Meet the Blogger- Dawn from PetFaves and The Moonlighting Blogger

There are many times I feel like the only person who works a day job and tries to blog on the side especially when it feels like I’m struggling. I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. Meet the Blogger is a series to help you see you are not alone by letting you meet other bloggers like you- working to build a successful blog while working a full-time job.

And to begin- here is me!!

Tell us a little bit about your offline life and work.

I’m Dawn. I live in Northeast Pennsylvania where I work as a cancer registrar. My job entails collecting data on the patients that come to our hospital and that data is used to improve patient care and outcomes at my facility, in my state, and nationwide. I’m proud of what I do and feel like I’m helping to fight cancer behind the scenes

Pets are my passion and I share my home with my two standard poodles, my six cats, my four birds, and a chinchilla. They are also the inspiration for my blog.

Are you currently working full-time while blogging or have you been able to transition from full-time job to full-time blogger?

I am currently working full-time while building my blog

PetFaves screenshot

Why and how did you get into blogging?

I started my blog, now called PetFaves, in 2007. I was working for an online pet retailer and because of the pet products I had available to me, I decided to start a pet product review site. Then three months after I started my blog the owners sold the business to another online pet retailer that was in another state. Not only did I lose my job but I lost my inspiration and access to so many pet products for my blog. Unfortunately, that seemed to set the tone with my blog and I have worked at it on and off over the years.

What is your goal with your blog?

My ultimate goal is to make an income from my blog. Just before COVID hit, I was really working on my blog and starting to see traffic build and some income from the blog. Then overtime stopped at my job. I needed to work a side job to make ends meet so I lost momentum, but just seeing a glimpse of what is possible makes me know I can get it income producing. My goal is to have it make enough income to supplement my day job and then enough income to supplement my retirement income so that I can retire at an early enough age and not have to work into my late 60s and 70s.

How close are you to your goal?

I do make some income from my blog. I also do some print on demand-Merch by Amazon and Zazzle that brings in a little income too but all that income is probably only double digits.

What is the biggest challenge you have blogging while working a full-time job?

I think the biggest challenge for me is like a lot of other bloggers who work full-time jobs. It’s finding the time to make blogging consistently happen.

What is something you are proud to have accomplished on your blog while working a full-time job?*

I think I’m proud of what I’ve learned while blogging I’ve learned a lot of like them back and tweaking because I haven’t had the money to pay his people to do stuff so I’m proud that I can Google something and fix something on my blog but I would love to make enough money from it so they could pay somebody to fix the stuff and spend more time on the content.

How do you stay motivated to work on your blog?

Sometimes motivation is hard to find, especially when time is limited. I try to keep my goal in my head. I do try to make blogging more of a habit so that when my motivation does wane I still work on it

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to blog while working a full-time job?

My best advice for somebody who’s trying to blog while working a full-time job is to not get stuck on perfection. Trying to be perfect can eat up a lot of time and, honestly, most of the time we are the only ones worried about having things just right. Our readers want the information. They don’t care about specific wording. It’s better to put yourself and your work out there. You can always go back and make it “perfect” later.

Is there any other info you would like to share with readers?

I started The Moonlighting Blogger because I know there are other bloggers who find it hard to blog when a good chunk of your day belongs to someone else. I know how hustle culture can wear you down and make it seem impossible. And I know how it is to find a community of people who truly understand. Please come join me in the Moonlighting Bloggers Facebook community where we can all support each other.

Where else can people find you online?

You can also find Pet Faves on Facebook and Pinterest

Are you a blogger trying to build your blog while working a full-time job?

I’d love to feature you and your blog in Meet the Blogger! Just head over and answer the question on the form.

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