My Blogging Journey: Humble Beginnings
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This might not be what you want to hear, but I’m not here to tell you that I’m making 6 figures per year on my blog.
That’s right. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’ve made a whopping 76 cents. I launched my blog on January 21st with absolutely no idea what I was doing. Luckily, my fiancé did a coding boot camp and is software savvy, so he’s helped me with most of the backend setup stuff.
Of course, my goal is to someday make some money from this blog. I set up my Amazon affiliate links, so that’s a start. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say “I make 45k a month from my blog!” but a little bit of extra money would be nice.
What I am here to tell you is that if you’re looking to start a blog, and have no idea what you’re doing, and don’t “make $1,000 your first week,” you’re not alone. As I trudge ahead in my blogging journey, I want to share my real experiences, good and bad, no fluff. I’m not going to stretch the truth just for clicks or sell you some sort of nonsense course that I pulled out of thin air. I’ll tell you what works for me and what doesn’t. I’ll tell you my successes, and also my failures.
So, here’s what I’ve done so far.
1.) I already have a small following on other social media platforms.
Yep. I already have nearly 4,000 followers on my Instagram account, so of course I got 400 website visits on the day of launch. People tend to leave this part out I think. It’s not impossible, of course, to start a blog without already having a group of followers you can basically “transfer over,” but it sure does help.
2.) I didn’t pick a “niche.”
Every single “blogging tips” post I’ve ever seen has said to pick a very specific niche- I clearly have not done that, hence the name “everything at once.” Maybe that’s a mistake on my end, or maybe it will help me pull in a diverse crowd of viewers. I have yet to be able to say for sure… That will come with time.
3.) I started posting on Pinterest.
I’m up to about 5,000 impressions this week, which I am pretty proud of… But my pins aren’t getting very many clicks. This will definitely be a learning curve, but I’ve heard that Pinterest is one of the best ways to promote your blog. What I have found is that clean Pins that are easy to read get the most engagement.
4.) I signed up to be an Amazon Associate.
I read that affiliate links are one of the best ways to make money from your blog, so I went for it. I’ve made 76 cents so far as I can tell, but I have 8 other purchases in progress, so maybe I’ll make a little over a dollar this week. A win is a win.
5.) I’m experimenting.
Honestly, right now is just a time of trying different things and seeing what works. I’m throwing down some SEO stuff, a keyword here and there, hoping that my content is stuff people will even want to read. I don’t have all the answers right now, and I’m too cheap to pay for one of those courses that promise success and wealth in the first month of starting your blog. Maybe there’s something to them, maybe I’m making a mistake. I guess we will see.
I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but I feel like I’m off to a good start. Bookmark this page and stay tuned for future blog updates to hear my real, raw experiences about trying to start my own blog! Comment any tips, tricks, or questions you have down below :)
