I did not have the dream of becoming a writer or making a living from writing either. I wanted to be a diplomat, travel the world, live overseas, marry and raise my kids there. What a dream! After I graduated, I went job hunting but it took me farther from my dreams or rather I found something new, that I had a knack for - writing. I lose track of time when writing, only my kids jolt me out of it but I digress, let's start from the beginning.
My career path
After I graduated from the university and went through the compulsory one year of service in my country, I had a hard time securing a job. I went from one job interview to another without much success. I was particularly interested in government-paid employment because of the job security and pension after retirement. Private jobs held no sway over me because they overworked their employees and the pay was poor.
Since I did not succeed in getting a government job I took up a private job as a research assistant to a university lecturer. There was a lot of demand from lecturers for papers to be published in journals both online and in hard copies. It was a very tasking job but the pay was poor. I left after a year and took up another private job as a pastor's secretary. The pastor authored a few books and produced a monthly devotional/prayer booklet. I enjoyed working at the church though the pay was still poor because I also worshipped there and my apartment wasn't too far away. I worked there for about three years until I got married and left.
Finding myself
Those two jobs opened up another path for me, I did not realise it until when I had a conversation with a friend of mine and she pointed it out. Those jobs revolved around writing, editing and proofreading and they served as a training ground for me. I felt like I had found my path in life! So what next? How do I monetise it?
I soon became a mom and I was looking to start a sewing outfit I needed to make money. I had previously taken sewing courses while working at the church and had also worked for someone who graduated before me for a year to hone my skills. There was shop rent to be considered and the necessary equipment to be bought too. Jobs or at least good ones were not forthcoming and I was looking for a way to make an income. My husband's pay can only stretch so far and our family was increasing.
How I became a blogger
I went online to search for ways to make money online and that was when I came to know about blogging. I was introduced to the world of blogging through Pinterest, I had changed my account from a personal to a business account to advertise books. I also sold children's books at the time and I was looking for a way to reach my buyers. As I dabbled with Pinterest trying to learn the ropes, I saw a lot of pins in my feed about blogging for stay-at-home moms. I clicked and read through so many of those posts. I especially liked Finsavvypanda's posts and I subscribed to her one-week blogging course and also received an ebook from her.
The more I read those blog posts the more I became interested and I thought to myself, Why not? During this time, I also saw an advert on Facebook from Miles Beckler Academy on how to become an affiliate marketer for free. You have to know, affiliate marketing was something big in Nigeria then. Only a few people were into it and it had just opened up. There were so many young graduates looking for jobs and legit ways to make money and affiliate marketing was the next big thing.
I learnt from Miles Beckler how I could earn an income from content creation and affiliate marketing. A light bulb went off in my head, I'm so going to do this! I encountered some challenges when I tried to pay for hosting and domain name. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently reduced money spent online to $20! Domain name and hosting amounted to $47. How was I going to get around this?
I tried to open a Paypal account and could not sign up for it. I discovered that Nigerians living at home were not allowed to create an account. I tried my local bank's virtual card and dollar card and it was limited by our Central Bank's new banking policy. I looked for exchangers online to help me pay for my domain name and web hosting but could not find any or one I could trust with my money.
After trying so many avenues I decided to use a free platform while I keep looking for other options. I wanted to see if blogging was something that could keep my attention for a long and if my articles would make a good read. That was how I created a blog on Google's blogger. I had read on those blogging posts that their monetization options were limited and I figured I would transfer to a paid platform when I have sorted out the payment problem.
I tried to get someone I met online to pay for my hosting with his Paypal account in exchange for the Naira equivalent or introduce me to an exchanger who could help. He advised me not to look for an exchanger and introduced me to Vella instead. By now, the money I had set aside for domain name and hosting was used up. It may be a few dollars but it translates to thousands of naira in Nigeria owing to our currency being devalued and the state of the economy.
What next?
In six months I have about sixty blog posts and I have not made a dime yet. I will keep updating this post as my blogging journey progresses. In the coming year 2023, I have resolved to buy a domain name and hosting so I can monetise my blog. What about you? What are your plans for the coming year? Have you made any yet or are you just coasting along? Thank you for reading.
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