mummy blogger

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2023 Blog Report & Income report || Nigerian Mum Blog

January 15, 2024

Every year I have looked back at my blogging year to take stock of what I have done in terms of goals and one of the aims of documenting my journey is to show stay-at-home mums that it is possible to grow steadily on this platform.

I really hope that my journey inspires some people. I started this blog in 2017 (and you can go through my previous blog reports) I started earning money from it in 2020

In 2020 I made 119,991

In 2021 I made 116,000

In 2022 I made 414,000

The biggest game changer has been creating products both physical & digital. I know it is possible to make money doing adverts for brands but if you don't have a large following and you've not structured yourself to be a content creator, they are always far and in-between. Personally, I also don't like how brands treat creators and don't give them creative power. This has been my major challenge with doing brand deals. If I do get the ones that resonate I am always open to working with them but I wanted to build my business independent of money that comes from that source and that's part of what I did in 2023.

The major thing we were able to achieve on this blog was basically impact and for this I'm grateful. Here are some of the highlights of the year;

Our Instagram grew to 16,000+ followers.
I was featured on the cover of Price Pally magazine. Coverrrrrr!! My first magazine feature.
We organized another edition of Homeschooling Conversations.
I traveled to Makurdi to do an offline workshop on Home education.
We started averaging over 10k+/Month in blog views and grew to over 400k all-time views.
Started Free homeschooling consultations and helped over 50 parents gain clarity on their homeschooling journey.

It was great to experience all of it not without its fair share of gbas gbos but we give God all the glory.

Review of my 2023 goals: Here's what I did with my goals for 2023

1. Write 40 relevant and SEO-friendly articles in my niche (Being a stay-at-home mum and Homeschooling) - 18 articles published but I recently got a writer to create those articles.

2. Visit 50 Places with my kids ( 4 states, 1 Country, and revisit our favorite places in Lagos) - We visited 6 states - Jos, Bauchi, Benue, Abuja, Oyo, Ogun, and our favorite places in Lagos.

3. Grow my Instagram to 30k Followers by creating relevant content. - Ki ki ki Well I gained 3k followers last year.

4. Increase my blog stream of income by 3 - create relevant courses for my audience, get relevant ads for my blog, and Affiliate. - I did create products and webinars.

5. Start my YouTube channel and grow to 1k Subscribers. - Again Ki ki ki. but I did publish some videos last year and I am creating more this year, so please subscribe to my channel. I have 700 more to reach 1k

6. Work with at least 5 major brands on campaigns that will mean a lot to me and my audience. My hopes were really up ooo but I don't even think I worked with any brand last year.

I am grateful for the goals unmet and the ones met. The reason they were unmet was I am still but one person and running a business, homeschooling, and trying to be a decent human is not for the faint of hearts.

This brings me to what my goal for 2024 will be REST! Like I am not setting any goals for 2024 honestly. I will rest from all my toiling, anxiety about making more money, trying to grow this business, and having an ambition. 2023 was really rough in that regard, emotionally and running to the next thing or trying to work on making the business work and then juggling that with Homeschooling phew, it was a lot.

How am I choosing to rest this year;

I am not traveling with the kids this year (except I get a sponsorship)
I am not paying for any course or product to help me "grow" and definitely no more ads class.
I am not pursuing any ambition for this business.
I will do whatever I want to do at my pace in terms of products and webinars that I really want to create.
Above all trusting God with everything.

2023 Income report

Selar (Digital Products): N1.2Million

Ads: 30,000 I didn't actually keep track of what I made with ads but it wasn't alot.

2 things I did differently this year were run Facebook ads, the second thing I did was take a loan so I could use it as capital for my business. I didn't spend it all though, it wasn't a lot that I couldn't pay back so it was a good investment even if what I wanted to use it for didn't pan out like I wanted.

I would most likely make less money this 2024 because I don't want to grind but don't let me underestimate God. Lol. Anyhoos that's it,

I really do hope that my journey inspires someone out there.

