Hey guys! I have decided that I am going to give you all a backstage pass into the financial side of the blog.
This is really out of character for me simply because, despite being a beauty blogger, I’m actually pretty private. As a matter of fact as I write this post, I kind of feel like…
That’s literally how private I am about this stuff.
But I want you all to know that I know what I am talking about because I will start a column giving you guys blogging tips. In order to do so, I feel that you must know how i benefit from this whole blogging thing myself.
Soooo before you leave, be sure you sign up for my blogger newsletter before you go. You can sign up here or at the bottom of this post.
Income:
Direct Sponsorships: $3,637.00
Amazon Affiliate Program: $31.00
Collective Digital: $11.38
Progrids: $39.12
Media.net: $217.91
Total Income: $3936.41
Blog Expenses & Ads
Aweber Email Marketing: $69.00
Media Temple Web Hosting: $50.00
MAX CDN: $24
Facebook Ads: $131.74
Total: $274.74
Income – Expenses = $3661.67
So for the month of March I cleared a total of $3661.67 from my amped up effort.
If your new to the blogging world and are looking for a great way to monetize your content, amazon affiliates program and progrids are the fastest way to do so. If you do decide to go this route, here are a few tips for you to consider
SEE ALSO: Why I Stopped Checking Emails In The Morning
Income Generators:
Amazon affiliate Program
Buy and install MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate
This plug-in pretty much does all of the heavy lifting for you. All you have to do is make sure you are using the keyword that you tell the plug-in to hyperlink and it will automatically insert the link for you. MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate plugin has been crucial in the increase of my income through affiliate links.
Be genuine about the products you are referring
Don’t refer something from Amazon just because it’s a “big-ticket” item. Be genuine and your readers will love you for adding value to their life
Direct Sponsorships
These as you can see, have been the bread and butter of the blog lately. These are deals that I have negotiated on my own personal terms. These deals either came from negotiations through pitching or I was approached by them. This is one of the greatest benefits of having a niche blog. My site is catered to a particular niche and draws a specific audience. So get out there and negotiate! The worst thing they could say is “no”
Collective Digital
They are kind of like a “for youtubers” kind of company. They make suggestions about my creativity and what directions I should take for my blog. They are really helpful and I get paid from them even if i don’t make a video that month. They also send out opportunities for social media sponsorships.
Progrids
Nothing fancy here. Just a simple site that allows me to add widgets to my site. The more traffic I get, the more income it produces for me. If you sign up, let them know I referred you. It would be much appreciated! The other option is to email me (Lizzia@strawberricurls.com) and I will refer you myself.
Media.Net
Have you ever heard of Google Adsense? Well this is Adsense on steriods. I made my first $500 in passive income from media.net. If you can get approved for it, I highly recommend that you take the time to apply for it. If you don’t get approved, don’t quit. Keep trying. It’s completely worth it.
Blog Expenses
Aweber Email Marketing
Aweber is my program of choice for collecting emails for my newsletters. It wasn’t $69 a month when i started, it was much less than that. The price surge comes from my growing newsletter which has slowed down since I started using it. I definitely prefer it over mailchimp.
Media Temple Web Hosting
Why is my hosting $50 a month? To put it simple, my site received a seriously unexpected traffic surge. As much as I TRIED to avoid it, a blogging friend of mine was just like.. Gab.. chill.. just upgrade -__-
MAX CDN
A CDN basically helps my site run faster. With the traffic surge came a huge need to upgrade not just the server, but how my content was being delivered to you all.
APRIL GOALS
With all this being said, what’s next? My short-term goal as of now is to make a consistent $6000/monthly.
I’m putting it out there
I’m speaking it into existence
Watch it happen…
- Start writing my e-book ( which i was half way to finishing but I didn’t save it in google drive ~flips tables). I’ll tell you all more about that a little later
- Write more posts about actual blogging. I want to start giving out blogging tips to show how I got from $0 dollars to almost $4000 this month. In the meantime, you can check out my blogging buddy, Danielle Stewart, blogging tips on her resource page for her blog, Fitness Fashionista
- Increase my income through affiliate marking. My aim isn’t just Amazon but various affiliate marketing programs
Quick traffic tip:
With most of my income, I need traffic right? Not so much affliate marketing as I do for Progrids and Media.net. If you need a quick traffic boost that does not depend on google, you should apply for Crowd Ignite. Crowd Ignite takes your content and post it on related sites that share the same kind of information you are providing and sends the traffic back to your site. So apply! #ItsFree
You can sign up for the Blogger newsletter here
Since this is my first income report, I am open to ALL feedback that you all have to offer. Please let me know in the comments section and tweet the box out below if you liked it! I look forward to doing another one next month!
Want to connect with me some more? Join my Facebook Group for bloggers so we all can connect! I love to connect with you all and I also include a lot of great resources on my Pinterest blogging board.
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Truly thanks for sharing.
Congratulations! It’s nice to see that you are making money with your blog. This is inspiring and encouraging. Thanks for sharing this with us!
I love to hear success stories! The majority of my income from blogging comes from sponsored posts. I think I had 5 last week and I’m not complaining at all.
That sounds amazing! I would love to do more sponsored posts
Clearly, you are doing something right and you are good at what you do. Your success story will be an inspiration for a lot of us. I’d love to read more about direct sponsorships – will certainly look forward to a more detailed post about it. And, congratulations!
