Last week, I discussed my approach to blogging numbers – page views and money talk and everything in between. I shared that while I do have goals for my blog, I never view you all as page impressions or subscribers. I value the relationships. I blog for my passion. That’s what keeps me going. Please, please, please never forget that!

Howevvvveeerrrr….I know many of you showed interest in the behind the scenes stuff of the good ‘ole blogging world. I took some of the common questions I got in that post or have received via email often – specifically about money and increasing readership. Today I will talk about the money side of things from my personal experience. Hold onto your hats, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

Money & Blogging

Let’s jump in to the hush-hush stuff from the get-go shall we? Quite a few mentioned they are simply curious as to how much people can make from blogging. I can’t speak for others, but I will tell you in a vague round about way where I stand. I can hardly believe I’m going here, but why the heck not?

source

The best comparison I can come up with? I probably earn comparable to a part-time grocery bagger. Only blogging is a whole lot more fun! And I don’t have a manager breathing down my neck every 5 minutes. It’s “work” I can do that allows me to pursue a passion in a flexible way, do what I feel meant to do and follow the path it takes,  and still be a mom first. <—most important!

The point of this is to say it’s hard to make a full income from blogging. I don’t even think most bloggers expect blogging to act as their main source of income. I know I don’t.  And like I said last time – I would continue blogging even if I didn’t make a cent from it.

In my opinion, blogging simply opens up opportunities to other ventures (like Julie with freelance writing) or it works well alongside other personal goals and plans (like my plans with personal training).

I cannot emphasize enough – DON’T. BLOG. FOR. MONEY! Blog for the passion and enjoyment. Please. I beg of you!

How I Have Found Opportunities via Blogging

This one is simple to answer, but hard to put into practice. I gained opportunities in blogging two ways. The first way I get opportunities through blogging? Companies contacted me.

Love Grown, Champion, NuNaturals, and the Mom Central Consulting review network are just a few recent examples of companies and networks I work with that first reached out to me. I don’t quite know how they find me in the first place, but I think the fact that I focus on developing relationships, producing quality content, and working hard helps these brands feel comfortable working together.

That now brings me to the second part of finding opportunities through blogging.

Don’t be afraid to ask.

After building a relationship with a brand, or even a fellow blogger or blog network, sometimes you have to put yourself out there and ask for an opportunity.

For example, working with Love Grown at the Healthy Living Summit only came about because I asked them if they would be interested in having me represent them at the conference. I only suggested it after already developing a strong relationship of mutual respect with them, but I still had to take that leap of faith for it to happen. It wasn’t handed to me on a silver platter.

Becca and Jason – Two of the awesome people behind Love Grown. Spread the love!

There are countless opportunities out there that come about just from making connections and then not fearing making yourself vulnerable if you notice a possibility from those connections. That is not to say you buddy up with people solely for the sake of getting something from them down the road.

It all goes back to not blogging for the numbers, but instead representing yourself well. I appreciate the opportunities as a way to help support my family a tiny bit extra, but I still remember the following: to focus on being myself, writing what matters to me, and enjoying the community.

Stand for what you believe. Connect with other like-minded individuals and companies. Keep your eyes open, but stay true to your core values. Care about your reputation and what you put out there. And after all that, don’t be afraid to go after and believe in your goals.

• Has blogging opened up any fun opportunities for you? What?
• Let me know if you have any questions regarding readership for Part 3.
• Aaaannnddd…how crazy do you think I am for talking about this?

I have a bit of fear publishing a post diving into such topics as page views, money, and blogging…from a personal perspective, no less. You know me, though - touchy topic and I’ll suck it up and jump right in. Mainly in the hopes of opening up some good discussion and giving you a glimpse into my perspective on blogging and why I emphasize what I do.

super attractive action shot of me writing this very post

At the Healthy Living Summit conference, Ashley from the blog Coffee Cake and Cardio asked Lisa, Janetha, Beth, and I if we could give any specifics related to our blogging. I will own up to feeling like a deer caught in headlights in that moment.

