In 2010, 30-year-old Kyle Taylor dropped out of college with $50K in debt. Tired of carrying that burden on his shoulders, Taylor researched how to create a blog to document his “journey” out of debt and write about the lessons he learned along the way. Today, his blog called Penny Hoarder boasts more than 15 million unique visitors each month and a two-time recent inclusion in the Inc. 5000, with more than 9,000 percent revenue growth between 2013 and 2016.
This is the story of Kyle Taylor, the entrepreneur who created a great company from a blog. (Do you want to create a blog and don’t know how? In this step-by-step guide you will find everything you need to do it quickly and easily)
I started Penny Hoarder when I was working for human interest groups. Originally I thought it was going to end up in politics. I dropped out of school and ended up $50,000 in debt.
I grew up with a single mother who was always upfront with our finances. We knew exactly how much money was coming and exactly how much money was in each category of the budget. I started the blog to collect some of those lessons and to be honest with myself, also to get out of debt.
At first, he wrote mainly for me; it was essentially an Internet journal. My name wasn’t even attached to it. Six months after starting the blog, I bought the domain from “Penny Hoarder” and started writing under my name. The blog started getting traffic and getting more viewers; so I started networking with other personal finance bloggers and was able to build my network.
Early in the blog’s life, I noticed that many bloggers couldn’t find a business model that worked for them. Advertisers were not interested in buying image ads (known as “display ads”); they wanted something more. Since 2011, Penny Hoarder has worked directly with clients to take their marketing beyond display ads.
We understand performance marketing and partner with clients to share their story in our voice; that was the way to go. Clients pay us only when we are successful. For example, we work with Uber and Lyft to help recruit new drivers. When a new driver signs up on our site and then gets their first paycheck, we get a check too.
We have used this type of advertising to generate revenue from the beginning, and it has helped the business grow exponentially.
Two and a half years after starting the blog, I was able to pay off my debts. It was exciting for me, because not only was the debt crushing me personally, but also because readers were telling me how much reading my blog helped them.
In 2015 I hired someone to take over the editorial side of the blog and I started to focus on the business side of things. I created a branded content team in 2016, and they focused on creating content in the voice of Penny Hoarder.
The branded content team is part of our editorial team, because we want that content to be as close to the voice of the blog as possible. Sponsored content makes up about 5 percent of the site’s content, but it’s the reason we’ve been able to grow at such a rapid pace.
For now, we want to grow our subscriber base and do it in a medium that can reach the most people. That means video. We hope to reach 100 employees by the end of 2017; many of those people will be for video.
Just like Kyle, many people start a business through a blog, since it is an excellent alternative to help others and receive income. The road is not easy, but with dedication you will surely see results.
If you want to know about how to earn money with a blog, do not hesitate to click here.
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can purchase our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
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