5 Things I Did to Triple my Blogging Income

“Focus on being productive instead of being busy.”

I read this quote a few months ago and a lightbulb went off in my head. I was working harder, not smarter, and I knew I needed to change that. So I did. In the last 3 months, I’ve tripled my blogging income. I went from making low four figures per month, to three consecutive 5 figure months. I’m on track to do 1.5x my corporate salary by the end of 2020. This shift in my business wasn’t an easy one and it didn’t happen overnight. It took time, research, effort, sacrifice, and gall. Ultimately, the 5 things below helped me to triple my blogging income.

Make it official.  I officially registered my business and hired an attorney to handle all the legalities of running a business. She is handling my trademark, she does contract reviews, and she will handle the copyrighting for my e-books moving forward. Once you make your business official, you will more than likely start to treat it like a business, and not a hobby.

Open a business bank account. I think many people downplay doing this, but opening a business account financially opens your eyes. For the longest time, my blogging money, and my corporate salary were going into same bank account. As a result, I wasn’t keeping track of how much money I was actually bringing in from my blog. Keeping an accurate account of my blogging income surprised and motivated me all at once. Having a business account helps me manage my checkbook and make realistic financial goals based on the the way business is going. A bonus is that having the business account will be very helpful during tax season, since all of my income will be easily tracked in one account.

Delegate tasks. As much as we wish we could do it all, we can’t. And that’s okay. Delegating specific tasks to professionals in that realm is a game changer. I’ll be the first to say, delegating tasks can get expensive. But I promise if you choose the right people, you’ll pay yourself back ten times over. The most important investment I’ve made is hiring a photographer on a retainer. My photographer Mike D is so amazing at what he does. He is a creative at heart, which fuels my creativity. Having him ensures consistent imagery across the board, which adds value to my brand. I also hired a graphic designer, Simple Blyss, to handle all of my digital assets/ products (i.e., e-books, media kit, website design, etc.) I designed my first e-book in Canva. I hired Simple Blyss for my second e-book. While I’m proud of doing my first e-book all on my own, a blind man can tell the difference between the two. Delegating tasks frees up time for you to focus on creating. When you focus on creating, you will start to perfect your craft. When you start to perfect your craft, the money will come.

Set a monthly goal. Set a monthly income goal and don’t stop working until you meet the goal. Start small and work your way up. Your income goal will increase as you start to land more deals. The key here is to pitch consistently. Even when pitches don’t land, keep pitching. Set a schedule and stick to it. I pitch no less than 10 brands a week, using several different methods. I’ll talk more about this in my upcoming social media e-book, so stay tuned.

Do creative concepts for collaborations. Believe it or not, blogging is more than taking pretty pictures with products. The picture needs to tell a story, it needs to connect with your audience. That what makes it curated content. I’ll be honest and say that I used to just take pretty pictures with products. Sooner than later, I learned that to make money, you don’t need to be a picture taker- you need to be a content creator. A brand that I’m working with asked me to do a creative concept for the collaboration. This was the first time a brand requested this, and I was a little intimidated. A creative concept is essentially a guideline for the content you will create before you actually create it. From the captured image, to the product placement, to the caption, to the story script (if applicable). This seemed very much like I was being micro-managed, but I learned rather quickly it was the furthest thing from that. I realized that doing a creative concept was a blessing because it pushed me to really be creative and think about what story I was going to tell. I’ve started doing creative concepts for majority of my collaborations and I can see the difference in my content.

By incorporating all of these things into my brand, my income has increased tremendously. I’m also much more confident to ask brands for what I feel I deserve. If you’re reading this, I want you to be able to do the same. I’m claiming Q4 as the most fruitful quarter of the year for all of us!

Let me know which of these tips resonated with you the most.

Xo, Consuella ♥