Holy s$@t! I’ve been blogging on Reverse The Crush for 3 years now!
At some point during a trip to Mexico in November 2015, the concept for Reverse The Crush was formed. I’m not sure if I mentioned it before, but that’s why the image on the home page is from Tulum Ruins.
Anyways, the trip was in the Riviera Maya sometime in November 2015, which means it’s officially been 3 years… Happy blogiversary RTC!
Although the domain was not created until after the trip, I still give the vacation the credit. After all, travelling often refreshes the mind and provides a fresh outlook.
A brief blogging history: 2015 to 2018.
During the first year of blogging, the main concept was eluding the traditional 9 to 5 lifestyle. To be honest, I didn’t really have that much of a direction. I just wanted an excuse to blog and a place to document my day trades. For those that don’t know, I took a personally funded mini-retirement year in 2016. The year off was really the beginning of the blog.
That happens to be why most of the early content was centred around eluding the 9 to 5. I also published posts about day trading crude oil, mini-retirement, and even went through a phase of wine reviews. For the record, the wine reviews have been unpublished now.
Ultimately, finding a niche to blog about is a process. But it’s a natural process that leads you directly to topics you’re most interested in.
Over the past 3 years of blogging, it has become clear that I’ve been seeking a personal project to document and make consistent progress with.
In the beginning I was documenting my day trades. Next I began publishing blog traffic and social media reports. Up until recently, I was publishing monthly goal-setting posts as well.
Fortunately I reconnected with dividend investing and that framed the main concept for the blog going forward.
Dividend income updates are now the primary focus because I am trying to reach financial independence through dividend investing. Everything is centred around that.
But one day in the future when I have the opportunity to blog full-time again, I plan to bring all the recurring posts back.
[bctt tweet=”Reverse The Crush Turns 3″ username=”reversethecrush”]RTC Now: Dividend Investing is the core.
I have been looking for an opportunity to explain why I missed last month’s blog traffic report.
To summarize, I care more about money than blog statistics now.
Not to sound like I’m obsessed with money or anything (I am), but my budget, personal debt, assets, and dividend income are far more important than how many page views I receive per month. Managing a portfolio requires a lot of work.
As such, it seemed obvious to align the content with what I spend the most time on—investing. And that’s the reason why most of the recent content has been about investing.
In addition, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I’m not able to handle full-time blogging while working full-time. There have been multiple occasions that I’ve put in the work required to reach new record blog statistics. However, I only sustain these periods for 3 months at a time. After around 3 months of reaching new highs, I crash for a month or two.
I plan to take a page from what I have learned about investing and managing money to combat this crash every 3 months—quality, consistency, and slow progress are superior to overextending, rushing, and trying to go for short term wins.
I am continuing to blog for personal fulfilment, to learn more about investing, and to motivate myself to improve my financial situation. Furthermore, I plan to document the RTC Portfolio’s progress until financial independence is reached. Once I’ve reached FI, this blog will become a full-time side hustle and platform to help others.
Photo from Cobourg, Ontario, CanadaWhat have I gained from blogging for 3 years?
A channel to document dividend income reports.
Motivation to save more money and improve my financial situation.
A channel to document photography.
I have gained website building and digital communication skills.
I have been able to connect and learn from like-minded people.
A sense of purpose through having a creative outlet that is completely my own.
I have improved at reading and writing.
Blogging has helped me obtain a different career path.
I have earned a small profit from my blogging efforts.
Feedback on investing, personal finance, and blogging.
A better understanding of myself and my personal interests.
A growing archive of dividend income updates with screen shots of my portfolio at particular dates in time.
3 Year Blogiversary Highlights and Accomplishments.
I was featured on Apathy Ends (Why I Made The Life Altering Decision To Quit The 9 To 5).
Recently, I was featured on Camp Fire Finance for The Appalling Disrespect Towards Money.
I was named a top 100 Dividend Investing blog by Feedspot.
Interviewed for The Pursuit of Happiness celebration of happiness.
