I have talked to so many blogging friends over the years and so often I hear that they think success seems out of reach and too far away. Maybe you’re just starting out, or you’ve been blogging as a hobby and want to take it to the next level. Perhaps you haven’t even started a blog, but you’ve been thinking about it since you love your Insta-game so much.

Starting this blog and turning it into a profitable business was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Not only do I get to wake up and do a creative job I love everyday, but it has allowed me to be home with my kids through their most formative years. It’s allowed us the ability to travel and renovate a home and do SO MANY things I couldn’t have otherwise.

Ultimately, my life would be very different had I not taken the jump to get serious about this blog.

And it all started with my first ever check of $34 for blogging, which quickly grew itself into $1,000, and over the last 12 years has grown into a sustainable six figure business that I adore.

But it would have never happened without starting somewhere.

And often the first $1000 can both be the hardest to make AND…. mean the most. Think of what you could do with an extra $1000 that over the next month.

  • Pay for Christmas
  • Buy a set of airline tickets
  • Pay off that pesky credit card bill
  • Not stress about kids summer camp expenses

Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it sure makes life a little sweeter.

So learn from what we did. What worked and what didn’t. Here are my favorite ideas to help you take the jump this week and earn your first $1000 online.

Freelance Work

This is one of the quickest and best ways to turn your blogging passion into income. If you talk to many of the bigger bloggers these days, you’ll find they got their start doing freelance posts. A freelance post is where you create content for another site and they pay you for it. We worked for years with sites like E-Harmony, Momtastic and Craftsy doing exactly this. Based on what type of content you create you can expect to make anywhere from $90 – $500 per post.

The best part of this idea is that you get to continue working on your content and making it even better while making money at it. Another great thing is that most sites aren’t too concerned about your personal traffic if the content you create is good. So it can be an amazing way to instantly make income while you work to grow your own bogging traffic.

Join a Blog Network

My first ever blogging check was sent to me just a month after I started blogging from the Blogher network – it was for $34. Although that amount feels laughable now, at the time was so exciting for me that someone would actually pay me cash money for doing something I was so excited about. I went on to be a part of a number of different blogging networks over the years, right now we are thrilled to be partnered with Adthrive, MediaVine and a number of smaller networks as well.

The great thing about connecting with a network is that they can allow you to start creating content for brands and get paid for that work without you having to do much but make the content. Yes, they take a cut of the pay for their work, but it can put your site in a great position to start off making money.

Product Exchange

Doing trade work doesn’t sound like something that would pad your bank account, except when you are trading for products you need and would buy either way. In that sense you can actually save money… and a penny saved is a penny earned. Think about the next few months and things you would be spending money on anyway (Christmas presents perhaps!?!).

Reach out to the brands and ask about trade promotion options.

This type of blogging income is one of the areas I focus on in our new course Land That Brand where I share the whole story of our house renovation and how I was able to add over $150,000 in home assets by partnering with brands for our house renovations. It’s a win for them to have reviews of their products and a win for us, because we now have a home worth far more than we purchased it for.

Pop-up Store

This might be one of the most fun ways to instantly get income into your account. Run a pop-up shop selling whatever your audience would love. Go through your closet and have a clothes sale. Ransack your garage and sell 20-30 of those great thrift store finds that are sitting there. Do you write a family focused blog? Grab those kids toys/supplies/books that are still in good condition and run a virtual garage sale.

To do this most effectively, create a blog post with all the items and a minimum amount you’ll expect and ask readers to email you a bid if they are interested. Before you start selling announce it on your social media and you can even post the items/take bids right on Facebook or Instagram. You don’t need a huge audience to be able to pull this off and make a few hundred dollars in a single night!

Don’t forget to include a shipping charge if you are offering to ship items.

Offer a Service to Your Readers

Is there something you are good at. Can you plan a party like a pro, can you design a website, maybe you know how to make a nutrition plan, or pull a perfect outfit together? Think of what you are good at and find a way to package that to your readers. They are already following your blog or social media because they like you and what you have to say about said topic. Make it applicable to them and show them how they can learn to do, what they already love about you!

Altogether you’ll have 10 ways to go after it this week. What could you spend $1000 on this month?