My Typical Day Running My Blogs

It can be hard to know what to expect when you embark on this Digital Journey. But let me share with you a typical day in my life, five years in to Wealthy Affiliate.

First, some background: I retired in 2013 – after my partner’s stroke and my two bouts of cancer, I decided to work towards retiring as soon as I possibly could to be able to enjoy life a bit. Both my mother and grandmother died before they could even reach retirement, and I didn’t want to end up like them.

In my time now, I travel a lot, and I pursue my hobby of baking. And I’ve turned both of those into money-makers, with the help of Wealthy Affiliate.

Up at 5:00 a.m.

Working in schools for 20+ years has turned me into an early riser. So I am often up at 5 to make some coffee and read a bit of news before heading to my “office.” First:

• Check Google Analytics
• Check Google Search Console
• Check Google Adwords, Amazon Associates, Pepperjam, Awin, Rakuten and Commission Junction for sales and traffic figures

I look to see how my traffic is doing on my two major sites (Cowboy Concierge and Baking Naturally), where people are landing and what they are looking for, and make notes of any posts I need to review to update.

Next:

Check my work list for the day

New Posts list (I keep a running list of post ideas, as well as a folder to check through for any new article ideas.

Update Posts list (this is from my look at Analytics to see if traffic is suddenly surging on something new. I go in to that post and make sure all the ads are working properly, and if they are still appropriate.

Update Ads list (This goes with Update Posts, but also I update any ads if something just isn’t performing as well as I think it should.)

Once all the lists are reviewed and updated, I get on to Wealthy Affiliate and see if there are any questions I may be able to help answer before I get started. I limit this to about 30 minutes.

I then look to see if there is any new training aligned with my tasks for the day. For example, today I’m working on updating numerous posts with new “fresh” Pinterest Pins. Pinterest loves seeing new photos, even if they refer to an existing article, so updating your pins regularly is a good idea. And it happens that WA has a new video on Pinterest training – so I watch that.

8:00 a.m. – Working Hard

By 8, I am elbows-deep into revising Pins. I have Canva, 123RF for photos, and some other handy tools open and ready. I’ve reviewed all my techniques with WA and have probably already made about 2-3 Pins. After posting and working through my Tailwind queue, I take a coffee break around 10.

10:00 a.m. – Time to Work With Outsiders

By 10, my “associates” are available. One of the things I sell online is low-fare cruises, tours, etc. So I go through my mail and pull out any requests for information, then call up my sources and see what I can get. I put together emails, mail vouchers, update MailChimp with every contact’s email, and basically move things from A to at least B (hopefully Z).

Noon – Lunchtime

Sometimes I’ll end my workday there, unless I’m feeling particularly industrious! If so, I like to use this extra time to work on anything I like – no lists, no tasks . . . just pick something that interests you. Today, that thing is more Pinterest training, so I check around WA and the web to see if anything catches my eye.

And that’s a typical day for me. Of course, at this time of year, there’s taxes to prepare, bank statements to balance, a mountain of things to read on the web, new recipes to try . . . it’s always something.

The reward? After five years of WA, and working only about 6 months of the year (the other half is spent traveling), I made a little over $16,000 in 2019 (not counting all the voucher credits I have racked up at my timeshare – around $3,000 more). My goal when I started WA was to make $12,000 in a year, so I’m well past that now, and looking to make considerably more in 2020.

Can you make more? Undoubtedly. I drew a line here only because I have my own needs and desires – yours are certainly different. But with the right niche and a lot, lot, lot of hard, quality work, you can be even more successful.

And for me, it’s been a lot of fun, too.

If you’re ready to check out the resource that taught me how to turn my passion into profit, click here to Wealthy Affiliate.