The Interview

1. Where do you live?

I live in England, near to Liverpool. It’s a bit cold and rainy here, but all of my family and friends live here, so it’s my home.

2. When did you start creating content?

I started creating content around 2013. I was super into video games at the time, so I had a small blog where I posted reviews on my favorite video games.

The blog was nothing special, had no SEO or no custom domain, but it introduced me to the idea of blogging and that I could write about topics that interested me.

I didn’t stick with that blog for very long because I was only young. Later on, around 2018, I rediscovered blogging, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

3. Are you a full-time Creator?

Yes, Ive been a full time creator since 2018.

4. What was the “Click” that made you decide you can make full-time money online.

Probably when I got accepted to the Mediavine ad network.

5. How many niche sites have you created?

I have created 2 niche websites.

6. How many are you still running now?

I’m still running both.

7. Have you sold any sites or online businesses? And what was the ROI like?

I haven’t sold any websites (yet). Hopefully, in the next 2 years, I’ll let one of my websites go.

8. How many sites or online businesses have failed or not gotten going?

I haven’t completely failed with any website, but I have had to change my techniques and strategies. One of my websites was hit badly in terms of traffic and income, which wasn’t fun. It still hasn’t recovered completely, but I know it will sooner or later.

9. How much are you earning each month?

• $1,001 – $5,000

10. What are your current streams of revenue?

• Display Ads

11. What are your Top 3 on-page SEO strategies?

1. Writing the best content possible.

2. Adding questions from Google’s “people also ask” section.

3. Adding internal links.

12. What’s the biggest issue(s) that you’re facing today?

The biggest issue I’m facing is probably with thinking not getting wrapped up in the numbers. It’s so easy to get wrapped in the numbers – your traffic is growing and is doing well, but you get a few days of low traffic, which wrecks your mood. We all fall victim to letting our traffic numbers define our success.

It’s definitely a work in progress with me, but I try to remind myself that this is a journey, and I will experience ups and downs.

13. What tool(s) do you rely on the most?

• Jasper (Jarvis)
• LinkWhisper
• LowFruits

14. What has been the biggest mistake you made?

Not learning SEO sooner. 

15. What has been the best decision you’ve made?

Learning SEO!

16. What’s one thing that you felt accelerated your journey the most?

SEO! I was focused on driving traffic using Pinterest for so long, and I was ignorant about learning SEO. Pinterest was working great for me as a traffic source, so I just thought that I didn’t need SEO. I was wrong.

Pinterest changed its algorithm, which wrecked my traffic and income. The impact wouldn’t have been so bad if I had learned SEO sooner.

17. What’s your 12 month goal?

Have 300 more articles published. 170,000 organic clicks a month, 

18. How do you stay up to date on the SEO, affiliate marketing, display ad, and other news?

There are a few great YouTube channels that I watch. Also, I follow some amazing people over on Twitter too. I’m sure I miss some news because it’s hard to keep up with it all, but I try my best.

19. What do you eat or drink for fuel to keep going?

I’m boring, but it’s got to be water… Water or peppermint tea. If you’re dehydrated, you’re not going to be able to focus!

20. Where can people follow you?

You can follow me over on Twitter @TheEmilyDyson. I try my best to reply to everyone! Alternatively, you can shoot me an email [email protected]

BONUS: Anything else you’d like to share that can help others?

I’d like to tell people to just hang in there. As I mentioned above, you’re going to experience ups and downs. Remember why you started this journey, adapt if needed, or take some time out. Just don’t give up because your life can change in 1 year.