Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Discover my journey of making $1000 in blog income and learn how to turn your blog into a profitable venture.
I’ve been pouring our lives and those of others into Canadian Budget Binder for nine years.
We live in a 1996 cookie-cutter home in a tranquil area outside the city.
You’ll notice we have a lived-in look, and nothing matches.
Our carpet must be ripped out, and the entryway has broken tiles.
Nothing about our lives screams wealth or a millionaire lifestyle because we’re not.
As we are in our 40s now, we have no desire to buy a bigger or better house.
I’m unsure if anyone else is the same, but paying higher bills for more space doesn’t work for us.
Earning A Blog Income Was A Dream Come True
I never dreamed that sharing my life experiences on a Canadian blog would become fruitful.
My first $100 blog income deposited into my PayPal account was worthy of a song and dance.
What you don’t want to become as a blogger is a money hoarder or, as I call it, money-obsessed.
My first piece of advice is that anything you need to pay for blogging, you can find it online for free.
Whether it’s budget printables or advice on fashion in an e-book, I won’t pay for it.
The more I’ve learned, the better I get at the blogging game, so I suggest borrowing or buying Blogging For Dummies.
Even the public library has lots of books about blogging, and it won’t cost you a dime.
I could earn even more blogging, but I don’t have a blogging course or book.
When you start charging for courses and books, other bloggers offer affiliate programs.
Affiliate Income
What is an affiliate program?
An affiliate program is where you share a product you’ve used or recommended on your blog.
This is one of the top ways bloggers earn income on their blogs, along with sponsored posts and ads.
If a user clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you earn a small income.
Be Wary About What You Buy To Learn About Blogging
Some links may discount readers if they buy their buddy’s course.
It has become a game of who can sell each other’s blogging courses to earn extra income.
I’m not here to sell you something you can find online for free.
There is a game between bloggers who will convince you that you NEED to buy a course to become blog wealthy as they are.
This becomes a virtual marketing system where they promote each other often without even buying the course themselves.
I once fell into this trap with a blogger who assured me the course would teach me something.
She told me the course was worth it, so foolishly, I bought it for $132 (around there).
I was excited because she earns millions yearly and wanted to know the magical secret.
There was no magic and nothing I didn’t already know as a blogger.
Some professional bloggers have legitimate courses, but that doesn’t mean you will do as well as they have.
I felt the marketing was sketchy yet backed by all these bloggers who wanted to become just like her.
How could it be wrong?
It wasn’t a good fit, and she knew it when I asked her if I’d gain anything from it.
It seems almost like a following of believers who don’t want to step out of line. It’s as fake as it gets.
I never want to play games to get rich or show off wealth.
Be A Teacher First
When I create something on the Canadian Budget Binder, I offer it for free.
I am a finance teacher and learn from my blog’s readers through their experiences.
Allowing yourself to listen to what your readers are going through and that you’re helping them means the world to me.
This is what I love to do.
Just A Blog About Budgeting
This blog was never meant to be my full-time income, and it can be risky if treated that way.
Of course, the millionaires who have already stashed their cash don’t care.
I guess I’m trying to say that blogging isn’t scary, and anyone can make money with time.
You can read blogging success stories online for free, but that won’t make you wealthy.
You can learn what they’ve done, along with what worked and didn’t.
That’s sort of what you will be getting from me. I hope you don’t mind and enjoy it.
Blog Income Is Not The End Goal
Putting a blogging plan into motion and becoming a product takes time.
From there, a few people read the articles, and they continue to get shared.
Blogging should be about life experiences and how things were handled and not a money-making machine.
I was once told that the money would come if you love what you do.
The full-time job I have outside of blogging I love, and I enjoy blogging.
Some bloggers are raking in cash, and that’s all they care about.
Talk about a boring life, oh, but they have money, your money.
Blog With Integrity And Care For Your Readers
My advice is never to change the person you are when you blog because people notice.
Living on a blogger’s salary is possible if you are committed to your blog.
It also depends on where you want to live and your desired lifestyle.
You can blog anywhere if you have a laptop and, of course, a blog.
I think of a blog as a bloggers diary of what they’ve learned about in life shared with the world.
There are some bloggers I have connected with from a financial standpoint, and that’s all I need.
Earning $1000 Blog Income In One Year
How I Made My First $1000 Blogging Income over a year was moving for me.
I was doing something I enjoyed doing and earning a bit of money on the side.
The best part has always been connecting with the fans, whether they struggle or have struggled before.
One year, during a winter storm, we made a pit stop at a CBB reader home to deliver a $100 gift card.
She has always helped me with the blog whenever needed and is still reading today.
That’s what I call a blog friendship worth hanging onto.
Unfortunately, she was not home, so Mrs. CBB gave the Christmas card to her son.
Friendship is fantastic when you are a blogger, but lots earn blog income behind the scenes.
At first, I earned a small income on WordPress dot com, then moved to WordPress.org.
This blog has been designed and redesigned three times in nine years and is worth every dollar.
Typically, a blog overhaul can cost over one thousand dollars or more, depending on need.
Positive Affirmation Helps Blog Income
If you’ve ever heard the expression that you need to spend money to make money, it’s true.
However, spend your money wisely on blogging because not everything seems as it seems.
I don’t have any favorite blogging courses because I’ve only bought one, and it was far too essential for my experience.
In truth, I made some blogging friends and read the book Blogging For Dummies.
Here I am today, earning far more than $1000 blogging each month without the help of any course.
I did write a 10-Step Mini Budgeting Course, but it’s FREE.
If you are considering starting a blog, some advice is to believe in yourself and not compare.
