My First $100 from Blogging: A Transparent Breakdown (With Real Numbers)

Welcome to my article My First $100 from Blogging: A Transparent Breakdown (With Real Numbers). Let’s be real — when you’re just starting a blog, that first $100 feels like you’ve cracked the Da Vinci code of the internet. Sure, it’s not rent money (unless you live in 1742), but it’s proof that yes, someone out there is reading what you wrote, clicking on your links, and maybe even buying that dog shampoo you casually recommended in a post about productivity hacks. Blogging is weird like that.

In this post, I’m giving you the full, unfiltered breakdown of how I made my first $100 from blogging. No fluff, no mystery, and absolutely no “just manifest it!” advice (though a vision board never hurt anyone). I’ll walk you through what I had set up, where the money came from, how much traffic I had, what worked, and what flopped harder than a pancake on cheat day. If you’re still grinding for your first buck online, this post is for you — and if you’re just here for the tea, I’ve got the kettle on. Let’s dive in.

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The Blog Setup – What I Had in Place

Before a single cent rolled in, I had to build the digital equivalent of a lemonade stand — minus the sticky fingers and questionable paper signs. The good news? Setting up a blog in 2025 is easier than ever. The bad news? It’s also easier than ever to overthink everything. From themes to plugins to fonts (why are there 73 serif options?), it’s easy to spiral. But here’s what I actually had in place when the first $100 hit my account:

🧠 The Platform: WordPress (self-hosted)

I went with the classic combo: WordPress.org + a budget-friendly hosting plan. I wanted full control — no ads I didn’t approve of, no limitations on plugins, and the freedom to break things all by myself. If you’re serious about blogging long-term, self-hosting is like upgrading from a tricycle to a bicycle with actual gears.

🎨 The Theme: Clean, Minimal, Not Ugly

I chose a simple, responsive theme that didn’t look like it had been designed in 2008. The goal was readability, mobile-friendliness, and avoiding any Comic Sans-related disasters. Pro tip: No one has ever clicked a link because of a fancy header animation.

🔧 Plugins and Tools I Swear By

Yoast SEO (so I could pretend I understood SEO)

Pretty Links (for affiliate links that don’t look like robot gibberish)

Google Site Kit (to track how much my blog was doing… or not doing)

A basic email sign-up form — because apparently, “the money’s in the list” (even though I had like, 7 people on it)

📝 The Content Game Plan

I had about 10 blog posts live — half were genuinely helpful, the other half were me testing my voice (read: rambling with bullet points). But consistency helped. Google may be an algorithm, but it loves a blogger who shows up.

Bottom line: My setup wasn’t flashy. But it was functional, focused, and ready to make money — even if just enough for a couple fancy lattes.

The Income Sources – Where the $100 Came From

Alright, time for the fun part — the money talk. Spoiler alert: I did not wake up one day and suddenly discover six figures chilling in my PayPal account. (Still waiting on that glitch in the matrix.) That first $100 came in slowly, kind of like when you’re pouring honey on a cold day. But it did come, and here’s exactly how it broke down — numbers, methods, and all the awkward in-between moments.

💼 Affiliate Marketing – $65

The MVP of my first blog income: affiliate links. I joined a few beginner-friendly affiliate programs (Amazon Associates being the starter pack) and strategically linked to products in my posts — stuff I was already using or low-key obsessed with. Think productivity tools, blogging resources, or the $12 ring light that made me look 20% more awake on Zoom.

Did I feel weird adding affiliate links at first? Absolutely. Did I overuse the phrase “this post may contain affiliate links”? Also yes. But the magic happened when I wrote posts like “My Favorite Budget Tools for New Bloggers” — helpful, honest, and subtly monetized. People clicked. People bought. I made enough to almost afford dinner and dessert.

📢 Display Ads – $35

Next up: display ads. I started out with Google AdSense — the humble beginner’s ad network. It’s not exactly life-changing money (unless you live off gum and dreams), but it was proof that people were visiting my blog and hanging out long enough to scroll past an ad for laundry detergent.

