I Went From 9-5 Job To Full-Time Blogger

In this interview, Kathleen McLee, founder of the synonymous blog kathleenmclee.com, shares how she built a successful blog in the Digital Marketing and Blogging space. As well as that we discuss traffic growth, how she transitioned from her 9-5 job to becoming a full time blogger, monetization strategies, blogging challenges and much more.

What is your background, and what were you doing right before you started this business?
My background was never in the online world. I had various customer service/customer relations type jobs but always knew that I would end up in an online space making money that way and I was lucky enough to make it a reality. I had had a previous hobby blog years ago which grew well so I knew there was potential initially.

How much money did it cost to get the first version (MVP) off the ground?
Not much at all with my business model. Online platforms and tools was the main startup cost but even those were minimal compared to some other businesses. In total just a couple of hundred dollars but it can be started for even less depending on who you choose for hosting etc.

What tools or tech did you use?
In the beginning just a basic computer, WordPress, Hostgator hosting and domain name, a premium theme, a free Canva plan and a few blogging/affiliate marketing courses. It’s grown a lot since but that was the base setup.

How did you land your first 10 customers?
All of my first “customers” were commissions I have received through affiliate sales so I will comment on those. This was before I had started email marketing or digital products. My first 10 were from Blogging courses/bundles and Amazon affiliates. I created the content and then promoted them through Pinterest and Social Media plus Google search and that’s where those first 10 came from.

What did the first version look like compared to what it is today?
I started much more in the Blogging space and focused a lot more on Social Media for marketing however over time that evolved into the whole “Make Money Online” space. I changed marketing strategy more over to Pinterest. Build wise I am still with HostGator, still using my premium theme I purchased but now also pay for multiple other tools such as a paid Mailerlite plan, a Keyword Research tool, Canva Pro etc.

What does your ‘marketing stack’ look like? Which apps or software can you not live without?

Pinterest, Canva/Adobe Express, a Keyword Research tool and Yoast SEO.

What has been your biggest struggle or ‘near-death experience’ since starting?
Blogging can be SLOW initially. This wasn’t my first blog so I did have experience growing a website but it’s still slow. Changing entire niche caused a huge dip for quite a long time and mixed with algorithm changes and patches of seeing very little happening it’s easy to get discouraged and give up. Had a few dips over the years!

If you had to start over from scratch today with only $1,000, what would you do differently?
Invest in a couple of decent courses from day 1. I took quite a few free/cheap ones and still had to invest in a good one, where as if I had invested from the start I would have saved a lot of time and money as even the cheap courses add up.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to start something similar to
you?
Get good hosting, get a good course from the start and be patient while it grows as it can take time for it to really grow.

What are your goals for the next 12 months?
Upgrading Ad Network, hugely grow pageviews and more collabs with large brands. The last one I worked with was Adobe.

What is one book or podcast that changed how you think about business?
The book The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran & M. Lennington.

Where can people go to learn more about you and your business?
They can find lots more information on my website katherinemclee.com – there is a huge amount of info alongside links to freebies, and pages outlining all the tools I recommend (including free tools) to new bloggers/affiliate marketers, and all courses/resources I recommend.
My email is also open for anyone who has any further questions – feel free to reach out! You can connect with me on X and also on Pinterest.