8 Personal Development Blog Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Start A Personal Development Blog

Personal development blogs teach readers activities designed to improve their talents, potential, employability, and wealth.

Here are important tips to help your personal development blog stand out:

  • Create a catchy title
  • Be truthful to your audience
  • Expect and know how to deal with criticism
  • Market your blog on social media
  • Post new content often
  • Plan your content ahead

Here are some real life success stories of starting a personal development blog:

1. Dean Bokhari ($1.44M/year)

Dean Bokhari, founder of DeanBokhari.com, was working as a marketer for a tobacco company until he had an emotional breakdown and decided to pursue meaningful work. After years of personal development and taking action, he started sharing what he had learned through writing, podcasting, and speaking, which eventually led him to start his membership platform. Now, with over half a million readers and monthly revenues exceeding $100,000, Dean is helping others improve their lives and achieve their goals.

How much they make: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 17

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How I Started A $100K/Month Membership Platform Focused On Self-Improvement

Founder Dean Bokhari shares how he launched a membership platform focused on self-improvement, generating over $100,000 per month in revenue, attracting customers via high-quality content, guest blogging and Facebook ads, with plans to grow to $1,000,000 per month over the next 3-5 years.

About
Dean started Dean Bokhari about 3 years ago
Revenue
Dean grew the business to $120K/month
Costs
It cost Dean $5000 to start the business
Read by 7,338 founders

2. You Be Relentless ($48K/year)

Khoa Bui, the founder of YouBeRelentless, came up with the idea for his business after a cancer scare in 2016 made him rethink his life. He decided to start a business he was passionate about, focusing on entrepreneurship and personal development, and began writing articles, conducting interviews, and creating videos to share valuable tips and information with his audience. Since then, his website has seen significant growth, with over 100k views every few months.

How much they make: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
Current team size: 5

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How I Started A $4K/Month Website About Entrepreneurship And Personal Development

A CEO shares how he generates $4k a month from his business, YouBeRelentless, which is an online resource that provides tips on entrepreneurship and personal development, by focusing on passion, content, and that career growth takes time.

Revenue
Khoa grew the business to $4K/month
Costs
It cost Khoa $200 to start the business
Read by 5,335 founders

So... can you actually make money with a personal development blog?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

3. The Holistic Enchilada ($96K/year)

Delilah Orpi started her blog, The Holistic Enchilada, in 2017 as a side project while working as a full-time teacher. After finding success with a post about her curly hair routine, she decided to focus on the curly hair niche. With the help of blogging courses and her expertise in clean beauty, Delilah has grown her blog to earn an average of $7,000 a month in revenue.

How much they make: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $250
Current team size: 2

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How I Make $96K/Year As A Beauty Blogger

Delilah Orpi's blog "The Holistic Enchilada" is making up to $7,000 a month in revenue through sales of digital products, display ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts in the niche market of clean beauty and curly hair, with a focus on retaining customers through email marketing and SEO.

About
Delilah started The Holistic Enchilada over 6 years ago
Revenue
Delilah grew the business to $8K/month
Costs
It cost Delilah $250 to start the business
Read by 3,415 founders

4. Katie Goes Platinum ($72K/year)

Katie Emery, founder of KatieGoesPlatinum.com, came up with the idea for her business after deciding to embrace her gray hair and noticing a lack of information and products available for women going through the same transition. Within a few months of starting her blog, she earned $500 in ad revenue, and two years later, her site consistently averages $6,000 per month in revenue.

How much they make: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 1

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How I Started A $6K/Month Blog To Help Women Transitioning From Dyed Hair To Natural Gray Hair

Katie Emery founded KatieGoesPlatinum.com, a website advising women on how to transition from dyed hair to their natural gray hair, which earns an average of $6,000 per month in revenue through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and advertisements.

About
Katie started Katie Goes Platinum over 5 years ago
Revenue
Katie grew the business to $6K/month
Costs
It cost Katie $500 to start the business
Read by 10,721 founders

So... can you actually make money with a personal development blog?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

5. Radical FIRE ($72K/year)

Marjolein Dilven, the founder of Radical FIRE, came up with the idea for her personal finance platform after googling "how to retire early" and discovering the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement. Despite starting with a negative net worth and no previous writing experience, Dilven consistently published content and eventually learned about SEO, which helped her attract more traffic to her website. Today, Radical FIRE generates around $6,000 in monthly revenue and has over 100,000 monthly pageviews, all organic.

How much they make: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $180
Current team size: 2

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How I Started A $6K/Month Personal Finance Media Platform For Women

Radical FIRE, a personal finance platform run by women for women, has grown to $6,000 in monthly revenue and 100,000 monthly pageviews with no ads, 120% more than last year, while founder Marjolein Dilven also gets to live her dream life of traveling the world after quiting her job to work on Radical FIRE full-time.

About
Marjolein started Radical FIRE about 5 years ago
Revenue
Marjolein grew the business to $6K/month
Costs
It cost Marjolein $180 to start the business
Read by 1,428 founders