Read how I made my first $100 blogging, sharing my journey from zero to profit with actionable tips and strategies for new bloggers. Blogging has always intrigued me. It is a space where creativity can meet monetization, and words can, quite literally, earn you money. To be honest, I was astonished by the idea of making money online but reaching the first $100 threshold through blogging is a challenging task lofty with lessons and even moments of triumph. Here is how I earned my $100 from blogging.
The Beginning: Finding My Niche
The first challenge I faced while blogging is “what do I write about”. I wanted to write everything ranging from food, travel and self-improvement to technology and personal finance, but soon understood that attempting to target the masses means appealing to nonexistent audiences.
To identify the potential niches, I needed to answer three fundamental questions:
What topics am I interested in?
What topics do people skin the web for?
How can I monetize this topic?
Thanks to Google Trends and Ubesuggest, my brainstorming marketing analysis sesh helped me find my niche in finance for millennials.
Setting Up My Blog
Building my blog was both thrilling and terrifying. This is how I went about it:
Choosing A Host and Domain Name
I started off by purchasing a domain name that was not only unique but very relevant as well. For the task of hosting, I selected Bluehost owing to their cheap rates and user friendliness.
Blog Design
I chose WordPress with a basic and clean theme, hence putting more emphasis on simplicity as well. I also ensured that my blog was mobile friendly, easy to use and most importantly had a fast loading speed because the user experience is very important.
Content Strategy
I built a content calendar and planned on writing evergreen articles like:
“10 Great Ways To Save Money With A Tight Budget”
“How Does One Build An Emergency Fund Within Six Months”
“Best Apps That Help Track Your Spending”
My goal was to always to bring out real answers and solutions for my readers.
How to Sell Mugs on Etsy and Redbubble
Creating Proper Content
While content is of great importance, it is the quality content that always garners attention. In this instance, I made it top on my to do list to:
Add a conversational tone to the writing.
Advise actionable insights.
Research keywords using tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs.
Establish attention grabbing headlines.
For example, rather than titling a post “Saving Money Tips,” I pitched “7 Ingenious Ways that Millennials Can Save $500 Plus Every Month.”
Keep in mind that one of the biggest goals of blogging is to make money from it. With blogging, it’s always ideal to incur profit.
Having good content is only one side of the coin. Making people read what you have written is an entirely different story. Here’s how I drove traffic to my blog posts:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
I made use of internal and external links in every blog. With time, I began to notice my posts gaining traction from long tail searches of “how to save money in 20s.”
Promotion on Social Media:
I promoted my articles on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Pinterest in particular was a haven when it came to driving traffic. I designed aesthetically pleasing pins with the help of Canva and joined group boards.
Email Marketing:
From the start I set a goal to make an email list using Mailchimp. Providing a “Monthly Budget Template” for free is what convinced visitors to subscribe. When they did, I sent emails to keep them updated and engaged.
Monetization For Blog – Earning Revenue
After putting in consistent effort into my blog, it became rather popular. That meant it was time to start monetization. Here is how I earned $100 for the first time.
Affiliate Marketing
This was the first strategy and it was my primary source of earnings. I enrolled into programs with finance themes like Mint and Credit Karma. Affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates were also really helpful. For instance, in “Best Budgeting Apps” post, to promote, I used affiliate links. When someone clicked on the link and signed up, I earned a small commission.
Display Ads
Once I hit a few thousand monthly visitors, I joined google adsense. The earning on it was modest at the beginning and limited to a few cents per day but with time, it added up.
Selling Digital Products
With the growing audience, my initial slow sales started picking up. I created a very simple eBook, “The Ultimate Guide to Saving Money in Your 20s” and priced it at $9.99. My first sponsored post costed $50 which was a little less than what I expected but it was a good starting point.
The Challenges along the Way
Earning my first $100 certainly wasn’t easy as there were various challenges I encountered. Those challenges include the following:
Self Doubt: Traffic was so low at times, that I started to feel like quitting.
Time Management: Considering I had a full-time job, blogging was quite the challenge. I had to work late hours to ensure my blog was still afloat.
Technical Hurdles: As a beginner, starting a blog and managing the plugins alongside the hosting issues were difficult.
Key Lessons Learned
Pondering on my success, I believe the following lessons were invaluable:
Consistency is Key: When traffic was slow, posting regularly helped me build momentum.
Focus on Value: Content that helps the reader will ensure he returns to your site.
Patience Pays Off: Blogging is not a shortcut to riches. Patience is essential as it usually takes months of dedication to show results.
Invest In Learning: In the long run, online courses on SEO and affiliate marketing proved valuable to me.
That 100 Dollar Milestone
That one moment when I hit $100 in earnings was simply incredible. First, it wasn’t just about the money, but proved that all my efforts were put to good use. It then began to motivate me to dream bigger and aim higher. That one hundred mark was my stepping stone toward achieving something far greater.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is if you’ve ever thought of starting a blog, you must acknowledge the fact that it is totally doable to earn money through one’s passion. Earning that first 100 bucks is easier having said that, it also comes with its own set of challenges, but nothing is impossible with hard work, right strategy, and dedication.
Everyone has to start somewhere, start small, be persistent, and have faith – it is only a matter of time before your hard work pays off at the end. So always keep learning, writing and rest assured, achieving that dollar milestone would put you far beyond what you imagined.
