Welcome to my second blogger income report where I will go through exactly how I made $42 blogging in the month of October, 2018! Today I will also be sharing how I got started in blogging, how I’ve been able to monetize my blog as well as my future plans and goals in blogging!
I can’t believe I’m already writing my second blogger income report. I started my blog in May of 2018 which means I’ve been blogging for a total of six whole months! Again this month I didn’t make much and it doesn’t matter.
I’m proud as punch to say I made another $42!!! I’m super excited to show you exactly how I monetized my blog and I’m excited for the income I’m already seeing come in which will be included in my very next income report!
Spoiler alert: It’s way more than the $42 I made this month!
Why Am I Doing An Income Report?
You might wonder why anyone would ever want to share how much they earn as people are usually really reluctant to share this kind of information. I totally understand this but at the same time I’m very new to blogging and I’m excited to share what I’m learning as I go so you can follow along on my journey and hopefully join me as well!
I also want to share my income with my readers because it was because I read other bloggers’ income reports that I learned how blogs were actually monetized. Those blogger income reports I used to read so intently made me realize what was possible and motivated me to start my own blog.
One of the blogger income reports I read over and over was Michelle Schroeder-Gardner’s on her Making Sense Of Cents Blog. She’s now making well over $100,000 per month blogging and started her blog as a hobby to document her own personal finance goals!
I love seeing her progress and want to document mine as well. Believe it or not those reports are filled with many clues and actually showed me how to make money blogging by seeing how other bloggers were doing it!
Also, because part of the point of my blog is to show others how to make money online it kind of only makes sense that I show you guys how I’m doing this myself! With any luck I just might inspire you to start a blog yourself today!
Could Blogging Be Right For You?
Are you still on the fence? Starting a blog was the best decision I’ve ever made! If you haven’t started your own blog yet or if you’re having a hard time starting one please read my post on How To Start Your Own Blog Easily In Ten Minutes!
I’m also looking forward to documenting my blogging journey and being able to look back at these blogger income reports as a way to track my progress and see what’s been working for me over time. The idea that you can follow me and my steps from the beginning is awesome and I hope to inspire you and other potential bloggers to start their own blogs!
I also knew almost nothing about side hustling before I started this blog and I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me. I want to share it with others who are seeking the same things as I am. The freedom to work for myself, from home. The joy of autonomy and eventually, financial freedom!
Starting a blog has to be one of the most low-cost and cost-effective work from home side hustles I’ve ever found. You can start a blog for as little as $3.95 per month on Bluehost which is less than the cost of one Starbucks coffee per month! And if you buy a one year hosting plan I’ll include your domain name for free – a $15 value!! Hopefully reading my blogger income report will inspire you today!
Plus, I’ll share this pro tip: wordpress.org has a 1 click install for sites hosted on Bluehost! That makes it SO easy and inexpensive! Start your blog on Bluehost today!
Why Did I Start My Blog?
I started blogging in May of 2018 after a pretty hard year and in the middle of a difficult divorce. My kids had just lost the security of their intact family. To make things worse, their Dad had been unemployed for more than a year because of some major medical issues which were causing some major life problems as well.
The divorce wasn’t my idea and I suggested holding off until life was more stable for everyone but I was stonewalled.
So, here I was being dragged through an acrimonious and expensive divorce by someone whose medical condition was literally making him less and less recognizable by the day. My former high school sweetheart and life partner as I had known him was ‘gone’ and I was advised that I was no longer speaking to ‘him’ anymore.
It was unimaginable. Our life as we knew it had gone sideways. Facing a financial meltdown I had to budget out what savings I had while I scrambled to figure things out. I cut all unnecessary expenses and looked over my career prospects.
My ex and I had worked for years in the same field but now he was making it difficult for me to find new work opportunities in the industry where I’d had the bulk of my career success.
I knew I had to take matters into my own hands and decided that I needed to focus on some kind of work where he had zero ability to manipulate or control my future or my ability to succeed. I also wanted to try to work from home so I could be around as much as possible to help my kids through this major life transition.
Blog Or Get A Job?
