April 2022 Traffic and Income Report

Image Credits: Ivory Mix

Hey there readers! Welcome to our first-ever blog income report. I am really excited to share this first time ever report with you.

I didn’t make much, but it doesn’t really matter to me.  This blog is an outlet and a way to keep me accountable.

This first report ranges from October 2021 to April 2022.  The reason being is October is when I started earning an income even as little as it was.  You have to start somewhere, right?

If you are thinking about starting a blog, this tutorial will help you start a blog today.

 

My Blog Income Strategy

In 2013, I actually started my blog, but I only blogged here and there and wasn’t really sure what I wanted to continue to write about.  So, I have changed my domain name probably 3-4 times before I decided on this one I am writing for today.  About a year or 2 ago, I started getting more serious and treating it more like a business.  I really wanted to be able to earn some income when I decided to early retire and not work outside the home anymore.  I also blog because I love it!

 

I also have switched to different hosting companies during this time as well.  The ones I have tried are Go Daddy, HostGator, Bluehost, and SiteGround.  They are all good, but some have better options than others.

 

You can spend as much or as little as you would like.  There are items you definitely need to have that are non-negotiable like your hosting, domain, and back-ups.  Then, you can move to other things if you desire!

 

Ad Generating Income

 

Everyone who blogs and desires to earn income probably wants to monetize their blog and earn blog income at some point.  I have added Google AdSense to my website, but not much income there as of yet.

 

What is Google AdSense?

It’s free, entry-level ads you put on your website to help your blog make money.

It is one of the harder ways to earn income, so don’t expect to get rich overnight!

Ad income comes from traffic to your website.  So, in the early stages, you will still be growing and won’t have a lot of traffic, which results in low income from ads.

As time goes on, you will get more traffic and start earning income from ads!

 

I have read over and over again that blog income from AdSense would take time to build and that is definitely true when you are starting out.  As of this day, I have still not made the first $100 from Google.  I am not a quitter and I know I will get there someday.  This is the hardest way to earn income as a blogger with low traffic.

 

Affiliate Income

 

This is probably my favorite way to earn income.  I have added a few affiliate links to my blog based on the products I am currently using.

I have added affiliate income through different bloggers books, Amazon, and other products I personally use in real life.

I choose to only add affiliate links that I could 100% recommend to others.  I have made other income prior to October 2021, but it just wasn’t consistent income yet.  I earned just here and there.

Earning just a little bit is a win-win!

The way affiliate marketing works is you write a blog post about a product and link to the product on what you are writing about.  After posting, a reader who trusts my opinion uses my link to make a purchase.  The reader will be able to get the item for the standard price (there’s no extra pricing added) and I earn a commission.

 

My First Blog Income breakdown

Here are my earnings from the first few months of recent blog income that I am able to report.

 

Ad Income

I have Google AdSense set up but have not earned any paid income.  As of today, I have only earned around $5 overtime from ads on my blog.  Because I have not met the $100 threshold for payout, I am counting this as $0 in paid income.

 

Affiliate Income

Most affiliate sales are not paid out until the following month depending on the affiliate.  Because of this, I have decided to only report income when I actually receive payment.

The way to increase my affiliate income is by writing more blog posts and recommending products to other people by putting links in my published posts.

 

Other Ideas for Affiliate Income:

 

Rakuten:  This is where you get free cashback when you shop online!  This is one of my favorites and I have used them for a long time.

 

You literally get cashback when you make an online purchase.  You can receive your cashback by deposit from a check or into Paypal.  Since I have used this for a while now, when I first started the only option was to receive paper checks.  If you want to try Rakuten, use my exclusive link to get $10 off your first $25 purchase and earn cashback.

 

Ibotta:  This is another free cell phone app.  You use it after you go grocery shopping and use your receipt.  It’s basically a rebate app, so you can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $5 off everything you buy.

 

If you want to grab the Ibotta app and start making money off your grocery receipts, click here to get started.  You will receive a cash bonus of $10 when you scan your first item!

