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How To Become a Full Time Blogger (I Went From $0 To $10,000+ Per Month)

February 8, 2021 by Ling 56 Comments

full time blogger

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.

You stumbled upon this blog post because you want to learn how to become a full time blogger.

Why do you want to become a full time blogger?

I ask you this question because it’s important to know why before you jump into it.

 

There are many reasons why you want to become a blogger and here are some of the common ones.

  • You are a stay-at-home parent who wants to earn a full-time income while taking care of your kids.
  • You want to escape your unfulfilling 9-5 job and become your own boss.
  • You are passionate about a certain topic and would love to teach people more about it.
  • You just want to give blogging a try and see what it’s like because it’s extremely cheap to get started.

 

Everyone is different and we all have our ultimate “why.”

Before we jump into the step-by-step guide, I will share my story of how I started a blog and became a full-time blogger.

At the end of the post, I’ve included the timeline of how Finsavvy Panda blog progressed in the first 2 years to give you an idea of what to expect and how I went from earning $0 to $10,000 a month.

If you don’t have time to read my personal story, you can proceed to my step-by-step guide on how to become a full time blogger here.

 

UPDATE: You can also check out my updated blog income report on how I am earning over $20,000 per month blogging here.

 

How I Became a Full Time Blogger

A couple of years ago before 2018, the idea of becoming a full time blogger never crossed my mind.

Just like any normal person, I was reading popular websites/blogs and consuming information to learn something new and inspiring each day. Gosh, I didn’t even know that I was reading “blogs”. What the heck is a “blog” anyway?

I just thought the stuff I was reading were articles written by freelancers on a website. Yeah, I just called them “websites”.

BTW, I didn’t even know how websites were making money online (nor did that thought cross my mind either).

With that said, if you told me a few years ago to start a website blog and make a full time income, I would’ve laughed out loud, showed no interest and said something along the lines…

 

via GIPHY

 

“Hah, yeah right! I ain’t no writer. I’ve never written an article before. Uh, and do I look like a tech expert? I don’t know how to build a website! Plus, you probably need to become popular and huge in order for it to work out.”

 

I soon realized that this is not true.

I learned that you don’t have to be a writer or a techie to start a profitable blog.

Overall, I didn’t know what I was thinking but I started a blog on a whim because I liked the idea of earning extra money by writing about topics I enjoy talking about.

All my friends, family and coworkers always ask me for money tips, so I wanted to see if I could make money online by blogging about personal finance and money. I thought this would be a great topic for me to write about because, for one, I enjoy giving tips and helping people. Secondly, it would be pretty cool if I could make money while doing something I enjoy on the side!

On top of that, I thought in the back of my head that it would be nice if this blog could eventually turn into a passive income stream giving me the option to work fewer hours in the future!

I value my family and friends so being able to spend more time with them is very important to me.

While working a full-time job, I poured my heart and soul learning how to make money blogging in 2018! Eventually, when I saw growth in my blog income, the thought of becoming a full time blogger crossed my mind.

After being able to earn a full time income online, I decided to quit my day job to become a full time blogger in 2019.

 

How To Become a Full Time Blogger

how to become a full time blogger career

Today, I’m going to go through all the questions you have about becoming a full time blogger.

Again, at the end of the post, I show you the timeline of how this blog progressed in the first 2 years — it’s something I wouldn’t have imagined happening even just a year ago!

I hope you find this article useful and inspiring!

 

Step 1: Start your blog

When I first started my blog, I chose to go with Bluehost as a beginner.

I even created this easy step-by-step tutorial on how you can start your blog today.

You can start your blog as low as $2.95 USD per month plus get a FREE domain name when you purchase at least the 12-month plan. This low price and free domain name is an exclusive deal only when you use this Bluehost link.

When I was done registering for my blog, I selected a free theme from their selection. I’m still using the Oslen light free theme but I am in the progress of investing in a paid theme.

There are tons of themes to choose from, both free and paid, but I decided to go for a free one because I was more focused on learning than spending time on choosing the “perfect” paid theme.

You can also join my free 7-day e-mail course where I go into more details to show you step by step what I did to eventually become a full time blogger. Sign up below to get the scoop! 🙂

 

 

Step 2: Decide what to blog about

Now, you may be asking, “what should I blog about?”

Take a step back and figure out who your target audience is.

I always recommend choosing something you enjoy talking about while being able to help or serve your readers.

Don’t choose a topic just because you think it will make money. Sure, it may work out, but can you really keep writing about something you don’t have any interest in?

Trust me, you don’t want your blog to feel like a chore or another 9-5 job just solely for money.

Here, I encourage you to use this diagram to help you hit your sweet spot!

 

– Passion: What is one topic you could talk about all day long without feeling tired about it? Could it be fashion, travel, home decor, renovations, gaming, crafts, parenthood, budgeting, personal finance, money matters, entrepreneurship, marketing, etc.? 

– Skills: What are you good at? What do you usually get compliments on?

– Market demand: Is your topic very popular? Is it highly searched for? For example, fashion, home organizational, decor, personal finance, money matters, business, tech, marketing, and more are extremely topics that get searched for every single day! Billions of people out there want answers and solutions to their problems!

 

Remember that readers need your help with something.

Most of them aren’t here to read about your life problems (unless they are used as examples to demonstrate a point you’re making to solve their problem).

