January 2018 Blog Income Report

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase through my link I get a small commission.

I have gotten a lot of questions over the years about the income I make from my blog, so I thought I would share an income report for the first time ever. Do I plan to do these every month? Probably not. However I just want to share with you what is POSSIBLE with your blog and social media, and that there are many different avenues to do it. I absolutely do NOT do this to brag, there are a lot of bloggers out there who make way, way, WAY more than me a month. I decided to do this to help people believe it’s possible, and like I said, to show there are so many different wants to monetize online.

For instance, I do a *little* bit of affiliate marketing, not a ton, but I do sell a product and I also do sponsored posts and run ads. It goes to show that there is not one end all be all with blogging, and different things work for different people, and that’s ok.

Before we begin just a little back story for those that don’t know me. (hhhiiiiiii).

I started blogging eight years ago, and had no idea you could make money from it. After a couple of years I started getting pitched by brands and slowly made a little money and got a lot of free products and experiences.

Then about two or so years ago, I started taking things more seriously. I wrote an ebook, and this past year I created an online course teaching people a side hustle, how to be a freelance social media manager (from home) in 21 days or less.

I typically blog twice a week, and am very active on social media. I also have a podcast where I (tend to) create new episodes every other week. I also have been going live on Facebook lately which is a lot of fun as well.

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I struggled with how to break up this income report because my job as a social media manager is in direct correlation to my blog. If it were not for my blog and the social media channels associated with it, I would not have social media clients or know how to be a social media manager. So I decided to show you both “sides”, meaning just showing you what I strictly made from my blog + social channels, and also showing you what I made from my clients, which I still feel is “blog related” if that makes sense.

So what do I owe my success to this month? Here are a couple of things I considered:

1.) Spending more time on my email list: I used to hear people talk about creating an email list years ago, and I would roll my eyes. What would I say to these people? I mean, isn’t that what my blog is for, to talk to my readers? I can’t come up with even MORE content in a week than I already do! Who cares if I have their email address on file? Then about two years ago I decided to start my list and if I could go back in time I would kick myself for not starting it YEARS sooner! Being able to speak directly to your audience is so important, especially if/when you start selling your own products or services. Now I spend a little time each week working on my list, creating lead magnets, or sending broadcasts. Sending out links to my posts and podcasts has helped boost my traffic significantly. I love Convert Kit because it is super user friendly and there are so many ways you can keep track of people, and they really helped me visualize getting people into an email sequence. They also host fun webinars and training’s all the time!

2.) Spending way more time on Pinterest and utilizing Tailwind: I have really got to start listening to people, yall. This is another one that I heard people talk about forever, but jumped on the bandwagon later in the game. Sure I liked Pinterest as much as the next guy, but I didn’t see what all the fuss was about as far as using it to get people to come to my blog, or about timing your pins or pinning a certain amount a day. Now, I totally get it, and with the help of Tailwind, Pinterest is now my NUMBER ONE traffic source to my blog. Yes, even more than Google or any other social media site. It truly is amazing! Tailwind makes my life so easy and I can get my pins scheduled in a snap at the beginning of the week.

3.) Getting in Facebook groups that are encouraging and challenging me as a blogger: Ok I admit it, I can be kind of a loner. I was the kid in school who hated group projects because I always ended up doing all the work and I would much rather do my own thing and get it done quickly. This has since translated to me relying on myself and myself alone when it comes to all things blogging and social media. Sure I do tons of reading, but I wasn’t really interacting with or learning from others until the past couple of months. I think this has helped me to up my game and stretch me a little bit!

Ok, so let’s get to it.

First I will break down strictly my blog and social media income, then I will do a separate part for my social media clients. Please note I base these numbers off of payment GIVEN, not work I have done but haven’t gotten paid for yet.

January 2018 blog and social media total: $2,616.47

Ads: $76.86

Social media posts: $285

Blog posts: $1000

affiliate income: $45.07

Online course and eBook sales: $1,209.54

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Now for the money I made working as a social media consultant and manager, which is a job I have because of my blog and social media channels. (I freelance for several companies).

January social media consulting and management: $1200. <—–This number is actually about half of what it normally is. I lost two clients at the end of the year. one I knew I was losing because I was just helping for a few months while they got their restaurant open, but the other was a surprise. I was steadily making between $2k and $2,500 a month in 2017. Thankfully I have already added in a new client for February, and have a couple companies in line to hopefully start with me in March to bring that number back up.

*Also keep in mind I do social media management PART TIME. Very part time. Like 15 hours a week. If you are interested in becoming a social media manager but don’t know where to start, I highly recommend checking out my ecourse, Social Side Hustle. It will tell you exactly how and where to get clients, how to pitch them, how to handle/manage accounts, how to automate a lot of your posting, what to do about paperwork, etc. I even give some free templates to help you out!

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The numbers above do NOT include expenses, and are before taxes. I had an estimated $100-$150 in fees I had to pay out for things like my email service, and Teachable, where I host my course. I pay for web hosting and tailwind as well as a couple of other things up front for a year so it’s hard to factor those things in.

Posts in January: Here are a list of the blog posts I wrote and published in the month of January.

Occidental Grand Cozumel All Inclusive

Fahrenheit 555 on the Carnival Vista

How the Fabletics VIP membership Works

Sandals Ochi Beach

Universal Orlando Resort Blue Man Group

Health and Fitness on the Carnival Vista

5 Reasons to Stay at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort

Christmas Recap 2017

Better Body Jump Start FREE Email Challenge

Something to keep in mind if you are wanting to grow your blog and not only make money but have fun experiences, is that a lot of the fun things and events don’t include a paycheck, especially in the travel space. For instance, in January I blogged about going to Universal Orlando, Blue Man Group, Staying at Sapphire Falls resort, and my Carnival Cruise from last year. All of these things were amazing experiences, and they were all free but I was not paid to go or blog about them. A lot of these experiences were not cheap, and afforded my family the ability to do super fun things that normally I would have to pay for, so in a way, this can be considered “income” if that makes sense.

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So in total this month, I made $3,816, before expenses, which is down for me considering my social media income was about half of what it normally is. Also keep in mind that with all of my endeavors added together, I probably work around 32ish hours a week. It is entirely possible to be a blogger or work in social media part time and make full time money.

Again, if you are curious about becoming a social media manager, you do NOT have to be a ninja to get started. My course will teach you what you need to know. As long as you have a basic grasp of the platforms, you will do just fine in the course.

Or, if you want to start your own blog but are overwhelmed at where to begin, you can sign up for my free 5 day email course which will teach you how to get started, even with picking a name.

The goal of my blog has always been to help people, motivate, encourage, and inspire, so that was my goal with this post. I am currently working on a guide for bloggers about how to work with brands so be on the lookout for that to release!

Be sure you follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest videos, photos, and news. I can’t wait to connect with you!