by Kasia | Jan 4, 2017 | Blogging, Business
Yesterday’s gone, tomorrow doesn’t exist and right now is all there is.
Yes, I’ve heard it too. But it doesn’t stop me from looking back over the past twelve months and thinking about what I want to do next year.
On a success scale of 1 to 10, where one is complete failure to ten being an epic success, I’d rate 2016 about a 6.
Am I being fair? I’m not sure. But here are just a few of the things I achieved.
✓ Started a new position with the same company at a higher pay
✓ Published Lethal Instincts – a prequel novella
✓ Published Lethal Aftershock – a sequel novella
✓ Drafted Lethal Games – book 4 in the Lexi Ryder series
✓ Ran the Mother’s Day Classic 8km
✓ Spent a week in Fiji
✓ Ran the Fiji 5km and came 3rd female (awesome!)
✓ Spent a week in Hawaii (epic!)
✓ Increased my social calendar activities by saying YES more often
✓ Started construction on the house (sort of)
✓ 15 Email Subscribers
✓ Sold 98 books
✓ Gave away over 1,596 books
But I don’t feel successful. I don’t even feel happy. It’s been an emotionally turbulent year and I’m working on getting all my ducks in a row. The most important is my family’s health and the rest will slowly fall into place.
Deep inside I’m feeling like a failure and that sucks big time.
I need to shift gears. Stop taking so much on and focus on the little things more.
In 2017, I don’t want to work harder. I want to work smarter. I also need to be grateful for the little things.
I’ve been meaning to write and publish this post for the past week. Call it laziness, call it procrastination, call it whatever you want but I haven’t been able to get motivated to do much writing at all lately.
Then it hit me: motivation isn’t going to come knocking on my door. I need to seek the motivation to keep me going forward with my dreams, with my goals, with the habits I’m chasing.
It’s up to me to make a change. Just the same as it’s up to you to create change, joy and excitement in your own life.
Imagine December 31st 2017, what are some of the goals you want to be ticking off your list? What’s important to you? How hard are you willing to work for what you want? Is 2017 going to be the year that you achieve your wildest dreams?
Do you find yourself setting the same goals each year?
Hmm, me too. I’ve noticed that my productivity wavers between the years. One year I’m all about hard work and achieving lots and then the next year is just a downer. It’s weird and frustrating and has to stop.
But I do have to learn to take it easy sometimes. Which is why this morning I spent two hours lying a blanket under a tree by the beach after dropping my son off at kindy then I treated myself to a nice lunch while I wrote and thought about what I want to achieve in 2017.
When you consider your goals you need to think about the following:
Do you really want it?
How hard are you willing to work for it?
What’s your plan for achieving them?
Are the goals difficult but realistic?
Can you break them down into bite-sized pieces?
MY 2017 GOALS
1) Start and finish the construction of my house.
That should finally start mid January and hopefully be completed by August. Fingers crossed. All the finance and paperwork and contracts are organised so it’s just a matter of the builder getting started.
By 31 December 2017 I’m living in my newly built home with my husband and son, and I’ve done up an awesome home office full of inspiration for writing.
2) Write and publish three fiction books and one non-fiction book (that’s 4 books in 2017).
There are four quarters in the year so one book per quarter. I can write a book a month, then spend a month editing and the third month preparing for publication. Ok, I’m being super optimistic here!
By 31 December 2017 I have seven books on the market which are selling, getting positive reviews and bringing me at least $1000 in side income each month.
3) Complete the 70.3 Ironman in Ballarat in under 6 hours.
This race is in December. I’ve did a 70.3 before I had my son and I’d like to do it again but giving myself a year to prepare rather than just the five months I had previously. There will also be a few fun runs and a half marathon (maybe a full) somewhere in the middle – signing up for these events keeps me motivated to train.