I was paid to write and publish two links in The Financial Goals for 2017 (links were removed when 1 year agreement ended).
Income was received multiple times for publishing sponsored posts that I did not write.
Affiliate income was earned from Bluehost, and from a previous affiliate that I am no longer working with.
The Google Adsense account is building steadily, and income is increasing on months I put the work in.
Top Blog Posts over the past 3 years.
Based on comments, shares on social media, and personal preference, here are the best RTC posts to date:
F–k the haters! Pursuing FI by Blogging & Dividend Investing is a Fool Proof Plan.
The Appalling Disrespect Towards Money.
Changes I’d Make If I Could Reverse Time By 10 Years.
A Blog Post about Sponsored Content that’s not full of s–t.
That’s what the f–k you do!–To become a Successful Blogger.
View yourself as a business to Save Money.
My worst investing mistakes, EVER.
My Investment Strategy to Build a Cash Flow Machine.
Analytics, Social Media, and Blog Income Report after 1 Year.
Ultimate Reflections on Mini-Retirement.
Why taking a Year Off is Awesome AF.
Blog Statistics.
There are two different Google Analytics screen shots included because the blog was originally started on eBlogger. However, I decided to switch over to a self-hosted blog around the end of February 2016.
Total Page views all-time (November 2015 to November 2018): 78,321
Overall, the page view numbers are mediocre for a 3 year time frame.
This is one of the primary reasons I am shifting the focus towards investing. I can control the amount of dividend income received by saving money each month. But controlling the progress of a blog is much more challenging.
To be completely upfront with you, I can’t even force myself to be interested in the blog numbers anymore. I just don’t care enough to spend time writing about it, which is why I am no longer publishing blog stats. It’s not earning enough income to justify continuing.
Perhaps one day in the future I will bring back the blog traffic reports again. However, dividend income updates will remain the most important statistic to track in the mean time.
Shout-Outs.
There are other bloggers I’ve had the opportunity to get to know over the past 3 years. Frankly, building these relationships has been one of the most rewarding reasons to continue blogging. Not only have I been able to get feedback from successful investors, I’ve been able to connect with some really cool bloggers as well. Here’s a few shoutouts:
Bryan from Income Surfer
Matthew @ All About The Dividends
I hope I didn’t forget anyone. Check the blog roll for many more.
Was it Worth it? Should You Start a Blog?
Ultimately blogging is a personal decision. In my opinion, though, blogging is totally worth it!
The relationships, skills gained, and personal development observed through blogging has made is a successful journey. Especially since it is something I eventually plan to work on full-time.
If you’re interested in starting a blog just to make money, I would advise not to start a blog. Simply put, blogging takes too much time and effort for the return that most bloggers earn.
However, if you’re interested in blogging to specialize on a particular topic, or if you are committed to documenting a personal project over the long term, blogging might be the perfect option for you. For example, blogging about a certain topic will lead to meeting more like-minded people that care about that topic.
So it’s worth it if you’re interested in building relationships, building online skills, and if you are looking for a side hustle to potentially earn some money. But only if you’re willing to be patient.
Concluding Thoughts
I am fortunate to have a hobby I enjoy so much like blogging. I just enjoy the entire process from start to finish.
It’s the documenting that gets me. It’s cool to look back on thoughts and photos from 3 years ago to see how far I’ve come. Eventually, my goal is to look back in ten years and visualize the different steps I took to read financial independence.
For the reader, my dividend income updates will hopefully become inspiring as the numbers compound. Personally, I get to connect memories from a photo to my thoughts at a particular point in time.
If I’m being honest, I still wish I could blog full-time. However, the truth is that I’m not good enough to be a full-time blogger right now. I am a side hustle blogger at best.
Though I am still pursuing blogging as a full-time endeavour, I have prioritized investing first for the time being. Ultimately, the dividend income will provide me with a basic income so I can spend more time blogging.
Now after 3 years of blogging, dividend investing has become the central theme for the blog and the eventual solution to being able to blog full-time.
Retail Investors have Time—Analysts are Under the Gun.