P.S:

If you would like to work with me this year, either to review your product, advertise your product to my audience, review your kid's play place or your family-friendly country, etc. please send an email to thecuddleblog@gmail.com with the subject "Request for Media Kit"

Follow me on Instagram @thecuddleblog and subscribe to my YouTube channel more content will be coming your way this year!

blog goals mum blogger mummy blogger

2022 Blog Report & Income Report || Nigerian Mum Blog

January 7, 2023

It's that time of the year when I take stock and tell you about my blogging journey in the previous year and share my goals for the new year.

My Blogging journey in 2022 was up and down. I got some collaborations but not as much as I would love and honestly, as a Blog, I really don't just want to do blogging campaigns the way it's done in this country by doing ads and just getting briefs that sometimes you as the creator know won't work for your audience. I really wanted to get to that place where I could say no to offers that didn't align with my brand. I found my voice in 2022 and I told a brand I wasn't interested in their business if they kept stressing me the way they were, I told another brand I would only speak the truth about my experience with their products as they gave me a list of words they wanted me to say. I only said the ones that were true about my own experience with the product. I could do that because I have another source of income and I wasn't desperate for their money and it was just a plus. I wrote fewer articles in 2022 because it was my first year as a mum of 2 and I am still navigating all that it entails.

This year I am hoping to work with just brands that align with my audience and what will mean a lot to them when it comes to ads and for brand campaigns, I am hoping to work with brands who don't just want to dish out briefs and send to all the bloggers in the niche to execute the same things but actually find campaigns that are meaningful to each of the creators so they can make it theirs, I think the marketing will be more effective. For any brand that would love to work with me in that direction, I am open to discussions on brand alignment and values.

Read 2022 Blog recap here.

Let's talk about what was achieved last year from the post.

2022 Blog Goals:

Continue to consistently create valuable content documenting our journey of homeschooling and life as a SAHM - I won't say I achieved this because my brain was mostly fried all year. Like I was surviving each day.
Finish a project before March. (I will tell you all about it) - I was talking about my book!! I DID even if I finished in August. Lol. Click to check it out
Would love to collaborate with brands and do more campaigns - This didn't exactly happen but I did 2.5 campaigns with 2 major brands
Visit at least 40 places with Cuddles - We visited 45 Places!!!! 3 States in Nigeria.
Relaunch my Canva course and Record the Blogging course - I did NOT. Lool. I am learning how to do it better so I would work on it
Build our Homeschooling Community - Again, this did not happen.
Get me a Manager - I worked with an assistant this year but I still can't afford to get the kind of effective person I NEED so I stopped after like 2 months.

We still managed to post 24 Blog Posts;

My Goal for 2023 and my word for this blog is FOCUS. I spent too much time looking left and right at what other people were doing or not doing. These are my goals for this year.

1. Write 40 relevant and SEO-friendly articles in my niche (Being a stay-at-home mum and Homeschooling)

2. Visit 50 Places with my kids ( 4 states, 1 Country, and revisit our favorite places in Lagos)

3. Grow my Instagram to 30k Followers by creating relevant content.

4. Increase my blog stream of income by 3 - create relevant courses for my audience, get relevant ads for my blog, and Affiliate.

5. Start my Youtube channel and grow to 1k Subscribers.

6. Work with at least 5 major brands on campaigns that will mean a lot to me and my audience.

2022 Income report: This is how much I earned in 2022 with my account that was at 11k - 13k Followers

Book: N200k

Ads: N213k

Jumia Affiliate: N1500

My expenses for my blog: I figured I should add my expenses too so it's a realistic picture but I didn't keep track of everything.

Domain name: $17

Email: N9,000

Marketing: I honestly didn't keep track.

I made a total of N414,000 in revenue which compared to last year is a huge leap. I look forward to what this year has to offer and I can't wait to share it all with you by the year 2024! Like I always say, the game of blogging is a long-term one but if you are consistent, it makes sense. I love that there is steady visible growth and for that I am excited.

If you would like to work with me this year, either to review your product, advertise your product to my audience, review your kid's play place or your family-friendly country, etc. please send an email to info@thecuddleblog.com with the subject "Request for Media Kit"

Follow me on Instagram @thecuddleblog and subscribe to my youtube channel as content will be coming your way this year!

Please Subscribe to my Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/thecuddleblog

First time Mum mummy blogger mummy friendships

Simple guide to drama-free mummy friendships

June 9, 2021

Yesterday (June 8) was the world's best friend day apparently. I don't have a lot of best friends and my trust in female friendships has really dwindled based on some not-so-pleasant experiences from Uni.

