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I Reached My Daily Income Goal Zero Times In September
Hello and welcome to my September 2018 Income Report!
We’re back for another round of pulling back the curtain so I can show you the good, the not-so-good, and the not-so-pretty. I think it’s incredibly important to show bloggers who are just starting out that it isn’t always pretty or easy. Not all of blogging are posts like, “I made a million dollars in my first year of blogging!” Or, “This is how I quit my job after 30 days of my side hustle!” They’re cool, but unrealistic for 95% of bloggers.
So:
The not-so-great news: I still didn’t meet my daily income goal of earning $47 a day in ANY day in September.
The good news: I still earned more in passive income than I did in August!
This is called upward progress, and so this is still a good sign. And just like the August 2018 income report, this will be fun to look back on and to really see how much progress I’ve made.
Remember: I am going into this side hustle with the mindset that success WILL come to me. It’s a matter of when or the how. I can’t be the one who dictates that when or the how, but I can KNOW that this is going to set me up for a fantastic future. It’s all about the mindset you choose.
And I choose to be confident, and that I will be successful. If you’re a blogger just starting out then you should too.
September 2018 Income Report: During The 30 Days Of September, I Earned $18.20 In Completely Passive Income
$18.20, that’s not bad. It’s $6.59 more than last month, and I like the idea of upward progress.
So, where did I earn it?
Three sources this time (more sources = more progress!)
- $14.98 came from the eBooks I sell on TheFakeRedhead.com. Since redesigning and raising the price on those eBooks, I have made more money, though I still only sold the same amount of copies as I did the last time around. At the same time, I did scale back on my focus on the TFR Pinterest account, so I know I need to be better at that in the months to come. Income is income, no matter where it comes from.
- $1.72 came from Adsense. Still not a lot and in fact LESS than what I made last month. I also learned a couple interesting things, and more on that down below.
- $1.50 came from Swagbucks referral income. As I mentioned in my post about Setting Your Passive Income Goals, 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 once you earn 300 SBs, you’ll get a 300 Swagbuck signup bonus! And yes, that’s enough for a gift card, right at the start!
You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What’s Online at Swagbucks.com
September 2018 Income Report: What I Learned About Passive Income In September
In my August post, I wrote about how I learned that Adsense isn’t going to earn me zillions. Especially not until I get heaps and heaps of traffic. But I did notice that on the days where I do get a lot of traffic to Quest for $47, I do get a little bump in what I earn from Adsense. It’s just a few cents, but it’s a few MORE cents than on other days.
What this tells me is that Adsense also values traffic that sticks around a while. So, if you have a lot of traffic to your website, but you don’t have a lot of people staying and clicking around, you’ll probably notice you’re not getting much out of your ad traffic. And if you’re making the choice to have ad traffic on your website, you might as well make the most of it.
So, some tips:
- Make sure you have VALUE in your content. Like I mentioned in Ideal Blog Post Length, you want to make sure that your posts are long enough that they provide value to your readers. More value, means someone is more likely to stay and click around your website, subscribe, and even purchase your products.
- Ensure your website is EASY to navigate. If it’s difficult to get from Point A to Point B on your website, your readers are going to dart in a flash. No matter how good your content is, that’s the truth. Make sure you have a theme that’s well-organized and clean. I use Divi from Elegant Themes because it’s uber customizable. You can do whatever you want with it. Not only that, but the Elegant Themes library has a TON of different preset themes to choose from, all in one subscription.
- Consistently share your content. And especially share it on your social media platforms. Your website is your home base, but you need to get the word out. Pinterest is my favorite way to grow blog traffic. It’s free, unlike pay-for-play options like Facebook and Instagram. Whatever platform you choose, be consistent and really MASTER it. Learn all the tips and tricks to be had. I share a ton of tips and tricks on the Quest for $47 Pinterest account, so go ahead and give it a follow.
- Make it shareable. When it comes to sharing you content, you don’t have to do ALL the legwork. It wouldn’t be a side hustle that you can scale to something that takes LESS time than your full-time job if you did. Have a kickass (and customizable) sharing plugin. I use, Monarch from Elegant Themes, because all you have to do is activate the plugin and it’s on every page.
