Usually I start writing out my Friday In The Storyhouse post by re-reading the comments we got on the previous episode and then finding my direction from there. But from the moment the comments on Episode 8 started rolling it, it was obvious what we had to do for Episode 9 – go deeper. The NUMBER ONE question I get from people who aren’t bloggers is ‘how do bloggers make money?’ It was clear Episode 9 was the time to go there… and talk about MONEY.
The ‘how do you make money’ question is one I happily answer. I’m like an open book when it comes to helping people understand how my world, and in fact the digital world around them, functions and thrives. I love seeing the ‘ah ha’ moments when I explain things like sponsored posts, affiliate links, rates and calculations for display ads. These are all things I learned about on my own over the last five years – fumbling and stumbling my way into being an accidental blogging entrepreneur. I don’t think anyone can truly master the art of monetizing a blog, but you can become really good at understanding effort versus rates, return on investment (this counts for time outputs too!) and the standard rates for certain things – like cost per mille (or CPM).
But not every blogger takes the wayward and winding path to ‘monetization’ as I did. Some bloggers and influencers these days START OUT because they know they can create a channel they can monetize. I refuse to say easily monetize because I’m still of the belief that if you want to be rich – don’t start a blog. But I digress.
Today’s guest In The Storyhouse is Christine Martin from Amidst the Chaos (Find her on Facebook and Instagram). She came onto the blogging scene in 2015 and made it her purpose to turn her platforms into an income for her family as fast as possible. Her path to and definition of success are interesting, intriguing and certainly indicative of what is possible in the age of social media and influencer marketing.
Jen and I invited her to the show to offer a frank perspective on what it really takes to blog ‘full-time’, the concept of balance, burn out and of being true to yourself and your ideals.
I was super surprised by the direction this episode took. We started out wanting to talk about money – how it works, how we make it…and somehow we all needed to instead address what happens emotionally when the money starts rolling in. A lot of our conversation revolves around jealously, friendship, relationships and the concept of support… We thought about retaking and revoicing parts of this show – but in the end, this is what In The Storyhouse was meant to be. Raw, real, emotions from behind the screen. This is blog life. While Episode 8 was likely the most ‘tip rich’ cast we’ve done, Episode 9 is the most emotionally laden.
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