Blog Income Report – March 2016

Welcome to the second blog income report for Smart Money, Simple Life.

I debated whether or not to publish a traffic and income report for quite a while before jumping in last month and publishing my first blog income and traffic report.

I struggled with the whole over-sharing thing. And, I struggled with feeling like I really didn’t have too much to report in the first place!

The truth is, as a new blogger, one of the most inspiring posts I could ever read was an income report. Regardless of the numbers, seeing how other bloggers were creating an income for themselves via their blog encouraged me more than any other type of blog post.

Knowing I wanted my blog to be of value to my readers and also to contribute to my home-made income, seeing how other bloggers earned their income gave me ideas to try for myself. I’m hoping that learning from my experience will help others, too.

In a world where traditional jobs (and any notion of job security) are rapidly disappearing, finding ways to generate multiple streams of income is more important than ever.

I hope sharing my income and traffic report provides some inspiration for those of you aspiring 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 March blog income and traffic report.

blog traffic and income report march Pin

Blog Income Report – March 2016

Traffic – 84,607 Page Views (+764)

Traffic was pretty slow for most of March and only really began to pick up again toward the end of the month. Most of the dip was still in the category of Pinterest generated traffic. Finding a method to make the most of Pinterest has been a lesson in trial and error and… patience.

The one thing we can all count on is change. Social media algorithms are no different!

Despite some Pinterest related challenges, I’m happy to announce that organic search doubled during March. That pretty much means it went from almost nothing to a bit more than almost nothing. I’m taking it as a win though as the numbers are moving in the right direction at last.

Most popular post for March: When Money Is Tight – Tips for Living on Next to Nothing

Income

Google Adsense revenue was down a little bit (approximately 10%) in March. I did notice the RPM (Rate Per 1000 impressions) dipped significantly while my traffic was slow. Then started picking up again as traffic increased.

If you’re looking at making money from Google Adsense you really need to get substantial page views before you see significant amounts accruing in your account. It’s not ALL about traffic numbers but they play a crucial role.

In February, I 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). My income from Bluehost doubled in March so I have high hopes for seeing that revenue stream continue to increase in coming months.

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

During March I signed up with another couple of affiliate programs but due to other projects taking up time and energy, I haven’t had a chance to figure out an implementation strategy, yet.

Unlike a lot of other blog income reports, I don’t include any freelance or business income. For me, that income is a part of my day job rather than revenue from my blog. The intention of this report is to reflect the semi-passive income generated by the blog not income earned through the exchange of time for money. Besides, this is a blog income report not an overall monthly earnings report.

March Income

  • Google Adsense – $537.08
  • Affiliate Income (Bluehost) – US$150
  • Affiliate Income (BookDepository) – £1.12
    • This will be converted to AU$ when it’s paid out. The BookDepository affiliate payments are made once you reach a minimum of £25. My total accrued so far is Â£17.58.

Plans for April

My dedicated blogging time will be impacted by my ‘day job’ this month but the ongoing plan is, as always, to continue to provide quality content, increase page views and hopefully also increase revenue.

So, in April I plan to:

  • Increase (and diversify) affiliate revenue
  • Increase page views
  • Finish writing my first eBook (carry over from March’s to do list)
  • Keep working on expanding Smart Money, Simple Life‘s social media presence:
  • Work on increasing my productivity – It’s getting better but it still mostly 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.