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I-yi-yi, if you blog.  You know that December is an insane month for all the sponsored posts and other things that you’re doing.

I’m going to condense this month’s a bit.

Views

Hits were up 4%, well over 220k pageviews.

Ads

I use a combination of 3 ad networks.  Blogher and The Blogger Network for my desktop ads, and then Padsquad for my mobile ads.  I also have a few other misc. ads like media.net and one google ad.  Anyway, the sum total for all of that was 1,947 – a 80% increase from last month.  If you’ve read prior blogging for income posts you’ll know that Padsquad really varies in their CPM.  This was a good month.  It was up 261% from last month.  Woo-hoo.  That gives me, for ads only 8.70 rpm for my blog.  That’s an average between deskop and mobile.

Sales

At the end of last month I updated my spreadsheet and have had a few sales come in to total $70.00  My book only made 6.12 through Amazon.  I am including in a few bundles in the next couple of months.  It will be interesting to see how much income that brings in.

My total for sales (which includes affiliate income as well as my own products) was 693.96 – a 45% increase.  I think that was mainly due to great spreadsheet sales, as well as Amazon income increasing as we head to the holidays.  I did quite a few gift guides this year.  I had a few weeks that were really slow at my real job.  I decided to use that time to create gift guides, and I hope that we find it to be profitable.  Amazon income, in general is up 27% from the month prior.  So far this month I’m almost already to the total amount I made at the end of last month.  Sa-weet!

I did make some good sales with Share a Sale.  I use the Kiwi Crate program.  It’s actually something my kids REALLY like, so it’s easy to share it.  I also continue to make good income with Dressing Your Truth.  I’ve even been invited to their studios for a special event at the end of December, so stay tuned.

Sponsored Posts

For sponsored posts I made 950 last month.  I ended-up taking one that was lower than what I usually do and I ended up hating myself for it.  They wanted a lot of work and I felt like it wasn’t worth my time because the income was so low.  It was a learning lesson for me.  I of course, did the work because I want to fulfill my oblgations, I just don’t want to end up hating it.

The grand total for the month was 3591 which is an increase of 52% over last month.

The full blog CPM (including sales and sponsored posts) was just over 16 dollars.  Which, is really exciting.  In case you’re new to cpm – that means, that for every visitor. I make almost a penny and a half.  16 is 5 bucks more than last month.  I think that is mainly due to Padsquadd and some decent affiliate income.  Otherwise changes weren’t much.

Blog income fluxes.  If you’re not ready to ride the tide and the ups and downs it’s not the place for you.

But, I sure do like the UP months!

What’s working:

1. I switched to ConvertKit for my newsletter and I am pretty excited by the results.  BUT, it takes a motherload of time to set up.  I am able to send people more of what they’re intrested in and less of what they are not.  I do still send a weekly newsletter that has my posts of the week and also a personalized message.  ConverKit isn’t as “cute” as mailchimp – but I think people seem to respond to it.  I have higher click and open rates than I have in the past.  I have about 20 days worth of data – in those 20 days I’ve had over 800 clicks to the blog.  I see that only increasing and it’s more than I was getting with Mailchiimp.  Anyway, I’m excited that I’m finally working on my newsletter.  I don’t want to be at the mercy of Pinterest the rest of my life (although I sure do love it!).  If you want to know what my newsletter looks like — sign up here!
2. Gift Guides – as I mentioned above I think my gift guides have increased my Amazon sales. I tried to not make them too Christmas-centric, so they will still be able to be sent out all year.  They are a PAIN to make.  Tons of time to get all the links and the graphics, but I think they’re worth it.  At least, I hope so.
3. I have updated my spreadsheet with a 5 day email course to go with it.  It explains how to tailor the spreadsheet to your blog more.  Don’t forget it’s for sale and SUPER handy!  Check it out!
4. I had a lot of affiliate links in posts and I’m slowly starting to give up on them. I just don’t see many sales.  Amazon does well, but I have had a TON of Share a Sale links and I have been sad with the returns.  Affiliate marketing seems to work best when you have a full post about whatever it is you’re trying to sell.  Also, if you really believe in what you’re selling.  Right now, my 3 favorite affiliates are Owelet (haven’t made much, I just think it’s a good idea), Kiwi Crate and Dressing Your Truth.  Find what you love to share and see if you can affiliate for it!  I am slowly pulling out the links for brands that I just don’t love. Still trying to figure out affiliate sales.  I’m not a natural salesman, so it’s a balance…
5. I’ve given notice to my desktop ad companies and I plan to switch to another network at the beginning of the new year.  I’m excited for what I have heard about them.  I’m tired of my desktop site being one GIANT ad, so we will see what types of changes are in store.
   

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Blogging income updates are going to change form.  Maybe just giving my basic income and the 5 things.  I’m not sure — but if you REALLY want all the blogging stuff fit to print, sign up for my blogging income newsletter.


And be sure to check out my spreadsheet.  It will really help you track what you’re doing great at. 🙂