My first $100 from blogging as a side hustle—this unexpected thing happened.

In 2022, I earned my first $100 from blogging as a side hustle. I used to think money could only come from business ventures or a salary from a job. That’s not to say I’m making a fortune from blogging now. But that experience brought something unexpected into my life.

Can you make money with a blog as a side hustle?

Even now in 2025, the internet shows us there are countless ways to make money. But the truth is, the situation was much the same back in 2021–22.

The truth is, among the various methods, I chose blogging because it seemed the easiest.

When I first encountered the idea that placing ads on my blog could generate income for me whenever visitors viewed or clicked on those ads, I found it hard to believe.

Can you really make money this way? I wasn’t 100% sure, but I couldn’t see any other way. I kept trying, and after earning my first $100 from blogging as a side hustle in 2022, my life began to change completely.

I thought only special people could make money blogging as a side hustle. What changed when I actually tried it wasn’t the income, but the direction of my life.

The Journey to Earning My First $100 Through Blogging as a Side Hustle (Sharing a Beginner’s Real-Life Experience)

Tistory Blog Journey

The crucial difference between Naver and Tistory blogs lies in whether you can place AdSense ads. Wanting to earn money through blogging as a side hustle, I started a Tistory blog while maintaining my Naver blog.

The total number of visitors to my Tistory blog in November 2021 was 122. It seems about 40 people visited my blog each day. In December, it was 651, and in January 2022, it was around 720.

At first, I was writing down my daily experiences with Facebook overseas affiliate marketing, but people didn’t seem very interested.

The time when visitors truly began to increase was when I started writing articles about methods to solve problems that people would be curious about. As I accumulated these articles, visitors gradually began to grow.

I finally began to understand that people search blog posts to find what they want, so I shifted my blog posts away from what I liked and toward helping people satisfy their curiosity.

And then, profits began to gradually increase.

The Key to Increasing Blog Visitors

• Focus on writing articles that answer people's questions rather than telling my own stories.
• Initially, focus on understanding keywords rather than traffic while consistently writing content.
• Even if profits are small and slow at first, establish a writing habit (routine).

AdSense Approval Process + Tips

I chose Tistory as my blog side hustle because it allowed me to place AdSense ads. However, to place AdSense ads on my blog, I need to get AdSense approval.

Many people have probably struggled a lot to get AdSense approval. I tried 20 times to get AdSense approval for one WordPress blog, so I understand that feeling better than anyone.

If you’re struggling to get AdSense approval, I highly recommend reading the post above, where I share the methods and tips I tried.

However, thankfully, I got approved on Tistory Blog on the first try. I applied in November 2021 and got approved in just two days.

I actually received my first $100 from my blog side hustle in July 2022. I got an email from Google AdSense like the one below.

And for the first time, I actually received money from a side hustle—blogging—rather than from a job.

I started my Tistory blog in November 2021 and received AdSense approval that same month, but it took a full eight months to reach the minimum payment threshold of $100 (NZ $130) under AdSense policies.

And the earnings I received were NZ $145.37, and regardless of the amount, the very fact that I could earn money this way was fascinating.

How to Start a Blog Side Hustle: A Simple Summary

• Tistory Blog (WordPress Blog) Membership Registration
• Consistently publish blog posts
• AdSense Approval Application
• Once approved, you will receive a letter containing a PIN number from AdSense.
• Address verification on the AdSense site
• Adding Ads to Blog Posts
• Revenue generation

Why My Life Changed After Starting a Blog Side Hustle

After earning my first side income from blogging, I feel my life has changed significantly. I used to only work at the office and rest at home, but now I’ve added blogging to that rest.

My life changed from lying on the sofa watching TV and YouTube to sitting at my desk for my blog. Three years have already passed since then.

In the meantime, I also ran a YouTube channel and tried my hand at affiliate marketing and purchasing services. I even published an ebook sharing my know-how on managing both Naver and Tistory.

I also tried out a new ad platform called Ezoic instead of the AdSense platform that everyone else uses.

I watched YouTube videos to find content that could help improve my own videos, and I also studied Canva, a design platform, for my blog and YouTube channel.

In other words, time outside of one’s main occupation began to transform into a life and time dedicated to creating content.

Since starting my blog as a side hustle, my perspective and thoughts on blogging have changed significantly, and I no longer focus solely on AdSense revenue.

To be honest, doing all these things hasn’t exactly led to consistent, substantial profits for me. I’m just trying out different ways to make money online, one by one.

The life change that surprises me the most is that I’ve developed a routine. I value the time outside my main job, and during that time, whether I’m reading books, studying, blogging, or creating content, I use that time for myself.

Even now, just seeing myself writing this before heading to work makes me marvel at myself. Back in the day, I’d probably have been lying on the couch watching YouTube.

Conclusion

Today I shared about my first $100 from blogging as a side hustle and the unexpected changes that came into my life afterward.

What I wanted to say is that blogging as a side hustle can definitely help your financial income. But what you should pay closer attention to is how it changes the way you approach your life.

In my experience, running a blog as a side hustle requires encountering and studying a vast amount of information—various news stories, people’s differing viewpoints, and much more. This seems to be helping me wake up to a world beyond my previous experience.

By observing the lives of successful people and striving to emulate them, I can recognize my own limitations and pursue a life dedicated to overcoming them. There’s a saying I like:

If you do nothing, nothing changes.

In my next post, I plan to share my thoughts and tips on AdSense approval, along with an article about affiliate marketing as another pipeline. If you’re interested, please visit again and be sure to read it.