The Best Blogging Journey To Earn A Full-Time Income

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Many people start their blog without ever knowing what to expect in their first 2 years of blogging.

Having that information is crucial to help you stay on track till your blog starts to make a full-time income.

Most of the time, you will notice that the advice that you get from the pros doesn’t really apply to a brand new blog.

I must admit that when I started this blog, I really struggled to find resources that help a new blogger in this super-competitive industry.

Everyone was talking about targeting high search volume keywords, doing guest posts, creating backlinks, investing a lot of money in many tools, creating an email list, sending the newsletter, learning SEO, creating the best content, and many more things.

How can they expect a new blogger to do all those things?

So, I have decided to create a timeline for new bloggers that explains they should approach their blogging journey for the first 2 years.

This blogging journey applies to anyone who wants to make a full-time income within 2 years. It is something different that will help you see blogging from a different perspective.

That being said, let’s see what each month will look like.

The first 24 months of your blogging journey

Month 1-Setting up your blog

In your first month of blogging, you will need to choose your niche and set up your blog. Though it might seem complicated, it is easier than you think.

Now that your blog is up and running, you will need to do keyword research.

This is the most important part of your blog. Targeting the right keywords is like building a very strong foundation for your blog.

At this point, you don’t need to invest in any Paid tools. Google keyword planner will be enough.

Once you have a list of 20-30 keywords, you can start to create your content.

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Since it’s your first blog, it will take you some time to create a single piece of content. So, aim to create at least 10 blog posts in your first month.

Month 2-Establishing your publishing schedule

This month can be the most important month for your first year as you will have to establish a blogging schedule to publish at least 15 blog posts.

I know it can be really difficult to do that. That’s why it is recommended that you spend at least 2 hours per day creating content.

This month, you should focus on creating content ONLY. Anything else will be a distraction that will prevent you to publish your 15 articles.

By the end of this month, your blog will have 25 articles. Nothing to brag about. 25 articles are not enough to get any traction from Google.

Month 3-Setting up your Pinterest account

This month is where you will use at least 1 social media platform to promote your blog. I will highly suggest you use Pinterest as it is the most effective way to bring CONSISTENT traffic to a new blog.

If you have enough resources, you can invest in Tailwind.

You need to add at least 10 pins per day.

This month you will create another set of 15 articles and at the end of the month, you will have 40 articles.

This is only the third month of your blog, and you should not expect any organic traffic from Google. Your blog is still new and has no authority.

Month 4- Focus on growing your Pinterest account

This month, you will set aside some time to learn more about Pinterest and analyze which types of pins are getting traffic. Based on your findings, you will need to accelerate your pinning schedule.

Once you understand how the Pinterest algorithm works, you will be able to make the right adjustments to increase your traffic exponentially.

If you were previously adding only 10 pins per day, it’s time to increase it to 20. If you are not able to pin manually, it’s time to create an account with Tailwind and set up your pins for at least 2 weeks.

Here is how much traffic you can get with a single Pin in just 1 month:

You will continue to create 15 articles per week.

By the end of the month, you will have 55 articles on your blog. You have now reached your first milestone.

With 55 articles, you can expect to get around 20-30 monthly organic traffic from Google. Don’t get discouraged as your articles haven’t yet matured.

Month 5- Continue to leverage Pinterest

This month you will create 15 articles, but you will spend more time creating new pins. Since you started to use Pinterest in month 3, you will have more data about the pins that are working.

Create more pins and increase your pin schedule to 30 pins per day.

By the end of this month, you will have 70 articles.

You can expect to get around 40-60 monthly organic traffic.

Month 6- Be proud of yourself

It has been said, that the first 6 months of blogging are the most difficult. Most bloggers will quit at this stage as they are barely getting any traffic from Google.

This is a month that can change your whole life. It’s either you give up or you will continue to create content.

During this month you will also have to make a decision: You can either hire a writer to create content for you, or you can choose to be the sole writer for your blog. It all depends on the budget you have.

That being said,, from this month, you can decrease your publishing schedule to 10 articles per month.