- Be Funny
- Don’t buy silly gimmicks to help your blogging income increase
- Read for free online about blogging and ask questions
- Please don’t argue with other competitors in your niche because it won’t solve anything.
- Be truthful, and if you fuck up, so be it. You start again or change the way you approach blogging.
- Allow other bloggers in your Niche to share their stories on your blog
- Build a network of bloggers who you can relate to
- Don’t become greedy if you start to make big money. Just be you.
Tools I Use To Earn Blog Income
To be successful on Pinterest, I use Tailwind, which helps me create new pins for Pinterest and saves me time. Use my unique affiliate link and get $15 free.
Pinterest drives a good amount of traffic to CBB because it’s a search engine, not a part of social media.
This blog fits perfectly with BIg Scoots hosting, as the guys have been the best to me for many years.
Seriously, if you are starting a blog, go with BigScoots Hosting.
I use Mediavine, a full-service ad management company, as my publishing company, and I love their customer service and money-making opportunities.
Mailerlite is the email service I currently use to send my blogs to all subscribers, including my bi-weekly newsletter. Again, their customer service has been exceptional.
If you’re like me and not confident designing your website, you can hire someone.
I also use FIVER if I need a logo made or other blogging services done cheaply.
Get a beautiful customized logo today with Fiverr.com!
Fiver also helps bloggers with almost all the services I’ve used for CBB.
- Graphics & Design
- Video & Animation
- Music & Audio
- Programming & Tech
- Business Consulting
- Writing & Translation
- Digital Marketing
Canadian Budget Binder can’t live without Grammarly Pro, and since I ordered it, I promised it could stay forever.
After using Grammarly, I realized how awful my grammar was, and I’m working on it.
Again, Grammarly is a must for Canadian Budget Binder, so I suggest checking it out for your blog.
Grammarly is the best Instant Spelling And Grammar Checker I’ve tried online.
You can find all the blog tools on the Canadian Budget Binder to earn a blog income.
In an upcoming post, I’ll discuss search engine optimization and the plugins I use on my blog.
Blog Income Report
I planned to share my blog income report to help you understand how much CBB earns.
It would be best to meet a specific financial threshold to get a business licence.
I’m not there yet, but I am getting close, so any income I earn must go on my income tax return.
Related: Self-Employed Guide For Business Owners In Canada
Although I don’t have data from 2012, it won’t matter because I didn’t earn even a penny,
In my second year, I earned a cozy $692.27. However, my blog expenses were $457.00
$692.27- 457.00 = $235.27 was my income for 2013.
| 08-May-13 | E-Book Sale | $3.37 |
| 31-May-13 | Word Ad’s (Word Press) | $102.22 |
| 31-Jul-13 | SheKnows Canada | $130.00 |
| 26-Nov-13 | Visa Mastercard Post | $200.00 |
| 02-Dec-13 | Marketing Services for Text Link | $125.00 |
| 03-Dec-13 | E-Book Sale | $1.68 |
| 25-Dec-13 | SheKnows Canada | $130.00 |
| 2013 Total | $692.27 |
| 15-May-13 | Hosting | $71.40 |
| 12-Feb-13 | Domain Reg 2012 | $25.00 |
| 11-Mar-13 | Engine 1 Media | $250.00 |
| 12-Dec-13 | Domain Reg 2013 | $26.00 |
| 25-Dec-13 | Paid Writer | $25.00 |
| $60.00 | ||
| $457.40 |
Moving Forward With Blog Income
It wasn’t until about four years ago that I learned the art of affiliate income, sponsored posts, social media, and extensive SEO (search engine optimization).
I’ve been working hard to build my email list with Mailerlite and adding more freebies to the blog.
Until 2014, I earned the most I had ever made in a year, $2113.55 minus blog expenses.
As you can see, my hard work was paying off, and I had met my goal within two years of blogging.
I’ll catch up with you from 2014 to 2020 when I do another Blog Income Report.
I’ve been amazed at how fast you can earn a blog income with lots of effort and a fan base who believes in you.
If there is any other information you’d like to know about blogging, send me an email or comment below.
Social Media Counts
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blog, Flipboard, and Tumblr.
Please do if you haven’t joined any of my social media pages.
I’ll update the numbers during my next blog income report or How to Blog Post.
- Twitter 6605
- Pinterest 21,000 I love Pinterest, but it’s a search engine, not social media.
- Flipboard 1755
- Tumblr 26 (I’m not on this as much, but I am working on building it now)
- Instagram 605 (This one is important to me although I might hire help for it) Interested? PM Me.
- Facebook CBB 10,000
- Facebook Free Recipe Depot 3330
- Blog 1700 plus I lost almost 1000 when I integrated from wordpress.com to Mailerlite. That’s fine, as we will keep working on spreading the news about Canadian Budget Binder.
- Bloglovin 531
Organic Traffic Is King
Organic traffic comes from online searches and is the king of earning income for many bloggers.
For example, if you type Canadian Budget Binder in Google, it will populate a list and perhaps photos.
Hopefully, you’ll see CBB at the top since that’s what you want.
Another way is if you are looking for the Scanning Code of Practice, you’ll find CBB on the first page of Google.
The more blog posts you write that can make it to page one of Google, the better your blog will be seen.
Organic traffic is highly based on SEO, so read Blogging For Dummies if you aren’t familiar with it.
TikTok: Your Way To More Blog Income
If that’s your thing, TikTok is a great way to stumble into more money for a blog income.
I haven’t ventured to TikTok yet, but I plan to tie up some loose ends with the blog first.
That’s all for this session on how I made my first $1000 on Canadian Budget Binder.
Thanks for reading,
Mr.CBB