“What does a blogger do?” “How do you make money from your blog?” “Where do find the time?”
These are all questions that I have been asked since starting this whole blogging adventure. I have even wondered what those full-time bloggers did all day long. The truth is, blogging is very much so a job and a labor of love.
Since so many times I have received these questions, I thought I would answer them for those that are curious.
A Day in the Life of a Blogger
| 4:30 AM | Wake Up. Gratitude Journal. Daily Devotional |
| 5:00 AM | Coffee. Writing Time |
| 7:00 AM | Shower. Breakfast for the boys. |
| 8:00 AM | Link Parties (if applicable for that day) |
| 9:00 AM | Morning pinning and social media interaction. |
| 10:00 AM | Daily Cleaning Task. Help boys with their chores. |
| 11:00 AM | Story Time. Begin making lunch. |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch/Clean Up from lunch. |
| 12:30 PM | Dog Walking Gigs |
| 1:00 PM | Play outside or go for a walk with boys if warm enough. |
| 1:30/2:00 PM | Start Boys’ Naptime |
| 2:00 PM | Afternoon pinning and social media interaction. |
| 2:30 PM | Writing (usually book writing, newsletter writing, completing EBA or mastermind group assignments, or working on my latest project) |
| 3:00 PM | Quiet Time – book reading. |
| 3:30 PM | Boys up from naps – afternoon snack time and the start of the “witching hour”. |
| 4:00 PM | Start Dinner |
| 5:00 PM | Dinner time |
| 5:30 PM | Clean up from dinner |
| 6:00 PM-7:30 PM | Snuggle/playtime with boys |
| 7:30 PM | Boys’ bath time |
| 8:00 PM | Put boys to bed |
| 9:00 PM | Evening pinning and social media interaction. |
| 9:00 PM-10:00 PM | Hang out with the hubs if he is home from work. (My hubs works 80+ hours a week so most days he’s not home before 10:00 PM) |
| 10:00 PM | Bedtime Routine/Hit the Hay |
The above is what a “perfect” day looks like, but some days just do not go according to plan so our routine has to change. There are days where my sweet Collin is in full on mama’s boy mode and will not let me put him down for a second. There are days where the dining room still has breakfast on the floor, as I am starting dinner.
Life happens and as such, the above schedule is more of what I strive for every day instead of what happens every day.
How I Make Money Blogging
I know some people think it is crazy that you can make money from a website, but I assure you, you can. I do and if you follow, my goals update posts you will see how much money I make from my blog and see the various income streams I use.
Ad revenue is the easiest form of blog monetization in my opinion. You just pop some ads in your sidebar and you start making money, only it is not always that easy. In order to generate money from ads, you have to have the pageviews to increase your earnings. Pinterest is by far my top referral of traffic and as such, is where I concentrate most of my time. However, with the recent changes to Pinterest’s algorithm, I have to implement better SEO tactics to help keep my pageviews up.
Affiliate marketing is the next easiest form of income for a blogger when done correctly. One thing I personally do is add an (*) after any affiliate links so my readers know that if they chose to purchase the item that I am recommending, I will receive commission for recommending them. Something that I will not do is promote a product that I do not believe in or use myself. If I recommend something, it is because I love it and actually use it. Examples being my two favorite blogging books, How to Blog for Profit without Selling Your Soul * and Building a Framework: Everything I Learned my First Year Blogging *. Both books are ones that I have used time and time again to help me grow my blog from receiving at best a 1,000 pageviews a month to now over 300,000 pageviews a month. I would not recommend them if I had not used them myself.
Product sales are not the easiest way to make money blogging but they are what in my opinion start to turn your blog from merely a hobby to a business. In order to generate product sales you have to have a platform, which is why I work so hard every day to try to keep my platform in tack.
These are just a few of the various streams of income that I receive from my blog and there are many more options out there for bloggers to make money with their creative business.