When they land on your page, they want to know how your post can help them solve their problems!

For example, when you turn to Google for answers, you may be searching for a lot of “how-tos” such as:

  • how to make extra money online
  • how to save $1,000 a month
  • how to plan a wedding in 6 months
  • how to lose 15 pounds in 1 month
  • how to tile a kitchen backsplash like a pro
  • how to plan a trip to new york city
  • how to put your baby to sleep

 

You search for questions like that because you’re looking for help, right?

You get the idea.

Anyway, my point is if you want to enjoy blogging while being able to earn an income, your ideal spot is to hit all these 3 elements — passion, skills, and market demand.

I know it’s easier said than done, but if you really put the time and effort into figuring this out, you will be rewarded!

 

💡PRO TIP: You don’t have to be an expert in your field to be considered skilled. For example, you could document your learning journey and teach others your mistakes and what you’ve learned. Lessons add a ton of value to your readers (as long as it’s what people are searching for A LOT)!

 

Step 3: Write 5 to 10 blog posts

I didn’t know what the heck I was doing when I started my blog, but now that I learned a lot from my mistakes, I would recommend preparing at least 5 blog posts before launching your blog.

I also recommend using Grammarly. This app helps correct your grammar and spelling errors. There is a premium version available, however, I’ve been using the free version here which does the job for new bloggers.

To be honest, I had a hard time figuring out what to write about when I first started my blog.

I personally wrote many topics within my broader niche to see what I enjoy writing about. At the same time, testing the waters allowed me to see which blog posts were doing better.

This gave me an idea of what my readers wanted to hear from me, so I focused and created more of that type of content.

 

Step 4: Launch your blog and drive traffic

When I was a brand new blogger, I immediately focused my efforts on Pinterest to drive traffic to my blog. And yes, this is 100% free traffic!

Until this date, I haven’t used any paid advertising or other social media platforms to drive traffic to my blog. I focused 100% of my efforts on Pinterest at that time.

You can learn how I use Pinterest traffic to make money with my small blog here.

It’s important to diversify your traffic, so I recommend learning how to rank on Google’s search engines so you can be found. In my second year of blogging, I’ve been focusing my efforts on improving my Google traffic.

 

Step 5: Learn how to make money blogging

It’s crazy, but so many people search for “how to make money blogging fast”.

If you are looking to make quick and big money, then learning how to become a blogger isn’t going to instantly solve your problem.

As I already mentioned, building a profitable blog doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and effort.

As a beginner, you can learn how to earn money online with Google for free by using Adsense on your blog.

I also wrote a full blog post on how you can earn your first $1,000 per month as a part-time blogger here.

At the beginning of that post, I talk about the types of blogs that make money along with some of the top money making blogs.

I also address the question, can you really make money blogging?

 

Step 6: Keep learning and implementing strategies

Even after learning and implementing some strategies onto my blog in my first few months, I barely saw any results.

Despite that fact, I still treated this whole thing as a learning experience so I kept going and going until I started to see some wins.

I realized that being negative or upset about the situation wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I persisted and embraced every single thing I learned throughout my blogging journey.

Since launching this blog, I’ve always treated it like a learning journey regardless of the ups and downs.

Being able to move on when your blog isn’t generating the results you like is the hardest part, but you really need to try hard to get past that stage.

 

Proof that you can really earn a full time income blogging:

If you’re interested to see how my overall blog income is broken down, feel free to take a look at my previous blog income reports here for details.

My income has been increasing but the percentage mix has remained pretty consistent, and I am currently looking for new ways to monetize this blog.

Below are just a few screenshots of how I make money online with my blog, which is all from display advertising and affiliate marketing.

This is an example of how much I made from just ONE affiliate network (using these affiliate marketing strategies) within the last 3-month period — $8,064.31!

full time blogger make money online blog

 

This is another example of one of my affiliate earnings in a month:

full time blogger affiliate earnings

 

And here is another example…

full time blogger affiliate programs

 

And here are a few examples of how money gets paid directly to my bank account.

Most of my other earnings go into my PayPal account.

 

This is an example of how much I earned in March 2019 just by displaying ads on my blog with Mediavine. Payments get paid out in 90 days and that’s why you see June 3, 2019, in the screenshot.

 

Here are a few examples of PayPal payments I received…

Here is an example of a quarterly payment from both Rakuten/Ebates US and Ebates Canada.

full time blogger - ebates PayPal

 

full time blogger get paid

 

Here are a few examples of my monthly PayPal earnings.

full time blogger earnings in paypal account

 

full time blogger make money example

 

Now, I’m not here to say that your results in blogging are guaranteed. You may earn very little in your first year.

Starting a business or any form of self-employment isn’t a walk in the park.

When you start a blog, you ultimately take full responsibility and ownership of everything you do.

Still, what I love about blogging is you can potentially earn more than your traditional 9-5! There is absolutely no limit to how much money you could make with your blog!

The hardest part is staying motivated especially at the beginning when you see almost no results. But regardless of the ups or downs, I kept persisting and moving forward — that’s how I saw results!

 

I Made Almost $30,000 in 3 Months Blogging

full time blogger

I want to bring up again what I said in my last blog income report from February 2019.

I mentioned I was going to stop my blog income reports because they can cloud our vision chasing numbers plus I was afraid they weren’t adding much value for my readers.

