How is COVID affecting Online Businesses everywhere

The Coronavirus is spreading despite lockdowns and quarantines.

People all over the world are scared not just because of the pandemic but mostly because of job insecurity and the falling economy.

Businesses all over the world are being affected, and if you’re a Blogger, then you would have noticed a huge drop/rise in traffic depending on your niche.

Right now, Finance Blogs and Health Blogs are doing really well. But Travel Blogs have taken a huge beating.

Travel Blogs aren't doing well during the pandemic because people don't want to currently travel and are staying indoors.

This was an unforeseeable and unfortunate circumstance.

But as Entrepreneurs, we need to constantly adapt our Businesses to always stay ahead of the curve.

So, if you’re currently going through a massive traffic slump, don’t fret. I’m going to show you how you can tweak your Blog and Business so you can adapt to the Coronavirus Crisis.

If you don’t have a blog or are thinking of starting one, I have a free 7 day email course (extremely detailed) that will help you start a blog that makes money on autopilot!

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This post includes affiliate links to products I truly (from the bottom of my heart) recommend, meaning at no extra cost to you, I may earn a small percentage which I will use to buy my poor dogs food.

The money earned from affiliate links are used to feed my poor, hungry dogs.

Diversifying your Blog’s Income Streams during COVID-19

Because people who are living with day-to-day wages are currently stuck at home with little or no income, it’s obvious that their sales are going to plummet during this time.

All hope is not lost though.

Sales are down during the epidemic. But you have to deal with COVID as a Blogger. And the best way to do this is to diversify your income streams.

You will have to diversify your income streams in order to reach your monthly income goals.

Another benefit of having multiple income streams is that if one fails, you can always rely on the other to pull you back up. This is why you should not put all your eggs in one basket.

It is important to never put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your income stream so that you can make an income even during the COVID crisis.

Here’s how you can salvage your income streams as a blogger:

1. Jump onboard the Ad express

As much as I dislike ads, this particular monetizing strategy is going save your Business at this time. Apply to Mediavine if you’re already hitting 25K sessions or AdThrive if you’re crossing 100K pageviews a month.

This Ad income will boost your Blog Income during the next few months.

2. Hold a sale on your most popular products

If you were coveting an online course/eBook, I’m sure you’d buy it if it was on sale right now.

A lot of people are scared to sell right now because they feel it’s icky.

But if you’re not doing it, then other people are. And there are people with horrible products who are milking this situation in order to become profitable.

So, don’t be afraid to show up and talk about your products to your readers. If people want to buy them, they will.

It is okay to talk about your products during this pandemic. People are still buying products because they're stuck at home. So, if they really like your product, they're going to make a purchase!

Additionally, people are sitting at home and looking for the best deals right now. So, this is the perfect time to hold a sale.

You’re not only going to help people who are having a diffcult time, but it’s going to help keep your Business afloat.

3. Start an Online Coaching service

Social Distancing has taken over the world by storm.

Make use of this opportunity by broadening your services to include online coaching. No matter what niche you’re in, you can take on clients from all over the world and talk to them via Zoom calls/Google Duo.

Now that we are stuck at home, it is the perfect time to do online calls. You can add online coaching to your list of services.

Note: A Therapist on Quora I know is now talking to his patients over his webcam. It’s less than ideal but you do what you gotta do to survive.

4. Start incorporating videos or start a YouTube Channel

Since people are stuck at home with nothing to do, videos have become a major form of entertainment and education.

You can seriously charm the pants off your viewers by hopping on this latest trend.

You can seriously charm the pants of your readers by adding videos to your Blog as videos are becoming more popular during this pandemic.

If you’ve been on the fence about starting a YouTube channel, now is the perfect time to start.

Likewise, you can also start a Podcast.

You will definitely get much more views at this point. You can either use your laptop camera or get yourself a good video camera.

5. Create an Online Course for your readers

People have a lot of time to kill and they’re looking to pick up new skills. Just hop onto Teachable and create a quick course on the one thing that you love doing or are really good at.