I didn't realize how much that experience affected my future friendships until when I became a mum and forming mum friendships became really difficult. It's easy to have on-the-surface conversations about our motherhood experiences without really forming a deep bond with the person and honestly that's what I've done. I take a back seat in groups in order to avoid any drama that arises. I try to stay objective with my views, avoiding conflict as much as possible but I must say female friendships is not exactly my forte.

I know there are some set of people who generally frown at male-female best friend relationships (which are just purely friendships) but my best friend for so many years is a guy, through romantic relationships, religion, career decisions, family, life issues we have grown so much without the drama and that's exactly what I love about the dynamics. I also love now that I can give him advice based on a females perspective that can help him make better decisions as a husband/father and vice versa.

In the new female friendships I have, I try to be very cautious and not rush into anything. Working my way from acquaintance to close friendships while I still put a boundary but I let the ones I have to grow naturally without forcing them before gradually removing the boundaries that I set. I know some of how I deal with friendships is not healthy but it's kept me sane.

Here are some things I have learnt over the years that guide me in my mummy friendships;

That mummy friend that is my best friend in my mind, I don't also have to be her best friend. What I mean is, it is okay if I am not her best friend yet I consider her my best friend.
Have respect and understanding for your mummy friends. Being a mum is not easy, extending some grace to your friend should be all that matters. Respect their decisions & boundaries, try to understand what drives them. It will help your relationship flourish.
Pick up the phone and call. Don't guilt-trip your friend because they haven't called in a while. I mean, is something wrong with your own phone?
Think deeply about what you would like in your friendships, what quality you'd like in your friend, and exhibit those qualities to someone else. Be the friend you need to someone else without seeking anything in return.
Have difficult conversations. I am learning to stop avoiding conflict and be willing to have difficult conversations in my relationships. It's not enough to
Have that one person you KNOW will always have your back, no judgment, no airs, nothing. Find that person and hold on tight. Life is indeed richer with amazing relationships.

I am really looking forward to once again having a really close friend that stays close to my house that we can really do life together but till then we make do with all the long-distance friendships with have and enjoy it while it lasts.

What guides your mummy friendships?

blog goals blog review mummy blogger

2020 Blog Review & Income Report

December 30, 2020

It's the end of the year and that time where I do a review of the goals I had for the blog at the beginning of the year.

We all know 2020 was different and I am not even going to beat myself up over not achieving my goals. I would say I had a good year growing the community "Cuddle Blog" and interacting with more mums which has been amazing. It might have not been one of my goals but it was the greatest things I achieved on this blog and I am super grateful for that.

Here is the list of goal I hoped to achieve at the beginning of 2020 and let's review how I did.

Write more blog posts - 4 Posts a Month - That would have been a total of 48 Posts but I only have 38 articles on this blog but I have quite a number in draft. Does that count? Lol
Collaborate with brands; I did collaborate with about 3 brands but not on the level I really hoped it would be but I don't take it for granted
Do reviews of products and places; I did at the beginning of the year when we could go out but that came to a halt since March
Organize our 2nd edition of homeschooling conversations; Yay! We were able to achieve this
Do outings for our Homeschooling support group; Unfortunately, we couldn't do this at all
Grow and do offline events for our stay at home mums support group; We grew and had one offline event
Create resources for homeschooling and sahm mums; Created resources for homeschooling mums but not so much for stay at home mums.

Blog income report

For the first time since I started this blog in 2017 I made some money! I am so excited about this because over the years I have had people who showed interest in working with me that just asked for my rate card and didn't get back to me but I got different advert offers this year at different points and I am grateful for the opportunities. I know this is just the beginning so looking forward to more opportunities to work with brands in the coming years, I am not in a hurry because I know slow and steady is the name of the game.

Here is a break down of the money I made;

I did 1 campaign and 2 adverts and from that got N43,000

I also created some digital products from which I earned N76,991 between 2 products.

Which is a total of N119,991

I know for some people is not a lot but it's a great beginning that I am super proud of myself for and looking forward to creating more content in 2021 (God willing).

I want to also use this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all who have supported me and still engage with my content, you guys really make the journey worthwhile.