I don’t know how but another month has flown by! Which means it’s time to pull back the curtain and show you another income report. This month I’m sharing both how much I made and some behind the scenes and exciting changes coming up!
Why Share My Income Publicly?
My hope is that through sharing this income report you will have inspiration and clarity, whether you have your own blog or are thinking about starting one. Blogging has changed my life and I want it to be able to change your life too.
When I first started blogging I remember stumbling across an income report, it helped direct my business to where it is today. I want to pass on that same clarity and direction to you by being transparent about my own income now too, so you can see the endless possibility that blogging has.
You are an outstanding mom with incredible talents and likely have a dream deep down within your soul. It’s too big, it scares you because you don’t know if you’ll ever achieve it. You barely, if ever, talk about it because it’s not “realistic”. But what if I told you it is.
Important Note:
If you’re thinking about starting a blog, it’s important that you start a SELF-HOSTED blog. Self-hosted means that you own your site, it’s more professional and easier to make money on. You can start a self-hosted blog for as little as $2.95 a month if you use this link. That’s a special price for our readers and also gets you a free domain ($15 value) free. If you need help setting up your blog click here for a tutorial that walks you through each step.
My Word for October
Celebrate.
Last month I decided that I wanted to have a word for each month, a single word to focus my energy and decisions on.
In October I choose the word CELEBRATE because I’m the worst at slowing down long enough to celebrate my accomplishments. I usually just set a new, bigger goal and keep going.
It was time for a change!
Benefits of celebrating:
- Creates a positive energy
- Improves mental health
- Helps you sleep better
- Motivates both you and your team
The word overflowed into my personal life too. Both my daughter and husband have their birthdays in October as well. I chose the word for the month even before I put two and two together! The word for the month fit perfectly, to say the least. I was able to take both days completely off and several other days this month and CELEBRATE with my family. A flexible schedule is definitely a perk of owning your own business.
I did learn that celebrating requires discipline. It’s required me to slow down time and time again, which is no easy task but I’ve noticed more peace and shockingly more productivity because of it!
Next month’s word: Manifest.
Let’s Talk Numbers
In October, my blog made $4,656, which is lower than previous months but I’ll tell you why I’m totally ok with that in a second.
- Last Month: $6,639.00
- This Month: $4,656.00 (See the breakdown of where this income came from below)
- Difference: – $1,983.00
While this month’s income was lower, I’m still totally excited, here’s why…
Income so far for 2016: $69,252.00
And if I add what we’re expecting to make in November and December, we’re looking at making over $80,000 this year from this blog alone!
Not bad at all if you consider that I work only 3 hours a day on the blog.
A few more reasons this month was a little lower than our usual ($8,000-$10,000 a month):
- We are currently traveling and working WAY less — I used to work around 15 hours a week on the blog but while we’ve been traveling it’s been down to around 5-10 hours depending on the week. The beginning of November I’m picking back up and working ahead so that I can take a nice chunk of time off for Thanksgiving.
- We have been restructuring — Over the last few weeks we have been breaking down everything that we do on the blog piece by piece and evaluating what is the most helpful and beneficial for both our readers and our family. Questioning what can we do better at and what’s been most beneficial to our readers so far that we can do more of. Here are a few of the changes we have so far…
- We’re playing around with a site redesign that will be even easier to navigate for both new and existing readers, this will likely take a few months because of everything else going on.
- Posting less but posting better. Quality over quantity has always been my moto when I’m working on blog posts but lately I’m working on kicking it up another notch!
- I’m doing less sponsored posts. I’ve always been super picky on what companies I work with and lately I’m narrowing it down even more so it’s more beneficial to my readers and more enjoyable for me.
- We’re implementing more passive income streams so we can work less and make more, which ultimately means we can spend more time with our family.
- We’re expanding the content on our blog to include family focused business and money-making ideas for both moms and family-oriented entrepreneurs We’ll continue to share parenting tips and idea for your family while expanding to also include family-friendly business ideas so you have options when it comes to income for your family.
So… with all that in mind I’m more than happy with our income for last month. The months ahead have some really exciting things in store!
Click here to read more income reports.
Click here for a tutorial on how to start a blog today
Here’s the breakdown…
Affiliate Income: $1,084
This comes from several different sources, including Bluehost (from my tutorial on how to start a blog), IZEA (sponsored posts and tweets), Sell on Amazon, Amazon Affiliates, Ebates, Etc.
