54. Let’s Pay Less: Do I Need to Pay for a Standalone Website?

[00:00:00] Stephanie: Do you really need to pay for a standalone website in order to generate long-term passive traffic and sales? Couldn't Pinterest or all in one blogging platforms get the same results? Let's chat about it. Welcome back to the podcast. It's the last week of the month, which means it's time for another installment of the Let's Pay Less series.

[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.

[00:00:55] Instead, we weigh out the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision about how to spend your marketing dollar bills. This month we've been focusing on building a passive traffic machine that can bring you sales on autopilot. These episodes might've had you wondering if the only way to generate passive income is with a website.

[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.

[00:01:42] So the TPT search bar would probably do the heavy lifting for your sales, but then you would also share your product links to Pinterest. And we know from a previous episode that Pinterest is a very strong search engine that can power a passive traffic strategy. And it is possible to leverage that search engine without having an actual website.

[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.

[00:02:32] You would be able to spend . But now let's talk about some of the cons I've shared about it on the podcast before but Pinterest gives business accounts the ability to claim a website property and associate it with that business.

[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.

[00:03:19] So you might find that you don't get a lot of traction on the TPT directed pins that you create, but maybe you get some traction and it's worth the effort for you, so it's just something to keep in mind. Ultimately, you might decide that the pins you're working hard to create, just don't get as much traction as you want since they're going to a URL that you can't claim as yours.

[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.

[00:04:12] And these all in one platforms include a website or blog as one of its features. And so these platforms could include like Kajabi you've probably heard of, or Podia. These are digital product platforms that include features like email marketing, blogging, and a lot of other things. So one pro of using something like this is that it's really streamlined and easy to manage because everything's in one place.

[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.

[00:05:08] But all of this support comes at a cost, and that is the major drawback of this option. These all in one platforms are quite spendy, and they also don't have the same customization options as you have when you build your own website. And then depending on how you set up your blog through that platform, your SEO likely won't be as strong as if you hosted a blog on your own website.

[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.

[00:06:02] It really doesn't surprise me when I hear that people wonder if they really need a website, because let's face it, there are a lot of moving pieces involved in setting up a website. There are costs associated with things like hosting and registering your domain name and finding a theme, getting all of your security in place.

[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.

[00:06:54] They've had a few videos really take off and you get to watch their follower count just skyrocket. I just think that's so fun. But like clockwork, these creators always set up their own websites as part of their brand growth because they realize that they need that security of having a platform that is completely theirs.

[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.

[00:07:46] But if you're looking for long-term stability and sales for your business, a self-hosted standalone website might be an investment that you wanna consider sooner rather than later. I hope that this episode has given you some food for thought, if you're on the fence about setting up a website. Or if you're, you know, in the 2025 economy looking to streamline your costs and your website is on the chopping block.

[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.