DECEMBER 2018 BLOG INCOME REPORT
I have been blogging for 1.5 years. Crazy right?
It took me over 1 full year of struggling and making a boatload of mistakes just to make my first $200.
{This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. Full disclosure policy.}
I cannot believe this, but I would like to report:
IN DECEMBER ALONE I MADE $1,127.34 BLOGGING PART TIME!
My first several months blogging I made pennies. After finally hitting the $100 mark, my next big goal was to make $1,000 in one month.
At the rate I was going earlier in December, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not.
I got “lucky” and a seasonal post I had written last year went viral!
I hope my blogging income reports will encourage you to consider pursuing blogging as a side hustle. Be warned, it’s not a get rich quick scheme by any means. It takes a lot of time, work, dedication, and continued learning.
Start your own blog with Bluehost for just $3.95 a month with this link! Get a free domain, SSL, and 24/7 support.
If you’re a blogger who has been blogging for awhile and NOT seeing results I urge you to keep on going. I wanted to give up blogging altogether a few times along the way.
December 2018 BLOGGING STATS
Traffic: 29,456 52,718 pageviews
My most popular post was one that I wrote the end of last year, but it never gained any traction. Once I created a new pin for it this year I started getting thousands of hits.
Best things to buy after Christmas
SOCIAL MEDIA
PINTEREST: 1,865 2,424 followers
FACEBOOK: 555 557 followers
INSTAGRAM: 505 504 followers
TWITTER: 1,030 1,022 followers
I want to have over 10,000 followers by the end of this year. (After a long time) I consistently get new followers every day with no effort.
If you’re struggling to get new Pinterest follower check out my post 13 easy ways to get new Pinterest followers. I’ll be adding more tips soon.
I gained 559 new Pinterest followers this month.
I’ve been doing my research and checking out other successful bloggers and here is what came up.
Having a huge social media following doesn’t always mean increased income or traffic. I’ve seen several bloggers with barely any followers killing it in the traffic and income department. I believe they focus on SEO and affiliate marketing more than trying to get social media likes.
On the flip side, I’m sure the ones with a large following can score better sponsorship opportunities.
I’m going to continue to track my follower growth, but not actively work on growing them. I think my time would be better spent growing my email list and creating new content.
REVENUE FOR December 2018: $1,127.34
Ads
Mediavine: $1,057.69
Mediavine’s payment cycle is NET 65, which means I’ll get paid in March.
It’s normal for RPMs to drop in January, which means payment for advertising will be significantly less in the upcoming months 🙁
Referrals/Affiliate Income
eBates: $50 (I see this increasing exponentially in the future with my upcoming Ebates review. I’ve already had more sign-ups this month than any other month thanks to the affiliate marketing tips from this course).
Groupon: $0
iBotta: $0
Intellifluence: $0
In December I did a few product reviews in exchange for free products and my very first video review. I used to be terrified of public speaking and never in a million years thought I would make my own video. Now I think it will be my next venture.
Linqia (new blogger sponsorship opportunities, average payout $220): $0
Affiliate marketing for bloggers: $0
I haven’t started promoting this course yet because I’m not entirely through it. However, I will say my link clicks, Amazon income, and referral sign-ups have all started increasing. Woot woot!
Amazon Associates: $19.65
Thanks to all the holiday shopping and my viral pin, my Amazon income was the highest it has ever been. Still under $20, but I’ll take it!
Related posts:
* November 2018 Income Report:$799.62
* October 2018 Income Report:$314.48
*September 2018 Income Report: $129.43 (to be revised)
*August 2018 Income Report:$276.71
* 13 Easy ways to get new Pinterest followers
Blogging Resources
These resources are the ones that helped me hit over 25k sessions to join Mediavine and finally start making some money from my little blog.
Pinteresting Strategies by Carly Campbell
This course helped me triple my traffic in September and the updated version helped me double it from November to December.
