Blogger Confessions #30: Todd from InvestedWallet.com

Happy Saturday and welcome to the 30th episode of the 'Blogger Confessions' interview series on the blog. Today, I'm bringing in Todd from Invested Wallet to talk about blogging and how they've managed to keep everything straight as a personal finance blogger.

Todd, take it away.

Blogger Confessions with Todd from InvestedWallet.com

1: In at least 100 words, describe the target audience of your blog.

I started Invested Wallet this past June to not only share my journey, but help provide information on personal finance and investing for beginners and beyond.

There are a lot of great blogs and websites about finances, but I found it hard to relate to some of the stories.

Many bloggers retired early, pull six-figure incomes, or had some serious advantages to get them where they are. Nothing wrong with that and those blogs do provide some great insight. But, I noticed in comments on articles and in general, audiences seemed to have a harder time relating.

Being that I had zero background in finances and investing prior to 2014 and self-educated myself with some decent results, I’m hoping to be more relatable and write content for those who don’t know where to start.

2: What makes your blog different from other blogs in the PF blogosphere?

There are many blogs about personal finance, investing, and money that there will of course be some overlap in ideas and topics. It’s inevitable. But, the way to really stand out is to show your personality and transparency.

I go into a bit of detail in my about me page, from mistakes, reasons for caring about finances, some of my results, and what you’ll find on Invested Wallet.

Not everyone will like my style or my ideas, and that’s okay. You can’t please everyone, but readers want to feel a connection to a real person doing real things.

Additionally, transparency is important. I know many bloggers like to be anonymous, which can work too. But I like to be as open as possible (I do have some things I keep private though) so people can trust and be comfortable knowing I’m not hiding anything.

One last thing to add is I currently write once a week, every week. I have a consistent schedule of articles that are generally never less than 1200 words.

Long and detailed, of course, are my bread and butter, that I think add way more value to the reader.

3: What’s the thing that you’ve struggled with the most since starting your blog?

I think finding the time to write more than 1x post a week. I run marketing for a start-up company that takes up a lot of time and I focus a lot on content marketing. Writing can be mentally draining as much fun as it is.

I also write blog posts that range from 1200-2,000 words usually, as I like to write in-depth and detailed articles. I have a huge backlog of content ideas that get me really excited, but I’m also managing all the growth of the site too.

Currently, I’m getting in a good rhythm down and flow, so hoping to be able to get two posts out a week soon and stick with that.  

4: Do you publish your net worth on your blog? Why or why not?

I actually haven’t along with any income reports like many bloggers do.

I know this may be counter to above where I talk about transparency, but I don’t like the idea of sharing every bit of my income on the site.

Of course, if anyone asks I’m happy to share my salary and I think at one point I may write about it, maybe as a yearly progress report instead of every month.

I am fine with sharing net worth and have on the Rockstar Finance directory, but I have not on my blog.

5: Have you monetized your blog (ads, affiliate marketing, etc)? Why or why not?

Somewhat, but not too much yet.

While blogging about personal finance is a passion, my goal is to potentially turn this into my own business. Whether it’s working full-time or just a passive income machine, I want this side hustle to have revenue to potential to elevate my own financial goals.

Right now, I have some affiliate marketing in place and also working on some sponsored posts and brand partnerships. Not bad considering the site is not even a year old.

I do not work with any ad networks yet as I’m more focused on growing the blog and writing.

Eventually, I may add some minor advertisements, but ones that do not dominate every section of the blog or hurt the user experience.

6: Would you rather be loved, hated or controversial? Explain, please!

While I think all three have their potential benefits to start a conversation, I think I’d rather be mixed of loved and controversial.

Loved because you can make some genuine connections to readers, become friends with other bloggers, and I believe when you put good energy out you get that energy in return.

I also like a bit of controversy, something that may go against the norm without being aggressive to make you hated. This can start conversations, drive engagement, and show you are thinking outside of the norms.

Of course, I don’t think you should be controversial on every blog post just for the sake of starting something for clicks.

7: Who would you be horrified to know read your blog?

No one, really. I stand by everything I’ve written and it’s out in the public space already, it’s expected people will probably find it if they know me. And while I’m transparent, I’m not giving away my most embarrassing childhood stories for all to know.

8: What’s your most favorite, least favorite and most embarrassing post on your blog?

I try to put out only my very best content, but one of my favorites is Financial Freedom Is Not About Money, It’s About Living Your Best Life. This one also recently got syndicated on Rockstar Finance, which was pretty cool. But, I think the message of my post holds true and it was also one of my favorites to write.

I don’t think I have a least favorite or most embarrassing post yet. Maybe in a few years I’ll look back and cringe, but right now I’m proud off all my posts.

Some might not be as strong as others, but they all hold value to me and hopefully to the audience.

9: Explain your writing process

I use good ol’ Google Sheets with a tab of ideas and keywords of topics I feel would be good to write about. Then I use ahrefs to do a little SEO digging, as well as Google and Quora searches to see what people are asking around those words.

Then I use a headline title tool and come up with some titles that would be great for engagement. I start with a title because based on the one I choose, it helps me formulate my outline of talking points.

After that research and outline, I start to crank out the content with the goal to always hit at least 1200 words. Sometimes I fall short a bit, which is okay.

Better to avoid adding fluff copy just to hit that number.

Once finished, I typically put it away for 24 hours and comeback to it to proofread and make some edits. After that, I get it all set-up in WordPress with images, spacing, etc. The whole process is probably 3-5 hours of work.

10: What is your favorite blog in the PF blogosphere (other than your own!)?

But I’m the best blog out there!

Just kidding. I actually like quite a few, but I have to give a shout out to Millennial Money first. Grant’s blog was one of the first I stumbled across and also started guest posting on before I started my own site. I also like The Savvy Couple, Four Pillar Freedom, and ESI Money.

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