Hey, gorgeous people – it’s your friendly neighbourhood Mia, back at it again to hit you with some of that inspiration! I’ve been wanting to write this post for absolutely ages, but not had the right way to frame it. Long story short, I think blogging is a fucking amazing tool that I wish more people would utilise. It’s accessible, the barrier entry is non-existent and the opportunities it brings are . . . well, they’re life-changing.
Take it from me; I’m the least successful “blogger” you’ll meet; I don’t have any kind of social media following and even my blog following is considered pretty low. But my blog has taken me all over the world; my blog has landed me my first string of jobs; my blog earned me enough to allow me to stop working full-time and move to part-time.
Hell, my blog is part of the reason I’m in Australia!
However, as much as I want to share my passion and excitement about blogging (the cringe.), I don’t want to sound like some peppy Mormon recruiter making you a bunch of empty promises and offering you up a bunch of meaningless platitudes. I wanted to actually explain WHY I think this. So welcome to the first of a three-part series.
1. (This post) My Blogging Journey – I’m going to be explaining how blogging has effected my life, the milestones and opportunities I’ve gained from it.
2. Why blogging is a great skill on your CV & How To Use It To Your Advantage – some of you may already know that I work in Content Marketing (which can basically be explained as blogging for businesses) and that gives me a somewhat unique look into all the REAL marketable skills that blogging gives you that businesses WILL want to hire you for
3. Why Blogging Is The Best Hobby You Can Have. And the last part of this series is just an overview of all the benefits that blogging has and why I overall think it’s probably the best hobby you can have – especially in this digital world.
Now that you know what we’ve got coming up . . . let’s get into my blogging journey!
2004-2010
A fundamental part of my blogging journey began long before I ever knew what a blog was. From the time I was old enough to read, I was obsessed with reading and writing. My mother and I used to go to the library at least once a week, max out our library cards and come home with massive piles of books . . . only to finish them within a few days and need to go back. I made best friends in primary school that also loved reading and we used to do massive group reads and spent our weekends running to the library and reading books about werewolves and demons. (If you aren’t familiar with Darren Shan, you’re missing out, just saying,)
2010-2012
I’ve always loved writing stories and my laptop was FILLED with “Chapter 1″s, but it was at this point that I thought it would be good to start sharing my writing and trying to get feedback. So I started looking into ways to publish my work online and connect with other writers. This is where I first found blogging!
2012-2013
Throughout these years, I started a string of abandoned-after-a-few-posts blogs. Highlights: MyPersonalBookshelf, where I shared writing tips and some of my old writing! My first real blog, Okaaythen, actually started out like these blogs – I wrote some posts and then abandoned it!
2014
I came back to my WordPress in an effort to make a blog I would actually stick to . . . Only to discover that Okaaythen had like 300,000 views – and it was all on one page: Over 100 Gift Ideas For Teen Girls. A shitty post with no images or links; just 100 bullet points with things like “USBs” and “Headphones”. Capitalism kicked in (aw, even fetus Mia was a soulless sellout) and I realised . . . I mean, I could so make some money off that traffic. And so I started blogging again.
2015
Still sporadically posting, I researched into affiliate marketing and signed up for the Amazon UK affiliate program, earning myself £200 that year (which I was massively proud of!) To recreate that post’s success, I start researching SEO and publish more gift guides! This is when I start taking my blog more seriously.
2016
Learning to look more at my stats and discovering that all of my traffic comes from the US, I move over to Amazon US affiliate network and earn £3000! During this year, as I spend more time falling in love with blogging, I realise that this is what I want to do with my future. Instead of returning to college after my AS year, I find a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship (focus on content marketing), land the role due to my previous blogging experience and start “professionally” blogging on behalf of a small business.
2017
Still working in my content marketing apprenticeship, I learn more and more about blogging and SEO every day – and take my blog self-hosted. (I also, using my blog earnings and my apprenticeship earnings, go on to have the best summer of my life.) At this point, Amazon also slash their affiliate rates essentially by half so my blog income is set to drop. At the end of summer, someone approaches me and offers to BUY my website for £8k! I sell and start my new blog Beautiful, Inspiring, Creative Life.
2018
My new blog is far more professional and successful (audience and engagement wise) than Okaaythen and I love it! Through researching a travel post idea, I find travel buddies that want to move to Australia and . . . I move to Australia!
And that’s where we’re at, kids! My blogging journey so far. It’s actually really funny to look back over the past few years and all the weird series of events (and episodes of good luck) that have led me to here. I just wanted to show you some of the opportunities blogging has brought me – and what it can do for you too!
Hopefully you guys got . . . well, something from this post. Did you like my infographic? What are some key moments in your blogging journey? Do we have a similar one? Let me know your thoughts down below!
Peace,
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Know the pommie libraries well. My housemate’s mother was a librarian. You might have been one of the tinker kids she was often complaining about. Lol
She didn’t appreciate my saying it was great they were reading though even if they weren’t returning the books
This sun that is coming now is going to turn you black. Once you guys get our summer… Kansas goes bye bye Dorothy 🤣😎
IM SO EXCITED FOR THESE POSTS!! The blog glow up is so deep with this, I loved seeing the beginnings of your blogging and how far you’ve taken this, you’ve worked so hard and hearing how you got to this point was so interesting! Um also yes, I’d like to get on your infographic level, one day. We can only pray. brb planning our roadtrips xxx
Mia!!!!!! ❤ I am honestly completely grateful that I have met you here in WP. OKay, reading that timeline changed my life. So you’ve been blogging that long? Oh my gosh i’m shook 😳😂 You really are my inspiration in blogging. Like, you’re on the number 1 in my list. Your blog is my dream blog. I told myself since last year that I want to transform my blog as successful as yours after I turn 18 and that’s next year 🤞😂 knowing that you’ve started blogging that way oh my god i just felt this excitement. I can’t wait for the time that I can finally call my “teen blog” a “lifestyle blog” in the future. So much love 💞 xoxo
and your infographic is SO FABULOUS 😍😍😍 what site do you use to make that?
