Hello and happy Saturday. I'm hoping this post is not going to be too long or too rambling. There's a lot to cover here and I don't want to leave anything out. So let's start at the beginning. 😮
I started this blog in July of 2009. So wow, the blog is 10 now! When I started, I never in a million years thought anyone would read it let alone make money on it. My goal was to share simple living tips and present a life that could be lived beautifully on v little money. And that's what I awkwardly continue to do.
It was about 4 years ago that people began really monetizing their blogs. I was interested but I don't have great computer skills and most of the programs that allow you to make money take computer knowledge to just install and learn your way around their sites. My first ads were through google ads and they are still here. That's the ad you see in between each post. I remember the push back when I installed them. Readers were outraged that they would see an ad for lunch meat on my vegan cooking blog. I had to explain that the ad they saw was following them, not me. I will still get emails telling me how unethical it is to have that sort of ad. I think we all know now exactly how those ads work. If you look at a dress at Nordstrom, it now appears on your IG or Facebook or wherever. So I've stuck with google ads because they are not that offensive and I make a small amount each month when you guys click something of interest to you. You don't even have to buy it. I average $30-50 a month from them. When I've accumulated $100, they deposit it directly into my bank account.
Just last year I met the requirements of Reward Style and they allowed me to begin placing their ads on my blog. I like this better because I get to choose the ads. You see them on my sidebar 👉
I absolutely love finding beautiful things online and showing them to you. I'm not offended by them and I hope you aren't either. I do research the items, like where it's made or the fabric and the reviews. If I like it then I'll post it or even sometimes buy it myself. I can make more on Reward Style because the retailer pays me a small commission. This dress I'm shamelessly promoting is a perfect example. I bought it at H&M for $19 and I believe the commission is almost $2. So you can see I'm not getting rich but I would say I average $100 on a good month. Btw - love love love this dress. It's cotton/linen blend, hides a world of sins and very well made. I think the stock is getting way low...!
There is a great deal of pressure from these advertising companies for bloggers to promote their products. You may have noticed that a lot of blogs are plastered with ads now. They have ads in-between paragraphs, pop up ads and big banner ads. Those aren't for me. I sometimes get confused as to whether I'm reading the blog or the ad! But I also recognize that this is full time work for many people and they need to make money writing. And trust me, it isn't exactly a picnic trying to come up with content if you
HAVE to. I don't so my ads and approach to blogging is a bit gentler. There are bloggers out there making millions each year, they have entire teams working for them. I know this for a fact because I have a close friend who worked for a young LA fashion blogger. She's very popular and is making multi-millions now. So good for her!
So that is how I make money. I like that I'm an old lady blog and I started blogging about fashion over 50 and now it's over 60 and with any luck I'll get to continue. Thanks for reading, as always, this blog is nothing without you. x
