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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think I can make money doing this?

89 replies

redribbonss · 17/07/2019 19:29

I see so many bloggers making money and I think what if I could too! It looks really easy and there seems to be a lot of money to be made

I'm a sahm right now but I don't want to go back to the 9-5 after my child starts school in September. I want to make my own money
AIBU by thinking I could do it or am I being a fantasist? Have you ever wanted to start one but didn't? I can't get the idea of doing it out my head

OP posts:

tenbob · 17/07/2019 20:19

I’ve got a friend who has 60k followers on Instagram (and is often slated on the instamums threads on here)
She spends several hours a day doing stories and replying to messages, but she doesn’t make much cash money from it.
She gets sent shed loads of free stuff, but you can’t pay a mortgage with free kids clothes...

bridgetreilly · 17/07/2019 20:22

Having a blog is a lot of fun SO LONG AS you are not trying to make money from it.

Having a blog which you are trying to generate significant money from is VERY hard work. Most bloggers are lucky to cover their costs.

Sparklesocks · 17/07/2019 20:22

With all the popular/successful blogs you see and hear about, there are thousands of others which never get off the ground with tiny amounts of hits.

It’s very difficult to make money from blogs/vlogs now, maybe a few years back when it was on the rise but now it’s incredibly saturated unless you have a very unique niche with mass appeal.

prawnsword · 17/07/2019 20:26

More money to be made on YouTube, insty and getting sent products, which you can then sell online or use for gifts throughout the year. If you are a popular personality people can give you money via Patreon.

It’s not easy though. Creating quality content consistently even when you’re creatively drained is not fun or easy.

Sobeyondthehills · 17/07/2019 20:29

I run a small blog, I went into knowing that I was never going to make any money.

I have a following. One of my friends has over 50k and still doesn't make any money from it

MmmBlowholes · 17/07/2019 20:30

No offence but you sound like you don't know a damn thing about it!

CloserIAm2Fine · 17/07/2019 20:32

By all means blog because you enjoy it, but don’t do it as a get rich quick plan because you will only be disappointed

You don’t even have an idea of what you would blog about, you don’t use social media currently, I really think you’d be better off getting a normal job.

SparklesandFlowers · 17/07/2019 20:33

OP, have you thought about teaching a class or having a franchise? Something like Baby Ballet? You can be in charge of your own hours and finish in time to collect DC from school.

I looked into it and nearly started a franchise but was offered a job instead. But I would have enjoyed being my own boss!

LaurieFairyCake · 17/07/2019 20:33

I don't even understand 'blog'

I have Facebook, my dog even has Instagram. I have dozens of apps on my phone, my own website.

Not once have I ever read a blog, nor do I know where to find one

DonkeyHohtay · 17/07/2019 20:39

You and thousands of others.

In order to stand out from the thousands and thousands of people who think they can make a living from a vlog or a blog you need an angle. You need something which will set you apart, some skill you wish to share, something distinctive.

The world does not need yet another mummy blog about going to the park or the best nappies to buy.

Yawn.

theunrivalledjoysofparenting · 17/07/2019 20:41

Can you write well?
Do you have a niche to write about, or a USP?
Do you have 5k followers?
Are you used to spending loads of time on social media?

Who will pay you? And for what?

First you need to build your brand. And your following. Then you need to create content that people will read ...

Do your research!!

WhenOneFacePalmDoesntCutIt · 17/07/2019 20:43

I think anyone who starts a business because it's "easy money" is likely to be disapointed

LuckyLou7 · 17/07/2019 20:47

Start by setting up a twitter account and posting witty tweets 2 - 3 times a day, and see how many followers you have after a week. It is very difficult to get a huge following unless you are a celebrity or related to a celebrity, or running a fan account. The same applies to blogging. Unless you are unique and have a strong social media presence, your blog will be roundly ignored. It's not an easy way to make money but it could be a fun hobby.

SabineSchmetterling · 17/07/2019 20:51

My sister has over 30,000 followers and isn’t making a living. She sees it as a hobby and gets some freebies here and there but its not as lucrative as people seem to think. What sort of blog were you thinking of?

