Have you ever gone out and about with the kids, run into someone you haven’t seen in a while, and had to think about what you do when asked? I have. As a matter of fact, it has happened to me many times. I always tell people that I’m a Mom and that this is my number one priority, however often times I leave off the part about blogging.
Why do I do this?
I guess sometimes I feel like it’s lame. Maybe people think I sit in front of my computer all day long typing stuff up about my kids and so forth. Stuff that no one really wants to read. Stuff that is just taking up my time, a hobby.
Not true, not true at all.
While I do write about my boys (my blog is about me being the only female in a house full of boys and how I raise my boys), I often have giveaways for my readers, parenting tips and many other things that I come across in life.
That’s not all though.
Nope, I make money blogging too.
Surprised?
I am. Well, I’m not now, but I was when companies first offered to pay me.
What started off as a hobby for me has turned into so much more.
While I am no Perez Hilton (raking in the big bucks), I am making enough cash to feel like I’m actually helping my family. And that’s not all, we receive free products (daily). Enough products that I haven’t had to buy things like toothpaste, mouthwash, cleaning supplies and many other products that we go through on a regular basis in quite some time. It all adds up.
Let me give you a little example…
I have been working really hard to close some advertising deals. We have an investment property with a lot of money tied up in it, so we don’t exactly have the money to finish remodeling our house so we can put it on the market. I knew we needed to get these remodeling jobs done, I just didn’t know how we were going to come up with the extra cash so fast. So, I started pitching companies for advertising. I figured I have companies pitch me all of the time, why not?
While a few companies have turned me away, I have had several that have been willing to pay for sponsored posts, banner and text ads. I have made enough to pay for my new bathroom vanity (see photo above), the ceiling tiles for our main bathroom and half of the flooring for our family room. If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is. Now if I could just figure out how to bring this money in on a regular monthly basis, I would be good.
Do you blog?
Are you making money? If not, you may be underestimating yourself and you may want to consider pitching companies.
Ever thought about blogging, but don’t know where to start?
Tell us, we may be willing to help! If we have enough interest we may look into writing a simple tutorial post.
I have thought about blogging, but I’m not sure what I would write about! I don’t have kids, and that seems to be the focus of many of the blogs out there.
You should give it a go! You don’t have to have kids. As a matter of fact I know of a lot of bloggers that write about coupons and deals and so many other things. Find something that interests you and go from there! Make sure you have a good title that you are always going to like b/c it’s a pain to change it once you have it, plus that’s what everyone knows you by. Good luck! And let us know if you need more help! 🙂
I would love to bring in more income wise but have no clue about how to pitch myself to companies. Or how to even get paid for advertising on my blog.. HELP
Angel-I’m going to try to find time this weekend to sit down and email you. I’m not ignoring your comment and want you to know that with ball games for 2 boys tonight I just haven’t had time to respond. I will definitely help you out with this though as much as I can. 🙂
Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and appearance. I must say you have done a awesome job with this. Additionally, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Firefox. Outstanding Blog!
I have been blogging for a year and a half. It started out as a way for me to share great finds. As a shopaholic I would often come across great products that I wanted to share with everyone. So, my first blog was born. As it evolved my blog has changed and it changes often. I hate it when I have to specific what my blog is about. It’s always a work in progress. Then I started getting products to review and giveaway. My first thought was “wow, I made it to the big time.” lol. Now, my goal is to get invited to the Disney Social Media Moms conference but I can’t find any info on how to do that. I know I can – my blog is just as good as some of the others out there who got invites. I would love to sell advertising on my blog – but not really sure how to go that way.
I agree with Mandee – when I switched from a free wordpress site to a self-hosted one with a .com address and a new name it was like starting over.
Megan – Go for it! While many blog are mommy blogs there is a whole niche out there of people just writing about what they love, even if it isn’t kids.