It’s a minute since I wrote a blogging income report. I honestly have spent less time writing blogging income reports due to just not wanting to write blogging content. But let me at least celebrate achieving my goal with this 1k blogging income report.
My First 1k Month
Again, it feels so weird talking about blogging income since it’s been a year. This month, September, marks the 2nd year of this blog, As Told By Ariel. I put a lot of work in when I had no results and made not a single penny from my blog. It finally came through and it’s like a weight has been lift off my shoulder. This side hustle finally is paying off (and my bills, lol.) and became a source of passive income.
I’m not going to lie, I was burnt out with blogging. I didn’t post during the summer due to needing a break. No one talks about how with side hustles, there isn’t a break or holiday. You have to constantly work on it.
However, all the doubts I had with blogging are gone. I knew since I was a young girl, I wanted my own website. I’m finally making money to keep it running.
You can read more about my blogging journey here:
My First Year Blogging Income Report – How Much I Made in September 2022
My Blogging Journey: 6 Month Update
Without any further ado, here is a breakdown of my 1k blogging income report.
1k Blogging Income – August 2023
Unlike my previous months, I only made money from two sources: SheMedia Ads and Amazon.
Amazon: $734.33
This month was the HIGHEST I’ve ever earned from Amazon. Of course, it’s that time of the year when students are buying things for college. But I didn’t expect this much. I would check every day and more sales were happening.
I honestly do not have a secret or tip to recommend. I learned everything from By Sophia Lee’s Perfecting Blogging course. I focused on ROI like she mentioned in her course.
I started focusing on the purpose of my blog posts. It’s like back in elementary school where we learned the original types of writing (I think it was like Persuade, Informational, or Entertainment…. It’s been a WHILE, okay?) So, I focused on “Why would someone want to spend time on Amazon or buy this product? What is the purpose of this blog post?” Light blub went off. The purpose to guide people on what to buy as a gift for a friend or for their dorm.
I focused on writing e-commerce style articles for the first half of the year, and it paid off in the college niche. The purpose of these article is to recommend products and people are likely going to buy something from them. However, Amazon affiliate may pay the most, but it’s not as consistent as my other source of blogging income.
SheMedia Ads: $557.13
I love being a member of SheMedia’s partner program. This ad agency has been a consistent source of income ever since I started in July of 2022. At first it barely covered my blogging expenses, but it was nice getting some money.
Now I’m making hundreds each month. I can count on SheMedia’s ads to be there as a source of income even if I do not make a lot of affiliate sales (aka the fall time) during my low seasons.
In total I made: $1,291.46
That’s it. That’s my 1k blogging income report.
I’m currently not looking to add more income streams at the moment due to time and just not having enough bandwidth. I’m satisfied with what income source I have now. Maybe I’ll create a digital product on the side, but just not now.
Most of this money will go to TAXES. I never expected to make this much to be honest. I’ll place this money aside for now. I’ll hire some assistance to continue making content. But I’ll also work on handling the business side of blogging.
Blogging Stats:
39,123 pageviews
I was so close to reaching 40k pageviews!! I honestly do expect a huge drop in traffic the following months until November due to not having any seasonal content for fall. Fall and spring are my low seasons where I try to work harder. It was a lot to manage in August with the blog’s pageviews growing.
Source of Traffic
Overall, I saw a huge increase of traffic from Pinterest. During the month of August, I saw about 4.1k outbound clicks from Pinterest.
But Google was my main source of traffic. With 82% of traffic coming from it.
Questions People Frequently Ask:
Q: How long?
A: Blogging is a marathon. It took me almost 2 years. I started seeing it as a side hustle/business.
Some books I plan to read before the end of the year is Profit First by Mike Michalowicz, which was recommended by fellow bloggers in By Sophia Lee’s Perfecting Blogging Facebook Group. (Seriously, if you’re thinking about starting a blog or lost with yours, take Sophia’s course)
I also need to read The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. It’s been sitting on my TBR list and my bookshelf for almost 3 years now, and this is the most relevant time for me to read it.
Q: How did you increase your income?
A: Work. Strategy. Consistent. I know that’s such a semi-BS answer, but it’s true. Blogging is not a short-term game where you can find a hack and will work. It’s a lot of focus on SEO and content marketing and other digital skills.
I won’t disclose how I did, but I will admit that I focused on ROI. If a certain category of blog posts didn’t perform well after 4-6 months, I’d move on and focus on whatever was making me money. Again, it’s a strategy I learned in By Sophia Lee’s Perfecting Blogging course.
Blogging Goals for the next year:
1. Hire a blogging/virtual assistant to help.
I spend a lot of time on my computer and need some help. Carpal tunnel is not going to happen. I also have other hobbies and things I want to focus on after I get off of work. It’s hard starting at a computer for hours after work.
With my blog reaching likely over 100 blog posts, I need assistance to keep up. It’s a lot to organize too. I rather focus on admin stuff than creative right now.
2. Have more evergreen content.
I know in the past seasonal content was my number one thing. But now, I’m focusing on creating blog posts that will perform consistently year round. I think that seasonal content is fantastic, but those dips in traffic are sad to see (but it’s 100% normal). But I need to find ideas for content that can reach my next goal…
3. Reach 50k monthly page views.
Getting to 50k is easy. That’s what I tell myself. It’s easy. Just do that work and plan out your strategy.
Once I hit 50k, I can get into MediaVine and have a better source of income. It won’t happen until next year, but I’m going to work hard to make sure it happens.
4. Create more cohesive niches.
This is a lifestyle blog. Yes, a little of college advice here. A bit of self care there. Some concert tips. Then add in the gift guides. There’s a lot going on. While my first blog was solely a niche blog, this one is everything. It’s aimed at being my advice column/collection of my 20s.
Unlike other blogs that I follow, I don’t have a true niche. This blog is about everything I like. It’s not necessarily a niche site. It’ll also be hard to sell, if I ever choose so. I don’t know. I think just focusing on categorizing my content out will make it easier.
5. Post less, update more.
Similar to what I said in the first goal about hiring an assistant. I have a lot of blog posts. It’s not the typical 200-300 blog posts a blogger who makes way more money than I do has, but it’s so much to keep up with. Pushing out new content on a weekly basis is hard, especially by myself and updating old ones and handling business stuff. I also am focusing on other things outside of blogging, like work and writing a novel. I want to shift this blog into being a side hustle that I do on the weekends now. My goal is to keep these as a passive source of income.
I also think that since part of my blog is about self-care, is that I need time to re-energize and step back from blogging to prevent burning out again. I’ll post still but step back and get some assistance. During the summer, I barely posted and got burnt out (I keep denying it.) But this has motivated me to continue working on this blog.
This blog post was about my 1k blogging income report.
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