Bucket List Archives - The Atlas Heart

41 Best Things to do in Malibu, California [From Beaches to Hidden Local Spots]

March 24, 2023March 22, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

An overhead view over houses and a beach during sunset.

An overhead view over houses and a beach during sunset.

The best things to do in Malibu, California! Discover the most picturesque beaches, celebrity hot spots, and natural hidden gems.

Where to See Fall Colors in California: 21 Spots for Fall Foliage & Leaf Peeping

December 27, 2022October 27, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

fall colors in california

fall colors in california

We’ve found the very best places to see fall colors in California to embrace autumn to the fullest.

The Ultimate Guide to Little Italy, San Diego: Things to do, Restaurants, and Hotels

December 26, 2022October 12, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

little italy san diego

little italy san diego

These are the best things to do in Little Italy, San Diego, from where to eat to the best places to stay.

45 Fun & Best Things to do in Joshua Tree to Get the Most Out of Your Desert Escape

January 11, 2023June 7, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

best things to do in joshua tree national park

The top things to do in Joshua Tree National Park and beyond so you can make the most of your desert vacation.

35 Top & Best Things to do in Redwood National Park, California [Ultimate Redwood Bucket List]

December 27, 2022May 31, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

Things to do in Redwood featured

Things to do in Redwood featured

The ultimate guide to the best things to do while visiting the majestic old-growth redwoods in Redwood National Park.

34 Things to do in Carmel, California in 2023 (Ultimate Bucket List)

February 3, 2023March 24, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

Things to do in Carmel, California

Things to do in Carmel, California

The best things to do in Carmel-by-the-Sea to get the most out of this charming Central Coast town.

45 Things to do in Mammoth Lakes, California (Ultimate 2023 Bucket List)

December 26, 2022March 17, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

Things to do in Mammoth Lakes, California

Things to do in Mammoth Lakes, California

The best things to do in Mammoth Lakes to see some of the most beautiful spots around the Sierra Nevada region.

Since it’s that time of year for reflection and

Since it’s that time of year for reflection and goals, I just finished tallying up my budgeting spreadsheets. Here’s a look at The Atlas Heart’s growth in the past four years, and our projected growth for 2023. Letzzzz go!

✨2019✨
Annual revenue = $4,787
Total pageviews = 256,245

✨2020✨
Annual revenue = $12,600
Total pageviews = 349,658

✨2021✨*started working on TAH full-time
Annual revenue = $66,797
Pageviews = 872,919

✨2022✨
Annual revenue = $194,974
Pageviews = 2,386,618

✨2023 (Projected)✨
Annual revenue = $470,000
Pageviews = 3,600,000

✨Milestone Goal (projected to reach by 2025)✨
Become a million dollar business

💰Breakdown of income💰
Ad revenue = 56.5%
Affiliate revenue = 43.3%
Products = 0.2%
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Happy New Year!! ✨🍾

Even though I’ve been running my website since 2

Even though I’ve been running my website since 2012, it always used to be my passion not my main source of income.   It was a way of sharing my experiences and perspective about the places I traveled. I never had a business plan or looked all that much into how to make money from it.

Over the next six years, I went from bartending to running a somewhat successful consulting business as a freelance marketer that still allowed me to travel and work remotely.

Although I always imagined being able to make a living from my website, it honestly seemed unlikely that I’d be able to make money from something that I enjoyed so much.

It wasn’t until 2018 that I started teaching myself SEO and invested in numerous courses.   It took another year after that to start looking into how to monetize my website, and that was only after I lost one of my biggest clients and my monthly income was cut by 80%.

I thought it was as good a time as any to finally give it my best shot to create a successful blog that supported me.

I started building up a monetization strategy, intertwining my SEO skills to start making a little more money, one month at a time.

And then seven months later, March 2020 happened. And we all know how that went for the travel industry.

l was very close to walking away at that point, but I had seen how much growth there was in just seven months before everything came tumbling down. I couldn’t unsee that potential. So, after three months of a lot of languishing, I kept working on my site, more determined than ever.

It took another year and two months after that to finally be making just enough to end all my client work and start focusing on my website full time. I wrote an income report a month after that in June of 2021.

It was called “How I made $6,598 from my blog in June 2021.” When I wrote that article, I had big goals to hit 100,000 page views in a month before the end of the year (which I did!) and to make over $6,000 in a month again.

Secretly, I was hoping to double that amount by the following year, but looking back, I probably should’ve dreamed bigger.

Continued in the comments below👇

11 fake ring boxes later, @suneelj1 finally gave m

11 fake ring boxes later, @suneelj1 finally gave me the real one today on our favorite hiking trail in Berkeley. 💍❤️

2 years since our first date. ✨❤️ My first i

We’re feeling 22! 💃🏻🎉🎶. . ✅Vaccin

We’re feeling 22! 💃🏻🎉🎶.
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✅Vaccinated + negative COVID tests for everyone the day of before the party.
✅ Fancy on top, casual on the bottom.
✅Piñata, beer pong, rage cage, karaoke, confetti party poppers, midnight countdown, and all the food.
✅ A memorable NYE with some of my favorite people. ❤️
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Happy 2022!! 🎉💃🏻🍾✨

In May 2021, I finally took the leap. I decided to

In May 2021, I finally took the leap. I decided to end all client work and start working on my website full time. Since then, it has been a wild ride. It’s mind-boggling to finally see something grow into what you’ve always imagined it could be after 8 years of dreaming about it.
 In 2021, I published 87 posts. I finally learned how to delegate better, hiring one VA and three writers to create a team of brilliant and talented women beside me. Site traffic grew by 149% to around 870,000 page views for the year (averaging around 93,000 per month for Q4). Annual revenue grew by 300% and included hitting a new benchmark - our first five-figure month (with many more to come)! I also explored so many new corners of California in the name of research, including the Channel Islands, Pinnacles National Park, more of Big Sur and the Bay Area, and even tackled my biggest adventure yet - hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail over 5 days.

My goals for 2022? There are too many to name here, but just know that it will be a year focused on growth and chasing big things. 2021 was a taste of what could be, and this year I finally feel ready to hit those big milestones I used to only dream of (a consistent publishing schedule, six figures, and well over 1M page views before the year is done).

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!! Let’s go kick some ass in 2022.💃🏻✨

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