Sometimes I’m fortunate to help someone that makes me jealous. Not of their success but because of what they are doing.
Sara Trezzi from Gathering Dreams makes me jealous because of what she’s able to pull off with her blog.
When you can combine great content with a beautiful design it’s really hard to stop you and that’s what Sara is able to do here. Because she’s a Blog Simple Framework student we figured it would be nice to share her story.
Tell us a bit about what got you into blogging. What made you take this crazy leap to create something from scratch and share it with the world?
I am Sara, a travel lover, healthy food addict, and now blogger. I devoted the last five years of my life to finding ways to make money outside a ‘normal job’ to become financially free.
One of the many things that helped me throughout my financial freedom journey was reading other people’s blogs: they shared strategies, tips, and lessons from their experience.
I reached financial freedom two years ago.
Around that time, I decided to start my blog. I wanted to inspire others by sharing what I am passionate about and earning some extra money to feel more financially secure.
And the biggest lesson I learned during this time is that you don’t have to be stuck in a job you hate to make enough money.
You can start your own business and do what you love every day!
For me, freedom is about designing a lifestyle that gives you enough time for yourself, your family, friends, and your real passions, whatever they might be.
What was your biggest struggle getting started with blogging? Is there a time you ever thought about quitting or that this wasn’t going to work?
I suppose the biggest struggle was understanding exactly how I was going to make money. I am a big believer in passive income. After working for 10+ years in a corporate job, I knew I didn’t want another 60+ hour a week job. Blogging needed to be my part-time passion project.
But I also wanted to find out if it was genuinely possible to make money with this thing called “blogging”.
The initial research phase was a bit of a struggle: you don’t know who to believe when you see crazy income reports, and it felt like everyone was making money blogging about blogging.
I was fortunate enough to come across your course just about a month after I started my blog, and by following your advice, I never really felt like quitting.
What milestone made you understand that there is no turning back now?
I learn something new every day about blogging (probably because I didn’t know anything about it at all, only three years ago).
Every milestone I reached helped me to improve:
- The first $3 I made with Adsense
- The first 1,000 page views
- The first 10,000 page views
- Reaching 25,000 in just 2 months to be able to apply to Mediavine.
- Reaching 100,000 page views a month.
- Becoming a 6-figure blogger in less than 2 years
I simply cannot believe how much blogging can change someone’s life.
No matter what will happen in the future, I know I can take on new challenges every day while enjoying life at the same time.
Is there anything you wish you could go back in time and do differently?
Well, I am a big believer in moving forward all the time. Everything you do in life helps you become a better version of yourself, as long as you learn from your mistakes.
So the answer is: not really, as long as I keep looking at what works and what doesn’t and get better at what I do every day.
How did Blog Simple Framework help with your blog’s success?
I have to give credit when credit is due. I would never be where I am today without Blog Simple Framework.
It’s easy sometimes to look back and say: “Hey, this was just me. I am awesome.”
But the reality is that no matter what you do, you can only be successful if you:
- Work hard
- Work smart
And Blog Simple Framework was crucial with the “work smart” part of the puzzle. Your framework and, most of all, your mindset changed the way I looked at my blog.
There isn’t one single course in Blog Simple Framework that helped me above others. It’s the combination of your strategies that laid out all the perfect foundations to create my own successful business (from your tips on content creations to your Pinterest course, SEO to affiliate marketing).
This is what I recommend to anyone who asks me: if you are really serious about making blogging work for you, go all in and purchase the entire framework!
But also: take action!
If you are going to spend money and then not applying what you learned, there’s no point in starting at all.
At the moment how is your traffic broken down? % from Pinterest/Google/etc
You have to know that I am quite an introvert (which is why I don’t even have a picture of my face on my blog!).
I am saying this because social media isn’t my thing.
So no TikTok for me, barely any posts on Instagram or YouTube.
90% of my traffic comes from Pinterest and Google.
Right now, Google is roughly 70%, Pinterest 20%, and the rest is split between referrals and direct traffic.
How is your revenue broken down?
It depends on the months. Right now is roughly 60% affiliates and 40% advertising. I had months where affiliates were closer to 70%, which I prefer.