Click for Summary
The author shares their experience of making a full-time income from writing on two platforms, Blogger and Gumroad, starting with a $0 budget.
Abstract
The author discusses the potential of writing online as a lucrative side hustle and shares their personal journey of making a full-time income from writing. Despite having a failed first WordPress blog, they started their second blog on Blogger with a $0 budget, focusing on sharing design tutorials. The blog was monetized through AdSense, making enough money to cover the costs of migrating to WordPress and Bluehost, while still staying in profit. The author then shares how they branched out to Gumroad to sell digital products such as e-books and courses, using the platform’s affiliate marketing feature to increase sales. They emphasize the importance of planning, dedication, and following a strategy for success.
Bullet points
- The author started their second blog on Blogger and focused on sharing design tutorials.
- The blog was monetized through AdSense after 30 days.
- The author earned enough money to cover the costs of migrating to WordPress and Bluehost and still stayed in profit.
- The author then branched out to Gumroad to sell digital products such as e-books and courses, using the platform’s affiliate marketing feature to increase sales.
- The author emphasizes the importance of planning, dedication, and following a strategy for success.
- The author’s success was not down to luck but a result of careful planning and following a strategy.
- The author has helped clients from different backgrounds make a full-time living and bring in clients following these steps.
- The author encourages readers to start their own blog and not be discouraged by the lack of a budget.
There is no doubt that writing online is the best side hustle anyone can embark on in 2024. And making money from writing is easier than ever.
The rise of AI is slowly giving a huge advantage to human writers and stories. Businesses that provide a service and create products value real customer feedback more than ever before.
And they are even willing to pay for it.
When I started my second blog, it was nothing more than sharing design tutorials. Mostly Canva and Adobe. This was about 4 years ago, right at the start of the pandemic.
Since my first WordPress blog failed, I decided to start with a simpler approach. I had a $0 budget to work with.
All I had was a plan and a different mindset.
Influencers and bloggers keep promoting fancy services. I totally get it. It’s affiliate marketing. Best way to make money. However, this time I was determined to stick to my guns. The only thing I invested in was time to think things through. The wallet stayed put for a long time.
BLOGGER.COM
I started my second blog on Blogger. I know, not very professional, but guess what? My readers didn’t care.
All that mattered was that they got exactly what they came for.
My blog was monetized through AdSense after 30 days. I started to make money. Although it wasn’t that much. I averaged it out to around $0.50 per 1000 views.
Yet, I still made enough to cover a WordPress blog and Bluehost package. After paying for it, I was still in profit.
You can read a full article here on how to make money with BLOGGER.COM.
Once I migrated my site to WordPress, I applied to Mediavine (a digital ad agency). I was accepted after my second month and this is when things started to get interesting.
Going from earning $0.50 per 1000 views, I was making $30 per 1000 views. This made a big difference to my income.
On top of that I branched out to another platform.
To collect free email subscribers, I made up a few free e-books. ( I put my relevant blog posts together and turned them into an ebook using CANVA.)
But I knew there had to be a way to make some extra money from them. Once again, the wallet stayed put. I didn’t want to invest in turning my WordPress blog into an e-commerce site, so I decided to go with Gumroad.
GUMROAD
Gumroad is completely free and you can sell digital products, courses, and all sorts on it.
I uploaded all my ebooks and allowed customers to pay what they wanted. I set the limit to a minimum of $7.
I didn’t have to do any work. Gumroad will recommend your products and the more you give back to the platform (I give 50%), the more your product will be featured in their ‘Discover’ marketplace.
On top of that, there is the affiliate marketing option. Others can recommend your product too, and yes, they will take a small percentage, but it is worth it. (the more you charge for a product, the more affiliate sales you’ll get)
My success wasn’t down to luck. It was planning, dedication and following a strategy that made it work.
This is the exact process I recommend to my clients. Especially those that have a tight budget. I’ve helped mindset coaches, food bloggers, health enthusiasts, design lovers and writers from all backgrounds, with or without a niche, make a full-time living and bring in clients following these simple steps.
You don’t always have to splash out hundreds to make money.
A modest start doesn’t always mean a modest end.
One of my favourite quotes is this, and it drives me every day.
Your decision today will define your tomorrow.
Just imagine where you could be in 12 months if you copied and pasted your stories to a private blog.
You know how the saying goes.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best is today. The same applies to getting your own blog.
Over to you!
If you love writing online, why not share your posts on a private blog too? What is your experience with writing online? Share your thoughts.