Q&A with Amanda Vin Zant of Life with Gremlins

Dealspotr’s network of influencers includes notable bloggers and social media personalities across a wide range of topics and interests, but all with a focus on frugal living and saving money. In our weekly Influencer Spotlight, we invite one influencer to share their experiences and success stories with the rest of our community. If you’d like to be featured, send me a message via Dealspotr. 

As the author of Life with Gremlins, Amanda Vin Zant has been holding down the Dealspotr influencer network all the way from Alaska! When she's not penning articles about parenting, pregnancy, and fertility, you can find her at home taking care of her four kids! Read on to see Amanda's blogging tips, tricks, and keys to success.

Introduce yourself! First name, where you're from, your "day job," and any other fun facts you'd like us to know.

My name is Amanda Vin Zant, I'm from Sterling, Alaska. My "day job" is 4 kids -- 3 boys and a tougher-than-they-are little sister. I'm also in college pursuing a Bachelor's in business.

Describe your blog. What is it's main focus?

I started my website Life with Gremlins in 2014 after Yahoo! closed their contributor program and reverted all content rights back to the writers. Its original purpose was just to get all that content back up and earning, but then it really evolved into a virtual parenting book of sorts, which, well, reveals its focus for the most part: parenting, pregnancy and fertility. 

How did you get into blogging? When did you start?

I got into freelance writing in general as a way to bring in income while raising my kids way back in 2008.

In your opinion, what is the best way to gain new followers? Best way to keep those followers?

As far as followers, I don't really utilize them much, beyond a decent sized Facebook page (where funny memes seem to be the sweet spot). Most of my traffic comes from organic search. Nothing is better for visitor numbers than a well-optimized site with solid SEO. If you get them to the site, followers follow. Easiest way to keep them is to keep doing whatever awesomeness you did to get them.

What social media sites do you use to supplement your blog? How do you use these sites to your advantage?

Life with Gremlins is nonetheless on all major social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest) except Instagram, because I just can't seem to get into taking pictures all the time.

What's one thing you love about Dealspotr? Has Dealspotr helped your blog out in any way?

I love Dealspotr because it's rare a coupon code doesn't work. Most coupon sites, even the ever-popular RetailMeNot, have a high percentage of out-of-date broken coupons. I think Dealspotr's verification system cuts down on that a lot. Sadly, I don't see any traffic from Dealspotr. I don't think it's helped my blog much, but it's helped my pocketbook with a good deal of good deals. lol

If you could identify the one thing (okay, or multiple things) responsible for your blog's success, what would that be?

I think that my site has been successful because I stop to think like a visitor. What would I search for? What would I hope to find when I clicked a link from that search? Then I deliver.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a blog?

If there is one single piece of advice I would give those starting out, it's not to get greedy. Too many sites end up buried in obnoxious return-visit-killing advertising because they over monetize. If it annoys you when you're web browsing on other sites, don't put it on your site. Of course, do explore the various monetization routes and find what works for your content.

Which major blogger or influencer do you most admire and why?

I don't actually follow many blogs. I know, that's horrible being a blogger myself, but beyond googling for recipes, I'm not much of  a website reader. I prefer paper books.

What's been your most successful blog post, and what do you think made it most successful?

I have a few really successful posts and in all cases they are commonly searched, but seldom written about. 

Have you ever experienced a moment when you wanted to quit blogging? How did you overcome it?

As I mentioned I originally started out on the Yahoo! contributors network, and when they shut down, that loss of steady monthly income I'd come to expect between contract articles and page view pay really got me down. I almost gave up writing.

What's your favorite TV show?

"Doctor Who," hands down. 

What's your favorite snack? 

If it's chocolate, it's my favorite.

Is there a useful tool or resource you've used that you'd recommend to other bloggers? Maybe something other bloggers might not know about?

I actually don't use many tools, just classic Google keyword research, which if you don't use is an excellent option to look into. Mixing 2-3 high search phrases with 2-3 high advertising phrases usually equates to good traffic and good earnings.

Tell us about the most exhilarating moment you've experienced as a blogger.

I think it was that first holiday season. It was so exciting logging in each day to watch my site earnings skyrocket. I got like a Christmas present every morning--can't wait until next year!

You can read Amanda's blog at Life with Gremlins.  You can also follow her on Dealspotr, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. 

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