By continuing to implement what I learned from Carly’s course my traffic increased 78.97% from November to December!
Read my >>full review on Carly’s course and get a promo code here<<.
Dare to Conquer (DTC, formerly BBC)
Scrivs, the chill, super successful blogger behind DTC runs multiple blogs that make several thousand dollars a month.
His course is different than any other courses I have seen. For one price you get access to every course, Pinterest guide, SEO, affiliate marketing, video, sales funnel, community, etc.
He constantly updates the courses and just recently came out with $1,000+ a month with ads. As a blogger struggling to make even $100 this would be a great resource.
Not going to lie, I’m reading through it now because it still has a lot of valuable information.
I’m all about free. If you’re not sure if DTC is for you, just work through Scriv’s free 12 day blogging boot camp course.
TAILWIND
I use Tailwind to look at my stats and Tailwind tribes has helped me get over 1,000 page views a day.
I probably spend less than 10 minutes a day on Pinterest. I’ve been filling my queue up and when I go on vacation I don’t plan on checking Pinterest at all.
You don’t need to have Tailwind to get a ton of traffic, but the time it saves me has been used to create new content and pins so I find it to be well worth the money.
Try Tailwind >>one month FREE, get a $25 credit, and free access to 5 tribes<< for a limited time!
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Another record breaking month in traffic! Thinking I can hit 100k page views in one month doesn’t seem delusional any more.
There were some big shifts in my most popular post line up. They were:
Best things to buy after Christmas
11 Things rich people do that poor people don’t
13 Important Things to Do After Becoming Debt-Free
6 Bank accounts you should have
Russell Stover Coconut Cluster recipe
My Pinterest group board ( Money Tips and Tricks group board) has been open to contributors for about a month and growing a lot faster than expected, which could attribute to the increase in my follower rate.
It’s a little nerve racking being on the other end of the group board email requests. I hate turning people down. I’m going to make a post on how to increase your odds of getting accepted to Pinterest group boards now that I have a better idea of what board owners look for. Stay tuned!
CONCLUSION
NETWORK
Even though I can be very introverted, I am going to make it a point to network with bloggers within my niche. Scary! Please don’t make me.
I was a wallflower most of my life and the thought of speaking to people (even making certain phone calls) made me want to curl up under my bed.
Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers say that networking helped them grow and learn so that’s what I’m going to do. Well at least attempt to. I might just chicken out.
LEARN
I am gradually working through my new and existing blog courses. It amazes me how much more there is to learn.
I told myself I wouldn’t spend any more money on blogging courses until I finish the ones I have, so my goal is to work through them at lightning speed. I’m almost done with one and have two more to go.
To make more time for leaning I am going to batch write my posts. A blogger in one of my groups had a lot of success doing it that way.
E.g, Write all the topics and outlines for posts, then write them all, then optimize them all, then create graphics for them all, etc.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This month was an all-time high income month and I am grateful and enjoying my current blogging journey.
My laptop may be broken so I will have to buy another one using my profit. Crossing my fingers it’s just a bad battery or faulty charger.
I plan on writing a post on some blogging tips that helped me go from pennies to that first $1,000. If you have any specific questions leave them in the comments below and maybe I can answer them for you!
Hope you all had a Happy New Year and wishing you good health, success in all that you do, tons of adventures, and money to go on those adventures!
This is so awesome! It’s a slow process, but so rewarding when you see progress!
Thank you…yes it is slow and can be frustrating to the point where you want to pull your hair out, but then there are times when a light bulb turns on and it’s like yes! I get this blogging stuff. That lasts all of about a day lol.
Keep these posts coming! I get so much motivation from them. Thank you!
I’m so glad. I was actually thinking of stopping my blogging income reports so this makes me very happy to read. I like being able to track my own performance but if I can help encourage just one person I’ll keep doing it for now. I think even when my months are lower there are things to be learned and improved on. Thanks so much!
This was great! And it gives me hope for my blog.
