Tag: Blogging

I Gave Up My $2k/month Blog Income (& don’t regret it!)

Claire @ Coffee with Claire20 Comments

I gave up being an influencer. I gave up the dream that every blogger seems to be chasing nowadays. I gave up an additional $2k monthly income.

And I don’t regret it one bit.

You’re probably wondering – did I get a raise that I could forgo $2,000? Did I get a sugar daddy? Did I win the lottery?

No to all that and yes, an extra $2k per month on top of my salary would be nice but not worth how I had to obtain it.

A little back story. I’ve been blogging for over a decade. If you’re 13 years old, I was probably blogging before you were even born.

Blogging, to me, was an outlet. A stress reliever and a memory keeper. I treat blogging as if it’s my diary. I will share with you my deepest and darkest fears; my embarrassing moments; my fights with my then and/or now boyfriend; my failures and my successes; I will share everything. Honestly, it’s probably one of my oldest hobbies and I don’t ever see myself giving up.

But, I’m stuck in my old ways. I love and miss the blogging era of 2009. Nowadays, every blogger seems to want to make money. Every blog is a lifestyle blog that more or less gives the same bullshit advice on morning or night routines; on skincare; on starting a blog; on studying.

It felt like personal blogging was dying and no longer a niche. It feels as if you were a personal blogger, you won’t be “successful” in the blogosphere. You’re old and outdated. Now is the time to recycle the same 10 tips to make your life easier and try to get some money out of that.

So, I did exactly that.

A few years ago, I rebranded into a “lifestyle” blog. For the first time in decades, I’ve created a blog that didn’t have my name. I felt like if I attached my name, you know it’s a personal blog – hence, Coffee with Claire.

I did everything a lifestyle blog did. I posted reviews on products, services and business. I spammed my posts on Twitter and Facebook groups to generate views.

I even had personal photoshoots! I stopped using stock photos. I took the time to edit my photos.

I had a planner filled with ideas that I think readers would like. Ideas about relationships; fitness; finances; blogging; etc.

In a short time, I started to get PR inquiries and sponsorships. My ads were generating some decent income because of the traffic.

I started writing reviews and sponsored posts because, hell, I was being paid for it and it was based on topics that were targeted to my readers.

For a year, my blog was netting me $1,600 – $2,000 every month that I withdrew to my bank account.

When I received the notification from my web host that I’m set to renew my plans, I decided to hit no and cancel the blog. I took off my PR page and contact details and deleted my blog’s email. I decided to let my blog slowly die off.

I’m not another entitled Millennial. It’s not like I’m saying I gave up an income because I didn’t want to work anymore.

I just hated how I felt about my blog. It didn’t feel like it was mine anymore. Near the end of the blog, I felt like I was a sellout, writing for brands just to have an income.

I had friends always asking me how the blog is going and I hated that. They thought it was cool that I managed to earn money from my blog but I felt like the fact that they did know I earned money, I always had to upkeep my blog to make sure it was generating a monthly income.

I also went on vacation last year for two weeks and during those two weeks, my blog crossed my mind several times. I was growing anxious with the PR emails and tried to keep up with the demands of posting from the companies.

Ultimately, the biggest reason why I decided to quit being a paid blogger was the fact that I no longer enjoyed my favourite hobby.

After work, I would go home and review my blog stuff. By the time I was done working with the brands, I barely had time for my own work. I’d want to update my theme and can’t bring myself to do so because I hated looking at my own blog for so long.

It wasn’t tiring per se, but it was tiring emotionally to drain my creativity and my passion for my favourite hobby that didn’t give me that happiness and relaxation that it once gave.

Yes, the extra money was nice but I hated how it controlled my life and how it ruined my hobby.

Now? I’ve rebranded back to a personal blog with a few lifestyle posts here and there. I’m much happier knowing I can leave my blog alone for two weeks and have no one drilling my ass for an update. I’m happier because I’m back in the 2009 era of blogging where my stalkers can envy my eventful life. Where I can share my thoughts and have feedback from others outside my friends group. I have a place I can rant freely with no worries what others will think or say – because let’s be real… if I don’t like your comment, I’m going to delete it 😛

I deleted my PR page and no longer sign up for any campaigns. I have a healthier balance of life, work and blogging.

More importantly, I’m happy and love my blog again. I found my love and passion for blogging again and it gives me immense happiness to hit the publish button.

It’s not to say that I hate paid bloggers or that it’s not possible to have a healthy balance between paid and unpaid posts but I just overall want to avoid any paid posts. It’s just not my thing because at the end of the day, I turn to blogging if I’m stressed, bored, unhappy, or my brain is running too wild.

