Can You REALLY Make Money Blogging (Without Blogging About Blogging?)

​A: I have been blogging on WhatMommyDoes.com for 6 years and writing online since 2008. I started my blog as an outlet. I worked in a corporate tax accounting job before quitting to become a stay-at-home-mom in 2007, and after a few years at home, I wanted something to call my own. I built up my blog piece by piece over the years, slowly adding content as I had time during nap times and preschool hours and at night, and now I am a full time blogger!

For several years, I put in very part time effort on the blog as my family grew. Once my youngest turned 2, I started taking things more seriously and at one point I was working 40+ hours a week on blogging stuff. I couldn’t keep up that pace though so I’ve cut down quite a bit (and hired people to help me) so I don’t feel overworked. I’d say on average I work 20 hours a week at a computer and spend additional time brainstorming and delegating.

While I no longer share specific income numbers publicly, I have published many income reports which you can see here https://www.whatmommydoes.com/income-reports/

My blog earns income much the same way it always has with one main difference. I dropped sponsored posts in order to focus my efforts on my new site, Adventures in Blogging, which is where I teach bloggers how to grow traffic and monetize. I felt like this was a good trade-off because sponsored posts always stress me out anyway, and teaching other bloggers – especially moms – how to build a profitable blog is way more rewarding. 🙂

Q: Why do you think your blog is able to make money when so many others aren’t? What have you done differently?

There are so many reasons why some bloggers are more successful than others. I think I’ll share three in hopes that it helps different people!

1. I think one thing that sets my blog apart from others is my tenacity. I do not give up easily. I like the challenge of finding opportunities rather than waiting on them to come to me, and I also am not afraid to try new things.

2. I don’t like doing things that don’t impact my bottom line unless I just enjoy them. I take on all kinds of projects that aren’t the most profitable simply because I enjoy doing them. Getting paid to do something I enjoy is my definition of joyful entrepreneurship. Everything else gets looked at through a profitability lens, and if I can’t justify the work it requires or justify the cost of paying my VA to help me with it, then I pass. I turn down a LOT of opportunities, but it leaves me open to take the ones I enjoy and the ones that make the most sense for my business.

3. I approach my blog like a business (for the most part, except when I decide to take on not-so-profitable projects simply because I like the idea of them), and this means that I am quick to invest in solutions. I think this sets apart most professional bloggers from the rest. I invest in lots of things – courses/training to help me gain a specific skill set (multiple courses on the same topic if necessary), virtual assistant help so I don’t have to do it all myself, tools that I need to do my job properly (email provider, stock photos, landing page software, etc), and expert advice in the form of consultants when I’m truly stuck.

Blogs that make good money over the long term are always evolving and moving forward. The times in my blogging career when I’ve seen the least momentum are the ones where I’m just sitting around and worrying or waiting on something to happen. That’s my go-to mode, but I work very hard to get past that anxiety. It’s also why I hire assistants and consultants with strong personalities so they can help keep me on track. 🙂

Q: What was your biggest hurdle to earning an income with your blog… and how did you overcome it?

Learning all about how to capture emails was the big game changer for my blog. Then learning how to set up an autoresponder and write content designed to sell. I have a new course coming out to help with the on-page selling part, although it won’t be ready until later this month.

Q: Can you share you best advice for how to make money with a blog? 

​A: The best advice I can give anyone is that you need a plan for your content. Ad income is GREAT, but it cannot be your only plan. ​Free traffic that you get from Google, Facebook, and Pinterest is unpredictable. If you can get someone on your email list with the goal of helping them with a specific issue, you’ll have an audience to sell things to for a long time.

Never stop learning and trying new things. It’s easy to keep trying to make something work that used to do really well for you instead of seeking new solutions. I think it’s important to keep doing what works but also keep an eye out for the future of your business. Diversify your traffic and income streams and adapt to the changing environment. This way you’ll be well positioned to still be blogging many years down the road.

If you haven’t already created a product, I’d make that a priority. When you have your own product, you can control your destiny online. You can create a community around it and a thriving mailing list as well. Then you can get into paid traffic, which is where I believe you need to be to have an online business that can stand the test of time.