My First Month Blogging in a Skiing & Travel Niche: Real Stats, How Much I Made, & More

Hi there! My name is Sydney and welcome to my blog, The Après Society! I cover a variety of travel and skiing related topics, as these are my passions in life, and I am so excited and fulfilled to be writing about them. I hope this blog makes your life just a little bit better either with travel hacks, outfit inspiration, or just pure entertainment.

Today, December 24th, 2025, marks my first month of blogging. I started this blog after HOURS of time on ChatGPT trying to find my “calling” in life because in general, I am not feeling like the standard 9-5 is my calling in life (is it anyone’s?!). I have always dreamed of owning my own business, having the freedom the travel, and also experiencing financial freedom, because, hello, I have expensive taste (lol).

My First Month Blogging: The Après Society

Anyways, after a lot of self reflection, I decided on a blog. I have tried social media, but it didn’t really stick, and I didn’t love the idea of having my face be my brand. I also enjoy writing so I thought I would try more long form content.

I also told myself I am sticking to this consistently no matter what for one year. So here I am, diving into the world of blogging, and boy oh boy, have I learned a lot in just one month!!

This is not my typical content, but I thought I would share for any other bloggers who are just getting started and wanted real numbers to compare to. Some bloggers talk about how they made thousands of dollars in their first month blogging, and the reality is, that not most of us out there who are just starting out.

At the end you will find my real stats for my first month blogging.

After my first month blogging about skiing and travel, I wanted to take a step back, reflect on what I’ve learned, and share everything: the good and the bad. If you’re thinking about starting your own travel blog, especially in the skiing niche, I hope this gives you some insight and maybe even a little inspiration.

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Why I Started a Ski & Travel Blog

The idea of blogging has always fascinated me. Not just for the potential to make money, but because it’s a creative outlet. I wanted a space where I could combine my two passions: skiing and travel. Skiing isn’t just a hobby; it’s a lifestyle. From waking up early to catch the first lift to exploring remote mountain towns, to the après outfits, the experiences are unforgettable, and skiing is one of my true passions in life.

But I also noticed a gap online. There are plenty of ski blogs and especially travel blogs, but few that really blend both in a practical, approachable way. I wanted to share not just my adventures, but actionable tips for people planning ski trips, from packing guides to lodging recommendations to insider hacks I’ve learned over years of travel.

Starting a blog isn’t just about sharing experiences, it’s about building a resource people trust and actually want to return to. And, yes, the first month is a whirlwind of excitement, mistakes, and learning curves.

Setting Up the Blog: Tools, Platform, and Branding

Choosing a Platform

I went with WordPress because it’s flexible, scalable, and widely supported. I considered Squarespace and Wix, which are more beginner-friendly, but WordPress offers more options for SEO, plugins, and monetization later on. Also, if I ever want to get accepted into Medicine or another ad agency, I need to have a self-hosted website, and WordPress is by far the best option. Make sure it’s WordPress.org not WordPress.com.

Domain & Branding

Picking a name was surprisingly hard. I wanted something that felt personal but professional. After a few late-night brainstorming sessions, I landed on a name that encapsulates curated travel experiences with a focus on skiing. Branding isn’t just about a logo; it’s about how people perceive your content. I chose clean fonts, a consistent color palette, and imagery that evokes adventure in the mountains. Hence, The Après Society was born!

Hosting & Website Setup

I went with a reliable hosting provider, Bluehost with easy WordPress integration. In the first month, I learned the importance of site speed. A slow website can kill your SEO before you even start. Optimizing images and using a caching plugin made a noticeable difference.

I also chose a WordPress template from Hearten Made. I can’t say enough good things about the template itself, the troubleshooting resources, and the help from Carissa herself when I was stuck. I will admit I tried creating a home decor blog about a year ago and I ultimately gave up because I just COULD NOT understand WordPress. Hearten Made’s templates use Kadence which has made the site building process MUCH more user friendly.

Pro Tip: Set your image resolution to medium, not large. It will still look the same on a phone or desktop, but it will improve your blog’s speed.

Creating Content: Choosing Topics and Finding Your Voice

Once the blog was set up, the real work began: writing posts. The first month was all about experimentation. Here’s what I focused on:

Picking Your First Topics

I started with topics I knew would resonate:

• “How to Travel More with a Full-Time Job: PTO Hacks, Holiday Stacking, & Smart Planning”
• “Beginner’s Guide to Ski Trips: What to Know Before You Go”
• “10 Genius Travel Hacks I Learned Working In Luxury Travel”

These posts are actionable and evergreen, which means people will search for them year-round. That’s an important strategy for building traffic in the long term.

Finding Your Voice

I wanted my blog to feel personal and approachable. Instead of writing like an encyclopedia, I wrote like I was talking to a friend planning their first ski trip. This makes readers feel connected, and it keeps me motivated to keep writing.

Lessons Learned in Content Creation

Evergreen content wins: Posts with long-term value tend to perform better in search engines than trend-based content.

Consistency matters: Even in the first month, I committed to posting twice a week. It’s a habit and also signals to search engines that your site is active. I have a content calendar to keep me motivated and on track to stay consistent.

Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest: Pinterest is really the only social media platform I am focusing on currently for a few reasons.

