134: Do you have to be obnoxious to make it online? Hear what mom blogger Laurie Hise has to say!

When a stay-at-home mom on a budget launches a blog, her path to success is often different from the fantastical stories we tend to hear about. Success means plugging away - even when results are small and growth is slow. Success means focusing on what really matters - helping your audience and giving generously.

We love the kind of success Laurie Hise represents. It's real. It's genuine. And there are no casualties along this path. If you can relate, listen on. (And even if you plan to "make it" much faster, Laurie has some crazy good Facebook tips you'll want to hear!)

On The Podcast

01:26 - Meet Laurie02:07 - Mom On A Mission04:20 - Many Blogs Fail - What's Laurie's Secret?05:30 - Why Laurie dislikes "Success Stories"06:29 - Why Comfort Zones are Bad for Readers08:09 - Solve a Problem? Build a Business!09:38 - Can Low Expectations be a Good Thing?12:00 - Free Ideas for Driving Traffic14:50 - Does your Business have a Magic Word?16:33 - An Insane Commitment to Facebook18:18 - How Laurie Wins with Facebook20:38 - Scheduling Facebook Content22:50 - Laurie's Strategy for Repeat Posts24:25 - Using Facebook Groups25:10 - The Handiest Facebook Tip We’ve Ever Heard36:00 - The Obnoxious Girl Personality (and why online business sometimes requires it!)37:26 - Seeing Mom Make A Difference (Laurie’s Adorable Mom Moment)

Press Play on the Podcast Player Below to Hear from Laurie Meet Laurie

Laurie has been married almost 20 years (!!!) and has three kids, ages 8 to 15. She started her blog, Passionate Penny Pincher, 6 years ago on a whim. When a family illness took much of her husband’s attention, Laurie occupied her time by reading blogs. She noticed a gap in the money saving site niche and decided to start her own blog, then Publix Penny Pincher, to fill the need.

Mom On A Mission

Laurie has always considered herself to be a frugal woman. Around the time when her youngest child turned two, she got an itch to start working again and began dreaming up ways to bring additional income to her family. In the words of Laurie, “I knew that I wanted to earn extra income from home especially as they were getting older and heading off to school...I primarily was a stay-at-home mom. I started obsessively clipping coupons back in 2006 (folks, I was nuts), so the idea of potentially earning an income from home while telling other folks how to save intrigued me.”

She read Crystal Paine’s series How To Make Money Blogging and followed her advice. As she and her husband dealt with an illness in the family, Laurie used those late-night hours to research and start her blog. From the get-go, Laurie was passionate about donating half of her income to missions. Her husband thought the idea was crazy, but they went for it! After all these years, she still donates half of her blog’s profits to missions.

Many Blogs Fail - What's Laurie's Secret?

Of the twelve bloggers who began at the same time Laurie did, Laurie is the only one still working at her keyboard. What’s the trick? Consistency.

Laurie has showed up to work everyday, even though she made nothing on her blog for the first few years.

Why Laurie Dislikes "Success Stories"

Laurie’s popular post How I Make A Full Time Income As A Stay At Home Mom + 7 Secrets To Success has encouraged many moms to pursue online (or other creative working outlets) as sources of income for their families. But the post was hard for Laurie to write. When she hears people sharing their crazy success stories, it rubs her the wrong way. Laurie sees herself as just a wife and a mom who got lucky. Even though she’s hesitant to call herself a success, she wants other moms to know that working online is possible.

At the end of the day, Laurie's success is due to a lot of hard work and sacrifice. She didn't start making money overnight, but instead stayed committed and slowly grew her income over many years.

Why Comfort Zones are Bad for Readers

Laurie is a private person, so putting herself out there is uncomfortable. But she knows from her own experience online, that the more a blogger or influencer shares about themselves, the more she begins to know, like, and trust them.

We all feel more of a connection with people who open themselves up more. So for that reason, Laurie has reconciled her discomfort and is willing to be more transparent. When she sees income from ads or affiliate sales, she knows it is because she was able to make her readers feel at home. Helping readers connect with the information she shares is uncomfortable, but sticking with it has been rewardin...