10 Years of Blogging: What’s Changed and How to Make it Work for You Teacher Blog Academy by Side Hustle Teachers

As we approach 2023 - man, that sounds weird to say - I realized that I have been blogging for 10 years! 
I don’t actually remember the date, so don’t be expecting an anniversary party or anything, but I made my first money as a blogger in 2012. Holy crap, that’s a long time.
In those 10 years I was able to grow a successful mom-lifestyle blog that paid off my student loans, let us buy our cars with cash, and put me on track to pay off our mortgage in 15 years instead of 30. 
I also sold my blog when I was called to start Side Hustle Teachers and it grew faster than I anticipated. Blogging is a fairly low-key way to make money, but it still requires work, and I just couldn’t do both.
Now Side Hustle Teachers is a thriving blog with a highly engaged community, a new signature course that’s helping other teachers build and grow their own blogs, and a clear path to early retirement.
Over that time I’ve also discovered and consciously worked towards a more chill lifestyle, even as I continue to teach and my business consistently grows. I have more free time now than I did before I started my first blog!
When it comes to the business of blogging, a lot has changed, and that’s what we’ll be talking about today.
So let’s dig in.
Technology is WAY Easier Let’s start with the best thing on this list. Tech is way more accessible now than it was when I started. Not only is it cheaper (yay!), but the improvements and upgrades have also made it easier for the average non-tech-geek to use, making the internet a much more user-friendly place.
When I first started, putting up a website took either a lot of money or extensive knowledge of coding and internet language. Yes, I had access to WordPress and ready-made themes (it wasn’t the really early days), but any changes needed to be done manually or via code… I broke my site many, many times.
There are also a lot more tools available to use online. Pretty much whatever you want to do online, there’s a tool you can use to manage it for you. From payment processors to schedulers to customer management to auto-responders… you name it, it’s out there. 
And - this is big - they all talk to each other! Your credit card processor talks to your bank, who talks to your business email, who talks to your email management system, who updates your database… It's amazing. You can integrate all your tools, making automation 1000% easier, and taking a ton of work off your plate. There are even tools that help your tools talk to each other if they don’t have built in integration (thank you, Zapier!).
And one of the few good things to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic is that, by forcing more people and businesses online, even more programs, platforms, and systems were introduced… and they’re not going anywhere.
All this makes starting a blog a totally doable endeavor.
I know many teachers are afraid of the tech that’s involved, but if you can handle the tech of a 21st century classroom, a blog is a piece of cake!
Social Media has Exploded When I started there was Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest was still new and masquerading as a social network, and Instagram was just barely born. Social media was growing, but it was not the ubiquitous part of everyday life that it is now.
Cut to today when social media platforms abound and are some of the most trafficked parts of the internet.
For a while, every time a new platform was introduced, bloggers were encouraged to jump in and become founding members before it became big.
Side note, this was brought on by Pinterest, whose early adopters gained HUGE advantages on the platform, frustrating those who came after.
However, as we’ve seen, not all social media sites are created equally or are built to last… I’m lookin’ at you Periscope, Clubhouse, and Google Plus! 
Today, anyone who’s telling you to be on every social platform, especially when you’re new to blogging, is given sideways glances an