About

The short version:

I’m Maliha (she/her/they)—a blogger, writer, and Canva-verified expert + creator. With this blog and supporting online courses and workshops, I help fledgling creators earn a living by doing what I do—blogging, writing, and selling Canva templates 🙂

P.S. Not that it matters (too much), but I do enjoy writing my own words without the help of an artificially intelligent program (AI). As such, human errors are to be expected 😉

Read on for a longer version below…

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Back in 2017, I (I’m Maliha, by the way) realized that nothing in life was guaranteed. Not a well-paying full-time job, no guarantee of a 100K per year salary, regardless of your qualifications. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that I had a wake-up call.

I decided that it was time to build something of my own, something that will be mine no matter what.

And so, in June 2018, The Side Blogger was born.

This blog has come a long way since I started this journey. In the beginning, I was writing about my blogging experiences — things I was learning, things that were working, and things that were not working. Then I set up a shop and started selling Canva templates for bloggers and creators, and then I started teaching everything I was learning about making this work — the blog, the Canva template business, all of it.

Looking back now, this whole thing feels surreal. I started making a living from these side hustles just after two years into this journey. Crazy, right? I mean, had you told me back in June of 2018 that just two years later I’d be making well over 5K per month from this side-business, I would have laughed at you.

And yet, here we are.

Anyhow, if you’re ready to start your own blogging journey or a Canva template business, or both, you’re in the right place! I have blog posts, free resources, paid online courses, and much more. Welcome aboard!

Some links to help you find stuff…

If you’re just starting your blog and need some guidance, sign up for this totally free, 10-day blogging bootcamp. This is sort of like an email course. Every day, for ten days, you’ll receive an email a day, each of which will guide you one step closer to starting your blog the right way, from choosing a niche, to planning your content, to creating a roadmap for your first $1K.

Or, maybe you love creating with Canva and thinking of ways to monetize your designs. Hmmm… Have you thought about selling your Canva-made designs as templates? If you’re not sure how to get started, I have a blog post that’ll help you do just that — get started with selling Canva templates!

But if you’re ready to really get going and bring is over $1K per month from your Canva template business, then allow me to invite you to sign up for my online course — Side Income with Canva Templates.

Wait, not interested in any of that? If you landed on my website in search of buying a Canva template instead, well then, that’s fine too! Head right over to the Canva template shop 🙂

And psst! If you like free stuff, I have an entire library full of them. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll send you the instructions to get your freebies!

If you wish to get in touch, email me to contact@thesideblogger.com

Website Info

The Side Blogger is managed with the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) and is hosted with the awesome hosting company SiteGround. I strongly recommend the WordPress + SiteGround combination to all bloggers setting up their website. The website was designed by yours truly, and built with a modified version of the Astra theme and Elementor Pro WordPress page builder plugin.

I rely on several plugins to help me run this website and provide a smooth experience to my readers, including, but not limited to, WP Rocket for caching and enhancing performance, WooCommerce for selling my Canva templates, etc.

I use ConvertKit for email marketing and email list building. Canva Pro is used for designing and creating most of the graphics and other digital collaterals. CoSchedule Marketing Calendar keeps my life organized. And Grammarly is life!

You can find a list of tools I use and/or recommend for a more efficient and productive blogging experience on my Resources Page.

Affiliate Disclosure: This page has affiliate links. If you so choose to follow one of these links and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission paid to me by the company, and at no expense to you. The commission I make from affiliate sales help me run this blog and provide regular, quality value to you. So, thank you for your support!