Journal Entry #010

Claire @ Coffee with Claire7 Comments

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

Happy Tuesday! Whoop, whoop – I reached my 10th journal entry! I am really loving these journal entries because it allows me to just share my thoughts or share the little things in life when I don’t have events or other posts lined up.

Also, on another blogging related note… I transferred all my Bloglovin blogs onto my WordPress reader because I absolutely love the WP Reader more than Bloglovin!

Dan is currently at the gym right now and I’m trying to squeeze a quick entry in before I have to prep dinner – which is yummy tuna avocado wraps and nachos… mmmm.

I was planning to do a whole post about UFC 234 but it wasn’t flowing whatsoever. You guys ever want to share an event in your life but for whatever reason, it doesn’t flow no matter how many times you’ve edited it?

That was my UFC post so I’ll just quickly dump some photos from that event.

It was my first ever live UFC event which is amazing! I absolutely loved the fights (despite the main title fight was cancelled >.>) and the atmosphere. I’m a bit torn in which sport gives a better live entertainment experience – hockey or UFC?

Today, I tried to redesign my WP blog but gave up after about 20 minutes of dabbling around. I remember back then when I was on Blogger, I’d create a new blog banner every now and then but since moving to WordPress, I couldn’t give two shits anymore, lol. I am sooooo content with just a plain title and don’t bother messing around Photoshop anymore.

Also, I didn’t have work today and I thought The Sims 4 Strangerville was coming out today… I could’ve SWORN that I read it was coming out on Feb 26th but I guess it’s available tomorrow (Australia). I wanted to play the new Game Pack on my day off but I’d hold off until the next long weekend to play.

Anywho, I have about 30 minutes before Dan returns from the gym soooo I guess I better start pitting avocados and cutting some vegs up.

Journal Entry #005

Claire @ Coffee with Claire4 Comments

Saturday, December 29th, 2018

LOL, I honestly can’t help but laugh when I look at how consistent I am at blogging… because I can have spurts of 10 entries scheduled and then be quiet for the remainder of the month or two.

I can’t believe it’s the end of the year already! It’s surreal to think 2019 is coming. I think 2020 would be a little mind boggling for me because I remember vividly as a kid that 2020 seems AGES away. I used to pull out the calculator and calculate how old I’ll be in 2020 or 2050, etc.

During the last couple of days at work when it’s been really quiet, I was thinking a lot about my blog and how excited I am for the posts that I need to catch up on. I think in 2019, I’ll like to put a lot more effort into my blog and stop being so shy about it. I’m a lot more comfortable telling Dan when I’m doing blog stuff so that’s a start, right?

In the first few weeks of January, I think I’ll have to backtrack to a few days/moment in December that I want to share and document.

Anyways, I have a bunch of unread posts to catch up on on my WordPress Reader and Bloglovin…

So, a belated Merry Christmas wish to you, and a Happy New Year!

See you guys in 2019.

Liebster Award

Claire @ Coffee with Claire9 Comments
Award picture goes to Twins and Coffee because I’m too lazy to make one, lol.

I think this is my second time doing a Liebster Award? Or third… I can’t recall because I don’t think I did it every time I was nominated… oops!

But, I got tagged from the lovely Hunida over at Hunida’s Blog the other day so without further ado, here’s the Liebster Award!

Here’s how these things go…

  • Acknowledge the blog that gave it to you and display the award
  • Answer 11 questions that the blogger gives you
  • Give 11 random facts about yourself
  • Nominate 11 blogs and notify them of their nomination
  • Give these blogs 11 questions to answer

Hunida’s Questions

What is the grocery store you go to regularly called?

Back at home, I used to go to Safeway because it was literally just right behind us but Safeway is one of the more expensive grocery stores back home. Otherwise, I absolutely loooooove Superstore! 

Here in Australia, I’ve been going to Woolsworth because it’s just down the street from where I live

Are you subscribed to any subscription boxes?

Not anymore… I used to subscribe to an underwear box (I know, seriously…). I can’t recall what it was called but I don’t think they’re around anymore. I think they were the first underwear subscription box as well. But I’ve been keen on trying two boxes…

  1.  Plant Therapy – this is an essential oil subscription box. I’m not currently subscribed because I’m still new to the EO industry and want to learn more about it before I subscribe to a monthly oil thing.
  2. FitFabFun – I’ve seen so many ads for these things and can see the benefits of the box because holy shit, there’s a shit ton of things for only $50 but I haven’t subscribed to it yet because I hate clutter and hoarding so I wouldn’t know what to do with the items I don’t want because I’m also very lazy to try to sell these things.

