As someone who’s been blogging since 2009, I can say it’s one of my favorite side hustles, and I’ve certainly learned a lot about it during that time.
For one, I’ve found the writing to be a great creative outlet and a powerful medium to reach a wide audience. (Although the podcast has grown much faster.)
But it was a loooooong time before my blog made any real money, and one of the mistakes I made was not having a focus. I would write about whatever came into my head; current events, our travels, our dog, and occasionally I might throw in something about business or marketing.
There was no coherent theme or really any reason for someone to stick around unless they were interested in me personally. In 2013, I narrowed the focus of my writing to be about side businesses, and that’s when the site traffic started to grow.
If you want to start a blog of your own, check out my free 6-part video tutorial series that walks you through:
I had a lot of fun creating the free “how to start a blog” course and hope you enjoy it too!
Whether you already have a blog or are looking to start one, here are some of the best blogging-related articles and podcast episodes from the archives:
I compiled a binge-worthy selection of blogging podcast episodes from The Side Hustle Show into this playlist. I think you’ll like it!
Enjoy!
In October, I sold a website.
It wasn’t a 7-figure, never-work-again type of exit, but when the funds were deposited, it was the largest single amount ever to hit one of my accounts.
I love stories like Katie’s! In just two years Katie Emery has grown her blog to an average of $6,000 a month in revenue.
The niche? Helping women transition to natural gray hair.
After dying her hair for 25 years, Katie decided to go gray without regret. Still, she had questions about the transition, but couldn’t find the answers she wanted online.
Are you struggling to get traction with your blog?
Are you concerned your niche is too competitive or you’re starting too late?
If so, you’re going to come away from this episode with loads of actionable tips to put those questions to the side.
What would it take to make the 4-Hour Workweek a reality?
Since we last caught up, this stay-at-home-mom blogger has been on a mission to automate and simplify her business.
Yes, by request, Rosemarie Groner from BusyBudgeter.com is back for a 4th round on the podcast!
Can you really get paid to answer questions?
That’s exactly what Debbie Gartner from TheFlooringGirl.com does – and her answers are earning her $20,000 a month.
Note: Click here to download Carol’s top tips for starting and growing a paid membership community from this episode. A small blog doesn’t have to mean a small income. By helping a specific group of people solve their problems, Carol Tice has attracted more than 1500 members — at $25 a month — to join … Read more
Now that I’ve been an ActiveCampaign customer for over a year, I wanted to share a review of my experience so far.
In this post, I’ll go through why I made the change from AWeber, and in-depth look at the pros and cons of Active Campaign.
Kimberly Gauthier has been running KeepTheTailWagging.com since 2011, but things really started to take off when she niched down her focus to raw feeding for dogs.
Raw feeding is basically the paleo diet for dogs — attempting to mimic their ancestral diet.
Her blog had than 2 million page views last year — almost entirely from organic search in Google, and she’s monetized the traffic with a few different income streams.
A few years ago, a side hustler named Brock McGoff reached out to me with a guest post pitch.
The post detailed how he was making, at that time, $4,000 a month, from his blog about men’s fashion, on the side from his day job.
Since then, Brock has turned TheModestMan.com into his full-time focus, into a 6-figure income, and into a media empire that expands well beyond the blog itself.
Marc Andre made over $1.1 million dollars from his photography hobby.
But what’s interesting is that he never got paid to take pictures, he never sold any of his photos, and he never held any photography workshops.
So, what did he do instead?