Visuals are key: Skiing is a visually stunning activity. High-quality photos make posts more engaging and shareable. Luckily, I am able to pull from my own personal archive for pictures!

Canva: Canva is where I make all of my pins for Pinterest. I have the Canva Pro subscription, and I can say it is absolutely worth the money. I am focusing on creating eye-catching and value adding pins since my current goal is to maximize pin clicks and outbound activity from Pinterest to grow traffic to my blog.

SEO Basics: Making Sure People Can Find You

One of the scariest parts of blogging for me was SEO. But I quickly realized it’s not as scary as it sounds! It’s just a mix of strategy and habit.

Keyword Research

I used tools like Semrush and Google Keyword Planner to find terms people are searching for in the skiing and travel niche. Examples:

• “Best ski resorts for beginners”
• “Packing for a ski trip”
• “Luxury ski travel tips”

Including these phrases naturally in my posts helps search engines understand what my content is about.

On-Page SEO

Things like headings, meta descriptions, alt text for images, and internal links make a huge difference. In my first month, I focused on:

Linking to other posts on my blog to keep readers exploring

Using H1, H2, and H3 headings properly

Including at least one keyword in the first 100 words

I use Yoast, the free version, to learn what I need to improve in each blog post. I may upgrade to the pro version later, but for now the free version seems to be sufficient.

Technical SEO

Site speed, mobile optimization, and clean URLs are essential. Even small tweaks, like compressing images, can boost your site’s performance.

Google Analytics and Google Site Kit are the best tools to learn how your site is performing. Many sites on WordPress come with JetPack installed. I learned from blogger By Sophia Lee that this plug-in just slows your site down, so I uninstalled it, and I will say I think this had made my site faster.

Google Analytics allows me to track blog traffic, bounce rates, and user behavior helped me make decisions:

• Which posts people read most
• How long they stayed on the page
• What keywords brought them to the site

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Monetization Thoughts: Early Ideas

Monetization is on the horizon, but in month one, it wasn’t my focus. However, I did consider:

• Affiliate marketing: Ski gear, travel insurance, booking platforms. I have a few affiliate links on my site.
• Sponsored posts: Once traffic grows, brands in the ski and travel niche I could collaborate with.
• Ad revenue: Platforms like Mediavine or AdThrive are long-term goals once I hit traffic thresholds.

The key is to focus on building a valuable resource and engaged community first, then my hope is monetization naturally follows.

And yes, the grand total that I have made in my first month of blogging is… drumroll please… $0.78! Obviously, this is nothing, but I had no expectations for this months. The money came from an affiliate link.

Challenges & Mistakes in the First Month

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Some lessons came the hard way:

1. Underestimating time: Each post took hours to research, write, format, and edit. Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. I also learned that most ad agencies want long form content (aka 2000+ words), so I have had to go back and edit many of my posts to be longer than 2000 words.
2. Overthinking design: I spent too much time tweaking colors and fonts instead of focusing on content.
3. Expecting instant results: SEO takes time. First-month traffic was low, but that’s normal. Patience is key. My hope is the Pinterest and Google algorithms start to push my content out more in the coming months as they gain trust in my blog and content.
4. Not planning enough: A content calendar would have saved me stress and kept me more consistent.

Mistakes are part of the learning curve. The trick is to adjust quickly and move on. I have been watching a lot of Youtube and reading other bloggers’ posts to try to learn as much as I can about SEO and growing my blog organically.

First Month Blogging Statistics

So far I have 17 blog posts up on my website, and here are the statistics I have to show for it for my first month blogging:

• Sessions: 148
  • Large ad agencies look for 50,000+ monthly sessions, so I have a long ways to go, and that number seems out of reach right now, but I hope to look back someday and see how far I’ve come!
• Active Users: 55
• Pinterest Impressions: 12.7k
• Pinterest Outbound Clicks: 31
• Pinterest Engagements: 827

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Tips for New Ski & Travel Bloggers

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, here’s my advice after month one:

1. Start before you’re ready: Don’t wait for the perfect design or perfect knowledge. Launching is better than perfecting endlessly.
2. Focus on value: Solve problems for readers. Evergreen content works best.
3. Be consistent: Posting regularly signals both readers and search engines that your blog is active.
4. Invest in visuals: Photos and videos make your content shareable and credible.
5. Learn SEO basics early: Even simple strategies make a difference in long-term traffic.
6. Track and adapt: Analytics are your best friend. They tell you what works and what doesn’t.
7. Build community: Networking with other bloggers and sharing your journey grows both traffic and connections.

Final Thoughts: First Month Blogging Reflections

My first month blogging about skiing and travel has been a mix of excitement, frustration, and small victories. I’ve learned that blogging is about patience, persistence, and providing value. Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint! Traffic might start small, and mistakes will happen, but every post is a building block toward a resource people trust and return to.

If you’re considering starting a blog, I encourage you to take the plunge. Even the first month is a treasure trove of lessons, experiences, and growth. And for fellow ski enthusiasts? Sharing your passion for mountains, powder, and adventure can resonate with an audience that’s just waiting for authentic, actionable advice.

The journey has only begun, and I’m already planning the next month’s posts, improvements, and strategies. One thing is clear: the mountains are calling, and my blog is ready to answer.

For more blog posts, visit my blog page.