Honestly? $35 in ad revenue felt like winning a mini-lottery. I earned money from words I typed in pajama pants. What a world.

🤝 What I Didn’t Make Money From Yet

Sponsored posts? Not even close.

Digital products? Not yet — but I had some half-baked ideas in a Google Doc.

Services? I considered offering blog audits, but imposter syndrome said “not today.”

That first $100 was a humble mix of affiliate magic and ad pennies. But it taught me this: you don’t need a million followers or a viral post to earn money from your blog — you just need a few right readers and the right monetization puzzle pieces in place.

Traffic – How Much Did I Have?

Let’s talk blog traffic — that elusive creature that we all chase like it holds the secrets to life, happiness, and fully-funded retirement plans. Spoiler: it doesn’t. But it does make a difference when you’re trying to earn that first $100. So here’s the tea: I did not have thousands of readers flooding in every day. Nope. When I made my first blogging income, my traffic was… let’s just say, humble.

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📊 The Real Numbers

At the time, I was getting around 1,200–1,500 pageviews per month. Not per day. Not per week. Per month. That’s about 40–50 people a day visiting my blog — or as I like to think of it, a very small classroom of highly curious strangers reading my thoughts on the internet.

Now, before you start side-eyeing your own blog stats, here’s the key: it wasn’t about how many people visited — it was about who visited and what they did. I focused on writing content that was super niche and genuinely helpful, which meant even a small audience converted surprisingly well.

🌐 Where the Traffic Came From

Pinterest: The unsung hero of beginner blog traffic. I created a few pins (okay, a lot of pins) using Canva and linked them to my blog posts. It took a bit to get traction, but once a few pins started circulating, traffic started to trickle in like a polite dinner guest — slowly, but at least they brought snacks.

Google Search: A tiny slice of my traffic pie came from Google. My SEO knowledge at the time was basically “use keywords and pray,” but a few posts somehow ranked for low-competition terms. The SEO gods were kind.

Social Media:ocial Mediaand Twitter sent the occasional visitor, but let’s be honest — my social presence was more “trying my best” than “traffic powerhouse.”

So, no — I wasn’t lighting up the analytics charts. But that small, steady flow of readers was enough to start earning. Moral of the story? You don’t need viral traffic to make money blogging. You just need the right content + the right eyeballs + a dash of patience.

What Actually Worked – And What Didn’t

Let’s call this section The Honest Audit. Because while hitting that first $100 was exciting, it definitely wasn’t a straight shot of strategy and success. It was more like a rollercoaster with a few wrong turns, a couple loops, and at least one moment where I asked, “Wait, why am I writing a blog post about productivity at 2 a.m. while eating cereal from the box?”

Here’s what actually moved the needle — and what didn’t, no matter how hard I tried to make it happen.

✅ What Worked

1. Helpful, niche blog posts.

 When I stopped writing general “lifestyle” fluff and started focusing on blog posts that solved a specific problem (like “How I Designed a Blog Logo for Free” or “Beginner Pinterest Strategy That Actually Got Me Clicks”), people found me. And they stuck around. Turns out, readers like being helped more than being vaguely inspired.

2. Affiliate links with context.

 I didn’t just slap affiliate links into random posts like a blogging pirate chasing treasure. I placed them where they actually made sense — inside tutorials, reviews, and honest recommendations. When people trust what you’re saying, they’re way more likely to click (and buy the $29 planner you low-key love).

3. Pinterest pinning consistency.

 No, I wasn’t scheduling 50 pins a day like some Pinterest wizards claim you should. But I made fresh pins regularly and shared them over time. A few good-performing pins brought traffic for weeks — while I was off binge-watching Netflix like a professional.

❌ What Didn’t Work

1. Posting just to post.

 Some of my early blog posts were, uh… a little chaotic. Rambling. Vague. Written like I was being paid by the word (I wasn’t). Unsurprisingly, they didn’t get traffic or clicks — just crickets and regret. Quantity over quality? Yeah, not the move.