By the end of this month, your blog will have 80 blog posts. Something that only a handful of new bloggers will be able to do in their first 6 months of blogging. This is where you have an upper hand on all new bloggers that are in your niche.

At the end of the month, you can expect to get around 100-200 monthly organic traffic from Google.

I know it’s not a lot, but you will see how it will increase a few months from now.

Month 7- Adding affiliate links

Since you will need to publish only 10 articles per month, you will have more time to focus on Affiliate Marketing.

Also, as your Pinterest is getting some traction, you can use Pinterest to earn some money with your affiliate links.

This month you may earn a few bucks with your affiliate links.

By the end of the month, you will have 90 blog posts, which is a signal to Google that your site is starting to get a little authority.

This month you can expect to get around 200-400 organic traffic from Google.

Month 8- Start your email list

This month you will dedicate a few hours to learning to build your email list. Since you are getting traffic from Google, it’s time to start collecting some emails.

Even if you are getting 1 subscriber per month, it’s completely fine. Your goal is to have a list of people that GENUINELY love to read your content. The number doesn’t really matter.

Never forget that a few loyal subscribers are more valuable than thousands of subscribers.

By the end of this month, you will reach your second milestone. You will have 100 blog posts which is quite an achievement. I know you must be thinking that you have already created 100 blog posts and still getting a handful of people to your blog.

This is COMPLETELY normal. The traffic will come. Just have patience.

You can expect to get at least 400-1,000 monthly organic traffic.

Month 9 – Apply for Ezoic

Depending on how competitive your niche is, by the end of this month, you will get approximately 1,000-1,500 visits from Google. And if you have been doing a decent job with Pinterest, you will get approximately 2,000-3,000 monthly visits.

Since your blog is getting decent traffic, you can now apply for the Ezoic ad network which is the perfect choice for beginners.

By the end of this month, you will have 110 articles.

Month 10- Add more affiliate links to your top-performing blog posts

Now is the time to really focus on making money with your blog. You will have enough information from both Google and Pinterest to know which posts are really working.

There will be at least 5-10 blog posts that will contribute to almost 70%-80% of your overall traffic.

It will be time to search for appropriate ad networks and add more affiliate links to these posts.

By the end of this month, you can expect to get around 1,500-2,500 organic traffic from Google. This is the time when your articles created in the first 2 months will start to bring more traffic.

By the end of the month, you will have 120 articles on your blog. This is a sign that you are now starting to establish your authority in your niche.

Month 11- Seeing positive results

This month Google will start to send more traffic to your blog. This is where you will start to see the potential of your blog. You will get anywhere between 2,500-4,000 organic traffic from Google.

Note: If your niche is really competitive, you will start to get a little traffic from Google. In more competitive niches, it takes around 11-12 months before you get 500-1,000 monthly visits from Google.

Month 12- Generating a side income

If you have been constantly creating content for the past 11 months, your blog will start to get more momentum. This month you can potentially get around 5,000-7,000 monthly visits from Google.

You can expect to earn approximately $100-$200.

If you are generating more traffic from Pinterest, your earnings can be $200-$500 through ads and affiliate links.

This month you will have 140 articles on your blog.

Month 13- Exponential increase

By the end of this month, you will have 150 articles on your blog. All the articles that you created in your first 5 months of blogging will start to reach their full potential.

This will be the time when you can see exponential growth in your blog’s traffic.

You can get at least 10,000-20,000 monthly visits from Google.

By the end of this month, you can potentially earn between $800-$1,200.

Month 14- Focusing on growing your email list

Now that you are getting at least 10,000-20,000 monthly visits from Google, you can spend some time growing your email list. This will help you to monetize your blog in the future by creating an E-book.

By the end of this month, you can expect to get around 20,000-30,000 monthly visits from Google.

You have 160 articles. Things are starting to take off now.

Month 15- Dedicate time to creating your ebook

If you want to create an ebook, now will be the perfect time. You can decrease your publishing schedule to 5 per month. All the extra time you have will be dedicated to creating your ebook.

Now if you are not interested in creating an ebook, you can do research for your next blog.

You have 15 months of experience, and now you know exactly which things work. This knowledge will allow you to make your second blog reach $1,000 per month faster.