Finding Time
Ah, the never-ending balancing act. There are days where my schedule looks exactly like the one above and everything goes well, but there are many more days where my schedule is crazy with fussy kids and an overworked husband.
As you see in my schedule above, I show up for myself every day at 4:30 in the morning and it is the only way I can get anything accomplished. Whenever I do not rise early, I end up struggling the rest of the day to complete simple tasks for my blog. The book, Tell Your Time* is personally responsible for helping me figure out my day and how to manage my time. I love how Amy breaks out telling your time in manageable sections by reminding you that you truly only have 24 hours in a day – no more.
Therefore, the answer to where do I find the time, is that I do not find the time. I create it when I can. If you are struggling as a blogger to find time in your day to manage all the details of blogging, I encourage you to work on creating your own time for your blog, even if that means getting up earlier than you would like.
How do you get it all done as a blogger?
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STANDARD DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Affiliate links will have an asterisk (*) next to them. {Read my full disclosure policy here.}
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It’s amazing how much more you can pack into your day if you get up early. Two days a week I get up at 5 am for my son’s swim practice. He is fed and out the door by 5:15. I noticed I get a lot more done those days. Of course, I am then about asleep at 9 that night. It’s always fun seeing other people’s schedule. Thanks for sharing.
Soon after I started blogging, my Little Miss gave up naps. I’m also not a morning person, so it’s been a bit rough going! Thanks for the timeline, it’s fun to see how other people are managing to fit the blog in.
The only way I can get my 3 year old to nap is to lay down with him until he falls asleep. That way he doesn’t feel like he’s missing anything. 🙂
I had to click through to this post to see what exactly it is that I’m supposed to be doing. The good news is that I do this stuff. Bad news is, not as must as I’d like. My daughter would be drawing on my wall with a sharpie or putting hand prints on the dog with diaper cream (both have happened in the last two weeks). But I can get a good amount done during naps and at bedtime. Thanks for the fun post and glimpse of a day in the life of Jessi.
It’s fun to get a peek at someone else’s day! I am always impressed by people who can pull off the early mornings regularly– 4:30 is amazing Jessi!
I am a night person, so it’s really hard to force myself to get to bed early (though pregnancy helps with that). On Sunday I set a goal to get up at 5:30 every morning. So far, so good. 🙂
I’ve always been a night owl and switching to a morning routine was hard but there is just too much going on on my blog and on my social media at night to get anything done. 🙁
Jessi, never thought of that! I’ve been considering switching to getting up early again since my “baby” is now 12 mo. old and sleeping better at night, meaning that I feel a bit more rested. I’m naturally more of a night owl and have been staying up late a lot, but like you said, there are a lot of social media distractions and they wouldn’t be there in the early morning.
This is inspiring. I need to start getting up earlier. How old are your boys?
My boys are 3 years and 17 months. 🙂
Wow, that was a great insight to your as a blogger daily life, thanks for sharing. I am quite new blogger, and I am also working full-time 9 to 5. It is kind of tricky to find the time to blog and to get everything done. I am an evening person, so I tend to work on my blog after my daily job, and sometimes until 3 am! And of course during the weekends as well. You are absolutely right – we need to create the time for us 🙂
I blog but I also have a full time job outside of the home in the midst of it all.
I love taking a peek at others schedules and routines almost as much as I love peeking at someone else’s budget.
Thanks for both! I heart The Budget Mama!
Looking back on this today, I should really do an email on what my blog work day looks like. 🙂
Such a great post. I don’t know how you get up at 4:30 in the morning, but it’s something I’ve been trying to get better at. Also, I’m glad I’m not the only mom that still has breakfast on the floor at dinner time some days.
Hahhaahaha! Yes, I actually have lunch dishes sitting in the sink right now and I haven’t emptied the dishwasher from last night. Just gotta take it in strides some days. 🙂
I actually won’t get up that early but have a pretty scheduled out day too. Since moving my almost 3yr old from the crib to a twin bed, she now will sit and bed and read/do magnet or felt play until I go get here. That has helped my mornings. I tend to get up at 6:30, give her things to do, then have half an hour for me in the morning. It helps for sure.
