Hi, friends. Welcome back to my blog. When you hear “Blogging,” what do you think of? Most people will ignore it. They think they already know what it means: writing something online and it involves a website. Technically yes, they aren’t wrong. However, “blog” or “blogging” has a whole different side of the business that could make a considerable profit. Here is what “blogging” really means from my point of view.
When I started working as a retail pharmacist at Rite Aid in 2014
To understand why I value blogging, I must tell my story. Five months in as a full-time pharmacy manager for Rite Aid, I was so eager to make more money. I was a little lost because I had no idea where to start. I spent more time searching “how to make more money on the side” on google than spending time with my friends (I had no friends)
The first time I heard the term “Residual income”, It was exciting because I thought: I had finally found what to search for. At that time, making more money meant I had to put in more hours, OT. College only taught me how to be a pharmacist. Courses like Statistic, Micro, and Macro Economics were nothing but junks.
I reached another level of desperation when a friend asked me to “invest” a huge amount of money (over $10,000) into his friend’s business. He only explained the business model: someone is purchasing a cheap product from China, have a warehouse to store it, mark it up, and sell it with a profit. During my research for “residual income”, I heard about that business model, so I thought it was amazing that they could do it. I had no clue who his friends were or anything about the business, but my eagerness to create passive income drove me to say “yes .”If they succeeded, I would gain a “huge” profit, so I thought. I lost it all.
Mid way into 2015, I got a new job in the hospital as a clinical pharmacist.
I found out about Amazon FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), and I went all in. For two years, I spent all my spare time and extra cash learning the business. When I thought I was ready, I purchased items in bulk to get a lower price from China. Websites such as Alibaba.com or Aliexpress.com were where I connected with my manufacturer. My first item was socks. The next item was headphones. Then it was a BBQ cleaning kit. I barely make even because Amazon’s fees consume almost 90% of my profit. I lost more money trying to advertise on Amazon pay-per-click and Facebook. All of that failed because I didn’t have the patience. All I saw on Youtube was how successful others were. I thought I could replicate the result. I became fearful of physical products because of the difficulty of Storing, Shipping, and Inventory.
After that, I shifted gear toward learning how to create a website using different tools WordPress, Wix, Shopify, … I remember I stumbled upon Flippedlifestyle.com while working as a pharmacist in 2017. I was so excited because they were in the same situation as I were, and they were able to build a successful business model through blogging. That was the moment when I decided to put my full focus on becoming a blogger.
What is blogging
For a lot of people, blogging is like a diary. It is a way to document whatever you want: daily tasks, your feeling, your point of view on a topic, or teach others about something that you know very well.
To me, blogging is a way for me to connect with others. As an adult, I work so much, and it is a little hard to make new friends. I love personal finance, so I want to create a small community where I can share my thought with others. In addition, I treat blogging as a business because I want to make money doing what I love.
My profession is pharmacist, and my passion is personal-finance, so the content I produce is a combination of those two. I also love to write tutorials to help others set up their blog.
What is the difference between a BLOG and a WEBSITE?
Yes there is a difference. A website is a general term to describe an online page made available by an individual, company, or organization. A blog is a more specific form of a website because
- A blog needs a frequent updates. For example, food recipe blogs need to have daily or at least weekly information on recipes to keep readers coming back. A few great food bloggers that I follow on IG are:
- The blog promotes reader engagement. On a blog, the reader can voice their opinion through the “Commenting” section at the end of the blog. A good blogger knows how to create a community by engaging with readers and responding to comments frequently.
Nowadays, a successful business website must have a blog component.
Can blogging make money?
Yes, it is definitely a lucrative business. As a blogger, you won’t start making any money until you gain some credibility in your niche. Well-established bloggers like Ryan Robinson—who runs a blog about blogging—can make upward of $30,000 per month. I love reading Ryan’s blog not only because it teaches me how to be a better blogger, but it is an inspiration for my business. Another great blogger who talks about the business of blogging that generates 1.5 million from his blog within two years of starting is Adam Enfroy.
Once you have more people coming to your blog, you can start making money through:
- Advertisements through Google Adsense
- Affiliate marketing by promoting other product
- Digital products such as eBooks or online classes, webinar
- Membership to access your content
Want to start your website/blog?
To blog, you need to create a website, which can be complicated. This is a part that got a lot of people hung up on. Anyone can write an essay on a piece of paper. And not everyone is computer savvy. I spent countless hours learning about blogging and where to start. There is so much information out there that can be overwhelming. I’m not too fond of it because many things aren’t straightforward, and I didn’t know what to ask.
First, you need to decide on a name for your blog, also called a domain name. Next, you need to choose the Best Blogging Platform for your needs. We recommend going with a self-hosted platform. There are a few choices regarding self-hosted platforms, but the most popular is WordPress.org. The next step is to choose a Web Hosting Services. For new bloggers, we strongly recommend BlueHost
I want to show you HOW through a free tutorial on how to start a blog with BLUEHOST. If you are interested, you can sign up below:
In conclusion
I hope that you learned a few things today about blogging. If you haven’t, here is one thing that you should keep in mind:
- Starting a business such as blogging shouldn’t be difficult. The important thing is to stay consistence. If I can do it, you can do it too.
Again, I can be your mentor. I write two GUIDES on “How to start your own BLOG” and “How to use CANVA to improve your blog graphic”. You can get them by signing up below.
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