Everyone told me to go out and get any kind of job. While I understood their concern, I knew that it wasn’t the right decision for myself or my kids. Outside of my field I was looking at starting over on another career track or settling for lower paying prospects with little to no upwards potential.
My kids also needed me around before and after school as they had for years and years. I also wanted a better work like balance and greater income potential than any job or start-over career I was looking at could ever give me.
Taking everything into consideration, I decided to start a blog and go for it. I was going to blog as if my life depended on it. Because in many ways it actually did. It’s been a few months of build, build, build the blog but I’m finally starting to see the fruits of my labor and investments in myself have been paying off. Talk about blogging under pressure!!!
While I absolutely recommend starting a blog I don’t recommend starting it under major financial pressure like I did. Blogs monetize at different rates and you will need to take your own life circumstances and budget into serious consideration.
For me it was either start a blog and try for a better future while my divorced dragged along or be forced to get a job that had limited financial potential at the end of my divorce.
Blog!
I opted to blog as hard as I could to make at least as much as I would be making at a job so I wouldn’t be forced to do anything by anyone. I want to be home for my kids and have more control over my financial future and I’m still determined to do that.
That said you can absolutely work full-time and blog at night. If you need to do it that way then you should and I highly recommend that so you can eventually replace your income. Many do this and ramp up their incomes until they can quit their day jobs.
I always figured I would go as far as I could and if I found that I had to get a day job I would already have my blog set up and continue by blogging at night until I replaced my income.
At this point I’m simply thrilled that I finally have some additional income to report! I can’t wait to share exactly how I started making money from my blog with you so you can do the same. This has truly become my dream job! Working from home for myself! Being home for my kids is just the best!
Some days I’m on my laptop at home. Some days I park myself in a nice coffee shop and other days I spend at the local library where it’s quiet and air-conditioned! Money is still very tight so I usually pack some lunch and a snack and I focus on being grateful to be able to work for myself and in my comfy leggings and sneakers instead of having to get ‘office dressed.’
And by the way, if I can do this and get to the point where I’m writing my second blogger income report then so can you! I just hope you don’t have to do it under my circumstances.
My Blog Stats
Each month I plan to report on the following stats for tracking and goal setting purposes:
Traffic and Page views
Subscribers
Expenses
Income
Net Income
Goals For Next Month
Traffic And Page Views
As per Google Analytics my blog received 8,512 page views for the month of September! This is just slightly lower from my traffic last month.Considering that I was sick with a virus for three weeks in October I’m pretty stoked my traffic didn’t take a nose dive.
There were days I could barely get out of bed and the beauty of blogging is that my blog was still making money 24/7 ANYWAY!
I just tried to check in on my analytics and make a pin or two here and there to keep things moving forward and that was basically all I could manage.
I simply don’t know what I would have done had I been working full-time for someone else. It’s times like these when I’m so grateful that I work for myself!
Subscribers
I have been using Mail Chimp to collect emails for about two months and I have 42 subscribers! I had 27 last month so that’s a gain! Again, I’ve had some issues with Mail Chimp and because I’m on their free plan I have no access to customer service which means I will be switching to Convertkit the first moment I can.
Expenses
I have expenses I’m carrying over from starting my blog which I first outlined in this post so going into October I was already carrying a negative of $1,570 and I will continue to show these figures until I’ve paid myself back. There aren’t any new expenses this month as I’ve put a hold on spending until I’ve covered more of my investment in starting up my blog.
What I’ve Spent So Far:
*As a reminder these expenses have been carried over from my earlier post about how I’ve Been Blogging For Four Months And Haven’t Made A Dime Yet which I encourage you to check out as it’s my pre-income report post. You can also read My First Ever Blogger Income Report Here!
$36 Blog hosting by Bluehost which includes domain registration for a whole year! * no brainer
$27 Beautiful Dawn Designs Enamored Theme one time charge. *I really like my theme!
$110 DBA Filing so I can run my blog as a division of my business
$197 Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course. *A no brainer must do.
$197 Pinterest Traffic Avalanche class. *A no brainer must do.
