For one, I cannot believe it is finally October! For us Arizonians, October feels like the finish line to the roughest marathon out there. No more brutal 110° temps!
Secondly, I cannot believe that it has been two months since I’ve started blogging with my “monetized” blog! Honestly, it feels like it has been much longer than just two months. Most likely because I was caught up in the learning curve as a new blogger. That, and I teach full time.
Needless to say, August and September have been exhausting yet super exciting!
I am happy to share that my blog has grown beyond my expectations! I may have not reached all of my monthly goals, but traffic and profit were pretty on point this past month.
Mmmk, here we go!
{Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. However, all opinions and advice are 100% my own. In order to stay truly transparent and honest, I only recommend services that I use, love and believe will benefit others.}
My Second Month Blogging + Income Report
Side Note: This monthly report’s purpose is to inform and inspire. As a new blogger, I love reading newbie blog reports! They allow me to assess my own blogging habits with a realistic comparison. As a teacher, I love me some data!
My last month’s report was a “monthly report” from August 10-September 10. I didn’t realize it then, but it is SO much easier to keep track of data within the actual month. Therefore, this time around I am discussing September 10-30 in order to start October fresh! I realize it cut me short from reaching some goals, but it’s all good!
Pin it:
**Great news! I earned more money during my second month! Keep reading for all the details…
Last Month’s Stats vs. This Month’s Stats.
My First Month Blogging Report –> August 2017 Monthly Blog + Income Report
- Blog Posts: 13 –> 20 total
- Monthly Views: 823 –> 3,062
- Pinterest Group Boards: 31 –> 39 total
- Pinterest Followers: 25 –> 90 total
- Instagram Followers: 67 –> 68
How I felt starting my second month: I definitely felt optimistic! My first month ended with a huge boost in traffic. I earned most of last month’s profit during the last few days, so I felt really excited coming into this second month!
Goals Achieved
These were my goals for the month. I also cut my month short (9/11-9/30) to avoid the odd range of dates I was using (8/10-9/10). Therefore, I kind of forgive myself for not meeting some goals, but I definitely want to work harder this month!
- Blog Posts: 15 new posts. Failed. I only wrote 7. Fall break cannot come soon enough for this teacher!
- Monthly Views: 1200. Achieved! 3,593 views! I almost tripled my goal!
- Pinterest Group Boards: 50 total. Failed. I belong to 39 group boards as of now.
- Pinterest Followers: 100. Almost achieved! I have 90 followers. Mannn! So close!
- Instagram Followers: 100. Failed. 68 followers. I didn’t focus on Instagram at all.
- Venture into Facebook Groups. Failed. Still have yet to! I know that I need to…
- Venture into Tailwind Tribes. Achieved! I belong to 17 tribes now!
- Make a post/pin go over 1k re-pins. Achieved! I had two pins go viral during September!
- Income Earned: $20. Achieved! I earned $32.40 It still blows my mine on how I can make any money off of my blog!
Related Posts: Click to open in a new tab & read later!
- How to Keep Using Tailwind For Free
- Favorite Blog Tools | This Month
- How to Use Pinterest Analytics to Boost Your Blog Traffic.
- Affiliate Markets that Accept Small Blogs
How did I earn Profit?
I earned a total of $32.40 which is $23.37 more than what I made last month! Pretty exciting since I was convinced I was going to maybe earn $10 if I was lucky… I earned all from affiliate links and ads. So far, this has been the only way I have monetized my blog.
- Survey Junkie Affiliate – $16.50
- Shopstyle – $1.85
- Google Adsense – $14.05
Thinking of starting a blog for passive income? Check out –> How to Start a Profitable Blog in 2017
Blog Hosting:
I am so happy that I have chosen Bluehost as my blog hosting platform.
Why Bluehost?
- You get a free domain name for signing up! Other companies charge $14.95 a year!
- One of the cheapest prices offered in the Website Hosting market!
- They have 24/7 support. I had a quick question and was assisted immediately!
- They are an official Worpress Partner!
- They offer a 30 day FULL money back guarantee! This sold me. I literally was able to just try it and decide whether I liked it or not. (I loved it!)
