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Hobby Blogger to Making an Income – How to earn money; my insights and journey to making an income from my food blog.
Pinch me. I can hardly believe that I am writing a post about making an income blogging. Seems crazy to me!
Where I Began:
I remember that very first day that I made a couple pennies from ad income here on the blog. I literally did a happy dance in my living room. I was over the moon excited.
Who knew that I could do what I love and make a few bucks? I certainly didn’t. I definitely started my blog as a hobby. When I first started, I wasn’t even sure what to focus on. There were recipes and marriage posts and parenting posts. And I’m still passionate about all those things.
But over time, I realized that I had limited time (just like we all do) and in order to focus and fine tune I had to cut some things out. So in 2014, I cut back to posting mostly recipes. I rarely blogged on any other topics because I wanted to be a better photographer. I wanted to be a better food blogger. I wanted to focus on quality over quantity.
Looking back, that was definitely a good decision. Did I miss writing about the other things? Sure. But I wanted a more focused blog. When people come to my blog I wanted them to know why they should stick around, I wanted to offer them great recipes with excellent photographs. Because I was more focused on my content, page views increased significantly and so did my pennies.
Why I Started Pursuing an Income:
Money. It’s good and it’s evil. It certainly comes in handy when you need a few things. But with it, you can bless people and help your family financially. I am in a place now where I am passionately pursuing a full-time income so I can alleviate some burden.
My husband is my treasure. He’s been working 50+ hours a week every week for the last 13 years so I could be a stay at home mom. Last year my youngest went to school full day. Now I can pursue other things during the time the kids are in school. Because of my husband’s dedication and hard work I desperately want to earn a full-time income. Any income I can contribute to the family will be less burden on him. If I can help with the bills, that will take much of the pressure off his shoulders after all these years. It’s my hope to be making a full-time income by the end of next year.
I’m very passionate now about turning my part-time income into a full-time income. So, I’m really excited to be part of Crystal’s launch team for her newest book, Money-Making Mom: How Every Woman Can Earn More and Make a Difference
This book is practical for whatever stage of blogging or creative business you decide to take on. I love Crystal’s advice and even though we don’t get to see each other on a personal level she’s been a blogger mentor to me from the start. As a matter of fact, her blogging posts on Money Saving Mom gave me a lot of the help and advice I needed to start this blog.
Crystal truly gives you practical knowledge on how to pursue something you love and how to make money doing it. The book includes how to start your own business and how to grow it. And best of all, how to live more generously with what we make.
If you preorder the book now, you’ll receive a free 7-day online course, Crystal’s top 10 productivity tools and be able to be a part of a live Q & A call to be able to ask questions! Hurry! Order now. Pre-order freebies expire on November 2nd. To get the freebies head over to Money Making Mom Book and fill out the simple form.
3 Ways I Make Money Blogging:
1. Advertising:
I make money on all the ads you see here in the sidebar and footer of my blog. About 6 months ago I signed on with AdThrive after trying several other methods. I am so happy with them. I no longer have the headaches of figuring out what’s working well and what isn’t. AdThrive has made this part easy for me.
Other methods I’ve used in the past include:
2. Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are a great way to make income. With sponsored posts, you can either work directly with a brand or you can work through a 3rd party like CleverGirls, Tap Influence, and Social Fabric.
For sponsored posts, you represent that brand. Here’s an example of a sponsored post I’ve done for Kitchen Aid. This particular one I worked with a 3rd party. But I represent KitchenAid for this recipe, showcase their product, share links to their site and in return, I get paid a set amount.
3. Affiliate Links
An affiliate means that you place a tracking code on your site and if someone clicks on it you earn a small percentage of that purchase. You can be an affiliate for large and small companies. Amazon is a great one to start with because nearly everyone shops at Amazon and the sky is really the limit on what they have to offer. I am also an affiliate with TailwindApp, my awesome Pinterest marketing and scheduler. Tailwind saves me so much time. I’m also an affiliate Cents of Style (because I love their products!) and several others.
