{I
know that blogging income is of no interest to a lot of you, and I apologize — no need to keep reading. Feel free to click on another post. I think there are some people who think blogging for income is an easy cash stream, and I’m here to prove it’s not – -but it can be rewarding if you love it}
Well, we are in month six, but this report is actually for month 5 — May’s income.
I have a spreadsheet that lays it all out in black and white for me.
We’ll compare May to February. That’s 3 months difference.
Ready, set, go.
Hits
February 43,029
May 112,798
Adsense Income
February 62.05
May 113.76
Blogher Income
February 178.02
May 445.46
Amazon Income
February 10.40
May 28.75
Grand Total:
February 250.47 (which I was THRILLED about at the time, not in my wildest dreams did I think that would happen)
May 587.97 (again, very thrilled)
**All of these are the income made in that month, just FYI — the blogging industry lags quite a bit in payment, so I won’t see these dollar amounts for 90’ish days, in some cases. These only include my ad content, not any money for sponsored posts. It’s hard to put those in a month per se — but in May I did post one at the very end of the month. I have no idea when I will get paid for it. 😉
So, there it is. I’m too lazy to calculate how much better that is in 3 months, but from last month, everything is up about 60%, on average.
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Here’s 3 things I did last month to increase my blogging income:
1. I found more great group boards. I have a specific pinning method, and the better group boards in my niche, the better. Again, I am almost 100% following this book. She give good, straight forward advice that isn’t over my head.
You can find good group boards on Pingroupie.
2. I started using Ahaology. I think it’s getting harder to get in, but I think they have started raising my views. I’m not sure how. But I think they have. 😉
3. I pinned some of my content pages. Like TMI or Family finances (you can see those above). When people come from Pinterest to see those, they’re given a bunch of posts on a topic they are intersted in. Just something to think about. 🙂
This is turning into a part time job. I am trying to limit it to an hour a day this summer, as it can easily take over my life — but I am working hard not to let it. I try to write good content as I know that is the driver. I got a little way-layed with my Wordpress changeover, but I hope I am back on track now!
Drew’s job situation has not changed and sometimes, in moments where I get to think, I realize what a VERY large blessing this is in our lives right now. I would be more stressed then a chicken with no head right now if I wasn’t seeing these numbers to back up his loss. God is VERY mindful of us. While I am hopeful that he will find another source of income, this has been a strong wink from my Heavenly Father that things are going to be OK. For those of you who don’t know, I ran this blog for 9 years on maybe 30 bucks every 3 months or so. This is a very recent, and big, change!
I have a GINORMOUS excel spreadsheet that I use for this that I am happy to share if people are interested. I put a bunch of fancy formulas in there, so it calculates what I need to know. It also has slots for how many Pinterest followers/likes/etc. I have so I can track that also.
Anyway, I know these posts aren’t of interest {at all} to a lot of my readers. I think I will probably post a percentage increase or decrease from now on. What do you think about these types of posts? Helpful? I did change to WordPress a week ago. I hope to write a blog about that in a week or so. Anyone interested in that?
Anyway, I hope this post is helpful to my readers. I know it’s not my normal genre. If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out my other blog income posts, or my blog income spreadsheet. You’ll see how far I came since January. 🙂 Also be sure to follow my “Business of Blogging” Pinterest board.
Lynness says
I’m not interested in blogging for profit (not yet, anyway- I could see myself doing it at some point, so I could probably find this out if I started looking into that)…but what I don’t get is WHY do you get paid? Is it because your content is reposted elsewhere (someplace that pays? Is that what blogher is?). It says Adsense up there, but I don’t see any ads (maybe my adblocker blocks them?) I’m just trying to figure out how anybody else makes enough money off of this to be willing to pay you to do it. I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m knocking your blog or that it’s not good enough to get paid for (after all, I’ve been an avid follower ever since I found you!)- I just don’t see how this generates revenue.
Hilary says
I have ads, I bet your ad blocker, blocks them. I also have sponsored posts that generate income (like the gummy viatmin one a few days ago). I also get paid when someone clicks to Amazon from here and buys.
Christi Raley says
Thank you for writing this post! I never understood the 1st thing about the money aspect of blogging. I knew some people got paid for it, just didn’t understand it. I sure am glad that people are doing it though because it really helps in my daily life. I always am able to find some sort of answer to my problem & am especially relieved to find its not just me but someone else has had this problem too! 🙂 good luck with your adventure!
Hilary says
Yes, a lot of people are confused about how the moeny aspect works.
It’s the same as the newspaper in that regard. 🙂
Just no ink on my fingers. 🙂
Madeline @ CBC blog says
Love this! We (my sister and I write together) were just accepted to Blogher, so we are trying to figure out the best ads for our site. We don’t want them overrun, but are trying to make a little money. Which are your favorites?
