What exactly is your job and how do you make money?

WHEW this question has been rolling into my Instagram inbox lately! So I thought I’d put a post together talking about my job, what I do, how I make any money, and a little bit about my career before I decided to pursue a passion and share about Walt Disney World on the internets.

Go get your coffee from the microwave and join me!

What’s My Job?

I like to think of myself as a Blogger. I know Influencer is the cool and trendy term now but I feel Inluencers have their lives together and wear more than sweatpants with saggy knees so we’ll stick with Blogger, HA!

I share and write about Walt Disney World in hopes that you’ll feel prepared for your Walt Disney World vacation! I like to share tips and tricks, live park stories, overviews of resort rooms and dining options, etc!

My job duties include writing blog posts, creating content for Instagram — whether that be Instagram posts, stories, reels, etc. I would say I spend a large portion of my day on Instagram creating and interacting. I get 100’s of Direct Messages each day and do my best to answer as many as I can.

To do my job I have to be in the parks quite often because wow things are ever-evolving at Walt Disney World — especially in the last year. So I do try to visit the parks once or twice a week.

I am SELF-EMPLOYED. Disney doesn’t pay me to do this. I’m my own boss and that means I am also sometimes my own worst enemy because If I don’t get things done, I don’t get paid! And if I dIdn’t make any money here I would be dusting off my old degree and joining the 9-5 workforce again.

Doing this job definitely costs money. I pay for my hotels and my meals and my annual pass, etc. So my goal is always to make enough money to pay for those things AND to help support my family as well.

So HOW Do I Make Money?!

Well! I have a few different income streams that all relate to what I do here.

They are:

Blog Ad Revenue

A couple of years ago I finally grew my pageviews enough to apply for an ad agency! This was a really exciting step for me! The minimum to apply was 25,000 sessions each month. When I first started displaying Ads on the blog, I only made a few dollars each day. But that’s definitely grown overtime!

The ads are the little images you see between paragraphs as you scroll and read posts! Just by reading my blog, you’re supporting me and helping me earn an income on the information I share!! So THANK YOU TO YOUR EYEBALLS. They are the real MVP here.

My goal is for the majority of my income to be made here on the blog. That’s definitely not the case right now but that’s a 5 year goal! 🙂

Affiliate Links

Another way I make money here is through Affiliate Links.

Affiliate Links are used when I share a product with you. Like my favorite sandals or fanny pack or the sweater I’m wearing, etc.

I make a very small commission on the item if you click through my link and purchase — it doesn’t cost you any extra either. The commissions are usually just a few pennies but it adds up! Especially when lots of people shop through my links.

I typically use this money to try new things at the parks.

BRB T-Shirt Sales

Earlier this year I launched BRB Tees!

I hired a really talented graphic designer to bring my sketches to life!! She is incredible and I love supporting her! Right now my designs are limited but you all supported me immensely when those t-shirts launched and I was absolutely so grateful for that.

I hope to have at least one new design each month in 2022. 🙂

You can always shop my tees right here!

Growing the shop is another big goal of mine!

Travel Agency Partnership

I partner with the owner of an incredible travel agency! Her team is full of amazing people that want to help you book your vacations.

When you book your vacations with Love of the Magic, I earn a small commission. These are paid to me when you complete your travel.

Jamie is an incredible partner. She has seen value in me even when I was a very small creator. She pays me fairly and is great to work with.

Thanks for supporting both of us by using her agency to book your vacations!

You can fill out a vacation quote request here!

Presets

And lastly, presets (my one click photo-edits)! I don’t really focus on presets anymore but they do still exist and I will still get a sale or two each day.

I would like to migrate my presets over to my Shop BRB page and offer a few preset packages for those that want them!

I was a side-hustle photographer in a past life so presets were a fun way to incorporate that into what I do here! I just have too many hats and I can’t wear them all — which is why presets have really been put on the back burner.

Here’s my preset shop if you’d like to check that out.

In the future I’d love to add more merch to my shop! Think throw blankets, stickers, stationary, things like that! I would also love to design a fanny pack one day. Or even wet bags to use at the parks, etc!

I’d also love to write e-books or create digital travel guides.

Maybe 2022 will be the year for me to focus on some of these different things.

Anyways! That’s how I make money here. 🙂

I’ll share a little bit about my past career now for those that are interested.

What Did I do before BRB & How did BRB Start?

I have a Masters degree in Information Systems and have a very techy background. Did you know that? I’m a computer geek and proud of it, baby! HAHA!

After college I worked in the corporate world for a large financial institution and a big insurance company.

I started as an Analyst, then I worked in Databases and wrote SQL reports, and finally worked my way to a Senior Technology Project Manager role! I worked with both the business side and the technology side to ensure technical projects were implemented smoothly around the world!

I actually used to travel to Europe for project implementations. Pretty cool, huh?!

I really enjoyed my job but it was a very very high stress environment. Our projects were massive and there was always too much work to do and not enough time to do it.

So when I was pregnant with my son, we made the decision that I wouldn’t return to work and would instead stay home with both of the kids once he was born. Childcare was expensive and I felt like I was missing out on those years with them.

We sold our fancy house to downsize to something we could afford without my salary. My son came along and I focused solely on the kids for a few months until I got that feeling that *something* was missing.

I missed having something to work on.

One day in the Dumbo queue I decided that maybe I could blog about Disney. I actually started blogging during college and shared about our home renovation projects! So blogging wasn’t something that was new to me but blogging about Disney certainly was.

What would I call this new endeavor? Well I like to go to Disney a lot, so how about BRB going to Disney? My husband wasn’t sure of the name but I went for it anyways. 🙂

That night I couldn’t even sleep. I created my own website, launched my Instagram page, and started writing during nap times and in the evenings and whenever I could squeeze it in.

I didn’t have anyone reading what I was writing but I kept going regardless. My hope was that one day I could grow an audience and share all of the random Disney knowledge that was inside my brain with others.

Fast forward 4 years and here I am today. Sharing Disney magic as my actual job.

My income ebbs and flows — some months I can pay the mortgage and the kid’s school tuition!! Others I may only cover my BRB expenses. But I’ve never felt so much joy in a job. I truly enjoy writing and sharing with you.

So thank you for being here. Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing me with your friends. Thanks for supporting all of my endeavors. And most importantly, thanks for making me think fanny packs are cool and trendy by “swiping up” on mine. 🙂

xoxox

Shannon