Nobody tells you about the waiting.
Oh man… is the waiting oh so terrible…
After you finish setting up your freelance profile, send out pitches, apply for jobs… what’s next?
You wait.
And then… you wait.
And then you wait some more…
Sometimes for days.
Weeks.
Months.
Even years for the unlucky ones.
And during that waiting period, the bills don’t pause, the rent doesn’t care, and your savings quietly shrinks.
This is where blogging and Google AdSense come in.
It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme or a replacement for client work.
It’s something you can have quietly running in the background, earning while you sleep, while you pitch, while you wait.
I’ve been doing this for years. The income from AdSense has never been massive. But it’s been consistent. And consistent, even when it’s small, is worth more than people think when you’re building something from scratch.
What Google AdSense Actually Is
AdSense is Google’s advertising program for publishers. You put a small piece of code on your blog, Google places relevant ads on your pages, and you earn a share of the revenue every time someone views or clicks those ads.
You don’t sell anything. You don’t manage advertisers. You just write, publish, and let Google handle the rest.
How to Get Started
1. Start a blog on a topic you can write about consistently
Pick a niche you actually know something about. Travel, food, personal finance, tech, freelancing, parenting… anything with a real audience. Consistency matters more than perfection early on. WordPress.org with a basic hosting plan is the standard starting point.
For example, I write for several blogs/personal projects. Here they are:
FilipinoWriters – well… you’re here… so you probably have a good idea what this site is for. If not, it’s supposed to showcase the works of writers in the Philippines. And at the start, we were able to do that, so far… I’m the only one writing here. I hope more follow suit. Our FB group is doing really well though at 60 thousand followers.
Jectra – I come from a family that has made medical distribution its legacy. This is me supporting that. And I would love to focus on the emergency medical supplies and equipment side of things.
MusikaWabad – as a musician, I want to see others succeed so I made a site that could help me feature those artists and bring them the attention they need.
HayopETC – who doesn’t love animals right? So yeah. I love animals of all shapes and sizes. Whether they have scales, skin, fur or feathers they’re welcome here.
Biyernes – at first, I didn’t know what to do with it. All I knew is that I liked the domain name and I was willing to pay for it. It took a year before I figured out what to do with it and turn it into a tech blog. Why tech? cause everyday is Black Friday!
ChipCanonigo – last but not the least and my longest running one it being a personal online diary that documents what I’ve done since I started blogging professionally to becoming a farmer and a dad. And lately… it’s become a bit more food oriented… so am I gonna become a food blogger now?
2. Publish at least 15 to 20 solid articles before applying
Google wants to see that your site is real and regularly updated before they approve you. Write useful, original content. Not filler. Not AI-generated walls of text. Write actual helpful pieces that a real person would want to read. Remember E-E-A-T.
3. Apply for Google AdSense
Go to adsense.google.com, connect your site, and submit for review. Approval can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Make sure your site has a privacy policy page, an about page, and contact information. These are basic requirements that trip a lot of first-timers up.
4. Place your ads strategically
Once approved, AdSense gives you ad units to place on your site. Don’t plaster them everywhere. A few well-placed ads, within content, in the sidebar, near the header, perform better than a cluttered page that drives readers away.
5. Focus on traffic
AdSense income is directly tied to how many people visit your site. Write consistently. Learn basic SEO. Share your posts. The more eyeballs, the more earnings. It compounds slowly but it does compound.
AdSense alone won’t replace a full freelance income overnight. But as a passive stream of income, it’ll keep you afloat.
Some months it’ll be enough for coffee money.
Other months it’ll be enough to pay a bill that’s accrued over three months.
Either way, it’s income you’ll have earned once and keep collecting over time.
That’s why it’s worth building a website and keeping it up for several years..