Blogging for a second income - does anyone else here do this?

Options
amandaf_3
amandaf_3 Posts: 17 Forumite
edited 21 August 2012 at 1:29PM in Boost your income
I'm self employed, originally as a web designer, and now earn around half my income through blogging (ads displayed on my site, paid articles, some referrals, etc). It's taken almost three years for my blog-related earnings to get to this stage, and is certainly not a "quick fix" for earning a second income. I'm now earning £150-£180 a month through my blog, which for me is wonderful, especially as it means I can earn this through doing something I love.

I've recently resurrected an old blog too, and have spent the past couple of weeks trying to publicise/get more readers to this site which in the long-run will help me earn from this blog too.

After reading through these threads, it seems that blogging is not mentioned as an income earner as much as I'd have thought. Are there any other MSE's who earn a second income from their blogs? I'd love to hear from you!

In case anyone is considering starting a blog to earn a little extra, here's a few things you need to know about it:
  • It's hard work and can take a long time to even earn a few pounds from blogging. You need to be serious about it, and follow it through for the long term. It's a proven fact that most new blogs are abandoned within the first 3 months. Which is a great pity, since it takes at least 6 months for a good blog to get a readership and start earning a little money. Think long term.
  • You'll probably need about an hour a day to blog (if not more) when you first start blogging. It's not only about writing posts. With blogging, the saying "build it and they will come" does not apply. You need to market the hell out of your blog and get people to visit it! Even the best writer on the planet would have a helluva job earning a blogging income unless they can get backlinks/referrals and get people to visit.
  • Blogs which do earn a reasonable income tend to write on a specific subject, rather than personal musings. I learned this the hard way. My first blogs were personal sites, but occasionally I wrote "how to" posts on a certain subject which were infinitely more popular than posts about my family/personal life. So I created a new blog on this particular subject. This blog now earns my second income, whereas the personal blog earns me next to nothing (though it is far older).
Please don't be put off though! I love blogging on my chosen subjects, and it's a privilage to me to be paid for what I do and highly enjoyable. And in case anyone was wondering, it's possible to start a blog for free. I use Blogger (as hosted blogs can work out pretty expensive) and simply pay for domain names (about £5 a year). My particular blog does require additional hosting for files, but that's a different story, and for 90% of people starting a blog no paid hosting would be required.

Anyway, I'm rambling now... I hope this post may prove useful to anyone considering blogging for a little extra income and would love to hear from any MSE's who blog too.

[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]
«134567…85

Comments

  • Fruitloops
    Fruitloops Posts: 882 Forumite
    Photogenic First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    Thanks for the info and well done on reaching the point you are at, from the little I know about blogging, that's quite an achievement :D and it looks like your hard work is paying off.

    I've been considering this for a long time and I keep going back and forth spending time looking into the best way to go about it. What would you say are the best ways to market your blog?


    Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
  • Alcmene
    Alcmene Posts: 652 Forumite
    First Anniversary
    Options
    What's your blog address?
  • amandaf_3
    amandaf_3 Posts: 17 Forumite
    Options
    Alcmene, I'm not sure of the rules about self promotion so I'll PM you my sites :)

    Fruitloops: the best way to learn how to blog is to actually do it ;) Don't worry about any costs to start with as Blogger.com and Wordpress.com both offer services for free which can be upgraded should you need to. I can't advise much about WP as I barely used it, though give me a shout if you need help with Blogger (I'm quite the expert with this!).

    I have never spent money on marketing my blogs, though I've read several success stories from those who have. My personal approach (which I'm using now to promote my second blog) includes:
    • finding some other blogs/bloggers who write on a similar subject and get to know them by reading these blogs, commenting, joining networks (Twitter for example)
    • Once you get to know other bloggers in your niche/get some visitors to your blog, ask them to help you market it too (votes/mentions in social networks, possible mentions in their blogs, etc). Tread lightly with this, and be sure to do the same in return.
    • Include your blog URL anywhere you can (signatures on forums, email sig, etc). I'm not sure we can post self-promotion links on the MSE forums though (anyone know for sure??)
    • Offer something of value for your readers, such as a download/pdf/other freebie relevant to your site. This REALLY works, and is what helped my main blog to become so popular (I offer free templates, ebooks and other goodies). What you may offer depends on what you write about. If you have an idea of what you want to write about, let me know and I could make a few suggestions for you.
    One really great resource is the 31DBBB course I'm doing now (totally free) from Problogger. It's already started but you can sign up anytime to start from the beginning. I can't post links yet as a new member, so google Problogger 31DBBB to find the sign up page (or I could PM you the link if you prefer)

