Secrets of Successful Six-Figure Bloggers

A few years ago when I was a brand new blogger, I had big dreams of earning a living full time from this blog. I really enjoyed reading blogging success stories as I found them really inspiring and motivating.

I couldn’t believe every day people like you and me were earning an income online!

The more I read about other bloggers living their dream lives, the more I really wanted to succeed.

I had no idea I could work from home and earn a living online, and everything was so fascinating.

It took four months, but I was finally able to publish my first online income report showing I made $60 from my blog.

It was the best feeling!

In just ten months of launching this blog, I was able to quit my day job to focus on my blog full time.

I was bringing in a steady income, and my income kept growing a little each month.

In my first year of blogging, I managed to earn a little over $13,000 in my spare time while still at my day job.

In my first year of blogging full time, I made around $91,000. I was so close to hitting the six figure mark!

Last year was my second full year of blogging and working online. My online income tripled, and I made around $290,000 last year. That’s crazy!

This year alone, I have already surpassed my income from last year.

While it’s been a lot of work, I absolutely love what I do. Blogging has completely changed my life and I’ve never been happier.

There have been so many new opportunities have opened for me over the past few years.

I’ve been a part of so many things I never dreamed possible!

I was recently asked to be featured in a book about successful bloggers. I was so excited about this opportunity to share more about my story.

If you are excited to learn how to start or grow your blog, keep reading 🙂

Below is a post from my friend and author of the book The Essential Habits Of 6-Figure Bloggers, Sally Miller!

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to succeed at blogging?

Is it having a profitable niche? Writing valuable content? Building an engaged audience? Mastering social media?

All these things help. But they aren’t the real secret of success.

In my quest to understand what it takes to build a successful blog, I interviewed 17 six-figure bloggers. Kristin was one of the amazing people who shared her story with me.

I captured the interviews and the lessons in a new book, The Essential Habits Of 6-Figure Bloggers. Today, I want to share some of their biggest secrets with you.

Related reading:

• Typical Day in the Life of a Full-Time Blogger
• 9 Ways to Avoid Blogging and Freelance Burnout
• How to Manage Your Time as a Blogger
• 90-Day Blogging Guide For Beginners

The #1 Secret Of Six-Figure Bloggers

When I read everyone’s interviews, one thing stood out. And it was this – successful bloggers never give up. They keep going no matter how scared they are or how big an obstacle they face.

When technology isn’t working, a reader leaves a negative comment, or a launch goes badly. Top performers don’t throw in the towel. Instead, they chalk it up as a lesson learned and move on.

Now, staying in the game doesn’t mean you have to be fearless or have unlimited willpower. Because here’s the second secret…

Successful bloggers work smarter, not harder.

There are many tactics you can use to stay on track until you find the financial success you crave. In the rest of this post, I share five of these strategies, so you can start building your six-figure business.

1. Capture Your Post Ideas

I used to struggle to come up with enough things to write about. Until I started capturing my ideas in one place. Now, I have over 100 post ideas – that’s enough articles for the next two years!

To start your own idea list, create a new document or grab a notebook and brainstorm post topics. Aim to come up with 50 or more blog post ideas.

Why so many? When you push yourself to come up with lots of ideas, you become more creative.

When you’re done brainstorming, keep your idea list close by. Whenever you think of a new post topic add it to your list.

The more you think about your audience and your blog, the more the ideas will flow. New thoughts might be sparked when watching television, reading the newspaper, viewing someone else’s blog, or talking with a friend.

You’ll become an idea machine! And you’ll never run out of things to say.

2. Create A Content Calendar

Even with lots of ideas, writing fresh content each week can be a challenge. If you struggle with consistency, you’ll love this next tool.

A content calendar helps you keep track of posts you plan to publish on your blog. With a well-planned content calendar, you never have to think about what to write or publish on any given day.

Here’s how to create your content calendar:

1. Decide when you want to publish blog posts in the next month. Then, write each date in your content calendar. You can use an actual calendar, a piece of paper, an app, or a plug-in for your WordPress site. What it looks like isn’t important. Finding a method that works for you is.

2. Next, look at your idea list. Are any of your ideas seasonal? Do any relate to upcoming holidays or a product launch? Do any posts go together in a series? Which one needs to be published first?