Companies that I currently work with to find affiliates that suit my blog are: ShareASale and CJ Affiliate
Blogging, like many peopl, have said, is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. However, if you’re passionate about what you do and you’re willing to work hard, you can make it work. Small progress over time can result in great things.
You’ll definitely make some mistakes like we all do, but through those failures you learn so much. If this is your dream, I say go for it! Give it your all and see where you end up. Most likely you’ll be glad you took that leap of faith.
Til we meet and eat again,
FOLLOW ALONG : Gather for Bread
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I’m a fairly new blogger (six months today!), so your post is really encouraging. I am starting to see a little income trickling in, and I would love to increase it. I am a full-time teacher (as well as being a wife and mom), but I would like to have the freedom to teach at any school that I want. Right now I’m working in a public school because of the pay and benefits, but I would love to be able to have more options. Thanks for the encouraging article!
I’m glad I could encourage someone like you Sarah! Keep at it if you love it. It can be difficult to find time with so many things to balance. But just do the best you can without stretching yourself to thin.
And congrats on 6 months. That’s great! 🙂
I am also relatively new to blogging and so appreciate your practical encouragement. Sometimes the slowness can get discouraging, the reminder to keep working is so important. My husband also works long hours so I am able to stay home with our kids and homeschool. I am so blessed by him, but I know he feels the weight of that responsibility. I would love to be helping him with our income, even in a small way.
I agree. Sometimes it’s had to see the light at the end when it can be a struggle to get off the ground. I certainly feel blessed that I can earn a little off of doing something I thoroughly enjoy.
It’s a blessing you’re able to be with the kids every day. I’ll pray that God will open up doors and practical ideas for you to be able to bring in some income.
I appreciate you stopping by Sarah! Have a great weekend.
I love this post – it’s exactly where I am. Figuring out how to transition from hobby to part-time income {if not more}! Loved reading our story and I think your site looks great!! 🙂
That’s a great place to be Sarah! Just don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t happen right away. Just be persistent and you’ll get there.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words!
I certainly learned what NOT to do when I started out. I think I did everything wrong, but thankfully I’ve learned a lot and I’m earning money too! This is a great post, and so helpful to new bloggers!
That’s what I did too Marcie. You live and learn. Thank goodness there’s always tomorrow. And it’s a world where things change so much too so I think there’s always grace for that.
Thanks for stopping by and for your kindness!
Thank you for the encouraging post! As a new blogger, I like reading the stories of others who have pursued their dreams!
Yay! To being a new blogger. There’s so much to figure out. Glad I could offer encouragement to you. Keep your chin up, work hard and you’re sure to be great!
Thank you so much for this post! I have been blogging on my blog freetocook.com for almost a year and I feel the same way about my site as you wrote about here. I try a little each week to improve upon another area and this last week I worked on gaining more income and using some of the tips that Crystal has talked about! I am looking forward to reading her new book as well for more tips!
Congratulations on making money blogging. I am also a fellow blogger who focuses mostly on food, although I have a lot of sponsored and review post to write in the next few weeks. You might enjoy this post I wrote for Blogelina about increasing traffic to your food blog. http://blogelina.com/2015/07/30/3-ways-to-help-increase-traffic-to-your-food-blog/
And you are right about quality or quantity. So important. I also read a great book on food photography that helped me get on foodgawker and tastespotting. I wrote about it here. http://www.homeecathome.com/the-home-economist/how-i-am-improving-my-food-photography-and-i-finally-made-it-onto-food-gawker-and-taste-spotting
Wonderfully written, Melanie! Congratulations to you on making this transition. I’ve been working hard on this goal myself, and greatly appreciated your practical encouragement! The leaps of faith are worth it, as I just had one of my best blogging income months yet. I’d love to be able to earn a full-time income to give my hard-working husband some flexibility, too. Here’s to dreaming big along with you!