Question / Discussion Is there anyone on here already earning a part time salary blogging?

[Queen Jess]

Hi - I just wondered if there was anyone already on here who was earning a part-time salary (or more!) blogging?

I'm wondering whether it's like one of those startup business statistics where the vast majority of people fail!

 

[Jon]

Hi - I just wondered if there was anyone already on here who was earning a part-time salary (or more!) blogging?

I'm wondering whether it's like one of those startup business statistics where the vast majority of people fail!

Myself
@katykicker
@Chammy
@The Reverend has started earning money from theres and is getting some good paid ops

it takes a while so don’t expect a miracle overnight but as long as you keep heading in the right direction the paid work will come

 

[The Reverend]

Hi - I just wondered if there was anyone already on here who was earning a part-time salary (or more!) blogging?

I'm wondering whether it's like one of those startup business statistics where the vast majority of people fail!

I suppose it all depends what you mean by 'part-time salary'. I have earned very little from my blog but that is mainly my fault. I write what I want, when I want, and rarely do I go out looking for paid sponsored posts.

There are loads of people who look at blogging as a business and that works, in varying degrees of success, for them. They put in the amount of time they want and they get the 'rewards' that come with that.

You can start a blog for very little money. The Host Presto offer of £33 for a year will keep the costs down and with a bit of effort on your part, you'd earn that £33 back.

It does require effort though, and that is where most people fall down.

The other thing you have to think about is whether you are happy being paid money to promote anything, and how 'hard and fast' you want to play with the ASA guidelines. If your morals are loose then there is plenty of sites where you can get content, and cash, for a very low price. If you are happy promoting gambling on your blog then you'll find more money opportunities. I don't do either so I can't help too much on that stuff.

What I do is write about things I want (recent post about tea), write about things I'm interested in (the Cycle to Work Scheme), write about money making oppertunities (10 passive income/premium bonds/other free cash offers), and I've had 2 sponsored posts in nearly 4 years. I'm not retiring off my blog income anytime soon, but it continues to improve and I will investigate other ways to help bring in income from it.

People make full-time salaries from blogging. Amounts of money you'd not believe. You'd also not know who they are or recognise them if you passed them in the street. The one thing they will all tell you is that blogging isn't passive, you must constantly have content. You also need content readers will engage with if you want to earn Affiliate income from it.

The Internet is massive and there is always room for another blog. Spend the £33 and see if it works for you

Thanks,

The Reverend

 

[Queen Jess]

Thanks for that really detailed reply! I don't mind putting the effort in, but was wondering whether it was mainly effort related or more like starting up a business where most people fail for a number of other reasons.

I think I was really looking for extra cash and ultimately some sort of part time salary to give me something to fall back on if I lost my job. I know it takes time to build up though and I don't mind that either.

I also plan to write what I want, although it is turning out a bit different to how I expected it to be at the start! It is however personal finance based. I will give it a go, but got lots of content to write before I can launch. Of course I might find I don't enjoy it.. only time will tell on that.

 

[Jon]

Thanks for that really detailed reply! I don't mind putting the effort in, but was wondering whether it was mainly effort related or more like starting up a business where most people fail for a number of other reasons.

I think I was really looking for extra cash and ultimately some sort of part time salary to give me something to fall back on if I lost my job. I know it takes time to build up though and I don't mind that either.

I also plan to write what I want, although it is turning out a bit different to how I expected it to be at the start! It is however personal finance based. I will give it a go, but got lots of content to write before I can launch. Of course I might find I don't enjoy it.. only time will tell on that.

The money is there if you want to make it

I think a LOT of people struggle in blogging with the fact that everything is on you

content writing, promotion, improving your site, backlink building, guest posting, getting contacts, approaching companies for work etc.

Nothing is spoon-fed to you and as long as you are disciplined enough as you would be with any other business that is just starting out you'll be fine

 

[Chammy]

I'm very much part-time - I'm a full-time student at the moment so studies take priority over blogging. For the last 2 years I've done the bare minimum but because I put a lot of effort in before uni when I was earning a full-time income, part-time means I only spend a couple of hours on my blog a month, automatic schedulers do my social media work and I bring enough in to top up my uni finance. My exam is today and then I'm basically finished until October so I've promised to very much work on my blog and maybe double my part-time income ready for my final year.

I think those who give up are the ones expecting the money to come rolling in. They add Google Ads to their site and expect it to be a good income for minimal work when the truth is Google Ads pay very little (I used to earn £30 a yearish?) and it's a lot of work.

Like others have said, it's a constant - write, SEO, promote, build relationships, build links - all the time. If done right, your blog is constantly evolving - you learn and adapt, sometimes you learn and then have to go back and put that learning into old content. You find tools to make your life easier but like anything in life, the good ones cost more money - which isn't a problem if your incoming covers your outgoing.

If you want to make money from your blog then treat it like a business from the start. Know exactly the type of content you want to write about, learn how to write it well and connect with others in the same niche.

If you're finance-based then look at the UK Money Bloggers who have a Facebook Group - tends to be a good starting place for new finance bloggers. Also, join opportunity groups for bloggers, you might find paid projects there.

And as you've probably gathered, here is a great resource full of members at every stage of their blogging career. We have multiple threads dedicated to helping each other out such as "What have you posted recently" for everyone on the site to go and read.

Good luck

 

[rninja]

@The Reverend, I just wanted to clarify about your mention of promoting gambling on a blog. Lots of bloggers are promoting Matched Betting, which is risk-free in its basic form. This can morph into low risk, mathematically sound advantage play strategies. Neither are gambling per se, but based on a positive expected outcome (unlike the national lottery, fruit machines etc).

Sorry to stray off topic, just wanted to clear up a common misconception.

 

[The Reverend]

@The Reverend, I just wanted to clarify about your mention of promoting gambling on a blog. Lots of bloggers are promoting Matched Betting, which is risk-free in its basic form. This can morph into low risk, mathematically sound advantage play strategies. Neither are gambling per se, but based on a positive expected outcome (unlike the national lottery, fruit machines etc).

Sorry to stray off topic, just wanted to clear up a common misconception.

It is gambling....People find it easier to deal with it ethically by pretending it isn't, but it is. You are placing 'bets' at 'bookmakers'.

Sure, you are altering the odds in your favour, but it is gambling.



ALso, most people promoting MB do so to get the aff payments from PA/OM.

 

[rninja]

It is gambling....People find it easier to deal with it ethically by pretending it isn't, but it is. You are placing 'bets' at 'bookmakers'.

Sure, you are altering the odds in your favour, but it is gambling.



ALso, most people promoting MB do so to get the aff payments from PA/OM.

Gambling is where you're hoping for a certain outcome to occur. However, if you use Matched Betting, then both sides of the bet are covered, which isn't gambling. For example, arbitrage betting - betting on all outcomes to lock in a profit.

It's largely a question of semantics though . I'm not sure there's an ethical dilemma with promoting a mathematically sounds strategy, but I digress.

I guess the promotion of MB by affiliate marketers is the same as any other product/service from Fintech to Amazon products or whatever.

Back to the main point, much respect to yourself and others that have made big strides with blogging for extra income. And there's some really useful pointers in this thread.