This post may contain affiliate links
Background
I am a new blogger with a handful of fun posts, a few subscribers, and growing pageviews. My blog is small & new, but isn’t that where we all start? This is a quick note, to those of you who are just starting out, with info on how I got started and how I started making money with my blog very early on. I am going to begin with a bit of background on how I started my blogging journey, but please feel free to jump to the bottom for the good stuff…I won’t be offended!
What Is A Blog
I just recently started reading and following blogs about four years ago. Before that, I thought of blogs as mainly glorified diaries. And for many people that is precisely what they are and that is great. However, it was only about four years ago that I realized that blogs also existed as a resource. My first experiences with blogs as a resource began with couponing and deal websites like CouponPro Blog, Krazy Coupon Lady and Southern Savers when I decided to dive head on into “extreme couponing”!
I quickly realized what a wealth of information was out there from other “real people” expressing information, tips, tricks and recommendations from their respective areas of expertise. One thing I noticed right away was the unique perspective found on each blog and the conversational tone with which the information was delivered. It’s relatable and feels genuine, in fact, a good blogger can draw you in and make you feel like an old friend. That’s typically what I look for when deciding on my new favorite blogs.
One other place that I spend a great deal of time {probably too much time} is Pinterest. I’ve been obsessed with Pinterest since the very beginning when I heard a story about it on the news a few years back. I remember thinking that the concept was purely genius! It was the perfect solution to the clutter I keep of magazines, recipes, and other inspiration! Now this was back when you still needed an invitation, which I kind of loved…hello exclusivity! Anyway, I was hooked from the get-go and have been in dire need of a Pintervention ever since! One thing that I never realized until recently is that the majority of Pinterest is simply a curation of images and links to individual blog posts! So if you love Pinterest, then you love blogs!
So I began paying much closer attention to blogs and referring to them regularly for the solutions to my common problems. I use Pinterest anytime I need to know how long and at what temperature to cook something, I use it for many of my breastfeeding questions, style inspiration, blue day quotes, and on and on. And when it came time to move out of my apartment, a couple years ago, I completed my move-out deep clean exclusively using fancy DIY homemade cleaning tips & tricks from a laundry list of blogs that I identified on Pinterest.
I Could Start My Own Blog
Then one day it occurred to me that I have tons of my own tips, tricks, and recommendations for a bunch of random parenting, budgeting, and family living topics. And I had forgotten how much I love to write. I could totally create my own blog! But how? I didn’t know the answer to that question. I was stuck. Until Pinterest came to the rescue again! I came across a blog post that explained how insanely simple it is to get started. You just need a platform and hosting…yes, I know…sounds complicated! But it’s SO not! You can literally get started in 15 minutes or less if you want to. If you want more guidance, I have a tutorial {HERE} that breaks it down to super simple, easy steps that you literally cannot mess up!
The Secret
I jumped at the chance and got started right then and there! And, as with everything, I began my intensive research on the best way to create and build my blog the “right way” from the foundation up. I dabbled for a while on my own and got everything looking OK, but quickly realized that I might need a bit more help. Just as I was coming to this realization I received one of those timely, life-altering emails from one of those lovely bloggers that I can’t get enough of, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner founder of Making Sense of Cents.
Number one, I think she is such an awesome person…so kind, open and helpful. And number two, she is wildly successful {that is if you consider earning over $110,000, in July alone, successful}! So I figured that if anyone knows the best way to get started blogging it would be Michelle! Anyway, her email was about an e-course training that she was launching about something called “Affiliate Marketing”…a term which I knew nothing about. But I was intrigued and the more I looked into it the cooler it sounded. So I was like, “OK, I’ll bite!” The course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, helped me with many basic blogging questions I had and introduced me to the concept of allowing your blog to blossom into a business. How about them apples?
What A Difference
The course was super easy to follow, was broken down into easy to implement steps and provided actionable tips & tricks to helps you get started monetizing your blog using affiliate marketing. I started the class in July, read all the way through it and implemented just a few of the suggestions right off the bat {I have no patience}. Those changes alone resulted in affiliate earnings of $259.86 for August…on my 3rd month with my small little blog! Now I’m going back through the course and slowly and intentionally working my way through the material and making changes as I go. We’ll see how September turns out!
One other random bonus from taking this course is that I’ve also come to know other newbie bloggers with all the same questions as me plus some SUPERSTAR successful, established bloggers who seem to know it all! There is an exclusive Facebook group that is part of the course so you can brainstorm with everyone!
One thing I realized in the few short months since I started this journey is how many awesome resources there are. Resources to assist new bloggers get started, build relationships, build traffic and even make money doing what they love. It is clear that lifetime learning will be a big part of my blogging life! I will share some of what I’ve learned in a later post, so stay tuned!
I recommend taking the course and getting starting with affiliate marketing sooner rather than later. Please know that some affiliate networks can be picky and require that you have met certain benchmarks before they will approve you, but one that seems to be quite easy to get approved under is Escalate Network. They work with quite a few companies and they also have deal & coupon offers! Go get ’em and report back!
ATTENTION FELLOW BLOGGERS & ENTREPRENEURS
Drumroll…so I have decided to roll out new Pinterest Account Management services and have a couple spots to fill just in case you know anyone who is looking. I know what a challenge it can be to get up and rolling with it. So I would love to help alleviate the confusion & headache! Check out my list of services HERE and contact me with any questions!
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