Do you REALLY need to pay for a standalone website for long-term, passive traffic and sales? Couldn’t Pinterest or all-in-one platforms get the same results? Let’s chat about it!

Episode Highlights:

• Pinterest and TPT Search Bar Only
• All-in-One Platforms
• Self-Hosted Website

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[00:00:36] If you're new to the podcast, every month we look at one popular budget buster in the online business space, and we decide if it's worth the hype or if your marketing dollars are better used elsewhere. In these episodes, I don't make a recommendation one way or the other since only you know your business budget and needs.

[00:01:16] The truth is that it's not. Passive income is possible through other methods. You don't need a website in order to use Pinterest for your business. You can also generate sales by focusing on the TPT search bar. But will those methods bring you long-term passive income? Let's weigh out the options. So for the first option, you could do a TPT focused Pinterest strategy.

[00:02:09] The pros of using this method is that you don't have any of the overhead costs of running your own website. You also don't have to worry about any of the maintenance of a website, and there would just be a much smaller learning curve to getting started because all you really need to learn is, you know, TPT SEO and then Pinterest best practices.

[00:02:48] Historically, pins that a business account creates that go to a property that they haven't claimed, those pins just don't do as well as pins that go to their claimed website. So even though the URL for your store is unique to you, it's not a claimable web property because the domain teachers pay teachers belongs to the TPT brand so it has been claimed by TPT on Pinterest.

[00:03:44] So speaking of property, that's the other con of this method, because you're essentially building on rented real estate. You don't truly own either of these platforms, TPT, or Pinterest, and so that can be an overall risk. Now moving on to the next option, this one's becoming more popular as we are seeing more and more platforms becoming like a one-stop shop for people.

[00:04:46] You don't have to piece things together from, you know, do my blogging over here, my email marketing over here. And then another pro is that these platforms also tend to have a lot of tech support. Because all of the pieces are in-house, they're able to help you troubleshoot a little more easily.

[00:05:37] And then going back to our monetization module, I think these all in one options aren't as flexible when it comes to like monetizing through an ad network and things like that, so that's another thing to keep in mind. Now it's time for the final option, which was the inspiration for this episode, and that is a self-hosted standalone website.

[00:06:26] But there really is no comparison when it comes to the optimization and control that you have with your own internet real estate. So just as a fun fact about me. I go through phases where I watch a lot of YouTube. You know when there's not a lot going on in the regular TV space, and I really find it fun to stumble on a creator who is on that upward trajectory.

[00:07:19] Yes, a YouTube audience is great and they're able to monetize their channels and they're doing great. But a website is a really smart investment in the long-term success of their business, and the same is true for you. There are definitely ways that you can leverage Pinterest, the TPT search bar, or an all in one platform to get more eyes on your products and boost your income.

[00:08:14] I hope that weighing out some of these options has been helpful for you. And I can't believe it, but we are coming up on the one year mark of the Pay Less for Traffic podcast. If you've been hanging out with me all this time, would you consider leaving a review for the show? I love hearing what you're enjoying about the podcast, and that helps me plan more episodes that will resonate with you.