February 2018 Blog & Income Report | Life Update | The Wallet Moth

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Hello everyone! Welcome to my secong blog, life and (eeek!) income report of 2018. Ironically, for a money blogger, this is the first month that I’m actually talking about the numbers with you all. You can view January’s Blog report here!

A lot of bloggers online share their income reports, and while the premise may sound a little odd, it is a super inspiring read for any newer bloggers or people just started out. Income reports show that we all start somewhere, that blogging is all about that continual, steady growth – oh, and that blogging is a serious money maker if you get it right.

Because I find blog income reports so inspiring myself, I thought I’d take the plunge this month and share my own with you all. These reports are a big reason that I decided to persevere blogging as more than just a hobby that I attend to once a month, and if I can inspire just one or two people to start their own blog and pursue a passion, I’ll be over the moon.

 

How this all started…

Before getting down and dirty with this month’s stats, here’s a little intro on how this whole blogging thing started for me (if you’ve read my story a dozen times just skip this part!).

I started blogging in January 2017 all because I wanted an online portfolio to support the freelance copywriting business I launched in the same month.

I knew that my sensible money habits were a key reason why I was able to leave my job, start my own business, and start travelling the world all at the time time, so blogging about everything surrounding that topic was an obvious choice. I hated the thought of anyone feeling trapped in their job without any options to grow or transform their lifestyle, so this website is dedicated to giving anyone and everyone the tools they need to shape their own life. 

While the site definitely started as a hobby, a year on this site has grown more than I could ever have imagined.

In previous years, I’d started numerous blogs, only to post once or twice and let the entire project fade from my mind.

Of course, The Wallet Moth was different. I’d discovered a topic I’m really passionate about sharing, and secondly, I discovered that blogging can be so much more than just a hobby.

A few months into blogging, I started reading the income reports of other bloggers, and that’s when it hit me. Blogging isn’t just a hobby – it can be a genuine job.

I’m crazy passionate about this blog and it’s readers, and being able to make money from one of the things that brings me the most happiness is a real blessing.

Reading the blog and income reports of other blogger’s is extremely motivating for me – and in fact was a big reason I decided to finally commit to blogging rather than just stick a post online haphazardly and forget all about it!

This time a year ago, The Wallet Moth had just a few articles published and even fewer readers. I hadn’t even told my family I’d started blogging yet. Now, it’s slowly but surely growing in income, traffic, followers and more as I get the hang of this whole thing.

 

I’ve never felt so motivated and focused, I’ve met new and inspiring friends online, and this website has opened up a world I never considered possible.

For those reasons alone, I urge anyone and everyone (my friends will confirm this!) to start blogging today if you have any part of you that thinks you’d like to give it a try.

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, check out my step-by-step tutorial here. I haven’t regretted starting this site up for one second!

 

My Free Blogging Course

When I started this blog, I was all over the place. Everything I did right was followed by 10 things I now know I was doing wrong.

Blogging isn’t easy.

That’s why I want to help anyone who’s thinking about starting a blog with my FREE blogging email course. I talk you through everything from creating your blog to driving traffic (including my best Pinterest tips!), and even making your first few dollars – and then some – with your website.

I’ve had some really great feedback on the course and I really poured my heart into it – if you’re thinking about starting a blog or are a newbie blogger, I’d recommend you check it out.

 

 

February 2018: Blog & Income Report

February was another great month for my blog. I consistently posted twice every week, and even managed to maintain my traffic and posting schedule while I was out of the country for 2 weeks.

I’ve been working really hard on a new product regarding my success with Pinterest, and hope to be able to launch it within the next month, so that’s exciting! If you’re interested in hearing more, sign up to my waitlist to be amongst the first to know (and get in on the discount offer I’ll be giving my email list).

Another big event for my blog was that I signed up with the MediaVine ad network, and this is a big reason why I’ve decided to share my blogging income this month.

The truth is, I love seeing the success of other bloggers by reading their income reports, but it does make me feel slightly uncomfortable letting people know how much I’m earning.

What does make me feel more comfortable is that my blogging income is a supplement to my real income as a copywriter – so right now, anything I earn is a real bonus rather than being an income that I depend on. If I ever get to the point where my blog income becomes my entire income, I’ll see if I’m more or less comfortable with the idea!

 

Income

This month I earned $770 on The Wallet Moth. While I have earned money on this site in previous months, this is one of my higher earning months and a really exciting time! I only started monetizing my site around June/July last year, so I’m really happy with how things are going 6 months on.

My income can be broken down into three revenue streams:

• Affiliate Marketing: $130
• Ads: $465
• Sponsored Posts: $175

Joining MediaVine has really seen an instant boost in my income. This month I already earned more than I did in an entire year with Google Adsense – and my ads have only been running since half-way through the month!

You need over 25k sessions to be eligible to apply for the MediaVine network, but if you’re a blogger and you fulfil those requirements I’d definitely recommend you check them out. I can’t wait to see how this new addition to my site’s income changes things.

 

Aside from that, my affiliate income has steadily been growing each month since I started monetizing my blog around June last year. I do think that some bloggers may look at my 90,000+ page views and wonder how I’m not earning big bucks with that kind of traffic.