By 31 December 2017 I’ve trained hard all year, injury-free, and am comfortably finishing the 70.3 in under 6 hours with the bike leg under 3.2 hrs and the run leg under 2 hrs with my family watching on the sidelines cheering me on.
4) Earn $25,000 from freelancing, blogging, books and side hustles.
That equates to $2500 per month. While this figure won’t allow me to quit my job and work for myself it will help me reduce my mortgage and give me funds to travel.
By 31 December 2017 I have two websites that are getting 15,000+ views per month and are earning me an income through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts and products sales.
5) Travel to three new places this year.
The places on my mind are New Zealand, Barossa Valley and Tasmania. Earning extra side income will help me achieve this. The places aren’t set in stone though, I’ll be looking for specials throughout the year.
By 31 December 2017 I have spent a weekend at the Barossa Valley in April, followed by a week in Tasmania in July, and a long weekend in October in New Zealand.
6) Increase my personal savings to $15,000+.
While the mortgage is priority, I’d like to have cash sitting on the side as a safety net.
By 31 December 2017 I’m saving at least 15% of my income from each pay which has been automated as well as putting aside at least 50% of my side hustle income.
7) Read at least 78 books in 2017 of which 26 are non-fiction.
By 31 December 2017 I’m averaging about 1.5 books per week and getting through my Goodreads ‘want to read’ bookshelf.
8) Become a better writer
By 31 December 2017, I’ve developed good writing habits, I’ve challenged myself within different genres and styles of writing. I’m expanding my vocabulary and I’m constantly pushing my abilities to continue to grow as a writer.
These are just 8 of my goals for the year that will be conducive to my happiness and satisfaction. I’m being challenged physically and mentally providing me with the balance I crave.
How do you envision your 2017 turning out? What goals have you set for yourself? What are you going to achieve them?
by Kasia | Oct 28, 2016 | Blogging, Freelancing, Writing
Happy Friday! I can’t believe it’s Friday already. I swear the end of the work week rolls around faster and faster each week as we draw closer to December.
Did you know it’s just over eight weeks till Christmas?
Yes, it catches me by surprise every year. Worse now that I’m older and a mum.
I’ve been feeling a bit blah about my writing and everything in life the past week. It’s been a busy busy one as usual and instead of keeping up with writing articles and publishing them Monday to Friday, I’ve been reading them.
And I haven’t done a Friday Link Love in a while.
So cheers to Friday and here’s a few interesting posts I’ve caught up on this week that you might love to add to your ‘to read’ list this week!
7 Powerful Lessons from Learning to Reject Your Limitations on Goins, Writer.
We all have limitations, some more extreme than others. I couldn’t stop reading this article. There’s so much we can all learn and realise that we are the ones who place the limitations on ourselves.
What 200 Rejections Taught Me About Being a Freelance Writer on The Write Life
Rejection is a fact of life at some point or another. It’s even more certain when you become a freelance writer.
Being Authentic Matters at Horkey Handbook
Authenticity is hard to find, especially on the Internet. Gina talks about the ups and downs of freelancing and business and her honesty is refreshing. We should all stay authentic to ourselves and maybe then we’d all be closer to living our dreams.
7 Steps to Writing Killer Blog Posts That Actually get Noticed – and Read! at Problogger
I’m in the process of starting a niche site (more on that later), so I’m reading and rereading lots of articles on Problogger. There’s some great pointers in this article about writing awesome blog posts. Time to start putting them into practice!
Make Money Blogging: Lessons From 10 Successful Bloggers at Money Can Buy Me Happiness
Some great tips and ideas for making money blogging from experienced bloggers at various levels. I have a weakness for personal finance websites. I love reading them and writing them (have had one I write anonymously on).
Have a great weekend!
by Kasia | Oct 7, 2016 | Blogging, Writing
If you’re an author, you need a blog.
You write books not articles. You want to entertain with 100,000 word stories not quick two sentence paragraph quickies.
That’s fine.
You still need a blog.