But so many of you sent me personal e-mails within the last few months asking me if I’d consider bringing them back because you find them helpful and inspiring — thank you so much for your kind words and support!

I was firm on stopping them entirely and there was absolutely NO way I was going to take back my words. But, one important thing I learned from the blogging experts is that you should not neglect what your readers want.

I lost sleep because I felt that I was neglecting a segment of my readers’ request.

So, instead of publishing a monthly “blog income report”, I thought perhaps I could write about the things I learned in a blog post like this one.

This gives me the perfect opportunity to provide you my blogging tips and tricks while showing you my blogging progress.

At the end of the day, I want to pass on what I learned.

So, here’s how my blog has been doing in the last 3 months since I stopped publishing my numbers…

I feel shaken and uncomfortable saying this, but I honestly never expected to suddenly jump from $7,000 in February 2019 to $9,471.62 blogging in March 2019.

I hit my first $10,000 blogging in April 2019!

I earned over $10,000 again in May 2019 ($10,304.91). This is a milestone worth celebrating considering how much I struggled at the beginning when you read my first blog income report.

Not to mention, I always tend to have self-doubts and lack confidence in myself. This is the hardest part of blogging (for me at least) and it’s something I’m trying SO hard to improve on but it’s not easy.

I’m very ecstatic with hitting $10,000 per month!

I couldn’t believe that my personal small blog was earning that!

I’d be more than happy if I could maintain this blog to even earn $7,000+ going forward because there is a TON of blogging stuff that I still don’t know about!

I’m really just focused on learning and whatever happens, good or bad, IT happens! With any type of business, you just don’t know what will happen the next day but you just have to keep swimming!

 

Are you a beginner who wants to start a blog? Join my FREE 7-day course on how to start your blog the right way! 🙂

I created this free 7-day e-mail course that teaches beginners how to start a profitable blog!

I am really excited to share this with those who have been looking to start their blogs. If you want guidance and more info, feel free to sign up below! 🙂

 

 

What is it Like To Be a Blogger?

what is it like to be a blogger

After blogging for almost 2 years, I can tell you that making money online with a blog is NOT a get-rich-quick thing!

I started off blogging part-time on the side on top of my full time job and I didn’t realize that I actually learned a TON within my first year!

There’s a misconception that bloggers would just sit in front of their computer and write blog posts off the top of their head about “a day in my life” or document a personal diary. This is perfectly fine if you start your blog for fun.

But if your intention is to earn some extra money or a full time income, then you may want to focus on a niche that you genuinely have interest in and find a way to offer value and help to your readers.

For example, my niche focuses on all money matters whether it’s about saving money, making money, budgeting, or investing. I tend to talk about myself a lot (not because I want to), but I use my personal stories as examples to tell them what I did to save money or make money.

However, sometimes I don’t even talk about myself or use my personal experience as an example — I may just inform my readers on “how to” do something although I find that telling a story helps a lot more!

 

Bloggers are creators

With all that said, being a blogger means you are a “creator.”  With your unique experience and voice, you will offer a solution or some form of value (i.e. that could also mean entertainment) to your audience!

Being a creator is not easy because it requires the blogger to really think about how they can add value to their readers’ lives. However, this is also the most rewarding part of blogging.

It helps when you put yourself in the shoes of a typical reader or “consumer.” We’re humans and we all love to consume, right?

So, think about the things you like to read about or consume. Or better yet, think hard about your struggles and problems. What did you do to fix it? What product or service did you use to solve your problem?

At the end of the day, people come to your blog and they will subconsciously think, “Did this post add any value to my life?  Did I learn anything?  Was it entertaining?  Did it inspire me?”

Just like getting a promotion at your day job or starting a side business, blogging requires real work and effort to earn a living!

 

Follow a blogging schedule that works for you

full time blogger schedule

If you work a full-time day job, and really want your blog to work, then you will have to be serious about it (while having fun along the way too, of course).

I personally started my blog while working a full time job and was able to quit my job within a year.

Here is a quick example of a daily blogging schedule PDF template that may work for you while working a full-time job. It’s not something you need to follow exactly since you can adjust the hours up or down based on your situation.

This schedule is similar to mine except I got off work much later (I think most of us do nowadays)!

Mind you, a lot of my time was spent on learning (i.e. reading from blogging resources) at the beginning!

Anyway, this was my blogging routine and what I did…

– Wake up earlier than usual to spend 1 hour on it on the weekdays.

– Spend time on it during my commute to and back from work (1 hour to work, and 1 hour back). It helps when you put on your headphones and listen to music on your subway ride.

– Read some blogging resources during my 1-hour lunch break at work.

– Squeeze in another 30 minutes during my break time at work (I usually like to review something I learned so it sticks in my head).

– Spend 1-2 hour hours after work (it’s exhausting after work and that’s when I do easy tasks like casual reading or creating pins to promote on Pinterest).

– I took most Friday evenings off because we could all use a chill day.

– Spend up to 7 hours each day on the weekend or sometimes more depending on my mood (I made sure I woke up early so that I could just chill for the rest of the day… seriously, we still need to spend some fun times with our friends and family!)

If you think about it, a few hours here and there really add up, especially when it’s done consistently over the months! This is how I managed to build my blog from scratch without burning myself out. Notice my keyword — “consistently”!