I am here cheering you on! You are doing a great job and I am learning a lot from you!
awww..thank you so much! It’s been hard, but I need to remember I’m a lot further along than this time last year. Now to get a good game plan on what to focus on next.
Congratulations this is great! It always does good to read other successes so that I can keep the hope and belief that with more time it can happen.
So true. I would compare myself to others a lot in the beginning, but didn’t take into account that they may spend more time than me, took different courses, or are at a different place in their own blogging journey. I know if I had more time I would be further along so no I’m working on focusing on my most important tasks first.
Good tips! Thanks for sharing. I am about 2 months into my blogging journey, and I am scared to start putting myself more out there. But, it has to be done because this is why I am in the business! To help others! (Making a little side cash won’t hurt either 😉 )
Welcome to the club. Yea, I know what you mean. I was terrified people weren’t going to read or like my stuff. I even had some not so nice comments on my pins. But that comes with the territory. I’ve also had a lot more people thank me for what I write and a lot of nice comments. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or follow bloggers within your niche. There are a few within mine that have been very encouraging.
Awesome job! This post helps me hold out hope that I too can earn an income blogging if I keep at it! I’m definitely subscribing I think I can learn a lot from you 🙂
Thank you. I really want to help newbie bloggers with free blogging tips and information because it’s so hard to figure out where to go when people are just pushing blogging courses to make money. Of course there are those who know what they’re talking about and maybe buying a course isn’t such a bad thing. I research everything before buying and wait for sales too 😉
This was encouraging! I’m still at the very beginning of this journey and sometimes it can be discouraging!
Thank you. I feel that there are so many aspects of blogging to work on but you can’t just focus on one. Social media posts one day, new posts another, new pins, learning new blogging info, etc. It can be information overload and just burnout. I just had to take a step back for a few weeks to regroup and get back into the swing of things.
That is amazing! Congrats! I’m really hoping to get my blog to make money soon… would you consider meidavine to be a better income source than google?
Most definitely! Many people (myself included) find that we made more money with Mediavine in 1 day than a whole month with AdSense. You do need to get 25k page sessions within the past 30 days. Meaning it doesn’t have to be all of January. It could be from December 20 to January 20 so keep an eye on your Analytics.
That is so awesome, congratulations!!! I love that a post from last year took off and created such a result. I’ve thought a fewe times “I’m still going to write this, because even though it’s a little belated now, someone will need to know if for next year!
Yes. I’m still working on a few Valentine’s Day posts that may be late for this year, but early for next year. Yay! lol
Congrats, that is so exciting!
Thank you for sharing! This helps encourage me to keep trying at my own blog.
Congratulations! I think sticking with it when you get frustrated or too busy with life is important. I’ve been at it for 1.5 years but only introduced affiliate marketing within the last month or two. We shall see what happens! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. We’ve been blogging about the same amount of time and I’m trying to step up my affiliate game too. It seems to be improving slowly. My next step to is look for more affiliate programs to join and finish the resource page I started months ago lol.
Congrats! It looks like your blog is doing well! Keep setting and crushing those goals!
Thank you! 🙂 BLogging is no joke and we all tackle our blogging tasks in different ways. I want to focus on affiliate marketing but need more time! I’ve been creating Valentine’s Day stuff a little late for this year, but perfect for next year lol. Slowly finishing out a course I purchased on Black Friday that has helped with referrals. Slow and steady right?
Thank you for the encouragement
This gives me hope. I’ve been blogging since June and I’ve only made about $300 total in that time. I find days where I want to give up, but I know it’s there somewhere! I need to go back and read your previous posts and see what I can be doing to make things happen!
That’s great! I only made a little over $200 my whole first year so sounds like you’re doing a few things right. I suggest spending time marketing your posts just as much as you spend creating them. If it’s not taking off create a new pin. Also ask for feedback. I am not great at networking so I ask my coworkers or friends what they think. Pins I thought looked great when I first made them now make me go “ewww” lol. Keep it up!
