The time is going by so fast! Back in the early spring, I had a plan and was considering launching a blog on personal finance and investments.
It feels like it’s been years since I started this blog.
I was not going to write this blog post as I still have many great ideas and content to share. But I knew that if I didn’t get it out there now, I would never do it.
This topic is more business and blog related but I thought it was interesting to share. I know that many of you have blogs, are considering one as a part-time job, or just want to learn more about mine.
Below is my approach to this blog. I also include current successes from my strategy and future plans.
This is how I have approached this blog
I have been treating Invested Wallet from the beginning as a business and potential financial asset. Do not get me wrong. I love to write about personal finance and investing. It’s no doubt that this has been the main reason for launching.
But I know that blogging can be a great source of income and could become my full-time job in the future. Finding your passion is a great way to earn money.
Also, I am very protective about what will and will not be on my site. All affiliate marketing, advertising or sponsored posts will be carefully selected.
I have already rejected a lot of offers, as I don’t want to compromise on the quality for my readers or work with companies that I do not believe in.
This blog is also a great way to test out my marketing and creative skills to see if I can grow it. You’ll already know some of my background if you’ve read the start here page.
This is a real test for me. I have to start from scratch, and then see if I can sustain it over a period of time.
Recent Wins and Misses
I quietly launched Invested Wallet in mid-June. Then, during July, I went on a cross country trip. Since August, my focus has been on the project. If you’re a technical person, it’s only been four months. But I’m going to stick with six.
Back in the day, I had a music-related blog on Blogger. It was pretty popular (mostly accidentally) for a while. This is the first time that I have run a WordPress site outside of my regular gigs.
It is highly recommended that you launch your blog through WordPress if you’re thinking of starting a blog or looking to start a business.
Let me tell you something.
Blogging takes time. Blogging is hard. The results can be very minimal, considering the amount of work involved. Even though I know this, I still get frustrated by Invested Wallet.
Some Blog Wins
I’d like to share some of the wins that Invested Wallet has had and a little bit about my own strategy.
What works for my blog may not work for you (if you own one), but it can make you think. Some aspects I like to keep under wraps, but I also want everyone to succeed!
Some major publications have featured us:
Since August, my work has been published in Time, HuffPost Business Insider, GoBankingRates Yahoo Finance MSN Rockstar Finance BBC and Best Life Online. I am currently working on a few other articles that will be published.
This list is so crazy!
It was my top priority in terms of strategy. Why?
I wanted to show off my credibility and knowledge. It helps to build trust between readers.
Create brand awareness and traction for your name. Referral traffic is a good way to start if you don’t have a social presence, connections or email list.
Increase my domain authority as quickly as possible, since new sites can take some time to be indexed.
Contact me to discuss future articles.
Sign up for HARO. It’s free. They send you three emails a day from reporters who are looking for quotes or comments on different topics.
It’s not an easy task because you have to respond quickly, be unique, or provide a detailed answer. This takes time, and you might not receive a link in return (thanks BBC! Still love you). There are days when I get no good requests.
I have found my rhythm and formula for answering questions, which seem to be working well. This is a screenshot from a few days ago. I still have a lot of work to do.
Domain Authority
Rocking Quora answers for brand visibility:
In the past year, I have used Quora a lot for both my full-time job and Invested Wallet. It’s cool that my profile is getting close to 100k views.
It won’t bring you much traffic but if your answer becomes viral, it could help. One of my answers was sent out to over 10,000 people via email. The answer received more than 19,000 views.
This week, it also generated 600 more page views. This can be a big deal for a growing and new blog.
Quora
Don’t expect this to work every time. My answers are usually viewed between 200 and 800 times, with maybe 5-10 views per day. It does help, but not much.
You can see my formulas for answering questions on each of my answers. Quora also allows you to submit links that will be added to their feeds. It takes some time for me to become visible.
Start Making Money Now:
I am passionate about my writing and about running this blog. But I am also a business-minded person with the goal of making money.
It can take up to a year for new bloggers to make any money. It’s not that I haven’t been trying to make money, but it is starting to happen even without ad networks.
By the end of December, I will have made about $500. I am also in a few conversations about other projects with brands. Combining my writing skills with my marketing knowledge and website.
It’s too early to tell if these conversations will be successful, but I am excited that we are having them now. #Blessed
Some Blog Misses:
Like everyone else, I had my own goals and misses. We’ll explore them in more detail below.
Get 10,000 Pageviews In One Month!
It was a difficult goal for me. It takes time, and with little organic (Now starting) traffic and a full-time busy schedule, this was a longshot.
It is certainly possible, and I don’t doubt that I could have done it if I had put in more effort.
I’m very close to surpassing 10,000 pageviews. I usually only post once a week. Recently, I’ve been aiming for two.
I believe I will be able do this within the next two to three months. The promotion of content is also something I hate, but it’s a vital part of blogging. Ugh.
Most of my blog posts have between 300 and 1,000+ pageviews.
Guest Posts 1x per Month:
My guest blogging on numerous websites has helped many bloggers and businesses grow. I literally did nothing for any website.
Facepalms heavy here.
This was forgotten because I was so busy with my own content and marketing. Also, trying to avoid burnout, that I didn’t have time for this. I plan to do some in 2019. If you’re interested in a blog interview or guest post, please contact me!
Future Blog Plans
I will be updating my site at the end this month. I plan to add a page called “Work with Me”. I’d like to add marketing consulting and define this. There are many opportunities, aside from brand partnerships, sponsored content, or advertising.
Interviews on podcasts and guest blogging: I will be interested in doing podcast interviews and being interviewed for podcasts. I already have one for January, with a great website. But would love to do even more.
Free guide: I would like to create a guide that is free for download. I’m still figuring out ideas and directions.
Posting twice a week will be my biggest challenge, as I am mentally exhausted by the end the week. In addition to my full-time job in marketing (where I do a lot writing), I am also trying to grow my blog and work on my finances. It’s also hard for me to write more than one article because I prefer articles that are in-depth. We’ll see if I can get more than 2x published.
Marketing, outreach and networking are all ideas I have in mind to continue growing this. I won’t share everything here, but maybe I will do a follow-up on what worked and didn’t.
