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How I Earned $13.23 In October 2018
So, this is going to be a little bit two steps forward, one step back.
But not really.
I feel no shame in that I made less money in October than I did in the September 2018 Income Report. That’s fine.
Because as long as I’m still blogging, I’m still making progress. The money doesn’t matter. It’s a nice perk, but what matters is the value I’m providing in my content.
Remember, your focus should be on the value that you provide, not the money you earn.
October 2018 Income Report: How I Earned What I Earned
So, where did I earn it?
Four sources this time. Like last month, more sources = more progress!
1. $7.49 came from the eBooks I sell on TheFakeRedhead.com. More on this below in the Going Big section.
2. $2.68 came from Adsense. More than last month, but still not much.
3. $3.05 came from Swagbucks referral income. As I mentioned in Maximize Your Swagbucks Earnings, Swagbucks is not passive, but is still one of my favorite ways to earn some extra cash. And everyone wants more cash, right? Get started on Swagbucks with my referral link and you’ll get a 300 Swagbuck signup bonus. And yes, that’s enough for a gift card, right at the start!
4. $0.01 from…somewhere else. Read more below in the section about Dog Walking. Until then, just remember that you never know where your money is going to come from, so don’t limit yourself. Non-traditional income earning is at the core of side hustling, so it’s important to keep an open mind.
October 2018 Income Report: What I Learned About Passive Income In October
Earning passive income is hard.
Surprise?
Oh wait, no it’s not.
Keep going, keep working, even when you feel like there are no rewards and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. This is the long game, not a get rich quick.
October 2018 Income Report: Traffic Update
I’ve seen a lot of people include traffic info and social followings in their income reports and I am super into it. Mostly because I am a numbers person, and I really want to see the progress I’m making in my traffic and social accounts, as well as my income.
So, here we go:
Website Traffic: 1,144 page views, 598 users, 753 sessions (September: 1,098, 454, 602) SUBSCRIBE
Pinterest Followers: 216 FOLLOW
Facebook Page Followers: 92 FOLLOW
Instagram Followers: 25 FOLLOW
Twitter Followers: 0 (Because I didn’t start it until November 4th) FOLLOW
My website traffic went up a little in each category this month, which is progress. I’m really looking to grow my Pinterest account (which is also growing), so I can get more leads to this website and grow that traffic.
The Facebook page has also been growing, and I’m working on refining my strategy there. As for my Instagram, I have done nothing to it, but thanks to the algorithm, people (mostly people who already follow my personal account) are trickling in. I have a lot of plans for that account in the months and weeks to come. And I did just start that Twitter account. I’m…not big on Twitter at the moment, so we’ll see how this goes.
October 2018 Income Report: Going Big
(And Not Going Home)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Adsense will not make you rich, not unless you get hundreds of thousands of views a month. For 95% of bloggers and side hustles, that’s just not going to happen.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make money blogging.
You just can’t play the small game.
I learned that lesson from Leah, the fabulous Urban 20Something, in one of her recent webinars on how she grew her side hustle into a replacement for her full-time income. She walked us through the steps she took to go from earning a few hundred a month to a few thousand. It was so simple, but SO eye opening. And I am ready to take that leap too.
I’m done with playing small, so it’s time to focus on the ebook I’ve had simmering around my brain for the last few weeks. And that’s not even the biggest big that I’m thinking, but more on that later.
So, a question: If you were to purchase an ebook with actionable steps to take to generate passive income, what would you want to learn about? Let me know in the comments!
(And all that said, I’m still going to focus on getting as much out of my Adsense earnings as I can. And that means putting a little bit more focus back on TheFakeRedhead.com. I really let my Pinterest efforts slip up these last couple months, and I can’t do that anymore. Not only are there people out there who love the content on that website, but I have more than 18,000 followers on that account. My reach was almost at 2,000,000 before I mad the decision (read: mistake) to scale back. The more eyes I get to those pins, the more eyes I get to my website, which means more positive impressions for Adsense.)
October 2018 Income Report: The Penny I Picked Up While Dog-Sitting
Breaking down my earnings further, I want to talk about October 22nd. I made $0.03. Not much, but this was a very important day for me when it comes to understanding money and my appreciation of it.
