Lidiya Kesarovska Shares Her Secret on the Blogging Business

Recently, we interviewed Lidiya Kesarovska, a blogger, course creator, and the founder of Let's Reach Success, who guides fresh aspirants about legitimate work from home options and how one can become a true work from home professional while exploring the numerous benefits of 'setting your own company.'

Our discussion was primarily based on how one can create passive income streams through blogging and what transcriptionists who are dreaming of setting up their company in the future should do and follow. During the interview, Lidiya shared with us her experience, major insights into the different aspects of working from home, and how transcriptionists can explore a lot of opportunities as a side hustle.

Tell us something about yourself. How long have you been in the blogging business and working from home? What inspired you to start Let’s Reach Success?

“Hey, I’m Lidiya, and I’m a full-time blogger and course creator. I first started earning from freelance writing while building my blog on the side. I wanted to write about the topics I loved, so I started Let’s Reach Success, which was first a personal development blog.
It was my hobby and my favorite project. I was so passionate about it that I learned all I could about blogging over the years and began monetizing the website.”

“When I was earning half of my income from freelancing, and the other half came from the blog, I realized I don’t want to work with clients anymore. So, I focused on the blog and diversified my income. I am now earning in 4 different ways, 3 of which are passive. That’s advertising, sponsored content, affiliate marketing, and selling my digital products (courses and printables).”

“I've loved every part of this journey, but it definitely isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. Turning your blog from a hobby to a business might take years, but it's absolutely worth it, as it can be your career for the rest of your life, and you get to have full control over your platform. It allows you to work from home, travel, design your ideal lifestyle, and provide value to people through your content.” 

What are your future plans for your blog? What should your audience expect this year?

“I’m doing new things since last year. I have a podcast, create courses to help people start a business, am active on Instagram, so I can grow my brand and connect with people there, and am investing in my knowledge more than ever through programs by entrepreneurs I respect and want to learn from.”

“I’m now turning my blogging business into an online course business. This means that my main focus is creating new programs and making them as valuable as possible, updating old ones, launching, getting more students and building relationships with them, growing my email list, etc.”

Most transcriptionists work 6 hours a day. Can you suggest a side hustle for them?

“If they feel like writing, they can start a blog and begin freelancing for clients. They can also be a virtual assistant, of course. But if they want to eventually become their own boss, starting a blog on a topic they are passionate about and in a niche that's in demand might help them do that. My course $1K Blogger, covers all you need to know to create passive income streams from your blog and get to $1,000/month.”

“There’s a lot to learn about the blogging business, but it’s okay to start it as a hobby and learn as you go. Once you have content on the website and are getting traffic, you can think about taking it to the next level by starting an email list, monetizing with affiliate marketing, or creating and selling an eBook or an online course.”

Quite a few transcriptionists dream of setting up their company in the future. Any words of advice to them?

“It's absolutely possible, but it means doing things you haven't done before and treating your side hustle as a business before it actually is.
For a start, understand that being a transcriptionist is your job or side hustle. It's what allows you to make a living (or earn extra money on the side) and respect it for that, but just as you make time for it every day, also schedule a time for tasks related to the business you want to start and grow.”

“You might be taking courses, and you might hire a coach, or just go ahead and start a blog and learn all you can about it from experience and the free resources available. Businesses are about solving a problem. So, you need to identify a pain point enough people have, see how you can provide value in that market, and offer something amazing that can help them solve their problem.”
 
“Before you sell, though, you’ll need to let people get to know you, like you, and trust you. That happens through your free content. As a blogger, that means writing articles weekly on topics your target audience is interested in, getting feedback, helping them as much as you can, and becoming the go-to expert for them on that topic.”

Do you recommend transcription as a side hustle?

“If you know what side hustles are available out there and have chosen this one because you already have the skills and enjoy it, then yes, sure. There’s a lot of demand for transcriptionists these days, and you can get started by signing up to websites connecting employers with freelancers and start pitching.”

“Once you do a great job for a few clients, get reviews and get better at this, you will build your portfolio, will know who your ideal client is and how to reach out to them, and can grow your income. You can also increase your prices as you see fit. The more experienced you are and the better your success score on the platform is, the more clients will find you and want to work with you.”

Related Read: 30+ Ways to Make Extra Money: From Side Hustle to Full-Time Gigs

As work from home professionals, we all make our share of mistakes, can you share a few with us and how you worked around them?

“I treated my blog as a hobby for too long. I started with a wordpress.com website instead of a self-hosted one. Once I switched to a self-hosted, I was using a bad hosting provider for around 2 years.”

“I also waited too long to start taking courses and learning from experts. Once I did, I could really see what I was doing wrong, and that insider knowledge was priceless. Now I know that each program I invest in can pay off tenfold once I really grasp the valuable lessons and techniques in it and apply them to my business.” 

“I was also afraid of selling, afraid of raising my prices, afraid of being on social media and showing more of my personality and connecting with people. Ultimately, these fears were pointless and only slowed down my journey. But it’s okay as long as you’re aware of what’s stopping you and are constantly trying to get out of your comfort zone.”

Where can we go to learn more?

Head over to Let’s Reach Success to know more about blogging. You can follow her at Twitter and Instagram.