As for my writing routines, I decided to focus on those blogs that generate the most traffic and ad revenue. Once I grow those up to where I want them, I should be able to start to hire a team to assist. At this point, I’m not even close. Think of my traffic currently in the lower double digits. We’re talking another year or more before I reach that stage of growth. If then.

All of these changes means that I can now choose a day to focus just on writing, a day to focus on scheduling social media, and the rest will be for sewing or creating. I don’t have to worry about what I can and can’t do. I don’t have to worry about if I have time. I don’t have to pick and choose. It’s a lot to think about when you are trying to deal with 10 websites. It’s less when it is 8. Now, it’s better with 6.

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This week I decided it was time to change my routine. I gave every day (including weekends) a designated work assignment. I would alternate between writing and sewing. On days where it was a writing day, if writing ended or I was unable to write for eight hours, I could stop and do a sewing related activity. That seemed like a winner, right? I would still be working on a business activity either way.

The biggest problem is not the day designation. The problem is I enjoy sewing. I’ll find any excuse to go sew. At least on days where my depression doesn’t seep in and cause me to be listless while my anxiety re-examines every awkward incident and event in my life.

So today is a writing day. If I can manage to find my thumbdrive (I don’t know why it isn’t where it is supposed to be) I may actually have time to work on my novel. That’s another reason why I needed writing days. I have much to write and finish this summer. My goal is to have my book finished by the end of July. I’m certain I can do it as long as I can stay focused.

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I started and launched a blog in February of this year. The content was generated using AI Writer which is a plug-in that is available in WordPress. Out of the posts on the website, I wrote only one. The rest were created using AI Writer. Most of the time, it takes a blog 6-8 months to be ranked in Google. In 4 months time, I have searches coming up in the top 10 pages of Google, and half are on page 1. That’s incredible! I have some blogs that are not even close to that with 10 times the amount of content that are more than 3 years in age. My mind is blown!

The conciseness of the writing, I believe, is key. It is formally written and lacks style. I knew that would be the case, but then I think that is a plus for the AI because it is not dealing in fluff, or side notes, or silly banter. You get the picture. It is straightforward and to the point.

The downside is that more complicated pieces or lists require you to complete. For example, I tried to create a top 5 post, and it created a post, but I have a lot to fill in the blanks for. It even created a table for me and everything. Apparently, listicles or top anything is out of its range. Mostly because the AI has no way to gather the best of anything. It can’t compare things unless it is given the parameters to follow and without a program to do so, it lacks in that department.

Overall, if you are looking to quickly generate content for a new blog and have very specific keywords or key phrases in mind, an AI bot could potentially help you fill out a new blog to get ranked quickly. However, due to the lack of programming, I wouldn’t rely solely on the AI to do all of the writing. You do want to create some authority and connection with your readers, and the AI lacks that connection.

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I’ve been extremely frustrated lately with the fact that when I sit down with every intention to write in the evenings, I can never find that spark of inspiration. What’s the deal? All day at work, I mull over ideas in my head and I’m certain that as soon as I’m home I will put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard, but what follows is anything but productivity.

This has been a weekly occurrence, and I’m frustrated about the writer’s block that seems to happen at the end of my normal teaching work day. [If you are unfamiliar with what I do for my 9-5, you can visit my blog: Teaching ELA in the Middle. I sometimes chronicle my life as a middle school teacher there.] Why must I have writer’s block at the end of the day?

Then, something miraculous happened. I realized that my most productive writing times are in the morning after I first wake up and late at night (closer to midnight). What? How can this be?

My ideal writing time is not lining up with my daily Monday through Thursday schedule. Now I am at a loss for how to work this new information to my benefit. Do I get up extremely early during the week, or do I stay up extremely late and risk not being at my best for teaching?

I don’t mind this kind of schedule on a Friday night or Saturday, but I have no choice while school is currently in session to comply with my creative needs.

Ugh! I feel like my students right now: Ms. Thurrrrrstonnnnnn, this is tooooooo harrrrrrrd! And yes, it sounds just as whiney as it is written and with eyes rolling, pencils slapping desks, and frustrated children sliding down in seats.

How do you overcome writer’s block when you have to write?

