Are you a new blogger or a blogger who has blogged for a long time?If you want to learn how to make money on your blog, then keep reading How I Made $40k My First Year Blogging Ebook Review.
This ebook was written by Chelsea Lords. Chelsea is a food blogger (and Utah blogger) who had already been blogging but wasn't making money. After experimenting she started to learn what it takes to monetize a blog. She decided to start a new blog from zero to apply everything she learned. Her goal: to make money in one year and document every step of the way.
My favorite part of this ebook is that it has a lot of details about exactly where she gets her traffic and money. The second most important part is the organization of the book. It teaches you how to do giveaways, how to stage your photos, and a lot more. Keep reading for a sample of the table of contents and what you'll get out of this book.
How I Made $40k My First Year Blogging Review
How the book is organized
The book is divided up by month. The book starts in January with a total income of $44.47 which isn't a lot. You'll see how quickly her income grew. In just 4 months she was making almost $700. She also includes the value of the free things she got (just a warning). The book ends with December with a total of $7,461.82.
This is how each chapter starts, with a month, the total income, her traffic and then she shows you what she did and how it worked. Even if you just want to grow your traffic and don't care about making money, this is a great resource.
She shows you what she does for traffic. There are graphs and screenshots of analytics so you can see exactly where her traffic is coming from.
The section about Facebook marketing includes this screenshot. This is impressive for a year!
Templates
The book has a few basic planners and monthly “to do” lists that you can use to plan out your own blog. This is part of her chapter about staying organized.
What if I'm not a Food Blogger?
Since Chelsea is a food blogger some people argue that if you're not a food blogger, her advice doesn't apply to you. I believe that any blogger can learn from this book. Perhaps the most valuable part is that you can create a plan each month using PRINCIPLES from her game plan.
For example, if you are a food blogger you'll plan content around holidays that relates to recipes and food. If you're not a food blogger, you still make a list of holidays you could focus on and plan related content that fits your niche.
Probably the part that wouldn't be as interesting to others is the part about food photography. It's so important to take good picture of your food but if you're not a food blogger then it might not apply. You can always skip that step. She also talks about cameras and props. There is a little about editing photos. These could be ebooks themselves and if I were her I might recommend and link to more advanced products for further learning.
Does this Book Guarantee Success?
Also, every blogger has a unique blog with a unique audience. No one can tell you EXACTLY what to do to run a successful blog. She states:
There is no “right” answer to running a successful blog and while this book offers a lot of tips and advice, you are ultimately responsible for your own success. I have spoken to the approach I’ve taken and been successful with, but cannot promise this will also work for you. In business there is no guarantee of return or income, only principles and guidelines to aid in the strategy and decision making of the company.
How I Made $40k My First Year Blogging Ebook: Sample Table of Contents
I think it's helpful to see the topics she covers. If I could recommend anything I would say that she should recommend Facebook groups to join. I've found them extremely helpful for answering questions and getting traffic. If you don't have a mentor, as she recommends, it's a great way to find one. Or, start your own small group to keep each other accountable.
Here's a brief snapshot of the table of contents
MY FIRST YEAR: INCOME
MY FIRST YEAR: PAGEVIEWS
SO YOU WANT TO BE A BLOGGER
THE IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
HOW TO SET UP YOUR BLOG
MONTH 1: $44.47
POSTING ON A SCHEDULE
SUBMITTING TO PHOTOGRAPHY SITES
DEALING WITH BEING OVERWHELMED
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
IMPROVING THE SITE: PHOTOGRAPHY & WRITING
MONTH 2: DECEMBER $98.15
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS FOR YOUR BLOG
MEASURING PERFORMANCE OF YOUR BLOG: GOOGLE ANALYTICS
LEVERAGING HOLIDAYS & ADAPTING POSTS
STUDYING: BOOKS & ARTICLES
WRITING “CATCHY” HEADLINES
MONTH 3: JANUARY
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $215.35
MAKING FRIENDS & CONNECTING WITH OTHER BLOGGERS
COMMENTING ON OTHER BLOGS
FINDING A MENTOR
SHARING CONTENT ON OTHER PEOPLE’S SITE
WHAT IS A GIVEAWAY?
PHOTO EDITING
MONTH 4: FEBRUARY
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $697.71
ACCOUNTING & TAXES
SEO TIPS & TRICKS
TRENDING CONTENT RATE
APPS YOU’LL WANT TO DOWNLOAD
MONTH 5: MARCH
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $2,081.72
WORKING FOR OTHER COMPANIES
LINK PARTIES
GROUP BOARDS ON PINTEREST.
PUTTING TOGETHER YOUR OWN GIVEAWAY
MONTH 6: APRIL
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $2,941.39
INCREASING FACEBOOK LIKES
SPONSORED POSTS: THE COMPANIES I RECOMMEND
GETTING ORGANIZED
MONTH 7: MAY
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $4,599.72
AN INTRODUCTION TO AHALOGY
MONTH 8: JUNE
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $4,507.72
CREATING BETTER BLOG CONTENT
TAKING FEEDBACK FROM OTHERS
MAKING MORE MONEY OFF YOUR ADS
DO YOUR READERS COME FIRST?
MONTH 9: JULY THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $5,847.69
INVESTING MORE INTO YOUR BUSINESS
PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS
MAKE YOUR IMAGES “PINNABLE”
MONTH 10: AUGUST
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $6,172.93
MONTH 11: SEPTEMBER
THE MONEY BREAKDOWN: $7,574.81
SWOOP ADS
GETTING INVOLVED IN “ROUND-UPS”
Click the BUY NOW button to take you to the page where you can purchase “How I Made $40k My First Year Blogging“.
Suggested Improvements
I thought it was a missed opportunity not to name some of her favorite blogging conferences. They are a very good way to meet potential sponsors and to find other bloggers to partner with for your blog.
Most important though is that I wanted more about sites like My Recipe Magic, Yummly, Foodgawker, or Buzzfeed that show up in her income reports. Even a list of places to submit content would be helpful. She could even create more ebooks about those sites or link to existing posts or ebooks about them. While you can see that in the screenshots, it's not explained.
Also, Facebook is more challenging today. She could add more about engagement and making sure your posts are seen on Facebook.
Chelsea could also create another version of her ebook that is for all bloggers. Ebooks are a chance for everyone to link to other content (drive more traffic to your blog) and link to other products (earn an affiliate commission).
I'm a big fan of Chelsea's ebook and recommend it to bloggers who want to grow their blogs.
Have you read How I Made $40k my First Year Blogging? What did you think?
This post contains affiliate links.
