Notes from Chris

Episode 718

Jeff Campbell, an Academy Director for a martial arts studio in Austin, spends a lot of time with kids. His days are spent organizing 500 of them, and his nights are dedicated to his three almost-teenage daughters. He also is a self-described handyman around the house and an advocate for healthy eating. Before getting the job at the studio, he spent 25 years working as a manager for Whole Foods. Jeff describes himself as “just your average, Middle Class Dad.”

And now he blogs about it.

He started his blog in August 2016 as an outlet for all things “dad-related,” which includes parenting (obviously), relationships, personal finance, travel, and household things like product reviews and home repairs. Jeff had decades of experience to share, and he knew his wife would only listen to so many of his opinions. But he also set out with the intention of looking for more freedom and flexibility for his family.

As he says, “I was tired of trading my time for money, given that some people can accomplish much more in the same amount of time than others.” Jeff knew that wherever the blog went, his end goal was to monetize it.

How would he do that? Mostly through affiliate commissions.

Since his overarching goal was to monetize his blog so he could have extra money for his family, Jeff began to add affiliate links once his page views began increasing. As he tells us, “I still recall the first few email subscribers I got, as well as the first affiliate commission. Both were quite small, but I knew if I could do that once, I could do it again and again.”

Jeff also knew that, with careful observation, he could pay attention to other people’s blogs and learn from them. And, while it took about two years to see consistent income and growth, it did eventually happen.

Now, two years later, Jeff earns an additional $2,000 a month, which he adds to the family budget to cover the costs of raising a family. The money on Middle Class Dad comes from Adsense ads and Amazon affiliate links. Last year he started to sell an e-book about budgeting for parents, and offers custom budgets and website building. Jeff says that these sales aren’t usually as consistent, but they still bring in a small amount of revenue.

From one faithful reader to 25,000 unique page views in two years, Jeff has built the Middle Class Dad blog into one serious side hustle. With plans to continue growing his blog so that the income can replace his full-time salary, it looks like Jeff won’t be stopping anytime soon.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Middle Class Dad: Do you want to hear a joke about paper? Never mind, it’s tearable. But, since you’re here, and you’ve made it past the dad joke, you probably want to know more about this parenting blog. Head on over to Jeff's website to learn more!

SEE ALSO:

• Gardening Mama Monetizes Frugal Living Blog: By focusing on a specific group of readers—and understanding their core needs—a blog about natural living and saving money earns $3,000/month
• Blogger Turns Leftover Cherries Into $5,000/Month Income: After being diagnosed with diabetes, a food blogger creates a sugar-free line of ketchup alternatives
• Agricultural Teacher Earns $200,000 Selling Lesson Plans: After creating course materials for a forgotten group of educators, this agricultural teacher now earns a significant income from a growing business

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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