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

Meet Jamie:

minimalism + homeschooling blogger, 2 years in, making $1000/month – passively

Q: First, tell us a little about you and your blog income journey –

when did you start, what do you blog about, how much time do you put into it etc. I understand that you’re not blogging about blogging, so talking about your income in specific numbers is something you might not do – but IF you’re willing to share how much you earn on average in a month, we’d LOVE to know.

A: Hi!  My name’s Jamie and I’m a mom to a 3 year old, (almost) 2 year old, and 7 week old.  I started my blog Simple Living Mommy when I was pregnant with my 2nd baby and was just determined to make it work.  Everyone says not to start a blog if your only goal is to make money.  Well, my primary goal was to make money.  A side bonus (and goal I guess) was to use the blog as a creative outlet now that my conversations consisted mainly of poopy diapers and whether the baby had spit up that day.

I personally think it’s totally okay to start a blog to make money as long as you’re blogging about something you’re passionate about AND have some wisdom to offer.  A lot of my most popular posts I’ve written to parents that I’m in the trenches with (like how to handle toddler tantrums) and I’ve built a community that way.  My blog posts get tons of comments and I think that’s why.

When I first started, my initial goal was to just get 40 posts up so I could move on in the blogging course I was taking.  I posted a new post every day, Monday through Friday.  I worked tirelessly on the blog and grew it to $1000 in monthly income in just 6 months.

By then, our 2nd baby was almost 2 months old.  Soon after, postpartum depression set in and my blog – and the time I once committed to it – has never rebounded.  However, even when I don’t work on my blog AT ALL, it still brings in $1000 in completely passive income each month.

When I put more time into my blog and create new content, focus on marketing my best content with new pins, etc…I’m able to increase my income a bit.  I create mostly parenting / pregnancy content, but frugal living content and organizing content on my blog also do incredibly well.

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

A: I really think the secret is consistency and perseverance.  Even though I haven’t grown my blog as large as other bloggers, I did grow it much more quickly than I ever anticipated and that’s because I worked so consistently at the very beginning.  My goal is to get back to that and see what kind of growth the blog is actually capable of.

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

A: By far the biggest hurdle is time!

I don’t know how parents blog without neglecting their kids and living in filth lol.  I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but now I focus on things that actually matter – like Pinterest marketing and content creation.

Before, one of my BIGGEST hurdles was courses.  I spent so much time (and money!) buying every new blogging course that came out, made it about 25% through it, and then immediately bought another one.  So many of the courses I wasted money on were just the exact same information said a different way.

Putting my head down and putting the time in has eliminated so much stress from my blog life and has created more time for me to grow my business – even with a growing family.

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

A: My best advice is to start SEO at the VERY beginning!  Don’t wait until you have hundreds of blog posts to go back through and edit for SEO.  Do it now!  Also, start a blog about something you’re passionate about AND things you honestly know about…or are in the trenches learning about.

There are tons of people writing about topics just because they see other people making money writing about those topics. Just because it makes money for someone else doesn’t mean it will make money for you – especially if you don’t know what you’re talking about.  People search the internet looking for solutions to their problems.  Don’t put out content you have no clue about in the hopes of turning a profit.

Stay consistent, stick with it, and blog with your heart in the right place and it WILL pay off!  Oh!  And make some blogging friends.  Without mine, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I wouldn’t be blogging today.

Blogging requires a lot of late nights or really early mornings, especially if you have kids.  You’ll need someone to talk to and commiserate with who just gets it.

We’re all in this together and love to support each other and learn together.  You will almost definitely need to complain about something HTML related at some point and you owe it to your significant other and best friends to have people in your life that understand the blogging struggle.  My poor husband’s eyes glaze over when I start talking blogging, so he’s thrilled I have Carly and our crew to get advice from and he can stick to just listening. J

When you get to the point where you want to just give up and throw in the towel, just – keep – going!  Blogging is the best job ever!  Hang in there and you’ll make it!

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16 thoughts on “Can You REALLY Make Money Blogging (Without Blogging About Blogging?)”

  1. Hi Carly!

    Thank you so much for this massive post! I’ve read (and re-read) many of the pages.

    One thing real quick. I tried to pin from one of the pages (Paul’s page particularly) but an error occurred. It said it couldn’t find any pinnable images whatever that means. Would you like me to create pins for each page for you. I could use pins that already match your brand or you could check out my pin template designs (for free) and tell me if you like any of them.

    I’ll ask again on the facebook group just to make sure. 🙂

    Reply
    • ah, yes, i haven’t made images for all the pages yet… lol.

      Time is a bear. (pinnable images are SUPER IMPORTANT, do as I say, not as I do 😛 )

      Reply
  2. This is such an encouraging post! I am an interiors blogger and have been at it for two years, and have made peanuts. I was beginning to think there is no way to monetize this blog niche, but I just need to tweak some things and keep looking for the right formula. Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • There are LOADS of ways to monetize interior design!! It’s huge – don’t quit!

      Reply
  3. Yes! It always seems like those who make money blogging are blogging about blogging. It’s one of the reasons I really enjoy reading your income reports based off your mommy niche. You’re definitely a huge inspiration, and I can tell you’re extremely sincere and honest!

    Reply
    • <3 Thank you!!! I REALLY do try to keep it real ;) lol

      Reply
  4. Hi there,

    I really enjoyed and appreciated that you share your story in this article. There nothing like hearing people who are succeeding in there business venture.

    So again thank you so much for sharing and all the best.

    Reply
  5. This is just what I needed to read today. I honestly come back to your blog anytime I am going through a challenging task or having low page views. It’s so inspiring to see what a little creativity and tenacity is doing for other people’s lives. I hope one day I could be one someone’s list as a success story too. Thank you for writing this detailed post! It made a huge impact on me and is helping through a slower summer blogging month.

    Reply
    • I hope you prove me right too – it absolutely IS possible girl!

      Reply
  6. Hello Carly, as always I love reading your posts. Its so true if you stay focused and dedicated making money in any niche is possible.

    Reply
  7. I am about to start blogging for profit. I have seen Bluehost and Siteground mentioned in a few blogs including yours. In your opinion which is a better host and why?

    Reply
  8. Hi Carly! I’m a new mom blogger and I have to tell you, your posts and resources have really given me the confidence (and more importantly the knowledge) to be a blogger. I have zero traffic yet, But I’m working hard on implementing, and I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do. <3
    If you have a second to peek at my blog, I'd love your feedback, good or bad 🙂

    Reply

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