I plan to share more about it in the future!
Wow, fantastic job! Last year was the first year I really saw a major increase in profit from my site, but it was also the first year I started becoming more assertive and selective. I am looking forward to reading more of your tips on how you are increasing revenue, I can always learn new tricks! I think even those who are making a good profit can learn from others, as there are so many different ways to earn revenue. Thanks for sharing yours!
There really are a lot of ways to earn it. It’s not just a one sided thing
Hi. Can you give me an example of direct sponsorship? I’m not clear on what this includes. I would really like to pursue that avenue.
Like someone buying IG ads from you or an FB ad
Ok that makes sense. Thanks
This is a great resource! You had a great month. I am going to refer back to this for your tips. Very inspiring!
Go girl, congrats you had an awesome month! I definitely need to look into some of the sites you mentioned. Thanks for sharing!!
Your welcome!
Awesome job! That’s a nice month! Fingers crossed it keeps going like that!
That is SOLID. I’ll just go ahead and listen to your advice…
Thank you so much!
That’s awesome! You really must be doing something right – Good for you! 😀
Thanks for sharing!!! I love to blog but didn’t know the first steps to making money. Thanks so much!
Thanks for sharing the backstage of your blog. I love learning about others’ successes because I am still a newbie and trying to figure everything out. Pinning this so I can go through and digest it more at a later date.
Amada
http://www.queenofthelandoftwigsnberries.com
Wow you did so well last month! I hope your income continues to grow in the future.
Wow this is so incredible, I’m so happy for you. I need to figure out how to go about making money like this off my blog, I know it’ll take a lot of work but I’m definitely up to stepping myself up.
Wow, that is so amazing! Good work! You deserve it!
Wow! That is truly amazing! I hope to make that someday from my blog.
Wow! Good for you! I am a new blog owner and would love to have this income in the future
These are some great tips…and good for you! I had never even thought of my Blog in regards to monetary gain but I’ve been thinking about it lately!
Yes! Your time is worth something
You give me hope! Sometimes I be like why am i doing this…
I have been there many many days
Wow! Thanks for sharing. I’d like to monetize my blog, but really I’m stuck on something basic. I want to write about motherhood. I want to write about my love for books. I want to write about my {mostly non-existent} health journey. Yet, here I sit writing nothing because I can’t get my focus. Once I get that figured out, then maybe I can use some of the resources you are using to earn income.
This is super informative! I am looking to start using amazon. Hopefully it works as well for me as it is working for you 🙂
Trust me when i say i should have started using it a looonnggg time ago!
That sounds amazing, I’m so happy for your success!
Thanks!
I love it when other bloggers are so translucent about their income, I’ve never heard of media.net before but I’ll definitely have to look into it! I’m curious how you go about pitching for payment? I’ve pitched for product with luck but haven’t even tried for payment and I’m unsure how I would even start…
It’s doesn’t start off with pitching with payment. You really have to build relationships with people first 🙂
I love looking at income reports, I am able to learn so much. I am not only learning but also its very motiviating to see what can be done. I think sometimes I get in a rut and think its not possible. Thank you for being transparent!
Thank you for your kind words! Yes it can be done!
That’s a great amount that you brought in. Big congrats to you. 🙂
Thanks!
Wow this is Amazing! Thanks for giving your time to share this Great information, I would LOVE to do this but just don’t know where to start?? This is all New to me, I just got familiar with social media! Can you help, Please!
Email me at lizzia@strawberricurls.com and I will try my best to help you out!
What a great job! You are doing awesome. Thank you for sharing this with us. It is always cool to see how other bloggers share their income. I have added you to my list of “bloggers who share income” on my yumeating website.
Ill be checking that list out!
My goodness! I’ll start with thank you because right now I’m blogging as an outlet and for fun but see my pockets being dug into so I appreciate this as I can at least make my money back. Very proud of you! 🙂
Thank you so much!
oh wow that is some income, my blog is far from making anything like that but thanks for the tips and congrats. Hope you achieve your April goals
Positivity hun! I know it sounds cliche but trust me when i say if i can do it so can you!
What an amazing accomplishment. It is so inspiring to read this and I am sure you will achieve your goal
Thanks for the encouragement!
Thanks for sharing your personal numbers. I have often wondered if making decent money was possible in blogging. Good for you!
Your welcome!
So great that you shared this! My ultimate goal is to make $6750 from my own business per month…lofty considering where I am now ^__^ But I bet I can do it because you’re out here proving it’s possible!
Also great that you’re going to share blogging tips! I write blogging posts (and teach blogging) for beginners. Maybe we can collab on something!
You are more than welcome to reach out to me via email!
I’m impressed. I totally need to step my game up. I need to start venturing into affiliates and sponsorships. When I think of sponsorships I think about events (it’s the program development part of me), what type of sponsorships are you reaching out for?
This was awesome! I got a lot of great tips. Thank you for sharing and helping us all move forward.
Those are some great numbers! I hope to get there one day 🙂
I love when bloggers share their income reports and actually break down how they generated their income. I too am looking to monetize my blog so the resources you shared were very helpful. Thank you for sharing and wishing you much success on hitting your goals in the future.
Thanks so much for sharing! It’s encouraging to read about your progress. And I hadn’t heard of some of these. So, I’ll check them out. 🙂