Hi Guys!
Welcome to my blog income report for income earned in February 2018!
But first:
Why do I Share my Income Reports?
Well, I first thought about starting a blog over 10 years ago.
But the dream remained unfulfilled. I never had the courage to start.
A decision which I now regret every day.
Many of you reading this right now, may be thinking of starting your own blog.
But don’t be like me and spend forever just THINKING about it. Do something. Take action today.
You can start your very own blog in just 10 minutes by following my simple step-by-step guide.
Once you’ve set up your blog, check out my Resources page – over 50+ blogging tools and resources vital to your blogging success.
These income reports are therefore designed to create transparency, inspire you, offer you guidance, reveal personal insights and the tips & tricks I use.
They’re also a great way for me to remain accountable and chronicle my blogging journey for nostalgic reasons!
I’m also a big advocate of ‘rapid experimentation’ as recommended by Tim Ferriss in his book ‘The 4-Hour Workweek
In this respect, they’re also intended to show you what has worked for me…
…and what has not.
Lastly, I believe blog income reports allow me to write with a more personal tone. I am writing them as much for me, as I am for my readers.
General Summary for February
This month, ‘life’ has really got in the way. Hence the lateness of this blog income report (we’re now into April!).
Catherine and I have a little one on the way, so hospital trips are the weekly norm.
We’re also in the throes of having a garage conversion to make more room for baby.
I’m also busy behind the scenes preparing the launch for my new blog, Smart Income Blogger.
This new blog will be focused on entrepreneurs, blogging tips, making money and saving money.
I’m getting really excited about this new venture, but as you can image, running two blogs requires a lot of time!
Anyway, let’s take a look at how I’ve done this month…
Xukkhini Blog Income Report, March, 2018
Ad Income: $904.90 (Mediavine)
Affiliate Income: $827.10
Page Views: 85, 551
Blog Posts: 4
TOTAL INCOME: $1,732
Blog Data Breakdown & Analysis
Last month’s income was the highest yet!
Why was this?
Well, page views were also the highest they’ve ever been – an increase of almost 9% from last month.
And this is why blog traffic is VITAL to your success. The more traffic you get, the more money you can make. Traffic really is the KEY to your online success!
The bulk of affiliate income came from the popular weight loss products The 2 Week Diet and Yoga Burn etc.
However, I was pleased to make my first Bluehost sales which accounted for $195.
Bluehost is simply the BEST hosting for new bloggers.
My step-by-step, beginner’s guide means you can start your own profitable blog today in as little as 10 minutes for just $3.95 a month!
I also made sales of Carly Campbell’s Pinterest Strategies – the first of which was made in less than three hours! (Read how Pinterest Strategies can skyrocket your blog traffic here).
This would not have been possible without House of Brazen’s popular ebook, “How to Make Your First Affiliate Sale in 24 Hours”.
The author and successful blogger, Elise McDowell, lays out the exact strategy to make your first affiliate sale in just 24 hours using Pinterest.
What’s more, you’ll also learn how to create viral pins on Canva, how to leverage group boards to drive affiliate sales, and access to her own thriving group board and affiliate program.
Grab your copy now for only $25!
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 seriously impacted my page load speed.
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
Having your pins in a ‘bad neighborhood’ can decrease the reach of all your pins.
So, this month I used the ‘Board Insights’ function on Tailwind, to weed out my underperforming group boards.
And in doing so I’ve seen a slow but steady growth in blog traffic.
Simply go to your Tailwind account. Click on Board Insights, uncheck Secret Boards and Regular Boards and sort by Virality Score.
Next, look for boards with a lower than YOUR average virality score. These are the boards you should consider leaving.
However, in deciding whether I should leave these boards, I perform one last check.
I click on the name of the board to get the pin insights on that board. And if I see a low amount of pin activity, then it’s time to bid farewell to this group board.
What Hasn’t Worked This Month
In my never-ending quest for efficiency, I decided to streamline my email broadcasts by no longer including my logo at the top of each email and a clickable image to that blog post.
This was a big mistake that resulted in 4 unsubscribes from each of the two broadcasts – the largest amount I’ve ever had.
Could this just be a coincidence?
The previous and following broadcasts were in the traditional format – clickable logo and post image.
The result?
No unsubscribers!
New Posts Added This Month
1. How to Increase Blog Traffic with Pinterest Strategies
2. How to Make Bone Broth and Cure Leaky Gut
3. 8 Easy Kettlebell Exercises for Weight Loss
4. 10 Secrets to Lose 10 Pounds (Without Exercise!)
I’m a little disappointed that I only managed to publish four posts this month.
However, the article on kettlebell exercises is definitely making waves and is approaching 1K saves on Pinterest already.
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.
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?
Congrats! and Thanks for Sharing Your Hard Work With Us. I’m very Impressed With your Income. In actual, They Really Motivate me to Keep Trying and Stay in focus 🙂
Hi Ajay. I’ve always been inspired reading other’s blogging income reports also. But most of all, discovering how different bloggers are experimenting and the tools and resources other’s find helpful. Thanks for commenting, really appreciate it. Peter