Beer Blogger Crafts Side Hustle from Craft Beer

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Well, it is the calm before the storm for me. I'm getting ready to go out on the road. New book is coming out on June 4th, 100 side hustles. Very excited about it. I've got this long list of tasks I'm working on.

Definitely gonna be busy over the weekend, but that's my plan. In the meantime, of course, the show goes on. Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. Today I'm gonna tell you about a beer blogger who crafts her side hustle from craft beer.

So if you like beer and blogging, or you like the idea of getting paid to post photos of Irish whiskey on your Instagram, or if you'd at least like to hear about how this woman does that, we'll keep listening. She's got a goal to become Austin's premier craft beer guru. She poured herself into all things beer related, from publications to podcasts, soaking up all the knowledge she could. Back in college, she'd been an event planner for her sorority, which kind of planted the seeds of skills she would use later to recruit brand sponsorships. Remember, when you're trying to find your side hustle, always consider all of your skills.

Perhaps there's something you learned earlier in life that could benefit you now in a different way. All you have to do is learn how to transform or adapt that skill. All right, I'll say more about that at the end of this episode. Here's a message from our sponsor, and I'll tell you about the beer blogger. [Music]

By day, Caitlin Johnson works for a small e-commerce startup, and by night, she's working on her blog, Big World Small Girl.

The blog showcases her favorite places in her new city and beyond. She's happiest exploring new neighborhoods, meeting passionate people, and relaxing on porches with a cold beer in hand. But hey, let's go back a bit. From an early age, Caitlin was an avid reader. Books carried her away on adventures to faraway places in her mind.

They allowed this small girl to explore the big world around her from the comfort of her home. Later in life, this love of books would inspire her to write about her own adventures. In college, Caitlin majored in communications with a concentration in public relations. Her love for writing and expressing herself continued to bloom. During this time, she was the event planner for her sorority, learning and practicing skills, which would later benefit her side hustle.

After graduation, she began a job as the community manager for that small startup. The job allowed her to work remotely, so she took advantage of the ability to explore. Caitlin enjoyed taking day trips to wineries and breweries around her home in Virginia. She would then write about her experiences on her blog. And that first blog was simply a means of creative expression, a way to share her passion.

But in addition to honing her writing skills, Caitlin was also learning HTML, SEO, and other foundational internet skills, which would also soon prove to be instrumental. At the age of 23, she took a month long solo trip to Puerto Rico. That trip inspired a new blog and a new brand, Big World Small Girl. Now that she'd seen a small taste of this big world, she decided it was time to see more. She took several long exploratory weekend trips to different cities around the country in search of a new home before discovering Austin, Texas.

The young hip population, a huge craft beer community, and renowned live music venues, it was the perfect match. Whether by good planning or good fortune, Caitlin's new home turned out to be a great choice for what would soon be her money-making side hustle. According to Nielsen, adults in Austin read and contribute to blogs more than those in any other U.S. metropolitan area. There's a fun fact for it, I didn't know that myself.

Just learned that while working on this episode. In addition to her love of the live music scene, Caitlin also loves craft beer. And more than just the delicious, refreshing taste, she loves the stories behind the breweries, the brands, the people. She also appreciates the impact they can have on the community and neighborhood that supports them. There are at least 32 breweries in Austin, and aside from the people who write for local publications, there weren't any bloggers or influencers focusing solely on craft beer.

So she decided she would fill that role. Caitlin poured herself into all things beer-related. She also started writing more, sharing her discoveries, and crafting her blog's content to be more associated with both Austin and beer. And then she started using those event planner skills, looking for sponsorships, companies that would pay her to promote their brands. Among others, she signed up Jamison Whiskey, Wheatley Vodka, and Dogfish Head Beer.

Her largest sponsorship currently pays $1,000 a month, and in total, all of her sponsorships make up a third of her income. Because partnership contracts are sporadic, she tries to get long-term ones whenever possible. If you'd like to do something like this, her advice is that it's a lot of work in the beginning, but it does get easier, at least to some degree. Don't expect to start making money from Instagram or blogging overnight. Be authentic, be real, and be consistent.

She also said, "When I started getting serious about marketing my beer blog, I read all the books and articles I could get my hands on. I listened to all the beer podcasts. I went to Brewer 5Ks and volunteered at beer festivals. In short, I put in the work to become an influencer and expert in beer, and now it's paid off." And it's paid off in more than just money. It's also brought her an incredible range of experiences, from going to private concerts on Willie Nelson's ranch, to taking a road trip through Texas to visit 51 breweries.

Coming up next, more travel. Since Caitlin works remotely for her day job, it gives her the flexibility to work from the road. Naturally, she's planning her trips around the craft breweries of the world. [Music]

Awesome, congratulations to Caitlin. Really fun to see people doing all kinds of things, getting ahead for themselves, making money, also sharing something that they're passionate about.

Now, in this case with Caitlin, the event planner skills she gained in college were vital to this project a few years later in life, and also her interest in writing. I was thinking, like I know lots of other bloggers who haven't been able to generate sponsor relationships, like Caitlin has, or another form of monetization, 'cause there's other options too, but I know lots of people who haven't been able to do that. So what does she do differently? I think in this case, she understands that sponsor relations are a primary part of the work. It doesn't just happen by magic.

Like if I look at her Instagram, which you should check out too, we'll link it up in the show notes, you can see that she puts a lot of work into the post she makes to make sure that they look organic, even though they're obviously sponsored their ads, but she tries to make them fun. She tries to make them the kind of posts that people would see on Instagram, and just like anyway, even if it's associated with the product. And the same thing comes through on her blog as well. So I think she understands that when I think about growing this side hustle, okay, I've gotta develop more relationships with breweries, I've got to create my content, I need photos, I need editorial, et cetera, and whatever time I put in on that, I also need to make sure I'm putting in time with pitching new brands or just communicating with them, bouncing ideas off them, seeing what's available, et cetera. So sponsor relations are a core part of this work.

If you don't like that, or if you think, oh, I don't wanna do that at all, I just want to write, then maybe a different form of monetization would be better for you. So there are other options, but this is very much a relationship focused business. All right, I hope you enjoyed this one. I hope somebody out there takes something away from it. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better.

Our show notes for today are at sidehustleschool.com/881, episode 881. Busy weekend coming up for me. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow, and each day, so much more is coming. All right, thanks again. My name is Chris Guillebeau.

This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]

- From The Onward Project.