How My Blog Changed My Life: Eric from Narrow Bridge Finance

Hey everyone! I’m at FinCon, so I have a special How My Blog Changed My Life for you. My friend Eric, who I met at the local personal finance blogger meet-up here in Portland, is “kind of a big deal” at FinCon. He runs the Ignite event at FinCon, which happens to be tonight. So whether you are at FinCon or not, meet Eric! He’s a blogging veteran and is so inspiring because he’s turned blogging into many lucrative side hustles.

Find out how Eric’s blog has changed his life…

HeadShot

1. What was the inspiration for starting your blog?

I started my first blogs in 2006. I found it to be a fun way to connect and share information and thoughts online. Through those sites, I learned all about how blogs work and got a brief insight into how some blogs grow and make a little money. When I was working in a bank in 2007, I found that what I was learning as a bank manager might be useful to lots of people out there, and decided to share it with a new blog. I saw great sites I enjoyed like Poorer Than You and Fabulously Broke and thought to myself, if these girls can do finance blogs, so can I! So I started Narrow Bridge Finance on October 7, 2008. Six years later, I’m still here!

2. What has been the most challenging part of having a blog?

The most challenging part of having a blog is the hard work and many hours required to maintain the site, keep it fresh and up-to-date, and bring new and useful content to my readers every week. The blog has about 900 live posts representing countless hours of writing, a design that took even more time and a bit of money, and products like a book that I created as part of the business.

3. In what ways, direct or indirect, has your life changed because of your blog?

In one way, I got to meet Melanie and write this post! But meeting Melanie is just a small slice of the friendships and opportunities that have come from my site (no offense Melanie, your part is pretty sweet). My blog has led to some of my closest friends around the world that I would never have met otherwise, great experiences and conferences like FinCon (the conference for finance bloggers and the media) and World Domination Summit.

The biggest impact, though, has been the income directly from the blog and from related services that I have begun to offer. I now make about 20% of my income online from Narrow Bridge Finance and my freelance writing, web design, and social media consulting business Narrow Bridge Media.

4. What have you learned from blogging?

Blogging has taught me so much that I can hardly scratch the surface here, but I’ll do my best. On the most basic level, the blog has dramatically improved my writing, website design, Wordpress development, graphic design, and business and project management skills. Beyond that, I have learned about topics as diverse as project outsourcing to workers abroad, online marketing, monetization, networking, building a brand, and kicking ass on the internet.

Being successful online takes a huge amount of work, a wide skill set, and business acumen. I didn’t have all of those when I started with this whole blogging thing, but I can confidently say that I have improved at all of those, along with personal finance, the topic of my blog, as I’ve gone along.

5. What advice would you give to new bloggers who are thinking of starting a blog?

My biggest advice to new bloggers is to seriously consider the effort it takes to maintain a blog before you start and, when you do, treat your blog professionally. A blog is your personal online presence and the work it takes to blog makes it a big part of your life. If you really want to succeed, you can’t do it without really trying. Look at what you like and what works well and what it takes for them to succeed. If you think you’re up to it, follow their lead and see where it can take you. You might be surprised where you end up!

Thank you so much Eric for sharing your insights!

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Melanie

Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, Dear Debt. Through her blog, she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat, which helps bold women face their fears, own their dreams and figure out a plan to be in control of their finances. She is passionate about empowering women, helping others get out of debt, and focuses on the intersection of debt and mental health. Every September she organizes a Suicide Prevention Awareness Blog Tour, to help share resources for those struggling with debt and suicide. In addition to her love of personal finance, art and music, she is also a karaoke master and a cat mom to Miles and Thelonious.

17 comments

Brandy @ Busted Budget September 18, 2014 - 3:48 am

Thanks for sharing, Eric! I’ve been blogging almost 2 months now and I definitely agree that it takes hard work, even on a part time basis. Thanks for sharing!

Eric September 19, 2014 - 7:37 am

Welcome to blogging! It is a great journey. You have lots of fun and learning ahead!

Mrs. Frugalwoods September 18, 2014 - 3:48 am

Great to meet you, Eric! I’m very impressed that you’ve been writing your blog for 6 years! That is tremendous dedication. You are absolutely right that it takes a great deal of effort to maintain a blog–something I’m learning in my mere 5 months of blogging!

Eric September 20, 2014 - 8:38 am

Every long journey begins with a first step. At 5 months you have already surpassed a huge number of people who found blogs. Keep it up!

Myles Money September 18, 2014 - 3:53 am

Thanks for sharing, Eric. It’s encouraging for someone like me who’s just starting out to know that success is possible with perseverance and hard work.

Eric September 20, 2014 - 8:39 am

I’m glad you enjoyed it Miles. Just keep at it and keep your content interesting and relevant for your readers and the rest begins to fall into place.

Even Steven September 18, 2014 - 9:52 am

Your blog design looks great, just curious was the transition from branch banking to analyst easy for you and did it influence your blog at all?

Eric September 20, 2014 - 8:44 am

The move from bank to corporate finance was great for me in both lifestyle (work-life balance) and for my career in the long run. I always look back at that move as a good choice.

Any major change in my life influences my blog. My blog is about personal finance advice and chronicles my own journey with money, career, and side-income. Because my story and experience is such a big part of the blog, the two often go through transitions together.

Shannon @ Financially Blonde September 18, 2014 - 10:15 am

Another awesome highlight! I can’t wait to meet Eric at Ignite FinCon tonight, I have heard that it is an awesome event!

Eric September 20, 2014 - 8:45 am

Hope you enjoyed Ignite Shannon! It was a ton of fun!

Nicola September 19, 2014 - 10:44 am

Thanks for sharing! You’ve been blogging for so long, what a great achievement 🙂 I definitely agree with the hard work and time – i under appreciated how much time blogging would take! I love it though 🙂

Eric September 22, 2014 - 8:54 pm

The time flies when you’re having fun, and as the Chinese proverb goes, if you find a job you love you’ll never work a day in your life. I totally love my online projects and couldn’t imagine stopping!

Connie @ Savvy With Saving September 19, 2014 - 1:36 pm

Thanks for sharing Eric! I started my blog a little over a year ago and while it’s definitely one of the most time consuming things in my life right now, it’s one of the most rewarding!

Eric September 22, 2014 - 8:56 pm

I know exactly how you feel. My online work is like an extra two jobs on top of my full-time gig. Not lots of free time, but very rewarding.

Kate @ Money Propeller September 19, 2014 - 3:55 pm

Thanks for the great advice Eric! I agree with you that your blog is your personal online presence.

Natalie @ Financegirl September 22, 2014 - 6:40 am

I’m so glad to meet you via this interview, Eric! And Melanie, I really appreciate you introducing so many rockstars through these posts – it’s really cool to read about so many different bloggers on here.

Anne @ Money Propeller September 22, 2014 - 12:38 pm

Wow, I had no idea that you had been around for so long, congratulations! That makes you part of the rarified air! I hope you guys had an awesome time at FinCon (I’m suuuure you did).