This post contains affiliate links.
Just amazing to me that my first year with a monetized blog is coming to a close. ladies and gentlemen…persistence pays off. If you’re doubting yourself please keep reading.
When you want to give up… keep blogging. When you are sick of pinning 100’s of pins… keep pinning. You can succeed and you can make a huge difference in your life. Freedom from an office setting, and a life of living your dreams is within your grasp.
I started my blog because I wanted to help money driven people achieve their dreams. I never thought it would blossom into a full blown community of peers, all learning from each other.
Friends have been made and lots of change has occurred, my learning has never stopped.
What was Accomplished in December?
I Started to Freelance!
Freelancing would not have been possible without maintaining my blog through the hard times. You know the times when NO ONE is looking at your blog… yep… those fun times.
If you continue your education about the newest techniques and social media trends, you can always assist someone who is newer to the scene!
It’s important to continually think about the services you can offer as a blogger. Income can add up quickly, and all the pennies count when you are trying to work from home.
Blog Posts:
Exhausted and Broke? Take a Dream Virtual Vacation From Home
25+ Awesome Facebook Groups for Explosive Growth
Social Media Goals:
- Pinterest Goal 1,900. SUCCESS! From 1,751 to 1,918 Now that I’m working again, this growth would not have been possible without the use of Tailwind‘s automated pinning. I can’t even look at my phone, let alone pin 50 times a day. Tailwind takes all the stress away and shares at optimal times. THANK GOODNESS! I would love it if you followed me on Pinterest. Feel free to message me at anytime with Pinterest questions. Join my Connect and Share Group Board, it’s an active board with great repin rates, use it to grow your own following. My goal is to reach 2,100 followers this month.
- Instagram Goal 480. Failed! I went from 451 to 431 followers on Instagram. I always follow back. Find me on Instagram.This month my goal will be 440.
- Twitter. Goal 300. Failed! I went from 269 to 285 followers. Twitter is my favorite place to share great content since it’s so easy to retweet posts. My goal will be to hit 300 for January. Find me on Twitter so I can retweet you.
- Facebook Page Follows. Goal 400. SUCCESS! From 361 to 428 follows. I would love it if you joined my facebook page here: Facebook Page. There’s also an amazing Facebook Group you can join called Connect and Share to share your blog daily with an awesome group of people who are interested in your content! My goal will be 475 followers.
- Blog Subscribers. Goal 300. SUCCESS! From 259 to 309
subscribers!!!!!Subscribe today! Get every little bit of the content I created for your growth. Unlimited freebies, tips and blog giveaways. My goal is to get 350 followers.
Blogging Goals From December
- Post 1 Guest Post. Fail!
- Work on my Affiliate Marketing strategy. Success!
- Kick Pinterest’s Butt. Success!
- Add to Free Library. Fail!
- Boost my Facebook Group Board. Success! Connect and Share Blogging to Success. I continue to be amazed by facebook groups! Our group is very caring and very active. Get in on it now. Your numbers will increase I promise!
- Begin work on my PHR recertification and creating my first teachable lesson. Success!
What Were Our Final Totals?
Views: 2,801 – December
Total Blog Views: 23,279 Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get 23,279 views my first year with a monetized blog!!!!
Blog Income Breakdown:
Shareasale: $7 in December for a total of $20.91 for the year
Ebates: $55.76 for total savings and signups
Ibotta: 18.25
CJ.com: $25.43 for the year
Awin: $6.50 for the year
Tailwind: $15.00 credit
Freelancing: $200.00
329.43 for the year!
Monetizing was worth it! Prior to The Rising Damsel, I wrote a craft blog. It honestly became a huge burden after 5 years and no results. Throwing in the towel for the old blog was tough but when you know it’s time to make money and start fresh… you go for it!
If you’re ready for a blog/ life change, check out 7 Days to a Monetized Blog Guide to get all my tricks. This guide will get you setup with hosting through bluehost and I’ll divulge secrets lots of other bloggers are afraid to talk about.
2018 Goals for The Rising Damsel
Posts
This year I need to be more consistent, my goal will be to share 60 posts. This can be a combination of guest posts, as well as my own. This past year I posted 40 posts and 4 pages.
Social Media
It’s hard to know what sort of growth to expect for the next year. Growth is exponential right?!
I would like to at least double all of my current statistics for 2018. I don’t think that should be hard to do through aggressive monthly goals.
Complete 3 Giveaways
I love you guys. I want to give stuff away. It’s as simple as that. As soon as I figure out the logistics, that will start.
Create an Affiliate Program
The first affiliate program for The Rising Damsel is already being constructed in my mind. It’s my goal to combine my two passions of HR recruiting and blogging to help you earn money in a completely unexpected way. Perfect for hustlers! As this comes together, there will be lots of test subjects needed. Stay tuned 🙂
Not Your Average Goalkeeper
This year, more than anything I’m going to hold myself accountable to what I want to accomplish. I’ve taken steps towards better organization in my life and blog (purchased a cute new planner and plenty of kawaii stickers).
New goal is to be a better goal maker.
What Influenced Me The Most?
