I frequently see posts about the pros and cons of using your blog as a source of income. I recently read this post on Nancy’s Fashion Style on that very topic and it prompted me to respond. I know I wrote briefly about this once before but I’ve wanted to go into a little more detail about my experience.

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As for “blogging for money,” all throughout my life I’ve had hobbies that turned into businesses – and I think that’s the best kind of “business” to have! When I was younger I was a horse lover turned riding instructor. Then I fell in love with graphic design and started a newsletter about gardening (another hobby!) which got me a job as a desktop publisher, creating newsletters for nonprofits. The love of gardening turned into a floral design business. My love of thrifting and treasure hunting turned into an ebay store, and then following my love of clothing, morphed into an online vintage clothing shop. I started more serious photography when I was shooting the vintage clothing on live models and then people started asking me to photograph them and their families and events and I had a photography business.

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Now all these things – graphic design, photography, writing, fashion – have come together gloriously as My Little Blog šŸ™‚ And while I haven’t yet, I hope to someday get an income from it so that when I semi-retire I won’t need to spend my days collecting runaway shopping carts at the Piggly Wiggly.

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How lovely it is to make income from doing something you love to do! I’ve blogged for many years on other topics (photography, vintage clothing, lovely inspiration, my home(s), even a long-distance mother/daughter blog a la 3191 Miles Apart). For free. Just because I loved doing it. And I love creating Fashion Schlub. But I’m at a point in my life where I need to be considering additional income sources so that I can retire before I die. And since I LOVE doing this and thereĀ areĀ ways to use it for income,Ā why not?Ā 

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I do see blogs that are like one big ad, and no, those are not much fun to read. They’re just like watching commercials on TV – who likes to do that?? But I don’t mind at all reading a blog I like and them telling me what clothes they wear or what products they use, if they do it in a non-selly way. I don’t mind seeing and clicking on affiliate links in a blog or reading a sponsored post…as long as I feel the blogger is sincere in their feelings for the product.

I know I’ve said this before – I wouldĀ onlyĀ recommend an item on the blog that I truly feel is good or that I would use or have used. I’ve gotten so many reach-outs that makeĀ absolutely no sense for my blog…and I have turned them all down. So know that when IĀ do work with a brand it will be because I truly like the brand/item and feel good about sharing it with you.

AĀ lot of time and effort (and expense) go into producing a quality blog. Why would someone resent a blogger making money from it?

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So yes – I intend for this eventually to be an income-producing blog. I don’t expect the quality or character to change. I think it would only get better!

About six months ago I started sharing affiliate links – primarily so that readers can find items like the ones I show in the posts. If that exact item is no longer available, I try to find the closest possible match, or at least that shares some of the best qualities of the original item, just as though I were shopping for a duplicate item myself. I like to share several links for each item so they can be found at higher and lower price points, and in plus and straight sizes. I make, literally, pennies each time someone clicks on an affiliate link…and I won’t even get the money paid to me til it reaches $100….and I’m not even a quarter of the way there! So at the rate things are going now, I’m looking forward to getting a nice hundred-dollar check in about another two years!Ā PAR-TAY!!!Ā 

ItĀ was a hard decision for me to add the banner ads at the side and bottom of my posts because I have no control over what the ads are for or what they look like. And again, bloggers makeĀ very little money from them and, like the pay-per-click affiliate links, you have to reach a minimum dollar amount before you get a pay-out. I hope they’re not horribly offensive. If there’s just a few on other blogs, I barely notice them…I hope that is your experience here, too. I certainly haven’t noticed any decrease in views this month as a result, which is promising. But please let me know how you feel about them.

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All that said (!!!) let’s get to the outfit! I started the month in a kimono and I’m ending it one, too. It was another super hot day just like before, so I was hoping this easy-breezy kimono would be just the right thing, but…nope. Ha. See?? I’m being honest! It’s a Gwynnie Bee item, so not a keeper, but I’d thought it was more of a light chiffon-y fabric that air would pass through easily, helping to keep me cool. But it was actually modal (a rayon blend that feels more like a stretchy cotton knit). I’ve had modal dresses – winter dresses – and leggings, and it was a lovely fabric for them. But this just felt HOT. ItĀ was a fun print and shape, but it was a “one and done” item for me and has already been returned. I’m wearing it over an old, slightly too small (couldn’t find my usual grey tee!), Just My Size tank top and white Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda jeans that you’ve seen many times this year.

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The End (ha ha).

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What I’m Wearing:

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you click on them.