What It's About
Let's talk about... one blogger takes her passion to the next level.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Cy says it's important to come up with an elevator pitch for why you're blogging, what your blog will be, and how it will help people. Anybody can get started blogging, but in a broad niche, it helps to be crystal-clear about what will make you stand out.
Fun Fact
Cy’s blog has won some accolades over the years, and was recently named one of Kinkly’s top 10 LGBTQ blogs.
Notes from Chris
Episode 693
Sexual positivity is a crucial part of who Cy is. She started her first ever sex blog while still in high school; a Tumblr page called Smash Cache where she could reblog all of the erotic content she was reading. The more she read, the more she felt compelled to tell her story and leave the curated content behind. So, in 2016, alongside studying for her biology degree, Cy evolved her blog into Super Smash Cache and created a free WordPress-hosted website. This would be a fresh canvas where she could review sex toys, share a body positive message, and discuss taboo subjects which would probably get her banned from Facebook. Cy posted a lot of content on the blog, but the content she was the most passionate about was sex toy reviews. She loved getting her hands on a new product, testing it, and publishing her findings. It was the perfect synergy of the scientific and person parts of her life. Problem was, Cy didn’t have a lot of business connections and was reviewing only items she’d bought herself. So in late 2016, Cy decided to put the blog on pause. She’d found work as a life model for art classes—which she still does to this day—bringing in a more immediate income and freeing up time to focus on her studies. Cy’s first foray into the business side of blogging was to network with other sex bloggers. She’d contact them, make friends, and find out who was offering them sample toys to review. Cy would then reach out to those companies, review their toys, and add an affiliate link in the post to generate income. Cy found two profitable income streams for Super Smash Cache. The first was to rent advertising space on the blog to sex toy manufacturers. This allowed her to control the cost of the space, and offer on-brand products, which wasn’t available with advertising programs like Google Adsense. The second was to offer sponsored posts. These are blog posts which have been paid for by a third-party company to advertise products or brand ideas. For example, a couple’s sex toy shop paid for Cy to write a post about a sexy couple’s night, which included their brand message and a link back to their store in the post. These type of posts take a lot of work, but also the most profitable. This mixture of income streams has lead to around $600 a month in earning from the newly revised Super Smash Cache. Cy would like to transition out of modeling and explore more of her creative and artistic passions. She’d like to grow the blog while she explores other options.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Super Smash Cache: Learn more about Cy and her award winning blog (adult content)
- Wordpress.com: The platform Cy used to create her blog. Note that Wordpress.com is similar but different than Wordpress.org
SEE ALSO:
- British Man Earns $700/Month Writing Fish Tank Reviews: How a British man wrote a series of reviews about fish tanks and ended up building a completely passive income business as an Amazon affiliate. He now earns $700/month without doing anything for it at all
- Digital Camera Blogger Snaps Into Passive Income : A Montreal engineer creates a camera review blog that earns passive affiliate commissions month after month
- Marathon Runner Earns Full-Time Income Trying on Shoes: A decade-long “marathon distance” project earns six-figures in affiliate commissions for this patient runner
Download Episodes By Months: Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
Resources
CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE
Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.
Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today!
Learn More
GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS
Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time.
Quote of the Day
Sponsors & Gratitude
Don't Do Business Without It
Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.
No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳
Like the Show? Leave a Rating!
Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅
It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.
Here's How
Keep in Touch
There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!
To infinity and beyond,
