Things I Do All Day

How did I make $5,500 in my first three months of launching a new blog?

I didn’t.

I’m sorry for the clickbait, but this is important. Chances are you are not going to make $5,500 in your first few months of blogging as a brand new blogger in 2019.

I’m tired of reading forums and questions about moms and new bloggers who are doing everything right. They’ve researched extensively, invested in quality classes and tools, and put quality work out.

The blogs are great (especially for a new blog!) and they are doing everything right, but are making zero money. They also just started a months ago and have twelve posts written.

It takes time.

Blogging isn’t a get rich quick scheme, it takes a lot of time and a lot of work!

You can absolutely make $5,500 in blogging over 3 months or even in one month, but it won’t happen right off the bat for a new blogger in 2019.

It takes a lot of work to get there, and if you keep with it, you may get there. It just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work.

I’m also tired of all the amazing income reports from other bloggers with huge profits and such. It’s overwhelming and exhausting.

I don’t question their results (okay— sometimes) but you have to keep in mind that a lot of blog income reports are from blog experts. They’ve been doing this for awhile, and their blog niche pays nicely. Every niche is different though and experiences will vary greatly.

Although this is a brand new blog, I am not a new blogger. I’ve been blogging for a few years, and I’ve definitely made money. I’ve been able to put food on the table, buy clothing for my always growing children, and sign my son up for swim lessons (which he hated btw).

However, I’ve never made the big bucks that other bloggers have talked about. And that’s okay.

I decided to start completely over and create a mom blog about all the crap I do all day, and see where the journey takes me.

I’m taking my blog experience to a new blog and below are my real experience as a new-old blogger in 2019.

And, I forgot how hard it is to start a new blog. There’s so much to do and worry about and focus on in those first few months. Luckily, I have experience with WordPress and other tools, so it makes it a little easier for me since I’m frugal and never invested in any proper courses.

But things do change fast, and blogging in 2019 is different from 5 years ago!

There’s over ONE BILLION BLOGS NOW. That’s crazy.

So here is my little plan to monetize in 2019 and moving forward, as well as how much I actually made in my first few months with an absolutely brand new blog.

*This post contains affiliate links. You can read my disclosure policy if you have any questions.

My Plan on Monetizing a Blog in 2019

My plan to monetize my blog to start is pretty simple. I want to focus on simple things and don’t want to spend too much time experimenting.

Here is how I am currently monetizing my blog:

• Google AdSense
• VigLink
• Amazon Affiliates
• Referral Codes from Things I Love (AirBnB)

That’s It. Yes, that’s my short-term plan for monetizing as I get page views up, find an audience, and find my own voice.

There’s SO many different things to do and learn in the first months of blogging and monetizing shouldn’t be the main focus.

However, I think you should still monetize, but keep it simple.

There’s so many ways to make money blogging but my long term plan is to make money through display ads and affiliate marketing.

My plan is to get my page views up and apply for a great ad network like Mediavine or AdThrive to replace Google AdSense because the payout is much higher.

I also hope to apply for more affiliate marketing programs in the future and focus more on affiliate marketing when I have more time, but for now, I’m keeping my making money blogging plan pretty simple.

Here’s my current monetization strategy for my blog:

Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a great beginner program because it’s fairly easy to get accepted and it’s simple to use.

You simply copy their code and put it on your site. You can select the settings you want, and decide if you want them to put the ads wherever, how often, and the type of ads.

After you put the code on your site and select the settings, you just need to check your account and see your earnings.

You get paid for every click on that ad. It’s pretty simple.

However, if you don’t have a large audience, you won’t get many clicks or a big payday, but it’s a nice starter program.

VigLink

VigLink takes all your links on your website and will make them affiliate links if available.

For example, if you are writing about your family trip to Legoland and you link to Legoland’s main site, VigLink will take that link and make it an affiliate link.

Even better, if someone buys tickets to Legoland, you would get a cut (usually around 5%) from the sale. It’s not big money, but it’s great because you were writing and linking to Legoland anyway, and now you get a small percentage of sales for not doing much.

I think VigLink is a great starter program because you don’t have to worry about finding a lot of different affiliate programs and products to promote, and you can just focus on writing (and all of the other things that come with just getting started).

You just need to put some code on your site and they will automatically make links affiliate links when available.

You can also look at your stats and see what links are getting clicks and what is popular with your audience.

If you find that you made clicks and sales with Kohl’s and Macy’s, find those affiliate programs and apply directly. You will usually make a higher percentage through the affiliate program directly because VigLink will take a cut.

However, VigLink is great for beginner bloggers because you are still applying to affiliate programs and figuring out what merchants will get some traction from readers.

You are also getting income on links that you may have not optimized correctly and a great back up.

