From $0 to $875 a Day: Here’s How I Make Money Blogging!

Hey there, fellow dreamers and digital hustlers! I’m here with another mind-blowing update from my blogging journey. I remember when I used to stare at my computer screen, wondering if anyone would ever read my posts? Well, pinch me because I just hit a new milestone – $875 in a single day! 🎉

Mediavine ad income Oct 13, 2024

The Spark That Ignited My Blogging Fire

Let’s rewind a bit. A few years ago, I was just another 9-to-5er, scrolling through social media during my lunch breaks, dreaming of a life where I could be my own boss. Then, I stumbled upon a blog post by “Just a Girl and Her Blog” by Abby Lawson where she shared her income report making over $40k a month. My jaw dropped, my eyes widened, and suddenly, I felt a spark ignite inside me. Seeing Abby’s success made me realize that making serious money through blogging wasn’t just a pipe dream – it was a real possibility.

Inspired by Abby’s journey, I dove headfirst into the world of blogging. I spent countless hours researching, learning, and honing my skills. As I grew in my blogging journey, I started compiling a list of successful bloggers who were making over $50k a month. This list, which I later published on my blog, became a source of constant inspiration and motivation for me and my readers.

Curating this list was like creating a roadmap to success. Each blogger on that list represented a different path, a unique strategy, and a wealth of knowledge. I’d spend hours poring over their income reports, dissecting their strategies, and imagining myself in their shoes. It wasn’t just about the money – it was about the freedom, the creativity, and the chance to impact lives while doing what I love.

Taking the Leap – From Dreamer to Action-Taker

With fire in my belly and dollars in my eyes, I decided to take the plunge. I remember the day I hit “publish” on my first blog post. My hands were shaking, my heart was racing, and I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump into the unknown.

But you know what? That leap of faith was the best decision I ever made.

Finding My Voice in the Blogosphere

At first, I was all over the place. One day I’d write about fashion, the next about cooking. It was a hot mess, and my traffic reflected that. I realized I needed to niche down and find my unique voice.

After some soul-searching (and a lot of trial and error), and since I was on maternity leave at the time, I found my sweet spot – helping others navigate the wild world of motherhood. This site became UrbanMamaz. It felt like coming home. Suddenly, my words flowed more easily, my audience grew, and I started seeing those first few cents trickle into my account.

Related: Best Ways to Make Money on Maternity Leave

The Pinterest Puzzle – Cracking the Code to Monthly 200k+ Sessions

Now, let’s talk traffic. Because let’s face it, without eyeballs on your content, you’re just shouting into the void. And for me, Pinterest became my secret weapon.

Here is a screenshot of my Pinterest analytics dashboard from the last 30 days—I managed to get a mind-blowing number of 243.74k clicks to my site and over 18M impressions!

I remember the day I discovered the power of Pinterest for driving blog traffic. It was like finding a hidden passage in a video game – suddenly, a whole new world of possibilities opened up.

I dove headfirst into Pinterest strategies. I studied pin designs, experimented with different posting schedules, and obsessed over analytics. It was a lot of trial and error, but slowly, I started to see results.

The key? Consistency and quality. I made sure to create eye-catching pins that reflected my brand and provided value to my audience. I also focused on creating content that solved real problems for my readers.

Here are some of my top tips for getting over 200k sessions a month from Pinterest:

  1. Create Pinterest-optimized images – Vertical pins with a 2:3 aspect ratio perform best. Use bright, eye-catching colors and clear, readable text.
  2. Use keywords strategically – Pinterest is a search engine, so use relevant keywords in your pin titles, descriptions, and board names.
  3. Pin consistently – I use a scheduling tool (Tailwind and Buffer) to ensure I’m pinning regularly, even when I’m busy or on vacation.
  4. Create fresh content – Pinterest loves new content, so try to create new pins for your blog posts regularly.

Before I knew it, my monthly sessions from Pinterest skyrocketed to over 200,000. It was like watching a snowball effect in real-time – the more quality pins I put out, the more traffic I got, which led to more engagement, which led to even more traffic, and most importantly, my monthly revenue and financial freedom! 

Learn more about my Pinterest strategy here. 

Monetization Magic – Turning Clicks into Cash

With traffic flowing in, it was time to focus on monetization. I diversified my income streams, because in the blogging world, you never want to put all your eggs in one basket.

  1. Display Ads – This became my bread and butter. I remember the day I joined Mediavine, the ad network I work with to monetize my site with ads. I was so excited! Just a few days ago, I published a post about how I made $519 just from display ads—I thought I was dreaming! And now, I’m publishing another blog post about how I broke that record and reached $875!
  2. Affiliate Marketing – I only promote products I truly believe in, and my audience appreciates that authenticity. Amazon Associates was my starting point, but I’ve since expanded to other affiliate programs in my niche and in the blogging and social media realms (which I touch on in this blog).
  3. Digital Products – Creating my own digital designs allowed me to earn more money while building passive income streams. At first, I started selling on Etsy (see my shop here). Then, I launched my own shop on WordPress (check it out here), and recently, I started my own print-on-demand (POD) shop to sell products on Amazon Merch. Here’s a post I wrote about this!
  4. Sponsored Content – This was the first way I made money from a blog, earning about $500 per sponsored post. However, I eventually decided to explore other monetization methods that were less time-consuming and required less chasing after brands.

The $875 Day – A Breakdown of Success

Just when I thought I had hit my peak with that $519 day from display ads, I managed to shatter my own record! This new milestone of $875 in a single day is a testament to the power of constantly pushing for growth.

