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It’s make myself completely vulnerable day! Also known as the day I share my income report. It’s been MONTHS since I shared my last report because things have been crazy around here lately, but today I’m going to start playing catch up and show you what’s been going on behind the scenes of My Love for Words.
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If this is your first time visiting my blog or seeing one of my income reports you may be wondering why I would share such personal information. Aren’t we taught to never talk about money in public?!
I share these reports for a couple of different reasons. My husband loves that they force me to stay on top of my income and expenses, which he greatly appreciates during tax season, but honestly, I could track all of that privately. Why in the world would I want to publicly broadcast how much (or little) I’m making on my blog?
The truth is that reading the income reports of other bloggers has been a huge help to me. They have given me great ideas on how to grow my business, be more efficient with my time, and earn more money. All good things! My hope is that by making this information public, others can be helped too. I hope people can figure out what they should (and shouldn’t) be doing to grow their blogs and hopefully achieve a greater work-life balance, which can be hard when you’re passionate about something and work from home.
I also hope to show others that the ways of making money have greatly changed in the last decade or two. We no longer have to work outside of the home to make a great living, and we don’t have to spend our days doing what someone else tells us. I love that!
Blogging isn’t a get rich quick scheme. There’s a lot to do and even more to learn! It can feel overwhelming at times, but the income potential is truly unlimited. I’m quite happy with what I’m making, but there are a lot of bloggers who put my numbers to shame. Just like anything else, you’ll get out of it what you put into it.
As a mom of four (with #5 on the way) I know we could never afford for me to work outside of the home, and (honestly) I wouldn’t really want to either. For me, this is the best of both worlds, and that’s why I share. I want to help people see that making money from a blog really is possible.
If you’ve ever thought about blogging, now is the best time to start! It’s as simple as choosing a domain name and getting great hosting through Bluehost, which is only $3.95/month through this link (this deal is not available on the Bluehost website!). For more info and a step-by-step directions you can also check out my How to Start a Blog post.
All right, on to the numbers!
February 2016 Blogging Traffic & Income Report
Income
- AdThrive – $1,817.58
- Adsense – $332.02
- Printables (This Organized Life printable set and my Etsy shop) – $999.39
- Amazon Associates – $71.84
- Paid guest post – $35
- ConvertKit – $23.40
Total Income: $3,280.23
Expenses
- Synthesis hosting – $0 (quarterly charge, paid $127 in Dec. 2015)
- ConvertKit – $199
- BlogVault – $9
- Etsy expenses – $51.88
- Gumroad Transaction fees – $47.90
- BoardBooster – $19.21
- Rafflecopter – $13
- Meet Edgar – $49
- Survey Monkey – $26
- Rev transcription service – $21
Total Expenses – $435.99
December 2015 Profit – $2844.24
Traffic Overview
I had 300,439 page views in February. That’s only about a fourth of what I had in January, but that’s the way blogging goes; It can be roller coaster!
For the longest time, my goal was to break 100,000 page views a month so I could apply to better ad networks. It took forrreeevver, but now that I’ve figured out different strategies to keep my page views consistently high, my goal is to work on ways to monetize my blog that aren’t dependent on page views.
As much as I enjoy what I do and the money that comes from it, my favorite part of blogging is connecting with you, my wonderful readers. I still get excited with every comment, e-mail, and message I receive. I truly couldn’t do this without you, and I wouldn’t want to!
I’ll be sharing March, April, May, and June’s income reports soon since I have so much catching up to do. I’m particularly excited to show you what happened in April and May considering this poor blog was completely neglected while I was suffering from morning sickness. You just might be surprised. I know I was!
To see my other income reports, click here.
This really is so inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing – the knowledge is invaluable
Oh good! You’re so welcome, Medina. Thanks for reading 🙂
As a newbie blogger, I can only hope to make some $ blogging one day. Do you mind if I ask how long it’s taken you to both get your page views this high as well as make some $? Visiting from DIY Sunday Showcase.
Hi Victoria! I don’t mind at all. I blogged basically as a hobby for 2-2.5 years. Once I started to treat my blog as a business everything changed. I had to make working a priority and be consistent with posting and social media shares, but once I did that my page views and income skyrocketed (well, compared to what they had been anyway). Through Oct/Nov of 2014 I was averaging around 20,000-25,000 page views/month. I desperately wanted to break through 100k so I could apply to more premium ad networks, but it seemed impossible. With consistency, I was able to get to around 75,000/month, but I was stuck there for months too. Then I changed my pinterest strategy and in one month went from 75k to 225k! That’s when I started to feel like, “Okay, I can do this!” That was June 2015 so it’s been rather slow going for me, but it doesn’t have to take that long for you or anyone else. It’s really all about consistency, producing content that helps people, and sharing it so they can find it. I hope that helps! If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll help however I can. 🙂
May I ask how long you’ve been blogging and when you started seeing income? And how do you keep up with it with your children? Especially little ones!
Of course, Charlotte! I started in January 2013, but I had NO idea what I was doing so it was a hobby for a while. I actually even quit in June/July of 2013 because I was overwhelmed. I was surprised by how much I missed it so I started back after 6 or so weeks off, and I’ve been blogging pretty consistently since then. I made a little money here and there through Adsense and the occasional sponsored post, but once I started treating my blog like a business my page views and income dramatically increased. My page views alone went from around 25,000 to about 250,000 in just 6 months (and then up to 450,000/month not long after that) thanks to some simple changes and being more intentional about how I was spending my time, but that was only last year so it took me 2.5 years to get to that point. It doesn’t have to take that long though! Finding the balance between work and family time isn’t always easy, but I love blogging because it is so flexible. I feel like I’m only now starting to figure out how to balance things somewhat. My goal now is to work ahead so I’m not scrambling to get posts together right before they go live. I hope that helps! If you have any other questions just let me know. 🙂
I love reading blog income reports from others. It shows me that I have to try harder, but it’s possible to make my dreams come true – to work from home full time 🙂
It’s totally possible, Marina! The sky’s the limit 🙂
Nice job. I wish you much luck in the future months to come.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for posting this! I’m currently trying to make a part-time income from my blog without having to spend 40 hours a week from it. I took a break from it because I was sooo overwhelmed but now I’m ready to get back into blogging (but set boundaries). It’s inspiring to see bloggers like you be so successful and it’s also helpful to know that it took years to reach the level of success that you have reached. It takes a lot of pressure off of me to feel like I need to be at a certain place with my blog in 6 months or whatever.
It took me 3.5 years to get to this point, but it doesn’t have to take others that long at all. There’s definitely a lot to learn, and at 5 months in I actually quit because I was so overwhelmed. I understand! You’ll get there, but don’t give up! 🙂
This is valuable and helpful information for all bloggers.
Thank you for sharing this at Thoughts of Home. We are so glad you are here.
I always appreciate these income reports from bloggers such as yourself, so I can have a bit of inspiration and focus on where to pursue my own blog growth. Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Thanks for checking it out, Megan! I’m so glad to hear it was helpful. I love income reports too. It amazes me how much some people make by blogging.