Today I want to introduce you to Jodi Carlson. Jodi runs a blog in a very specific niche—Girl Scouts—and she’s doing exceptionally well. Many people assume a narrow niche limits earning potential, but Jodi proves otherwise. Even blogging part-time, she brings in roughly $7,000 per month from her site.
Jodi spent 25 years as a Girl Scout leader and works full-time as a web designer. She combined what she missed about leading troops with her web design experience to create a profitable, focused blog that helps other leaders plan and run troop activities more easily.
Since launching her blog four years ago, she’s faced many challenges—from rebranding due to copyright concerns to building a devoted audience. Her story is inspiring because it demonstrates that a narrow niche can be a viable and profitable path for blogging.
Today she earns income through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, a line of digital products, and a thriving email list. Her enthusiasm for the topic is clear and contagious, and her journey shows that anyone willing to put in the work can succeed with a niche blog.
In this interview we discuss:
- How she monetizes her blog
- Strategies she used to increase page views
- How she crafts content
- The biggest challenges she’s faced
- Her top tips for new bloggers
And more.
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What’s your background, and what is your blog about?
My name is Jodi Carlson. I’m a mother of two and work as a web developer at an insurance company. I also run a profitable part-time blog that began from a childhood wish—at age six I told my mom, “I want to join Girl Scouts.”
After high school I continued volunteering and became a Girl Scout leader for the same troop my mom started for me. With more than 25 years of Girl Scouting experience, I thought I’d be a leader forever. In 2015, after having my son, I stepped down because balancing a troop and a child wasn’t possible. I missed the planning aspect, though, so I combined 25 years of Scouting knowledge with over 10 years of web design experience and launched a blog to help other leaders run troop meetings more easily.
The blog is a practical resource for Girl Scout leaders to simplify planning. Although my background is in Girl Scouts, the content also helps leaders in similar organizations such as Girl Guides, Frontier Girls, and Heritage Girls. I’m not affiliated with or endorsed by Girl Scouts of the USA; this site is driven by a passion for supporting leaders and inspiring girls.
How long have you been blogging?
I’ve run LeaderConnectingLeaders.com part-time since 2014. Early on I treated it more like a personal journal and didn’t have a strategy until mid-2016. At first I had a small following and posted mostly to share ideas with the leaders I knew. Over time the blog became a serious project with intent and goals.
What motivated you to get started with the blog?
I didn’t start the blog aiming for traffic or revenue. I wanted to document activities I repeatedly planned for my troop and share them with local leaders. After stepping down as a full-time leader in 2015, I wanted to stay connected to the organization, so I invested more effort into the site to help leaders in my community.
In June 2016 my family faced unexpected medical bills and growing student loan pressure, and I began taking the blog seriously as a potential income source to help with debt. I studied other bloggers, evaluated competition in my niche, and realized there weren’t many similar resources online. That gap presented an opportunity to create valuable content and monetize creatively.
What makes your blog profitable?
My revenue comes from several sources:
My own products: A significant portion of income comes from digital activity booklets for leaders. These booklets, priced between $4 and $8, include everything leaders need to teach specific badges, run parties, and organize games. I currently offer 65 products and add new booklets monthly.
Advertising: I began with Google AdSense and later joined the AdThrive network once I surpassed 100,000 monthly page views. AdThrive manages ad placement and optimization, and my ad revenue roughly tripled since joining.
Per Month Page Views January 2018: 106,080
Per Month Page Views October 2018: 109,544
Affiliate: I added Amazon and Etsy affiliate links early on with little success until I invested in the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course. Implementing lessons from that course significantly improved my affiliate revenue, and I plan to expand further.
Sponsorships and Partnerships: This is a growing revenue stream. Examples include sponsored posts, product reviews, collaborative activity booklets, and a patch set I designed that another company sells—earning me royalties. Because my niche is small, I’ve had to be creative, but being early to provide needed resources has created strong partnership opportunities.
What are some strategies you have used for building up traffic in such a small niche?
Pinterest has been the primary traffic driver—Girl Scout leaders use Pinterest heavily. Early on I focused on Pinterest to attract visitors, then captured emails through a mailing list so I could maintain contact with loyal readers. Word of mouth among leaders helped growth too.
After Pinterest, I expanded to Facebook in early 2017. My Facebook page and boosted posts helped reach a wider audience. I share not only my content but also helpful resources from other creators—bloggers, parents, and even competitors—because I want readers to find the best options for their troops. This openness has built trust with my audience.
