Reflecting Back on the Year 2013

Just the other day after doing a bit of Christmas shopping during my lunch break, I sat back and tears began to fill my eyes just thinking about how blessed I am and how my hobby flourished and became a business.

Blogging is a tough, cut throat job since you're competing with other bloggers in your niche but I really enjoy the benefits of being able to earn money from my blogs (EarningFreeMoney.com & ProductReviewMom.com), being able to inspire my readers, and also being able to connect with other bloggers.

Never in a million years I would've thought I'd be where I am today!  I thank God every day that he didn't let me give up on blogging because I didn't see the results I wanted.  I had to learn that being successful at blogging takes time and then you'll reap the benefits if you continue to work hard with it. 

---

2013 had more ups than downs for me.  I surpassed my goal several months back of how much I wanted to make this year- stay tune to see how much I've made and see my December total.

I'll not forget when Squidoo changed their filtering system earlier this year and my top earning article that also sends in a lot of my traffic to this blog was locked.  My heart literally dropped to the floor when that happened!  I practically begged Squidoo to unlock my lens because that lens is basically my lifeline to this blog.  Good thing I was able to do the necessary changes and Squidoo unlocked my lens. 

Some highlights this year is when eBay blog mentioned me on their blog post and me getting contacted by Dr. Oz "The Good Life" magazine and they did an interview with me- will be in stores Feb. 2014.  My pagerank with this blog gone up with Google.

This year, I did a lot more networking and met a couple of awesome bloggers!  Make sure to check them out, they're very insightful and I learn a lot from them.

Allie Irish from Ramblings of a WAHM

Patti Hale from How to Find Work from Home 

I've learned some important things about blogging this year (I'm currently working on some from the list now):

1. Promote others more than you'd promote yourself. 

2. If you're going to be a long term blogger, you'll need to make some investments like, hosting, graphic design, outsourcing, getting a professional camera/video camera, software, etc.

3. Keeping active on all social networks is a must! 

Blogging has been a great way for me to meet people just like myself trying to find a way to supplement their families income.  I've helped a lot of people all around the world and it's been fun!  I love all the emails from my readers thanking me for having a blog that caters to people that's looking to make extra money from home without an investment.  Because of my readers and supportive family, they're the ones that kept me going. 

I also started free consultation for new bloggers this year that wants to get into the blogging business but don't know how to begin or need some suggestions.  I'll continue doing my free consultation services in 2014.

I also would like to thank my Partners that have helped me bring work from home programs on my blog to share to the world!  Without them, I wouldn't be able to keep this blog going.  Also on my other blog, I'd like to thank my sponsors and the wonderful free products I've been able to test and keep.  I don't want to forget about my guest writers, they've been awesome with their highly engaging and informative articles presented on my blogs!

I really want to take my blogs to the next level and go to conferences that I've been missing out on due to me having a full time job.  Right now, I'm just not in the right position to quit my full time job until I can make a certain amount continuously every month.  My income fluctuate each month and during the Winter months I don't do as well with my online earnings.  But if there is a conference in Atlanta, GA in 2014, I'm going!  I need to start putting myself out there to build a bigger audience and continue learning.  

My success is from always keeping positivity around me and not being afraid to fail.  There has been many doors closed in my face but I didn't let that stop me at achieving my dream.  When one thing doesn't work out, I'm onto my next venture with my head held high.  When I see other success stories I always tell myself that will be me someday.  I'll continue doing my best moving forward to 2014.

Thank you guys for being part of my journey!  Love ya!

-Louida