Yay!!!! That’s so awesome!!! Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic.
Nice work! I’m working towards the $1000 per month goal as well so this is inspirational!
That’s great! I think finding the right affiliate programs and getting some great pins created help a lot. I find myself so busy creating new content that I forget to go back and attend to the small details.
Enjoy reading income reports! I’m a new blogger so this gives me some hope! never heard of mediavine… seems to be a big income source for you. I may have to check them out.
Yes, most people report making more with Mediavine in 1 day than they do with AdSense in 1 month. You need to have 25k sessions within the past 30 days. I love their customer support too.
OMG, What a great & informative post. Thanks for sharing.
Love this! Congrats, you are a rock star! I pinned this post for later because you have so much great info!
Lol thanks so much 🙂
Your post was awesome! Thanks for setting so much light on blogging!
Omg omg!! congratulations again!!! Your blog income is improving each month! I don’t know if I’ll ever reach where you are right now but I’ll keep trying!
Thank you 🙂 And yes you can! I felt that way for foreverrrr. Ignore the overnight success stories, focus on creating content that solves problems, make gorgeous pins, and help your readers. Best of luck!
I like your style. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this!! I am a newer blogger (Aug 2018) and I’ve been able to focus on it inconsistency with work. But this new year, I am bound and determined to make it work!! This gives me lots of hope!! Good luck to you!
thank you! Best of luck. My advice would be to learn Pinterest because it’s a great source of traffic, but also to learn SEO. That’s what I’m doing now because Pinterest is like a finicky boyfriend, one day they love you the next they don’t. Also if you aren’t getting any traffic to your blog ask your friends what they think of your pins. They might be bad. I know looking back mine were terrible and I had no idea how to use Pinterest. I assumed you pinned something once or twice and traffic would just come pouring in. Yea, definitely not the case.
Thank you for this report! This is giving me some great ideas on how to generate some of my own income.
Thank you for sharing. I started blogging in August of last year. I work every day on it. Learning how to do things behind the scenes. I have so much I need to do that I sometimes get overwhelmed but I refuse to stop or give up.
That’s great! Figuring out a good blogging schedule and a priority list is very important. I try to do social media tasks in between creating new content. Making news pins is a must. I’m now working on affiliate marketing and making round up posts.
Wow – congrats! That’s pretty impressive. Keep up the good work and here’s hoping you have a very successful 2019!
Thank you! 🙂 I am trying to figure out how to balance blogging and family time.
Yay for you! This is awesome news! Give yourself credit for how hard you’ve worked.
Thank you and you’re right. I struggled for a long time blogging and still am, but I got this far by working hard and will just need to keep pushing to get to the next level.
OMG ! Congratulations!!!! I am so happy to see these numbers!
My major income source in December was also Mediavine and still working on affiliate marketing, too.
I’m excited to see your future earnings!!!!
Thanks Jane! Affiliate marketing is coming along slowly for me and January is way down but I’m not discouraged! You are doing great and give me lots of hope 🙂 if I come up with any breakthroughs I’ll be sure to share.
This is such a hopeful post. I admire your persistence. I haven’t made any money yet but I’m not giving up! I’m gonna pin your post to refer to again later. Thanks for all the tips and reality check!
Thanks! Yes I was so excited when I made my first $20. Consistently posting content that solves problems and pinning new pins helped a lot.
This is amazing!
Congratulations with your success! Cheers to the new year!
My ad earnings for January hasn’t been so great haha! My RPM for the most part has been single didgit! But let’s hope this improves after Q1 😅
Keep up the great work! I’m looking forward to seeing you grow in the next few months and years to come!
Again congratulations on such an incredible job! ❤️
Thanks Ling! I’ve been on vacation and put the blog on the wayside to enjoy some family time 🙂 Suffered an even bigger drop in earnings but I’m relaxed and ready to get back at it!