I have an Illustrating course on Teachable that teaches people to convert pencil sketches to illustrations and it brings me a neat profit every month.

My online course will teach you how to transform pencil sketches to digital illustrations. It's super easy to do this using Adobe Illustrator.

Online Courses are passive income because you only have to create it once and it will definitely help boost your monthly income during uncertain times like these.

6. Promote your services as a Freelancer

A lot of physical shops are finding it hard to make sales.

People aren't leaving their homes right now. So, if you're selling products via a physical store, it's going to be very difficult to make sales. The best way to overcome this is to go online.

They’re transitioning from brick and mortar shops to online stores. This is the perfect time to reach out to them and help them make that transition.

If you’re a graphic designer/website builder, you can send out a newsletter to your peeps or just cold email your favorite businesses to see if they require your services.

You may also enjoy reading these posts:

Increasing Blog Traffic during the COVID19 Pandemic

1. Creating Pins for your Popular Posts

Open up your Google Analytics and go to Behaviour >Site Content >All Pages and take a look at your most popular posts.

Once you know what’s faring well, create more pins for each post and schedule them to Pinterest using Tailwind.

People are spending a lot of time on Social Media and this is the best time to increase your exposure.

2. Tweaking your content so that it’s more relevant to the current situation

Everybody who is quarantined right now is talking only about one thing – COVID.

It is inevitable and if your Blog has nothing to do with health, you can still make your Blog more relevant so that you get more eyes on your content.

Traffic is going to be down during this pandemic. The best way to get more viewers is to make your posts more relevant. re traffic is to somehow talk about current trends

People are currently looking for education and entertainment. So, it is crucial that your posts maintain a postive and kind tone.

Based on your niche, here are a few tips on what posts you could write in order to boost traffic.

1. Travel Blogs:

Because people are not traveling and are cooped up indoors, write posts on how people can move about safely, or give them tips to cope and manage their finances if they’re stuck in another country.

Talk about lifestyle changes they need to implement straight away in order to be safe.

2. Food Blogs:

Cover recipes on food that boosts immunity.

Because grocery shops are running out of food, most people are only left with staple food items like rice/noodles, processed meat and lentils.

So, cover recipes that include these food items in order to reach a larger audience.

As a Food Blogger, you can write posts that cover recipes using the food that people will have lying around in their homes.

I really should have looked up a recipe…

3. DIY Blogs:

This is the best time to release more content than what you normally post.

People have way too much time on their hands and are looking to master new skills. So, work on publishing beginner tutorials on origami, crocheting and so on.

4. Mental Health Blogs:

People who are not used to being at home for long periods of time will find this period very hard – mentally. This is the perfect time to write posts on fun activities people can do at home.

Cover topics on yielding maximum productivity while working from home or dealing with anxiety about COVID-19 and so on.

You can cover posts on productivity and anxiety as a mental health blogger as people have nowhere to go and it can affect them.

5. Fashion Blogs:

Because people are stuck at home, they may not be interested in visiting stores to buy make-up and clothes at this point.

Instead, talk about fashion apps that do home delivery or cover the best online deals right now.

You can also move over to cover self-care topics.

Write posts on how people can make DIY masks with the ingredients they have at home or how they can moisturize their hair and skin.

Since people are stuck at home, you can cover moisturizing and self-care tips as a Fashion and Make Up Blogger.

6. Finance Blogs:

The economy is crashing as we speak.

People are looking for money-saving tips and wise investments. So, get in on this by tweaking your posts slightly to talk about how people can recover from this economic slump during COVID-19.

People are looking for financial tips during this COVID crisis. So, as a Finance Blogger, you can really increase your traffic by giving people tips to save money and make wise investments.

7. Parenting Blogs:

Write posts on fun activities parents can do with their children, or different ways they can get their children to help out with chores. This is the best time to spread awareness about COVID-19.

You can also write posts that help parents to teach their children how to be safe during this difficult time.