If you want to find readers, build a platform and sell books, you need to be online and the best way to do that is to have a blog or a website.
Without an online presence it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get noticed. Yes, it’s hard online too, there are hundreds of thousands of blogs popping up left, right and centre. But that’s no excuse for you as an author to ignore the blogosphere.
8 Reasons Why As An Author You Need A Blog!
1 – Build an online platform for your fiction.
You can write about your writing process and how you research – readers love to learn more info about their favourite authors. That’s why I started a Piece of Me section on my website. It’s nothing major, just a little bit of space where I can share the trials and tribulations (and joys) of being an author-entrepreneur in the making without the pressure of putting together a blog post.
2- Build an online platform for your non-fiction.
It’s much easier to make money with non-fiction than fiction – apparently anyway. There are authors making a decent buck from both. You might be a fiction writer who wants to teach newbies how to get published and live their dreams. Having an online presence will make it easier for you. I’ve always wanted to write a How To book. Now’s my chance!
Related: HOW TO START AN AUTHOR BLOG!
3 – Grow an email list.
An email list is an asset. One that authors cannot be without. You don’t want to rely just on the platforms like Amazon and Kobo for your sales. You just don’t know when they’ll wake up one morning and decide to change the rules. An email list is potential buyers at your fingertips. Invest in them. Nurture them. And they will in turn reward you buy buying and loving your books. I’m still working on my email list. I was giving away one of my books for free and I’ll continue to do that but I’m also working on a free ebook for the business side of things.
4 – Improve your writing.
Blogging is a different type of writing than fiction. It’s conversational. It’s short and long, snappy and laboured. It’s what you want it to be. A blog can allow you to practice your craft and get instant feedback through comments. You can write articles related to your niche or even short stories or extracts from your books. If you like you can even publish an entire book online.
5 – Attract potential readers.
The more time you spend online publishing quality posts the more likely you are to attract readers who are going to love what you’re offering whether that’s fiction or non-fiction. As a writer I assume you want readers, right?
6 – Attract contacts.
It’s not just about readers. It’s also about being part of a community. Working with your peers. Supporting one another. Helping each other. Having an online presence with a blog will increase your chances of being sought by editors or publications, it will help you meet likeminded people (much harder to do in the real world!).
7 – Sell your books direct.
Whether that’s through your blog or website, you can sell your books without the middleman which means more profits to you and you make the rules and set the prices.
8 – Diversify your income stream.
Let’s be honest, writing books isn’t going to make most of us rich, nor is it going to let us quit our jobs and do the gig full time. If we win the lotto maybe, or if you find other income streams to support your book writing. A blog and a website can do just that. With it you can make money through Adsense, Affiliates, and Sponsored Posts, among other things.
What if you hate the idea of blogging?
I love to blog. I have so many ideas that I don’t have the time to execute so it’s hard for me to fathom that some people just don’t like blogging or don’t blog. There are a lot. Like 99% of the people in my circle of family and friends.
If you hate the idea of blogging don’t do it. But you at least need to have a website. A piece of internet real estate that will help potential readers find you. It’s like having a business and not listing it in the yellow pages or not having a Facebook page. It’s a no-no.
Have a website at the very least. You can then just include the bare necessities – about you, about your books, and how can readers contact you. Easy.
What can fiction authors blog about?
- Research
- Interview with other authors in their niche
- About themselves
- They’re favourite writing spaces
- Interesting facts about their life/characters/settings
- Plans for future books
- Upcoming events
- Short stories related to their novels or completely separate (don’t you hate when a book ends? You can do a short story spin off and publish it on your blog?
What can non-fiction authors blog about?
- Research
- Interviews with experts in your niche
- Expand on topics in your non-fiction books
- Facts and figures related to your niche
- How to articles related to your field
What are some of the different types of blog posts you can write?
- List posts – probably the most popular
- Tutorial or how to
- Essay types
- Reviews
- Stories
- Profiles
- Interviews
- And much more!