That day, I earned $0.02 from Adsense and $0.01 from a penny I picked up on the side of the road.
Yes, you read that right.
I was dog-sitting for some friends, and the pups and I were taking our mid-afternoon walk when I noticed something shiny on the ground. While one of the pups was doing her business, I was able to take a closer look.
I realized it was a penny, acknowledged it was a penny, and then moved on with the walk.
But then I stopped.
Because I’ve been mainlining Kathrin Zenkina’s Manifestation Babe Podcast over the last few weeks, and I remembered something she said in one of the episodes. Zenkina thanks the universe for any amount of money she manifests, even if it’s a penny she finds on the ground. And she DOES stop for pennies on the ground, even if she’s with people who think she’s crazy.
So, I remembered Zenkina’s story, grabbed that penny, and thanked the universe for sending me some money, because I know more will come.
October 2018 Income Report: What I Posted Last Month
Finished off the month with seven posts, two of which are from my brand new series, 47 Quotes For The Badass Entrepreneur. I am SO excited for the awesome content this series is going to bring in the next 45 weeks. I powered through gathering all the content in about a day and I just KNEW it was worth more than just one very, very long post.
Series are some of my favorite things to write, and I can’t wait to see what more I come up with! They’re also great ways to keep people coming back to your site.
The October Posts Include:
September 2018 Income Report
6 Reasons To Use Google Analytics To Track Your Stats
8 Ways To Maximize Your Swagbucks Earnings
47 Quotes For The Badass Entrepreneur Part 1: Kathrin Zenkina
Required Reading: Rich 20Something
47 Quotes For The Badass Entrepreneur Part 2: Brian Tracy
6 Foolproof Things To Do For Less Stress
Coming Up In Required Reading For Entrepreneurs
I’m really excited for the next edition of Required Reading. And yes, I know that I say that every.single.time. I have not yet come across a book I haven’t loved, and it’s the same for this one. This book is full of SO many valuable lessons that EVERYONE needs to know, not just your dad, who may or may not have even finished the book, but definitely owns a copy.
And guess what (spoiler alert!), none of the lessons are even about real estate investing in the first place.
As for what I’m going to read in November? Well, I have a TON of books in the metaphorical queue, including Fierce Optimism by Leeza Gibbons, and You Are A Badass and You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero. But I’m thinking that Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule might jump to the top of the list. I’ve been following her on Instagram and she’s posting a TON of super valuable content, so I think I have to give it a read.
Have a book you think I should feature in Required Reading? Let me know in the comments!
Check Out My Other Income Reports
August 2018 – How I Earned $11.61
September 2018 – How I Earned $18.20
November 2018 – How I Earned $24.84
February 2019 – How I Earned $32.02
Ready To Start Your Own Side Hustle?
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And if you need guidance on how to write the perfect blog post? Well check out my FREE Idea To Awesome Workbook, which will take you from idea to an awesome blog post that everyone will want to devour!
Don’t forget to get hosting (plus a free domain) for as little as $3.95/month through Siteground. You can read why I choose Siteground to host my websites in my post, 6 Reasons I Host My Side Hustle On Siteground (And You Should Too).
Pin It For Later!
Keep it up, you’re doing great!
Thank you! I am so excited for the success to come!
Great job! Thanks for sharing your income report. Sounds like you are rolling out the posts.
Thank you! Consistency is one of the keys to side hustle success, whatever your niche!
Great job! I love how you break it all down. Thanks.
Thank you!
Thanks for such an honest and candid post!
Happy to! Transparency is SO important!
I love that you counted the penny! It’s true though that every bit counts, I just heard a story about a runner who runs every day and always picks up money. Over time it’s amounted to over 10K!! Thanks for the transparency, it helps other new bloggers like myself and I’m inspired!
What a great story! I am not surprised they could pick up so much! Happy to be transparent, it’s so important to me!
Adsense is slow going…I agree, but I also agree that it’s important to stay the course and “not go home.” I admire your willingness to be transparent and accountable. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to share! Going big is a challenge that I am so excited to meet!
