How To Be A Blogger And Get Paid: Nadia Malik

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This week, we’re publishing our interview with Speaking of Cents‘ very own Nadia Malik, a stay at home mum (SAHM) to three daughters who’s been away from the 9-5 for several years now.

Her story is especially inspiring to people who want to know how to be a blogger and get paid. The success rate in the blogging world is dismal. In fact, The Blog Tyrant states that 99% of all blogs that started in 2018 will fail. Appalling statistic, isn’t it?

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There are many reasons for this. The first and possibly the most important reason is “expectation“. Most would-be bloggers don’t really understand that a blog is like a small business and as any entrepreneur knows, it takes time to build. Sometimes, you don’t even start to break even until a year after you’ve started.

You’ll notice though that the three people we’ve interviewed for Beyond The 9-5 – Ryan, Rebecca and now, Nadia, all have a blog. That’s by design as we want to counter the current steep trend of failing blogs.

We believe in the importance of managing expectations as a means to help you succeed so you’ll get to take a peek at different blogs that are on different paths on the same journey.

Oh, and you might be interested to know that Nadia started her blog in 2018 and she’s still going strong. Even though the numbers don’t lie, you can choose where you belong.

Will you be one of the blogs in the 99% who fail within the first year? Or will you do whatever it takes to succeed and remain at the top 1%?

The choice, as they say, is up to you.

If you need the inspiration to keep you going, take a look at Nadia’s journey.

Starting out

Nadia, can you give us a brief intro?

I am a stay at home mom of 3 beautiful girls and have been away from the 9-5 for several years now.

Because my husband’s job requires him to travel extensively, we decided that I needed to take the role of a parent who is always there to cater to the needs of our daughters. Only to realize I am getting into a 24/7 (mom job) work schedule by giving up on the 9-5.

Best decision of my life and would never have it any other way. I love travelling, golfing with my girls and baking.

How did you get into blogging? Who/what was your inspiration? Why did you choose this niche in particular? What year did you start?

I started just last year, August 2018 when my youngest one started a half-day program. I had a few hours to spare and it was not possible for me to commit to a permanent position.

I was reading all these blogs on saving and making money and the more I read them, the more I got hooked on them.

I had always been big on budget and had achieved a few financial milestones on a personal level. I felt like I can help people with what I have learned over the years.

I wanted to teach people how they can manage to make ends meet with a single income. I figured if I can manage in one income and raise 3 kids, I can help others too.

This is the reason I got into the Personal Finance niche. And the fact that I still did not have enough time to join a financial institution as a full-time employee became the reason for starting my own blog.

Did you enrol in workshops, get mentors, join clubs or take courses?

I learned everything online and did learn everything by reading and listening to podcasts like Simple Pin Media.

During the course of one year, I have found several bloggers who are a great resource and are gracious enough to help you if you just asked. I owe many of my successes to all these great relationships.

The Facebook Groups I have joined are literally my extended family and I would love to mention them here:

1. Blogging Babes Collective by Sasha Lassey
2. Becoming a Blogger by Cate Rosales
3. Blogging for new bloggers by Lucrezia- Marina -Emma (tinylovebug.com)
4. Mom to Mompreneur by Elna Cain
5. Golden Bloggerz by Chris Kostopoulos
6. A Self- Guru- Biz Blog Community by Amira

All in all, I learned everything while I was working on it.

What was it like to start your own brand/business? What’s the most fun/rewarding part? What are some of the challenges and how did you manage these?

I was happy with my 9-5 for many years but at that age, I did not have that many responsibilities and all the time after work was just for myself.

But after having kids, I knew I needed to start something that does not take my time away from them.

Having my own business provided me with the opportunity to do that. The best part is that I can set my own hours and I am not answerable to anybody.

The biggest challenge in working from home is that many people do not realize that I am working and there are things that will fall apart if I do not take care of them. Not many people know that blogging requires more hours than 9-5 in the beginning.

What was the journey like for you? What were the high points and the low points? What made you keep going when things got challenging?

Like many other bloggers out there, I had ups and downs but I am lucky to have a very supportive husband who has complete trust that my blog will be successful one day.

I struggled on the technical side in the beginning and I hate software updates but I have learned to adapt and I feel like I have come a long way since last year with my blog and also on a personal level.

Did you ever consider giving up or going back to the 9-5? Why (not)?

Honestly, not even once, I thought about going back. No matter how many challenges, I know this is something I will be successful in.

What was it like to transition from being an employee to working for yourself?

As I mentioned before, I have worked a 9-5 job and loved being an employee. Being a boss of your own is the best though. I love working on my schedule and my own pace.

Speaking of Cents

What are the first and/or most important (five to ten) steps you took to get started in blogging?

Here is the list of the things I did when I decided to start a blog:

1. I read a lot of blogs, both money related and lifestyle blogs.
2. Listened to a lot of podcasts related to blogging.
3. Watched a ton of video tutorials on setting up the blog site.
4. Decided on the niche and finalized the name of my blog.
5. Wrote down a lot of content before launching.
6. Familiarized myself with social media as I was never big on using social media.
7. Invested in a good quality computer.
8. Had my home office ready.
9. Started networking with bloggers in the same niche.
10. Did my research on all the tools and graphic sources that are available for free as I wanted to lower the start-up cost as much as possible.

Knowing what you do now, is there anything that you would’ve done differently?

Absolutely not, I am happy with the progress I have made so far as I am doing it along with taking care of my kids and all the traveling that we do as a family.

There is only one thing that I think I should have started earlier is to sign up with Tailwind. Spent too much time pinning manually and I still regret it.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow your footsteps and become a full-time blogger? What can they expect? What qualities, skills or certifications do they need to have?

There are no particular certifications that you need if you want to start a blog.

If you are good at something and you think you can be of any service to your readers, you can become a successful blogger.

Consistency is key when it comes to blogging.

Being adaptable to the new things also helps if you want to grow faster.

Do you have upcoming events, activities or promotions?

I am working on my course and will be launching it soon. Also, I will be attending FinCon 2019 happening in Washington D.C. as I won a scholarship.

Can you tell us more about it? Who is the course for and what can they expect to gain from it?

I am working on launching a website that is a collection of online courses, divided into different categories. My course is all about driving free and quality traffic towards your blog. It could change a little bit but that is the main idea.

Personal life

Aside from Speaking of Cents, what else are you working on? What else keeps you busy?

I have my 3 kids that are my first priority and I am constantly working on their golf coaching. I am working on finalizing my course and will be launching my second website.

How else can avid readers find you?

Here are my Social Media handles:

1. Pinterest
2. Facebook
3. Instagram
4. YouTube

Thank you very much for joining us, Nadia.

Final words

We hope that answers some more questions you have about how to be a blogger and get paid for it.

It’s not easy.

There are a tonne of things you need to know and get ready for (notice Nadia spends a lot of time learning key skills). You need to be consistent – write consistently, publish consistently, promote consistently.

But if the nirvana of flexibility and work-life balance is what you’re aiming for, then you’re on the right track.

What about you? Where are you in your blogging journey and what have you learned? Share your experience (and any questions you have) in the comment below!

Until next week. 🙂

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