Trust me, YOU’LL BE SURPRISED at how much you can achieve when you put in the consistent effort!

Plus, I found that exercising helps A LOT with improving your productivity! :O

I personally feel much better and energized after running on my treadmill with music…

via GIPHY

 

My current full-time blogging routine

After transitioning to a full-time blogger, I still follow this similar schedule. I spend anywhere between 20 to 40 hours a week depending on my mood and other life matters.

One of the perks of being a full time blogger is that you get to set your own hours.  

For example, I mentioned back in December 2018 that my father in law was diagnosed with lung cancer. Also, my grandfather who I was very close to became extremely ill for the last 5 months and passed away recently.

Being my own boss allowed me to take time away from the blog and focus on things that were important to me.

 

Blogging as a Career

Many people ask the question, is blogging a good career?

Almost any job or position can be considered a good career choice as long as you enjoy what you do while being able to earn an income that satisfies a lifestyle you are happy with.

For example, I did NOT consider my previous job in the financial sector as a good career regardless of the growth opportunities, great pay and great benefits.

Why?

Although it was enough to fund my desired lifestyle, and honestly, I felt grateful, but I just didn’t feel happy or ecstatic to be there. I felt empty, sad, and REALLY disliked the office politics and overall toxic environment.

My emotional health (ultimately my life) is worth more than staying at a “comfortable” job that I hate.

As mentioned earlier, I never in this world imagined that I’d quit my job to blog full-time — it was a scary move!

I honestly don’t know what’s coming next, but I am very excited to learn more new things within the online and blogging world!

So, based on what I’m doing so far, I really do think blogging is a great career choice!

 

Why choose blogging as a career?

Blogging offers A LOT of great opportunities and there are many ways to earn a full-time living online!

Here are reasons why you may want to choose to become a blogger.

 

You can make an impact on people’s lives

As a creator, I have the choice to “create” things (whether it be a blog post or a digital product) that offers help to my readers.

It makes me incredibly happy when readers e-mail me to tell me that they found something I provided helpful!

What makes it even better is I get to learn and teach something that I genuinely have an interest in! This is what keeps me going each and every day!

Unlike my previous day job, I didn’t feel I was making any impact on anyone’s life in any real way… other than making a small impact on my company’s bottom line who in turn doesn’t even care about me.

 

Blogging is really cheap to get started

full time blogger investment

What I also like about blogging is that it’s incredibly cheap to get started — it’s less than a cup of latte and you honestly can’t beat that!

 

It only costs as low as $2.95 USD per month to start your blog when you sign up with Bluehost today. That’s up to 60% off! You also get a FREE domain name ($15) when you sign up for at least the 12-month plan through my link. This low pricing is exclusive to Finsavvy Panda readers!

If you are interested in starting a profitable blog, you can also visit my simple step-by-step tutorial here.

 

I personally consider blogging as something that is extremely low risk compared to many other investment opportunities.

First of all, I could try it out to see how I like it without spending a lot of money.

Secondly, the low upfront investment doesn’t even compare to other business ideas such as opening a physical storefront, franchise or investing in a bunch of real estate properties.

I’m using some of my own personal experience here as examples, but when I was researching long and hard about opening a small physical store, a few suppliers came back to me and told me I must invest at least $1,000,000 USD worth of inventory in the first year to work with them! That didn’t even include the monthly lease for space and other operating costs! Say goodbye to that idea…

On the other hand, real estate (RE) properties can be great, and it can feel passive when you have good tenants or someone managing it for you. However, the initial investment (even if you’re paying a small downpayment) costs WAY more than starting a blog for cheap. Not to mention, people most likely borrow money to invest in RE which makes it a riskier form of investment.

When I started my blogging journey, I knew that I wanted to earn extra money but I didn’t know what to expect.

I was working at my blog consistently at my own pace.

I was just focused on learning and I didn’t have to stress because it’s not like I borrowed a huge amount of money for it. Plus, I had a full-time job to help with my living expenses. Even if it didn’t make any money for 2 years, I was fine with that!

Worst comes to worst, if it didn’t work out, I would’ve moved on with no hard feelings.

My thoughts were… if it doesn’t work out, at least I know I tried it — it’s WAY better than wondering and not taking the leap.

I’ve always told myself that life is too short to keep wondering! You just gotta do it, or you never will!

 

Blogging resources are affordable

When I first started, I spent around on average $11 USD (under $15 CAD) per month in total on affordable courses and resources including the cheap web hosting plan.

This blog took time and effort to build at first, and in my 5th month, I realized that I needed to invest in a few more blogging resources to see results.

You can find out how much it actually costs to start your blog as a total beginner in this post I wrote.

Most of my results in 2018 were thanks to these tools I talk about in my blogging recommendations page:

  • Affiliate marketing e-course
  • Pinterest resources
  • Tailwind Pinterest scheduler
  • A Blogging Bundle Package
  • Canva
  • MailChimp (build up to 2,000 subscribers for free with this provider)

 

Your earning potential in blogging is unlimited.

Again, I’m NOT at all saying that you’re going to get rich from blogging.

It’s not easy and it actually requires work!

I also have to admit that most traditional day jobs are comfortable.

I received a stable paycheck with great benefits, but I was just a spec of dust making my company richer.