Do you ever print out your photos anymore?

The last set of photos I printed was from my Japan trip. I printed them out because it was such a big trip, and the living room walls were super plain. Now, I only print polaroids with my polaroid printer.

What was your favourite project you remember working on in High School?

I remember there was like a little mishap with my timetable so I ended up taking Film class as an elective because it was the only class that looked appealing to me in the time slot (the other option was Strength and Conditioning, lol). It was fun because it turned out, a couple of friends were in that class as well. 

I think my favourite project would be doing a mini music video with my friends. Or the anti-bullying video… or, the gang violence video. Either way, Film class was the best class for fun projects with friends.

Do you think it’s possible for parents to love one of their kids more than the others?

I believe so. The only reason why I believe it is because, sometimes kids turn out to be an asshole, lol. But if we’re saying the family is all happy and fine, I think parents can love different kids in a different capacity (eg. loving one kid a bit more because the one can be successful, and loving another kid a bit more because he/she is more creative). I’m not sure if that made sense or not, but I think parents can love their kids all differently.

If you could donate a large amount of money to one charity, which would you choose?

I would donate to Indigo’s Love of Reading. The reason being, I absolutely love reading and books, and it’s such a great hobby to develop overtime. It takes people to different places; it teaches; it’s relaxing; it’s inspiring; it pushes imagination. Reading does all sorts of great things!

I remember a while back, whenever I shop at Indigo, I choose to donate a couple of dollars. In the back of the check out counters, I saw that my elementary school was being sponsored by the charity. My love for reading developed in elementary school and seeing pictures of familiar teachers and kids so happy with new books and laptops really touched me.

Do you prefer online shopping over going to the store?

Online shopping, 100%! I hate crowds and messy shops, and waiting in line to try clothes on. 

I find online shopping has more selection and sizes available. But, I’m pretty picky with online shops as well – they have to offer in-store returns and same-method refunds. I generally try to avoid stores that only offers in-store credits because there’s not a guarantee I would shop there again.

What was the last book you read that you would give a 5 star rating to?

So, according to my Goodreads, the last 5-star book I read was Educated by Tara Westover. I’m currently reading The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte and this is already a 5-star book.

What is your favorite makeup product?

I don’t wear much make-up, the reason being I suck at make-up. But if I had to choose, I think it would be liquid eyeliners. I love Rimmel London stuff.

Do you wash your face everyday with a cleanser?

Yes, I do. I basically use the cleanser when I’m in the shower and I alternate between whatever is cheap/currently on sale in the drug store, lol. But, I’ve some to find the Simple line is super efficient and clears up the skin.

What was your favorite toy as a child?

I loved Barbies and then switched over to Polly Pocket in the 3rd grade. I think Polly Pocket ultimately wins.

11 (Random) Facts About Me

  1. I am a very picky eater. I dislike donuts, pizza, pasta (or mainly Italian cuisine), apples and oranges, Chinese cuisine… and probably more I’m forgetting on the top of my head.
  2. My first blog was back in 6th grade on MSN Spaces, and it was called Jessica’s Island.
  3. I have a Rasputin, and Hitler mug if you ever come over to have a cup of tea with me.
  4. I wear size 2 youth shoes… or size 4 women’s. 
  5. I have a total of 12 piercings and 3 tattoos. My next tattoo will be a koala bear as a tribute to my move to Australia. 
  6. I am allergic to alcohol (beer, vodka, wine, cider, etc). This allergy developed over time as I was able to drink when I was younger. I’m not talking about “Asian glow” or anything. Full on allergic reaction when I dip my tongue in wine or drink a few sips of beer.
  7. Foods I can eat every day for the rest of my life? Cheese, sushi and chicken wings.
  8. I moved out at the age of 23… a bit older than what most young adults would do.
  9. My biggest fear is snakes. I can’t even look at a picture without feeling anxious and my palms sweaty.
  10. I’m also very afraid of balloons… but not as afraid as snakes. 
  11. I love solo travelling and try to do it at least once a year. 

I Tag…

  1. Victoria at The Caffeinated Millennial 
  2. Glaiza at Glimmer of Happiness
  3. Jasmine at Thoughts from Jasmine
  4. Jess at Jess is Peachy
  5. Kelsey at Kelsey Writes
  6. Sage at Sage Olivia
  7. Sorayah at The Girl in All Leopard
  8. Bailey at Bailey Bee
  9. Ella at Purely Ella
  10. Abigail at Abigail Rose West
  11. You! If your name isn’t on this list and you’re reading this… give it a shot!

