Blogging For Dollars Series - Guest Post by Taylor from MaryJanes & Galoshes

Taylor, the blogger behind MaryJanes & Galoshes, has great ideas that will astound you (I was really impressed with her responses in #3). I'm sure you've heard of True Value's DIY Blog Squad, and she being a part of that elite DIY group really showed how seasoned she is as blogger and that every idea she shared is worth reading. Friends, let's welcome Taylor!

1) share how you started earning income from your blog?

When I first started MaryJanes and Galoshes I had no intention of making a profit from it. It was an outlet and great therapy for me as a mom of three kids under 3. It was my way to focus on something and give myself a grown up outlet. It kept me crafting when I felt to tired or busy to do ANYTHING. After a while I started to get inquiries and decided to offer sponsor spots. The fist income that I earned from my blog was through sponsor ads on my sidebar. Your all familiar with these ads, but you won't find them on my sidebar anymore. Although I love to work with small business owners, I found that keeping track of the ads was a lot of work (I let them start whenever they liked rather than the 1st of the month) and I HATED feeling like a sales person or bill collector when it came time to renew. I also didn't want to push the spots. I tried taking an impulse self-serve approach by putting up an ad page with all the sponsorship info and a buy now button. Some people took advantage, but it still was less organized and more work than I wanted. So I ended this type of sponsorship after the first year.

I then put up the google ads that are available right through the blogger account. I was amazed. Not only did I not have to do any work, but I had built up so much traffic for my blog that I was making way more off of than I ever had off of traditional sponsorship. In addition I started to allow text links on past posts with a one time fee (which is usually done through an agent of the company interested in placing the link). I have no idea how you would go about contacting THEM, they seem to find me.

My biggest reward (for me) has been doing product reviews. Although I find it to be a TON of work, I really enjoy being able to get things that I would normally buy in exchange for posting about them for readers.

2) Can you give advice on how bloggers can attract advertisers without turning off readers at the same time?

There is always going to be SOMEONE who is turned off by what you choose to do. As long as you provide quality content in addition to your ads or paid posts, they will continue to come to your site. Mostly, I just stay true to myself. If there is a sponsor who wants me to review a product that I don't have any interest in, or wants to pay me to write about something completely unrelated to my demographic and that I'm not genuinely interested in.... I have to say no. Respect your readers, they are the reason you have a site worth an income, but respect yourself and the time you invest in building and maintaining your site as well.

3) Can you please tip bloggers on how to balance family life and blogging?

When I started MJ&G my kids were 3 and 2 (2-year old twins) so I had my hands FULL! Blogging (or at least a successful, profitable blog) takes a lot of time. Building a successful blog is a full time job in itself. For me, being a craft blogger, I found that it was easiest for me to involve the kids in what I was doing. I would set them up with a craft of their own, or involve them in mine when possible. I don't bake often, but when I do, they get to help. I also spent many hours after they went to bed writing and setting up posts!

In 2011 I started my photography business and have found my blog falling behind a bit. One rule I have always held myself to is not apologizing for an absence. I have never once started a post with "it's been 2 weeks since I posted" or "I didn't mean to take that break" or "sorry I haven't been around". I hate reading those posts and to be honest, generally people follow so many blogs... they don't really notice you haven't blogged in a week (or at least I don't!). So don't beat yourself up. Keep the whines and pitty off your blog and move forward with life. Your blog needs to be an enjoyable place, not a cause of additional stress.

Thanks to the Homemaker On a Dime for having me!!!!!

Taylor, thank you for your fresh perspective about making money off your blog! We surely benefitted from this post.

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