Research. Blogging is a love, it’s dedication, it’s never-ending and it’s addicting. If you aren’t addicted, think about cutting ties or reconsider your niche.
I spent at least 300 hours learning this year and I valued every second of it. It never felt like work.
Despite research being important, you can still take short cuts but I didn’t plan on it. I thought I could learn on my own.
Just to repeat…. I was not going to purchase any learning program ever. I’m frugal, I write about HR and saving money… wasting money was not an option.
300+ hours of research, 1000’s of blogs read, and countless pins explored. What else could you possibly learn I thought?
Well… a lot…. because despite all of that research, I was still not earning any money.
Affiliate Marketing Strategies Be Damned, I was Earning Pennies Until….
Desperate and reaching the end of the year, I purchased Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing from Michelle of Making Sense of Cents.
Suddenly topics I had been struggling with for months were easily explained by Michelle in just a sentence of two.
How to ACTUALLY earn money started to become clear. I literally could have cried.
Do I feel like a fool for wasting all of that time researching? No I don’t… it’s made me a stronger blogger. However I do wish that I bought Michelle’s program MUCH sooner.
She makes earning on your blog possible because her method is tried and true. This guide is exactly how she earns over $50,000 per month. You get every secret, every printable and even bonuses from other bloggers.
Yep, that’s right… you get several exclusive offers with Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing when you purchase the guide.
My absolute personal favorite freebie is-Pinterest Strategy – How To Receive Hundreds of Thousands Of Visitors From Pinterest a Month. This helped my follower count turn from negative to positive within a week!
After Pinterest’s latest decision to remove the number of repins listed on a pin, my viewership quickly began to plummet. In the first picture you can see I quickly dropped from 2 million avg viewers to 1.8 million. Very, very discouraging.
It wasn’t till I started implementing Michelle’s pinterest traffic tips that I started to see my traffic stats go up again. Elation level 100! It just keeps getting better too.
Prior to pinterest changes I averaged 50 followers / week. With Michelle’s method I’m hoping to see 60 new Pinterest followers a week.
Pinterest is so important, make sure you are creating pin worthy pins for every post.
What Changed for 2018?
A lot changed in the last month. Literally, I went from thinking I was going to blog full time for the rest of my life, to not being able to turn down a great opportunity.
It’s really something to be passionate about multiple opportunities. In my case recruiting is a calling just like blogging is. Attracting talent to a company worth recruiting for doesn’t come around very often.
As a result, things have realigned. I’m working on the life/ work/ blog/ balance currently. More to come on that ha.
Starting a blog is still the best thing that I have ever done for myself! I have the ability to succeed, just as you do through blogging. The dedication to your art is the most important part! If you stop you can never succeed.
I hope to inspire you to find your own creative outlet. If you’re ready to jump into blogging I suggest you read my post Start a WordPress blog with Bluehost, for just $3.95 a month you can start a blog with Bluehost. Take the next step to starting something great.
Would you like some lifestyle tips before you go? You’ll love these!
How did your year go? Are you blogging? What keeps you driven to succeed?
Thanks for reading, be sure and pin this article if you found it inspirational you never know who you could be helping. Much love till next time!
When you Subscribe to The Rising Damsel, you will get access to The Rising Damsel’s Library and the exclusive Social Media Scorecard! It’s the only one of it’s kind to help you track all your social media in one place. Learn more about it in this post: Skyrocket Your Traffic Using The Ultimate Social Media Scorecard. Take all the mystery and struggle away when you share enough!
Be sure and find The Rising Damsel on Pinterest! You can also subscribe for future free printables, and exclusive content using the ‘Subscribe’ button in the right column.
Join my Facebook Group Connect and Share for Success. I’d love to help spread your content. If you are looking for a free Tailwind Tribe try The Rising Damsel’s brand new one: Promote Your Blog – A Rising Damsel Tribe. Much Love!! Together we will be great!
Questions and comments are always welcome. I really hope this post inspired you.
My Go-To Resources
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing to earn money blogging. There are tons of ways to make money on your blog. If you want to make money by promoting an affiliate, you need Michelle’s course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. It was an invaluable resource to me despite 1,000+ hours of research on how to earn. The money didn’t actually start coming in till I took this course. Save yourself from frustration, Michelle has it figured out for us.
Rakuten Coupons deals and cash back. When you’re shopping online if you aren’t stacking your savings, you’re losing serious money. Get rebates from 1%-20%+ on thousands of stores and get $10.00 for signing up.
Swagbucks Use my link to get $5.00 just for signing up. With Swagbucks you can browse the app, watch videos, take surveys, and play games to earn. Swagbucks pays out in gift cards which makes it really easy to collect your earnings. *Protip* Best way to spend your Swagbucks is on a $5.00 Amazon gift cards they are only 450 points, and cheaper in comparison to other offers. (Personal savings and a great affiliate program).
Ibotta! I save on all my staples from eggs, to paper towels, to coffee and even uber rides! With Ibotta you just snap a picture of your shopping receipt and match it with current deals available online. Get $10 just for signing up through The Rising Damsel. Redeem your first $10 by verifying a purchase from any of their stores. It’s an obsession.
