I am a fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle blogger based out of Nashville, TN! I love sharing my favorite looks, beauty tips, and travel guides! Read more below!
This is how I became a full-time blogger. 8 months ago I called Chris on the way home from work and told him that I didn’t want to live anymore. He was worried about me and I was honestly worried about myself. My blog wasn’t making enough money for me to quit my full-time job yet but I knew I had to quit my full-time job in order for the blog to be profitable. I was stuck at a desk job that was no longer fulfilling my life. I was working a side hustle that I couldn’t let go of. I was working so much I wasn’t there for my family. I was STUCK. Stuck in a place of depression, anxiety, worry, and more.
How I Became a Full-Time Blogger.
Let’s go back 8 years ago in case you don’t know my full story. I dropped out of college because I couldn’t afford diapers for my newborn baby. I lived on government assistance because I couldn’t afford formula. I don’t come from money and I saw my parents work hard to the bone to provide a great life for me and my brother. I watched my dad work a job that physically and mentally damaged his life so he could put food on a table.
I started as a dental assistant and I worked on my blog late on nights and weekends for 4 years without making a single dollar. With no college degree, I learned marketing, photography, videography, social media, and more. 8 months ago I quit the dental field to pursue blogging full time. It has changed my life forever.
Why Should You Take the Risk?
Why am I telling you my story? Because I want you to take the risk. I want you to become a full-time blogger. Friends, family, and other bloggers told me not to quit my full-time job. I had to make enough money on the blog to pay the grocery bills and I exceeded that budget 10 fold. Scared? Let’s just say the night I turned in my notice I cried out loud in the kitchen. Chris picked me up and told me everything was going to be okay. The turning point was when I saw Grayson playing legos alone by himself and I wanted to play with him so bad.
Maybe you are stuck too. Do you work a job that is no longer helping you accomplish your purpose? I’m here to tell you to jump and can you be a full-time blogger. You have 3 outcomes: You will fly, you will fall soft, or you will fall hard and pick back up. You will fall forward. It’s not going to be easy and this job is way more challenging than my dental job. Daily rejection is not for the weak at heart. I believe in you so it’s time you start believing in yourself.
Biggest Lessons I Have as a Full-Time Blogger
Stop taking it personally- Business is business. Sometimes brands want to work with other bloggers and not me. You have to have thick skin and keep a laser focus on your goals.
Top 3 Things- Every day I write down my top 3 tasks that need to get done. Typically my money-making tasks are first so I can hit my profit goal this year.
Don’t overbook your schedule- Saying no is so important for success and I try not to fill my planner to the brim. If I do, then I will face burnout.
Growing on multiple platforms- I always heard don’t put your eggs in one basket but this is honestly so true. So I started posting consistently on Tik Tok and now I have over 20k followers. Now I am landing Tik Tok campaigns, which is an awesome bonus to my sponsorship package when brands want to work with me.
If something isn’t making you money then let it go- Affiliate links were not making me a ton of income as a full-time blogger, not like brand deals, so I started focusing more time on what was working instead of what isn’t working.
Stand out if you are a full-time blogger- if you look like all the other bloggers then you are less likely to land brand deals. I have noticed that getting really good at shooting content with my camera has helped me a ton with brand deals and sometimes they buy the rights to my images for marketing campaigns.
Have more than one source of income- So right now I have about 4 different sources of income. I make money on brand deals, affiliate links, running social media accounts, and social media coaching.
What happened since I started being a Full-Time Blogger?
Landed my first 12-month partnership
Designed a t-shirt collection with 30A
Traveled to over 30 destinations and now getting paid sponsorships to travel
Modeled for bates boutique
Gained over 20k followers on tik-tok
BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT- spending more quality time with my family and became a better wife and mother. The kids are in more activities and now I never miss a soccer game or dance recital.
What’s Next?
The Social Blondes– I partnered with another social media expert to launch our own social media courses. We both had a ton of experience and success with social media so we wanted to help small business owners succeed. This will be another source of income for the business so I am always looking for different ways I can use my talents and skills to make a profit.
Pinterest– Pinterest is very important for blog growth and just overall brand growth in general. I will start to post there a ton, refine my skills, and increase branding on that platform. They just started Pinterest stories and I have had a few pins go viral on there.
Instagram- Instagram is a very hard oversaturated game right now. I had really big goals to be at 100k by the end of the year but it’s just not possible unless I did something shady and bought a ton of followers. The algorithm keeps changing but I so happy for the slow growth that I have on there. I truly love all my followers and the audience I built.
Tik Tok– It’s so easy to grow on there and it makes me so excited! Some videos do very well and some tank but I would love to get to 100k by the end of the year. You have to post 3 times a day to get that type of growth!
Blog– If you have over 50k views on your blog a month you can make potentially make $2k passive income in google ads. Passive income meaning I just place the ad on my site and make a profit. You have to invest either time/money in learning SEO or Pinterest to get the blog views up.
Did I Make the Right Decision?
The answer is a million times YES! We have traveled to so many awesome places and I get to work from ANYWHERE. I am no longer chained to a desk and I don’t have to set an alarm clock if I don’t want to. It’s the freedom that has brought me and my family so much joy. Every day is still scary and honestly, I don’t know if I will get another brand deal next month but it’s a really fun rollercoaster ride. Blogging might not be a thing forever but these memories I make with my kid’s will.
If you have any questions about blogging please send me a DM! I also offer one on one coaching for bloggers!
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
“We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.”- https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org