Are you ready to start an author blog? You can check out my post on How To Start An Author Blog here!
Do you have an author blog? What do you write about? Have you found benefits in having a blog? Share your experience in the comments below!
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by Kasia | Oct 4, 2016 | Blogging
Do you like a challenge? Do you like pushing yourself to your limits and beyond to see what you’re made of?
Me too.
Whether that’s with writing, working, running or any other facet of my life I’m one to avoid the easy route and aim higher. Things don’t always go according to plan but at least I can say I’ve give it, whatever it may be, a go.
In October I’m challenging myself to post every day, Monday to Friday. That’s 21 blog posts in 21 days. I figure having the weekends free will take the pressure off.
Doable?
Sure is. I actually planned to do this last month and the month before but life got the better of me – as it often does when you’ve got a job, a toddler and trying to get started on building a house that just doesn’t seem to want to be built.
Why am I adding a blogging challenge to the mix?
I’m afraid I’ll get bored. Hahaha, no, I need to take Writerly Pursuits to the next level. I need to get a lot of the ideas in my head out into the world before my brain explodes.
But blogging isn’t enough. Write and they shall come is not a good mantra. It doesn’t work like that anymore. Maybe when blogs first started emerging you could write and the audience would magically appear but that is not the case anymore.
Today it’s much harder to earn your readers trust and interest.
There’s so much noise out there that there are no guarantees of success. Talent isn’t enough. A lot of people have talent. Unfortunately, not all are successful.
I have noticed one thing though, slow and steady wins the race. Consistency and discipline are vital.
What do I want to get out of a full month of blogging?
◆ Double my page views.
◆ Attract regular readers.
◆ Help writers achieve their dreams by showing them it’s possible.
◆ Sell more books.
Join me.
You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain. There’s no need to do it every day. Maybe aim for every other day or three times per week. Choose an amount that is easy then add ten percent to stretch yourself a little. You might be surprised at what emerges.
Not sure what to write about? Here are a few topic ideas to get you started:
✓ List post
✓ ‘How To’ post
✓ Tell a story
✓ Opinion piece
✓ Share an experience
✓ Do an interview
What to expect over the coming weeks?
⁃ How To Write A Novel series of posts (writing a novel is simple but it isn’t easy)
⁃ Interview with authors selling books (yes, there are many indies swimming in book sales)
⁃ Different income streams available to writers (you don’t need to be a starving artist)
It’s easy to make excuses about not having enough time or energy. In October, I’m quitting with the excuses and getting down to work because no one else is going to do it for me.
I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone too.
by Kasia | Aug 8, 2016 | Blogging, Business
Blogging is simple but it ain’t always easy. While we hope to get it right the first time, the reality is much different. We are going to make a lot of blogging mistakes. I’ve been blogging for 8 years and I still make mistakes, sometimes I even repeat a few, especially when life gets in the way.
So, I rounded up some awesome bloggers to share with you a few of the blogging mistakes they’ve made and included some of my own.
Learning from others mistakes will save you time and money. We all want more of both, don’t we?
Check out these common blogging mistakes and how you can fix them.
1 – Not getting advice on the technical side of things.
HTML. CSS Codes. SEO. What the? I’m still not comfortable with these terms but I’m learning. Unfortunately, it took me a while to realise that although this is a one-woman show, I can’t succeed without the assistance of others. It’s my business but a business requires support staff or people who know more than I do, especially when it comes to the technical side of things.
How to fix it?
Hire a VA. Get someone to look over your website. Make sure theirs looks great first and they have some experience. Hiring a VA was the best thing I’ve done for my writing business. I am only one person and I cannot do everything myself, at least not long term.
“A blogging mistake I made in the beginning was probably having no clear focus or plan for my blog. I started my blog entirely as a hobby, so I didn’t really do much research on blogging, instead I just went with the flow and winged everything. If I could go back, I would have taken it a little more seriously in the beginning. My blog posts from the beginning are scary to read, haha!”