(visiting from the Frugal Friday link-up)
That is amazing that your 3 year old will just sit in their bed and play! My boys from the second their feet hit the floor are running (literally) so if I’m not up before them, I won’t get anything done.
I enjoyed reading your schedule! Do you set any sort of timer for yourself? If you say you are ‘pinning and social media interaction’ for an hour, do you just set an hour to do it and then you have to stop wherever you are? Or is it dictated by what the boys let you do?
I loved your question: how do you get it all done as a blogger? Is there anyone out there that is able to get it all done? I’m so new that I have so many basic things on my never-ending to-do list. But I’m thinking that it never is all done? Let me know if I’m wrong. 😉
I don’t use a timer, but I should use one! It is usually dictated by what my boys let me get done. 🙂 And I don’t think it is ever done or at least I haven’t figured out how to get it all done yet. 🙂
Thanks for sharing a peek into your day! I am just starting out with blogging and trying to get a more consistent schedule together. It’s nice to see what someone successful is doing. I definitely need to try to work my way to getting up earlier- especially with “spring forward” on the horizon! Thanks!
This is a great post about blogging and gives me some advice! WOW, you went from 1,000 to 300,000 page views/month?! My highest thus far has been around 9,000 and now it seems like my stats are falling so far in 2015! Ugh!
I’m going to read some of the other posts you linked. Visiting from the SITS linky today!
Hi El! My pvs have fallen the last month due to Pinterest’s changes. They are still way more than they were before but don’t lose heart if yours have fallen too. Most bloggers have been experiencing it. 🙂
Wow. That schedule is so beautiful it made me tear up a little. I would need to carve out significant blocks of time for helping find lost socks and cleaning milk out of the carpet.
Visiting from the SITS sharefest.
It is really great to see how you create time in your schedule for your blog! That has always been a struggle for me, but I can see from your post how important it is to wake up at the crack of dawn! That’s a big challenge, but I need to do it!
Oh yes, if I don’t get up before my family I will not get anything accomplished.
I love getting insight on how others manage their time with blogging. I’m fairly new to being a blogger and I’ve realized that having a consistent schedule is how I best operate.
I love how you wake up at 4:30 – what an inspiration! I recently changed my schedule to wake up two hours earlier every morning and am amazed with how much more I can get done during the day. It’s an awesome feeling to look at the clock and think to myself, “It’s only now noon and I got all this stuff done already!”
Thanks for sharing your blogging schedule. How long do you pin/do social media each day? How long did it take you to go from 1,000 page views per month to 300,000? This post is so inspirational! I love hearing from bloggers who have been able to monetize. It gives me the faith that I will as well.
I took Elite Blog Academy (highly recommend) which helped me take my blog to the next level. It took me a few months after starting EBA for my blog to go up to 300,000 pvs. I pin for about 15-20 minutes each time. I hope this helps Daniela! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your schedule. I love that you show up for yourself at 4:30. It’s an amazing way to view getting up early. I will check out Elite Blog Academy. I am currently looking for an online program and I’ve very confused because there are so many options and I don’t want to waste money. I will check them out. Have a great Sunday!
Thank you for sharing this! It’s cool to get a peek inside another blogger’s day. I’m gonna check out that book about time management.
I love seeing other people’s schedules – thanks for sharing! I’m not sure I’m physically capable of getting up at 4:30am. 🙂 I haven’t tried getting up earlier, since my daughter has eagle ears in the morning, and shoots up as soon as she hears our bedroom door open. I’m a night owl naturally, though, so I get most of my blogging done after my daughter goes to bed (8pm-ish), and that works well for me. I’m also home while my daughter is in school a couple of days a week, and I manage to get a lot more done – blogging, cooking, cleaning, etc. – on those days.
My eldest has eagle ears too! It drives me crazy when he joins me at 4:30 – I usually have to bribe him to go back to bed. 🙂