I’m certain that in some alternate perfect paradise where I no longer teach, but I have freedom to write whenever the mood strikes, or I can write for as long or as late as needed, I wouldn’t have such severe writer’s block. Right now? It is horrible! Even with the multitude of beautiful journals, notebooks, smooth writing utensils, and gorgeous planners, I can’t manage to focus. Even my idea document is not benefitting me lately.

I need something to change.

The post The Frustration is Real appeared first on Martha L. Thurston.

I sat down yesterday morning and worked on my To Do list for the day, but it wasn’t long before I decided I really needed to go to Hobby Lobby to see if they had what I needed.

That was my first mistake. They didn’t have it, but instead I ended up wandering around the store. Afterwards, I went home, grabbed the broken item (which was the reason I went to Hobby Lobby to begin with) and took it back to Michaels. I’m not sure why I didn’t take it with me the first time. Maybe, deep down, I really didn’t want to work. So now, with broken item in hand, I went to exchange it. Afterwards, I went to JoAnn fabrics to wander around that store, too.

When I finally made it home, I couldn’t find the needed motivation to work on anything. Instead, while I had already woke up late, I also decided to take a nap. I didn’t even have the motivation to watch TV. I just felt very unfocused. I had no attention span. I struggled to even watch a 5 minute video. Watching TV was out of the question. Sitting down to work at a computer was a no go.

I’m sure that I could have fought it, but I decided not to do so. I just let it go. It was not a good thing.

Recently, I started another business (outside of the 12), and I didn’t have the kind of response I thought I would, so I became depressed, and I think this is what led up to what happened yesterday.

Today, I have a different purpose. I did some reading last night. I went back through 3 years of journals, and I realized what I needed to do. That involves work. Unlike the year and a half that it took me to get where I was, I have insight to know what to do quickly to get results. (I’m thinking I should take those journals and write a book) Anyhow, today is about keeping my nose to the grindstone and getting the work done. I can rest on Saturday and Sunday like normal people!

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When I went to bed last night, I told myself that I was not going to get up and work my businesses, but here I am working it.

My summer break officially started as of 3:00p.m. yesterday, and while I knew I would have a Monday to start working on my businesses and making myself a nice work schedule for the summer, I still woke up and wanted to work on my businesses. Why? If you are going to be successful, you should be working it… always! That means jotting down notes for what you want to write about when you have down time between your main job. No matter what kind of a writer you are, you should always be writing, and that sometimes doesn’t look the same as what you think.

What does it look like?

As a writer, your business is about writing. You jot down ideas. You read. A good writer is always reading.

As a writer of young adult books, I read about things that my readers would be interested in. I want to stay on top of those things that matter to my reader. Does this mean that I have to agree with everything I read about? No. But I do want insight into those things because perhaps my character that I’m writing about does and that breathes life into my character. It makes connections.

As a writer about business, I read about different businesses, successes, stocks, and much more. I stay current to what is going on in the business world. And because I run a business, this matters to me.

As a cook, and one who writes about cooking, I stay on top of cooking techniques by reading and watching tutorials.

When I’m sewing, I’m listening to audiobooks or podcasts. When I’m driving, I listen to audiobooks or podcasts.

A good writer is one who is always working their writing business. That applies to bloggers and writers of novels. You should always be working.

That brings me back to this beautiful Saturday morning. The grandchildren are here, and I know that they will be up in another hour, but I woke up early, poured my coffee, and sat down at my computer. I wanted to work on a blog post or two before my day begins with them. It’s difficult to work on my businesses when they are here because my attention needs to be with them, but I also know that I can stop a moment here or there and jot down notes, write a paragraph or two, or listen to a podcast and maybe read while they are watching cartoons. I know that to be successful at what I do, I need to have the mindset of staying on top of things. I use my time (free or not) wisely.

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During the course of this long weekend, I actually made several huge steps towards progress. On top of launching 2 more websites, I started designing and prepping another. I should have it up and running in a few weeks.

I decided, why slow down now? I think I’ll be able to find the extra time to do some writing this week, especially since it will be a short week with less to do. My biggest issue this week will definitely be school issues, but once I’m home, I can work on my businesses and blogs.

