My Six Month Blogging Adventure
“Following J. Money’s advice to “just start it” has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
-Peerless Money Mentor
Genesis of Peerless Money Mentor
I reached out to J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy last August for tips on how to start a personal finance blog. He replied by saying, “best thing to do is honestly just START IT and write your heart out. if you can do that the rest will fall into place naturally :)”
He went on to say not to worry design or marketing in the beginning. His reasoning was that I needed to make sure I enjoyed it first.
It was not until later that I discovered his seemingly simple advice was golden.
Three months later I started my blog and released my first post. Ignoring J. Money’s marketing advice, I published an Amazon gift card giveaway post. To my surprise, very few people participated in the contest.
I ended up giving away the prize to a close friend. J. Money had been right all along. The only way to generate traffic was to start writing my heart out.
Taste of Success
This win of mine gave me the confidence to set a new goal: get an article featured on Rockstar Finance.
The day after I was scheduled to go on a 5 day cruise to Cozumel so I had to put my blogging adventure on hold. But I resumed my blogging adventure immediately when I returned home!
Two Rockstar Features
I kept writing and eventually got two of my articles featured on my Rockstar Finance!
Collaborations
I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of personal finance bloggers. Here are some of my collaboration projects:
Saver Life Judge Opportunity
“The Saver Life program is a great program that can potentially help non-savers develop a habit of saving money. The program lasts six months. For every month, you deposit $20 into your savings account, SaverLife sets aside $10. At the end of the program, you can redeem a $60 reward (if you have met your $20 savings goal each month”
After spreading the word about the SaverLife savings program on my blog, I was contacted by the program’s content marketing manager, Grace Boorstein, to do an interview.
The interview went well and they reached out to me again in February to see if I was interested in being a judge for their Savers Win grand-prize ($5,000) story competition. Of course I said, “Yes!”
To win the grand prize, participants had to submit a paragraph given this prompt:
Please share your motivation for saving. What did you save your tax refund for? What impact does saving have on your life?
After their team narrowed down the entries to five, I was tasked with ranking the entries. This was a very tough task because I wanted each participant to win $5,000. From my last contact with Grace, the winner will be surprised at their home in a few weeks!
A Word to Fellow Bloggers
*If you are a blogger, please spread the word about the program. As a non-profit, their marketing budget is limited. It is not an affiliate marketing deal (you get paid zero bucks!) but you will be helping some of your readers! And that is the ultimate goal, right?*
Business Insider Opportunity
Last month Business Insider published an article I wrote for their Real Money Series. The editor seemed to like my writing and asked me if I would be interested in writing more articles for them in the future.
One of the editors introduced me via e-mail to the freelance editor so hopefully I’ll get a chance to write another article soon. I was sent a list of leftover headlines from the last pitch list sent out but none I was interested in.
As a blogger, you might be interested in how I got a chance to write for them. Well, let me tell you how it happened!
One day I was reading an article on Business Insider about Uber drivers selling snacks and candy in their cars. I noticed at the end of the article it said, “Are you an Uber or Lyft driver with a story to share? Email…”
So I emailed the editor listed and shared my article Fascinating Things I have Learned From Uber Pax.
I told him that my experience might be different from full-time drivers. As a part-time driver, who is not relying on Uber as a main source of income, I can be more selective about the riders I pick up.
Would you have any interest in being a contributor for our “Money Diaries” series?
He must have enjoyed the story because he thought of me when an editor wanted the perspective of an Uber driver for the Real Money series. I agreed to write the article and he put me in touch with the editor in charge of the series.
Network
Regardless of your career path, do not be afraid to network. What’s the worst thing you can happen when you reach out to someone? Put yourself out there!
Time to Refocus
Lately I have not been as prolific as I was earlier in my blogging journey. I have been battling impostor syndrome; doubt has gotten the best of me. My goal is to write two post a week going forward.
My past success means nothing if I do not continue moving forward. I hope to continue creating helpful, entertaining, and thought-provoking articles.
Community Feedback
- What are your thoughts about the SaverLife savings program?
- Share one of your recent wins in life!
Until next time, folks! Keep grinding. Love yours. Have fun!
Author: Jerry
Jerry is a Business Insider Contributing Writer who is obsessed with personal finance. He believes you can improve your financial situation by applying principles taught by the financial independence community to your financial life.
If you are having trouble saving, he recommends that you join the SaverLife Savings program where you can get a $60 reward after six months (no income requirement). All you have to do is put a minimum of $20 a month into a savings account. Easy, right?
For a fun read, check out his article 10 Signs You’re a Personal Finance Addict to see if you are a personal finance nerd.
Before you go, check out the new From Broke to Financially Woke Interview Series.
Also, please subscribe below if you found his content valuable and want to continue following him as he documents his own journey from Broke to Financially Woke!
Congrats on making it 6 months! You are doing well – I have only 1 rockstar feature and 0 business insider features in 18 months 😉
Jokes aside keep it up and have a great weekend!
Thanks, Erik! I see you guest posting on all the major blogs though 🙂
Enjoyed reading your house hacking post on POF!
Enjoy your weekend, too!