Shelley Marmor didn’t begin her blogging journey with instant success or industry connections, she started like many others do, from noting. After spending 15 years in corporate businesses in the US, Shelley launched her first travel blog in April 2020 and struggled through the early months without earning anything. But she stuck with it, taught herself how to grow and monetize, and eventually expanded into four different travel blogs and one separate blog (about blogging!), which grew to bringing in an average of $55,688 per month.
From Dresses With Pockets to Digital Products
Shelley’s first business venture was a dropshipping store selling dresses with pockets, though the concept addressed a niche demand, the passion just wasn’t there. When lockdowns hit in early 2020, sales collapsed entirely. Living in Mexico at the time and inspired by her own solo travel experiences, Shelley launched Travel Mexico Solo to help other women explore the country on their own.
Her first year blogging brought in no income, but in 2021, she purchased a $1,000 blogging course, and within that same year, she earned $8,490. That experience helped solidify her approach: invest in learning, test strategies, and scale intentionally, by 2022, her blogging revenue jumped to $272,769 gross ($177,325 net), marking a 3,113% year-on-year increase.
Building the Business and Teaching Others
After her income took off, Shelley began documenting her methods. She launched Travel Blogging 101, a site focused on helping other bloggers achieve six-figure results, Shelley the created and self-produced several affordable digital courses, the most popular being Affiliate Marketing 101, which sells for $49.
Her courses are built using Canva for slides and Loom for video recording and editing, she hosts them on ThriveCart, a platform that allows one-time payments and avoids ongoing subscription costs. In her first six months as a course creator, she generated over $48,000 in revenue from coaching, teaching, and product sales, all without spending a cent on ads.
I’d say the biggest lesson I learned is that I can’t do it all…while I still have some of that “if you want it done right, do it yourself” mentality floating around in my subconscious, I have learned to quiet it because “done is better than perfect
Shelley Marmor
Scaling Content and Traffic Without Social Media
Shelley attributes much of her success to a focus on SEO rather than social platforms, her blogging sites bring in significant organic traffic, with TravelBlogging101.com generating close to 5,000 monthly pageviews just four months after launch.
A live Master Class hosted via Zoom became her entry point into selling courses. Initially uncertain about how her teaching would be received, Shelley was surprised when her first class sold out and the second quickly followed. From there, she created a Facebook group that grew to over 1,200 members in five months, giving her a direct channel to promote new offerings and build community.
She also maintains a weekly email newsletter with open rates between 45% and 60%, this newsletter has become a key sales driver for courses and coaching, often prompting direct inquiries for more learning opportunities.
Streamlining With Systems and a Team
Today, Shelley operates her business with the help of a blog manager, three freelance writers, an editor, a VA, a data analyst, and an accountant. Her operations are largely delegated, allowing her to focus on growth strategies and course development. Most of her revenue remains passive, with her top-performing blog Travel Mexico Solo averaging 300,000 monthly pageviews and bringing in over $40,000 per month.
Her tool stack includes WordPress for her sites, Lyrical Host for hosting, NameSilo for domains, and plugins like Rank Math, WP Rocket, and ShortPixel for optimization. Email is managed via ConvertKit, and affiliate performance is tracked through Affilimate, which she calls the most useful tool for serious affiliate marketers.
If there was one big lesson that I know I needed to hear, it was this: GET STARTED. If you’re reading this and you so want to be your own boss, work in your PJs, and never use an alarm clock again.
Shelley Marmor
Advice and Lessons For The Future
Shelley emphasizes the importance of taking imperfect action, she said that “done is better than perfect” which I think we can all agree with, and it encourages new founders to get started even if conditions aren’t ideal. She also stresses financial tracking as key to running a true business rather than a hobby, keeping meticulous records that have made her accountant’s job much easier!
She advises against using the cheapest tools and services just to save money, recounting her own experience with a low-cost web host that created more problems than it solved. She also believes that trying to do everything alone can limit growth, and credits her current success to building a reliable team.
Looking forward, Shelley plans to expand her course offerings, continue growing her email list, and explore new monetization strategies, for those considering blogging as a business, her story illustrates that with consistency, structure, and a willingness to invest in learning (which may feel hard at the time), it is possible to grow a multi-six-figure operation from scratch.