You’re such an inspiration! And I looove your infographic!! It’s so cool! I’m very excited to read the other 2 posts from this series! This post was not only full of useful information, but also VERY motivational! Thanks for writing this! 😀
wow.this is the most creative and unique, and inspiring blogpost i have read in 2 months.no joke.youre such an inspiration.gosh.
im out of words.I STAN MIA
Big mood
This is such an inspiring both Mia, I love where blogging has taken you and the opportunities is has given you. You are so deserving of it!! I can’t wait to see where you go next! <3 <3
*post not both (damn it)
It’s so encouraging to read your post on blogging. Would be looking forward to the next two installments. Please do write a tutorial on how do you create such amazing infographic. 😀
Yessss Mia put a $ (or £) sign on it! I’m so happy that blogging has created opportunities for you to explore and delve deeper into what you love. Not many people get to tinker! I loooove the infographic! Very creative!
Cheers to your Aussie Adventure!
Dom | http://www.DivaNamedDom.com
How does the Amazon Affiliate Program work? I cannot believe you have been blogging for as long as you have! I had my 1 year anniversary of my blog earlier this Summer so the idea of blogging for longer than that is crazy to me. I still cannot believe you sold a blog – that’s crazy! I hope you are having an amazing time in Australia, the photographs look incredible. xx
I loved this blog post so much 😍 It’s full of inspiration. I really love to read about your blogging journey. I’m excited to read the other posts in this series. Your blog is one of my favourites. I’m so proud for how far you have come. I wish I can be a professional blogger too in terms of earning money of it. Maybe one day. Your infographic is so beautiful. Tell me your secret haha 😂 Keep blogging. Love you girl ❤️
🙂 Thank you for sharing your blogging journey with me, Mia.
This was great! I would love to be able to earn enough from my blog that I can work part time. That’s the dream right there. This was so inspiring. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
I LOVED your blogging journey! You are goals beauty and kicking ass and I am SO proud of you! Keep it up sweets! <3
Aah thank you for sharing! Such a proud grandma over here! You’ve gone so far and I loved seeing your progress. Honestly I tried affiliate marketing but I feel like no one would click the links lol. So yeah, maybe sometime in the future. YES MIA – you deserve it and more!!
That’s one hell of a roller coaster journey! 😍 And you’re just 19😱 I need a lot of tips from you, girl
This is VERY inspiring!!!! 💖 I can see that you really LOVE blogging and that brought you to what you have right now!!! Plus bloggers like me really love you so much because you even take time to comment and read our posts! So much love, girl and keep it up!!!
I am SO excited for this series – this was a great way to kick it all off. You have had an impressive experience via blogging, I think many aspire to do the things you have! It’s amazing how people like to underestimate bloggers, most of our knowledge is self-taught and has been accumulated over the years. If you do it well, I think you can really make a name for yourself and partially (if not fully) support yourself financially. When it comes down to it though, I’d say that there’s always a lot of luck involved too. Great post xx
I loved this post so much! I can’t wait to read the other two parts of the series!
SUCH AN INTERESTING READ. I love it when you talk about stuff like this cause you do it in a way that doesn’t actually make me wanna smack my head against a wall, it’s so engaging (and in basic language that I can actually understand, thanks girl) this is really motivating!! xx
Woohoo, someone bought your blog?! How did you not go ballistic about this, or did I miss it? You are killing it, Mia. You go girl! Btw love the infographics. xx
why is this so funny and inspiring and amazing??? it truly is a “beautiful creative inspiring life” …wow im so cheesy
but that’s seriously so amazing! your journey is kinda unreal it reminds me of the stories from tv shows, kinda like that show called skins.
the infographic is so well made too! wow it’s nice to see an interesting story like this after sometimes feeling down about blogging.
maybe it’s just best to have fun all the time and hopefully a miracle will come through like 300k views on just one post lol <3 thank u for sharing!
What a journey you’ve been on, Mia! You are so good with the infographics– they look amazing!!!
Ahh yes, the lack of pictures and links…I low-key think I just figured it out…😄.
Honestly, this is very inspiring!
OMG I can’t get over how amazing this graphic is!!!! It’s so cool to see how far you’ve come!
Loved it!! You did an amazing job with your blog(s) 😊 definitely an inspiring post thank you 😘
I would hardly call you a “least successful blogger”. In fact, you’re one of the most successful bloggers I follow. I don’t really follow those huge “influencer, fake life looking bloggers” with hundreds of thousands of followers because I find them harder to relate to. You’re more real, and I like that. I try to be as real as I can with my followers, and that’s what I also look for in the people/blogs that I follow. People who are similar to me.
You are such an inspiration Mia!! It’s really cool to find out in this post where blogging has taken you and the opportunities you’ve had because of it xx
it was so learning reading experience for guy like me who is just starting its block. really and thanx for share your experience..
This is so amazing girl! The fact that you were able to work part time due to your blog earnings just shows how great blogging is! Oh and also gives me hope because I can’t even imagine making that much through blogging ahah!
Thanks for sharing this- super helpful! xx
Beaulife.org
Great post. I love hearing the journey. I relate to to getting started and then stopping. I think I’m getting the hang of it this time around 😬. Thanks for the inspiration!
Loved this piece. If you a least successful blogger then what will you call beginners like me?
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Wow, I love your success story! I never understood how people could get to a place like that! YOU ARE SO GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO! Do you have any tips on how to be able to make a living from blogging?