$875 is only the revenue I made from displaying ads on my blog on October 13. However, my daily revenue is even higher because, on top of that, I also have sales from my digital products, affiliate marketing, and POD products I sell on Amazon Merch, which are not included in this calculation.

This incredible day wasn’t just a stroke of luck – it was the result of months of hard work, strategic planning, and continuous optimization of my blog and social media accounts. 

I’ve been focusing on creating more high-value content that keeps readers on the page longer, which has significantly boosted my RPM (Revenue Per Mille) TO $78! Here is my Mediavine dashboard screenshot from that day:

Challenges and Growth – The Rollercoaster Ride

Now, don’t get me wrong – this journey hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. I’ve had my fair share of challenges:

  • Algorithm Changes – Just when I thought I had Pinterest figured out, in late 2020 and early 2021, they changed their algorithm, and my Pinterest traffic suddenly dropped to zero without warning—for a whole month and a half! Naturally, my monthly revenue took a hit too. I wrote about this in more detail here. Then, just as suddenly, my traffic bounced back like nothing had happened. This experience taught me to be mindful of how algorithm changes can impact my blog traffic and the importance of diversifying my income streams. It’s a constant game of adaptation.
  • Work-Life Balance – When your office is your living room, it’s easy to blur the lines between work and personal time. I’ve had to learn to set boundaries and create a dedicated workspace (still in my living room LOL but in a separate corner).
  • Content Creation Burnout – Consistently creating high-quality content can be exhausting. The truth is, when you run a business, you never stop thinking about it—I literally think about how to improve my blogging strategies 24/7. Whether it’s growing traffic, selling more digital products, or finding new income streams, it never really stops. But I’ve learned the importance of taking breaks. I’ve taught myself to step back regularly and recharge my creative batteries.

Even though I still have a day job (not because I can’t quit, but because I enjoy it and don’t want to let it go yet) and my daily life is hectic, especially with two kids, I’ve embraced mindfulness and started practicing meditation. It’s really helped me relax, take things a bit easier, stop chasing crazy daily goals, and truly enjoy the work I do.

  • Hire Freelancers – What really helped my business grow was hiring freelancers and building my own team. Even though I don’t have a massive team, I’ve worked with a few freelancers for years and still do. This allows me to delegate daily and weekly tasks, freeing up my time for more strategic work. I feel less exhausted by the daily grind, which helps me create better content for my site, build stronger funnels, and ultimately grow my income.

But each challenge has been an opportunity for growth. I’ve learned to be flexible, to set boundaries, and to believe in myself even when the going gets tough.

The Importance of Setting Long-Term Goals

This is something I started doing in the last year or so—setting clear income goals and planning ways to achieve them. I don’t know if it’s luck or if seeing these goals every day keeps me focused and more determined to reach them. But it works!

Over a year ago, I set a goal for myself to hit $5,000 in monthly income. I called it my “Retirement Plan” from my day job. I figured that would be enough for me to quit my job and focus solely on my blog. I took a big white poster and drew “$5,000” on it with my kids’ markers, lol. Next to it, I wrote the due date and broke down the income streams to achieve it.

Six months later, I hit that goal and even surpassed it, making $11K in one month. Here’s the blogging income report I published back then. 

Now, I’ve set my next income goal at $15,000 a month, with a due date of November 25. But I think I’m going to reach it even sooner—by the end of this month, October 2024. This is definitely a habit I’ll stick with!

Looking Ahead – What’s Next?

Hitting $875 in a day is amazing, but I’m not stopping here. The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and I’m excited to evolve with it. 

Here are the things I’m currently exploring:

  • Video Content – With the rise of YouTube Shorts, I’m dipping my toes back into video content. It’s a whole new skill set to master, but I’m up for the challenge! The truth is, I posted a series of videos on YouTube a few years ago that performed really well, but due to a lack of free time, I stopped publishing new content. Running a YouTube channel takes time—you need to film, edit, and promote the videos. So, I started a side project with a food YouTube channel where I publish recipe videos. My next step is to create another channel focused on making money online to support this blog.
  • Community Building – I’m working on creating a stronger community around my brand, possibly through valuable weekly newsletters. I want to build a space where I can connect directly with my readers and provide quality content along with important updates. You can sign up to my newsletter here 🙂
  • Diversifying Traffic Sources – While Pinterest has been my main traffic driver, I’m also exploring other social media platforms like Facebook and additional Pinterest profiles to diversify my traffic sources.
  • Scaling My Digital Products – I’m working on my blogging course, expanding my POD side project on Amazon Merch, and, when I have time, developing more products for my Etsy shop.

Your Turn – From Reader to Blogger

If you’re reading this and feeling that spark of inspiration, know that you can do this too. Here are some resources to get you started:

Remember, every successful blogger started exactly where you are now. The key is to start, stay consistent, and never stop learning.

Final Thoughts – Your Journey Awaits

As I wrap up this post (which, by the way, is way longer than I intended – thanks for sticking with me!), I want to leave you with this: 

Your journey is unique, and your voice matters. The blogging world is vast, and there’s room for everyone.

When I started this journey, inspired by Abby from “Just a Girl and Her Blog,” I never imagined I’d be where I am today. But with persistence, continuous learning, and a willingness to adapt, I’ve built a blog that not only provides for me financially but also allows me to help others achieve their dreams.

So, whether you’re just starting out or you’re looking to take your blog to the next level, remember that every big success story starts with a single step. Your $875 day is waiting for you – are you ready to chase it?

Until next time, keep dreaming big and blogging bigger!

P.S. If you found this post helpful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and fellow aspiring bloggers. 

Sign up to my weekly newsletter here to stay updated and be the first to know when I launch my blogging course.

Let’s grow together! 💖

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