How Red Ted Art Became a Crafting Sensation for Parents and Kids

Discover the creative mind and journey behind Red Ted Art, a beloved crafting blog that has captured the hearts of parents and children alike. In this interview, Maggy Woodley shares her inspiration for starting the blog, the unique story behind its name, and the strategies she used to grow her audience. From humble beginnings with toddler-friendly crafts to becoming a go-to resource for seasonal and holiday projects, Maggy reveals the secrets to her content creation process and the platforms that have been most effective for promotion. You’ll also read about the challenges she faced, the importance of SEO, and her advice for aspiring craft bloggers.

Join us as we explore the colorful world of Red Ted Art and the passion that drives its success.

Inspiration Behind Red Ted Art

SBS – What inspired you to start Red Ted Art, and how did you choose the name?

Maggy – I started working on Red Ted Art when my kids were very little. In fact, I had a small toddler and was pregnant with my second baby, and I wanted to find something I could do from home that would contribute towards the bills (especially taking childcare costs into consideration. In the UK, it is often said that women go back to work only for all their salary to be spent on childcare… They only really work to keep a “foot in” the workplace but with little actual financial gain!).

I came up with Red Ted Art because I had painted three pop art teddies for my son’s nursery at the time, and one of them was red!

Growing an Audience

SBS – How did you initially grow your audience and attract visitors to your blog?

Maggy – Oh, this was such a long time ago, so my memories are a little rusty (we are talking 14 years), but I am pretty certain that I originally grew the blog by getting to know both the UK and US blogging community — in the first instance via Twitter. There would be weekly photo challenges that you could join in with, which helped drive a little traffic. I sought out other weekly challenges (they were known as linky parties back then) that focused on kids and kids’ crafts, eventually starting my own.

Collaboration and (genuine) networking were key in the early days. Then, I started sharing on Facebook, and soon after, Pinterest was launched. Social media was key to my growth in the early days. Later, it became more about SEO and Google.

Crafting Content

SBS – Can you describe your content creation process for the blog? How do you come up with new craft ideas to keep the content fresh and engaging?

Maggy – These days, it tends to vary. I focus very much on seasons and what themes people are looking for. The obvious themes are things like Easter crafts and Christmas crafts. I tend to look for gaps in my content to fill and then brainstorm ideas around those gaps.

The other way is that I see something whilst out and about and think of something that I could make.

When the kids were little, my crafts often focused on picture books we were reading or things they wanted to play with — for example, the Dancing Giraffes Puppets (still one of my all-time favourite crafts) went with the Giraffe’s Can’t Dance book. When they were small, they thought I could make ANYTHING, and a trip to the toy store often resulted in us crafting when we got home. My DIY Pirate Ship is a good example of this!

Effective Platforms for Blog Promotion

SBS – What platforms do you use to promote your blog, and which have been the most effective?

Maggy – Currently, I use Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube. Pinterest is probably the most valuable traffic at the moment but it is difficult to get something to take off there. It used to be a lot easier.

My main focus still remains SEO and Google, and I’m also building my newsletter now!

Monetization Strategies

SBS – How do you monetize your blog, and what strategies have worked best for you?

Maggy – I was lucky that at the same time that I was growing, so were a number of fellow bloggers who started working with an ad company called AdThrive (now called Raptive). They basically rivalled Google Ads (which I did run on the blog, but I didn’t earn too much from that). AdThrive and a number of bloggers grew together to become a massive media company in the US. They now run all the ads on my website, and that is the main source of income for me.

I also earn a little through sponsored work — but it really has to be a good fit for me and my audience — for example, this Mindfulness Booklet Printable is a win-win for the sponsors and for my readers! It is such a cute craft, useful and free, too, thanks to the sponsorship collaboration. What is not to love?!

Overcoming Early Challenges

SBS – Can you share any challenges you faced in the early days and how you overcame them?

Maggy – Growth was the hardest bit at the beginning, so perseverance and regular content uploads were key, as well as making genuine friends and collaborating with fellow bloggers.

You do also have to be a little thick-skinned and not worry too much about what others think about you or your content. Just stay genuine, and it will all work out!

Balancing Content Creation and Personal Life

SBS – How do you balance your time between creating content, managing the blog, and personal life?

Maggy – Now that I have been doing this for 14 years, things are much easier (though they are, in fact, harder in some ways, as the internet keeps changing and you have to keep adapting). That said, I would easily do a 40-hour week in the past (stuffed in here and there through the week — evenings and weekends, etc.). Now, I very much work part-time. That is partly because my processes are more efficient (I can write an article in at least 1/3 of the time that it used to take me before), partly because I already have so much content (over 2,500 Kids’ Craft Articles), and partly because I have chosen to scale back a little bit.