“Another blogging mistake I made was that I spread myself too thin. I thought that the way to be a successful blogger would be to start several blogs. This made me tired and I didn’t have much love for my other blogs that I created. Instead, I knew that Making Sense of Cents was my one true love, so I sold the rest and focused again on my main website. It was a great decision!”
“With all of the above being said, I don’t believe in regret, haha. I think that everything I did made me and my blog into who I am today, and I am very happy with how everything turned out. Everyone has to learn somehow!”
Michelle from Making Sense of Cents
2 – Forgetting the value of plugins (not knowing what they are and what they do).
Ok, there are so many plugins available for your WordPress site that It’s not always easy to figure out what you need. Not all plugins are created equal and before you go installing them all you need to figure which ones you need to get the most out of your website.
How to fix it?
Look at some of your favourite blogs. How do they look? What functions do they seem to have that yours doesn’t? You can always email the owner of the blog and ask them or search for plugins using keywords. Google is also great. Type in ‘must have plugins for bloggers’ and see what pops up.
Plugins will provide you with a lot more functionalities than just the bare bones of WordPress. You need them to run a successful blog.
3 – Ignoring relationship building (you can’t be a successful blogger with online relationships!)
As in real life, it’s more with who you know than what you know. I’m an introvert and like to do things myself. It’s not easy for me to connect with others and that’s a skill I need to work on. Relationships are imperative to your success as a blogger. Take your time to get to know people and make sure to be kind to everyone that you cross paths with.
How to fix it?
Reach out to your fellow bloggers. Find someone who’s awesome and send them an email. Ask if they offer guests posts (free or paid), write epic stuff for them if they do, have a chat, remember the holidays, promote them on social media. Be supportive of their work. It’s the little things that can make a huge difference down the line.
“My biggest blogging mistake was blogging in the dark. I was pumping out 7 posts a week and waiting for the world to read them. After six months, I finally started networking with other bloggers and being active on social media and it boosted my reach, even though I was only posting three times a week or less.”
“My second biggest mistake was writing whatever came out of my mind, without worrying about optimization. A long title that has nothing to do with what is in the post won’t incite readers to click. Adding a few keywords and a better headline can go a long way.”
Pauline from Reach Financial Independence
4 – Not doing any promotion of my blog posts.
How do I expect to get readers without marketing and promotions? Ten or fifteen years ago it may have been easier to get discovered by readers organically. With today’s competition (hundreds of thousands of new blogs each year), it’s easy to get lost amongst the flock. I wrote and expected readers to find me. I laugh at this now but there was a moment in time where I thought I would give up because I didn’t realise what I was doing wrong.
How to fix it?
You don’t know what works and what doesn’t so just do as much as you can and that includes using all the social media like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin, Google+. Share it on your business sites and personal ones too. Join blog networks. Engage readers and get them to share your content too.
“Not engaging with other bloggers in the same niche enough. I initially thought that I would write and people would just visit my site organically, like they somehow would just happen across my website – naïve, I know.”
“The other big mistake is that I tried to push out too many articles to make my site look “lived in”. I thought quantity was more important and quality, and it just isn’t.”
“Stop spending so much time thinking about Google and other search engines. All that leads to is incessantly looking at stats and trying to improve rankings, not improve content and user experience on the website.”
Glen from Monster Piggy Bank
5 – Should have spent more time commenting on other blogs in and around my niche.
Commenting on your peers blogs is one way to build relationships, get your name out there and become part of a community. It’s also easier to then make direct contact with the blogger(should you require advice or an interview or just to offer them praise. Bloggers love getting comments, especially if they create a conversation.
How to fix it?