And don’t forget to included a Pinterest image in your post. If you reader loves your post enough to share it to one of their boards, you want to make it easy for them. You can see mine down at the bottom of this post. Don’t forget to pin it!
September 2018 Income Report: How Do You Get Traffic Insights?
So, I talked above about looking into your traffic insights, specifically your session duration. A higher session duration makes for traffic that is higher quality. If your traffic is in the seconds, and not minutes, then you probably need to make some tweaks. And you also want to make sure your bounce rate (also known as exit rate) is low. A low bounce rate means your readers aren’t just clicking in, but they’re exploring other pages on your website too.
What’s the best way to get insights on your traffic? Make sure you have Google Analytics tracking your website. (ETA: Since Google Analytics is SO important to blogging success, I dedicated an entire post to it! Check it out!)
September 2018 Income Report: Passive Income Plans
I really want to ramp up my affiliate marketing income in the next couple months. As you can see above, I haven’t earned any to speak of, so I really need to work on that. Fortunately, I have a couple posts in mind down the pipe, including one about why my favorite place to get inspired for my side hustle is the shower. The shower? Yes, the shower.
I also have my first online course in mind. If you don’t already know, online courses are where it’s at when it comes to passive income. I have been thinking about it a lot during these last few weeks. I need to focus, really dig deep and get things done. October is going to be just as busy as September (if not more), so I have quite the challenge ahead of me.
And, as mentioned above, I need to get back to sparing some of my attention to TheFakeRedhead’s Pinterest account, so I can get more eyes on my ebooks. More eyes = more sales.
September 2018 Income Report: What I Posted In September
As the soft launch continued, I knocked out seven posts in September. And with those posts, I think I’ve decided that one post a week is too LOW a number for me, for now. I have a ton of content that I want to get out. For October, I think I’m going to try going to six posts. Four that are my usual length, and then two more that are a little shorter. I’ll alternate which weeks get two posts and which weeks get one.
We’ll see how it goes.
The September Posts Include:
August 2018 Income Report: I Made $47 A Day ZERO Times
Yes, It’s Possible To Follow Your passion To Profit
Ideal Blog Post Length – Find Your Happy Medium
5 Things Volleyball Can Teach You About Blogging
Side Hustle Schedule: A Week In A Busy Life
Required Reading For Entrepreneurs: Why The Science Of Getting Rich Is A Must-Read
Top Products For Better Posture
Coming Up In Required Reading For Entrepreneurs
As I mentioned last month in my Side Hustle Schedule post, I read not one but TWO awesome books that to be featured in Required Reading for Entrepreneurs. I didn’t get two Required Reading posts up in September, so look ahead for two in October.
Not sure which book I’ll be reviewing along with Daniel DiPiazza’s Rich 20Something, it could be Fierce Optimism by Leeza Gibbons, or it could be Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, which I picked up last month, but haven’t had a chance to dig into yet. I also have two books by Jen Sincero, including You Are A Badass, waiting for me in the queue. I have…lots of options.
Do you have a favorite book that I should review for Required Reading? Drop a line in the comments and let me know.
Check Out My Other Income Reports
August 2018 – How I Earned $11.61
October 2018 – How I Earned $13.23
November 2018 – How I Earned $24.84
February 2019 – How I Earned $32.02
Ready To Start Your Own Side Hustle?
Download the FREE Blog Startup Checklist, which features the 5 things you need to do before you launch your blog. Not only that, but it comes with 50 ideas to inspire your way to your first batch of blog posts. The rule of thumb is to have between 15-20 pieces of content up before you launch, so get writing!
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).
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I’m sorry you didn’t make your daily goat but you are totally going the right way, making more is better than making less you can do it!
Exactly! This is still a positive upswing! All progress is good progress!
isnt that wonderful! having an extra source of income is always valuable!
It’s so important! I’m working on a post to that effect as well! Soon to come!
All I will say is financial performance is assessed by giving a summary of how the business incurs its revenues and expenses through both operating and non-operating activities.
Congrats on the income increase! I recently wrote an ebook that I need to work on myself.