Sosadinside · 17/07/2019 20:59

Some ‘bits of craft & DIY’? Sorry OP but who on earth is going to be interested in that?! The very first thing you need to do is check out your competition, and there will be LOTS of it.

I’ve run a blog, it’s great. It’s a fun way to get creative, you meet some really nice people - but honestly, if your aim is to make a living from it because it ‘looks easy’, you’re deluded. It’s hard work to foster and grow a following even if you’re doing it for fun or to promote other activities or businesses; to earn an income from blogging alone entails relentless hard work and a real understanding of the SM environment, which you seriously don’t seem to have. And audience expectations constantly increase - you can’t just stick out any old shite so you at least need to have writing/photography/storytelling skills as a bare minimum. Maybe think again!

Raylas · 17/07/2019 21:03

I know someone with a pretty successful blog. Pretty sure she makes some money from it and it has helped her find paid writing jobs. And she gets sent a lot of products. She makes it look easy but it isn't. Constant work, thinking of content, building up social media, understanding seo, interacting with followers. She must be thinking about it all the time. I'm super impressed and bit jealous because she literally made it from nothing while our children were babies. She writes well, is funny and her and her family are all pretty cute which must help. I think she has family members who know about marketing and web design too which must be useful as well.

All that being said of course it's possible. Far as I know her background wasn't writing or social media stuff. You don't need huge social media following to have a successful blog - but you do have to build one as you go.

SureWhatsAnotherOne · 17/07/2019 21:04

As someone who is often paid to write blog posts, I can say that it would be difficult to make a living from it going it alone. Most websites that I write for have a team of digital marketers handling everything from content schedules to social media accounts.

And to the poster who says they've never read a blog in their entire life- a high percentage of non-retail websites nowadays are actually blogs. So chances are you've read quite a few. It's not as 'dear diary' as it once was. Blogging is now a cunning marketing tool used by most business with an online presence.

happybunny007 · 17/07/2019 21:04

People who are successful at this are really passionate about what they do. You do not sound really passionate, you sound a bit lukewarm about the whole thing.

DonkeyHohtay · 17/07/2019 21:10

Agree with the PP who is paid to write blogs, that's what I do too.

I need a working knowledge of things like SEO, meta tags, keywords, outbound links, subheadings, slugs, WordPress.....

OP you are hopelessly naive I'm afraid.

GloGirl · 17/07/2019 21:16

I'd be tempted to run 2 blogs.

Write one for 3 months. Set up another "Follow me as I try to make money blogging".

Let people watch your journey and be raw and generous with your knowledge and experience.

More than likely your most popular blog will be the money blog, but keep at them both till you can build up a big enough following.

When there's a gold rush, start selling shovels not look for gold.

FelicityButtercup · 17/07/2019 21:19

I've name changed to comment because I prefer to remain under the radar

I am not a blogger as such but I have a following of 500K on a social media channel. I make a lot of money from my affiliate marketing and my paid partnerships among other things.

However Op, you're jumping the gun a bit here. To make money, you need content. And viewing and engaging with that content, you need a large audience. This doesn't happen overnight when you're doing it alone.

I'd start your blog and see how you get on. Brands will come knocking when your numbers are up and you have high engagement. It's taken me a couple of years and I now have a team who help me but it's me who does the vast majority

itwasadarkandstormy · 17/07/2019 21:20

Watching with interest. I'm building my blog as we speak! I have what I hope is a great USP, but you can never be quite sure.... OP, read Crushing It - it gets you in the zone....!
Good Luck

BSintolerant · 17/07/2019 21:22

Have a look at this:

smartblogger.com/make-money-blogging/

GloGirl · 17/07/2019 21:22

Can I ask @FelicityButtercup if you dont mind, broadly speaking what was the thing you did that jumped you from a few hundred to a few thousand do you think? Not the detail of course - but was there a method or habit or a turning point when it went from fun to "big"?

Please feel free to ignore me, I'm just soaking up the advice when I can get it!

Parsnippy · 17/07/2019 21:26

You need to be to talk total bollocks

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