 

Read also: This Quote By Warren Buffett Will Inspire You To Become Rich

 

Regardless of the number of hours I put into helping the company grow, I wasn’t getting my fair share of the pie. At the end of the day, I was on a fixed schedule and fixed paycheck.

There are even times where you are required to stay back to do overtime (or even log into work from home) and you won’t get compensated because depending on your manager, “it looks bad” to log in those extra hours.

However, when I made the shift to blogging, I reap all the rewards for the work I put in and that is something I can control.

For example, the $29,800 revenue (net profit of about $29,400) I earned within the last 3 months (March to May 2019) was a result of 100% of the effort that I put into this blog!

 

Over to you — Are you ready to learn how to become a full time blogger? Did this post inspire you to start your blog so you can see what it’s like to become a blogger too?

 

 

Don’t forget to pin and share this post and follow me on Pinterest! 🙂

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Make Money

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jip

    December 11, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    Thank you for this open and amazing post.
    Finding these kinds if posts now and then really helps me in keeping motivated!

    Reply
    • Ling

      December 15, 2020 at 2:22 pm

      I’m glad you enjoy my posts about blogging! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Zoe

    May 21, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    So helpful, thank you!

    Reply
  3. Sandra

    February 13, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    This was so well written and informative, I love it. When would you recommend someone start learning about affiliate income? Eg @10K sessions? 20k

    Reply
    • Ling

      February 19, 2020 at 12:41 pm

      Hi Sandra!

      It’s never too early or too late to learn about affiliate marketing. I think you can learn the intro for beginners first and implement what you learned and as your traffic grows, you can adjust accordingly and do some testing.

      I’d say realistically 3k to 5k pageviews per month is a great start!

      Reply
  4. Hari Mohan Sharma

    October 25, 2019 at 4:48 am

    After reading this post on “Full time blogger” I draw a lot of inspiration from you.
    I fully trust your income reports and believe that if one follows your strategy, he will surely succeed.

    Reply
    • Ling

      October 26, 2019 at 4:45 pm

      Hi Hari!

      Thank you for your comments about my blogging journey and blog income reports!

      I’m glad to hear that I can inspire beginners to start their blogs or to become a full time blogger.

      It’s definitely not easy and we won’t see fast results when it comes to making money with a blog, but I always encourage my readers to stick to topics they enjoy writing about. That way they can stay motivated even when they’re not seeing results or an income when they first start. I really believe it comes after persisting and having an open mind to learning from mistakes plus a ton of trial and error.

      Thank you for dropping by! 😊

      Reply
  5. Aileen

    October 19, 2019 at 12:15 pm

    Hey Ling!

    Just wanted to say that your blogging journey is truly inspirational and provides me with motivation when I’m feeling down (new blogger struggles, sighhh).

    I especially liked the part when you mentioned that you experienced a dive in Pinterest traffic and remained low for 2 weeks and then it shot back up again! It just reminds me that I shouldn’t be so fixated with traffic and allow my mood to be affected by it. So, thank you!

    Aileen x

    Reply
    • Ling

      October 24, 2019 at 3:23 am

      Hey Aileen!

      It’s normal to feel down but just remember all the positives and wins you’ve accomplished with your blog.

      It’s easy to be hard on ourselves but just remember that it’s more about learning and enjoying the progress.

      Blogging will definitely have ups and downs so becoming a full time blogger can be a challenge when we hit a road block.

      Whenever I’m feeling down about my blog traffic or facing any blogging obstacles, I try my best to do whatever I can within my control. At the end of the day, I focus on the long term goals of my blog rather than any short term noises. 🙂

      Don’t worry! You got this! 🌟

      Reply
  6. Nikki

    September 22, 2019 at 9:57 pm

    Loved reading this post! Amazing seeing another successful Canadian blogger! Cant wait to take my blog full time as well. Please keep us updated on your progress!

    xo Nikki

    Reply
    • panda

      September 23, 2019 at 8:51 am

      Hi Nikki!

      I’m glad you enjoy reading about my blogging progress. I have to admit that making money with a blog as a full time blogger definitely isn’t easy as it has its ups and downs but I always encourage people to fight through!

      I’m very happy to hear that you’re working towards becoming a full time blogger too. I wish you the best in your blogging journey. Feel free to keep me posted with your progress! I’m looking forward to seeing your blog grow! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Simone

    July 28, 2019 at 12:21 am

    Your page is so amazing and now you’ve inspired me to start my own blog too!!!

    I’ve been a follower and read all your blog posts.

    I wanna blog now and I know it’s nothing get rich or easy but like you say, it’s not very expensive to do. I hope to become full-time blogger and get followers on social media like you one day that will be sooo cool!!!

    I have one suggestion for you, have you thought about changing your name to red pandas? Lol! They are cute..

    Reply
    • panda

      July 28, 2019 at 1:22 pm

      Hey Simone!

      Thank you for your kind words. It makes me happy to know that I can inspire my readers to start a blog and try something new.

      I am confident that you can become a full time blogger as long as you are excited and motivated to learn. I always recommend my readers to choose a blog topic or blog niche they are interested in blogging about because it could help you persist and get past that struggling stage at the beginning.

      As for the blog name change, yes I’ve been thinking of changing my name down the road but not red panda — hah!

      Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment. I wish you luck with starting your blog! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Lee

    July 26, 2019 at 4:21 pm

    Excellent, thanks ling i will review them over the next day or so and then dive in. Thanks again

    Reply
    • panda

      July 28, 2019 at 1:27 pm

      You’re welcome! 🙂

      Reply
  9. lee

    July 25, 2019 at 9:38 pm

    Thanks, Ling, I will probably get both courses but like you said to try one at a time and implement what I have learned before moving on. I will start with Ana’s as I feel the canva knowledge she shares may help. I will give that coupon a go, If it works great, if not then I am getting it anyway so no great loss and I’m sure anything learned will be money well spent. My DA went from 3 to 8 today so this has spurred me on even more so. Thanks for the reply and I look forward to your next article.

    Reply
    • panda

      July 26, 2019 at 12:54 am

      Your DA from 3 to 8 a great starting point and good motivation booster! Nice one!

      Definitely treat the money you spent as something you learned!

      I forgot to mention earlier, if you need any further info, I have a quick review in my recommendations page about both those Pinterest resources for bloggers here:

      https://www.finsavvypanda.com/recommendations/

      Feel free to check it out. 🙂

      I wish you luck and hope you see great results with your Pinterest traffic!

      Reply
  10. lee

    July 25, 2019 at 6:21 am

    Hey Ling, I commented about 3 comments back. I have re-read this post, it really is well put together and is helping me no end. I forgot to ask, I am looking at either Ana’s Pinterest course or Carly’s. I know you said Carly’s was for intermediate pinners and ana’s for beginners. The issue is I’m not really sure where I am in those brackets. I have around 36k unique monthly viewers, 800 followers, and a tailwind paid account, Still feel like I am missing stuff as apart from followers it isn’t growing much and I could do with tips on canva. Which course would you think would suit me best? I’m sure I’ll learn some new stuff with either.

    Reply
    • panda

      July 25, 2019 at 7:43 pm

      Hey Lee!

      I’m happy to hear that my post is helping!

      If you already know the basics of Pinterest such as setting up boards, using the right and relevant keyword descriptions (in bio, boards, and pins), some design, CTAs and what drives people to click, then Carly’s e-course may suit you better. Ana’s is more for beginners who either 1) know absolutely nothing about Pinterest or 2) know very little and aren’t seeing much results. When invested in Ana’s e-book, I already knew quite a bit about Pinterest but I was still able to learn some new things that I wasn’t aware of in her e-book.

      To be honest, it’s quite hard to compare the two. I have to admit that both are great and they helped me in different ways.

      From my experience as a blogger, I now learned that not every blogging resource is going to cover exactly everything you need. There will always be gaps in each resource. For example, I still recently dived into another paid Pinterest resource because I’m looking to find ways to improve despite the good traffic I get from Pinterest.

      But I never recommend buying the next resource without learning the foundations and implementing all the strategies of the first one. It is your hard-earned money so really focus on one resource at a time and create a checklist to make sure you implemented ALL strategies (Ana’s resource for beginners has a checklist in each chapter for that). On top of that, you need to keep in mind that even though you implemented the strategies onto your blog, it may take some time for results to kick in.

      As for pin design, Ana has a chapter dedicated to that. Carly covers her insights about pin design too but what makes Carly’s resource unique is because she talks about manual pinning strategies. She doesn’t talk about Tailwind.

      In case you weren’t aware, if you ever decide to go for Carly’s resource, you can use the coupon, PINNING5 to save $5.

      I’m not sure if Ana’s coupon is still applicable but it is TSA5OFF.

      I hope this helps!

      Reply
  11. Sam Narzary

    July 25, 2019 at 5:52 am

    Hey Ling, thank you so much for all your insights. You really didn’t have to look in to my Pinterest profile, but you did !

    Means a lot to me 🙂

    I will keep you posted on my progress. Keep this type of posts coming. It is really helpful you know.

    Do read my emails if you happen to get ANY from [email protected] 🙂

    Thank you Ling.

    Reply
    • panda

      July 25, 2019 at 7:47 pm

      No problem, Sam! I thought taking a quick look would help me understand your situation better. 🙂

      Feel free to drop me a line to say hi down the road.

      Good luck with your blog!

      Reply
  12. Sam Narzary

    July 24, 2019 at 3:31 pm

    The fact that you remembered means a lot to me Ling, it really is 🙂

    My blog progress has not been so good Ling at least in terms of traffic.

    But it did make over $500 this month, which is quite good. So a little happy about it.

    I believe my Pin design sucks.

    Are you an affiliate of “The Perfect Pin”? I would buy it via your link. Or any recommendation on pin designs

    I think I need some designing skills and consistency.

    Reply
    • panda

      July 24, 2019 at 6:38 pm

      Hi Sam!

      Congratulations on earning over $500 for the month! You’re definitely making great progress! I remember I was excited seeing those numbers as a new blogger!

      Thank you for offering your support, but I’m not an affiliate of The Perfect Pin course. I’ve heard great things about the course (if we’re talking about the same one). If you think it could boost your design skills, I’d say go for it. It’s affordable too!

