Blog Income Report – February 2016

Welcome to the first blog income report for Smart Money, Simple Life. I’ve debated whether or not to publish a report since I began seeing some revenue a couple of months ago.

It was a real quandary for me, mostly because it felt like over-sharing. It was only when I thought about how inspiring it was for me to read the income reports of other bloggers; large and small, that I realised the income report from my own little blog might help inspire others, too.

I hope my income report can provide some inspiration for those of you who aspire to create an additional income stream either via a blog you write now, or one you plan to publish in the future.

So, here it is, my inaugural blog income report.

blog income report Pin

Blog Income Report – February 2016

Traffic – 83,843 Page views

Traffic to the blog was down a bit from the extraordinary heights of January (113,000+ page views). This might have been a reflection of changes to Pinterest or it might not. Smart Money, Simple Life receives a lot of traffic via Pinterest so this little hiccup reinforced my intention to broaden my traffic base. It’s your classic case of not having all your eggs in one basket.

Income

Interestingly, despite the dip in traffic, revenue, specifically Google Adsense revenue was up. My Google Adsense payment for January was $520. This is shows it’s not always all about traffic volume.

In February, I also became an affiliate for Bluehost. Bluehost hosts my own blog and I’ve always been very happy with their service, so I’m happy to recommend their services to my readers. You can find out more here.

The BookDepository is my absolute favorite place to buy books. It has great prices plus free shipping to just about anywhere in the world. I’ve been a dedicated fan for at least eight years and have made many (probably TOO many) purchases through them. Their service is always five star.

Unlike a lot of other blog income reports, I wont be including any freelance income. For me, my freelance income is a part of my job rather than revenue from my blog. And, of course, this is a blog income report not an overall monthly earnings report.

February Income

  • Google Adsense – $595.36
  • Affiliate Income (Bluehost) – $75
  • Affiliate Income (BookDepository) – £1.15
    • This will be converted to AU$ when it’s paid out. The BookDepository affiliate payments are made once you reach a minimum of £25. My total accrued so far is £16.46.

Plans for March

As always, my plan is to grow. Grow my knowledge as well as grow this blog and my business in general. When you see the revenue begin to trickle in, your understanding of how things work in the online world becomes visceral; you feel it in your gut. You know that you can make it work, too. Just like all those other bloggers out there who share their (sometimes five figure) monthly blog income reports. Sure, five figures might be a totally out there figure right now. But in the future? Who knows? Maybe the sky is the limit!

So, in March I plan to:

  • Increase (and diversify) affiliate revenue
  • Increase page views
  • Finish writing my first eBook
  • Keep working on expanding Smart Money, Simple Life‘s social media presence:
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
  • Work on increasing my productivity – Yes, it still sucks. :-)

The Business of Blogging

If you’ve ever considered starting a blog either as a business or just a hobby… Do it. Don’t delay. Jump right in.

You never know what will happen.

When I started this blog, I knew I loved to write. I was also fairly confident I had information and experience to share that could help others. And, I knew, beyond a doubt, I wanted a way to make a living that I could control. Blogging seemed like the perfect solution. It still does. If you feel the same way I do, you’ve got very little to lose from starting your own blog and an awful lot to gain.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask me, leave them in the comments. I will do my best to answer them all.

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Note: This post contains affiliate links.