If you already have a blog and are trying to improve your affiliate income I highly recommend the course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing — I purchased the course myself and it literally goes over every single step. It will pay for itself in no time. Personally, I would have bought it just to be a member of the Facebook group!
Successful Startup: $493
This is my complete course on creating and sustaining a successful, money-making blog. Learn how I started making full-time income with part-time hours in less than a year. Click here to read more about it – start your first blog or take your existing blog to the next level.
If you’re interested in becoming an affiliate for my course, you can make $78 per student you refer. If you have a how to start a blog page on your site, Successful Startup is the perfect next step for your readers after. Please email me for more info on becoming an affiliate: alida@therealisticmama.com
175 Best Date Ideas: $275
Some of this is split with my affiliates — I would love to have you on my team! If you’re interested you can find out more about become an affiliate by clicking here. Make $5 for every purchase through your link!
Sharing about Essential Oils: $70
This is something that I order anyway (regardless of income). Doing the business side has not been my focus, I just share about the oils here and there on the blog because I have seen how well they work and I’m excited to help out my readers. I end up making a residual commissions on purchases through my links.
If using or sharing about Essential oils sounds like something you’d be interested in, reach out and we can get you more info. You an email me at alida@therealisticmama.com
Display Ads: $2,334
This is such a great passive income stream! Anytime a readers stops by any of the posts on my site, even a post 2+ years old, I make an earning through the ads on my site.
Sponsored Content (Blog Posts and/or Paid Social Shares): $400
Two of my favorite companies to get work from are IZEA and TapInfluence. I also get direct emails from brands because of the size of my site.
Total: $4,656
If you’re ready to start a blog and create passive income for your family, the next section is for you.
How to Start a Blog Today
Inspired to start a blog? Ready to create passive income for your family?
You can do it!
Here is a (free) step-by-step tutorial on how to start a blog—no tech knowledge required.
I’ll walk you through everything step-by-step!
P.S. Are you looking for extra side income? I make full-time income blogging part-time—check out this easy step-by-step tutorial on how start a blog (no tech knowledge required).Download My Free Family Organizer
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Chantelle says
Hi I have read most of this blog to get started on blogging but still have so many queations. I’m going to narrow it down for fear of information over load.
Do I have to a topic issue at first to start and is it something you just sort of jump into? Do you need a business background at all? Ok sorry 3 queations lol.
I am a nurse with lots of interests and blogging was nothing I even thought possible until I saw this blog. Thank you for being this information forward. I would not be honest if I was not interested in the income potential with part time work. Is this something that takes years to accomplish?
Thank you
Alida says
Hey Chantelle! Thanks for commenting, these are great questions! I totally understand the feeling of information over load, I felt like I spent way too much time “dumpster diving” the internet when I first started while I was figuring it out. My hope is that I can help you avoid that by just providing step-by-step instructions instead. Give you what you need to know and avoid the information overload on everything you don’t need to know.
When you’re first starting I recommend picking a topic that you most love talking about. When you’re with your friends, what is it that you love to chat about? For you it may be nursing/health related? Or it might be something totally different like DIY or food blogging.
And no, you do not need a business background or even any tech knowledge. It can all be really simple if you have the right road map. Here’s what I would recommend looking into:
1. My how to start a blog tutorial is the best first step.
2. Successful Startup is my flagship course that you should totally check out next, if you’re committed it will pay for itself in no time. The student only Facebook group (and all the connection, ideas, and inspiration you will get there) are literally worth the cost of the course.
3. I also highly recommend you join my free blogging tips newsletter, where I’m always sharing my favorite blogging tips and tricks.
Successful Startup talks about it more but here’s a snippet of income potential:
7 months after starting I made $856.41
Just over a year after starting I made $9685.00
You can of course takes the tips and advice and accelerate that even faster! Each month’s income will fluctuate, as you can see in my income reports, but I thought I’d pull out those 2 just to give you an idea and some inspiration!
alina says
Hi Alida, what do you use to monetise your blog? Adthrive?
Alida says
You’ll notice in the breakdown, there are several streams my income comes from, AdThrive being one of those. Hope that helps!
Chantal says
Hi, can I ask what you’re average page view wise? 🙂 Thanks!
Alida says
In October around 300,000. 🙂