$75 – Beta Tester for a course which will be launching soon!
$32 Pinteresting Strategies e-book. *Definitely worth it. Learned so much.
$7 Email Sequence from the House Of Brazen
$25 How To Make Your First Affiliate Sale In 24 Hours from the House Of Brazen– I’ve already made my money back on this e-book and can recommend it. You’ll also want to become an affiliate for her e-book which you can start promoting the same day you download it.
$51 Pretty Links – I have not used this as much as I had hoped I would. I hope to find more use for it in the future as it’s already paid for!
$195 Outside Tech help on blog design – amazing! Email me if you’d like a referral!
$175 Pinterest VA who gave me some incredible help as well! Email me if you’d like a referral!
$480 for a year of unlimited Tailwind. You should NOT start with the unlimited plan (as I have upgraded to) until you have enough pins. Start with their basic plan (for $9.99 per month) and work your way up from there. You will get use of their great scheduler, and some tribe access. *I highly recommend Tailwind!
You do need to get into their power ups at first as you may not yet have enough pins to put into the system. I now have the unlimited plan and I plan to keep it. It’s working and now that Pinterest group boards aren’t getting as much traction it’s my main traffic growth strategy.
I mentioned it above already so if you haven’t already I would definitely recommend you checking out a post I wrote called Are Tailwind Tribes Power Ups Really Worth It? * By the way,Tailwind is a must do – start with the free trial, then get on their basic plan and go from there.
$5 Aweber Affiliate membership – which I will get back once I make my first sale with them
Total Spent On My Blog So Far = $1,612.00
Again, I look at this as an investment in my future. I will be carrying my expenses forward as a negative in my next income report until I’ve earned them all back and I’m actually earning money free and clear.
I’m not worried about it because I can already see the potential ahead. Besides, what business that has this kind of potential can you realistically start for around $1600?! None that I’ve found so far. Blogging is still one of the least expensive startup or side hustle where you can work from home that I know of.
Income
Affiliates:
Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing: $ 42 Again!
I’m an affiliate for Michelle’s course which I highly recommend and I made my first sale at the end of July – a few weeks after I had finished her course. I received my first payout (1 of 2 $42 installments) in September. I will receive the second $42 payment on October 4th and that’s what has been reflected here.
Thanks to her course I’m currently in about 30+ affiliate programs. While I’ve earned other commissions (YAY!) I’m only reporting the ones for which I have actually been paid. Most pay out within 30-45+ days after you’ve made the sale. So, while I only have this $42 to report below I have actually made another several hundred dollars in affiliate sales which will show up in future income reports as it comes into my bank account.
I wanted to mention that so when it happens you won’t worry too much as that is the way it works in blogging.
Ads: (nothing yet)
I’m not on an ad network yet but have applied to join Monumetric! I hope to be on their network by the end of this year. Fingers crossed!
Net Income Results
$1,612 (expenses) – $42 (September income) – $42 (October income) = *$1,528 *this is the negative balance I will carry forward until my next blogger income report in December, 2018 and I will carry it forward until it has been paid back to myself. I hope to have paid myself back for the investments I’ve made in my blog by April of 2019!
I’m not worried about earning the amount I’ve invested into my blog back because I am already seeing promising results and because I’ve seen a similar pattern in other blogger’s income reports. They start making trickles around this time and by their 8th – 12th month and then they’re on their way.
That is true as long as they kept at it and don’t give up too soon. The trick now is not to give up. I’m going to keep on keeping on. And like I mentioned above I already know of another $200 which has already been earned which I will be reporting on as it hits my bank account. I’m very excited about that because it means the work I’ve done and the courses I’ve taken have been sound choices.
Goals For Next Month!
Traffic and Page views: 10,000 page views on my blog – I should be able to do this!
Subscribers: 70
Expenses: I plan to do some small technical tweaks on my blog and spend about $50 to do those
Income: $200
Other Goals: I’m also planning on joining and ad network called Monumetric and implementing an affiliate network I’m really excited about called Skimlinks!
My Second Blogger Income Report!
