Hi Friends!
I hope November is treating you well so far. October was a great month for me, both in my personal life and on the business side of things.
I spent much of October prepping for Savor the Holidays, which is my first-ever course I created and I am so excited about it! I’m really proud of how it turned out and had such a blast putting it together. I’ve realized how much of a passion I have for creating solutions that help others to live a life they love, and I am looking forward to be able to do more of that in the future!
I’m back with another income report, so let’s jump in!
If you’re new here – The reason that I share my blog income reports is because I think it’s a great way to show that it is possible to earn an income online doing something you enjoy and are passionate about. I want to provide inspiration and encouragement to those of you reading who have doubts about your abilities to be able to make an income through blogging. This is also a great forum for me to share my experience in trying to earn an honest income from my blog, and all of the tips and tricks that I learn along the way.
If you are interested in starting a blog, I created a tutorial to help you start a profitable blog of your own in only 4 easy steps.
October 2015 Blog Income and Traffic Report:
-This post contains affiliate and referral links-
Income
The income below is for money earned during the month of October but not necessarily paid out during the month of October. It’s also important to keep in mind that these numbers do not reflect the taxes I will need to pay on this income.
- Google Adsense – $50.04
- Sponsored Posts – $850.77
- GoDaddy – $283.39 –> How to Start a Blog
- IZEA – $201
- Amazon Associates – $54.67
- Additional Affiliate Programs – $48.23
Total Income: $1,488.10 (+$994.50 compared to last month)
Expenses
The P.O. Box & Tailwind expenses are actually a yearly expense that I paid in entirety for a year, but I feel like breaking it out into monthly increments helps to see a more accurate picture of my total expenses compared to income.
- P.O Box – $4.67
- Tailwind – $10
- Stock photo for Savor the Holidays – $10.61
Total Expenses: $25.28
October 2015 Net Profit: $1,462.82
Traffic Report
I received 57,884 page views in the month of October.
Income Analysis
I was honestly very pleasantly surprised with how much my income increased from September to October, and am feeling like all the hard work I’ve put into Embracing Simple this year is really starting to show. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying blogging and this wonderful community my readers have created and I really love that I get to continue being a work-from-home Mom.
I feel like pinching myself sometimes because it just seems so surreal that I have the opportunity to create an income from blogging and doing something I love so much all while getting to work from the comfort of my own home and being at home with Little Miss. If that’s not the american dream, then I don’t know what is 🙂
If you are a stay-at-home Mom looking to earn an income while still getting to be home with your babies, or currently work in an office but would love to be self-employed, I truly encourage you to start a blog of your own. Not only does it present a really fun way to make money online, but it can open up other opportunities for you too, like becoming a freelance writer!
I’ve been so enjoying this blogging journey and can’t wait to see what the coming months have in store for my blog.
Top posts of October 2015:
- Life in My 234 Square Foot Tiny Home
- The Mindset Behind Simplifying & Downsizing
- 11 Reasons to Own Less Stuff
- Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Home Cozy
- Money-Wasting Habits I’ve Given Up
If you’re interested in starting a blog, don’t forget to check out my tutorial to learn how to start a profitable blog of your own in only 4 easy steps.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the encouragement and support! How was your October? Let me know in the comments below!
Woo-hoo!!!!! Congratulations on the incredible income!!! I am super impressed! And $200 from IZEA?! I think you need to write a short eBook on this 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks so much Sarah! And the majority of that was a sponsored post through them 🙂
Amazing and inspiring Christina!!! Great work!
Thank you Kara!
Congratulations, Christina! That’s awesome! How do you find sponsored posts? I second the idea of an ebook, but for how to do all of the above =]
Thank you Kristi! Haha I will have to keep the eBook idea in mind 🙂
I use a few networks for sponsored posts – Socialite, Clever Girls, Massive Sway, IZEA, and Sverve. I would say Socialite is my favorite to work with because they are so quick and efficient with payments, followed by Clever Girls and Massive Sway tied for second.
Great job on your October income!!! And traffic, too. That’s great!
Thank you so much Holly!
A huge congrats! I don’t have any idea how you find the time to do everything you do, but I’m amazed 🙂
Thanks Alex! Haha lots of waking up early, Little Miss has been taking just one 40-60 minute nap everyday so not much gets done during naptime anymore 🙁
That a great increase from last month. Congrats on the new traffic, increased income, and the course!
Thank you Shirria!
That is impressive, very well done 🙂 I’m truly impressed about the sponsored posts, that’s amazing! 🙂
Thank you so much Reelika!
As usual — you are amazing!! 🙂
Thank Samara 🙂
I’m so new to blogging and everything, but it has been amazing to see your blog blossom so much since summer. It was always helpful, polished, and professional, and I love how you’re growing it!
Aw thank you Penny, that is so sweet of you!
Congratulations, that is amazing!!! Living proof that by sticking to your passions and writing about what you love will indeed get you places. Love your blog!! Continue the great work ? B x
Thank you Brooke!! 🙂 So very true though, it doesn’t feel like “work” as much when you really love and enjoy it!
Congrats again, this is amazing! You are rocking it! I like how diversified all your income is too. I have got to get on the sponsored posts, but keep running out of time and forgetting to focus on this. I love how your blog is making such a great income – you have worked so hard!!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate that 🙂
Amazing job!! I shared my income for the first time in October and it was about $25 ? but I’m just getting back into the swing of things after having my son early in March and a 4 month long NICU stay. November is already better and I’ll be checking in on how you’re doing each month for motivation!
Thanks Aileen! Oh the first month I actually kept track of my income, I want to say it was around $12? Everyone has to start somewhere, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Be proud of that $25 – you earned that off literally just your ideas and writing, and how cool is that?! 🙂 It also sounds like you’ve had a lot going on this year, congrats on your little one! Kids have a way of throwing us off track a bit for sure.
how exactly does Izea work? Do you have to do several shares or posts in order to make a decent amount of money?
Hi Yaya, different opportunities for either sponsored posts or social shares show up in your dashboard and then you place your bid for what you would like to get paid for each opportunity that interested you, and then the company goes through a selection process of which bloggers they would like to work with. This particular month, most of my IZEA income was from one sponsored post and then I did a sponsored tweet as well.
I know this is such an old post but I’m reading the entire income series and am completely inspired to do the same on my site (whenever I earn an income from it). My question is…how frequently were you posting your own content on here? Since you had this love/hate relationship with sponsored posts, let’s just consider your income from your own work and advertisements…it was still pretty good! I think the aspect that a lot of new bloggers may want to know as well…just a wag number…is how frequently you were posting? I think people want to know if you are posting something every single day, which can be really hard for new bloggers getting in their groove, or was it once a day or less? Any idea back then?
Hi Blaire! I’m so glad this helped to inspire you! 🙂 That’s a great question! I’ve slowed down on my blogging very much in 2016 since I was pregnant and had my second baby just a few weeks ago. But at the very height of my blogging, I was still only posting 2-3 times per week tops. I very much believe that quality trumps quantity when it comes to blog posts. And while I think some bloggers do a magnificent job of accomplishing both when they publish new posts on a daily basis, I never would have been able to keep up with that amount of posting. I hope that helped, let me know if you have any other questions, I’m happy to answer as best I can!