SEO Strategies for Blog Optimization

SBS – What role does SEO play in your content strategy, and how do you optimize your posts? Google has been releasing a lot of algo updates recently. How does that affect your site’s traffic?

Maggy – SEO is really key, and I am very beholden to Google. I feel Google has the power to kill or lift up blogs, and that is a very hard space to work in.

ALL the bloggers I know have been significantly affected by the recent updates. Some people are only earning 10% of what they used. I have been significantly affected, too, but I am managing to still ride the way. Traffic IS down, but my ad revenue RPM is currently up. So the two do balance out.

The question is — will Google make more changes, and will things get “worse?” Now, I doubt AI will have a significant impact on our websites, too. The future is very uncertain. But it’s OK for now.

As an aside, it isn’t JUST the algorithms that have affected websites but also how Google displays its search results. Google uses AI to summarize its search results or highlight text from blog posts, so a Google user will often get their answer without the need to click through to the blog.

Benefits of Collaborations with Bloggers and Brands

SBS – Have you collaborated with other bloggers or brands? If so, how have these partnerships benefited your blog?

Maggy – Absolutely. Collaboration with other bloggers is KEY! Key on so many levels. On the simplest level, it means you have a community — aka friends and work colleagues. Blogging can be a pretty lonely job otherwise. It is important to help each other when you can..I have learnt so much from my fellow bloggers and I hope they have done the same from me.

Also, by having a community of bloggers, you can support each other by including each other’s work in blog posts or round-ups (this is what drives genuine link-building that Google approves of and wants to see).

Blogger collaborations are also amazing for things like publishing ebooks. Here is a wonderful example of an ebook that we wrote together, Camp Mom, and amazing resource for the summer holidays!

As to brands, as mentioned before, I now mostly only work with brands if there is a good fit with what I do anyway. Back in the day, I would do random sponsored work, and it never felt right. All the brand collaborations I have now HAVE to benefit my readers. Only this way will the results be win-win. Obviously, it means I earn, too! These hatching dinosaur printables are a lovely example of this.

Importance of Social Media in Driving Traffic

SBS – How important is social media in driving traffic to your site, and which platforms work best for you? Can you also discuss the importance of diversifying your traffic sources?

Maggy – I am currently (!) NOT a fan of social media. It is a massive drain; people often burn out and, like Google, social media networks LOVE to tweak the algorithms and NOT in your favour. My Facebook page is a prime example of this — I have 2+ million followers but barely reach anyone. I categorically refuse to become a slave to social media and jump through all the hoops to make the platform “like” me and my content more. I still use all the platforms, but I keep it as simple and time-efficient as possible.

The main reasons for still using them are:

• Hoping something still takes off (you never know!)
• Showing brands I am still active (many sponsors will want to see active social media accounts)
• Showing readers I am active (people do still check in on Facebook pages, etc.)

But time vs. income is not worth it for me.

Essential Tools and Software for Blogging

SBS – What tools or software do you find indispensable for running your blog?

Maggy – I use PicMonkey (back in the day, PicMonkey came before Canva), so I am very much grandfathered in to using that. I definitely need that on a regular basis to edit photos for the blog.

I also use Smallpdf for converting JPGs to PDFs if I am making printables, as well as my laptop’s video editing software.

That is probably it.

Advice for Starting a Craft Blog Today

SBS – What advice would you give someone starting a craft blog today?

Maggy – It is probably similar advice to how I started:

• Post regularly (at the beginning, I would say AT LEAST weekly, but ideally twice a week), and keep an eye on your stats to see what sticks and see if you can create more content like that.
• Try, try, try to be as original as you can. If you see things you like online, don’t just make them again (they are already online), but maybe see if they can inspire you to make something similar but different!
• Learn about SEO and what it means for your blog (in essence: keywords, headings, and labelling your images), and write naturally for your reader, but then edit a little for SEO.
• Make blogging friends! If I were to start now, I feel Instagram is probably the easiest way to connect and make friends right now. I would do this by searching hashtags and starting to regularly like and comment on like-minded Instagram accounts. Things will evolve naturally from there!

Future of Red Ted Art and the Crafting Niche

SBS – How do you foresee the future of Red Ted Art and the crafting niche in general?

Maggy – I have no idea. I know that isn’t a helpful comment. A couple of years ago, I was very positive about the future. With all the recent Google algorithm changes and the advent of AI… WHO KNOWS? I will be very grateful if Red Ted Art is “still here” and “earning” in 10 years’ time… but I am not expecting it to be. Sorry if that is a little gloomy!