As a reporter who worked for years covering personal finance for other websites, I was ready to start writing for my own website. Two things motivated me: To make money on my own as an entrepreneur with my writing, and to cover the topics I wanted to cover in a way I wanted to cover and write about them.

What I learned about money

It has been an interesting year for me and Add-Vodka. Financially, the site is doing well, though my goal in 2016 is for the site’s income to double. Income is a good thing for websites, because creating quality content takes time, and I like to be paid for my time working on this site.

I won’t go into the specific numbers because I want to keep them private, but after paying for the site and the expenses of a tech consultant and a virtual assistant, Add-Vodka turned a profit in November.

My plan was to put all of the income each month either back into the business by hiring writers, and to put the money that was coming in toward paying myself back for the money I took out of our savings account to pay for the initial purchase. The payback was complete in November, and I’m now focusing on increasing income and looking to hire more writers and keep my assistant busy.

Making money blogging

Before I bought Add-Vodka, the site made money with sponsored posts and didn’t have ads.

I’ve continued with sponsored posts, and have had limited success with advertisements on the site. Most of the ads on Add-Vodka are affiliate ads, meaning I get money if a reader clicks through on the ad and buys something.

These aren’t working too well for me, so I’ll soon be getting rid of the ones that don’t work. I think the site is pretty clean looking as it is, but fewer ads will make it look less cluttered. I also like to only run ads that I think will be of service to my readers and are related to personal finance.

By having sponsored posts, I’ve learned that it’s important to only have quality sponsored posts that are beneficial to readers and don’t go far off the mark of what Add-Vodka is about.

For example, months ago we accidentally allowed a sponsored post to run that linked to a gambling website. That’s not a personal finance strategy we support, so the post was removed soon thereafter.

Website changes

When I first got my hands on Add-Vodka, one of the first things I wanted to do was change the look. It looked a little dated and I wanted something that was easier to view and had a cleaner look.

A website crash created an opportunity to change the website theme, which a tech expert helped change.

While I don’t think the site is perfect, I like the cleaner look and think articles are easier to find and make blogging easier.

We’ve also expanded our use of Add-Vodka’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The Twitter page, in fact, is new this year and helps get the word out about what other personal finance bloggers are doing.

Given how popular our blogging slogan is — When Life Gives You Lemons, Add Vodka — we opened an online store in 2015 to sell shirts, bumper stickers, hoodies, coffee mugs and much more with our logo and slogan on them. We’re hoping to expand the store’s offerings this year.

Blogging topics

One of the biggest things I learned after a year of blogging and owning Add-Vodka.com is an obvious one: writing posts that matter.

Before I bought the site, it was a tale of the owner’s personal journey into her finances. That was something readers were really interested in, but as a new owner, I couldn’t continue her story.

My main goal was to use my reporting and writing skills to bring personal finance stories to the site that would help readers with their personal finances. I didn’t want the blog to be about my finances, but about money tips that could help people in their everyday lives.

The difficulty is coming up with unique content that isn’t repeated on every other personal finance website out there. I’ve tired to publish unique content that’s informative and interesting, but admit I haven’t always hit the mark.

One way I plan on doing that in 2016 is to write less often. In trying to find the sweet spot between too many posts per week and too few, I erred on the side of having too many posts, I think.

Some weeks I had three or more posts up. This can give readers a lot of options and a reason to come back often. But unless the posts are well thought out and full of awesome content, then they’re a waste of time. My goal this year is to only write when I really have something to say, and not just write for the sake of having something new posted.

Thanks for helping make 2015 a success, and please let us know how we’re doing and how we can improve in 2016.

What I Learned in a Year of Blogging is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Hey all and welcome to the first edition of our Friday Faves!

Aaron and I thought it would be fun to put together a quick little post every other Friday to let you in on what else we’ve been up to (as far as writing goes), and let you know which articles by our personal finance blogger friends we’ve found to be helpful, enlightening, or just plain fun!

Without further delay, here are some of our fave personal finance posts from around the web.

