Blogging Case Study – Habits That Took Sarah Titus From $0 to $1000/month
Money runs this world. If you are working for somebody, you must have always thought of the day when you start earning for yourself and not for someone else’s company. Running a good online business can help you earn a great side income and you can even make it your full-time business if you put your heart and soul into it.
The only problem is that there are so many opportunities and traps in the online world that it is very easy to get misguided by huge figures of millions and billions of dollars. If you are looking to earn a good amount of money online as a side income or the only income, it is very important to understand that earning any money requires some sincere efforts. Nothing comes easy in this world and people who promise you big money in return for no or very little efforts are generally duping you.
It is a little difficult to start the process of earning online but once you get into the groove, it all becomes very easy. If you understand this, it is very simple to earn around 500-1000$ per month or even per day working online if you are willing to put in efforts.
If you are wondering as to where to start from, we are going to help you get an idea of how to earn online safely and easily and different ways in which you can make a descent amount of money. There are case-studies that focus on the step-by-step technical guide on how a person went from $0 to $1000/month. However, this case study will focus on the non-technical aspect of it. We will also share with you some tips and tricks you should follow and use before you start working online.
To give you an idea of how much money can the internet help you earn, take an example of Sarah who earned her first 1000$ online by blogging from home and was soon earning 10 times that amount with the right efforts.
Sarah started her blog when her husband abandoned her family. This was a turning point in her life which she knew she had to earn to sustain and protect her family and this was a major reason why she took her blog very seriously and put her blood, sweat, and tears into building it.
Her results and explosive growth are the proof of the fact that you can earn as much as you want from a blog if you use the right techniques and take it seriously.
Sarah’s strategies
- Invested time on the blog and treated it as a full-time job
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Sarah worked 100 hours a week on an average during her first year in blogging to get her blog up and running. She balanced her work and her kids and put sincere efforts into catching up where she was lagging.
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One important take-away from this technique is that if you treat it like a hobby, it will pay like a hobby and If you treat it like it’s your job, it will pay you like a job. This means that you cannot update your blog once a month and expect it to generate 1000 dollars a month. Invest your time and efforts into your blog and update it frequently so that your readers take you seriously.
- FOCUSSED ON ONE ELEMENT OF THE BLOG AT A TIME
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Many times, a blogger can get confused by the multiple options they have to promote their blog and improve their traffic and earnings. The results are that neither of the channels is focussed upon and they generate meagre sales or traffic. Sarah took a different path and tried to focus on one element at a time.
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For the blog to start earning, major channels of earning include ads and affiliate marketing. She first focussed on the correct ad placement for her blog and then proceeded to affiliate marketing. Many bloggers try to copy an ad placement from another site but it is very important to understand that every website has a different ad placement technique which works for it. The correct placement depends on the theme and the heat map of the website.
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Experiment with the placement and finalise the one which converts well for you rather that copy what others are using. That placement might have worked for them but it might not necessarily work for you.
- REFUSED TO HAGGLE FOR SPONSORED POSTS & SET A LIMIT TO SPONSORED CONTENT
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The most common mistake that bloggers make is that they undervalue their blog’s worth and settle for less payment for a sponsored post to earn some quick money. This might look worthy in the immediate future but can severely harm your blog in the long run.
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Sarah emphasises on the fact that when you get a sponsored post, be firm on the price you demand. This will give the companies an idea of how serious you are about your blog and its influence. When you succumb to a bargain, it hurts your blog and gives an idea to people that earning is your first priority and not your blog’s worth. This strategy might turn away a few sponsors but it will earn you a lot more in the long run.
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Also, she set a limit on sponsored posts and did not post more than 5-10% of the total posts as sponsored posts. This helped in building the reader’s trust as they knew that her blog has more of honest unbiased opinions and less of marketing posts.
- SET A SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM GOAL FOR YOUR BLOG
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According to Sarah, it is important to make long term and short term goals for your blog to achieve success. If you keep meddling into different earning opportunities without a definite goal, you are only going to go so far. For earning a significant income from your website, set attainable goals and write them with month-wise breakdown and then work on only those goals for that month.
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For example, if you want to increase your Instagram followers so that more brands contact you for sponsored content, decide a good number and then work on reaching that number before shifting to another goal. This way, you can keep a track of your growth and can give time to each goal.
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Follow this method for earnings as well by breaking down your earning goal of the year into months and working on achieving that goal to get to your yearend figure.
- INVEST BACK INTO THE BLOG AND DESIGN
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If you want the brands and your readers to take your blog seriously, it is important that you make them feel that you are a professional and your website should also convey the same message. You might not earn that much during the initial years of your blogging career but this is an important step to multiply your earnings.
