Products Archives - This Week in Blogging

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Publishing on IngramSpark

December 20, 2025December 15, 2025

When I decided to self-publish a book, my research into publishing companies led me to IngramSpark- often considered to be a gold standard in publishing.

As I was in a bit of crunch time to get my book out for the holidays, I leapt in headfirst and went all-in on the service.

While I would admit that I had a good experience with IngramSpark all around, there are some things I wish I had spent more time understanding ahead of time as it would've changed how I approached designing and releasing my book.

So if you're looking to publish a book, don't overlook these details!

Blog Spending Audit – Every Premium Blogging Service We Use

July 21, 2022March 22, 2021

Every so often, I like to do an audit of my business expenses to ensure I'm not overpaying for services or have recurring fees for things I no longer use.

As part of this, I've come up with a list of all of the premium services we use for our blogs be it via hosting, plugins, or other third-party tools outright. As I generally think sharing information like this is helpful for others who may look to improving their blogs (like with our list of WordPress plugins we personally use), I thought it'd be appropriate to share all of the premium services we personally pay for.

My motto when it comes to blogging services is to spare no expense to do things right. That being said, I am thrifty at times and adopt an 80/20 mindset to most things. If I can get 80% of the value at 20% of the cost, I will do it, which is why I pay for things like Keysearch which costs in a year what other SEO services charge for a single month.

So when I say that I pay $3,500/year on services you should instantly recognize that I am paying for quality things, often with multi-site licenses to run my seven sites, but have sought out deals via the 80/20 mindset when appropriate. As you likely do not run as many sites as I do, it is worth pointing out that single site licenses for the below would run about $1,200/year– so you can see that scaling becomes cost-effective in the long run!

So in this one, I wanted to discuss a bit about each service, rough estimates on single and multi-site prices, explain why we pay for them at all, and also highlight reasons why you may want to skip some services as well. Some are simply worth the price far more than others. And, as with everything, your mileage may vary based on your own unique circumstances.

*Note: This guide is for general blogging programs and services we pay for. It does not include advertising nor niche-specific purchases. For full disclosure, I pay an additional $3,000 to $6,000 a year in advertising across all my sites- mostly as a means to get new projects off the ground as opposed to promoting the more established ones.

5 Blogging Tasks to Look at When You’re Burnt Out on Writing

January 11, 2021

Oh, burnout. If you have been blogging for as many years as I have, burnout may as well be your middle name.

At some point, writing for your blog becomes a chore. This could be either in the form of writer's block, being discouraged at your current growth rates, or simply not being able to generate new ideas for your niche (as a travel blogger, I call this 2020).

Thankfully, writing is only one small component of what we as bloggers do. When I find myself dreading putting yet-another word online, I tend to take a step back and look at other activities I may be able to look at which benefit my site but do not necessarily involve writing.

In this one, I wanted to share a few ideas to help you get started if you are suffering from this as well.

Self-Publishing a Book as a Blogger with Jen Ruiz

August 24, 2020

Jen Ruiz sits down to talk about self-publishing a book.

It's a real pleasure to be joined today by the prolific Jen Ruiz, a blogger and author who has 4 books under her belt, but is aiming to have 20 or so books when all is said and done.

She's a shining example in the blogging industry of someone who understood exactly what her readership and the public at large was looking for, and then began to fill those needs. That may sound easy enough, but, as many bloggers will know, it can be all too easy to just do what we've always done, and stay in one comfortable lane.

And that's why it's good to have someone like Jen as an example. She decided to simply go for it in terms of self-publishing, and implicitly understood that she'd learn what she needed to on the fly. She's done exactly that, and that's why we're fortunate that she's taking the time to sit down with us and share some of that knowledge.

So what's Jen's story, anyhow?

Jen Ruiz is a lawyer turned travel blogger and author. In 2017, she set out to take 12 trips in 12 months while employed full-time before her 30th birthday. She ended up taking 20 trips, writing a book and stumbling on a new career path. Jen is a #1 Amazon bestseller and Readers' Favorite Award winner. She is also a TEDx speaker and has been featured by The Washington Post, Huffington Post and ABC News. Jen documents her adventures on her website, Jen on a Jet Plane, where she helps young professionals travel for less and experience more. You can find her across all social media at @jenonajetplane.

Alright, let's get to it.