We made it!

This weekend is Thanksgiving, and I’m feeling immensely grateful. First off, I just wanted to say thanks so much to you for taking this journey with me. Earlier in the summer, when I decided I wanted to do more research on monetizing, and start to implement more monetizing techniques on my blog, I thought, “why do it alone?” I have always worked better with a group; I need the support, so thank you for being that for me.

I’m also really grateful for the success I’ve had over the last three months. I just got back from an all-expenses paid trip to Harrison Hot Springs, next week I’m getting taken by helicopter to Whistler, I became a cheese Ambassador, I’m doing a series of posts with SPUD Vancouver, and I just published my first sponsored post. It’s pretty cool.

Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen,” and that certainly has been true in my case.

I’m still very much at the beginning of the journey, though, and I’m looking forward to more experiences and more learning.

But here’s what I want you to take away:

Write because you love it. Write because it’s your passion. Or your subject is your passion. I’m not sure that there’s much point being a blogger unless that very important piece is in place.

It’s okay to not monetize, or to do it slowly. Check out what Harriet Fancott of See Theo Run has to say on this topic.

Choose what works for YOU. All of the different tools we’ve covered over the last few months are just that: tools. Use them if you like, or don’t, if you don’t want to. I am making quite a few monetization efforts, but honestly, I don’t know that I’ll ever sell sidebar or banner ads on my blog. And that’s okay!

Create YOUR own definition of success. There’s always going to be someone who’s more successful than you as a blogger, no matter how successful you get. So, instead, get clear about what success looks like to you. It may be making a full-time living from your blog, or maybe it’s just getting some free things for your family. Both of those, and anything in between, are perfectly valid. Write down your goal in large letters somewhere, and put it where you can see it when you’re writing.

Take time to reflect and revise. Every once in a while, say every 3-6 months, take a break. Look at your goals, look at your experiences, and do an assessment: are you where you want to be? If so, that’s great; where do you want to go next? If not; how can you get closer to your goal? What do you need to do?

Just keep going. When I was a kid, we had a cabin up in Hollyburn. It was only accessible by foot, and sometimes I’d get tired on the hike. My dad would say to me, “just put one foot in front of the other.” If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t think about the huge end goal. Think about what you have to do today. What you have to do this hour. And then do it.

If you need to reference any of the previous emails with tasks, you can find them here. The Pinboard is here.

Let’s continue to support and encourage each other.

Onward to world blogging domination!!