XUKKHINI BLOG INCOME REPORT: TRAFFIC STATS, INCOME AND BLOGGING TIPS & TRICKS, APRIL 2018
Hey guys!
Thanks for reading my blog income report which represents my 10th month of blogging!
Unfortunately, I was unable to publish March’s income report as ‘life’ got in the way (the garage conversion is coming along nicely, and I’m looking forward to my new office).
Why Do I Share My Income Reports?
Reading other blogger’s income reports is what finally gave me the push that I needed to start my own blog.
I found their honesty and transparency refreshing and inspiring.
You can read all my income reports here.
General Summary for April
Earnings slide as building work and adverse health conditions take their toll.
Being diagnosed with low levels of testosterone is not life-threatening.
But at times, the tiredness can be so crippling, that I am forced into complete rest.
This has resulted in MANY wasted days.
However, I am under the care of a fantastic endocrinologist and I remain positive about the future.
Nevertheless, ad revenue dipped by 38.4%, affiliate income plunged by 160% and page views sank by 43%.
But business is cyclical – bad times will (almost) always follow good times.
Xukkhini Blog Income Report, April 2018
Ad Income: $653.97 (Mediavine)
Clickbank: $ 157.61
Shareasale: $18.48 (Tailwind)
Other affiliate income: 142.57
Page Views: 59,697
Blog Posts: 4 (another dismal performance!)
TOTAL INCOME: $972.63
Blog Data Breakdown & Analysis
Advertising revenue from Mediavine still accounts for the bulk of my income.
If you’re generating over 25,000 sessions a month, and want to diversify your blogging income, then I highly recommend that you apply to Mediavine.
They’re dedicated to helping your site and ad income grow, with a support team that’s the best in the industry.
I’m also getting great feedback from readers who’ve successfully shed pounds by using The 2 Week Diet and Yoga Burn for Women, sold via Clickbank.
April also saw my first sale from Tailwind. (Tailwind is my #1 recommendation for scheduling pins on Pinterest)
However, I’ve started experimenting with BoardBooster which I think offers one advantage over Tailwind which you can read about below.
As mentioned, page views were substantially down from February. However, I created a ton of new pins for older posts, and look what happened:
A textbook “head-and-shoulders” pattern ensues!
I’ve spoken about the value of creating fresh pins for Pinterest before. If you ever want a traffic boost, this is one way to go!
Other affiliate income has come from a host of other partners ranging from theme and plugin developers, Audible, Amazon associates, Jillian Michaels, Beach Body, Healthful Pursuits and HealthyWage.
Expenses
Convertkit: $79
If traffic is the lifeblood of your site, your email subscribers are the beating heart.
And if you’re serious about blogging then you need the very best in email service provider.
Like many bloggers, I used MailChimp at first. And I had no complaints.
But once I made the switch to Convertkit, the results spoke for themselves.
Email open rates more than doubled and conversion rates are almost triple than that of using MailChimp.
Their customer service is one of the best of any online tool I’ve encountered. Convertkit is simple to use but incredibly powerful and flexible. $79 well spent!
Social Warfare: $9.99
The Social Warfare plugin is the only plugin that I trust when it comes to sharing my blog posts via social media.
And I’m not alone, more than 50,000 websites use Social Warfare to optimize their site’s social sharing.
The plugin adds beautiful, striking social share buttons to your blog. Easy to use, out of the box and fully customizable.
What’s more, it won’t slow your site.
I originally used Ultimate Social Media Share Icons, but found this plugin caused issues with page speed loading times.
Tailwind: $9.99
By far the smartest way to schedule on Pinterest and Instagram.
Tailwind is Pinterest approved marketing partner. It’s the most powerful social media scheduling tool that slashes hours of social media management into minutes.
Tailwind allows you to schedule your pins from anywhere and its ‘Smart Calendar’ will optimize your audience engagement by pinning at your highest traffic times!
Tailwind offers a FREE trial with no time limit!
They allow you to schedule up to 100 pins on Pinterest, and 30 posts on Instagram for FREE before deciding if a paid plan is right for you.
MiloTree: $9
MiloTree takes you blog’s cold traffic and converts them into loyal followers.
It’s the quickest, easiest and simplest plugin I’ve ever installed!
Best of all, it’s incredibly lightweight and won’t slow your site.
What Has Worked This Month
As many bloggers become keenly aware: free time is a scarce resource!
In the little free time that I have, I LOVE to read.
This month, I’ve delved into Tim Ferris’s modern-day take on Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, Tools of Titans
Tim’s “Productivity Tricks” (see page 200) have doubled my workflow.
