Looking to save on your next natural hair products? I’ve partnered up with some brands to give you discounts on your favourite hair products. To get these products at a discounted price and/or with free shipping, check out the following links.
1. Amazon (Free shipping on orders over $25)
2. Curl Mart (Up to 20% off and with Free US Shipping on Orders over $35. Worldwide shipping)
3. Earthtone Naturals: Canada. Use discount code “Earthtones10”
4. Curl Kit: Save 10% off on your purchase plus FREE shipping.
5. Sizzelle: Save 15% off in Nigeria. Use discount code: “Adeola15”
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BLOG RELATED
Running an online business takes more than writing up a blog post when you feel like it. Since switching my blog over from blogger to WordPress in September 2014, I have learned a lot about blogging, particularly when it comes to monetizing my blog. Though I still have a lot to learn, I know that I have some knowledge that can be useful to others who are thinking about starting their own blog someday.
Setting up a blog on WordPress is actually easier than it seems. Aside from the time that it takes to research and write a blog post, you might also need to invest some money into your website. This option is completely optional for hobby bloggers who are just looking for a platform to share their thoughts and opinion about everyday life. However, if you feel that you deserve to be compensated for the value that you provide on your blog, you might want to take things more seriously by taking your blogging game up a notch.
For example, you will notice from my monthly income and traffic report, that I invest in online tools and resources in order for me to move my business forward.
Some of the tools* that I currently use to run this blog successfully includes the following:
1. Hosting & Domain Services: Blue Host
A domain is like a virtual “store”, where I keep all my stocks and inventory i.e blog posts, products e.t.c. I chose Bluehost because they are a partner domain provider for WordPress and because the website is clean and extremely easy to use.
2. WordPress Themes: Mojo Themes
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you will notice that since migrating from blogger, I have changed the look and feel of the website a few times. That’s because I wanted my site to be easy to use and to look good.
I purchased my current theme from Mojo Marketplace. The great thing about their themes is that you don’t need to pay a fancy developer to code a webpage for you. Instead, for as little as $47, you can get a professional looking site that suites your needs. Mojo marketplace also has themes for other blogging platforms such as Joomla, Weebly, Tumblr e.t.c
3. E-Mail Management: Active Campaign
After bouncing back and forth between multiple email management systems (EMS), I finally found my perfect fit, which is Active Campaign. It is actually more than just an EMS, it is also a Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which means that it offers similar services as Infusion Soft, but at a much cheaper price and with a user-friendly function. To try Active Campaign for free for 14 days, please GO HERE.
4. E-Mail Management: MailChimp
I like to get up close and personal with my readers. So every week, I will send them an email to get their opinion on what I’m thinking of doing on the site, get their feedback on a few things and inform them know about blog updates. The e-mail platform that I use to communicate with my readers is MailChimp.
The great thing about MailChimp is that you can quickly get started with their free account, so if you’re just new into blogging or the e-mail newsletter thing, I will recommend that you sign up for MailChimp right away.
I actually use the paid version because it gives me more functionalities such as being able to “automagically” send emails to my subscribers at a pre-scheduled time. So if you’re looking into stepping up your e-mail marketing game, I will recommend that you sign up for the monthly package by clicking here, and you will get $30 credited to your account.
5. Hootsuite
Social media can be intimidating and time-consuming, But luckily, tools such as Hootsuite can help you to be everywhere, without actually being everywhere. Hootsuite also allows you to stay up to date with your customers on social media without spending an entire day on a single account. What’s great about social media scheduling software such as HootSuite is that you can schedule hundreds of messages at a time, manage and post to multiple social media profiles and analyze the effectiveness of your social media contents through the analytics provided on Hootsuite. To get a free 30 Day trial of Hootsuite, please click here.
*Affiliate link: Which means that I get a small compensation when a purchase is made via the links provided 🙂
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TRAVEL
Aside from blogging and helping ladies with their natural hair, another passion of mine is travelling. Being a frugalista that I am, I like to use these two apps to find housing and affordable rides.
- Stay: Air Bnb
I never liked hotels, so I used to stay at a hostel or bed and breakfast, and eventhough I was aware of air bnb, I was hesitant to try it out. However, my fear of getting kidnapped and having a crazy experience eventually came to an end when my sister and I stayed at our first air bnb in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Shortly afterwards, my sisters started hosting guests from all around the world in their home and I soon joined the air bnb business when I got my house.
I’m actually staying at my 17th air bnb in two years as I type this post!
Get up to $45CAD (it converts to your local currency) off your first stay with air bnb. Click HERE to start travelling like a local.
Perhaps you have a spare bedroom in your home that you would love to turn into a cash machine. Maybe you’re a tired landlord and would prefer short-term guests who don’t give you a headache and actually keep your house clean. You might even have a vacant property that’s not renting due to the current economic situation.
This is why I LOVE air bnb because you can make more money from your vacant property and even live rent free.
To get started as a host, please CLICK HERE.
2. Transportation: Uber
A great alternative to taxis, I love taking ubers when I travel because the drivers are friendly, the cars are clean and I can order a taxi from the comfort of my room, rather than going out of the house to find a taxi and then have to haggle for price.
I also love the fact that you pay before you ride, that way, you know you’re getting a fair rate and you don’t have to worry about the route the driver takes and if there’s traffic on the way.
To get your first free ride, CLICK HERE.