Wow, I didn’t know I would be this nervous to launch my new site! But, it’s finally where I want it to be (for the most part, anyways).
The new site is…
Freelance writing and blogging: Which is better?
If you read my income reports, you can see that most (actually, all (but stay tuned for March’s income report!)) of my income comes from freelancing. This blog is fairly new (I started it at the end of September 2014) and is by no means paying any of my bills. I do hope to one day earn a good income from it, but I know that day is not now.
In addition to this blog, I bought another domain (!!) and have a few others that I want to buy, too. Blogging so far has been a lot of fun and I like that I am completely my own boss. I can write what I want to write when I want to write it. Don’t get me wrong, I also love freelancing, but with freelancing I do have a boss (my client), I have deadlines to meet and I don’t always get to pick my topic.
I plan on doing both for a while, but wanted to weigh in on the pros and cons of freelance writing versus blogging. Both can be full-time or part-time jobs, but you can’t do both full-time at the same time (at least, I can’t…). I think you get to a point where you have to choose if blogging is better for you or if freelancing is the way to go. I really do enjoy both, but lately finding the time to devote to both has been difficult (hence the lack of posts on the blog).
How I made my first $100 blogging
After five months of blogging, I finally made my first $100! I’ve shared before how I didn’t start this blog strictly as a hobby, I started it because I eventually do want to generate an income from it. Some blogs make money right away, some blogs take years to start generating an income – mine seemed to take an average amount of time. My goal was to start making money within six months of starting my blog.
I started blogging at the very end of September 2014 and made my first $100 at the end of February 2015. That’s five full months of consistent posting, sharing, commenting, switching themes and the like for $100. If you’re looking to “get rich quick” from your blog, you’re in the wrong place. In order to make money blogging, you have to really love writing or else the fun factor is going to fizzle out and your blog most likely will, too.
So how did I make my first $100 blogging? It could not have been easier…
How to come up with blog topics
Are you ever stumped on what to write about? I think it’s safe to say that this happens to every blogger, whether your blog is on something specific like paying off debt or something more general like an all-encompassing mommy blog where you share everything from parenting tips, favorite products, marriage advice, DIY projects, simple dinner recipes and more. My blog is specific in that I blog about personal finance, but I also include my life on the blog which gives me a broader range of topics. Even still, I sometimes have trouble coming up with topics and thought I would share with you my tips on overcoming blog-topic-brain-freeze.
Book Review: How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul
I’ve spent the last week reading Ruth Soukup’s How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul (affiliate link). I probably could have read it in a day if it weren’t for the little ones, but her book is chock-full of information so I’m glad I read it in sections and had time to digest what I was learning.
For those of you who don’t know, Ruth blogs over at popular personal finance / family lifestyle blog Living Well Spending Less. She blogs on a variety of topics ranging from freezer cooking (something I’m hoping to get into in the coming weeks) to couponing to fun DIY projects you can do with the kids. Her blog is all-encompassing and she’s been at it since 2010, so she definitely knows a thing or two about blogging and how to profit from it.
Grow your income as a freelance writer
I’m in the process of reading How to blog for profit (without selling your soul) by Ruth Soukup *this is an affiliate link* and plan on doing a review of her book soon. In addition to blogging, I’m a freelance writer and editor. I’ve been doing this for nearly three years now and feel like I have some pretty good tips for those starting out or for those who are looking to take their blog / freelance writing career up to the next level. It’s all about hustling and striving daily to hit your goals. Success doesn’t happen overnight for anyone, but especially for those of us in the freelance career.
To see my entire post on growing your income as a freelancer, head over to Debt Discipline here!
photo credit: 401kcalculator.org from flickr