How I Made My First $2,000 Blogging – 1 Year Of Monetizing

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This is the post I’ve been longing to write for a really long time. Almost four years to be exact.

And how I have the opportunity to announce that I have officially been able to make an income from my blog and turn it into a business.

Over the course of 12 months, I have made roughly $2,000 from blogging. To many people, this number is not a big deal. But to me, it’s just mind-blowing, especially given that I haven’t invested much time and effort into my blog recently.

Over the past 1.5 years, I have focused most of my time and energy in making a career change into tech, a move that has increased my income by more than 100%.

I still blogged here and there. But it was mainly to keep you guys updated on our lives and my career switch.

It wasn’t until July this year when I received a Software Engineer job offer that I could finally take a deep breath and resumed one of my biggest passions – blogging.

And it has paid off.

The wait

I started my blog on March 21, 2017. Although my blog quickly took off to reach 31,104 views/month after only seven months, I wasn’t able to monetize it right away.

The reason is that I was on the work visa H1B and wasn’t allowed to make any income besides my full-time job. Regardless, I poured my heart and soul into my blog, nurturing it almost every day.

And in October 2019, after Mr. FAF and I got our green cards, I finally took the next step to monetize my blog. Today, I will share with you all the details of my first $2,000 blog income.

The why

My purpose of sharing the numbers is threefold.

First, I’m just excited to share the news with you all. I’ve been in the personal finance blog community for a while and have seen tremendous success from other bloggers. I admire their entrepreneurial spirit and their tenacity to succeed in this field and wish to do the same.

Second, I have always been interested in seeing how other bloggers make their first income from blogging. The first $1,000 is always the hardest. And I want to learn how they made it.

Third, I want to show you that it is possible to make money blogging. It is not easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it already. It takes a lot of time and effort, but it will eventually pay off.

Without further ado, let’s dive right into the numbers.

The how

My blog has generated income from three main sources: 1) Ad revenue from Ezoic, 2) Sponsored links and posts, 3) Amazon affiliate marketing.

1. Ad revenue from Ezoic

My first ever source of blog income was from Ezoic. Initially, I was thinking about going with Google Adsense or Media.net since my blog traffic had significantly decreased and I wasn’t qualified for Mediavine or AdThrive.

However, Lily from The Frugal Gene suggested I check out Ezoic. Ezoic works with sites that receive a minimum of 10,000 visits per month.

I applied and got accepted into the program. Even if you do not meet the requirements, it’s worth it to explain to the Ezoic rep who reaches out to you about your site’s potential and past performace. They might be able to make an acception for you.

2. Sponsored links and posts

This has been the biggest driver of my blog income this past year. I usually get inbound requests from companies who want to insert a link into an existing post or publish a sponsored post.

I publish articles written by companies’ staff and have written sponsored posts myself.

I only work with companies whose products and mission align with mine. I have received sponsorship requests for gambling and tobacco, but I politely declined regardless of the potential income.

3. Amazon affiliate marketing

Amazon affiliate marketing makes up the smallest portion of my blog income. I have written about some of the products I have purchased from Amazon such as the Instant Pot and Bissel vaccum.

I am following a minimalist lifestyle, so I am also careful about promoting sales of products.

4. eBook and coaching

I have decided to focus more on the business side of Frugal Asian Finance and launched my first ebook (Beautiful Budget Planner) and coaching services.

The ebook offers eight budget trackers to help you stay on top of your finances. The coaching service is for building a WordPress site and online business. Although I have made $0 from this source, I am exited about the direction my blog is heading.

I am now officially an entrepreneur and small business owner!

Conclusion

Blogging has always been a great outlet for me to express my thoughts and share my life stories with you all.

After I have successfully made a career change, I want to focus more on my passion project – my blog.

It is what helps me get over the stress from work, stay connected with you all, and gives me a sense of purpose outside of work.

I am truly grateful for all the support and readership I have gotten over the past few years. And I want to thank you all for the continued support.

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