      And unfortunately, I don’t know of any pin design courses…

      I took a quick look at your Pinterest profile, and I think your traffic can improve if you beef up your board descriptions with more related long-tail keywords within them. For example, your “money saving” board is good but it could do better with more related keywords like “on a low income”, “for teens, couples, families”, “living paycheck to paycheck”, etc. When you pin your pins along with other bloggers’ pins into those boards with better keyword descriptions, it also tells Pinterest what type of pins you are pinning into those boards. Overall, I think it’s best to target more keywords in both your pins and boards. Also, remember to save them into relevant boards. I recommend going back and quickly reviewing the section where Ana talks about keywords. 🙂

      And of course, half the battle is pin design — I find that this is something hard to teach, but I am confident you will become better at it as you see more and more pins. You’ll get a better feel and sense of what’s good and what’s not as you create more. My older pin designs sucked a lot but I am improving as I create more.

      I hope the course you go for will help boost your pin design skills!

      Reply
  13. Sam Narzary

    July 24, 2019 at 5:12 am

    Woow ! So Happy for ya. Been following you for quite some time now. Your pins are all over.

    Bloggers like you are an inspiration. And your success story is a great motivator. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • panda

      July 24, 2019 at 12:01 pm

      Hey Sam!

      It’s nice to hear from you again and thank you for your words!

      I hope you’re seeing progression with your blog since we last talked. 🙂

      Reply
  14. Lee

    July 23, 2019 at 9:45 am

    Wow. What an in-depth post. Being a relatively new blogger,(5months) ive read a lot of these types of posts but this one really stood out. The fact you were not just talking about the large sums of money your blog was generating but also your insecurities and the things you did which were wrong and the things you still need to implement. I know a little about seo and have started to use it on my posts but still to see great results. Little by little i will get there. I have made a few dollars but my main issue is organic traffic and growing my email list. (18subscribers) still im sure i will get there. Thanks for the inspiring post and may your growth continue.

    Reply
    • panda

      July 23, 2019 at 6:53 pm

      Hey Lee!

      Congratulations on your 5 month mark! 🙌

      And thanks for your kind words! I remember being in my 5th month and it felt like I was barely seeing results, but I was still very excited about learning about how bloggers made money with their blogs! I think your excitement is what drives and motivates you to chase after your goals! 🙂

      Google SEO does take time to see results but it’s a good idea that you go ahead and optimize your posts as best as you could now, and let it age. I focused on mainly Pinterest when I was new because I learned that it’s “relatively easier” to see results on Pinterest when you’re a new blogger. I’m in my second year, and I’m still just getting started with google SEO.. and holy, I’ve still got a TON to learn lol.

      I am very confident you will get to where you want to be with patience and persistence (along with learning and implementing the right strategies onto your blog)! 🙂

      I wish you the best! 🌟

      Reply
  15. Corina

    July 5, 2019 at 9:45 am

    This is so inspiring! I love your blog. Whenever I feel blue about my own blog, I read this article :))

    Reply
    • panda

      July 5, 2019 at 3:09 pm

      Hi Corina,

      Aw, thank you!

      I’m glad to hear you find this inspiring and I don’t think you should feel blue about your own blog. Your blog is your journey and about your personal experiences — it should motivate and keep you happy/excited regardless of its ups and downs! 🙂

      Reply
  16. Kelly

    June 24, 2019 at 11:20 am

    Omg. What a great and thorough post. Im so happy for you, but also sad that I haven’t really made any money. I got a different Pinterest e-course and it doesn’t seem to really work for me. How many pins do you pin a day? And how many of them are manual? Reading your post makes me feel super motivated to keep working on mine

    Reply
    • panda

      June 24, 2019 at 7:04 pm

      Hi Kelly!

      Aw, don’t be sad! I know it’s frustrating and trust me, I went through that beginning stage! Still, there are so many new challenges today! So, take it one step at a time.

      I sometimes think it’s just being consistent and trying different strategies with Pinterest! Traffic is always going to be unstable and that’s why it’s good to diversify —- just like diversifying your investments in stocks hah!

      But really, I encourage you to try fresh pins, different descriptions, keywords, images, etc — whatever you could think of!

      I really don’t think anyone has the exact formula. I just try to learn the basic foundations that most people teach and then I go off to experiment, test and try new things.

      I used to pin like 40 to 50 pins a day mixed with other people’s. Now I pin 20 to 30 a day mixed with others. I just focus more on my personal boards compared to group boards for now.

      I wish you success, Kelly! Just keep learning and trying different things!

      Reply
      • Kelly

        June 24, 2019 at 8:13 pm

        You’re the best! Thanks! I’ll try to play around some more with Pinterest! I want to master Pinterest first before I even touch Google SEO. That’s a whole new mess lol.

        You know what…this post motivates me so much that I’m working on my blog during lunch. 30 min is definitely not enough- but better than nothing 🙂

        Reply
        • panda

          June 24, 2019 at 10:12 pm

          That’s great to hear that you’re motivated to work on your blog during lunch time!

          Oh yeah, I manually pinned during lunch time too, lol. It was just an easy task that made such a difference over time. I also created new boards here and there whenever I felt like it (out of randomness)!

          I still manually pin today but I do that whenever I’m bored or just when I’m on my phone. 🙂

          Reply
  17. Bloggersneed

    June 22, 2019 at 6:28 am

    It’s great to see your success and it wasn’t from overnight. Hard word is the right word to be said and you earned it. Share some great content to us.

    Reply
    • panda

      June 22, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      Thank you!

