“Honey, I’m thinking of starting a blog.”
“Okay babe, but you’re already pretty busy…”
“I love to write, and I think I can really help people who are going through similar things that I am. Plus, I think if I really work at it, I can start bringing in some money.”
“Uhhhhh, okay… Do it because you love it, but I don’t know that it would actually bring in money”
“Well. Maybe I’ll at least get some of our homeschool curriculum for free eventually. That would be amazing!”
That’s a conversation that I had with my husband about a year and a half ago. Starting a blog seemed crazy, and getting free homeschool curriculum seemed like a “pie in the sky” dream. Now not only do I get a bunch of curriculum for free, but I get paid to write about it on top of that.
I remember reading tons of blogging income reports from people getting thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of pageviews. Depending on my mood I’d either be incredibly inspired, or completely defeated.
I decided to start sharing my blogging traffic and income reports while I’m still small, because I want you to see that it’s possible to bring in money for your family, even when you’re still small. That it’s okay if you aren’t making $5k month six.
Blogging Traffic and Income Report, June 2016
Blogging Traffic
Blog Traffic
- Pageviews: 21,654
- Users: 14,698
My Most Popular Posts
- When They Say It’s Just Your Parenting
- The Best Baby Sleep Hack From a Mom of Four
- Why Your Child Needs a Weighted Blanket
My Top Referrers
- Direct
What Worked and What I’m Changing
I had a post get a few big shares in June, and that really helped my traffic. Without that share, I likely would have stayed at about 15k pageviews, and I’m comfortable with that being my base level for now. Of course, I was thrilled to be over 20k!
Another thing that I changed in June was getting MeetEdgar. I got it all set up, and my Facebook page is now completely automated! It has seriously taken so much pressure off of me to be constantly online, and I’m enjoying Facebook again!
I fully expect a dip in traffic for July. People are enjoying summer with their families, so they aren’t online as much. Because of this, I’m going to spend more time on creating tons of content than I am chasing pageviews. This means less time doing chore threads and promotion.
Blogging Income $484.80
Income Sources
- MediaVine Ads: $131.22
- Amazon Affiliates: $3.48
- Other Affiliates: $9
- Sponsored Posts (Linqia and BlogHer): $274.60
- Products (sales from my shop): $66.50
What Worked and What I’m Changing
I am still thrilled with MediaVine ads, and I ended up getting a few sponsored posts during June, which helped keep my income steady. I also finally got my Scripture for Special Needs Moms devotional up for sale, so I was really excited to see some sales from that. I also sold some Fundanoodle products through my blog shop.
For July I’m expecting my income to drop a bit. It’s the first month in the quarter, so we’ve already been warned that ad budgets will be lower. Plus I’m expecting a dip in traffic. I also only have one sponsored post lined up for July so far. I’m working on a few guests posts that will feature my Scripture for Special Needs Moms devotional, which will hopefully add a few new sales. And I’m working on getting my next eBook done, but I don’t think it will be ready until August.
Oh, and I recently found out about Easy Product Displays. It allows you to include a table of affiliate products to each post easily (like the one just below this text!), and I am hoping that it will help increase my affiliate income. In case you didn’t notice, my Amazon affiliates are pretty pathetic!
How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your SoulEPIC BLOG: One-Year Editorial PlannerLaunch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your DreamsHow To Make Money Blogging: How I Replaced My Day Job With My Blog
&
Goals for July
My main goal for July is to focus on content. I’m doing a ten day series on back to homeschool prep in mid-July, and I’m trying to post at least 5 days a week. Specifically I’m trying to increase my content about homeschooling and back-to school, as well as the holidays. See, the holidays are coming fast, and they should be a great time for traffic. I want to make sure I have plenty of awesome content to bring in the traffic, the sponsored posts, and the ad revenue!
I’ll also be working on my next eBook in July, I’m hoping to launch it in August. I didn’t really “launch” my Scripture for Special Needs Moms devotional. I just put it in the shop and sent two emails to my list. With my next ebook (which will be based on my Autism A-Z series) I want to do a real launch. I have been reading through this book, and I think it will be a game changer!
So that’s my traffic and income report for June of 2016. My end of year goal for monthly income was $500, and I’m getting really close! I don’t think I’ll make it in July, but maybe in August or September! If you’d like to see all of my traffic and income reports, you can check them out here.
If you loved this post, you might also enjoy..
I just did this for my brand new blog, but had to call it an expense report! Ha!
Thanks for sharing while you are still small though, I love to read these and it is so inspiring to read real moms making real money. Even if it is less than $500.
Thank you so much Emma! I’ll definitely go check out your site. Trust me, you’ll get there! <3
I just read through all your income reports and several other of your blog posts. You are rocking it! I am so excited to find another blogger right where I am at. We have about the same traffic and I am just starting to make a little money. I am now a subscriber and will enjoy following along on your journey and I hope we are both successful! I joined EBA this spring and have worked my way through it and it helped but am definitely hitting the July slump, such a bummer but I am trying to keep powering through it and hopefully it will mean I am that much better next month. :-)
Hey Carolyn! Thank you for checking out my blog! The July slump is hitting us all, friend. <3 Just keep going, and Fall/Winter traffic will be here soon!