The $8K/Month Blog That Replaced Her Teaching Job

Lori Sullivan is the founder of Guitar and Lace, a blog she started to document her wedding journey and work as a music teacher 🎶

In a recent interview, she reveals…

As a full-time creator, I have months where I’ve made up to $30,000 and months where I barely make $3,000.

🚀 Lori started blogging in 2017…

At the time, I was about 6 years into my teaching career and feeling all sorts of burnout. As much as I loved teaching my students, I felt all of my creativity and passion for music (and life, to be honest) be completely drained out by the stress that a career in education inevitably brings…

After doing a bit of research on my own, I realized that blogging was something that I could potentially be successful with! So during my last few weeks of summer 2017, I gave it a go.

Initially she blogged about “DIY wedding projects on a music teacher’s budget,” but later pivoted to “fashion, home decor, and design.”

Now, almost 7 years later 👇

I thank myself for never giving up!

In 2021, barely 4 years after starting my blogging business, I was able to quit education. My blogging income had already surpassed my salary as a teacher for the second year in a row, and I felt confident enough to take it full-time.

She monetises the site with display ads, affiliate links, digital products and partnerships.

I was surprised to see that Lori also sells premium app icon sets via Etsy, and says that’s often her best income stream 🤑

On average…

All things included (blog, LTK, amazon, ads, Etsy), I earn anywhere from $6,000-$10,000 a month.

📈 Lori’s main source of traffic is not Google (38%) but Pinterest (45%)…

Utilizing Pinterest has always been my top marketing strategy for my blog/business…

One solid Pinterest pin that links to our blog can be seen and be successful for months and even years whereas sharing anything on Instagram has somewhat of an expiration date until your content gets buried.

Her advice for anyone trying to make a living online…

The most important and vital thing for any entrepreneur trying to build their online business is to simply not give up.

In the beginning, you will feel like growth and success are close to impossible. You will see other bloggers and creators taking off with success and question whether or not this career is even attainable for you.

Focus on your goals and accept even the smallest amount of growth as progress.