By the end of this month, your blog will generate between 40,000-50,000 monthly sessions from Google.

You can potentially earn anywhere between $1,500-$2,500 per month with a combination of ads and affiliate links.

Month 16- Launch your ebook/start a second blog

One month is enough to create a simple ebook. Your ebook will contain everything that you have learned during the past 15 months. The usual price for such an ebook will be anywhere between $10-$20.

Your other option is to start a brand new blog.

Now, depending on the amount of time you have, you can follow the same publishing schedule, or you can hire writers to create content for you.

The thing is: If you want your second blog to generate income fast, you must create as much content as you can in the first 3-4 months.

For instance, creating 100-150 articles in the first 4 months.

By the end of this month, you will have 170 blog posts and you will be getting around 50,000 monthly visitors from Google.

You can expect to earn anywhere between $2,500-$4,000 this month.

Month 17-Apply for Mediavine

Mediavine is an ad network that will allow you to earn more money than Ezoic. This is the month when you can apply for the ad program.

In this month you can expect to get around 60,000 monthly sessions from Google.

This is where your blog is establishing itself as an authority.

Month 18- Create a youtube channel to expand your business

If you want to create a youtube channel now is the right time. Your blog will be getting around 70,000 monthly sessions, and you will earn around $4,000-$5,000 per month.

Now, if you don’t want to create a youtube channel it’s completely fine.

Since you are earning around $5,000 per month, you can get writers to create more content for you. This can have a really huge impact on your second blog.

Month 19- Enjoy your success

You have been working really hard on your blog and you can take a little vacation. The awesome thing about having people create content for you is the flexibility it gives you.

This month you need at least 5 more articles to reach 195 blog posts.

You can take a vacation of at least 1-2 weeks and enjoy the fruits of your hard work. Taking at least 1 week off is really crucial for the overall long-term success of your online business.

By the end of this month, you will get around 80,000 monthly pageviews.

Month 20- 200 blog posts

You finally made it. You now have 200 blog posts on your blog. Now you can hire Pinterest VAs to do all the legwork for you. In this month you can expect to earn at least $6,000-$7,000 per month.

You can now focus on learning more about selling your ebook. You can also design an affiliate program to encourage people to refer your product or you can create another epic ebook.

This month you can potentially get 100,000 monthly sessions.

Month 21- Apply for ad thrive

Getting 100,000 monthly pageviews means that you are now qualified to apply for AdThrive.

This month you can potentially earn between $7,000-$8,000 per month.

Month 22- Build a system to automate your blog

Now that you are earning around $8,000 per month, you will have enough resources to invest in tools that will make sure your blog is fully automated.

Once you have got confirmation from Adthrive, you will see a significant increase in your earnings.

This is a month that will require you to make many decisions for the future of your blog.

For instance finalizing your list of writers, choosing who will become your Pinterest Assistant, how much content you want to produce each month, and if you will build more websites.

You will most likely get around 110,000-130,000 monthly sessions from both Google and Pinterest.

Month 23 – Finalise your affiliate programs

By now, you will have enough data about the affiliate programs that are working really well. Also, you will know which affiliate product is generating the most income.

Double down on a few products and affiliate programs to maximize your blog’s earnings.

By the end of this month, you will be getting around 150,000 monthly sessions and you can expect to make around $8,000 per month.

Month 24- Wrapping up

You have now created a fully automated blog where you are generating maximum revenue per visitor.

Since your blog is getting more authority, you can now target competitive keywords and create the best article that exists on the web. This will help you to establish more authority in your niche.

At this point, you are probably earning $10,000+ per month.

Something that only a few people in the industry can achieve.

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Final thoughts: The best blogging journey to earn a full-time income

It takes around 2 years to reach a full-time income with blogging. This is something that anyone who is dedicating at least 1-2 hours per day to their blog can achieve.

As you have noticed, it takes a lot of hard work to reach a point where you can earn $10,000 with your blog.

I hope that this blogging journey will help you to stay motivated and continue to create content even if you are not seeing any significant results.

Give your blog time to grow my friend.

If you haven’t yet started your blog, here is a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

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See you soon!