3. Use your best judgment and assign one article to each of the dates you plan to publish.

That’s it! You’ve now planned your blog content for the next month (or longer).

Make sure you keep adding to your content calendar. For example, you could plan next month’s content on the first day of the previous month. That way, you’ll always have at least one month’s worth of content planned.

3. Batch Tasks

Batching means blocking out an hour or more on your calendar to focus on one type of task. You might do all your writing on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Or you may reserve one hour each day to answer emails.

Several top bloggers told me batching is their greatest productivity secret. It helps you concentrate and decreases distractions. 

For example, Kristin batches much of her workload.

She might spend a couple hours creating new Pinterest pins for blog posts, and then another couple hours scheduling posts for various social media outlets.

There are all types of things you can do to batch tasks, whether you’re a beginner or advanced blogger.

4. Plan Your ideal Work Week

Okay, confession time – I love planning!

Which is why I was excited when many top bloggers explained how planning was an essential part of their success.

Now, I realize not everyone loves planning like I do. If that’s you then I think you’ll find the “ideal week” helpful.

An “ideal week” maps out what tasks get done on what days.

This includes blogging tasks and personal activities, such as exercise, time with friends and family, etc.

Once you have your “ideal week” mapped out, you don’t have to spend as much time planning on a week-by-week or day-by-day basis.

It also helps you find time for everything important in your life.

As a blogger, it’s all too easy to stop exercising or leave too little time for your family.

When Kristin started planning her work to free up weekends and evenings, her life changed for the better. Here’s what she told me:

“This new routine has improved the quality of my life. I look forward to weekends and spending time away from the computer. My anxiety and stress levels have decreased. I don’t feel burned out, and I look forward to starting the work week on Mondays.

I also have more freedom and flexibility and I’m much more organized, focused, and productive. This allows me to be fully available to family, friends, and living my life outside of work hours.”

5. Measure Your Progress

This last strategy is arguably the most effective. Since it has a double advantage. It will help you stay on track with your blog and keep you motivated.

You probably have a big goal for your blog or business. And if you don’t, you really should set one. The best goals are meaningful and measurable.

Once you have a big goal, identify which metrics relate directly to your goal. For example, if you want to earn $X per month from your blog, then you want to measure dollars earned each month.

You can also track other metrics that drive earnings. For example:

– Page views (this can be found in Google Analytics).

– Unique visitors (also in Google Analytics).

– Email subscribers (this can be found in your Email Service Provider, such as Drip or Constant Contact).

– Products or services sold in numbers or dollars.

– Operating expenses (know how much you’re spending, not just how much you’re earning).

– Net income. (Side note – Freshbooks is great for this.)

Now, I don’t recommend obsessing over numbers. And you can ignore most vanity metrics, such as social media followers. But you need to get a handle on the key drivers in your business.

Don’t overcomplicate this! If you’re just starting out, you could track dollars earned, website visitors, and email subscribers. This will give you enough information about how you’re progressing as you build your blog.

Once you have a handful of metrics, set up a weekly or monthly review process. You might block out 30 minutes each month. In that time, update your monthly numbers and review any changes.

You’re looking for significant movements – up or down. When these happen make sure you understand what’s causing the fluctuations. This is how you know what’s working and what’s not working in your business.

Lastly, if you need an extra accountability boost, share your numbers with someone. You can even publish monthly reports on your blog. This is a fantastic way to stay on track and give back to your community by sharing a peek behind the scenes of your blog.

Finally, be sure to act on the feedback. Do more of what’s driving the results you want. And stop doing what isn’t working. Work smarter, not harder!

It takes commitment to build a six-figure business. But you don’t have to be superhuman to be a successful blogger. You simply need to work smarter and not harder.

Try out some of the ideas here and see what works for you. And above all, don’t give up. Your readers are waiting to hear from you.

If you’d like to learn more secrets of six-figure bloggers, check out The Essential Habits Of Six-Figure Bloggers. 

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Sally Miller is a writer and coach who loves learning how stuff works, mastering new skills, and sharing her knowledge with others. Since leaving her nine-to-five, Sally has published seven bestselling books on Amazon (and counting).

You can find out more by visiting sallyannmiller.com where she talks about sharing your gifts with the world to make money from home doing what you love.

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