My 11 Questions

  1. What was your high school experience like?
  2. What is your go-to dish to cook? (for any occasion)
  3. What do you dislike most about your city?
  4. Have you ever had a paranormal encounter?
  5. Have you ever stolen anything?
  6. What is your current job and if you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
  7. Where is your happy place?
  8. What is the oldest piece of electronics you own?
  9. If you can get rid of any holiday (hallmark or national), what would it be and why?
  10. What is something that society does that you just don’t quite seem to understand why?
  11. How would you define success?

Let me know if you end up doing this tag! I’d love to read your answers and discover other new blogs.

Grab a Coffee with Me!

Claire @ Coffee with Claire2 Comments

Hi, it’s me again.

tenor

Can I honestly just slap myself for yet another rebrand? I know, I know… it’s only been a year that I announced my other new blog ‘October Rain‘ and here I am, not even a full year with Coffee with Claire.

As I’m typing this entry, I realized how much I miss blogging. I was looking back at old posts and miss interacting with other bloggers, and reading what people were up to last weekend. Hell, I even miss documenting my life and what I did last weekend!

So, what happened to October Rain? Is it still up and running? Am I abandoning it? I loved October Rain when it first started. I was able to mix my personal life with lifestyle entries, although I felt a little weird doing my lifestyle entries sometimes. A few months after I felt like I was ramping up with October Rain, a publisher emailed me and asked if I wanted to share some of their posts to make some little side money.

I thought why not? I mean, I was making money from blogging… so they sent me an article that reflected what October Rain was about – articles on fashion, photography, health and fitness, finances, etc. I did a few and true to their word, they paid me. Then they kept on sending me more articles to do and the money was good – it was such a nice add-on on top of my wages that I continued. I spent almost half the year posting their articles (and some other articles) on my blog that eventually, it felt like a chore. I would come home from work and log onto my blog asap to quickly publish the new articles they sent my way, while my PayPal was growing bigger and bigger. The most articles I published in a month netted me about $2,000 CAD.

Some of the articles were amazing and I could pull it off as mine, but some of them were so ridiculous but I published them anyways because it was money. I wasn’t ashamed of what I was doing, it’s all about business in this world, but I was so turned off by my blog that I didn’t make any attempts to try to incorporate my own entries. I’ll be posting about 2-3 articles a day that I didn’t have time to do my own entries or bothered with posting anything because it would get lost in the clutter.

Over the past few weeks, I thought about my blog. I enjoyed the extra income but I missed my own blog. I’ve given it some more thoughts and realized, I’m not a fan of lifestyle blogs because I feel like a lot of them are in it to get some sort of revenue, and it’s no shame in doing that – if you can make money out of our hobby, that’s perfect. But, it wasn’t for me. I miss reading into people’s lives. I miss reading about a random uni student’s authentic weekend house party, rather than reading their tips on getting through university. I miss documenting my life for the occasional reader, but ultimately, I miss going back and rereading some of the best days of my life. I didn’t want to read about my review on ClassPass or why Fresh Prep didn’t work out for me. I was trying those things so I have something to write about.

Hence, my move to Coffee with Claire. I created a new WP.com blog and spent the last couple of days going through my entries, rereading and deleting a few. I chose specifically to not be self-hosted anymore but just purchase a domain with WP. I chose to keep banners off my website, and not create an email anymore so I won’t be tempted to give in to publishers.

I want to keep this blog personal. None or very little lifestyle post. I want to interact with my readers again and not post rubbish articles about health that I don’t care about. I’d keep October Rain up as long as possible as a lifestyle blog because, hey, like I said, the extra monthly income benefited me, but I’d like to post more personal entries going forward.

So, without any more chit chat, I’m officially switching back to personal blogging, circa 2011, haha. Those were the good ol’ times…

What it's Like With a Public Blog

Claire @ Coffee with ClaireLeave a comment

It’s a been a few months since I’ve rebranded to October Rain and publicly and actively shared my blog again. If you didn’t know, shortly after high school, I created a new blog and kept it “off the grid”, meaning, I did my best to hide it from my peers. I didn’t promote it by any means – hell, I didn’t even mention to people that I was a blogger.

I kept it so private, that the only way you could’ve found me was stalking my online friends or following me as I moved through multiple URL changes.

(But, a few did find me, lol).

I kept that blog “off the grid” for years! It wasn’t until last year when I shared little bits of my blog on Snapchat and casually mentioning to my peers that I blogged. Since then, the idea of having a “public blog” grew stronger and stronger until I talked to a few friends and ultimately decided to have a public blog again – thus, the rebranding to October Rain.