Find ten blogs in your niche and start commenting on them after each blog post. Just makes sure it’s more than ‘Great post’. Comment with value, engage in conversation. Sooner or later readers are going to flock to your blog too and start commenting. After you’re comfortable with the ten, find another ten, and so forth. Obviously you want to spend more time writing and promoting than commenting on other blogs but at the beginning it can make a difference. Once you have more people coming to you you can limit your comments to once a week on the blogs you love the most.
6 – Proofreading and formatting – yes it matters.
I get excited and I rush things. Delayed gratification, what’s that? End result is an article or book or post with errors that could have easily been avoided had I spent an extra ten minutes going through my work. Duh!
How to fix it?
Use the spell checker and then print off the page, let it rest an hour, then read it slowly as a reader. Circle any spelling or grammatical issues, words missing, words repeated. Fix them up. Edit the writing, rewrite what’s necessary. Give it to someone else to read through. You want to be as close to error-free as you can get. I can’t proofread on screen I’ve done it and made mistakes, ones that made me cringe and want to give up on blogging but instead I turned it around to a lesson learned.
7 – Not starting with WordPress.
WordPress rocks. When I first entered the blogging arena I went straight to Blogger. Big mistake. WordPress is just so much easier to use and has so many better functions and is more visually appealing.
How to fix it?
If you’re new to blogging check out all the different platforms available. I wish I started with WordPress from the onset. It’s just so much easier to use and has more functionalities. Do you want to start a blog? Check out this post on starting an author blog.
“Choosing a unique niche – Many bloggers start out with too wide of a net. To be a travel, food, or fitness blog is not enough. There are thousands and thousands of general topic blogs in each of those spaces. You have to stand out. I started out as a food, travel beer, and wine blog. Being a little bit of everything brought me zero followers. Nobody knew what my brand was. You have to niche down. One way to do this is to do something epic – make a pledge to visit every winery in California or spend 100 days eating real food.”
“Seriously think about your blog name – You will be stuck with it forever as re-branding is very difficult. Don’t choose it on a whim. Test it. Research others in your space with similar words. Check for social media handles. Ask your friends what they think. I came up with mine – The Wandering Gourmand – after polishing off a bottle of wine. Six years later and I hate it. Nobody can spell or pronounce gourmand and half the travel blogs out there use the word Wandering.”
Bryan from The Wandering Gourmand
8 – Trying to do the same thing and expecting a different result.
Aren’t we all a little bit guilty of this one? I know I am. But slowly that’s changing. If something isn’t working there’s no point in trying to bang down a door that standing against a brick wall.
How to fix it?
You need to be more aware of what you are doing. Analyse everything. What results are you seeing from your writing and your marketing? Are some topics more popular than others? Are you getting more traffic from one source than another? These are important pieces of information. Note them down. If something isn’t working figure out why and change it.
9 – Not focusing on the audience enough.
It’s my blog but I’m writing for you, my audience. I think for a moment I forgot what the real intention of this place was.
How to fix it?
What makes other blogs successful? They offer useful and engaging content for their readers. You need to do the same. Emulate them. What’s your blog’s focus? How do you want to help your readers?
One mistake I made when I first started is not updating my blog enough times during the week and on a consistent basis. When I first started, I decided I’d publish a post every Wednesday. I managed to do this most of the time, but there were definitely some weeks where I didn’t write at all. I’d get busy and put my blog on hold. I soon realized this was not a good strategy. It’s important to update your blog frequently and consistently — that’s key to building a strong brand.
A second mistake I made is not promoting my own content. When I first started, I would publish blog posts but for some reason, I never found the courage to share the blog posts I wrote. I’ve learned that you have to dig deep and find the confidence to share your work with the world. After all, if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will?
Maryanne Akinboyewa
10 – Not taking chances.
You need to take chances to get anywhere in life. That’s one thing I forgot to do.
How to fix it?
Do things that scare you. Take chances with writing, marketing and reaching out to people. Say ‘yes’ more often. Embrace change.
Want a challenge?
