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Your creativity and hard work as a blogger can pay off! If you are new to blogging, or knee-deep in your part-time hobby, read these blogging success stories and learn how they made it big!
If you haven’t started your blog yet, read my easy tutorial on How to Start a Blog. But, if you still need some inspiration ready the blogger money-making success stories below
5 Blogging Success Stories
Blogging can be a long journey, full of hard work! But, it can absolutely pay off. And in a big way!
Chasing Foxes, Silas and Grace Moser
Blogging niche: Lifestyle, traveling and making money online
Blog Started in: 2016
When Silas and Grace started their blogging project Chasing Foxes, they were living below the poverty line! Dreaming of a way out and an income of their own, they started their own blog Chasing Foxes and in just four months after launching they were making enough money to quit their day jobs!
They quickly became an impressive blogging success story, in record-time. With money coming in from the blog, they were able to live out their passion of traveling full time.
They share tips on everything from home improvement, health, finances and traveling on www.chasingfoxes.com. Silas and Grace Moser also provide lots of great tips on how to make money online and avoid amateur blogging mistakes.
Blogging Income sources:
Ads, affiliate sales
Favorite blogging success learning tip:
Blogging for success takes a lot of hard work! Grace Moser suggests not wasting any time, instead of watching t.v. in your free time, blog.
If you read a great article with advice on blogging, execute on it! Don’t just bookmark it for later. And really spend a lot of time on your headlines.
Check out the Chasing Foxes blog income report on how they made over $10,000 in one month!
Just a Girl and Her Blog, Abby Lawson
Blogging Niche: Money, Planning and Organization
Blog Started In: January 2013
Abby Lawson started her blog in January of 2013 on a whim! What started for her as a simple creative outlet, has turned into a full-time family business. Her passion is “creating a beautiful, thriving home, life, and business and helping others to do the same.”
She blogs about home organization, DIY and decorating tips as well as sharing what she has learned about running an online business. The success of her blog has given her the ultimate work-from-home job.
One piece of business advice for blogging Abby shares is to grow your email list!
Blogging Income sources:
Online courses, eBooks, and affiliate marketing like Bluehost and Amazon. She hasn’t published an income report since December of 2016 but in that month alone she made $41,700. A little over 2 years later, I’m sure that number is much higher! Abby is a blogging success story to follow.
Favorite blogging success learning tip:
I love what Abby had to say about personal confidence and what is possible in life. She describes herself as “the girl who was afraid of everything.” She started her blog in spite of feeling like other people were smarter and more talented than her.
Taking that leap has paid off and blogging has shown her that anything is possible!
Read the full story of how she started her blog.
Pinch of Yum, Lindsay Ostrom
Blogging Niche: Food and Recipes
Started in: 2009
Another blogging success story you can learn from is Pinch of Yum. Lindsay Ostrom started Pinch of Yum as just a casual hobby in her free time while she worked as a fourth grade teacher. But her blogging hobby turned into a full-time income with millions of readers!
She shares fresh and flavorful recipes and says her goal is to “inspire you with food that is both approachable AND exciting, whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family, your roommates, or your friends.”
Lindsay also blogs about her personal life and experiences in addition to recipes. Her Instagram account actually features readers every Friday who have tagged her in their own food photography and recipes for a fun interactive element.
After a year of blogging, she placed ads on the site. Within 3 years of monetizing her blog with ads and digital products, she was making the income she needed to quit her day job. Her blogging success dreams a blogging success reality.
While some bloggers claim to find success quickly, as Lindsay’s story shows, it can take time and a lot of hard work before you can go from part-time to pro.
She and her husband created an educational online community at Food Blogger Pro where you can learn tips and tricks on successful food blogging.
Blog Income sources:
Affiliate links (Bluehost and Amazon are two biggies,) sponsored content, online courses and workshops and ads placed directly on their blog from AdThrive.
Favorite blogging success learning tip:
Invest in a good camera and good imagery. Your pictures are a hook to bring in readers and fans. When it comes to blog traffic, Lindsay says that it can plateau periodically, even for a long time, and then get bumped up to the “next level”. So, don’t lose hope in that situation!
Her advice is to make your content available across more platforms to get your blog in front of new faces and increase growth.
Take a look at the food photography on Pinch of Yum!
Smart Passive Income, Pat Flynn
Blogging Niche: Making Money with PAssive Income
Started in: 2008
Another professional blogger who has experienced major success is Pat Flynn. Pat was laid off from his architecture job in 2008. That year, he started his first website designed to help architects understand LEED.
He quickly realized it was getting a lot of traffic so he created a digital ebook and started selling it. He made $7,000 in his first month!
Wanting to share the success story, he started his own blog called Smart Passive Income. And the rest is a blogging success story of monumental proportions! Between 2015 and 2016, Smart Passive Income made $1.6 Million!
Blog income sources
Advertising, affiliate marketing, ebooks and podcasts, speaking engagements and even audiobooks.
Favorite blogging success learning tip:
Pat stresses consistency as a key to success. Keep at it! He also stresses that you should create and make obvious your personal brand. And, lastly, diversify your income sources.
Making Sense of Cents, Michelle Gardener
Blogging Niche: Personal Finance
Started in 2011
Another professional blogger making beaucoup bucks is Michelle Gardener. She started her blog Making Sense of Cents to help herself improve her finances. And boy did she ever!
She was able to quit her day job and become a full-time professional blogger. She even spent a lot of time just traveling!
2018 was the last time she disclosed her blogging income but that year she made $1.5 million.
She has an exciting, million-dollar blogging success story and she gives lots of tips on how to make your blog a success on her website. I highly recommend her course on affiliate marketing.
Blog income sources
Advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored partnerships and educational courses.
Favorite blogging success learning tip:
Michelle stresses simplicity. You can take complex topics and make them simple for your audience, which keeps them coming back. It is a way you can differentiate your blog from other’s.
Don’t think it is too late to become a successful blogger! Yes, there is a lot of competition out there, but she was told the same thing back in 2011 when she started out. Just take the plunge and start for yourself.
Start your own successful blog
There are plenty more stories of successful bloggers making big money out there! With some hard work and dedication you could be the next one.
Ready to start your own money-making blog? Learn the simple steps here and start today!
Updated Dec. 23, 2021
More Blogging Tips for success:
My First Blogging Income Report
5 Best Bogging Tools for Beginners
15 Blog Post Ideas for Beginners
MY FAVORITE HELPFUL BLOGGING TOOLS:
Tailwind for Pinterest to help boost your blog traffic
ConvertKit for email automation and landing page conversions
Keysearch for keyword research
Elegant Themes for design themes
Canva for graphic design
Stupid Simple SEO course for SEO tactics
Long Tail Pro keyword research
Fiverr for freelance designers
