This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
I get asked pretty frequently how I’m able to bring in a full-time income from home as a stay-at-home mom to three little kids. My oldest is in kindergarten, my middle child is in pre-school five days a week (half days), and my youngest is at home with me (she’s one!).
I’ve never worked more than 15-20 hours per week on my blog (it’s usually much, much less), HOWEVER I have been blogging for over three years now! So, if you want to make money blogging, you have to stick with it! I always recommend new bloggers do one thing every single day that relates to blogging. Over time, these small things add up 😊
That’s the secret to success: Longevity.
I usually do a tiny bit of blogging tasks early in the morning (maybe 10 minutes), and my major “blog time” is when my older two are in school/pre-school and my baby is napping (about two hours, if I’m lucky). Every once in a while, I’ll work at night. But to be honest my brain doesn’t function that well at night, ha. I’m definitely at my peak in the morning!
If you want to make money online, you have to start with a blog. My schedule below will help you figure out how to organize your week and which tasks you should be focusing on. Of course, you can change it up to fit your blog into your own life. Starting a blog has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. It’s a ton of fun, it allows me to be creative, I’ve met some amazing people, and I make money every single month!
Sign up below to get started on your very own blog. You’ll receive a ton of tips and advice for making money online!
Now, here’s a look into my week. Hope you enjoy!
Sunday: Weekly Planning & Pinterest
Sunday is when I prepare for the week ahead and do some pinning (I use Tailwind and cannot recommend it enough!). You can get a free trial by clicking here!
To make Tailwind successful, you have to belong to a bunch of group boards on Pinterest. Below are 25 group boards that are currently accepting contributors. Sign up to have them sent directly to your inbox!
I spend about 20 minutes two Sunday’s per month filling up my Tailwind queue. Usually during this time, I schedule posts to Facebook for the week, as well. I’m not quite as consistent with Facebook as I am with Pinterest, but I’m trying to work on that. Facebook can be a GREAT way to get traffic – so if you haven’t already created a Facebook page for your blog, now is the time. (You can schedule FB posts in advice using the FB scheduling tool, which is free.)
On Sunday’s, I also spend timeplanning for the week ahead. I now schedule out my week versus winging it (my exact schedule is below). I write down specific things I’m going to work on instead of just “write a blog post.” Because of this small change, my productivity has skyrocketed. You don’t even need a planner; just write down your daily/weekly tasks on a sheet of paper and make sure you stick to it!
Monday: Write Blog Post
I always try to start my blog post for the week on Monday. Sometimes, I can get an entire post done in two hours and other times it takes a solid 10 hours to complete the post. But, Monday’s for me are when I’m the most focused so I like to do as much writing as possible.
Pro tip: Know ahead of time what you are going to write about!! If you don’t have a specific post in mind, it’s way too easy to get distracted and accomplish nothing. Keep a notebook full of blog ideas or use an editorial calendar. Spend a few days prior to writing your post thinking about the post! This doesn’t have to be “scheduled time,” but try to get your thoughts organized while driving, showering, eating lunch, etc.
At 2pm EST, I pin my most recent pin to the Facebook group Bloggers Unite on Pinterest. This group is awesome – every day at 2pm EST the host creates a thread where bloggers share a pin, and in return you pin 10 other pins to your boards. I always pin my own between 2-3pm and then repin others’ pins later that evening.
This group has really increased my reach on Pinterest!!
Tuesday: Finish Post and Facebook
If I didn’t complete my blog post on Monday, I try to wrap it up Tuesday morning. I create my images in PicMonkey or Canva. If you don’t enjoy creating images, give these Pinterest image templatesa try. They are proven to convert and get more readers over to your blog! I have used them for multiple posts and I promise you, THEY WORK!!!! Plus, it saves gobs of time trying to create your own pin-worthy images 🙂
Tuesday is also when I schedule more posts on Facebook. Facebook hasn’t been a huge focus of mine in the past, but I’m hoping to change that in the coming months. My plan is to schedule three posts per day to my Facebook page. I recommend Strategies Worth Sharing to help you create a plan for Facebook and grow your followers.
And again, I share a pin to the Facebook group Bloggers Unite on Pinterest at 2pm. (I do this every day except over the weekend!)
Wednesday: Brainstorm Session
I usually leave one day a week pretty open just in case I have to move stuff around due to my baby not napping or plans that come up. If nothing does come up and I’m all caught up, I take Wednesday mornings to brainstorm different things about my blog, including post ideas, newsletter opt-in ideas, new affiliate programs to join, product ideas, and more.
I also take this time to take courses and learn. Now really is such a good time to start a blog because there are SO MANY RESOURCES available to help you out. Two recent courses I’ve taken are Blog by Number and Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
Blog by Number is THE BEST course for new bloggers. Heck, I’ve been blogging for three years and still took away a ton of information to make my blog better! The book’s author, Suzi Whitford, is a stay-at-home mom to three little ones. She started her blog just 1 ½ years ago and last month brought in over $24,000! She really knows her stuff and I couldn’t recommend her course more! It’s super affordable, too.
Check out Blog by Number here >>
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing is geared towards those who specifically want to increase their affiliate earnings. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, the course creator, makes over $50,000 a month from affiliates! No matter what niche you’re in, you can make (good) money as an affiliate. Her course is a must if you really want to get serious about making money blogging!
While Wednesday’s do not have to be your particular “learning day,” I highly recommend fitting this in somewhere. Write down things you want to get better at and improve on, then spend an hour or so researching ways to be better. You don’t always have to take a course, but you do have to continually put in the time to learn.
Thursday: Send Email to Newsletter Subscribers
I try to email my newsletter list at least once a week. In my emails, I include a short weekly life update, tips for bloggers, my new post for the week, and sometimes new products (courses and eBooks) that I’ve worked through and found very helpful. I love getting replies back and connecting with my audience!
If you don’t have an email list, you absolutely have to start one. MailerLite is awesome and is free for the first 1,000 subscribers. Create a freebie that relates to your blog in exchange for an email address. Once you have a few subscribers, start emailing them! This builds relationships and, ultimately, will help you figure out what your audience wants!
Join my email list below to see what I’m up to and learn more tips on making your blog profitable!
Friday: Update an Old Post
You can look in Google Analytics or in Jetpack in WordPress to find your top posts. I like to update one older post every week. Sometimes I only update the image, other times I update the entire post. Staying current in blogging is so important and I want to make sure I’m always relaying accurate information to my readers.
If you have a post that consistently does well, go back in and see if you can add affiliate links to the post. Also, I suggest creating a freebie that the readers of that post would like! Again, this can be done very easily through MailerLite. It’s a great way to get your email list going!
And finally, if you have a post that’s doing well, consider running a Facebook ad to it to get even more readers and followers. You can run a “Traffic” campaign for just $5 per day. I’ve been experimenting with FB ads a ton recently and have seen great results. Don’t be afraid to spend money on your business. I wish I reinvested more of my money back into my blog from the beginning.
Saturday: Rest Day!
Saturday is my day off! I still check emails, but that’s basically it. I love spending Saturdays fully with my family!
And you guys, that’s it. Rinse and repeat over and over (and over) again, week after week, and I promise you, you will see results!! Blogging is hard at the beginning because there’s a huge learning curve associated with it, but after that, it really is just about being consistent.
And as you can see, these tasks to not have to take all day. Oftentimes, I spend less than an hour per day on my blog, yet I’m still making thousands per month.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out!
What does your typical blogging week look like?!
5K Shares