I’m so glad I’ve made it this far and I can hardly believe I’m already writing my second blogger income report! I know I’ve only made a total of $84 blogging but this is only the beginning and
I’ve put so many new affiliates and things into place this month and I’m SO excited about how those are going to perform in the coming months!
My objective with these reports is to give you a real picture of my blogging journey from these early days of all work and tiny income to when things really start to move forward.
I know if you see my struggles and my hard work and then later you see my success you will know that the steps and path I took and am recommending are real and could also work for you.
How is blogging going for you? Comment below and let me know!
Some Of My Favorite Resources…
*This page contains affiliate links which means that if you click on a link I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend things I personally use and like. Thank you for supporting my blog!
If you need to make some quick cash I recommend Survey Junkie. It’s free and is something easy and quick that you can do from your laptop or smart phone or even possibly on the go in your spare time to make some extra cash quickly. Just give them your honest opinion and earn money! Try Survey Junkie and earn $10 just for registering today!
Inbox Dollars pays up to $35 per poll and will give you a $5 bonus just for joining today! They pay you cash (not points) for taking surveys, playing online games, searching the web and more! Check out Inbox Dollars and start earning side hustle money today!
Vindale Research is another great survey site where you can answer market research questions about new products which are going to be released soon. You will not only make side hustle money but you’ll also be getting to learn about brand new products before everyone else does. Sign up with Vindale Research today!
Honey is my favorite new way to save and earn! I love it because it automatically applies the best coupon code to whatever I’m buying online! How great is that? I’ll never have to search for another coupon code while I’m checking out again. It’s a simple browser extension and I already used it to save money on an Amazon purchase I just made. And, it’s free! And for the side hustle aspect, for everyone you refer to Honey via a link on your blog or social media with your link you will earn $5! Now that’s awesome! Try Honey today!
Another great way to get cash back for your everyday shopping is Ibotta. Just do your normal shopping, scan your receipt in their easy to use app and Cha Ching! Cash back! It’s basically free money. And just for signing up with my link you’ll receive a $10 bonus! Sign up here today!
Blogging Resources
Blogging is one of the best side hustles I’ve found. It’s low-cost, can be done remotely and when you put the work in, it can provide passive income that comes in even on days when you can’t make it to your laptop! The first day I made an affiliate sale on my blog I was sitting on the beach with some friends in town! That was THE BEST feeling EVER! Start Your Blog Today!
To help you start your blog today, here are some of my favorite blogging resources…
Bluehost: I’ve been with them from the beginning and have had nothing but a great experience. You can self-host your blog for as little as $3.95/month plus with my link you’ll also get a free domain ($10 value!)
Tailwind: My go to Pinterest scheduler – oh where would I be without you! Tailwind has automated my pinning and I simply couldn’t live without it! I started with the basic plan and have since upgraded to their unlimited tribes power up so I can make the most of my tribes and their reach to grow my traffic!
Fiverr: Freelancers can be invaluable to bloggers. Finding someone in a pinch to help you with an aspect of your blog can save you time and make you money!
Skimlinks: This is one of the easiest ways to get started making money in affiliate marketing before you even take a course and it’s *free*. Skimlinks uses the content you already have on your blog! You get paid for links you already have and they take a small cut. Saves you time and tons of work and is perfect when you’re just starting out. Best part is they leave your already generated affiliate links alone. Plus they have an affiliate program so you can also make money when others try it for their own blogs. Try Skimlinks today!
You can also find a full list of my favorite resources and online tools here!
*This post may contain affiliate inks which means if you click a link on this page and make a purchase we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we use and love. Thank you for supporting our blog! Our polices page can be found here.
Hi again! If you – yes you! If you found the information here helpful please look at the top of this page. Do you see that little grey bar and that pink button? That’s where you can subscribe so you don’t miss out on any of the fun! My subscribers will have access to exclusive information on flash sales from my favorite affiliates plus access to exclusive content I won’t be publishing anywhere else. I promise not to spam you and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for reading my Second Blogger Income Report! I hope it was helpful to you on your blogging journey!
