July 2018 Blog Income Report

 

 

{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.}

July 2018 BLOGGING STATS

 

Traffic: 11,986 pageviews

 

When I first started blogging I got 200 pageviews in one month and I was so happy. Yes, you read that right. Now I get days where I get 200 pageviews in 1 day and that is disappointing. We all have to start somewhere.

 

July was my highest traffic month ever!

 

I had hit a massive blogging road block and wasn’t interested in doing much writing or anything with my blog. I stopped doing share groups and being active on all my social media accounts. We went on vacation and I took a much needed break.

Instead I focused more on my Pinterest manual pinning strategy using the techniques in the Pinterest course I took and the group I am in.

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

PINTEREST: 824 followers (I’ve been getting 1 to 10 new followers a day)

 

FACEBOOK: 556 followers (I think I lost a follower. Going to have to try posting more regularly on my account)

 

INSTAGRAM: 489 followers

 

TWITTER: 999 followers

 

EMAIL LIST: I still haven’t focused on rebuilding my list since the GDPR compliance laws from May 25. I’ll get to it eventually.

 

REVENUE FOR JULY 2018: $109.46

 

Ads

 

Google AdSense: $104.46

Just to be clear my Google AdSense check threshold is set to $100 so this amount is for 2 months of blogging. I’m hovering at $50 a month and hope to get to over $100 just on ads shortly.

My traffic still isn’t high enough to apply to Mediavine, but I am more determined than ever and can see it happening before the end of 2018.

 

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 as 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 1,000 followers on any of my social media profiles.

 

Sign up for Linqia here!

 

Referrals

 

Although I haven’t made any money with these referrals, I genuinely love these sites because they help people save money doing things they already do and they aren’t blogging-related. If you’re a blogger you’ll understand what I mean.

 

Groupon: $0

 

eBates: $0

 

iBotta: $0

 

 

Product Reviews

 

 

Intellifluence: $5

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 July I got to test out a product for free and was compensated $5 for my review. I started working on 2 more paid product reviews, but wasn’t paid for them in July.

 

 

Affiliate Marketing

 

Amazon Associates: $0

I had 3 more Amazon affiliate sales within the last 30 days which is exciting, but still not making the money I want. The affiliate course I took is geared more towards bloggers with bigger subscriber lists. I haven’t given up on this income stream, but don’t plan to revisit it yet.

 

 

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!

Pinteresting Strategies Course Review & promo code

 

I am in the midst of rereading Carly’s book and her group continues to be a wealth of information. One of the group members shared their manual pinning technique that I think will give me the push I need to join Mediavine. I can’t wait to share my results.

 

 

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 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.

If you choose to invest in his new course MOMO I know you won’t be disappointed because to me his current course is the best I have seen or heard about.

 

TAILWIND

 

Boardbooster was shut down so I currently don’t use an automatic pin scheduler.

I want to “master” my manual pinning strategy first then add in Tailwind usage.

I use Tailwind to look at my stats and will be setting it up properly before our next vacation. Sign up for Tailwind here and get 100 free pins and a $30 credit!

 

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

 

This month in ad revenue I made close to what I made in a full year combined. Wow my early traffic days were terrible.

 

Since starting my blog I went from zero pageviews a month to close to 11,000 pageviews.

 

I continue to get new Pinterest followers every single day (one day I had 10 new followers!) Follow my Pinterest account here to get more money making and saving tips, delicious food recipes, and more!

 

A brand I worked with in the past contacted me to review another one of their products. The pay isn’t amazing, but it’s nice to know that they enjoyed working with me and would like to do so again.

 

My post 11 Things rich people do that poor people don’t hit over 1,000 shares.

 

One of my latest posts 13 Important Things to Do After Becoming Debt-Free is driving a lot of traffic to my site.

 

 

JUNE 2018 GOALS

 

Work on ways to increase my email subscribers. FAILED. I DIDN’T EVEN GO NEAR MY LIST.

 

Create a roundup post. FAILED. WITH VACATION AND THE NEED FOR A BREAK I DIDN’T GET TO IT.

 

Interact with big name bloggers within my niche and ask them for advice. FAILED.

 

Finish and go through all of the blogging courses I’ve purchased. STARTED GOING THROUGH THEM SLOWLY.

 

Focus on other sources of blog traffic. Don’t depend solely on Pinterest. Focus on SEO. ORGANIC TRAFFIC HAS INCREASED!

 

Post more frequently (twice a week). HALF FAILED. WHEN I HIT MY ROADBLOCK I HADN’T POSTED ANYTHING NEW FOR A MONTH, BUT NOW I’M POSTING ANYWHERE FROM 1 TO 3 TIMES A WEEK!

 

Start preparing posts for the holiday season. I HAVE A LIST BUILDING UP ON MY PHONE AND WILL START WRITING MY POSTS LATER THIS WEEK.

 

 

GOALS FOR AUGUST 2018

 

Start contacting finance bloggers for my money roundup post.

 

Write at least 3 holiday geared posts.

 

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

 

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.

 

Revamp my About Me page.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I am more excited about blogging than ever. After writing my yearly income report and going on vacation, I felt a newfound love for blogging.

 

I am proud that I have been able to make money without having to blog about blogging. My money posts and banana pudding recipe continue to be the biggest drivers of traffic to my site.

 

I am going to STOP comparing myself to bloggers in a negative way. Their success stories should be used to learn how to implement what they are doing and apply it to my blog rather than make me feel jealous that my traffic sucks compared to theirs.

 

I read that one blogger had only 25 posts and joined Mediavine after a few months since starting her blog. This proves that although content is important, marketing and putting your stuff out there should be just as important if not more.

 

I’ve had a big increase in blog comments (not from share groups), which has been a pleasant surprise.

 

In my next income report I hope to share with you more wins and any tips I come up with.