For two years, while I traveled the world, my health and fitness-based blog, Sweat Like a Pig, was my sole source of income. While I also received revenue from advertisements placed on my blog, and from being commissioned to write articles for external websites, the bulk of my income came from selling personalized online training and nutrition programs to clients all over the world.
As my programs were sold at rates of between $100 and $250 (requiring renewal every six to 12 weeks), I only needed to maintain around 15 clients on my books at any one time to afford worldwide travel. I only worked for a few hours each evening, and spent the bulk of my days exploring the cities of France, England, Italy, Croatia, Morocco, and Guatemala—to name a few.
This year, I’ve taken a part-time position in the regular workforce; however, I know that whenever I want, I’ll be able to rely solely on the income from my blog. And I’m currently doing just that, as I’m on a month-long holiday in Sydney, Australia.
Why do I do it? The money is one part of it…but here are five reasons that turn blogging from something I like into something I love.
1. You can blog from anywhere
The only requirement I have to operate my blog is an internet connection. Even in the most remote parts of countries such as Morocco and Guatemala, I managed to find reasonably fast internet connections to upload blog posts, contact sponsors, and reply to client emails. When I was working as a full-time nomad, I moved cities quite frequently—spending anywhere between a few days and three months in each place—and I made the most of any opportunity I had to work: at a camping ground as I bunkered out waiting for longer-term accommodation, in a hostel bar while backpackers played beer pong next to me, and on the floor of an old train headed towards the south of Italy.
2. Flexible working hours
I set my own hours, and chose to work just a few hours each day when I was blogging full time. I could have earned more if I wanted to work more, but after working a series of stressful office jobs, finding a better work/life balance was my main priority. I was comfortable surviving on just $2,000 to $3,000 a month, but I could have easily worked more if I wanted to. I could also take days or entire weeks off whenever I wanted, without having to be approved for leave. (It felt like a crime to do even a minute of work when I spent a luxurious, relaxing week on the stunning Amalfi Coast.)
3. It’s easy once you know what you’re doing
When I first started I stuck to a consistent blogging schedule (three times a week), commented on loads of other blogs to attract click-backs, and engaged with my audience as much as possible, outside of the blog itself, to grow my readership. Once I established a blogging rhythm, it was easy to maintain. Three years after I started selling programs it was financially viable for me to quit my, full-time job in London and begin traveling the world.
4. You can connect to like-minded individuals
The beauty of blogging is that you can write about whatever you are passionate about. And if your interests change so too can your subject matter. I have managed to connect with hundreds of like-minded individuals via the blogging community—many of whom I have also met in real life, who went on to become friends.
5. You can continue to earn passive income for some time
Although I do not blog regularly anymore, my old posts still attract enough traffic to generate a small income through Google AdSense. I sell a few e-books every month, despite not having done any promotion for any of them in more than a year, and my training and nutrition clients still use my services page to sign up for coaching.
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