    Hope this will offer some help to start with!
  • tiff
    tiff Posts: 6,608 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Savvy Shopper!
    Options
    I would like to learn more about this. Its something I've thought about but wasnt too sure what I was doing. I do have a blog that I could resurrect, what do I do from there? I have read Problogger in the past and will look up the course you mentioned.
    “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” - Dave Ramsey
  • competitionscafe
    competitionscafe Posts: 4,050 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    Yes, I do this too. Some people think of a blog as a kind of 'personal diary' type of thing but of course it can be about anything - it helps if it's a subject which interests you though as that will make it much more enjoyable. Just think of the blog posts as short articles. If you choose the right niche (one which has some income potential from affiliate programs and/or adsense but is not too competitive to rank for in the search engines) then it can provide a nice second income. :)
    "The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
    best of everything; they just make the best
    of everything that comes along their way."
    -- Author Unknown --
  • competitionscafe
    competitionscafe Posts: 4,050 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    amandaf wrote: »
    • I'm not sure we can post self-promotion links on the MSE forums though (anyone know for sure??)

    Not on MSE no - what you are allowed to do though is have your site in your profile (I have put one of my new blogger blogs in mine). Then when someone clicks on your username they will see an option to visit your 'homepage' which can be a link to your site / blog.

    You probably know how to do this but for anyone who doesn't:

    Just go to your user control panel:
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/usercp.html

    Click on Edit your Details on the left hand side menu.

    Then fill in your website where it says:
    If you would like to let other visitors to this site know the URL of your own web site, enter it here. Home Page URL

    And click 'Save Changes'. Job done.
    "The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
    best of everything; they just make the best
    of everything that comes along their way."
    -- Author Unknown --
  • Fruitloops
    Fruitloops Posts: 882 Forumite
    Photogenic First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    Thanks amanda! :D Lots of good info there. Could you PM me the link to the course and also, I wouldn't mind a peek at your blog too please!


    Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
  • competitionscafe
    competitionscafe Posts: 4,050 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited 1 July 2009 at 3:47PM
    Options
    Fruitloops wrote: »
    Thanks amanda! :D Lots of good info there. Could you PM me the link to the course and also, I wouldn't mind a peek at your blog too please!affiliates.asp?AffiliateID=41

    This is the 31DBBB free course Amanda mentioned, 31 days to build a better blog:
    http://www.problogger.net/31-days-to-build-a-better-blog-join-9100-other-bloggers-today/
    "The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
    best of everything; they just make the best
    of everything that comes along their way."
    -- Author Unknown --
  • lisa21
    lisa21 Posts: 497 Forumite
    Options
    thanks for the info Competitionscafe, I've been thinking about starting up a blog too, have got all my ideas etc just need to get it started. Will have a look at the course you mention. Oh, and I'd like to have a look at yours too please :p
  • competitionscafe
    competitionscafe Posts: 4,050 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    lisa21 wrote: »
    Oh, and I'd like to have a look at yours too please :p

    Just click on my username ;) Not sure if you were planning to use blogger.com (which is owned by Google and really easy to use) or Wordpress (which has a bit more of a learning curve to get started as you need to host your blog on your own domain (you need to use wordpress.org not wordpress.com if you want to use it for income from adsense etc). Anyway for Wordpress there are some free online videos here: http://www.affiliatemoneyrevolution.net/go/freevideos which are good basic intros to installing wordpress, modifying settings, using plug-ins, choosing a theme etc etc plus some videos on doing keyword research and choosing a niche. I just signed up for the problogger 30 day course as well. :)
    "The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
    best of everything; they just make the best
    of everything that comes along their way."
    -- Author Unknown --
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards