How fast can you make money blogging in 2024? That’s what everyone wants to know, right?
Well, I’m going to try to find out.
Table of Contents
- Is it still possible to make money blogging in 2024?
- Isn’t a newsletter just a blog?
- Figuring out how to make a full-time income blogging in 2024
- Can I make money blogging about my life?
- Watch me as I learn how to earn money blogging online in 2024
- There is no one fastest way to make money blogging
- Month #6 Update
- Month #5 Update
- Month #4 Update
- Month #3 Update
- Month #2 Update
- Month #1 Update
Is it still possible to make money blogging in 2024?
There’s a lot of talk out there about the death of blogging. If you’re like me and you’ve only been paying attention to the blogging scene for the last five-ish years, then it might seem like this is new news.
Turns out, it’s not.
People have been talking about the rise and fall of blogging for almost 20 years now:
- JSTOR Daily: The Rise and Fall of the Blog (2017)
- The Guardian: Blogging is dead, long living blogging (2014)
- CopyBlogger: Blogging Is Dead (Again) (2009)
Now, it seems the latest scare email newsletters replacing traditional blogs. The main culprit? Substack.
- Forbes: The Rise of Substack and What’s Behind It (2021)
- The Guardian: What is Substack and why is it proving so popular? (2021)
- WWD: The Rise of the Newsletters (2023)
- Vanity Fair: Substack Faces Fresh Competition in the Newsletter Wars (2023)
But IMHO, I don’t think that blogs and newsletters are mutually exclusive, i.e., I don’t think newsletters are going to kill blogs.
Why? Because newsletters are just blogs in sheep’s clothing.
Isn’t a newsletter just a blog?
Bloggers have already been sharing their blog posts to readers via email blasts for literally years. Now they’re just pasting those blog posts into the body of the email instead of directing readers to a specific webpage.
So … not that different, really.
In the end, newsletters and blogs are still doing one thing: helping you share your ideas with the public.
Thus, rather than pushing us into the post-blogging era, I think the recent rise of newsletters is a net positive. Ultimately, it means people are getting back to the thing we originally loved so much about blogging: real, honest writing that’s written by people for people (not algorithms).
Figuring out how to make a full-time income blogging in 2024
Of course, whether you call it newsletters or blog posts, the question remains: Is it still possible to make money blogging?
Or, perhaps more accurately, is it still possible to make money blogging in 2024 when it feels like every person you know is trying to start a blog and/or newsletter?
After all, for many people, figuring out how to make money blogging is one of the main reasons for starting a blog in the first place.
Sound depressing? I don’t think so. Consider this:
Noble Reasons to Start a Blog:
- Share your thoughts with the world.
- Connect with others.
- Express your creativity.
Realities of Life:
- We all have bills to pay (or at least 99% of us do).
- Given the chance, most people would prefer to pay those bills doing something they love instead of slogging away at a mind-numbing job every day.
So it’s natural and understandable that a lot of people are trying to turn their Noble Reasons to Start a Blog into a way to deal with the Realities of Life.
I’m lucky because I already have a job I love.
I’m lucky to call myself a freelancer writer, which means I can work when I want, where I want, with whom I want.
But I don’t necessarily get to write WHAT I want.
That’s why I started A Merry Loner: 1) to champion my mission to help people become the source of their own happiness and 2) to write about things that interest me.
Remember: You can make money blogging. But that’s not the point.
If you think about it, being able to write and share whatever you want with the world (for free) is already pretty incredible. So being able to write and share whatever you want with the world and potentially get paid for it is downright amazing—even if there’s only a small chance of success and even if it takes a long time to get there.
Thus, we arrive (as always) at those two golden questions: Is it still possible to make money blogging? And how fast can you make money blogging?
The origin story: Can I make money blogging about my life?
I’ve been wanting to start a blog for probably close to 10 years at this point. I first had the idea back in college (that would have been around 2015/2016). I even started a simple WordPress blog (with the very same A Merry Loner name), but I quickly killed it after just a few posts because I felt silly.
Then I got inspired again during the pandemic (like a lot of the world did). But I was busy with other projects and never got around to starting.
And then I was finally ready to start my blog in 2021, but I had just begun pursuing a master’s degree and didn’t want to juggle the two projects at once (I was also working as a freelance writer). So once again, I shelved the Merry Loner blogging project.
Now it’s the beginning of 2024, and I’m FINALLY ready to start my blog. As of the day of this writing, A Merry Loner has been live for 33 days. (Woo-hoo.)
And I want to document all of it.
Watch me as I learn how to earn money blogging online in 2024
Over the past two years, I’ve been following and studying many different bloggers—partly for joy and partly because I’ve been trying to learn how bloggers make money.
Especially now in 2024, the almighty question seems to be: Do bloggers still make money?
What with the whole unstoppable rise of TikTok and generative AI, this question has stopped a lot of new wannabe bloggers (myself included) in their tracks. Honestly, it’s starting to make me really wonder if I can make money blogging.
And while I’ve learned a lot from reading other bloggers’ content, most of that content doesn’t feel very applicable to me and my situation. Many of these “How fast can you make money blogging?” courses have been created by bloggers who have been in the game for many years and have already established a considerable following.
But what about bloggers who are just starting out now in 2024? Can these bloggers still make money?
I would like to watch a total newbie start their blog and showcase their progress from scratch.
I couldn’t really find much of that on the Internet (at least nothing recent), so I’ve decided to do it myself.
Voilà my new series called: How fast can you make money blogging?
Every month, I’ll be sharing:
- What I accomplished in the month
- What products I’m using
- What courses I’m taking
- What worked and what didn’t
- What are my plans for moving forward
There is no one fastest way to make money blogging
First, I know that blogging is no get-quick-rich scheme, despite what some self-proclaimed gurus will try to tell you. On the contrary, everything I’ve read in my research across blog posts, blogging forums, and newsletters says that it takes most bloggers at least six months to see any kind of traction—and that most bloggers won’t start making money in their first year.
Is that really true?
Join me, and let’s find out together.
Month #6: How Fast Can You Make Money Blogging in 2024?
What I did this month
These are all the actions I made for my blog this month, from June 24, 2024 to July 15, 2024:
Content
Sticking to that three-month content calendar!
Okay, I’m one day behind, but I am to catch up tomorrow. I’ve been really busy with client work. But I feel good about my content calendar and the schedule I set for myself, so I’m going to keep working on that.
Stalled until website relaunch (more on that below).
Social
Pinterest is continuing to go strong, but everything else is stalled until the website relaunch.
But … big news. I’m going to go pro with social media! Last week, I had a talk with a social media manager, and today she sent me the proposal. It’s a big leap to start paying someone on a monthly basis to do social, but I trust this woman, and I really believe in what she can do.
I’m excited about it!
Technical Stuff & Miscellaneous
The website designer is hired!
We’re both busy with personal stuff for a bit, so we’ll start work on the site in mid-August with a launch sometime in September.
Again, this is a big leap taking on a big expense like this, but I feel really excited about it—and optimistic for the results it can bring.
Courses I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t take any new courses this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of blogging courses I’ve taken so far.
Products I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t buy any new products this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of products I’ve bought so far.
My Monthly Progress
For stats purposes, I am looking at the last 30 days versus the 30 days before that instead of from June 24 to July 15, 2024.
Continued growth. It looks like my average growth across variables is about 20%; last month average growth (an an eyeball’s glance) was around 40%. But still going up.
- Total Monthly Page Views (from Google analytics): 522 (21%)
- Total Monthly Event Count: 1.67K (20%)
- Total Monthly Impressions (from Google Search Console): 1.95K (Whoops. I realize I’ve been tracking the number from the last 3 months hear instead, so no comparison to last month’s post.)
- Total Monthly Clicks: 30 (Average CTR 1.5%) (Whoops. I realize I’ve been tracking the number from the last 3 months hear instead, so no comparison to last month’s post.)
- Organic Keywords (from KeySearch): 77 (-2.5%)
- On-Page Clicks: 14 (-22%)
- Non-Indexed Pages: 71 (+9.2%%)
- Indexed Pages: 22 (+4.8%%)
- Pinterest Monthly Views: 20.7k (+20%)
- Pinterest Engagements: 820 (+13.8%)
- Pinterest Outbound Clicks: 322 (+19.7%)
- Pinterest Followers: 20 (+11%)
- ConvertKit Subscribers: 5 (0%)
- Substack Subscribers: 18 (5.8%)
- Substack Followers: 21 (0%)
- LinkedIn Newsletter Subscribers: 138 (+13%)
- Domain Strength: 0.3 (0%)
- Competition Level (from Keysearch): 25 (NEW)
My Goals for Month #7
I am enjoying seeing consistent growth on my numbers. Mostly, I’m really excited about my upcoming plans with my social media manager and website designer. For now, I need to stick to writing out my content calendar so I can be ready to go live in September with a lot of content in the queue.
Let’s see how I did on my goals from last month:
Progress on Last Month’s Goals | |
---|---|
Create and launch my lead magnet challenge | I got this like 75% last month, but now I’m holding until the website is live. (Though I guess that means I’ll need to get it ready for before then…) I could still work on it in stealth, but I think I’ll focus on writing blog posts for now instead. |
Schedule Pinterst posts for July | Done! Pinterest is going strong. |
Start working on website redesign with my friend | We’ve agreed on a price and a date. She’ll begin working on the site in August for a launch in September. For now, I need to focus on writing a backlog of content. |
Draft (but don’t publish) four blog posts | I drafted 1.5 blog posts. BUT I also published a guest post on Buzzfeed, and I pitched, got accepted, drafted, submitted, and got paid for a guest post on Writer’s Weekly. It’s now in their publishing queue. |
Draft (but don’t send) four newsletters | Nope. Didn’t get this done. Honestly, just want to focus on the blog posts for now. |
In the next month, I want to:
- Draft 10 blog posts
- Sign the contract and confirm a start date for my new social media manager
- Start work on the website with the designer
- Schedule Pinterest posts for August
- Create lead magnet challenge (noting for the month after)
So, how fast can you make money blogging in 2024?
I’m writing this late, so I am tired. Honestly, I’ve got a lot on my plate and sometimes I get really stressed about all the things I want to do and have committed myself to. BUT I’m really excited about starting to work with a social media manager and a website designer. I’m really optimistic and thinking that this can finally be my moment after all this planning and tinkering. We’ll see!
Month #5: How Fast Can You Make Money Blogging in 2024?
What I did this month
These are all the actions I made for my blog this month, from May 21, 2024 to June 23, 2024:
Content
Remember how I said I finally got into a regular, committed writing schedule for blogs? Well, I went on vacation, and that all went away. I only wrote one blog post before I went away for vacation for two and a half weeks: The Problem with Shopping on Amazon Prime.
But you know what? I’m not even mad about it.
I was getting really burnt out. I needed the 2+ weeks to not only rest and recharge but to give myself a break from constantly thinking about my work … and I think I’ve come back with a better perspective!
This week, I’ve drawn up a content calendar for the next three months. I’ve decided I’m going to try the strategy of writing in advance and publishing on a schedule since it just hasn’t been sustainable to try and write something every week.
Instead, I’ve been working on some lead magnets.
I’m also done with it, but I’ve been working really hard on coming up with a 30-day challenge to build my email list. More on that soon.
Even though I was getting some good traction with my email, I’ve decided to stall it. I’m going to try to batch-write content in advance—and batch-write the email in advance, too. Basically, I’m pausing everything and will just be working behind the scenes with a planned relaunch in September.
Social
Except for social media. I’ve actually upped my Pinterest schedule. Using Tailwind, I published about 3-4 pins per day for the month of June. To date, about 55% of my traffic is coming from Pinterest—so at least I know this is working!
Technical Stuff & Miscellaneous
I’m currently in talks with a website designer to overhaul my website. I think that a big reason why I haven’t been so motivated with writing is that I don’t like the way my website looks.
I want to fix that ASAP. I want to be able to open my website and just write—and not be constantly frustrated about the way it looks (and then inevitably spend time tweaking it).
A friend is a website designer and we’re working on some ideas, so I plan to relaunch in September. We’ll see.
Courses I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t take any new courses this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of blogging courses I’ve taken so far.
Products I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t buy any new products this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of products I’ve bought so far.
My Monthly Progress
The numbers are quite a bit slower than there were last month, which isn’t great but it means that my regular posting last month did actually do something.
- Total Monthly Page Views (from Google analytics): 463 (+33%)
- Total Monthly Event Count: 1.5K (+50%)
- Total Monthly Impressions (from Google Search Console): 12.6K (+38%)
- Total Monthly Clicks: 30 (+67%) (Average CTR 1%) (stable)
- Organic Keywords (from KeySearch): 79 (NEW)
- On-Page Clicks: 17 (NEW)
- Non-Indexed Pages: 65 (+16%)
- Indexed Pages: 21 (+40%)
- Pinterest Monthly Views: 17.2k (+76%)
- Pinterest Engagements: 766 (+37%)
- Pinterest Outbound Clicks: 284 (+29%)
- Pinterest Followers: 18 (+29%)
- ConvertKit Subscribers: 5 (+150%)
- Substack Subscribers: 17 (stable)
- Substack Followers: 21 (+17%)
- LinkedIn Newsletter Subscribers: 122 (+17%)
- Domain Strength: 0.3
My Goals for Month #6
Well, I had a little bit slower growth this month, but it’s still going up. And it shows that the key really is being consistent. So even though I’m going to slow things down now, it’s all to built a content calendar that’s scheduled in advance, which will help me remain consistent in the future—and hopefully grow faster.
I don’t remember, but I don’t think I accomplished a lot of my goals from last month since I was on vacation. Let’s see:
Progress on Last Month’s Goals | |
---|---|
Publish four new blog post | Nope—I only published one. |
In the next month, I want to:
- Create and launch my lead magnet challenge
- Schedule Pinterest posts for July
- Start working on website redesign with my friend
- Draft (but don’t publish) four blog posts
- Draft (but don’t send) four newsletters
So, how fast can you make money blogging in 2024?
Once again, I’m actually feeling quite optimistic. There’s so much talk that blogging is dead and SEO is dead, but you know what? My posts are ranking! Look!
For a blog that’s only been live for six months and only has about 10 blog posts and really has not seen a lot of attention … I’m already ranking on the first page of Google! (I believe Position 9 just comes in on the first page.)
Let’s see where it goes …
Month #4: How Fast Can You Make Money Blogging in 2024?
What I did this month
These are all the actions I made for my blog this month, from April 17, 2024 to May 20, 2024:
Content
I finally got into a regular, committed writing schedule for blogs. I wrote and published five blog posts this month:
- Living with 3 Roommates: Random Strangers Became My Friends
- “Life Is Sad and Then You Die.”
- How to Stop Wanting Things
- Did This French Guy Just Tell Us The Secret to Happiness?
- Why Does It Feel Like You Have to Be Your Own Doctor?
This is largely due to Substack and LinkedIn. I’ve made it public that I have a weekly newsletter—and so now I have to stick to it.
Plus, the essay I pitched to the new online magazine was picked up! It’ll publish in a few days.
Email has really helped me be consistent with writing and not waste so much thinking about SEO, the construction of my website, etc.
I’ve been posting regularly via Substack and ConvertKit every Monday, like clockwork (though I don’t send emails at a specific time).
I also post a preview of the newsletter with a link to my Substack on LinkedIn—and I’m really surprised by the number of subscribers I already have. Plus, even though these posts don’t generate a lot of engagement (i.e., likes and comments), stats show that about 25% of people click on it to read the article. Not too bad!
Social
Yeah, I would like to return to social media again, because obviously it’s good for promotion. But I just don’t have the time. I’m barely finding the time to keep up with what I’m doing right now.
I plan to (hopefully) get into a posting schedule in the late summer / fall.
But I did decide to scale up on Pinterest; I think I scheduled 2-3 posts per day instead of the usual one. We’ll see what that yields.
Technical Stuff & Miscellaneous
I’m happy to say that by focusing on email, I’ve completely (or almost completely) abandoned my woes about technical stuff on my website.
Almost. I have a friend who is a website designer, so this is my plan: I’m not going to let myself do anything but just focus on writing content—and then in the end of the summer or early fall I’ll hire her to properly design the website.
… we’ll see! At this point, summer feels a little ambitious.
Courses I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t take any new courses this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of blogging courses I’ve taken so far.
Products I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t buy any new products this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of products I’ve bought so far.
My Monthly Progress
I check most of these stats about once a day. And when you do that, it’s kind of hard to appreciate your progress since you just see it moving little by little. But when you step back and look at what happened in the last month, it’s easier to see growth. And I’m satisfied with it!
For all of these people on the Internet trying to grow big following, these numbers are laughable. (But I always play the long game.)
- Total Monthly Page Views (from Google analytics): 348 (+112%)
- Total Monthly Event Count: 1K (NEW)
- Total Monthly Impressions (from Google Search Console): 1.88K (+181%)
- Total Monthly Clicks: 18 (+157%) (Average CTR 1%) (stable)
- Non-Indexed Pages: 56 (stable)
- Indexed Pages: 15 (stable)
- Pinterest Monthly Views: 9.8k (+190%)
- Pinterest Engagements: 559 (+112%)
- Pinterest Outbound Clicks: 220 (95%)
- Pinterest Followers: 14 (+8%)
- ConvertKit Subscribers: 2 (0%)
- Substack Subscribers: 17 (70%)
- Substack Followers: 18 (NEW)
- LinkedIn Newsletter Subscribers: 104 (NEW)
My Goals for Month #5
It was another productive month—as far as writing goes. There’s a lot more I’d like to do, but since I’m working with limited time (I spend about 2 hours per week on the blog), I think it’s okay for now.
Let’s see how I did on the tangible goals:
Progress on Last Month’s Goals | |
---|---|
Publish four new blog post | Done—I even published five blog posts. Published on my website, on Substack, and on ConvertKit. |
Increase monthly Pinterest pins | Done—I went from about 1 post per day to about 2-3 per day. I also tried some new stuff on Pinterest; instead of just posting titles of blog posts, I’ve posting some quotes with a direct link to my newsletter sign-up. I’m not sure what results this has yielded so far and/or if I’ll continue like this. I’ll see. |
Create custom pages for email confirmations | Not done—I totally forgot about this. |
Start posting Notes on Substack. | Yeah, this isn’t going to happen until later in the summer. Especially because I’ll be traveling in June and so I’ll have even less time than normal. |
In the next month, I want to:
- Publish four new blog posts (I’m committing to one post per week)
I’m going to hold steady on just this for now. I’m traveling in June, so even just doing this bare minimum will be a little challenging.
So, how fast can you make money blogging in 2024?
I’m still far away from making money from my blog—but I think I’m getting closer. Not making big money, of course. But I’d like to try setting up affiliate marketing in the next couple of months. Maybe at the end of the summer or early fall when I plan to revamp the website with a professional design and start implementing social.
We’ll see. Until next month!
Month #3: How Fast Can You Make Money Blogging in 2024?
What I did this month
These are all the actions I made for my blog this month, from March 20, 2024 to April 16, 2024:
Content
I wrote and published one blog post this month: Why Are We All So Afraid of Being Alone?
I also (mostly) drafted two more blog posts that will publish later in the month. I’m really excited about these. Unlike all the blog posts up ’til now that were heavily researched, very long (like 7,000 words long), and optimized for SEO, these three new blog posts are 100% organic. In other words, they still involve careful research (as mostly all my posts will) but I did not make any efforts to optimize them for SEO.
So we’ll see how that goes.
I also wrote an essay that I pitched to a new online magazine. If they don’t pick it up, I’ll publish it on my own blog, at least.
Big developments this month!
I launched my Substack: amerryloner.substack.com. My plan is to post on both Substack and on my own website. (But I didn’t put the SEO-optimized posts on Substack.) Ideally, I’d like to host everything from my own website (at least that’s what I’ve heard is smart, strategically for the future). But I really love the community aspect of Substack, and I want to be able to interact with other writers more … without being on social media, which I really don’t like. (More on that later.)
So for now, I’m using both Substack and Convertkit. I’ll publish the exact same content to both platforms—but people can either sign up for my newsletter (i.e., blog posts) directly through Substack or through my website via Convertkit. I don’t think I’ll use both platforms forever, but they both offer interesting but different features that I wanted to try out. We’ll see what I decide to do in the future—if I decide to make any changes.
For email, I’ve set up a welcome email, but I still want to make some more changes. We’ll get to this below in my goals for next month.
A note about Substack: I launched my Substack on April 12, 2024. And with absolutely zero promotion, I have 10 subscribers four days later! I really was surprised. At first, I thought maybe the subscribers were from SPAM accounts, but they all are legit readers who are also subscribed to very legit publications. So that was some delightful good news. 🙂
Social
I have decided to completely abandon social media, save Pinterest. (Last month I said I abandoned social media, but I was still considering using Instagram. Now I’ve decided to abandon Instagram, as well. Who knows … Maybe I’ll return there sometime later, but for the near future I don’t see it happening. I don’t use Instagram myself because I find it too addictive, and I don’t want to promote my blog somewhere I’m not personally.)
Honestly, it just felt like the best thing to. I was feeling the pressure to use social media because I feel like you have to—but I don’t use it personally, so it felt weird to try to use it for my blog. (Again, this is another reason why I wanted to use Substack because I really like the community factor.)
Technical Stuff & Miscellaneous
I have a real problem. I had a free hour between work meetings two weeks ago, and for some reason I decided that was a great time to completely redesign my website.
Sigh. Again, this is another reason why I decided to start posting my content on Substack. I was spending SO MUCH time and energy fiddling with the technical details of my website. On Substack, I don’t have to do that. I can just write. I’m already really liking it.
(P.S. I think I’m finally done editing my website. For now. I told myself I can go back to the design in six months to a year, depending on how things go. We’ll see … )
Courses I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t take any new courses this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of blogging courses I’ve taken so far.
Products I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t buy any new products this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of products I’ve bought so far.
My Monthly Progress
Once again, I’m quite happy with the progress my blog is making. It’s absolutely nothing like those people who boast zero to thousands of viewers in a month—but I’m not trying to do that.
My goal is slow and steady.
Note: Up until now, I’ve been tracking the below numbers in total. But since we’ve now crossed the three-month mark of A Merry Loner being live, I’ve decided to change these metrics to MONTHLY totals.
- Total Monthly Page Views (from Google analytics): 164
- Total Monthly Impressions (from Google Search Console): 669
- Total Monthly Clicks: 7 (Average CTR 1%)
- Non-Indexed Pages: 56 (-19.61%)
- Indexed Pages: 15 (+14.29%)
- Pinterest Monthly Views: 3.38k (+214%)
- Pinterest Engagements: 263 (+373%)
- Pinterest Outbound Clicks: 113 (NEW)
- Pinterest Followers: 13 (+8%)
- ConvertKit Subscribers: 2 (0%)
- Substack Subscribers: 10 (NEW)
My Goals for Month #4
I’m quite happy at the end of this month because I don’t feel like I spent a lot of time working on my (nor did it feel stressful), but in hindsight, I got a lot done!
Progress on Last Month’s Goals | |
---|---|
Publish one blog post | Done! Published on my website, on Substack, and on ConvertKit. |
Draft one blog post | Done! I actually drafted two blog posts. (Neither of them are 100% ready for publish just yet, but they’re close.) |
Edit the copy on my website | Done! And I finally feel happy with it and ready to commit to it. |
Create a site logo | Done! I spent 1-2 hours working on this just using Canva and my iPad Mini. And I’m quite happy with the way it turned out. |
In the next month, I want to:
- Publish four new blog posts (I’m committing to one post per week)
- Increase monthly Pinterest pins (Right now I do one pin a day. I’m not sure how many I’m going to increase this by yet—perhaps double?)
- Create custom pages to: 1) prompt people to confirm their email address when they subscribe; 2) direct people straight to the blog after they confirm
- Start posting Notes on Substack (This is a reach. I don’t want to get too ambitious. I have a busy month ahead personally, so I’ll see if I can squeeze this in. (Slow and steady is the plan.))
So, how fast can you make money blogging in 2024?
I’m still far away from making money from my blog—but that’s okay. Honestly, I don’t expect to be able to monetize my blog within the first year. Right now, I’m just focused on finding my voice, finding my way, and finding my audience.
Until next month!
Month #2: How Fast Can You Make Money Blogging in 2024?
What I did this month
These are all the actions I made for my blog this month, from February 20, 2024 to March 19, 2024:
Content
I did not produce any new content this month.
This was definitely not the plan. When I made my blog live in January 2024, I was fully prepared to work on it like it was my job … but then life happened.
If you didn’t know, I already work as a professional writer. I’m a freelance writer, ghostwriting blog posts, whitepapers, and contributed articles for B2B tech companies. Fortunately, I was even busier than normal in February and the first half of March—but that also meant I had absolutely no time to work on content for A Merry Loner.
Again, nothing here this month.
Like I said, I know that email is the super hot thing right now and it feels like everyone on the Internet is launching a newsletter.
While this is still a huge part of my plan and ultimately how I’d like to distribute a large portion of my writing, there was just no time for it this month.
Social
#1 I decided to abandon pretty much all social media (except Pinterest). At least for now.
Why? I just simply don’t use it myself. So I still have accounts open for Facebook and X, but I didn’t post anything this month.
Instead, I posted every single day on Pinterest—and I’m happy to say that I’m seeing a lot of traction here, so this is definitely part of the plan moving forward.
As for Instagram, that’s still kind of up in the air. I value this more than Facebook and X, but it’s not somewhere I’m going to direct a lot of time and/or resources just yet.
Technical Stuff & Miscellaneous
#2 I ignored all the technical stuff.
I’m counting this as an action because it’s something I actively did on purpose.
Last month, I spent so much time fussing over tiny details on my website, on my ConvertKit forms, on my social media accounts, etc. But really, none of this is doing anything to move the needle—at least not yet.
Instead, I really need to be spending my time doing the one thing that this blog is supposed to be all about: writing.
#3 I unsubscribed from a lot of newsletters.
Similarly, just as I realized that I was obsessing about the technical side of my blog, it dawned on me that I was also obsessing about the promotional side.
Don’t get me wrong—promoting content is important. (After all, we want people to read our blogs, don’t we?)
But I was really putting the cart before the horse. I was spending so much time thinking about promoting my blog … but I don’t even have that much content to promote yet. Instead, I really need to put the focus all on content creation—and then promote it from there.
At least that’s what I’m thinking now.
More specifically, I realized that I was spending far too much time reading about HOW to start a blog instead of just actually doing it. Plus, reading everyone’s panicked blog posts and newsletters about new Google updates, AI, and the end of blogging really wasn’t doing anything to help me keep a productive, optimistic mindset.
So I went on a big UNSUBSCRIBE purge. And to tell you the truth, my days have been much more calm and focused.
Courses I’ve Used So Far
I didn’t take any new courses this month. But if you want to see what I’ve done so far to learn how to launch my blog, check out this list of blogging courses I’ve taken so far.
Products I’ve Bought So Far
#4 I bought and returned a keyword research tool.
Yup. I (almost!) got sucked into another product.
And this is a big part of the reason why I decided to unsubscribe from a lot of people’s newsletters.
Sadly, a lot of the people I was subscribed to weren’t really writing emails about anything interesting to read. Instead, each email was just a long sales pitch. And one day I said to myself: “Meredith, why are you just voluntarily choosing to look at and read advertisements?”
So I hit UNSUBSCRIBE. A lot.
Funnily enough, one of the few people I didn’t unsubscribe from is the one who actually pushed me to buy the keyword research tool: Niche Site Lady.
I like her newsletters because (nine times out of 10) she just shares honest, helpful information about what she’s doing to run successful blogs. She doesn’t sell any products, and she doesn’t try to sell you affiliated products too often.
Last month she (and a lot of other people in the industry) were promoting a big sale on KWHero. I thought it looked pretty good, and it was super cheap for lifetime access, so I decided to buy it.
But once I opened it up and started playing around with keywords, I realized I didn’t really need it. At least not now. I already have KeySearch, and to be honest, I’m really happy with it. Right now, getting another tool is just a distraction from what should be my main focus: writing.
Fortunately, there was a return option (I pretty much only buy things that you can return), so I could get my $67 back, no questions asked.
Here’s the takeaway: Don’t always jump on the latest tool that everyone is peddling! You probably don’t need it. And if you have a hard time resisting temptation, just unsubscribe. After all, who wants to read newsletters that are just advertisements, anyway?
My Monthly Progress
I have to say, I am really pleasantly surprised with the results from my second month of my blogging.
Considering I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to either grow or promote my blog this month, I was really happy to see that it’s gaining traction across both Pinterest and organic search.
To be honest, before I went on an unsubscribing spree, I was feeling really discouraged by all the chatter about the death of blogging. But after this month, I’m feeling really optimistic about the future of A Merry Loner.
- Total Page Views (from Google analytics): 217 (+48.6% )
- Total Impressions (from Google Search Console): 77 (+7,600%)
- Non-Indexed Pages: 46 (+91.7%)
- Indexed Pages: 13 (+550%)
- Pinterest Monthly Views: 1.08k (+114.3%)
- Pinterest Engagements: 51 (+240%)
- Pinterest Followers: 12 (+50%)
- Email Subscribers: 2 (+100%)
My Goals for Month #3
After my first month of blogging, I made a very ambitious list of goals for the next month. And what happens when I combine a very ambitious list with a very busy month? It means I get absolutely nothing done!
Progress on Last Month’s Goals | |
---|---|
For now, this is much too ambitious. | |
I think I’m going to hold off on pitching for guest posts until I get some more content on my site. | |
This is still a priority. | |
This is not an urgent priority, but something I would like to do soon. | |
I’m going to shelve this for awhile, I think. In the future, when I have a bigger website, I’d like to work with a website developer, anyway. | |
This is still a priority. | |
I honestly don’t know if this is really worth my time or not. If I have some extra time this month, I could give it a try. |
In the next month, I want to:
- Publish one blog post
- Draft one blog post
- Edit the copy on my website
- Create a site logo
Is it still possible to make money blogging in 2024?
Despite all the doomsday claims on the Internet about the death of blogging, I’m actually finishing my second month of blogging feeling very optimistic about the future of the industry.
Certainly, even if it is still possible to make money blogging, it is neither quick nor easy. But I still believe it’s possible.
Have you recently started a blog, or are you already a seasoned blogger? If so, what have you learned along the way?
Drop me a line at itsmerry@amerryloner.com to let me know.
Month #1: How Fast Can You Make Money Blogging in 2024?
These are all the actions I made for my blog this month, from January 16, 2024 to February 19, 2024:
What I did this month
Content
#1 I wrote and published 6 blog posts.
- 14 Habits to Develop in Your 20s
- 20 Journal Prompts for Anger
- 26 Things To Do Alone in Paris
- 100 Self-Care Ideas
- Best Tea for Non Tea Drinkers
- Easiest Classic Novels to Read
This took me quite a long time because these blog posts are very, very long (I’m talking averaging between 4,000 and 7,000 words.)
Why so long? I’m trying to go with a quality-over-quantity approach and write well-researched blog posts that are hopefully evergreen content. We’ll see how that goes.
#2 I set up my ConvertKit account.
#3 I created an automated welcome email.
#4 I created email sign-up forms for my website.
While a newsletter is definitely something that will be important for the blog, it’s not the main priority just yet. Right now, I want to focus on getting blog posts published so I can grow my reach.
Social
#5 I created accounts for X, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Honestly, I’m not even sure if it’s worth my time doing X and Facebook.
I don’t really use these platforms myself, and I don’t believe that this is where my ideal audience is hanging out. BUT I’m also feeling the FOMO; I don’t want to risk not having a “presence” on these sites. So for now, I’m basically just linking to my blog posts on X and Facebook, and we’ll see from there.
Similarly, Instagram is not a primary focus. I’m posting personal pictures daily on my feed, but nothing really blog-y yet. I posted a few stories but realized it was taking up time and I don’t even have followers yet, so what’s the point?
#6 I set up Tailwind with Pinterest.
This has been great so far! Totally worth it for scheduling. I also love the communities feature; I think this will really help in growing viewership on Pinterest.
Technical Stuff
#7 I built my whole website in WordPress.
That obviously took far too many hours and was far too frustrating. Sigh.
#8 I spent time struggling with Google indexing and site speed.
I spent time playing around in Google Search console and Google Analytics, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m trying to get my site indexed, but I’m confused. (Please help.)
#9 I literally redesigned my whole website three days ago.
A few months before I launched, I spent weeks carefully designing my website. I was trying to go slow and steady and plan ahead.
But then two weeks after it was live I decided I hated everything and promptly changed it.
I expect this to be a recurring theme in my “How fast can you make money blogging?” series. My biggest problem is either getting caught up in the nitty-gritty or the bigger picture.
But you know what? Work happens in the middle.
I need to spend more time in the middle.
Courses I’ve Used So Far
Before launching A Merry Loner, I did my homework (or at least I’ve tried). This way, even though I still feel like I have absolutely no idea what the hell I’m doing, I am not going into blogging totally blind.
These are the blogging courses I’ve taken so far:
Blogging Course | My Thoughts | My Rating |
---|---|---|
The She Approach: One Year of Blog Content in One Month | This was really helpful for figuring out how to come up with topics for blog posts. It also showed me how to use KeySearch for keyword research. | 5/5 |
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing | She’s one of the most well known and most successfully bloggers, so of course I thought it was worth a look. It’s too early for me to start affiliate marketing, but this did take a lot of the mystery out of it. | 5/5 |
Angela Wills: Turn Traffic Into Email and Email Into Traffic | This is a small course that talks about how to create lead magnets. It’s simple, but it helped me come up with ideas for what to do next to start building my email list once I’ve got more blog posts published. (I’m not sure if she still sell this course? I got it as a part of the BC Stack bundle. | 4/5 |
Angela Wills: Email for a Living | This was actually really helpful in two ways: 1) it got me to think more about what I want to talk about on this blog and what I my “core values and messaging” are; 2) writing a regular newsletter can feel daunting and mysterious, but this gave me inspiration for what to do when the time comes. | 4/5 |
Create and Go: Mastering Pinterest Marketing | I consumed this course in just a few days and it really helped clear up the world of Pinterest for me. In my first month, I’ve already had over 500 impressions. | 5/5 |
Products I’ve Bought So Far
Even though I haven’t figured out how to make money blogging yet, I’ve already spent a considerable bit on my blog.
This is a rather controversial approach, as many people affirm that you don’t have to spend anything to get started. I, however, wanted to set myself up on the best path possible since I think it’s easier to go slow and steady and do something right the first time instead of back-tracking and having do undo a huge mess later.
As with everything else, we’ll see how this goes.
These are the products I’ve purchased so far for my blog:
Company | Product | My Rating |
---|---|---|
Bluehost | Domain name registration and hosting | 5/5 |
WordPress | Google Workspace Business Starter | 5/5 |
SuperbThemes | Theme for WordPress | 3/5 |
ConvertKit | Creator Plan Annual | 4/5 |
Tailwind | Annual Pro Plan | 5/5 |
AppSumo | DepositPhotos | 4/5 |
ASelfGuru | Premium Legal Bundle | 4/5 |
My Monthly Progress
So … is any of this working?
Obviously, it has been literally one month. And even though I don’t know how fast you can make money blogging … I know that it can’t be done in one month.
At this point, I don’t even know if my progress is promising or not. Here it is:
- Total Page Views (from Google analytics): 146
- Total Impressions (from Google Search Console): 1
- Non-Indexed Pages: 24
- Indexed Pages: 2
- Pinterest Monthly Views: 504
- Pinterest Engagements: 15
- Pinterest Followers: 8
- Email Subscribers: 1
My Goals for Month #2
In the next month, I want to:
- Publish four blog posts
- Pitch and write one guest post
- Edit the copy on my website
- Create a site logo
- Work on improving my website speed
- Create my first downloadable product
- Submit my blog to some blog directories
How fast can you make money blogging in 2024?
That’s what I’m trying to find out.
Have you recently started a blog, or are you already a seasoned blogger? If so, what have you learned along the way?
Drop me a line at itsmerry@amerryloner.com to let me know.