I love blogging. Absolutely love it. It’s so much fun to write about things that resonate with people, help them better manage their homes, educate them about great new products, and speak to their souls. I love all the comments and shares I receive and am grateful, and humbled, for every single one. And I now especially love that my blog is successful: I make money blogging. While I am nowhere near a mega blogger who makes $10,000+ a month and have so much growth that can still yet occur, I have seen good growth and I have turned my blog into a business. (And I feel a bit like these kids sometimes:)
Who knew two or three years ago I would develop this passion for blogging and that I would come this far so soon. I had originally hoped my blog would bring in a few extra hundred dollars a month for our family. We could use a few hundred extra. But, that couple hundred was surpassed pretty quickly; right now I’m averaging about $2000 a month before expenses. This money is definitely helping our young family as we work to pay off student loan debts and put my husband through his doctorate program. God has truly blessed us and continues to bless us. I pray for guidance as I write, blog, and seek new opportunities, always giving thanks to God along the way for the great opportunities and incomes this new business affords us.
Working from home has not been easy. Starting a business from nothing has not been easy. Growing a successful blog has not been easy. Behind the scenes of this blog is a lot of work, time, dedication, and a never-ending hunger to push forward and continue to grow by learning and trying new things. It’s why I’ve decided that this year I would finally attend my first in-person blog conference(s). And I just bought my ticket to my first one last week!
I’m Attending the SoFabU OTR Dallas Blog Conference!
The only conference I have previously attended was the OnlineBlogCon 2013. In order to get discounted tickets ($49 instead of $99) to the SoFabU OTR (#SoFabUOTR #cbais) I agreed to write a little about the conference to share with you all, but all opinions are my own.
The Social Fabric University On the Road blog conference in Dallas is on May 30, 2015 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Conference Center. The pictures of it look amazing! The conference is sponsored by Johnny Rockets, Müller, Kraft and iBl
I have been working with Social Fabric (Collective Bias) for about a year now and work with them often. I have done more sponsored posts with their network than any other, and am proud to be a SoFab member! So, I am very excited to meet some of the people working at Social Fabric, networking with other Texas bloggers, companies, and learning how to be a better blogger! Plus, they will have some city adventures involving video, photography, and Instagram tours (details will be announced next week!) which I am excited to do as I haven’t explore Dallas before.
At this event we will learn How to Use Social Media to Drive Blog Traffic. We’ll learn the secrets of using social media platforms {Facebook, twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and Instagram} to build an audience and drive traffic to our sites. Whether a brand new blogger or a proficient user of social media, we’ll learn tips and tricks for branding our social media platforms, finding our voice, increasing social media followers, enhancing engagement, and forming a lasting social media strategy and presence on all platforms. This sounds awesome for me! Because good traffic and income, I don’t actually have huge social media followers or know how to best use them all.
The main speaker at the Dallas conference will be Randi Dukes. Randi Dukes is the founder and creator of Dukes and Duchesses, a craft and DIY blog that has grown from a hobby into a business over the last few years. Randi loves creating sponsored content for companies and has worked with many large brands including Better Homes and Gardens, Michaels, and The Home Depot. Randi is passionate about using social media to promote and monetize her site and has developed strategies that have brought consistent growth in her social media platforms and steady, increasing traffic to her site. She has over half a million combined followers on her various social media channels. Randi has previously spoken at Haven Conference and loves sharing with and encouraging other bloggers. Regularly featured on sites such as Today, Country Living, and Buzzfeed, Randi enjoys inspiring people with simple seasonal and everyday projects. Randi lives in Dallas with her husband, five kids, and a very dirty dog.
Be sure to check out the agenda on the SoFabUOTR website!
Upcoming Blogging Awesomeness
As passionate as I am about the topics I write about here on What’s up Fagans?, I am as equally passionate about helping people become better bloggers. I know what a difference it makes to have someone help you grow your blog business. I would be struggling without awesome blogging friends who so freely shared their know-how with me. And that is why I have some very excited things to share!
1) I am currently working on a blogging ebook with Katie Clark of Clarks Condensed all about how to turn your family blog into a profitable family business. We are hoping to launch the ebook in October 2015 and will be sharing a lot of our blogging advice. And since Katie has taught me most of what I know about blogging, it is sure to be a very awesome resource for so many people. We both believe in helping other bloggers succeed and not holding back information.
