How to Increase Revenue with the Hometalk Platform

Part 2 of 4: Self-Audit Your Posts to Boost Performance

Welcome back to our exclusive series on boosting your revenue with Hometalk! 

In this post, we will talk about the importance of self-auditing your posts to boost performance.

Whether you’re new to the Hometalk family of sites or a seasoned content creator, this four-part series is designed to help you reach the full potential of your Hometalk membership.Over the coming weeks, we’ll dive into ways to leverage Hometalk’s Blogger Traffic Programs, optimize your content, participate in multiple verticals, and even how to explore potential branded content opportunities with Hometalk. Think of this series as your roadmap to Hometalk success!

These posts are brought to you by Hometalk’s Senior Community Manager, Amanda, who will guide you through the logistics, rules, and important details of our creator programs. Plus, Hometalk’s favorite ambassador & blogging super-star KariAnne Wood will be sharing her expert advice, blogging tips, and personal insights from her own experiences on the Hometalk platform.

Why Updating Posts Is Important

KariAnne's Expert Insight

One of the most important ways to maximize your content is to update old posts. You want to make sure your post shines when the Hometalk audience visits your blog. One of my most popular posts was written over 10 years ago and it still continues to send me traffic. An older post like that is so valuable. You’ve already done all the work and then you can optimize an older, valuable post like that to bring you continual traffic and demonstrate your worth to the Hometalk community..

I truly feel that updating older posts like this is one of the best things you can do as a blogger to create additional revenue for your brand and to maximize your feature.. Don’t overlook asking to have seasonal posts featured as well. Readers are online searching more at the holiday season, so it’s so important those posts are updated and refreshed.

For Hometalk

Updating your Hometalk posts and personal blog posts is key to keeping your content fresh and your audience engaged. Going back to add new info, links, visuals, or insights to older posts can give them a second chance to grab both new and old readers’ attention. It’s a simple but crucial way to make sure your blog stays relevant and valuable without having to start from scratch every time.

Self Audit Your Posts 

KariAnne's Expert Insight

Self-auditing is an important part of the process of updating old posts–espeiclly when they are featured on Hometalk.. Look at the posts with a critical eye and see if there are details that you can adjust to make sure the post is evergreen. So many times, older posts appear to be dated because they have dates or other past event references. It’s important to remove those details.

Also, there may be a new angle to look at with the posts before your feature goes live. There maybe something to make them even more relevant today. For example, bread making is so popular now. You could update an older bread recipe with new suggestions on how make bread like a grandmillenial.

For Hometalk

Have you checked the views on your individual Hometalk posts lately? If not, you should give your posts a quick skim. At the top of the posts you’ll be able to see exactly how many views your posts have each received. This will be a great gauge to show you what Hometalk posts readers love the most and which posts are most likely being shared in the daily newsletters most often. 

At the top of your posts you’ll be able to see exactly how many views your posts have each received. It will look like it does above.

Once you've identified your most popular posts, review them to ensure all the information is accurate and that links are still working. This way, you won’t miss out on potential new readers—and you’ll keep your Hometalk posts as up to date as your blog posts.

Detail Revue

KariAnne's Expert Insight

Here are the details I check in my posts:

1. I check for broken links in the post and replace those with new affiliate links.

2. I re-read the post out loud and try to make it slightly more evergreen (for example, I take out any references to past events or dates).

3. I check the keyword and make sure it’s still relevant.

4. If the keyword needs to be adjusted, I adjust it in the title and the meta description, as well as the post.

5. I check photos to make sure they are good and update if necessary.

For Hometalk

Part of that self-auditing process includes a thorough review of details in your posts. Just as it’s important to review your personal blog posts, reviewing older Hometalk posts is essential to ensure that all information remains accurate and up-to-date. Over time, your methods may have improved, recommended products could have changed, and even brand details may need to be updated. By revisiting these posts, you can refresh any outdated content, keeping the resources you include in your Hometalk posts reliable and relevant for readers and more apt to be featured by our team.

Affiliate Link Review

KariAnne's Expert Insight

Here are my best affiliate linking tips:

1. I start by checking for broken links.

2. I try to have an idea list from Amazon or other linking platform on the post. It’s so important to link to more than one item at a time when linking.

3. I check to make sure all the links are no follow.

4. I also check to see if I want to restructure the post based on goals or objectives I may have with my affiliate platforms.

5. I make sure there’s a pinnable collage featuring some of the items I’m linking in the post.

For Hometalk

Keeping your affiliate links fresh in Hometalk posts is a must to add another revenue stream to your portfolio. Nothing’s worse than a broken link that sends readers searching for a product you recommended—especially when that could mean missed commissions for you. Hometalk lets you include as many links as you like. Just don’t forget to include an affiliate disclosure to stay on the right side of legal guidelines!

Update Your Images

KariAnne's Expert Insight

Here are my best tips for adding new images:

1. I check to see if any of the images just need a slight adjustment and I can simply reedit those images.

2. I check my media library to see if I have updated photos of an image or space.

3. I make sure all my images are resized to fit the post format and the images are all the same size.

4. I remove any horizontal photos and replace them with vertical images.

5. If needed or if possible, I take new images for a post (only if it’s a high-performing post).

For Hometalk

Our members in Hometalk's creator programs know how much we value visuals! Clear and beautiful photos are key to creating qualified, feature-worthy posts on the site. Updating images is always a good idea if they could use a little improvement, or if you redo the project in the future and capture better photos. Great visuals—whether photos or even videos—can take a good post to a great one!

Adjust The Email Opt-In On Your Posts

KariAnne's Expert Insight

Here are my best tips for updating the email opt-in for the Hometalk audience:

1. I have multiplie optins for the posts on my blog according to the category.

2. I check to see if the post is categorized correctly so the correct opt-in correlates with the post.

3. Every time I get a Hometalk feature I get so many additional email subscribers because I adjust the optin for the Hometalk readership.

4. It’s also a good idea to add a subscriber button to the center of the post as well as a pop-up so make sure to maximize email subscribers.

For Hometalk

On Hometalk, you’re free to add all kinds of links—not just affiliate ones! This means you can link to your other content, social channels, or add calls-to-action (CTAs) for things like email sign-ups and opt-ins. You could even offer something to readers who join your email list from a link you include in your Hometalk post. Keeping these links fresh makes sure your readers end up right where you want them, whether that's checking out a product, signing up for your newsletter, or exploring more of your work. So, don’t leave your Hometalk posts out and make sure you’re keeping your links and CTAs there up-to-date and ready to connect!

You can see here how KariAnne added links to her materials list in her Hometalk post.

Closing

That’s it for Part 2 of our series on boosting your revenue with Hometalk! By giving your posts a quick self-audit, you can keep everything fresh and performing at its best.

KariAnne's Expert Insight

With just a few simple changes, you can maximize the feature you get from Hometalk. I find the Hometalk community to be loyal and they are great about signing up for email. You just need to convert them to followers by updating your post. This feature is such an amazing opportunity to showcase your brand.

If you missed part 1 that focused on joining the Blogger Traffic Program, you can read that here!

Next up in this series, we’ll get into how joining multiple verticals and expanding your content scope when able can give you an extra boost. See you for part 3!