Open up your blog and start going through it. Look at your home page, blog page, your about page, etc. Make notes on what you like and don’t like about them. What are some things that can improve them. Write it down.
Each day/week tweak your blog, no matter how small or big, to make it better.
By the end of the year you’ll have changed the trajectory of your blogging business and hopefully improved it in more ways than one.
What blogging mistakes have you made? How did you overcome them?
![Can You Really Make Money Blogging?]()
by Kasia | Jul 17, 2016 | Blogging, Business
$200 per month. $3000 per month. $15,000 per month. $170,000 per month.
These are just a few of the figures jumping around the blogosphere. Bloggers are making a killing with their words, online communities and traffic.. It’s not pocket change. In fact, it’s income that supports their families, businesses, and lifestyle. All of this passive income means bloggers can ‘retire’ much earlier. Can you imagine pulling in high five figures each month just from writing a few posts on your blog?
Ok, so maybe it’s not as easy as that but it is that simple.
Can you do it too?
If they can, so can you. Right?
Yes, anyone can make money blogging but not everyone will.
Blogging is more than just publishing a few posts each week. The bloggers making a living from their words and promotions have a strategy in place, and audience who loves them, and the ability to sell themselves.
While there is still a lot of opportunity to make money online through blogging, it’s by no means a get rich quick scheme. It takes effort, time, dedication and perseverance. Cash flow isn’t guaranteed and it’s likely that you’ll have to spend money to make money but that’s like any business, isn’t it?
So can you really make money blogging?
Yes, you can. But you have to be willing to treat it like a business from the get go. Sure hobby blogs might earn a couple of dollars here and there from Adsense. Some might even grow to be hugely successful and evolve into businesses. But why take the chance?
If you want to be a successful blogger making money you need to be in it for the long haul, with a topic you enjoy, and the willingness to experiment.
Here are just a few blogs who are making money blogging. Some have been at it a few months, some many years, they come from various backgrounds, but all share their love of blogging and helping others.
If these bloggers/writers/travellers/entrepreneurs can do it, so can you.
How are they making money?
Affiliates
The one thing that all of these have in common is that they earn money through affiliates. You can affiliate yourself with a company or brand and sell their products or services through your blog. When someone clicks on the link and makes a purchase you receive a portion of that. Sometimes it’s 4% sometimes it’s 50% depending on the affiliate you are recommending.
Freelance writing
Another income stream is freelance writing. Write blog posts and articles for publications and you can make anywhere from $20 per article to $2000 depending on your experience and who you are writing for. If you want to be a freelance writer, check out 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success Course at Horkey Handbook.
Adsense
Adsense used to be popular. While it doesn’t generate as much income as it once did, it’s still a source of revenue worth trying if you do it properly.
Private ads
If you have a wide readership you might find companies or organisations willing to spend the extra buck to place ads on your website. You can charge whatever you like for these but obviously the higher your traffic the more you can charge for ad space.
Products
Why not create your own product? You can offer a service (eg. coaching) or a product (eg. course or ebook) and have a passive income stream that keeps on paying. Once you create a product you can sell it for as long as you want. There’s no time frame. Classics still sell today. Courses might need updating but you can continue offering them year after year with just a few tweaks.
Virtual Assistant Services
With more blogs popping up in the blogosphere, there’s been an increase in the demand for virtual assistants. If you enjoy helping others, are good with words, have strong attention to detail, know your way around social media and wordpress among other things, you might want to offer VA services through your blog. If you’ve been thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant and working from the comfort of your own home working with business you’re genuinely interested in, why not sign up for 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success today.
These are just a few little ways bloggers make money. Some are stepping stones to something bigger, others are permanent gigs that provide variety, and a few might even become semi-passive income streams.
There has never been a better time to get started with a blog. Want to get started today? You can start your own blog in less than an hour! Click here to find out more.
What are you waiting for? Have you made any money blogging this month? What’s your most successful revenue stream? How long did it take you to start earning an income from your blog?
