I started blogging when Ashley was about 3 years old. Now, she is 16 years old. I cannot believe that I have been blogging for over 13 years *gasp*. I created my website using Blogspot with the intention of keeping a ‘diary’ on all the milestones that Ashley has achieved as well as writing about my parenting journey. I was a stay-at-home mother looking after a toddler and although I enjoyed staying home and spending time with my daughter, I felt lonely and miserable. I had no goal, no career and no friends.
Writing a blog has changed my life. Blogging was a form of therapy for me. Writing down my thoughts made me feel better. Besides that, I made a lot of friends with other bloggers who are mothers over the years and we connected through our experiences and sharing our ups and downs. As a matter of fact, some of them have become my best friends now.
After about a year into blogging, I discovered that I can make money through blogging. I was introduced to paid posts collaboration by another blogger. And as they say, the rest is history. I joined several companies in the US that connect bloggers with marketers and I was making between $500 to $800 a month. It was a lot of money to me as I was not working and the money I earned through blogging allowed me to splurge on some things for my family. I looked forward to writing paid posts and even created a few websites just to make money online. I had websites on entertainment, fashion and home decor. Things slowed down between 2011 to 2014 and I was getting fewer jobs online. I even shut down 2 of my websites. Today, I still get offers from local and international advertisers whether they are posts that I have to write myself or guest post collaboration.
The online world is still growing and there are many ways to make money through social media such as through blog, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube videos and Pinterest. In the past, companies would seek out celebrities to advertise their products or services but now, businesses are enlisting influencers and bloggers to spread the word. Influencer marketing is important in building brand relationships with people. It involves collaborating with popular or relevant influencers/bloggers who are often real-life consumers to promote the brand and increase awareness. This type of marketing works because it uses the power of social media and word-of-mouth strategy. The recommendations by influencers are often highly regarded by their followers. People are more likely to trust their peers, friends as well as people they admire more than the companies selling the products and services.
Image via https://unsplash.com/photos/yWPi5Iaiohw
Although my focus is now into monetizing my blog, I still write about my family, places that we have visited, things that I love doing such as crafts and shopping, and more to connect with my readers. When I have more time on my hand I would like to create another website to focus mainly on fashion and beauty or perhaps the keto way of eating which I am following now. There are many famous and successful social media influencers who blog full-time and built a huge following. They really inspire me to focus on writing what I am passionate about and how to be a well-rounded social media expert.
So if you are interested in blogging and monetizing your blog or becoming a social media influencer, you can start by creating your own blog or social media platform. Choose a niche that you are interested in, create useful content about it and and build your social media profile. Remember that you cannot expect to become an influencer overnight. This is a process that takes time and effort before you can see the results.
