Blogging

As someone who’s been blogging since 2009, I can say it’s one of my favorite side hustles, and I’ve certainly learned a lot about it during that time.

For one, I’ve found the writing to be a great creative outlet and a powerful medium to reach a wide audience. (Although the podcast has grown much faster.)

But it was a loooooong time before my blog made any real money, and one of the mistakes I made was not having a focus. I would write about whatever came into my head; current events, our travels, our dog, and occasionally I might throw in something about business or marketing.

There was no coherent theme or really any reason for someone to stick around unless they were interested in me personally. In 2013, I narrowed the focus of my writing to be about side businesses, and that’s when the site traffic started to grow.

How to Start a Blog

If you want to start a blog of your own, check out my free 6-part video tutorial series that walks you through:

4 reasons to consider blogging as a side hustle.
Why a “blog” is probably a bad name.
8 ways blogs and websites make money.
How to pick a topic for your blog.
How to choose a domain name and get your site online.
How to install WordPress and begin creating.

I had a lot of fun creating the free “how to start a blog” course and hope you enjoy it too!

Greatest Hits

Whether you already have a blog or are looking to start one, here are some of the best blogging-related articles and podcast episodes from the archives:

The Best Blogging Podcast

I compiled a binge-worthy selection of blogging podcast episodes from The Side Hustle Show into this playlist. I think you’ll like it!

Enjoy!

187: Traffic Hacks for 2016 and Beyond, with Neil Patel

November 5, 2021August 4, 2016

Before people can do business with you, they have to know about you, and before they know about you, they have to find you.

And that’s universal, whether you’re running a brick-and-mortar shop, an ecommerce store, a blog, or a virtual consulting business.

Neil Patel is a master at solving the first step in that equation: getting people to find you. Through SEO, content marketing, and social media, we go through the traffic generation tactics that are working today.

What Happens When You Post “Epic” Content? My Traffic, Income, and Subscriber Results

November 4, 2021August 1, 2016

What’s the most common piece of advice when it comes to online business? Let’s see if this sounds familiar.

See what else is out there, and create something 10x better.

And while creating the best / most helpful / most shareable / most awesomely epic 10x content ever is supposedly the golden ticket, I thought I’d put this advice to the test and share some results from a recent attempt at “epic-ness” of mine.

Does it really work? Is it worth the effort?

Email Sponsorships: Earn $300+ per Month Selling Email Newsletter Sponsorships

August 29, 2020July 25, 2016

A few months ago, I looked for new ways to monetize my blog. I came across a post about selling sponsorship spots in my email newsletter.

I liked the idea so I thought that I would give it a shot.

The result? 3 days after reading the post, I landed a 3 month-contract with a couple of sponsors and made $300/month with only 30 min of work. Here’s how it works.

How I Increased Google Traffic 65% in 6 Months With No Link Building: My Content Audit Process and Results

October 15, 2018June 27, 2016

Over the last few months, I’ve systematically deleted more than half of my site… and my traffic went up?!?

And I’ll be the first to admit, this sounded like completely nuts. Why would you delete perfectly good content? Each page is an extra chance — however remote — for someone to discover you, right?

171: How to Get Paid to Create Content – Even When You’re Just Starting Out

November 6, 2021April 28, 2016

Want to get paid to create content? Jason Zook is the undisputed king when it comes to sponsored content.

You may know Jason as the IWearYourShirt guy, where he earned over $1,000,000 wearing t-shirts for various companies. He’s even sold his last name (twice — each for $40k+), formerly going as Jason Surfrapp and Jason Headsetsdotcom.

In this episode, he shares his tips for getting sponsors for your work, even if you’re just starting out. I think you’ll like it!

166: $10k a Month Blogging Part-Time

November 6, 2021March 31, 2016

We first heard from Robert Farrington back in 2013, on episode 10 of The Side Hustle Show. At that time, he was earning $3-4k a month from a portfolio of different sites, and looking to expand his online empire.

This week, we catch up on what’s changed since then. Robert’s doubled down on his main site, TheCollegeInvestor.com, narrowed his focus, and roughly tripled his earnings.

Oh, and he’s still working full-time too.

Quora for Bloggers: How to Accelerate Your Authority, Audience Growth, and Traffic

November 4, 2021March 14, 2016

On December 7th, 2015, I started posting answers on Quora.com every day.

By the beginning of March — less than 3 months later — my answers had been viewed more than 500,000 times. This has more than doubled traffic to my blog, 10x’d my email sign-ups, and resulted in an increase in book sales.

This post explores my tactics for using Quora to re-purpose old content, accelerate your authority, and rapidly build an audience.

163: How to Build a 6-Figure Blog in Less Than a Year, with Jon Dykstra

November 6, 2021March 10, 2016

Jon is a former attorney turned full-time entrepreneur, and he’s the master of building high quality niche blogs and monetizing them to $10k-20k per month in record time.

(Sixty days to $10k in one case.)

We’ve covered niche sites in the past, but the type of sites Jon focuses on are a different animal. In a way, he sets out to build an authoritative brand in a particular space.

The $7620 Blog Post (Plus, my First Real Facebook Ads Experiment)

December 27, 2021March 7, 2016

In January I published a post called The 134 Best Udemy Courses for Entrepreneurs, Freelancers, and Side Hustlers.

The post was a pretty blatant affiliate play, and I made a point to admit that at the very top. Still, it performed very well, earning $7620 in January.

After the first couple days, I realized I was on to something and it only made sense to try and drive more traffic to the page, even if it meant paying for it. So that gave birth to my first real experiment with Facebook ads.

The Pinterest Traffic Experiment: I’m Up 2350% In 60 Days

November 5, 2021February 1, 2016

From September 20th to November 20th, Side Hustle Nation generated 479 visits from Pinterest.

The next 2 months, from November 21st to January 21st, Side Hustle Nation generated 11,733 visits from Pinterest.

Why the sudden 25x increase?

It was anything but an accident.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social