Over time, organic search also increased for specific badge-related keywords. Many badges had scarce resources online, so posts that fill those gaps often rank well in search results. I don’t chase SEO aggressively; instead I write posts that address real leader needs, and organic traffic follows.
How have you grown your email list?
Email has been essential for keeping my most engaged readers connected. My list receives updates about new activity booklets, flash sales, timely ideas tied to holidays and events, and a monthly digest with curated ideas plus a personal note. My list now has 7,665 subscribers.
People subscribe in exchange for a free bingo game and a 10% discount on their first booklet. I make signing up easy with forms at the end of posts, a sidebar form, and a first-time pop-up. I also created a landing page for the Juliette Gordon Low bingo game and promoted it on Pinterest.
My email list screencap November 2018
How do you write great content that performs well?
I’ve experimented a lot and settled on a system that works. First, I organize content by scouting levels and create categories for each. I also maintain broader leader resource categories—troop management, fundraising, games, parties, and events. Some posts are evergreen; others are seasonal and perform best at particular times of year. I plan content so successful posts can be reused and reshared annually.
Second, I follow a consistent pattern for badge posts: each new activity booklet is paired with a blog post offering 3–5 free ideas so leaders can take immediate action. Within each post I link to the paid booklet for those who want to skip planning, and I cross-link to related resources on my site to keep readers engaged and using more materials.
Finally, posts that compile resources from other creators perform extremely well. One of my most visited pages lists 22 websites to help run a troop successfully; it aggregates useful external resources and continues to attract traffic long after it was published.
How much have you earned from your blog? How has it grown over time?
When I started, I earned around $100 per month—enough to cover a small expense. Over five years, I grew that to roughly $6,000–$9,000 per month from digital booklet sales, ad revenue, affiliates, and partnerships. Those figures are before taxes and expenses like paying virtual assistants. My blog now brings in more than my day job, enabling me to start paying off the debt that motivated me to grow the site.
My mother has been a major support: she ran my troop for years and returned as my first virtual assistant when I refocused the blog in 2016. Together we contribute decades of scouting experience to create activities for girls from kindergarten through grade 12. Growth has also allowed me to hire another VA to manage social media design, freeing me to focus on creating booklets and writing.
Income fluctuates by season—summer tends to be slower—but I’ve developed ideas to keep readers engaged during quieter months.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced and obstacles you’ve overcome with your blog? If you had to start over, what would you do differently?
I’ve learned many lessons. Some mistakes were costly but ultimately helpful. Key lessons include:
- Choose reliable hosting: I had frequent downtime early on and lost traffic during periods of growth. Switching to a better host was necessary but disruptive while the site was live.
- Avoid copyright and branding issues: I started with domains and branding that created confusion with established organizations. When a major organization raised concerns, I had to rebrand and clarify my independence. That challenge led to a broader niche and stronger community support—the rebrand ended up boosting traffic and profits.
How do you find partnerships in such a small niche?
Finding partners requires creativity. I approach it two ways:
- Grow readership: I join Girl Scout Facebook groups to share free ideas, offer advice, and engage with leaders. Pinterest and my Facebook group help gain visibility through contests and shareable content.
- Build partnerships: I share my story on podcasts, guest posts, and blogs that reach entrepreneurs and parents. These appearances led to partnership inquiries. I’ve also partnered with patch companies and other vendors whose products leaders need and love.
What is next for your blog?
My long-term goal is to move to blogging full-time. To reach that, I’m working on several projects:
- Collaborations with other experienced leaders who produce great resources
- A product line of leader-themed merchandise
- New camping programs to offset slow summer months
- Continued expansion of badge activity booklets
- More free resources for leaders
- And many additional ideas—the opportunities are wide open
What’s your advice for bloggers who are just starting out?
I’ve gained a lot of practical wisdom over five years. My top tips:
- Don’t expect overnight riches. Building a profitable blog takes time and consistent effort.
- Follow and learn from bloggers who inspire you, even in different niches. You can adapt successful tactics to your own audience.
- Start your mailing list from day one. Your email list is one of your most valuable assets—every email boosts engagement and sales.
- Invest in education when you can. Courses from experienced bloggers helped me apply proven strategies to my niche.
- Hire a virtual assistant when affordable so you can focus on what you enjoy and do best.
Where can we go to learn more?
I’d love to connect. Even if Scouting isn’t your focus, the strategies I use apply to any small niche. Feel free to follow or reach out for ideas.
- Blog: https://www.leaderconnectingleaders.com
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/leaderconnectingleaders/
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/leaderconnectingleaders
Are you interested in starting a blog? What would you like to write about?