I thought it might be fun to share the inner-workings of my blogging life to let you know some of what goes on beyond the words you see on the screen when you pull up HeavenlyHomemakers.com or receive my newsletter.
My blogging life
First, let me tell you how much I enjoy the community here. As in – put a hundred exclamation marks behind that sentence because I really, really enjoy this community. (!!!!!) You all are sweet, smart, funny, well c’mon. You put up with me and you say nice things like “thank you” and “I love your recipes.” On days when my kids are like, “You’re making that again?” and you know, just in general when I get grunts for answers because sometimes boys just don’t have any words – hearing your words is musical-icious. (Also, you are so supportive when I make up words.)
Are you ever curious about the back-end of this blog and about what it’s like to be a full time blogger? This post will attempt to answer that in about 1,800 words. For the record, this one took me about 3 1/2 hours to write (not all in one sitting).
Here’s a picture of the screen I look at while I’m working. Yes, I always have forty-million or twenty windows open at one time. That’s because I’m doing research on different websites, editing pictures in PicMonkey, clicking over to check/answer email, clicking over to Facebook to post something, and etc, etc. I need a lot of windows open at once.
So there’s that. That’s what a post looks like while I am writing it. I write, edit, upload pictures, categorize posts, update my sidebar, and do dozens of other blogging tasks in software called “WordPress.” When I hit that blue button on the right which says “Publish,” that’s when you see my post on the front end of HeavenlyHomemakers.com.
How long does it take to write a blog post?
Well, that just depends. I would say it takes anywhere from 1 to 4 hours of writing/editing time to complete a post, but usually somewhere in the middle. Some posts take longer to word correctly and I change gears several times, praying throughout. Some posts flow easily. Sometimes I encounter 18 interruptions while I’m trying to write three sentences. This makes me so happy that I yell, “Please family, keep coming into my office to ask me questions while I’m writing because I love it so much!”
When do I write and work on all the other blogging stuff?
I’m trying to practice a better “wear one hat at a time” system this year. If I try to hop back and forth between homemaking and homeschooling and writing and emailing and phone calls and cooking and running the kids to piano lessons – I kind of get overwhelmed (read: grouchy and unproductive, but mostly grouchy). This school year I am being intentional about leaving blog work for the afternoons on weekdays, if possible. This means that most of the morning, I only wear my mom/homemaker/homeschool teacher hat, leaving my blogger hat to rest in my office chair until after lunch. This is working soooo much better than my past “just grab a hat and put it on top of your other hat and hope you complete a sentence and put lunch on the table” system.
Now I will say that part of my homemaking tasks in the morning do often include trying new recipes and taking pictures to use in my writing work later. That’s a huge perk to what I do here – I get to feed my family as part of my work. That’s about the only kind of work-overlap that works well. Trying to write and parent or answer emails and homeschool is just too difficult for me.
Right after lunch, I hit my office. I have accomplished much (hopefully) in my home all morning, so now I can focus on writing and all the other blog stuff.
Saturday I am in my office as much as possible between family life and ball games – trying to catch up on blog work I got behind on during the weekdays. If I can, while my kids are chilling on Sunday afternoons, I can usually get some solid writing time in. This is my favorite time to write – on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
One weekday each week (usually Tuesdays) I am practicing a Sabbath rest. That’s the day I take a break from almost all of my work, from cooking to blogging. This is so necessary and good.
What else is there to do for the blog besides write?
Beyond writing during my work time, I spend time editing pictures and creating “Pinterest friendly” images on PicMonkey. I upload those into my blog posts as I write. I also spend quite a bit of time emailing readers, answering questions, and trouble shooting eBook purchases. I email other bloggers I’m working with on projects. I reply to potential advertisers letting them know of my review/giveaway policies.
I do paperwork and accounting to keep track of my income and expenses for tax purposes. I jot down new post ideas. I organize and schedule posts in a way I feel will be most interesting to you. I correspond with my tech guy if there’s anything I need him to do or fix on my site or newsletter. I work on eBook projects. I have a weekly column in our local paper, so I tweak something I’ve written on my blog to make it work for a newspaper. All together, my work usually takes 30-40 hours each week.
What is this income and expenses stuff of which you speak?
When I first started this blog, it was basically free to run. This site has grown in every way (yay, Heavenly Homemakers community!) so that it now takes several hundred dollars every month to keep it up and running. My monthly costs include paying for a dedicated server to house this website (it’s kind of like paying rent for cyberspace), paying for my subscriber newsletter service that gets sent out every day, paying paypal fees for every eBook transaction, and paying for internet (gotta love that tax write off). I pay someone to help answer emails (because I can’t keep up by myself) and someone to help with Pinterest and Facebook marketing. Those are my regular monthly payments. Every few months I pay my tech support guy to do all the stuff that makes my eyes cross. There are some yearly subscription payments also, like for PicMonkey and GraphicStock.
Thankfully, this site also makes an income to cover these expenses. The ads on my sidebar accrue income each time someone visits my site. I did the math, and the amount-per-reader is so tiny it made me wish I’d never opened my calculator. But you know what – it does add up, so advertising money is a huge help with my site expenses and to help pay for the time I put into this work.
Obviously, I make money when I sell my own products in my shop. I also share deals I come across online – which is a win-win because we all get a good deal if it’s something we need, and I make a small cut on the purchase amount.
To be honest (which is a phrase I never say because I’m always honest so why would I say that?). But the truth is, even though I really love what I do here, I couldn’t/wouldn’t do it if I didn’t make some money while I was at it. Fun as it is, this can be hard work and it is time consuming. It would be like working a full time job for free. No one can keep that up for long.
How do you support the work here at Heavenly Homemakers?
1. You show support just by being here.
It never costs you anything to visit my site. I love this. My blog and newsletter are free to you – all the time. When you come, my advertising software sees you (not with eyes, just with cookies…um, it just means my site gets a hit and my advertiser pays me a percentage of a penny for your visit). So keep visiting! That benefits my work here! And…without you, there would be no Heavenly Homemakers community. That is worth so much to me.
2. When you share our posts and recipes on Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
When you share or pin posts, that means other people have a chance to click over and join this community. Thank you for doing this!
3. When you buy my eBooks or click through my links to make a purchase anytime I share something you need/want/like.
If it’s something I love and use, I will share it with you. I typically wait until that particular something is on sale. Then it’s even better because we can buy what we need and save a buck or twelve, all without leaving the house. For no extra cost to you, but simply because you clicked and purchased something you need/want/like through my special heavenlyhomemaker link – I’ll get a little cut from the purchase. It’s how some companies market and advertise, so it’s a win/win/win.
A note about the deals or posts I share that don’t interest you
There are a lot of you – and while we are a fantabulous community, we are all unique. Some of you are retired, some of you are teenagers, and the rest of you are somewhere in between. I am not going to hit a home-run with all of you each time I share a recipe or a deal or a spiritual reflection. It’s like walking into a store (except not really, but just work with me here) and picking and choosing what you need and what you like and what works for you.
Do you go through coconut oil like water? You love the deals I share for that. Allergic to coconuts? Well, shucks. Love whole wheat recipes? I’ve got ’em. Have to eat gluten free? Eh well, the whole wheat recipes aren’t helpful to you at all. Love what works for you (and maybe give it a Facebook or Pinterest share!) and skip what doesn’t work for you. We can all still be friends.
So how about you?
Have you ever written or do you currently write and maintain a blog? How much time have you found that it takes to do it well? Do you love it?
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This posts includes affiliate links. (I’ll always disclose that on posts so you know if I’m making a potential commission on anything mentioned.)