***This is a post mainly for bloggers. I bet a lot of you will be bored by this, and some of you may be bugged I make money off this blog at all. To both of you, I say click on another post. 🙂 I just get a lot of questions about the financial side of things on my blog. I am always honest, so this is part of my honesty. If you don’t like it — feel free to comment {and I, may feel free to delete}.
So, I have been pushing hard at Pulling Curls since about mid January, so for the sake of nice round numbers. Let’s say 5 months.
And it is doing WAY better then I had EVER expected. I remember when Laura told me to read the book (which you can find out more about here) I was on the fence. I just felt like I had tried SO many things, and just couldn’t get it going.
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Here’s a few things I’ve done:
1. I pin about 3 times each day to LARGE group boards. If you’re looking for large group boards, Pin Groupie is a good place to start. Find your niche and go from there.
2. I have taken on a “job” over at MommySavers that will help promote my blog through my threads there {sort of, not sure about this yet}.
3. I have worked hard to pump my Hootsuite full of good info, about 75% from other people, and 25% from me.
4. I still pin a lot. A lot of good stuff I find, mostly onto my own boards. Pinterest is certainly still a hobby.
And here are the results:
1. Visits. I have gone from about 30/day (on a normal day) to about 3-4,000/day.
2. I have gone from getting a check maybe every 3 months from Blogher to getting monthly income that actually helps our bottom line.
3. I am adding a few sponsored posts here and there. I try to only pick items I love already and ask people to sponsor the post with a Giveaway. I’m not a big fan of free stuff for bloggers, so we’ll see how that all plays out. Some of the sponsored posts, I elicit. And some I apply for through my ad network, Blogher. some are paid with cash, some in product. Just depends (and I will always state in the post that I am being sponsored).
4. So, in essence I have gone to making maybe 10 bucks/month on the blog — to probably close to 450 this month. That doesn’t include sponsored posts, as those are paid at weird times, but those do bring in a nice amount, also.
**This is a big blessing at a point that we’re not particularly sure about the future. I know God has a plan for us, and I do think this blog is part of mine, for many reasons.
I am spending a LOT of time on this. I promote it, I write it, I promote it, I write it.
The best news is that I really mostly love doing blog work. I love designing (just got new business cards!), I love writing and I love talking to other people about things I am passionate about. So, it does not seem as much like a job, but more like a hobby that I’m getting paid for. Which is nice, but doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take up any less time.
So, what do you think of the new Pulling Curls?
Or liked me on Facebook or followed me on Pinterest?
If you ever see something you like here, please share it. It’s because of YOU this blog keeps growing. Thank you!
Do you have something you want to say? I hope so, I love writing this blog, mostly because of the readers. I love comments and things I learn from you. Pulling Curls is the BEST! 🙂
Anyway, I hope this post is helpful to my readers. I know it’s not my normal genre. If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out my other blog income posts, or my blog income spreadsheet. You’ll see how far I came since January. 🙂 Also be sure to follow my “Business of Blogging” Pinterest board.
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Hilary says
THanks Rob, obviously no secrets here. 🙂
Rob Hanus says
Thanks for posting this. As a fellow blogger, it’s nice to see what others are accomplishing with their blogs. Everyone is so secret! BTW, I appreciated your “meltdown” post; don’t worry, we all have them.
PoCo Mom says
Mine were falling off after 23 lbs and I got a gorgeous set on ebay for $7 shipped! White gold and Austrian crystal. My real set has been sized twice and is already quite thin in the back, and has cracked.
Hilary says
So far my Kohls ring is doing the trick. I really should re-size the old one. Makes me feel foolish we spent so much money on it back then. 🙂
Candi says
Thank you for your post!! I love to see other bloggers share like this 🙂
Hilary says
You’re welcome Candi — have you seen Pinch of Yum’s posts? Theirs are facinating to me. I thought the least I could do is share as well. 🙂
mysweetiepiepie says
I use a lot of moisturizer and sunscreen in the
summer.
Sarah A says
This post gives me hope!! I started my blog at the beginning of the year and I hope at some point to make a little money from it. I love hearing about other “real” bloggers and how they are able to support their hobby!
Hilary says
Hey Sarah — glad to know you like it. I think I’ll try to do it monthly! h
Danielle says
I beat summer skin irritation by using lots of sunscreen and moisturizer (both body & face!)
Lauren Eggers says
We keep calamine lotion around. We also have aloe for sunburns, and slather up in high SPF sunblock. neyabenz(at)gmail(dot)com
Sarah @girlfriendshoes says
Congrats on your success and I wish you much of it! I love these posts as well, many people are so secretive.
Sarah xo
susan1215 says
I beat summer skin irritation by using lots of sunscreen and moisturizer
s2s2 at Comcast dot net
susan1215 says
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/473493254948675584
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Rebekah (The Kitchen Gidget} says
Thanks for sharing. When you say you pin 3 times a day, do you mean that pinning is one of the main reasons your traffic has increased? I’m a new blogger myself and I’m perplexed on how to even make it known that I exist!
Hilary says
Yes, pinning is my big traffic mover. It’s slowly starting to gain a following of its own, but I pin my own pins 3 times/day on large group boards. i’m going to try to do a post a bit more about this sometime soon. 🙂
Hilary says
Thanks Kristie!
Kristie says
Congratulations! That is AWESOME! 30 visits to 3-4000 a day is incredible!
YasminaAndHerBlog says
When I read you said you started being serious in January , all I could think of was’I wish we started together’ I love reading how other fellow bloggers do it. Thank you for sharing!
Xo
Yasmina
Hilary says
It is always nice to have a friend do it with you! I hope yours is going well!