2) I will speaking at the International Blogger’s Association’s inaugural Online Network-a-Thon! This online blog conference will be October 12-17, 2015 and I will be talking about “Awesome Places to Share Content and Increase Your Traffic.” You really don’t want to miss it! I encourage you to buy a ticket! It is only $10 to attend and there will be giveaways, twitter parties, exclusive content, and awesome opportunities to network! I will be there, so you know it’ll be awesome. 😉 Use code “KATELYN” to get $5 off! That means valuable information can be yours for just $5!
3) I am currently working with a graphic designer on an entire branding package! I am very excited to have a clear branding vision for my blog that will look much better. Stephanie Jones of Journie.com and I working on it and hopefully changes will be made by May’s end!
4) I am now doing blog consultations! If you are interested in having a fresh pair of eyes go over your site, your content, your pictures, your social media, your monetization strategies, or whatever blogging related, I can help! Shoot me an email at katelyn@whatsupfagans.com and we can get started!
5) I am now an official Libman Family Blogger! They reached out to me after reading my blog post on “Why I Believe in Cleaning the House While the Kids are Awake.” I will now be participating on their forum Cleaning As a Family. The good news for you all is that they will let me share some awesome deals with you. Right now you can get a coupon for $5 off a a Libman Freedom Spray Mop!
6) I just got selected to be part of SoFab’s Creative Council! I’m excited about the three month position and hope I can indeed put some of creative juices (thank you art degree!) to good use and make a little extra money.
My Blogging Blog Posts
Did you know I have actually written several blog-related posts for various websites in the last year? I love sharing my blogging tips and knowledge, but don’t often feel that What’s up Fagans? is the ideal place for the content. I am actually a content contributor at BlogChickaBlog and am also a VP of The International Bloggers Association. In case you want to know what I write about blogging, because you are interested in learning some new trips for helping your own site grow, or you want to learn a bit more about how I’ve been successful, please check out the following:
How to Make Money Blogging? 3 Ways to Monetize Your Blog – What’s up Fagans?
#ChickaChats Interview with Jill Levenhagen: How I took my blog from 6k pageviews a month to 400k pageviews a month in one year – BlogChickaBlog
How Monetize Your Blog for Mobile with PadSquad and Why You Should – BlogChickaBlog
Why You Need to Use Group Pinterest Boards – IBA Blog
The Keys to Successfully Using Round-up Posts to Drive Traffic to Your Blog – BlogChickaBlog
The Ultimate Blogger’s Guide to Stock Photos – IBA Blog
The Easiest Way to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Indefinitely: Use BoardBooster for Pinterest – IBA Blog
Link Party 101 – What they are and if they are worth your time – BlogChickaBlog
Save Time on Social Media – Use CoSchedule! – IBA Blog
Life Behind the Blog – What’s up Fagans?
All Work and No Play: 8 Tips for Overcoming Your Inner Work-a-holic – Bedtime Scoops
As I continue working on growing a successful blog, I really hope to continue to share more of my journey through various channels. If you ever have questions about something blogging related, please contact me!
And let me know what exciting things you are doing to grow a successful blog this year!
Katelyn, you are amazing! I watched your interview with Jill about taking your traffic to 400k and was blown away. And yet you still remain so humble and approachable. Totally can’t wait to see your rebranding and the success of your blog!
As for me, I’m taking the EBA course right now and am also going to redesign my blog. I won’t have it live though until probably late June. I’m super stoked and hoping to make decent money on my blog as well! I haven’t attended conferences yet but hope to do that in the future.
Thanks so much Nina! I hope that EBA is good for you! I haven’t taken it as I thought it was too pricey for me, and heard mixed reviews, with several saying it was a lot like her book, which I had already read (and I really did appreciate and find valuable!), and I already have a pretty decent pinning strategy. I guess I figured I’d rather spend that amount of money on blogging conferences.
And, yes, I try to be humble and approachable about it all, which is why I love writing blog posts about blogging and wanted to write this ebook with my friend (who is also the same way in regards to her blog growth and success). I hope you will be successful. I think you have a great blog, great point of view, writing, and graphics and more already. And I already love the branding you have so I’ll be curious to see how yours looks when it’s all done.
$2,000 a month?! Holy cow! That is just slightly less than what Brian makes a month, and he’s a lawyer! (First year, but still!)
It’s hard being self-employed to give a great answer on exactly what I make. Plus, some months it is lower, and some months higher depending on sales, ad revenue, traffic, and sponsored posts. Plus, there are expenses too each month, and of course I’ll have to pay taxes at the end of the year on the income too. But, gross, I hopefully make $2000 a month or more. That’s the goal for this year.