When I decided to take my little homeschool blog on blogger and try to turn it into a real business, I scoured the internet for any and every blog traffic and income report out there. I wanted to know how much people were making and how they were making it happen.
These reports either left me feeling totally empowered and ready to take on this crazy world of blogging, or they left me feeling totally defeated and like I could never make any money because my blog was so tiny.
See, most people shared their traffic and income reports when they were making thousands of dollars with hundreds of thousands of pageviews. I wanted to see a newbie. I wanted to see traffic and income reports that seemed reachable. So I started sharing my own blog traffic and income reports starting in December of 2015 when I made a total of $19.07 with like 5500 pageviews. Now the traffic and income reports are quite a bit bigger, but if you think this is crazy, go back to December and work your way up. I promise you can do this! So now, here’s my blog traffic and income report for September 2016!
Blog Traffic and Income Report September 2016
Blogging Traffic
Blog Traffic
- Pageviews: 16,003
- Users: 10867
My Most Popular Posts
- Over 20 Fun Apple Activities for Kids
- The Best Baby Sleep Hack from a Mom of Four
- The Best Books About Apples for Kids
My Top Referrers
What Worked and What I’m Changing
One big thing that worked in September was sharing extra long pins on Pinterest. I always have made a vertical pin image that I share at the top of my blog post, but I’ve been sharing with making pins longer (700×1900 px) and they’ve done so much better on Pinterest! I also wrote some posts that were really seasonal, and combined that did really well for me.
I’m actually not changing much with this in October. I’m planning on creating a lot more seasonal content, and I’ll be using the month to build up holiday content as much as I can. I’ve also gotten a lighting kit and some photo back drops so that I can take more of my own quality images. Lucky for me, I can use them for my blog, my VA work, and my LuLaRoe stuff when I start!
Blogging Income $1009.40
Income Sources
- MediaVine Ads: $120.55
- Amazon Affiliates: $37.85
- Other Affiliates: $0
- Sponsored Posts (iHN and Linqia): $823
- Products (sales from my shop): $28
What Worked and What I’m Changing
First, have a mini-party with me because I made over $1000 with my blog for the first time in September!!!!
Okay, so what worked was taking a ton of sponsored work. I’m not going to lie, I was more than a little bit overwhelmed this month. Total I think I had 8 or 9 sponsored posts in September, and I pretty much burned out. So I guess you could say that it didn’t work. I loved seeing that much money, but oh man is it exhausting.
To change that, I’m cutting back a bit on sponsored posts and only taking campaigns that are higher value. I do the same amount of work for a sponsored post whether it makes $50 or $150, so I need to start prioritizing.
The other thing that I’m trying to keep in mind is that my VA work has gone way up. I have several clients and I am loving the work that I’m doing for them. With me focusing more on that aspect of my business I am trying to be okay with the blog not growing right now.
Blogging Expenses $441.31
This month my blogging expenses were pretty high, but I am pretty happy with all of the things I’ve invested in. I hired a virtual assistant to schedule some pins for me, and I’ve started purchasing some posts from different contributors, which I’ve loved and I might do more often in the coming months. It’s also important to keep in mind that some of these expenses also support my virtual assistant, Fundanoodle, and LuLaRoe businesses. (I have business ADD. What can I say?)
Monthly Recurring Expenses $207.98
- Hosting: $22
- ConvertKit: $29.99
- MeetEdgar: $49
- Easy Product Display: $6.99
- VA for Pinterest: $100
One Time Expenses for July $233.33
- Contributors: $50
- Paypal Fees: $7.10
- Photography Lighting Kit + Backdrops: $110.18
- Sponsored Post Purchases: $66.05
Goals for October
I am expecting October to settle down. Most blogs see a huge rise in traffic and income through the holidays, but since I’m not prioritizing the blog right now, I’m not expecting that. I am working my VA business full-time (or more than full-time) and I’m preparing for starting up LuLaRoe at the end of October or early November.
With that said, I am going to try to stay above 10k pageviews, and I’d love to stay over $500 income for the month. I have a few sponsored posts and I am starting to get more in ads and affiliates, so I think I can probably do it. I am going to try to get some more holiday content up, but I am also just being patient with myself.
This is so encouraging! And I am glad you listed mediavine and your numbers. I just applied for their ad network and am hoping to make triple what I make now with adsense. I was wondering if it would make a difference in my numbers, and your report encouraged me that it will. Also, I will be getting into the iHomeschool Network in the fall. I’m a little nervous about sponsored posts. I haven’t done a single one – they kind of intimidate me. How did you get started? Thanks!
I am so excited you’ll be joining the iHN! Some of my favorite sponsored posts come from that network, and they make it super simple! I would start there, for sure. We have a handy “checklist” that makes sure our sponsored content is awesome!