As a pet blogger who’s been at this for over 12 years, I’ve had countless conversations with fellow content creators about the big question: “Can you actually make money with a pet blog?”
The answer is a resounding YES – and today I’m sharing a conversation with someone who proves it!
In this episode of the Wear Wag Repeat Podcast, I welcomed back Jessica Williams who first appeared on episode 19 where we talked about optimizing pet content.
Now we’re diving deep into how she monetizes her pet blogs, bringing in $5,000-$10,000 in ad revenue alone each month.
How Jessica Built Her Pet Blogging Empire
Jessica has been growing traffic to her main blog “You Did What With Your Wiener?” for about 15 years, focusing on hiking with dachshunds. What started as a passion project has evolved into a serious business:
- She’s expanded to three different pet blogs in specific niches
- Her combined sites bring in $5-10K monthly just from ad revenue
- In 2021, she crossed the six-figure income threshold from blogging
Jessica is truly one of the OGs in pet blogging. There’s a small group of us who’ve been doing this for over a decade, and she’s at the top of that list. I’ve always looked up to her work, and we’ve become close friends in the years since recording this interview.
From Hobby Blog to Pet Business: The Mindset Shift
Jessica shares that the biggest difference in going from hobby to business was shifting her mindset:
“The biggest thing for me that made the difference from going from hobby to business was just shifting my mindset. The way I approached it and the way I thought about it, it wasn’t just something fun I did in my own time. I didn’t chase down every opportunity, like, every shiny opportunity available to me.”
She emphasizes being strategic with your time, focusing only on activities that move the needle toward your goals.
Multiple Income Streams for Pet Bloggers
One key takeaway from my conversation with Jessica is the importance of diversifying your revenue streams. While ad revenue is her biggest income source, she emphasizes not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Here are the main monetization strategies we discussed:
1. Display Advertising
Jessica’s biggest revenue source is display advertising through networks like Mediavine and AdThrive. With about 50,000 sessions a month across her three blogs, she generates $5,000-$10,000 monthly just from ads.
2. Affiliate Marketing
While Jessica keeps it simple with just Amazon and one other high-paying affiliate program she loves, this can be a significant income source for pet bloggers.
3. Sponsored Content
Jessica shares an interesting evolution in sponsored content: from brands wanting blog posts, to only Instagram posts, and now a mix of platforms with YouTube becoming surprisingly popular despite having a small following there.
4. Blog Coaching
Jessica also generates income through her blog consulting business, Niche Blog Biz, where she helps other bloggers grow their income.
Simple Tweaks That Make a BIG Difference
My biggest takeaway from this conversation with Jessica was that simple tweaks can make a huge difference in monetizing your blog. For example:
- Increasing font size
- Writing shorter paragraphs and sentences
- Using more photos
- Optimizing ad placement
After this interview, I immediately implemented these changes on my own site. I started updating posts with shorter paragraphs, shorter sentences, and made several of the small tweaks Jessica recommended.
Thanks to her advice, I was able to increase my traffic significantly and successfully apply to an ad network – I joined Journey by Mediavine since I wasn’t quite at the 50,000 pageview threshold for Mediavine proper.
The Traffic Numbers You Need to Know
Jessica was refreshingly transparent about the traffic needed to generate significant ad income:
- Her $5,000-$10,000 monthly ad revenue comes from approximately 50,000 sessions across her three blogs
- Premium networks like Mediavine require 50,000 sessions to apply
- AdThrive requires about 100,000 pageviews
By comparison, I shared that my blog gets about 16,000 pageviews monthly, and with Ezoic (a network with lower entry requirements), I’m earning around $100 per month. It’s not paying all my bills yet, but it’s growing!
Jessica recommends not bothering with ads until you can qualify for premium networks because:
- Ads can slow down your site, hindering traffic growth
- RPMs (revenue per thousand impressions) are 2-3x higher on premium networks
When Should You Start Monetizing Your Pet Blog?
I waited years before implementing ads because I didn’t want to negatively impact the user experience.
Jessica suggests holding off on ads until you reach higher traffic thresholds but acknowledges that even smaller income helps offset hobby costs.
Alternative ad networks for growing blogs include:
- Ezoic (what I started with before Journey)
- SHE Media (Jessica recommends this specifically for pet blogs)
How Wear Wag Repeat Society Helps Pet Bloggers Monetize
If you’re serious about growing or starting a pet blog, my membership Wear Wag Repeat Society can save you tons of time and give you access to expertise from someone who’s been doing this for over a decade.
The petpreneur membership includes:
- A huge petpreneur resource library
- Dozens of lessons on SEO, blogging, email marketing, and monetization
- Expert panels with successful pet bloggers
- Weekly 1-on-1 office hours with me via Voxer
I’m one of the leading experts in this industry (with Jessica being perhaps the only person who knows more about pet blogging than I do!), and Wear Wag Repeat Society gives you direct access to my knowledge and experience.
Streamline Your Pet Business Systems
Want to work smarter, not harder in your pet business? Get your free System Sprint Workbook and fix one broken system in your business in just 5 days.
No massive overhauls or complicated frameworks – just fix that one thing that’s creating a bottleneck right now and transform it into something that saves you time and energy.
Resources to Help You Monetize Your Pet Blog
If you’re looking to grow your pet blog’s income, check out these resources we mentioned:
- Ad Networks: MediaVine, Ezoic, AdThrive, Journey by Mediavine, SHE Media
- Jessica’s Blog Coaching: Niche Blog Biz
- Writing Course: Write Quality Blog Content in Under 2 Hour”
- More Learning: Check out our previous conversation in Episode 19
Connect With Jessica Williams
Want to follow Jessica’s work or learn from her directly?
- Blog: You Did What With Your Wiener?
- Business Website: Niche Blog Biz
- Instagram: @youdidwhatwithyourwiener
- Facebook: @YouDidWhatWithYourWeiner
- Pinterest: @Adventurewiener
- YouTube: YouDidWhatWithYourWiener
Jessica and I are int he front row with their group of pet industry blogging experts at BlowPaws 2024
Did You Find This Episode Helpful?
If you’re working to monetize your own pet blog or considering starting one, I’d love to hear from you!
What strategies are working? What questions do you have?
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW!
You can listen to the Wear Wag Repeat Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play and many other podcast players. Subscribe so you don’t miss a single dog-inspired episode!
If you love what you hear and want to support my efforts to shine a light on more women making it work in the pet industry, please leave a review for my show. More reviews help more people discover the show and hear our stories!
You can also see all the episodes on the Podcast page of my site.
More blog posts you’ll love:
What is a Petpreneur: A Guide to Become a Pet Industry Entrepreneur
How to Figure out the Best Blog Topics for Your Pet Business
Best Social Media Platforms for Pet Businesses
Expand Your Pet Business with Digital Products: 12 Ideas You Can Do Today
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