Also, any tips on being accepted to group boards? I can find a bunch that I want to pin to, but many have no “instructions” & the ones that I do e-mail hardly e-mail me back!
Hilary says
Hmm…. the ads I have with them is my top banner and my square on the side (the one on the top). The whole viewability thing has thrown a wrench in the system, I hope I get that fixed soon. 🙂
Sarah says
Yay for you and your family. What some people don’t quite get is blogging is VERY time consuming. It is fun and there is certainly a lot of enjoyment from it but it is a part time job if not close to a full time job! I just switched from wordpress.com to being self hosted so hopefully sometime in the future I can see some income. Congrats again! I am sure your income will continue to get better!
Hilary says
Sarah, it has obviously taken a while (since I started in 2005). I currently am paid lot more at my real work, but I do enjoy this a lot. If Ididn’t, it totally woudn’t be worth it.
Lauren says
Hi Hilary, I’m a little late to the party on this one – I found your site via Pinterest. I find all tips/behind the scenes nitty gritty completely fascinating! I am in the process of upping my game with my own blog. I really enjoy the process and have been much more involved in the planning and idea creation aspect lately.. in hopes of ONE DAY making this a part time job. You keep writing about this, it’s great!
Hilary says
Lauren, not late at all. Happy to have you!
It’s a lot of work, and while I already have a part time job, I really enjoy doing blog work. I hope it works out for you!
Yoli says
This is very helpful! I’m sure it’s not easy to explain to those of us who don’t know the first thing about blogging; you did very well. 🙂 Interesting read.
Hilary says
Thanks! A lot of my friends have no idea how I could make money off of it. 🙂
Sarah says
Good for you! I hope you continue to grow!
I’m quite interested in your spreadsheet, I love using spreadsheets and find them very useful.
I also find these types of posts interesting and inspirational I’m sure, for new bloggers. It’s nice to get a peak inside how other blogs make their money.
Sarah xo
Hilary says
Sarah, I hope to edit the spreadsheet for the general public and have it available soon.
Laureen says
What a great post! I found you via Pinterest. I don’t know the first thing about starting/having a blog or the fact you can make some cash from doing it. I’d love to hear more about your journey relating to this post. And so smart to keep track using spreadsheets from the beginning to see if the money you make is worth the time you invest. Keep up with the behind the scenes posts! You have a new fan!!
Hilary says
Thanks Laureen, I’m a fan of you too! 😀
eileen vicenty says
When I started to blog in 2008 that was my exact idea to make extra income, but not getting paid and advetising companies for free wasn’t just rigth for mand what I intended with my blog. Actually. My blg is free of ads and only accespt direct sponsorship from artsts,crafters and starting bussines,for reviews or mentions of their products, still use amazon affiliates just to use their photos if the post need more pics, but without showing ads.
Hilary says
That certainly is how I’d LOVE to run my blog — but so far it hasn’t worked. Maybe some day. 🙂
Elise @frugalfarmwife.com says
Thanks for sharing! I see that your Blogher earning far outshone your adsense. I haven’t really looked into blogher because of some of the things I’ve heard about their exclusivity rules.
Would you say that it pays better per cpm than and equivalent adsense ad?
Thanks in advance!
Hilary says
They have become less exclusive lately, which I appreciate. I do think it pays better, especially when it is running premium ads. When it’s not, no — because they do take quite a cut. I do like them overall though.
Alicia schwartz says
I am a blogger trying to get started getting a domain name and autoresponder etc.. so I can start getting paid and have people to subscribe to my blogs and this is very informing to me to know how to get to getting paid.
Linda Thomson says
I hope to get my blog – Green Living for the Lazy and Spoiled -up and running in July. The whole thing is very intimidating. You gave me hope!
Hilary says
You can do it!
Allie says
Thank you so much for posting this! I have written on a blog (and then taken it down) more times than I can count over the years. Real life – kids, family, work – always seems to take over and push blogging out. I would love for this to become a past time that can help pay for the other past times I blog about. The information you have shared about gaining traffic is really helpful. I hope you are able (and open to) continuing to post your experiences.
Thanks again! Allie
Hilary says
Oh good! I’m glad it’s helpful Allie — I plan to do it monthly. Like I plan to do a lot of things, but I’m hopeful. 😉
Richard Buse says
Thanks so much for sharing this information. I’ve been blogging or publishing to LinkedIn for the past five years to promote my freelance writing services. I just turned 55 and am entertaining the idea of turning to blogging as a part-time income at some point in the future. The information you shared is very useful. Again, thanks!
Hilary says
Richard, I am glad it was helpful!