Thank you for this. It is encouraging to see that it can be done. I just recently started blogging, but I haven’t made anything yet. So it is good to see that it is possible.
Happy to share! Anyone can find success with blogging, so long as you work hard and are consistent with your efforts. If complete one objective per day for a year, could you imagine how far you’ll get? It’s so exciting to see what comes next!
A good start. Better than nothing.
It’s a great start! I’m so happy with how things are going and the progress I am going to continue to make.
It’s nice that you are sharing your journey with other bloggers. It seems like a good way to keep up with things, too.
Thanks for the tips and encouragement. Keep up the good work!
Happy to! Thank you so much!
This is great! I’m always interested to see just where blogger income comes from. Thanks for sharing!
Of course! Transparency and these income reports are some of my favorite parts of blogging!
This is a very encouraging read. It can be easy to have days where it would be easier to throw in the towel, but I believe that if I stay the course, I will see results. Thanks for sharing!
Exactly! It’s so important to stay the course and keep building on each day’s successes and progress!
I love that you’re tracking your follower count. I’ve not done that, and I should be because I think it would help me see progress on months when my pageviews are down.
Yeah, it’s an all-encompassing metric, and I like to see all of it. I’m a numbers girl at heart, after all. But remember, it’s not as much the numbers as much as it is the engagement!
Great job! Looks like you are starting to gain some steam.
It’s a progress! I’m getting there!
I love your transparency and your honesty. It really helps to see other bloggers out there making REAL money, not those “I made $304,200 in one month” type of posts that make you feel kind of inadequate. Keep up the great work!
I mean, I’m definitely going to get there :), but I totally know what you mean. I love being the voice of a realistic view of someone starting off!
Looks like you are doing great. Rich Dad Poor Dad is definitely a favorite in our house.
I really didn’t know what to think of it, other than it came up as one of the top personal finance books and so I pretty much bought it on a whim. And devoured it. I can’t wait to talk about it in the next Required Reading!
I LOVE Rich Dad, Poor Dad!! And I am with you on this slow train to passive income!!
It was an AMAZING read and I can’t wait to share my Required Reading post for it. The passive income train is slowly creeping up that hill, but what goes up, must come down, and when it does, it’s going to snowball fast! Can’t wait! You keep up the great work too!
Getting a step closer every month! Congratulations.
Thank you! I am so excited for what is to come!
This is great! When I started blogging I didn’t even make this much and your traffic is way higher too. Focus on churning out more great content and promoting on Pinterest. Once you hit 25k sessions you can join Mediavine and they pay significantly more. I need to start working on my affiliate marketing because it’s basically nonexistent at the moment.
Yeah I’m really excited to grow my traffic to Mediavine levels! I’ll get there soon!
I love your motivation. The determination. That is what I have thought. ‘I will succeed even if it kills me’ lol. Thanks for the post and sharing.
I know that I am going to be successful, and I do that in everything that I do!
I’m glad you stopped for the penny! You never know where the life lessons come from, but sometimes it’s as simple as being open to income. Keep up the great work!
Exactly! Being open to any and all sources of money is SO important. You never know where it’s going to come from, just that it’s going to come!
Good job! Just keep moving forward!
Thank you! I plan to!
Blogging is a journey of doing a lot of “little things” kinda like life. The more you scratch of your list of “to do’s” the bigger and better your blog gets….great job…keep your passion, continue to work hard as you are Kathryn and all else will follow!
Yep! That’s exactly what it’s all about!
I like your penny analogy. I never even stop for a nickel, but I might have to change that going forward.
Think of how much you would have if you stopped every time? You never know until you try!
Love the penny story! So true that we need to appreciate every cent we get. Great job this month. I love how you learn from everything you do!
Thank you! Blogging is ALL about being a life-long learner. SO important!
Keep up the great work! Your hard work is going to pay off!!
I know it is! It’s going to be great!
Great information! Very inspiring to know we’re not alone.
Exactly! There are so many of us who are grinding hard to get our side hustles off the ground. We’re successful through continued effort and consistency!
I love this page set up! I need to start with some affiliate links. Good job!
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money while blogging. Definitely going to feature more posts about it!