Everybody dreams of having financial freedom at a young age, especially individuals who assume they worked hard enough in a company for years. Saving up hard-earned money is fulfilling to most people. However, others seek to earn more than their usual salary and resort to other side jobs.
A woman who went from negative equity to an annual income of US$766,000.00 earned her savings by blogging. She lives a retired life at age 35 and lives on a sailboat, traveling to different countries. She has a lot of travel time since she only needs to work for 10 hours a week! Want to know her secret?
In 2011, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner founded her own blog site, “Making Sense of Cents”. She admitted that she only had to share information about financial management and how to spend one’s daily life out of her interest. Michelle was 22 when she graduated and was burdened with student loans. She worked as a Financial Analyst, but her annual income was lower than average in the United States, which was only $40,000.00.
Later, a friend suggested that Michelle write sponsored articles for a company, wherein she could receive $100 for each one. Her blog garnered around 50,000 visitors every month. Gradually seeing the opportunity, Michelle decided to learn from other writers’ styles in running blogs, increasing the frequency of blog updates, and accepting advertising. In just 2 years, she paid off her student loans in full!
After paying her student loans, Michelle quit her job and decided to run her own blog site. She would update articles daily to give financial advice and product information. Additionally, she would leave messages on other people’s blogs, hoping to attract followers from both parties. After doing routine work like this for several years, Michelle’s passive income reached over US$760,000.00! She also developed courses on how to run a blog. With affiliate marketing, course sales, and advertising space, Michelle can retire and live the life she always dreamed of, such as traveling!
Although Michelle is only 33 years old, her social media shows photos and videos that she has been traveling with her family for some time. She also admits that she lives on a sailboat and only works 10 hours a week. She and her husband have saved enough finances to retire. Now that they travel a lot, Michelle says, “I travel, snorkel, and explore the world on a sailboat every day.”
▼ On her website, Michelle has given 3 tips on how to make money through blogging.
(1) When writing articles, always use colloquial words and styles that are easy to understand. Such as, when you are discussing financial products, many professional terms would only make readers lose their patience. Use simple words that are easy to remember.
(2) Always publish updated articles frequently. So, the readers will be more interested and will continue to follow them and keep up with the latest information.
(3) Finally, expand your sources of income. In addition to publishing updated articles, consider teaching online courses and advertising income, among others.
Following these blogging tips can make you earn a more stable income than relying solely on the usual employment paycheck.
Images credits: © Michelle Schroeder-Gardner @michelleschro/Instagram
