of those things that you need to grow and be successful, and getting it right from the start saves you a lot of trouble and time later down the road (take my word for that... ;).

If you're in need of a great resource to help with your blog's SEO, I HIGHLY recommend NJ SEO. Led by brothers, Matt and Dan Anton, NJ SEO is the number one marketing agency in NJ and provides digital marketing services to both large and small businesses. Unlike most digital marketing agencies, they offer month to month payments, no long-term contracts, and they also set realistic budgets based on your needs and goals. Ranking on search engines is very important for blogs and businesses if you want to get found and that is exactly what NJ SEO can help you with. They offer services that will increase your search score, competing for the highest rankings - even when it comes to highly competitive keywords. On top of that, they also offer other services like custom website design and more. If you are looking for an SEO company in New Jersey , definitely check out NJ SEO! They do great work.

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Making investments in your dreams to achieve your goals isn't always easy to do, but it IS worth it! You know what they say - gotta spend money to make money! XOXO -A