2. Overusing social media.

 I spent way too much time on Instagram thinking it would drive blog traffic. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. I got likes, sure — but most of them were from bots, classmates, or my mom. It wasn’t where my blog audience actually lived.

3. Obsessing over design details.

 I once spent three hours trying to center a widget. THREE. HOURS. Did that earn me a dime? Absolutely not. Readers care more about your content than your color palette (as long as your blog doesn’t look like a glitter explosion from 2004).

So, lesson learned: focus on what’s actually working, not what feels productive. Strategy beats busywork every time — especially when your end goal is to turn blog traffic into bank deposits.

What I’d Do Differently & What’s Next

Now that I’ve earned my first $100 from blogging and survived to tell the tale (barely), it’s only fair I share not just the highlights, but also the “yeah, I probably should’ve done that differently” moments. Because let’s be real — hindsight is basically a free upgrade we get after every mistake.

🔁 What I’d Do Differently

1. Focus on my audience sooner.

 In the beginning, I was basically writing into the void, hoping someone — anyone — would stumble onto my blog and magically turn into a loyal reader. If I could go back, I’d get super clear on who I was writing for. Not “everyone on the internet,” but a specific group with specific problems I could help solve. Niche = clarity = cash (eventually).

2. Start email marketing earlier.

 Ah yes, the legendary “money is in the list” mantra. I waited way too long to start building one. If I had started collecting emails even from day one, I could’ve nurtured that tiny reader base into a community — instead of just waving goodbye every time someone bounced off my blog.

3. Stop comparing my beginning to someone else’s middle.

 Blogging is a slow game, and Instagram highlight reels don’t help. I’d scroll through other people’s income reports thinking, Why am I not there yet? Truth is, most of those bloggers were years in — I was on chapter one. If I could go back, I’d give myself a little grace and a lot more coffee.

🚀 What’s Next

Now that I’ve cracked the first $100 milestone, my goal is simple: scale smart.

I’m doubling down on what’s already working — affiliate posts, Pinterest traffic, and evergreen content.

I’m planning to create my first freebie (probably a cheat sheet or mini guide) to grow my email list.

And I’m finally outlining a simple digital product — maybe a blogging starter kit — so I can stop saying “I should make something” and actually, you know… make something.

My first $100 was the proof I needed that blogging can work. The next $100? That’s just the beginning.

Conclusion + Call to Action

So, that’s the full scoop — how I made my first $100 from blogging, one affiliate link and awkward Google AdSense ad at a time. Was it glamorous? Not even a little. But was it satisfying? Heck yes. There’s something wildly validating about seeing a few dollars trickle in from words you wrote while wearing pajamas and sipping suspiciously cold coffee.

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That first $100 wasn’t just money — it was momentum. It showed me that blogging isn’t just a glorified journal or a digital daydream. It’s a real platform. A business. A way to share, serve, and yes, earn. Even if the income starts small (and slow), it’s proof that your effort is worth something — even if that something is just enough to cover your monthly coffee habit.

💬 Now it’s your turn!

 Have you made your first blogging income yet? Still grinding toward it? Hit the comments and tell me where you’re at in your journey — I genuinely want to hear it. Or, if you’re more the quiet observer type, grab my free [Blog Monetization Cheat Sheet] (insert your lead magnet here) — it’s packed with tips to help you skip some of the mistakes I made and speed up your first payday.

And hey — whether you’re at $0 or $10K, just know this: every successful blogger started where you are now. And if they can do it? So can you.

Now go make that blog pay for your next coffee. You’ve got this. ☕💻

Thanks a lot for reading my article on “My First $100 from Blogging: A Transparent Breakdown (With Real Numbers)” till the end. Hope you’ve helped. See you with another article.

Source : My First $100 from Blogging: A Transparent Breakdown (With Real Numbers)

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