Try Bluehost here –> BLUEHOST
Top 5 Viewed Posts
- 11 “Basic Girl” Products I Stopped Buying
- My First Month Blogging – What Worked & Didn’t Work
- Affiliate Markets that Accept Small Blogs
- 10 Safe Ways to Make Money Online
- How to Write a Song | 10 Simple Steps
What Worked?
Pinterest! Pinterest brought in almost all of my traffic. By the end of the month, I even had my first Viral Pin! A few days later I had another pin go viral. Pinterest has my heart <3
Follow Me on Pinterest 🙂 –> HERE
My FREE secret behind my viral pins? –> How to Use Pinterest Analytics to Boost Your Blog Traffic.
Tailwind! I used my free trial of tailwind up in a few days. I didn’t notice anything “magical”, but Tailwind still offers some very useful features when your trial is up. These free features have been essential in my blog’s growth!
Find out more –> How to Keep Using Tailwind For Free
Survey Junkie Affiliate! I am a huge fan of Survey Junkie as a survey site! I have earned over $120 just taking surveys whenever I have a little time to spare. After I started my blog, I joined their affiliate program to help my audience also find a trusted survey site to earn a little side income. Right away, I began earning a profit for referring new customers! It continues to be a steady affiliate income.
Click to try –> Survey Junkie! it’s free!
What Didn’t Work?
Time Management.
Nothing felt like a complete failure this month… Which is a good thing 🙂 However, I do feel that I did not do a great job making time for my blog.
I am a full time teacher, so finding a moment in my day to work on my blog was super tough this month! I feel this is is partly because I began teaching an after school reading class from 3-4:15pm on top of my usual 7am-3pm teaching job. 3-4pm used to be my productive blogging hour before working on more school lessons and such. I felt a bit lost this month!
I definitely need to put myself on a weekday blogging schedule, so I am overworking on my weekends which makes weekdays even more exhausting!
Lessons Learned
Blogging can be such a mental roller coaster! On some days my views will be super high and I feel like I am finally having a break through! It’s such an exciting rush!
Then the next day I will literally receive a third of the previous day’s views and it feels like such downer. Literally.
I just have to remind myself to interpret the slow days as still being a sign of positive progress. At least I am consistently receiving audience views! Now, if I received 0 views for the day and everybody all of a sudden deleted me on Pinterest, then I should be worried.
Blogging is hard work, but it is so fun to see progress! I love checking my stats randomly throughout my work day. It really makes an ordinary Monday-Friday feel that much more exciting! I feel like I now have a personal outlet that I never used to have as a busy teacher.
Feeling #blessed :-p
October Goals
- Blog Posts: 15 new posts. For realz this time!
- Monthly Views: 6,000
- Pinterest Group Boards: 50 total
- Pinterest Followers: 200
- Instagram Followers: 100
- Join Facebook Blogging Groups!
- Have 1k views in one day!
- Income Earned: $100 (shoot for the stars, folks!)
There we have it. September 2017 has been all said and done. Although, I am not bringing home $10k like some super-bloggers out there, I am quite happy with my progress! Hey, I’m $32 richer than I would have been without a blog… and I have found a new hobby that I feel excited and passionate about! (Netflix is feeling a bit left out…)
The best advice I have found this month, is that when things feel like they aren’t working CHANGE it! Easier said than done, I know. However, it has been the little tweaks and experimentation here and there that has helped me grow my blog.
I hope you found this post to be helpful, relatable and maybe even inspiring!
Best Wishes!
I’ve noticed my income increase when I started pinning consistently to Pinterest. Since May 2017, I’ve been persistent with Pinterest Marketing. In the month of September 2017, my income from promoting one specific affiliate program SKYROCKETED. And I’m not joking either. Long story short…everyone needs Pinterest for improved traffic + SEO, increased affiliate income, and more. Pinterest is a must for every blogger and internet marketer’s strategy if they’re seriously looking to gain traction in making money online full-time. 🙂
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment! I agree, Pinterest is a must have! Do you have a post on your favorite affiliate programs? Please share! 🙂
Thanks again!
Hey Lori i’ve been following your blog and progress as we started our blogs just about the same time. Our goals are somewhat the same. Glad to see you’re making progress. I wish you all the best.
Thank you for reading and following 🙂 It’s been a slow but steady growth for sure, but it’s fun! I hope all is well with your blog and best wishes to you as well!