Northern California Archives - The Atlas Heart

9 Best Places to See Redwoods Near San Francisco in 2023

March 10, 2023March 10, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

places to see redwoods near san francisco

places to see redwoods near san francisco

The best places to see redwoods near San Francisco, from a local who grew up hiking through them.

21 Best Dog-Friendly Restaurants in San Francisco [Dine With Your Pooch]

March 10, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

A small dog sits in the lap of a woman wearing a heavily patterned sweater in a restaurant, with a plate of food on the table in front of them.

A small dog sits in the lap of a woman wearing a heavily patterned sweater in a restaurant, with a plate of food on the table in front of them.

Dine alongside your dog at these fantastic breakfast spots, dive bars, and dog-friendly restaurants in San Francisco.

The Ultimate Guide to Walking the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

March 7, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

A close-up shot of one of the Golden Gate Bridge's cables in dramatic perspective.

A close-up shot of one of the Golden Gate Bridge's cables in dramatic perspective.

Experience San Francisco’s iconic landmark by walking the Golden Gate Bridge.

Where to Find the Best Ramen in San Francisco: 17 Top-Notch Places

March 2, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

A view over the shoulder of a woman enjoying a bowl of ramen and a glass of beer at a restaurant counter.

A view over the shoulder of a woman enjoying a bowl of ramen and a glass of beer at a restaurant counter.

Warm up with the best ramen in San Francisco, from neighborhood favorites to the newest hotspots.

Disneyland Magic Key Pass: The Ultimate Guide From an Avid Park Goer and Pass Holder

March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

A colorfully-dressed barbershop quartet standing outside on Disneyland's Main Street.

A colorfully-dressed barbershop quartet standing outside on Disneyland's Main Street.

Find out everything you need to know about the Disneyland Magic Key Pass from someone who uses it all the time.

15 Best Gold Rush Towns in California to Visit This Year

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023 by Mimi McFadden

Best Gold Rush Towns in California

Best Gold Rush Towns in California

Find out where the best gold rush towns in California are, plus the best things to do in each one.

17 Best Waterfront Restaurants in San Francisco With Stunning Views

March 17, 2023December 28, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

Best Waterfront Restaurants in San Francisco

Best Waterfront Restaurants in San Francisco

From sweeping views to delicious food, these are the best waterfront restaurants in San Francisco.

Best Ziplining in California: 13 Places for Aerial Adventures & Canopy Tours

January 16, 2023December 21, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

Best Ziplining in California

Best Ziplining in California

Soar through forests, over vineyards, and into canyons on the best ziplining spots in California.

The Best Ways to Get From San Francisco to Napa Valley [Ultimate Guide]

January 19, 2023December 20, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

A picture of a vineyard in Napa Valley during the summer

A picture of a vineyard in Napa Valley during the summer

Discover the best ways to get from San Francisco to Napa Valley, whether you’re driving your own car, taking a guided tour, or going by public transport.

7 Closest Airports to Napa Valley [Plus Directions & Transport Options]

January 19, 2023December 8, 2022 by Mimi McFadden

Wine vineyard in Napa Valley aerial view, closest airport to napa valley.

Wine vineyard in Napa Valley aerial view, closest airport to napa valley.

These are the closest airports to Napa Valley for direct flights into the heart of California’s wine country.

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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