I imagine that moment is when this picture was taken.

After some adequate time to think and mull this all over, I now have a lot I can discuss. So, let’s get the ball rolling!

In the discussion, I brought up that I have some blogging related goals. I don’t think I have ever shied away from the fact that I make a small amount of income from the blog. When I set out to start blogging, I did not have it in mind to earn a cent from this little hobby. I didn’t even know you could! I simply loved sharing my life and having a place to ramble about fitness with other like minded people.

With more time, I fell more in love with blogging, putting my story out there, and connecting with others. I signed up for BlogHer when they offered me a spot in their publishing network because I figured “why not”.

With time, I realized that this blogging venture could be something amazing for myself, as it continuously helps me grow as a person, and also for my family, giving me the opportunity to help support my family (even the smallest bit) financially in a flexible way that still allows me to be a mom first

I have goals to see my blog grow and develop for a few other reasons too:

• it will work in conjunction well with other goals I have (personal training)
• I truly believe God put blogging on my heart and that I’m meant to do it at this time in my life

As I blogged, time passed and this happened…

My little baby blog began to grow little bit by wee little bit and then hit steady increases in readership since April or May of this year. I won’t go into specifics, but I can tell you that my readership has increased 500% in the past year. You can decide if you think that means going from 100 to 500 page views a day or 100,000 to 500,000 a day. Although I can tell you right now it’s not even close to the latter. Haha! I laugh at the thought of that ever happening.

I think people have a skewed impression of my blog’s reach. In fact, I know some do. After some discussions with a few other bloggers, my thoughts were confirmed that people think I have a much larger readership than I do. I’m okay with that. Do you know why?

While I do have goals for my blog, I do not emphasize the numbers. I value the relationships, living out my passion, and sharing my story. I allow those things to grow my blog as they will in a natural way.

I only really keep track of my blog’s readership, so I can:

• know what works and what doesn’t in my blog’s layout
• understand the content you value most as a reader
• have accurate information to give companies who request the information
• see what ventures outside of writing my own posts most effectively use my time

Page views, subscribers, and my paycheck are never the goal for my blog.

Despite not coming close to comparing to some other bloggers’ statistics out there, I have found opportunities through blogging outside the publishing network via review programs and sponsorship opportunities. I cannot emphasize enough that I think these come because my goals for the blog lie in being real and building relationships.

Companies will work with me because they know I will work hard and that you and I have a bond *likethis*. They can see I care about what I share and how much I love you all. They notice the community I strive to create here in FFF-land as I hopefully encourage you while you motivate and inspire the heck out of me in return.

I think (and hope) my determination to keep this blog a place of positive community makes an impact – it may not always show up the highest page views, but it does show up in trust and connection. That’s what matters to me and what helps my blog reach expand. That is why I don’t get caught up and put too much time into the numbers game when it comes to blogging. I know I can only do what I do and then I have to trust God to take it where it is meant to go and reach just who it should reach.

I always say money (and with money, page views and all other related numbers) can't be the motivator behind blogging. I ask myself - if I wouldn't make a cent off my blog...would I still do it? And if that answer ever becomes "no", I will stop. Plain and simple.

I honestly blog because it is my passion and something I feel I need to do. This quote about sums it up for me:

I quite literally cannot go a day without thinking about FFF and you all.

That's my passion in blogging...that's why I do it. The passion. The connections. The deep down in my gut feeling of rightness. The fact that it can lead to opportunities to help support my family just acts as icing on the cake.

I never view you as page views, subscribers, or clicks to spike my checking account. I love YOU for reading. For supporting. For showing me I can trust God and His plans. For helping me to grow as a person day in and day out. Thank you for reading. I look forward to continuing this discussion in a post later this week or next that will focus on why I think my page views increased and more specifics in the goals I set for my blog. I hope you stay tuned!

• What is something you can’t go a day without thinking about?
• Do you have anything you want me to discuss in the next post?

And if interested in learning more about money and blogging - Katy has already done a wonderful post on different ways to earn revenue,