Get at it! I definitely want to add an ebook to this website to increase my income too.
It’s still something onwards and upwards and you will get there.
Exactly! It’s progress, and I like progress, whatever amount it may be!
I have been looking to start with ads. What is the minimum payout for Adsense?
I believe it’s $100. So yes, I have a long way to go, and Adsense isn’t exactly the best avenue toward quick payouts through ads, but I still recommend it, primarily because it’s both a good jumping off point and it gets your readers used to the fact that you do run ads, and once you get your monthly users up, you can apply for more exclusive ad programs like Monumetric, which offer more money.
I am impressed about how open and ready to share your wisdom you are! The truth is: it takes a ton of work and a ton of time. Everyone would love a wuick fix but with the years I have found that it’s all about showing up everyday like you do.
There is NO such thing as a quick fix. One thing I learned while reading F.U. Money by Dan Lok (you can read my review from Required Reading here) is about working SMARTER not HARDER, and blogging, if you do it right, is definitely one of the best avenues toward working smart and making all the money you please.
Keep on pushing and the harder you try and the more content you get out im sure the $$ will come 🤘
That’s the plan! It’s about effort and a plan, and execution! We can all do it!
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Keep pushing.
Exactly! It’s a journey and I’m so happy to be on it!
It’s good to earn a little extra and from something you love doing. Keep going.
Yes! It’s very important to have more than one income stream, and you don’t have to follow the traditional path of getting a second job. There are so many great options out there!
I have been consistently share my content in facebook and IC but have not yet try pinterest. I heard it is another good way to grow traffic and hope to start exploring pinterest and using it soon.
I highly recommend it. Pinterest is the number one ways to get FREE leads to your website. There’s no better way to do it!
I always enjoy reading a good income report. It’s always good to learn something from other fellow bloggers!
Income reports are some of my favorite posts too! They’re SO informative!
It’s all about starting somewhere, so congratulations on making money in September! You seem to have found the right formula that works for you, now it’s all about writing that high quality content to bring more people to buy from your website.
Exactly! I’m really focusing on expanding my reach right now to get peoples’ eyes ON my content, since I know that it’s awesome. Pinterest is my focus this month!
$18 is still way more than what i did which is zero! I need to seriously start into ways of making passive income with my blog!
You can do it! Start with one form of monetization, whether it’s an ebook or affiliate marketing or one of the many other options. All it takes are small steps to get ahead and start making income!
That is so interesting! I haven’t monetized my blog as of yet. I like reading blog income reports. It’s interesting to see where people are making it work!
Income reports are my favorites too! Monetization is a journey. I would recommend starting off with something small. Affiliate marketing is a great option, because all you have to do is find a product that you love to recommend!
So interesting! I haven’t monitized my blog. BUt I love reading these reports.
Income reports are what opened my eyes to the income that you can make from blogging. It’s a journey, but I’m having a great time and I know I am successful.
Awesome! That’s nice you share your income reports for other bloggers to get a look into how you’re monetizing! 🙂
Thank you! I think it’s very important to be transparent when it comes to earning income online. It’s not easy and it’s quite the process. I’m happy to share it!
Thank you for sharing this. I am happy to see that you’re monetizing. Thanks also for these tips. I will look into doing them myself.
Glad you enjoyed it! Monetization is a process. Start with just one thing! If it doesn’t work, try something else!
Thanks for not starting out saying you have made thousands of dollars already. Although I wish you were making that much, I’m glad I’m not the only one off to a slow start 🙂 Best of luck to you!!
Blogging and making money through blogging is a process. I’m not ashamed about where I am right now. It’s going to be great!
Congratulations for your earnings of September. I also got into ads this September and haven’t checked my earnings..haha! Anyway, selling e-books looks so great. Hope I can get into that too.
I definitely need to focus a little more on ads this month, and I have a TON of ideas in mind for an ebook. It’s the things you can sell that are your own that will really make you the most money! Good luck on your journey!
I too am trying to reach a certain target. To begin with I would be happy if my blog can fund itself. Should start selling ebooks.
Yeah, to have blogging expenses funded is a great start. eBooks will really help that along!