So, what’s it like having a public blog again? It’s embarrassing and shy.

What it's Like With a Public Blog

It’s not like I’m trash talking anyone that I know of or posting explicit things. For me, blogging has been such a big secret hobby of mine and for the first time ever in years, I’m sharing my hobby with everyone again. It was different having a public blog back in high school because I wasn’t thinking about the consequences or cared much about it. I didn’t think people were even reading my blog because I never got any engagement on it, nor was I promoting it (I mean, did Facebook and Twitter even existed back then – wait, Facebook did but not Blogging Groups).

I feel exposed to the world for all my peers to read my thoughts and opinions. Including those who I normally wouldn’t share my thoughts with. I’m a personal blogger and always will be so I enjoy sharing fun adventures and deep thoughts I have at 3am. I mean, I can always stop posting about my life and transition into a lifestyle blogger, but then I get shy about that.

Who am I to “professionally” blog about travelling when I haven’t seen the world yet? Or talk about finances like I’m sitting on my ass raking in bank? I classify myself as a lifestyle blogger because I do blog about these topics but from time to time, and it’s from personal experiences. But I don’t want to blog about it full time like I know all there is to know about that topic.

I’m also very shy about my blog still. I don’t know why. I want to hide it from my peers (but not the world) because I fear that peers would judge me about my interests and what I say online. It’s like… do I want my peers to know how frugal I really am? Do they think my money saving tips is stupid and lame? The other day, my boyfriend was telling our circle of friends about my blog and what it’s called, and what I do, etc. My face wasn’t growing hot but I squirmed a bit because I’m being exposed as a blogger.

I guess, after years of hiding and secretly blogging (hell, even my ex-boyfriend didn’t even know I blogged), it’s like everyone is slowly discovering my secret naughty hobby. It’s like hiding your darkest secret for the longest time and having it exposed to the world. There’s nothing bad about blogging or being labelled a blogger – it’s almost like a norm nowadays.

When I re-launched as October Rain, I was also a bit scared and paranoid. You may have noticed that I blog under my middle name now, Claire. The reason being, I’m paranoid and conscious of my online footprint. I am aware that employers and people do Google you and back then, even if you didn’t search my full name and searched “[first name] + Vancouver”, I’m on the Google results. I hated it. I got so paranoid that I was so convinced that employers didn’t schedule any interviews with me because they found my blog and/or Twitter. I told my friends that if I was to have a public blog, I’d definitely be using my middle name, whether or not I do land on Google searches.

But, I’m getting used to it. I promote my blog actively and am no longer as shy as I was before to talk about my blog. Maybe I won’t openly mention it and if it comes up in a conversation, I’ll go with the flow, but it’s something I’m happy about it. It’s an online journal of my life and articles where people do find helpful. I’m so happy to have discovered blogging back in 6th grade and it’s one of the only hobbies that I’ve truly invested in time after time.

Why I Left Self-Hosting WP for Free WP (Je Suis Jessica)

Claire @ Coffee with Claire2 Comments

If I was a regular reader, I’d slap myself for changing my blog… again.

Yes, not even a year into my self hosted blog (and after preaching about moving to self hosted), I realized it’s not for me. I had a first year promo rate, but after the first year, I would be paying nearly $100/year just to maintain my blog.

And, as someone that’s cutting back on literally everything in life to save money for my move to New Zealand, $100/year is expensive compared to a free service and a yearly domain fee.

I don’t make money from my blog. I don’t consider myself a professional blogger so all the fancy SEO plug ins, and expensive themes weren’t for me. I can go months without blogging and it wouldn’t matter to me. But to know I cough up $100/year and not blog sort of eats at me.

I wanted to go back to Blogger but the process of moving my posts from WordPress to Blogger was a hassle and lately, my life doesn’t have time for stuff like that. So I chose to go back to WordPress which works out for the best and caters to what I need. It is a bit more expensive ($17 more) than Blogger, but I think I fell in love with WordPress over Blogger 😛

That being said, I also needed a new URL for WordPress. Exactly, Jess was taken but I wanted to have my name in my URL since it is a personal blog. I wanted French in my URL as well and next thing I knew, I came up with Je Suis Jessica. After claiming that URL, I realized there’s also Je Suis Charlie which in no means, did I “copy” their name. As bad as it sound, Je Suis Charlie was no where near my mind until I realized how ‘familiar’ my URL sounded.

Soooo, this is the last change for my blog, I promise. Even I’m getting tired of brainstorming new URLs and moving my blog back and forth!