I’m still in the process of taking down inventory for my children’s clothing business. After printing off my inventory audit, I realized I had over 600 entries I needed to enter in my spreadsheets. At least once I finish, I won’t have to do this again next year. It’ll just be a matter of inputting new items made. Not starting from scratch.

I’m also planning to start tracking my time spent working my business over the summer. I want to know exactly how much time I’m truly spending on my business. Even time spent writing. (Of course, I say that while typing this at 6:30 pm)

Lately, I haven’t been in the mood to work any of my businesses, although I have a huge list of things to be done. I think it’s because I don’t see much in the way of forward progress or any hint of success (though it is there, just not in the way that one would think). I’ve discovered that blogging can be tough. You have to push through, and I have to keep reminding myself that what I post will take 4-6 months (maybe 8) before I see the benefit. When I compare each month, I see growth, but only in small increments of possibly $2, but traffic increments are growing by over 100 visits each month. Progress. Slow progress.

I believe this is one of the reasons why I decided to charge full speed ahead. I’m bored with what I’m working on, and I need a distraction. My distraction is to work on other projects while still working on the current one. I’m at the point of 1-2 new items per week in my current fully developed sites, and I’m pushing out writing for the new sites.

Not everyone can juggle this many. I will have 10 before the end of June. I have no problem working on two while also coming up with ideas for the others. I find my best solutions that way.

What about you? What are you planning to do this summer?

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Over the last few months I have shared with you that I have been writing, but my writing looks much different. I do still plan to write books, but currently I have been building up a passive income by creating blogs.

I love writing and creating. My current website portfolio is a combination of the two with some being more toward the physical product creation, and others are blogs.

Why Blogging?

Blogging offered me an opportunity to write about multiple subjects without feeling burned out. I have always had a desire to write a nonfiction book, but learning the style needed was something that I didn’t have perfected. Fiction writing seemed simpler. Creating stories was something that I had done since a child. I wrote stories. I told stories. Nonfiction? My experience with that was only through research papers written in high school and college.

Tackling the topics that I wanted to write about still involved research, but blogging gave me an opportunity to do things that I was already good at: writing and teaching. I could easily research the topics that I wanted to write about and utilize my knowledge of teaching to break those down and put them into articles for others to understand clearly.

Also, blogging gave me a chance to earn income on those blogs where I was not focused on an E-commerce business that required me to create the products. For me, it was a huge win with a benefit coming from both.

The Blogging Business

Blogging in itself is not a business. If you are choosing to simply share details about your life, you may or may not make money with it. Instead, blogging needs to be more specific to become a business. For instance, my blog about food. On it I share recipes and entertaining ideas with a few stories thrown in, but it is mostly about the food and the equipment I use to prepare that food.

To make money through my blog, I utilize affiliate links to generate income. For example, I use ShareASale to find affiliate programs and products that are marketed towards my readers. I then place the links in my blog text and send my readers to the company for whom I am an affiliate so that they may purchase a product or join. By doing this, I earn a small commission for each sale.

I also utilize ads on my blogs to generate income. Not everything makes money instantly, but ads do provide a way to add income through a site that may not be generating as much money. For each blog, there are several streams of income that are working for me.

My goal has been to have all of my sites up and running by June. This would put me at having 10 websites in my portfolio with 4 being E-commerce sites (all 4 of those are linked with each one focused on a separate niche) and 6 being strictly blogs. Three of those websites are set to reach the maturity state by March with one following along in its footsteps every month after.

What is a maturity state? It’s the point where a website or blog has been fully picked up by the search engine and its blogs/articles have reached their highest rank in the search engine. On average, it takes about 8 months for a blog article to reach its full potential. Because of this, many give up on their blog business before they have even had a chance to see what their blog can do. After all, creating content and not seeing any immediate rewards makes the business of blogging difficult to sustain. You have to have patience to wait it out, and you have to do a lot of work while still maintaining your day job. It’s one of the reasons why I write in my free time and use my weekends to promote and work my business.

Overall, the benefits- if you have the patience- can be great. You can turn a blog into a passive money maker for yourself, and while one is becoming a money maker, you can work on another. I didn’t just jump into having 10. I already had the 4 E-commerce sites. The six blogs that I’m adding are things that I am doing while not working on the E-commerce sites.

If you’d like to follow along on my journey to Blogging as a Business, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter.

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