You can also pick a variety of settings, and optimize all links to affiliate links or none. I actually don’t have any links optimized at the moment, but I’ll go in and manually create affiliate links.

Instead of searching all around for affiliate programs, I’m just using VigLink and creating affiliate links from there. If I notice an affiliate program is popular, I’ll switch the links later when I’m bigger and get into bigger affiliate networks and get the higher percentage.

Right now, time is limited for me and my audience is small so I’m going for ease and convenience.

I’m sure that’s a weird strategy for some, but it works for me for now.

Amazon Affiliates

Amazon is a great affiliate program because everyone knows of Amazon and has shopped on the site before.

It’s also easy because you can just link to a product you want to promote.

I know for me, I wasn’t even planning to monetize a post but then I organically talked about a few of our favorite books to read and other favorite products that I love as a mom.

I then decided to put a link to Amazon with product info just in case they wanted more information about the book or to buy it!

I’m sure there’s so many times you talk about a product naturally, and you can just include the product link to Amazon or any other affiliate program or product you want to promote.

However, if you don’t have an audience, you won’t make any sales, even if the product you love is amazing and life-changing.

The other problem about the Amazon affiliate program is that you need to make so many sales within a short time frame. If you don’t do that, you won’t be part of Amazon Affiliates. You can definitely reapply, but you would have to change your link.

It is something you need to consider before applying to the Amazon program. I’d definitely make sure you are launched and have a little bit of traffic first.

Referral Links from Favorite Things

Have you noticed some of your favorite companies and brands have referral programs?

I have, and I love to talk about things that I like. For example, I wrote a post about 13 Tips & Tricks for Saving Money with AirBnB.

I love AirBnB and in the post, I also shared my referral link. When people use my referral link, they will receive a $40 credit towards their first travel booking, and I’ll get $30 in free credit.

It’s not real money, but I’ll gladly take $30 in AirBnB credit because I travel frequently with my family!

So many different companies offer affiliate programs, and usually you just need to copy the link and share it! You don’t even have to apply to a program to promote!

Sometimes you may also find referral programs when you are organically talking about things!

For example, my hosting company is SiteGround and it makes sense to talk about them in this post since I’m talking about blogging! They have a referral program for free hosting, and I’m taking about them so it makes sense to add a link!

You’ll want to compare programs though because sometimes you can apply directly for an affiliate program and it makes much more sense because it’s actual money instead of credit and it may be a much better offer.

However, sometimes the credit is a better deal or just easier, especially when you are just getting started.

It’s also a great starter because you don’t need to apply for anything and you can check out how your favorite companies perform

Real Income Report as a New Blog

So how much money did a new blog make in 2019 with an exhausted mom by the helm who apparently has some experience blogging before?

Here’s my tiny income report with this new adventure:

• Google AdSense: $24.50
• VigLink: .15
• Amazon: $0
• Free Credits & Perks: $0
• Total earned in 2019 so far: $24.65

That’s it. I actually bought my domain and hosting in the Spring with SiteGround. (They’ve been a great hosting company to work with so far– I’ve had no problems!)

It took me a little bit to launch my blog and my first post went live in Mid June so it’s been over 3 months and I’ve made less than $25 in 2019! (And that doesn’t even count expenses…)

I’m a little embarrassed to say I’ve blogged before because I feel like I should have done so much better, but it is what it is.

I also have two little ones, so it definitely hard to launch a blog and keep up with everything as a stay at home mom. There’s also so many other bloggers, especially mom bloggers out there so it can definitely be hard to stand out sometimes!

My time is definitely limited these days, and when I have time when the kids are in bed… I’m exhausted, and just want to call it a night. Sometimes, I do.

I wanted to share my income report as a new blog to give others a realistic look at blogging as a stay at home mom, whether you have experience or not.

It’s a lot of work, especially in the beginning, but I’m blogging for the long game.

I don’t want to discourage you to start a blog, but I want to give you a realistic outlook. I feel like there’s so much YOU NEED TO START A BLOG NOW material out there, and it’s just not for everyone.

It takes a lot of work and perseverance. Did I mention there’s over A BILLION BLOGS?

With that said, I still think blogging is a wonderful option– especially for stay at home moms and others who want a creative outlet and want to work from anywhere at anytime.

It’s so amazing to have so much flexibility and be my own boss, and I love that I can put in the hours I can into it.

I also love that someone can write an article with affiliate links, and still receive income a few income from it a few years later! (I obviously don’t currently experience this at the moment- but hope too!)

Blogging is such an interesting option, and not for everyone. If you need immediate income, I’d probably search elsewhere or do blogging in addition to freelancing or another side hustle.

Blogging is definitely crowded in 2019, but I still think you can make money from blogging as a new blogger– you just need to be patient! I hope that is the case at least!

Are you a blogger? Do you have the same experience as me? What is your monetization strategy for 2019?