We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
I’m glad I shared my first blog traffic and income report last month for how June went. I think it helped me to put it out there. Not only do I believe in being open and transparent in your business but I also think it helped to motivate me to make more income in July.
July was one of my best income months I’ve had and August is looking to be a fantastic month as well. Even though July wasn’t great for blog traffic so my adsense was down some. I was expecting this dip in traffic though. Blog traffic tends to drop off in the summer some with people out of town and busy. So if you are a blogger and notice your own stats are lower know that this is common.
I tend to go up a bit in August even though it’s still summer because I have a lot of back to school and organization posts and readers are looking to make changes to get organized for the new school year. This year I’m excited to really track my income and expenses so that next year I can compare the same time of year. To better see trends and how I’m doing.
July Income: I had more sponsored post opportnities in July so this was a good month for income. I have quite a few already in August so I’m expecting good numbers for this month as well. Back to school gives me a lot more sponsored opportunities than I get during most of the year.
As I mention my ad number was lower because of less traffic so hopefully my traffic will go up and with it that income in August. I’m also hoping to bring in some affiliate income in August. I had none in July.
Then the plan is to start selling my own products hopefully in December. I’m working on things right now. It’s important to make income from lots of different channels as a blogger. July was mostly sponsored posts and I’m trying to spread that out over the upcoming months.
Social fabric: $395
Linquia: $88
Adsense: $18
Blogher: $50
Total income: $551
Expenses:
Boardbooster: $30- I spend a lot here because Pinterest accounts for at least ⅔ of my monthly traffic. I’m working towards growing my traffic more evenly across other channels. Since so much of my traffic is through Pinterest. Spending this on Boardbooster is a must.
Convertkit $29 – A major area I am trying to grow and improve is my email list. I know that since creating my own products is something I want to do I need to have a larger list and I made the switch to Convertkit from Mailchimp at the beginning of the year. It is slowly growing and getting bigger month to month.
Elite Blog Academy $49- I forgot to include this last month but I am still making monthly payments for Elite Blog Academy. At some point I plan to write up a post in review of this great course.
Total Expenses: $108
My July Blog Traffic
Like I mentioned my traffic took a bit of a dive in July. Overall I dropped by about 35% from June to July. I’m hoping with school starting in most places over the next few weeks that people will be back home and reading blogs more.
What 3 things I’m working on to boost traffic and income
- I am going to start updating old posts with new images, updated content and adding click to tweet in them, adding SEO to them. I’m hoping this will drive some traffic to old posts and increase my numbers.
2. I am almost finished with my FREE email course on productivity. I’m really excited to launch it and am hoping it will grow my email list. Having a larger email list will help me when I’m ready to launch my own products in a few months.
3. I’m sending out guest post pitches to some bloggers whose blogs I would love to guest post on. I know that guest posting has worked to bring good traffic to other bloggers and I’m looking to start doing a few guest posts a month.
To help you grow your own blogs and start making your own income I wanted to include some resources.
Books on blogging to help you take your blog to the next level:
- Building A Framework ( check out more about this here.)
- Blog, Inc.
- Big Magic
- How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul
- #GirlBoss
- Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook
- You are a Badass (I just read this and it is awesome! So motivational and inspiring)
Other posts you might like:
IE says
I’m new and this is very encouraging! Thanks for giving all the details.
Falon says
Congrats on a great month and thanks for the resources!
Jana @ HowToRunAHomeDaycare says
This was helpful for me to read through. I’ve been considering if Board Booster was worth it or not. Most of my traffic comes from Pinterest too. Maybe I should look into it. Thanks for sharing!
Rachel Entzminger-Lloyd says
Thank you for sharing such great information!
Louisa says
Congratulations Karissa, you’re definitely doing a great job. Pinterest is one network I neglected for a long time. I recently started using it more and I’m beginning to see results.
Jennie says
Great job! It’s so awesome to see how your blog is doing so well. 🙂 Hope you have a great day!
Stephanie Chavez says
My email marketing (which is non-existent) is in dire need of help. I too have been thinking of product ideas, but since I don’t have one yet, I haven’t focused on my newsletter. thanks for the tip about convertkit. I’ll have to check that out when I’m ready.
Leana Jay says
Thank you for sharing this information. After reading this, I started making my own income report and it made me want to get more money!
Leana Jay says
Thank you this information. After I read this, I decided to write now my current tally this month, making me want to get more! Thank you!
Claire says
You did awesome! I highly recommend board boosters – it’s helped my traffic so much!
Nina says
I really enjoyed reading this post. It amazes me that one can earn so much money. Especially on Adsense. I have much to learn!
Georgiana says
Love this! I really need to get in gear and start making money, but it’s hard to put myself out there. Still trying to grasp the whole Pinterest thing!
Georgiana recently posted…20 Ways to Beat Blogger’s Block
Terryn Winfield says
Congrats! Thanks for sharing. You stats are still super impressive even though it was a slower month. I’ll look forward to your course coming up!
Terryn Winfield recently posted…Blogger Love {Vol. 5}
Jenny says
Most of my traffic comes from Pinterest too so I feel you there. Although your traffic was lower than usual, you still did really well in my opinion!
xoxo, Jenny
Jenny recently posted…Back to School Essentials for Grad School