      Yes, hard work and effort upfront eventually pays off in dividends later on! 🙂

      Reply
  18. JT

    June 16, 2019 at 12:19 am

    I enjoyed reading your progress since ur beginning from last year. Thx for sharing, it makes me feel confident and hopeful that I could start a blog too! Very inspiring story. Thnx again! <3

    Reply
    • panda

      June 16, 2019 at 3:32 am

      Hi JT!

      Thanks for your kind words! I wish you the best with your blog!

      Reply
  19. Jane

    June 13, 2019 at 10:07 pm

    Hey Ling! Omg!!! Amazing! I felt motivated again after reading this— this is SO inspiring and thank you so much! I’ve honestly lost motivation as Pinterest has been wonky for me 🙁 I gotta keep trying… and I’m working on SEO now . Congratulations on your success!!!

    Reply
    • panda

      June 14, 2019 at 9:05 pm

      Thanks Jane!

      I’m glad this inspires you! I hope your blog life is doing well!

      I also hope you and your family are doing well! Hope to catch up soon. ❤️

      Reply
  20. Nikola Roza

    June 12, 2019 at 7:39 pm

    Congratulations on your success.
    $10,000 in two years is amazing progress.
    I feel happy for you, especially since my own little blog is finally starting to show life and I think it’s amazing and am over the top with happiness. Good times are coming and I like to read examples of blogging success such as yours.
    They inspire me so much.

    Keep up the good work,

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • panda

      June 12, 2019 at 9:35 pm

      Hi Nikola!

      That’s amazing to hear that you’re starting to see results in your blog! It certainly gives us motivation knowing that there is progress and results in our blogging journey.

      Continue to keep up the great work on your blog! 🌟

      And thank you for your kind words! I’m surprised about these results and I want people to know that it is possible to earn money online with a small blog! I hope this inspires them too!

      Reply
  21. Azar

    June 12, 2019 at 8:59 am

    Such a amazing post…1hours of your motivation… Keep uploading ling… I like this post very much

    Reply
    • panda

      June 12, 2019 at 3:22 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Azar! 😊

      Reply
  22. Michael J. Jung

    June 11, 2019 at 3:21 pm

    Nice post – I promote my own blog on Twitter and Facebook, but haven’t given Pinterest a try yet. Will have to look at the eBooks you recommended.

    Reply
    • panda

      June 11, 2019 at 4:20 pm

      Hey Michael,

      I heard Facebook can be a really great traffic source but I personally haven’t tried it. Definitely give Pinterest a try! The reason why I like Pinterest is because like Google, it’s a search engine (except it’s a visual search engine) so there is some user intent. And when you consistently use Pinterest, it may reward you with lots of traffic. 😀

      Reply
  23. Monica

    June 11, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    I can’t say I’m surprised at all lol. You have grown so fast in such a short time and I am so happy for you. Hard work pays off and you deserve all the success that is coming your way. Can’t wait to see you hit the $100k mark. I might need you to promise me an interview before you get too big 😉

    Reply
    • panda

      June 11, 2019 at 4:15 pm

      Thank you, Monica!

      You are doing great too — keep it up, girl!

      And LOL, $100,000 per month is a really big number! I’m definitely not planning to earn that much, haha!

      A big part of me just wants to keep this blog simple while being able to earn a good income that can support my family — that would be amazing! The living expenses in my city has gotten really expensive so I’ll need to increase my income to reach that goal.

      I’m open for interviews anytime, so feel free to send me questions whenever you’re ready. 🙂

      Reply
      • Monica

        June 15, 2019 at 12:35 am

        I am confident you’ll continue to grow and I’ll be rooting for you the whole way there. I agree, family is everything and money is just a tool to make memories and buy cupcakes, lots of cupcakes lol.

        I will certainly be taking you up on your offer for an interview 😉

        Reply
        • panda

          June 15, 2019 at 2:00 pm

          Aw thanks! I’m confident you will too and we’ll be there to see it together! 🙂

          Reply
  24. Kari

    June 11, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    You’ve been having such a great year for your blog! Congrats! And also I’m so sorry to hear about your grandfather.

    Reply
    • panda

      June 11, 2019 at 4:02 pm

      Thank you for your kind words, Kari!

      I will miss my grandfather lots.

      You are doing a great job with your blog too! I can’t wait to see it grow in the months and years to come!

      Reply
  25. Marc

    June 11, 2019 at 11:25 am

    Congrats on your growth! It’s great to see that your blog is continuing to do so well.

    Reply
    • panda

      June 11, 2019 at 3:59 pm

      Thank you, Marc!

      I hope to get to the stage of where you are one day. There is so much I can learn from you!

      Also, thank you for your BigScoots recommendation. It’s a great hosting company for intermediary bloggers and I’m loving it so far! 🙂

      Reply

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About Finsavvy Panda

Welcome to Finsavvy Panda! My name is Ling and I love everything about saving, investing, earning, and building net worth. I managed to save my first $100,000 in my 20s. I’m all for flexibility and balance, so I’d love ❤ to help you do all of this WITHOUT telling you to cut back on your favorite Starbucks drinks! 
I also started this blog as a side hobby to make extra money in 2018. After realizing that my blog is earning a full-time income, I decided to quit my job! Now, I want to help you live life with a purpose, so come join me today!
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