Homeschool mom gets top blog traffic from Instagram

Want to know how one homeschool mom gets top blog traffic from Instagram? Featuring pro-coaching member, Pat Fenner, from @breakthroughhomeschooling on Instagram.  These interview episodes highlight pro-coaching members, sharing their personal triumphs and how they made Instagram work for them.

(Click below for show notes)

https://ruthiegray.mom/top-blog-traffic-from-instagram/

GO LIVE! Jumpstart Kit

https://christianbloggerscreentimeboundaries.teachable.com/p/instagram-go-live-jumpstart-kit-now/

Hashtag Formula Toolkit

https://ruthiegray.lpages.co/hashtag-workshop/

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7-Day Instagram Story Challenge

https://creative-creator-6398.ck.page/049a2b1934

Personal Instagram Coaching Strategy Consult

https://ruthiegray.lpages.co/individual-coaching/

After almost 25 years of home-educating her five children, Pat Fenner is making the most of her “retired homeschool mom” status (even though she's back in the saddle with her last one). She encourages and inspires others as they continue the journey through the high school years at her blog BreakthroughHomeschooling, and helps moms find meaning and purpose in the “post-homeschooling” stage of life through the Empty Homeschool Nest Blueprint program and podcast. And Pat and I have known each other several years, she’s such a gracious friend. 

 
Before she developed a strategy
R: Pat tell us a little bit about your Insta-life before you had a strategy.

P: I was really on Instagram to follow my granddaughter, and I shared bits and pieces of my life, but I realized my people were there.  But I’d get a freebie here or there, but as I watched you rock this I thought well if Ruthie can do this I can.

But what was missing was strategy.  I tried and dropped things without really a strategy.  If I really want to reach my people, I need intentionality.  

R: Throwing things out - I did that for a while too and while you do have to start somewhere, you realize you can’t just throw something up and people will come but that’s not how it works, is it?

P: Nothing is like that now because the internet today - if you just build it nobody’s gonna know about it.  My struggle was trying to be authentic and realizing I had something to offer but I needed to actually TELL them about my product and ask people if they needed my product.  Like nobody cares what I had for breakfast unless it’s part of my strategy.

 
The importance of transparency on Instagram
R:There has to be a balance and as I was talking with Melanie Redd, she learned it was ok to be transparent and share herself - you didn’t have a problem sharing yourself, you had the problem of sharing your actual message and products.

P: I come from the infomercial age where salesy approach is sleazy.  Now we’re in the story branding age where people talk about themselves to make themselves relatable because we know people don’t buy products, they buy results.  But if you have a business you have to share it but with a balance that makes you authentic and also builds comfort for our people.

The breakthrough that helped her get top blog traffic from Instagram
R: Along those lines, why don’t you describe the breakthrough and direction you took after you realized you needed to share your message and what did you start implementing?

P: My breakthrough was realizing from my Analytics, Instagram is one of my top 10 referrers back to my blog.  I’m still a writer at heart so it’s all gonna lead back to my blog but I realized I needed to take this thing seriously.  So I took a free video challenge because I knew I needed to get comfortable on video.  Once I got over that hassle and became comfortable on video and on Instagram (and of course Facebook), I realized I needed to develop an Instagram strategy too.

R: There are all different pieces of the social media puzzle - Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, etc.