*This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

 

 

I cannot believe I’m doing another blog income report. I’ve seen plenty of other bloggers post their income reports to inspire others and track their progression.

 

Blog income reports also serve as a useful learning tool for other bloggers to learn where they can monetize their blog and what affiliate programs to join within their niche.

 

Even blog income reports that show a loss of income are useful because you can see what they changed to start making money.

 

 

 

 

I only recently started doing these income reports because:

 

a) I want to show other bloggers that you can go from pennies to over $100 a month with the right tools and mindset.

b) My first 12 months of blogging consisted of traffic mainly in the hundreds and my income was barely existent.

c) Now that I see some changes in traffic and income I would like to track my progress for myself.

 

August 2018 BLOGGING STATS

 

Traffic: 11,986 33,663 pageviews

 

I know I told you in this blog income report that July was my highest traffic month ever, but I crushed it this month by nearly tripling my traffic and qualifying for Mediavine!

 

Just last month I was hoping it would be before the end of 2018 so it was a huge shock for me to hit my number a month later. My application is still being processed and I hope to have Mediavine ads on my site in 2 weeks.

 

I manually pinned to Pinterest using the techniques detailed in this Pinterest course and used tips from the various groups I am in.

 

I pinned more frequently, created new pins, and Tailwind tribes gave me the push I needed to hit over 25,000 page sessions.

 

Check out this post for more tips on how getting new Pinterest followers helped me get more traffic.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

PINTEREST: 824 1,090 followers

 

FACEBOOK: 556 followers (stayed the same)

 

INSTAGRAM: 489 484 followers (This is disappointing yet not surprising. I lost 5 followers. I’m not very active on this social media platform and think I need to post more money tips as that has become my blog’s focus.)

 

TWITTER: 999 1,023 followers

 

As you can see, both my Twitter and Pinterest following has increased. For Facebook and Instagram I think I need to post with purpose and come up with a game plan to gain more followers on those platforms.

 

 

REVENUE FOR AUGUST 2018: $276.71

 

Ads

 

Google AdSense: $224.64

My Google AdSense check threshold is still set to $100. In July I made $66.99 on Google AdSense, but couldn’t cash it out yet.

In August I made my highest ad revenue to date at $157.65.

 

 

Sponsorship

Linqia: $0

 

Linqia was my very first pay-per-click sponsorship opportunity, but I didn’t receive any new opportunities this month.

They offer a lot of support, pay you within 10 days of project completion, and the average earning is $220 per program.

 

It’s a great place for new bloggers to start doing sponsorship opportunities because they look at your combined traffic and social media reach. Other networks require you have a huge following that can take a long time to achieve. When I joined I didn’t have even 1,000 followers on any of my social media profiles.

 

Sign up for Linqia here!

 

 

Referrals

 

I genuinely love these sites because they help people save money doing things they already do and buy and they aren’t blogging-related.

 

Groupon: $10

 

eBates : $0

eBates lets you earn cash back on items that you already buy. They also provide great promo codes and discounts. We earn a few hundred dollars a year though our online purchases.

I’ve had several people sign up through my link and didn’t even realize it! One was in July and another in August. I will only get paid when they make a qualifying purchase.

 

iBotta: $0

 

 

Product Reviews

 

 

Intellifluence: $25

Intellifluence connects brands with influencers who want to try and review their products. Some are paid while others are only given the product to try for free.

 

In August I was paid for 2 product reviews and a photo.

 

 

Affiliate Marketing

 

Amazon Associates: $17.07

This is the first payment I’ve received from Amazon since I started blogging!

It makes me happy and sad. I know there is a huge potential to make more money through affiliate marketing, but I’ve been busy creating content because my writing juices have been flowing.

 

 

Blogging Resources

 

Pinteresting Strategies by  Carly Campbell: $32

 

I LOVE this course for several reasons.

 

#1 Unlike other Pinterest courses that say you need to purchase a pin scheduler to get tons of traffic, this course is focused on manual pinning. Carly gets over 200,000 pageviews a month without using a scheduler.

 

#2 It’s super cheap compared to the other Pinterest courses out there.

 

#3 The book focuses on a unique pinning strategy using Google Analytics that I have not read about anywhere else and I do my research.

 

#4 Carly runs a Facebook group that is full of the most helpful people, it’s even has some big name bloggers. They all give great advice (FREE) and answer questions ASAP. Carly also does Facebook Live videos and gives updated Pinterest traffic tips.

 

#5 My traffic got a huge spike after implementing her tips and my Pinterest follower growth has consistently been growing since taking her course.

 

 

 

I bought Carly’s book because all of the great advice she gives, her honesty, and the fact that she doesn’t actively promote her book. The majority of her book promotion is through word of mouth. I read the reviews on her page and they were all singing her praises. Check them out here at Mommy on Purpose!

 

 

The Billionaire Blog Club (BBC)

 

In my post How I Finally Started Making Money Blogging After 1 Year I go into detail about this course that I love so much.