Here’s what you do:
“1. Write down the 3 – 5 things – and no more – that are making you the most anxious or uncomfortable. They’re often the things that have been punted from one day’s to-do list to the next, to the next, to the next, and so on. Most important usually equals most uncomfortable.
2. For each item ask yourself: “If this were the only thing I accomplished today, would I be satisfied with my day?“
3. Block out 2 to 3 hours to focus on ONE of them for today.”
Step 2 reminds me of a quote from Steve Jobs:
“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Anyway, the point is, this one productivity ‘hack’ has been most helpful.
The following chapter in Tools of Titans
If you’re a blogger using WordPress, and you don’t know who this is, then I’ll let you look it up for yourself!
Anyway, his remarks resonated with my long-term approach to blogging, and “It ain’t over till it’s over” attitude:
“Okay, if we do X today, what does that result in tomorrow, a year from now, ten years from now?“
Guest Post
It was a pleasure to publish my first guest post last month submitted by Celeste Galizia of Where Comes the Sun.
I love the collaborative element of blogging, and I was delighted when Celeste reached out to me with her idea for a blog post.
You can read the full article here.
BoardBooster
Here’s the BoardBooster trick that I’ve been applying this month to great effect:
Tailwind is, in my opinion, the best scheduler when it comes to pinning to a list of boards (think ‘Campaigns’ in BoardBooster).
But what happens, if you have an issue adding a Group Board to your Board Lists in Tailwind?
For example, I have board lists for ‘Weight Loss’, ‘Yoga’ and ‘Workouts’. But some of my Group Board simply don’t fit into these lists.
And as a result, I used to manually pin to them each day.
The solution?
BoardBooster’s Scheduler tool.
This allows you to use ‘Secret Boards’ as a queue for pins that you want to add to your public boards.
Simply add pins to the cloned Secret Board, and set the number of pins that you want to schedule.
BoardBooster’s Scheduler is also the best way I know to automatically fill up any new boards that I create.
What Has Not Worked This Month
Slumped in an armchair, barely able to think or move while binge-watching “Jessica Jones” on Netflix has certainly NOT helped.
Unfortunately, this crushing fatigue is a symptom of low testosterone levels (low-T) and I would not wish it on anyone.
Otherwise, nothing much to report here!
New Posts Published
New posts last month include:
1. Xukkhini Blog Income Report, March 2018
2. 6 Yoga Poses for Flat Abs: 4 Minutes to a Flatter Tummy
3. How to Lose Weight for Teens: 5 Easy Tips to Avoid Teenage Obesity
4. 29 Healthier Alternatives to Your Favorite Foods (Eat This; Not That!)
Blogging Courses I Recommend
When I launched Xukkhini, I had NO experience and had not taken a single course or ebook on how to blog.
This caused weeks of hell and frustration which could have been so easily avoided.
I’m now a big believer in blogging courses and ebooks, and have taken many since those dark days.
They helped me turn the corner and gave me the knowledge and skills to transform my blog from a hobby into a full-time income:
#1 BLOGGING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS
Building a Framework by Abby Lawson is one of the best blogging investments I made.
She’s figured out what works so you can focus on refining your message, building your brand, monetizing your platform and growing your business.
Abby shows you ways to build valuable blogging networks, create engaging content that will keep your readers coming back for more and how to conquer social media to further your reach.
Not yet ready to commit?
Why not sign up for Abbey’s FREE ‘10 Day Blogging Quickstart‘ or her FREE guide, ‘5 Types of Content That Will Boost Your Blog Traffic‘
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
#1 FOR AFFILIATE MARKETING
Learn how 22-year-old Michelle went from blogging as a hobby, to earning over $100,000 a month.
Whether you’re a brand-new blogger or if you’ve been blogging for years, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing will show you everything you need to be successful with affiliate marketing.
If you’ve already tried affiliate marketing, you may be frustrated with your results. It’s not as easy as just slapping a few links on your site.
Even after spending an enormous amount of time and effort, your results may still be disappointing.
Only by learning proven strategies, will you be able to increase your affiliate income and start to make more money blogging.
My affiliate income surged immediately once I implemented Michelle’s advice.
If you’re interested in starting your own blog, as a hobby or a money-making side hustle, check out my step-by-step guide on how to start a blog in 10 minutes.
And once you’re set, head to my Resources page where you’ll find the crucial tools and resources vital to growing your new blog.
Don’t forget this post – save the pin below to your favorite blogging board!
Why not FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST and check out our other pins?
Great! sorry for the illness.Am sure you will recover and push stuff again
Thanks Okii!