As a Parenting Blogger, you can write posts that teach children safety practices during the pandemic.

On a side note, if you’re keen on increasing your blog traffic, take my free 5 day email course that teaches you how to double your blog traffic!

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3. Send out positive and kind newsletters

People are consuming a lot of online content because they’re quarantined.

Your readers are probably scared and tensed about what’s going on. This is the perfect time to stand out from all the noise and send them a no-nonsense email that’s honest, caring and full of positivity.

During this time, it is crucial to spread positivity and kindness in your content.

Talk about how the pandemic has affected you, ask them about their lives, and point them to resources that will help them out.

If you’ve written relevant posts, then link to them.

4. Prep your popular posts to retain more traffic

Using Google Analytics again to see which posts are doing well, add content upgrades to these posts.

This will make sure that the posts that are bringing in a high traffic are increasing your email list subscribers.

Additionally, you can add more internal links to these posts so that you can keep people on your Blog for longer.

Here are a few posts to help you build your online presence and gain more traffic!

Preparing your Blog for the future months after this Pandemic

1. Work on a new product entirely

I’ve been delaying working on a new product for the past few months because I simply haven’t had the time. Now, I have no excuse since I literally have nowhere to go.

Use this opportunity to create a completely new eBook or eCourse.

Ask your audience what they fancy or run a poll to see their replies. Tiffany has written a great post on writing an eBook that I think you’ll find quite useful!

2. Re-evaluate your Business Plan

You may want to switch up your content/social media strategy or change your business model entirely. This is the perfect time to sit down and edit your Business Plan.

P.S. I have a Business Plan Guide + Workbook right here that you can use to shape your entire Blog’s Business Model.

Want a cute Business Plan to help you start and grow a blog from scratch the right way? I got you covered! #blog #business #bloggintips #printable #cuteprintable

3. Create a Blog Content Strategy

Now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your business goals and content strategy.

For instance, if you want to promote a certain digital product in your shop, you can start publishing more case studies and highlight problems that are faced in your niche that your product can solve.

Map out your goals and content ideas over the span of the next 3 months. Once the pandemic situation dies down, you will save a lot of time writing posts because all your ideas will have been neatly drawn out.

Drafting a blog content plan will help you stay organized, be accountable and increase your traffic and your conversion rates.

Increasing Productivity during COVID19

1. Have a designated workplace

It can be very tempting to work on the couch while your kids are watching a movie. But trust me, you’ll end up watching the movie with them or falling asleep entirely.

Find a corner in your house where you’re least likely to be disturbed and get working.

Get a comfortable chair and a nice big cup of your favorite beverage before you sit down to work.

Set a schedule to work so that you can maximize productivity since you're stuck at home.

2. Establish a routine

Set working hours. Go all out in creating a nice timetable for yourself.

You may feel that it is pointless to do this, but you’ll be surprised at how your brain responds to working during certain hours of the day.

Trust me, you will be more productive.

Do not work into the wee hours of the morning. Don’t overburden yourself.

Do not overburden yourself when you're working from home. Stick to fixed working hours.

It is important to mix things up in order to ensure that you don’t lose motivation.

For every 45 minutes you work, take a 15 minute break by either getting yourself a glass of water, or playing with your beloved pooch or making yourself a cup of tea.

3. Keep yourself accountable

Checklists are a great way to do this. You could use apps like Trello or Asana or just use a printable Blog Planner to maintain all your to-dos.

It is very easy to lose track of or interest in your work if you’re sitting at home all day.

You can download my free 12-page blog planner to get started!

Download my free 12 page printable blog planner that will make blogging more fun!

4. Network with other Bloggers on Facebook Groups

Touching base with people in your field of work will really help you become more productive and make you more accountable.

I wrote this post because I noticed a lot of Bloggers were in the same shoes as I was. They were all worried about their Businesses and didn’t know what to do during this pandemic.

And this fueled me to write this post.