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Another important learning from her journey is that a well-designed website always attracts more traffic and brands than a shoddy website. Hire a good website designer and share your ideas and creative concerns with them so that they can design a website which resonates with your personality and the theme of the blog.
- HELP OTHERS AND GET HELP FROM OTHERS
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Sarah has shared a great point that great bloggers help and inspire others and give the blogging world something back.
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Helping others not only helps you get confidence in yourself and your earning model but it also makes you look like a reliable blogger who actually wants to help his or her readers. This increases their trust which is worth much more than the money.
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The next thing you should do is get help from other top bloggers in your niche. The important thing to note before you nosedive into stalking other bloggers is that no one will help you unless they see you as a sincere follower or a reader.
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An easy way to achieve this is to follow them, comment on the articles, like the posts and other ways in which you can show your appreciation for their work. When this trust builds up, the other blogger also shows mutual admiration for your work and maybe will share your content with their followers also which can give you a major boost in traffic as well as earnings. You can also take a coaching from the top bloggers in your niche to learn insider tips and tricks of the trade.
- EXPERIMENT WITH TECHNIQUES AND SEE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
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Something which might have worked well for others may not work for you is one thing which Sarah clearly understood from the very beginning.
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Also, do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Learn to create different earning channels for your blog so that if one does not pay that well in a particular month, your total earnings are not affected. Keep trying different things until you get an idea of what works for you and earns you well. Once you know this, focus on that to improve the earnings even further.
- KEEP YOUR MEDIA KIT READY
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When brands and sponsors want to know your statistics and pricing, you should have your updated media kit with the traffic numbers and pricing table ready. If you seem confused about your numbers and quote different prices to different brands, this affects your credibility. The advertisers will love it if you give them a professional looking media kit with updated numbers.
- Content writing
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Sites like iwriter, fiverr, peopleperhour are great for earning a decent income through content writing. If you know your English and grammar, you can earn up to 300$ per month by writing articles on various topics. This income will significantly increase once you gain a higher level by completing basic articles.
- Affiliate marketing
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If you are a social influencer or have a decent follower base on any platform, earning through affiliate links is a cakewalk. These links require minimum efforts and are a source of continuous passive income.
- Reselling
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Reselling is a good way to earn money if you know how to sell things. You can buy something for cheaper and then sell it at a higher price to earn a significant amount of money. It will give you instant profit without many efforts. Go to a site like craigslist to get into the reselling business.
- Surveys
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If you do not want to start something of your own, participating in surveys in the easiest way to make money without any investment. Search for a legitimate survey site and starting earning easy money with just a few clicks.
- Make money using your skills
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Another simple way to earn passive income is to start monetizing your skills.
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If you are a good digital designer, you can create simple logos for brands and companies and earn 10$-15$ per design.
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You can also upload your photographs on sites like shutter stock which pay you for every download.
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If you are good at playing a musical instrument, you can offer online courses and earn a good amount of money. You can also sell handmade items on Etsy easily to earn some online income. (Recommended Reading: 15 Freelance websites for a full-time freelancer)
So these were some of the strategies that Sarah used to start and grow her blog significantly in the span of 1 year. You can check her income report here.
Sarah’s tips:
Sarah’s statistics results
The initial goal that Sarah set for herself was to earn around 1000$ a month. Within a year of starting her blog after a tumultuous experience of her husband leaving their family and the court asking her to find a job to sustain her kids, Sarah was making around 10000$ per month from her blog.
As per her latest income report, she is earning around 75000$ per month which is a huge leap from her initial goal. This figure is the total income after combining incomes from network marketing, affiliate earnings, her store sales just after 2 months of starting the store, and other miscellaneous revenue streams.
Image courtesy: www.sarahtitus.com
So these are some tried and tested tips used by Sarah which grew her blog and her earnings exponentially. Now you might say that a major part of this earning is from her store but the fact is that her store opened just two months ago and she was already making way more than her initial goal before that. Focussing on her blog and her readers made her a reputable blogger in her field which in turn bought her sponsors and affiliates. Her journey was not easy but her sheer will and determination to earn to provide for her family and protect her kids is what drove her to blogging.
Now that you know her story, it is time to share some other easy ways in which you can make money online easily without any investment or specific advanced degrees.
Some more ways in which you can earn a decent income online include:
So these are some simple ways in which you can boost your income with little or no investment. You can also use Sarah’s tips and tricks to generate a massive income through blogging if you are determined and passionate about your website. Either way, you need to have patience and let your readers or followers take your website to the top in terms of earnings and traffic but always remember to invest back in your readers to maintain that trust.
How did you earn your first dollars online? Any secret tips you want to share with us that helped you make some money?