The answer is that right now a huge amount of my traffic comes from one blog post that went viral on Pinterest. Already towards the end of February, I can see my traffic dropping as that post naturally starts to receive less attention.

While that may sound like a worrying thing, it’s actually a drop I predicted as soon as the post went viral – I knew I couldn’t hope for that post to bring me insane amounts of traffic all year! My plan is to simply continue to publish the same quality content I know my readers love, and to have eventually enough popular posts that the balance isn’t quite so one-sided.

In the meantime, that post has an opt-in that is converting really well, so a lot of those readers are now on my email list for the future, which is really great!

 

I have had a few sponsored post opportunities which has also been really helpful. If I’m honest, I do slack a little bit at finding ways to implement sponsored posts and affiliate marketing into my ‘strategy’, because all of this is a learning process for me. There are so many brands I would love to work with but I struggle to get the confidence to ask if they would actually want to work with me.

Definitely an area to tackle another month!

 

In terms of affiliate marketing, one course I have invested in is Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. The author of this course makes over $50,000 consistently every single month purely via affiliate marketing (her income tops out at over $100,000 with other income streams!), so she really knows what she’s talking about. 

While my affiliate income is still low relative to some bloggers, I hadn’t made a single cent before taking this course, and I frequently consult it for advice and tips – it’s just a matter of implementing all that information!

 

Page Views & Email List

Pageviews took a slight drop compared with January, coming in at about 90,000. While this is a high figure, a lot of my traffic comes from one post that got super popular.

I’m already seeing that traffic get a little less insane, and expect things to drop more over March. My plan? Just to keep going.

I know now what my audience likes to read, and I’ve assessed what kinds of posts work, and what don’t. Now, I’m just committing to publishing great, relevant content and sharing it properly – I know that with that effort, the traffic does follow.

This month my email list grew by another 400 people from just one page alone (welcome!), which is amazing to me. I’ve had a lot of success after creating a Freebie Library that holds all of my free printables, ebooks and more in one place.

To get exclusive access to it and download all my freebies, simply sign up here.

 

I also just want to say to any new blogger or anyone who’s thinking about starting blogging: my blog is just one year old and I never dreamed I would be getting this type of traffic or following ever, let alone just a year on.

I am not special, or lucky. I’ve just worked really, really hard. The amount of time I have poured into this site out of pure passion for my subject and for this website is insane. If you want to create a successful blog, you just have to start and keep going. That’s it.

A few months back I spoke about how excited I was to reach 1,000 views after a few months of blogging. This time last year, I had about 250 page views for the month. Every single view gives me a thrill of excitement and cheesy as it sounds, you are all so valued to me.

 

February’s Blog Goals:

• Maintain 25k Sessions per Month – yes!
• Increase my Instagram following to 700 – close but not quite!
• Increase my Facebook page likes to 300 – yes!
• Get 2 guest posts on other sites – in the works!
• Run a giveaway competition – yes!

 

March Blog Goals:

• Maintain at least 50k page views
• Increase Instagram following to 720
• Release my Pinterest product
• Make at least $700 with my blog

 

February Articles

These are all the posts I published in February:

• Digital Nomad Travel Guide: Chiang Mai
• Blog Report & Life Update: January 2018
• So You Want to Be a Digital Nomad? 6 Steps to Prepare Before You Go
• How I Use Pinterest to Drive More Traffic to My Blog
• How to Shop Like a Minimalist
• Must-Have Budgeting Tools for Every Savvy Spender in 2018
• Not-So Frugal Confessions of a Frugal Living Blogger
• 10 Quick Healthy Meals | Delicious Cheap One-Pot Vegan Dinner Ideas

 

Key Blogging Lessons:

• Posting consistently

Last May, I created an editorial calendar and planned out posts for the next month. I’ve continued this each month and it has made me so much better at getting blog posts written, edited, formatted and scheduled in advance.

Having a plan has allowed me to take the time to write far better quality blog posts with time and research put into them, which has definitely helped my traffic! A consistent posting schedule will bring in the traffic, but quality posts are what will actually engage people – and that’s the main aim.

• Pinterest

If you’ve heard other bloggers harp on about Pinterest before, there’s a reason for that: it is amazing at driving traffic to your site.

Over this year, I have gotten far better at designing pins and knowing how to get the most out of this brilliant platform. Recently, I also started using BoardBooster as well as Tailwind, and those two services together have blown my traffic up.

Pinterest is my biggest referrer of traffic by far – growing my traffic from 0 to 100,000 monthly page views in just one year. My strategy takes me barely any time each week to set and go. I’ve got a huge ebook on my exact tactics coming out soon so be sure to subscribe to the site so you don’t miss it!

I also go far more in-depth into how I drive traffic using Pinterest here.

 

Life Update

As I mentioned last month, I’m now back in the UK and living with my family for the time being. I haven’t quite decided what my next steps are, so for now, it’s been really lovely to catch up with my family after so long living away from them.

Any of my Instagram followers will know that I’ve been struggling with a back injury for almost four months now, which has been really frustrating for me especially because I’m a bit of a self-confessed fitness addict! Thankfully, I’ve seen a lot of progress in the past few weeks and feel like I may finally be out of the woods. Fingers crossed!