How I plan to retire at 28 using dividend income – Canadian Budget Binder – This post was an eye-opener. It’s always amazing and inspiring to read about people who have such lofty goals and great plans to achieve them.

Update: January 2015 Budget & Goals – Blonde on a Budget – We love this post from Cait because she totally killed her January budget and goals! Who doesn’t love a post like that?!

Detoxing Your Budget – Plunged in Debt – Catherine talks about how she’s come to realize her spending triggers and tells us what she does to beat them and stay on budget. My favorite line: “If you have to justify a purchase, you probably don’t need it.”

Tax Tips for Self-Employed Workers – Diversified Finances – I pretty much love every post Michelle puts together for her site (probably because I’m working hard to have a diverse income myself). This one is packed full of tips to help you figure out what to do when filing your 2014 taxes.

What Would You Do With an Extra $470/month? – Frugal Rules – John tells us the average amount most Americans spend on a car payment is$470/month. By saving up and paying for you car in cash, or not always upgrading when you don’t need to, you can use this money for a lot of other things. What would you use it for?

Our Personal Finance Work:

Aaron and I aren’t slackers. Both of us are constantly working and writing for a variety of websites about personal finance. Here are just a few places you can find some of our latest works.

Being a Pack Rat is Expensive – Cash Smarter – A great post that lets you know just how much your clutter may be costing you.

Preparing your Kids for the Cost of Driving – Money Propeller – Educating your kids about how money affects everything in life is important. In this guest post, Aaron talks about the costs you should point out to your kids when they get ready to hit the road on their own.

Understanding the Health Care Reform – Budget Blonde – I try to de-mystify some of the confusion surrounding the Affordable Care Act in this post, but overall it’s still pretty hard to understand.

Another One Bites the Dust – Shoeaholicnomore – Another debt on my list is officially gone and two months ahead of schedule! I also talk about my debt payoff plan going forward.

That’s it for this week’s personal finance roundup. We hope you have a great weekend!

Friday Faves: Best Personal Finance Posts is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

First, the basics: I recently acquired the site from Sarah, who has gone on to other endeavors. I’m grateful for her confidence in me to continue the outstanding work she has done on Add Vodka. I’m also grateful that you, the readers, enjoy Add Vodka, and I plan on providing more personal finance fun.

You can read a little more about me on the About page. I’m a freelance journalist and I write for other personal finance websites on everything from how to teach your kids about money to real estate, auto insurance, life insurance, retirement, saving money and investing. I write for AOL, WiseBread, and a host of other sites.

With Add Vodka, I want to turn my knowledge of personal finances, along with input from expert sources, into stories that will help readers improve their money habits while enjoying a fun read.

My financial situation is a lot different than Sarah’s, so I don’t expect to offer as many first-person insights into my financial life. I don’t have a ton of debt. But, like many people, I struggle to pay the bills and I’m constantly trying to learn new ways to improve my financial life.

Growing Add Vodka as a personal finance site

Where will we go? Add Vodka will continue offering a look into how we can all learn from how different people deal with money. What I hope to expand upon is telling tales that go beyond what you can find at every other personal finance blog. Some of the basics will sneak in from time to time so that even people with a rudimentary understanding of personal finance will find something worth their time.

In the coming weeks and months, Add Vodka will be adding categories such as real estate, retirement, college and other areas of personal finance. We’ll also add more stories in categories that are a little sparse, giving readers a range of personal finance topics to choose from.

And when I say “we,” I mean myself and Kayla, the blog manager of Add Vodka. You’ll see her byline often. I’d like to have guest posts, so if you’re a good writer and you want to write for the site (for free for now; I can only offer a link in return), please contact me at aaron@add-vodka.com. If you have a business and would like to have a sponsored post on Add Vodka, please use our Contact form to do this type of advertising with us.

Even more than that, I’d be thrilled to hear from readers on what types of stories they’d like to see at Add Vodka. Please reach out to me through the email above, commenting on this post, our Facebook page, Google+, or our new Twitter handle, @AddVodkadotcom.

Where Add Vodka Goes Next as a Personal Finance Website is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.