Scrivs is the man behind the madness and he is passionate about helping bloggers be successful. His course is going through a big revamp into a new group/course called MOMO (Me On My Own) and the price has increased significantly.

I am still working through the course as he is always making updates and adding new information. Something I have NOT seen in any of the other blogging courses I have purchased.

 

BBC also offers a $39, 165 page Pinterest Manual that he periodically updates to give you the best and most current information.

 

It is currently in its 3rd edition and has a bunch of pictures. I’m a visual person so it works for me. If you liked my post on how to gain new Pinterest followers you will absolutely love the BBC Pinterest Manual because it goes into such detail.

 

TAILWIND

 

I use Tailwind to look at my stats, used Tailwind Tribes to triple my traffic, and will be using the paid version to hopefully double my traffic from here. I’ll be sure to let you know how it works out.

 

Sign up for Tailwind here and get 100 free pins and a $30 credit!

 

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

 

I continue to get post comments from people outside of the blogging community. Although I don’t see this as a metric for success, it is nice to get affirmation that what I am writing about is useful or pertinent. And it’s like getting mail and that’s always fun.

 

My most popular posts are:

 

11 Things rich people do that poor people don’t

13 Important Things to Do After Becoming Debt-Free

Things we stopped buying to save money

6 Bank accounts you should have

8 Easy ways to stay out of debt this holiday season

 

 

My ad revenue continues to increase. People have told me that they earn 50% to 100% more with Mediavine, which means I may be making over $200 a month just from ads alone.

 

I’ve started to get the hang of Pinterest and traffic has stayed at over 1,000 page views a day for the past 13 days. I don’t want to jinx anything so I’ll leave it at that.

 

 

AUGUST 2018 GOALS

 

Start contacting finance bloggers for my money roundup post. FAILED

I was busy working on a guest post for another blog (pending approval) and when I saw my page sessions hit 19,000 I knew I wanted to focus on hitting the 25k for Mediavine.

 

Write at least 3 holiday geared posts. FAILED

I posted one holiday post and have a draft for a second post in the works. I plan to have both done by the end of this week.

 

Create new pins and start implementing “Operation: Join Mediavine Before the End of 2018”. COMPLETE

I created several new pins for my most popular blog posts and started trickling them into the Pinterest machine. By promoting more on all of my social media platforms and being active in several Facebook groups I reached my goal. Now to keep that traffic climbing upwards.

 

Contact the cruise line we are going to be going on and see if they are interested in having me do a review in exchange for some form of compensation. COMPLETE

I created a blog media kit and emailed the cruise line twice with no response. I’m going to email them again and also see if anyone in my FB groups has a contact for the company. We are going on another cruise next year with a different cruise line so I’ll contact them now as well.

 

Revamp my About Me page. FAILED

I just finished changing it yesterday, but need to add some more recent photos. This will also be done by the end of the week.

 

GOALS FOR SEPTEMBER 2018

 

Create a spreadsheet for my financial blogger roundup post and start emailing bloggers. For real this time.

 

Start accepting guest posts so that I can fill up the more neglected categories on the blog (lifestyle, motherhood, DIY).

 

Create a new strategy for my Facebook and Instagram account so that I can gain new followers.

 

Make a “Resources” page that includes money making and saving tools, blogging resources, and any must-have products. I think this could be a great way to make some money without having to write reviews or individual posts.

 

If the guest post that I wrote in August isn’t approved by the blog applied for I will either use it for another blog guest post or add it to my own blog. There are actually several financial bloggers I admire accepting guest posts so it’s still a win-win situation.

 

CONCLUSION

 

I have stayed away from “blogging about blogging” for a long time for several reasons.

 

1. I didn’t have much experience blogging, wasn’t making any money until now, and didn’t want to push something until I really tried it out for myself.

2. I see too many newbies glamorize blogging to get people to join using their referral links and they only blog about blogging. Just my opinion.

3. Wanted to prove to myself that you can make money blogging about topics other than blogging, which is true because all of my top posts are financial topics.

 

I’m going to delve into some blogging posts as it is my intention to make it my #1 side hustle.

 

I want write posts that are honest and not sales-y as well as offer some free blogging advice and traffic boosting tips that have worked for me. Blogging isn’t always easy, but can be very profitable when done correctly.

 

I also want to create my very own product that will help people get their financial lives in order. I know there are already a bunch of those products on the market, but I have something unique and interactive in my head that I want to bring to fruition. I’m going to draw up a blueprint in my free time 😉

 

This month will be a busy one because my daughter goes back to school,  vacation is coming up, and we joined the gym. I know it’s one of the things I mentioned that we stopped buying to save money, but they have childcare, unlimited classes, and since our credit card debt is paid off it’s a good way to distress.

 

I’m going to teach myself to be more efficient with my time and tackle one goal at a time without overwhelming myself so wish me luck!