A blogger’s income report can fluctuate tremendously. I know this from living it.
Summer can be very rough because readers are on vacation or distracted by obligations. They are not online as much as when the kids are in school. So, if you saw your page views and income dip, you are not alone.
In this post, I am going to get really REAL with you. Ready?
The truth is… months like this can leave me feeling defeated.
I have friends who started blogging at the same time I did who make $10,000 a month. When I start thinking about how they have moved beyond where I am in my blogging business, it’s easy to get trapped in a mindset where I think something is wrong with ME.
Why can’t I make what they make?
What am I doing wrong?
Maybe I should quit!
Blogging, even with a network of friends, can feel very lonely.
You spend your days (and nights) pouring your heart into content that you hope will help someone.
When you need to learn something, you sit in front of the computer with earbuds firmly placed and watch a dozen videos. Or, you listen to several podcasts. Alone.
And while monetizing is a secondary goal for most bloggers, when the money doesn’t appear at the end of the month… you wonder if this is even worth the effort.
Or is it just me?
I can remember when I would be happy to make $400. I just wanted enough to break even at the end of the month.
If I could just make $400… that’s all we need!
Now, I consider myself an absolute failure if I don’t make at least $3,000 a month.
What happened? Am I less of a success when I make less money? Does falling short of a certain number make me less of an expert?
Absolutely NOT.
So why the feeling of defeat?
Perhaps my definition of success should not be based on a monetary value.
The amount of money most bloggers hope to make
Here is a wake-up call… Despite the stresses, you are among the most profitable of bloggers if you make $1,000 a month.
Um… yeah.
Yes, there are bloggers making $10,000 a month. Yes, they are awesome! Yes, I hope to be like them one day (and soon.) But, if you are making $1,000 a month then you are making exactly what some people are hoping for.
During a recent conversation in our Facebook group, I asked,
How much money do you need to make from your blog each month to feel successful?
I was shocked to discover that most bloggers would be happy to make between $100 and $1,000 a month. That’s it.
And here I sit… scratching my head and wondering why I feel depressed when I have what so many hope for, knowing that this $1,000 goal is easily accomplished.
$1,000 a month is more than possible
If you are reading along and thinking,
I would be super happy with a $1,000 a month!
I want you to know that this is more than a possibility.
To build a profitable blog you need three things:
- Quality content that solves a problem.
- Traffic to your blog.
- A passion that will motivate you on the months when you don’t make a dime.
A little creativity doesn’t hurt either. (Emphasis on the word *little.*)
There is absolutely no reason why a blogger with 50,000 pageviews a month should not be making $1,000 a month.
And this is why I say that…
If you have an average of 50,000 page views a month, you could be receiving:
- $400 to $500 a month from Adsense (with specialized topics earning more)
- $600 from three sponsored posts a month
- $100+ a month in affiliate sales
Not to mention all the other income streams you could utilize.
What if you don’t have 50,000 page views?
If your traffic is not between 20,000 and 50,000 page views a month, you will struggle to make money blogging. Plain and simple.
Does that mean you should give up?
NO!
It took me one year (of knowing what I was doing) to make $100. Not a month. A full $100… in a full year.
The second year of blogging, I started seeing $100 a month. By the beginning of the third year, I was making $1,000 a month.
And while there are people out there who make much more money faster than I did, my story is the norm… because most people will not invest to learn what they need to know, and the time it takes to master growing and monetizing a blog slows to a crawl.
If you want to make money blogging quickly, you must do these things:
- Learn as much as you can as fast as you can.
- Write high-quality content and a ton of it.
- Begin monetizing your blog with multiple income streams from day one.
You will not get rich quick by blogging. But, you can expedite your growth if you are willing to fully commit the time and effort it takes.
Blog Income Report – June 2016
InspiredBU represents Inspired Bloggers properties including this website, Inspired Bloggers University and the associated Facebook communities.
Meet Penny is the group of blogs I write under a pseudo-name, Penny. These blogs are lifestyle and food focused.
INCOME
InspiredBU Affiliate Earnings $50.00 (Siteground)
InspiredBU Product Sales $2,123.05
Meet Penny Affiliate Earnings $188.88
Meet Penny Advertising $762.13
Meet Penny Product Sales $58.23
Total Income = $3,182.28
June Goal = $6,000
Difference = -$2,817.72
EXPENSES
Advertising $740.58 (Facebook Ads)
Contractors $338.85
Paypal & Other Fees $108.51
Email Service $149.00 (ConvertKit)
Internet Service $194.13
Cell Phone Service $183.08
Audible Subscription $14.95
Post Planner $75.32
New Camera $960.44
Podcasting and Video Equipment $128.71
Office $199.83 (GoDaddy domain renewals, Canva, PicMonkey, Amazon S3, etc.)
Total Expenses = $3,093.40
Net Profit = +$88.88
My business mistakes
- Honestly, I don’t know if the Facebook Ads were a mistake or not. I followed models very closely and had experts review my ad copy. Each sales funnel and landing page were reviewed at least three times. But, nothing converted into profit. However, I did add email subscribers who may convert into sales later.
- My page views at Meet Penny have tanked, sending my advertising income into the toilet. June is always a terrible month for page views but I can’t help thinking that spending so much time focused on Inspired Bloggers is hurting my other blogs.
My business successes
- I posted new content to the Inspired Bloggers blog five times AND posted new content at Meet Penny and Frugal Family Favorites. Granted, the recipes at FFF are hired content but using a ghost writer is helping me maintain balance as I have elected to focus on Inspired this year.
- You might not consider this a success but… I do! I invested in my family. My children decided to launch their own YouTube Channel. So, I purchased a new camera, sound equipment, and lighting to help make their business a reality. The expenses almost put me in the hole for the month but we are having so much fun on this summer project as a family.
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