 

StudioPress:  When you start a blog, you need the Genesis theme to start a WordPress blog.  There are other themes out there, but the Genesis theme is supposed to be the best theme to use for Google search results.  The Genesis theme is like the bones of your blog or the bottom layer of your blog.

 

Restored 316 Designs:  I picked this company to use a child theme for my blog.  A child theme goes on top of the Genesis theme and how you customize your blog.  There are a ton of themes to choose from depending on your blogging niche, what colors you like, and your layout.  They are more reasonable in pricing than I have found.  You can get them from StudioPress, but they are more pricey.

 

I think it’s really important to be a part of different affiliates as you don’t want to put all your eggs in 1 basket.  You need to seek out different sources of income.

Income

• Amazon Associates  – $47.99
• Melaleuca – Side Hustle I still get paid for – $158.08
• Rakuten (Previously Ebates) – $17.66

 

Total Income:  $223.73

 

Expenses From My First Blog Income Report

 

There are several expenses you can choose to pay for depending on what you want to do.

 

I believe starting a blog is one of the cheapest start-up side hustles you can start compared to other business ventures.  Yipee!

Expenses

• Aweber Email Marketing – $19.00
• ConvertKit Email Marketing – $174.00
• Keysearch – $85.00
• SiteGround Domain Register – $17.99

 

Total Expenses:  $295.99

 

Blogging Income Motivation

I have no idea what my blog income report will be next month.  It may be nothing since my life has been a little busy and haven’t concentrated as much for the month of May.  But, from here on out I will be doing a blog income and traffic report on a monthly basis even if I do not make any income.

If you currently work a regular job, do not quit your day job just yet unless you do not need to work because your significant other supports you.

 

Goals

I am going to be truthful and that I did not set goals for the first of the year for 2022.  This is something I do want to do starting next year in 2023.  In regards to goals, for the remainder of this year 2022. I want to set a goal to earn $1,000/month by December of 2022 through my blog Lemons Life and Reading.  I am starting low for the remainder of the year to see how things go.  After a month or two, depending on where I am at I may change my goal.

While earning money is important, I also want to build something I am proud of and to help me to be accountable.  I want something that is truthful.  I am looking to do this because I love it and also want to actively help other people.

 

April Recap

For anyone who’s interested, I use Wave to track income and expenses and I also use YNAB to just record the money side of things.  The reason I use Wave is also that it gives me other reports.  I wanted to reflect on the money aspect of it in YNAB with my personal accounts as well. Other options you can use are Xero and FreshBooks.  You could also try QuickBooks, but in my opinion, it was too complicated and I like my other web-based options best.

 

Traffic Report

 

• 42 Unique Visitors
• 102 Visits
• 119 Page Views
• 100% New Visitors

 

Since this is the first traffic report I’m not going to provide much analysis here.  In future reports, I’ll be able to compare with previous months and provide some insight.  I know I need to work on being more consistent to raise these numbers.

 

Email Subscriber Statistics

 

• • 22 New Subscribers (from Oct. and Nov. 2021)
  • 22 Existing Subscribers

• 22 Total Subscribers

 

I know my email subscribers need a lot of work, but I will get there.  The reason I had more subscribers in those months was because of Christmas Shows coming out from different channels.  It seems my subscribers are big Hallmark Fans and of Christmas Shows.  I have learned in the past few months that email subscribers are infinitely more important than any type of social statistics like Twitter or Facebook fans.  So, my plan for the next few months is to concentrate more on email subscribers.

 

I use ConvertKit for my emails.  So, I will be doing more research on better ways to use my email marketing signup strategy.

 

How to Start a Blog

 

If you are ready to start a blog yourself, read this tutorial on how to start a blog.

 

In the tutorial, I walk you step-by-step on how to set your blog up for success and what to do after you launch your blog.  You will also learn how to pick a blog name.

 

Thank You for Reading my first blog income and traffic report!  Do you have any questions?