Most blog posts take me 1-2 weeks to write. But this one took me only 2 days.

Socializing during a time like this will really help calm your mind and relax. Additionally, it will give you that much-needed clarity to help you get back on track and focus on your work.

Likewise, keep in contact with your Blogging Buddies and help them stay accountable by asking them about their work.

Another way to increase productivity during COVID is to have an accountability partner that you can touch base with regularly.

By looking out for each other, we will be able to overcome this pandemic together very quickly.

Here are a few posts that will help you maximize your productivity now that you’re working from home:

Taking a Break from Blogging entirely

If you’ve been working yourself to the bone, this may be the perfect time to just take a breather. You can come back stronger and you will have more clarity about your Business.

Here are a few activities that you can do while you step away from blogging.

1. Learn a new skill

Unless you’re used to working from home for long hours, it can become difficult to find the motivation to work. Take a break from blogging by mastering a new skill you’ve always wanted to learn.

It’s no secret that I love taking Online Classes to help improve my skills. I’m using this lockdown to hone my illustration skills. Here are a few beautiful illustration classes I recently started taking and I love them so much!

For instance, this class is by one of my favorite Spanish Illustrators – Natália Dias. All the classes have sub-titles, so they’re very easy to follow.

female character portraits

All the classes are organized extremely well and take you step by step so you can practice along with the class.

drawing step by step

Check out the class here! 

2. Keep yourself active

Sitting at a desk all day (inside your home) is really not ideal for your health.

It can be very challenging to exercise without fresh air but there are tons of ways you can become fit without working out in the traditional sense.

You can play with kids/pets, dance to lively music, practice yoga, shake your hips while you’re washing the dishes, do lunges while you’re brushing your teeth.

Now that you're at home, you have to keep moving in order to be fit. Play with your dogs, do yoga or mix the two!

In short, keep moving.

This cute printable self care planner is the only printable you need to become better at self care and grow your mind, body and spirit together.

3. Read and research

The Online Business world is evolving as we speak. The best way to become better at what we do is to keep ourselves thoroughly informed and up-to-date.

So, I would suggest that you take some time off to read a little something every day. Apart from reading newsletters from my favourite bloggers, I also make time to read a Business Book every week.

Brush up on content marketing, creating digital products, networking and so on.

Here are a few of my current favorites:


4. This is the time to upgrade your self-care routine

We are so consumed by the hustle and bustle of life, that we forget to take care of ourselves. Now that we have so much uninterupted time to think, this is the best time to start taking care of ourselves.

Stay hydrated during this time and upgrade your self-care routine. It is really good for you.

Here are some of my favorite self-care tips:

  • Keep yourself hydrated
  • Meditate
  • Do yoga
  • Write in a journal
  • Keep in touch with your friends and family over the phone
  • Take plenty of rest

P.S. India is currently on lockdown for 21 days and I’m all alone with my pups. But incorporating these small self-care hacks into my routine, makes a huge difference.

5. Take care of yourself and your family

It is estimated that over 30% of the population will end up with the Coronavirus.

The best thing we can do right now is to maintain social distancing in order to not overwhelm the Hospitals and the medical staff that are working round the clock to save lives.

So stay at home and be safe!

It is difficult to stay indoors but it's better to be home than go out at this point and risk infection. So stay at home and stay safe!

6. Understand that this too shall pass

If you’re one of those people who want to take a break and come back after this is all over, that’s totally okay. This is a very difficult situation, so it’s completely alright if you want to take a break.

There are a few bloggers who want to continue blogging through this pandemic and that’s perfectly alright too.

It is important that we treat everyone with kindness and understanding and not throw stones. We can get through this if we are positive and united.

So, no matter what you do, spread a positive message to those around you and let’s get through this together.

If we stay strong and united, we can get through this together!

Over to you!

How are you currently coping with this pandemic? Have you made any changes to your Business right now or are you taking a break?

If you found this post useful or know anyone with an online business that can benefit from this post, please share it!