As part of our BloggersIdeas interview series, today we have Michelle S from MakingSenseofcents.com who is making huge money through blogging. She is inspiration to many bloggers who want to make good money through blogging & affiliate marketing.
I recently saw her interview on a blog and was really inspired by her story. So I decided myself to bring her on my blog. I am really glad Michelle is here on my blog. She is making 11-14000$ per month through blogging.
Lets explore with Michelle.
First of all thanks a lot for coming on my blog Michelle, you made my day by accepting my interview request. Tell me something about yourself & your educational background?
Hello! My name is Michelle and I am full-time online freelancer. I have two undergraduate business related degrees, and I also have my Finance MBA. I used to work as a financial analyst for a few years, then made the switch to full-time self-employment to pursue my passion instead.
Now, I am a content manager, website manager, social media manager, staff writer, I help people start WordPress blogs, and more.
What are your plans for the future? What's the next move for your company and what can we expect to see in the near future?
I have so many plans for the future for myself and my business. I hope to eventually write an ebook, expand my content managing services, add more clients, and hopefully start doing better when it comes to affiliate income. I would also eventually like to hold sessions and provide speeches. I'm still a little too nervous to get into public speaking right now though.
Related: How to Mint More Money From Clickbank: Here is Guide to Perfect Clickbank Affiliate SalesWhat's your best monetization strategy?
My favorite monetization strategy would be affiliate income. I like that you can review a product you believe in, and hopefully people will still be reading that same post years down the line and click on your links. I don't think income can get more passive than that.
That being said, I am not the best when it comes to affiliate income. It has been a very slow process for me. I do need to work harder on it and I have several plans when it comes to jump starting my affiliate income strategy.
What is the reason behind your Blogging success? Who introduced you to blogging ?
I'm not sure what the reason is for my blogging success. I would like to think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that I always try to be real and honest with my followers, and I'm also very easy going. I lay out everything I do on my blog and I am very open.
I first became interested in blogging by reading the magazine Cosmopolitan surprisingly. They had a section dedicated to the blog DailyWorth and I became hooked on the idea. I first became active in the blogging community. I left comments on people's blogs and then I eventually decided to start my own.
How did you make your first online income, how much time did it take to make money online ?
It took me around 6 months before I actually made my first dollar blogging. I didn't start my blog in order to make money, so I was surprised when it happen. I believe I made my first income through advertising on my website.
How do you promote your affiliate products? Do you buy exact match domain to rank on google? Is it good way to to promote products by buying EMD's ?
I am still a weakling when it comes to affiliate products. I just review products and hope that my readers click on my links.
How to engage audience on Pinterest . How much traffic you drive from Pinterest ?
I receive around 5% of my readers from Pinterest. I used to receive nearly 0% so it is a great improvement within just a few months of trying harder to reach Pinterest readers. The main way I try to reach Pinterest readers is by creating fun images with catchy headlines.
Do you know about video blogging ? Do you think it will be the future of blogging ?
I don't know much about video blogging, but I do think it's getting more and more popular. I don't know if it will be the future of blogging, but I do think it will be pretty big.
It is difficult to leave job & then work from home. ? How did you manage this ? What are the risks involved here.
It was pretty difficult for me to leave my job and work from home. I had a very secure job that paid very well, so it was hard for me to finally make that leap and jump into "risky" territory. It has been pretty great working from home though. There were some common myths about working from home that I once believed but now I know the truth.
Some of the risks/negatives include losing your day job income, having to pay for your own health insurance, not being able to ever actually take a vacation because you'll always be in work-mode, and more. There are so many positives of working for yourself at home though, so all of the negatives didn't really matter to me though.
I managed to work from home by creating a plan and saving a well funded emergency fund. I didn't want one bad month to put a sour taste in my mouth, so that was very important to me.
Top Social media websites you use for sharing your content ?
I am active on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. I would say that my favorite social media website is Twitter because you can connect with everyone easily. Facebook these days makes it too hard so I get aggravated with that social media website.
Where is affiliate marketing going to reach in coming 5 years and how you are going to monetize it?
I hope in 5 years that the majority of my income comes from affiliate marketing. I hope to monetize it by continuing to do what I am currently doing, which is reviewing products that I believe in.
What is the first thing an aspiring affiliate marketer should learn before doing anything else?
Figure out products you like and be honest with your reviews. No one wants to read a bunch of fake reviews.
How much money did you make in month of August ? Which was the best source of income ?
August of 2014 was a great business income month for me. I made $14,156 in online income after some basic expenses. My best source of income was managing websites for my clients.
Did you like my blog. Please share your feedback with me ? What things you didn't like in my blog ?
Yes, I very much like your blog. I like the clean design and it's very easy to navigate. There is nothing I did not like.
If you have any questions about this interview, please do ask in the comments below !
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