Whew! I survived my first month of blogging! I have learned a lot this past month and had some successes as well as many challenges. A month ago, I was clueless about how much more goes into blogging than just writing blog posts. Hosting, domains, security, plugins, widgets, promotion, graphic design, image editing, branding- these are all things I had NO idea about going into this. As I assume all new bloggers do, I am learning as I go.
Why write income reports?
First of all, I want to write these because I love reading other people’s! It is fascinating to me to see how other people have grown their blogs. Not just income, but also page views, visitors, and social media following. I am always super impressed to see how someone can start out so small and then start gaining traction and then BOOM– it takes off! Reading other blogger’s income reports has been hugely motivating for me.
Secondly, I’m a numbers girl. I enjoy seeing data in tables and on graphs. It makes something creative and subjective (writing) into something measurable.
The last reason I have for writing and sharing income reports is to force myself to look at my progress each month. Blogging can be a frustrating endeavor and I want to make sure I look back and celebrate my successes. Seeing my growth will also allow me to create realistic, manageable goals for the next 30 days.
Month 1 Revenue
This section will be very short because right now I only have one (small!) income stream: Amazon Affiliates.
Affiliate income: $4.33
Sponsored posts: None yet
Google Adsense: Hoping to start next month!
Total revenue: $4.33
Month 1 Expenses
Expenses this month are not what I expect to have going forward because they my startup costs.
Bluehost (Web hosting for 1 year, domain name registration, + security): $125
WordPress (Premium Theme and Install): $179
Total expenses: $305
Month 1 Net Income: $-300.67
Sad face! This month was a big net loss.
However, I didn’t expect to turn a profit in my first month and I am not going to let this get me down!
Stats:
These are a bit more optimistic than my income this month. Anything above 0 is a success to me because all of these were at 0 until half way through April!
Page views: 303
Unique visitors: 207
Comments on my blog: 2
Pinterest followers: 7
Twitter followers: 35
Right now those are the only social media accounts I’ve started.
Goals for next month:
Income: $1 (hoping to see a positive number)
Page views: 1000
Unique visitors: 500
Comments on my blog: 25
Pinterest followers: 50
Twitter followers: 200
Broader goals for the next month include writing a sponsored post, setting up Google Adsense, and connecting with other bloggers by either writing a guest post or featuring a guest on my blog.
So, what do you think? Any impressions or feedback from my first month? Anything you want to share about your start as a blogger? Leave a comment!
Blended Life Happy Wife
17 comments
That’s awesome for your first month! I made exactly $0 my first month of blogging! Great start!
Thanks for the encouragement Gemma!
As a new blogger, I love seeing Income reports from the first few months of other blogs. It gives me something to compare my blog too. Great job on generating some income on the first month! This post gives me hope that my work will start to pay off as well.
I think earning from blogging is slow start for all of us. As long as we stick with it I think it will pay off!
I think you’re doing great! I’m new to this journey as well and know that it takes time to see . I look forward to watching you grow as well.
Thanks for the encouragement Catie! It helps to feel there are other new bloggers in the same boat and we’re not in it alone!
Thanks for the post. I should be considering doing an income report as well.
I love looking at others’ income reports! Especially those who are just starting out as well. It’s so discouraging when you see people making thousands of dollars a month.
You are way more organized then I was! Great job, crush your goals!
Here’s a page view to help towards your goal. 🙂 I’ll go follow you as well.
I love that your report and goals are both realistic. We all start somewhere.
#allformamas
I don’t write reports and I have been blogging for years now. I WILL say I should because I am very disorganized.
This breakdown is impressive. Your smarts are showing 🙂
Well done! I’ve still got no idea about the stats. I’ll get around to learning it all one day. BEst of luck on your blogging journey! Thanks for linking to #GlobalBlogging
Congrats on surviving your first month! Thanks for linking up to #globalblogging
Awesome goals and congrats! I didn’t generate income for my blog until 6 months + or more in…but even then it was chump change.
It wasn’t until a few months later that I actually figure it out..well for the most part 🙂
I like your blog and am impressed you got branding and hosting and all that other stuff done in your first month! I’m not that great with time management myself. I have twins…so, that’s why 🙂
I love how real your income report is. The fact that you show the true income and expenses to be negative is an honest reality for a lot of bloggers. I am always fascinated with the income reports that show a blogger making thousands of dollars a month, but I would rather see one like yours. It reminds me I’m not alone I also love that you have your goals for the next month listed to keep yourself accountable. Thank you for sharing this post in the All for Mamas Link Party Week 9 #allformamas I will share this on the All for Mamas Facebook group page, on Pinterest, Twitter and Stumbleupon. I hope that you will join future weeks of the All For Mamas Link Party
Thanks Stephenie! I’ll definitely be joining in on the next one!