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Blogging Income Report: October 2016

How is it possible that October is already over?! October was a great month – and I’m not just talking about income. We welcomed our third baby girl into the world on October 24, 2016! Hallie is amazing and an absolute dream baby. My older girls love her so much and she is just the perfect addition to our family. I’ll probably do a whole post on her soon, so stay tuned.

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Alright, let’s dive right in to my October blogging income report.

Online Income Report and How Blogging Has Changed My Life

Happy October! It’s income report time!

I cannot believe September is over. October is my favorite month of the year, and this year, it’s even more near and dear to my heart because it’s BABY MONTH!! Our third little girl is due on Halloween 🙂

And I am ready! This pregnancy hasn’t been “hard” per se, but nearing the end is always a challenge. My stomach is so big (baby girl is measuring two weeks ahead, which could mean a bigger baby or extra fluid, but either way my belly is large, haha) and it’s been hard trying to keep up with my other two little girls. Thankfully, my husband has been an incredible support system and helper.

My parents are coming into town in just a couple of weeks and then I’ll be starting my maternity leave! When I had my first baby, I had recently quit my job and was just getting started with freelancing. With my second baby, I was knee-deep in freelance writing and had just accepted a job as an editor (from home). This time, I’ll have no “real” obligations other than my blog, which is my all-time favorite hobby/side gig that I’m super excited to be able to spend more time on. Lots of exciting things to come your way, including the launch of my very first course!

Alright, let’s take a look at September’s online income report.

10 Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic Immediately

Once you’ve started a blog, chosen your theme and developed some content, the next step is figuring out how to increase your blog traffic.

While some blogs seem to grow overnight, please, please keep your expectations real and know that it can take years to develop a large following. It also takes time for search engines to recognize your blog and start ranking your posts.

When it comes to blogging, you should be spending 20% of your time writing and 80% of your time promoting your content. That took a while to sink in for me. When I first started my blog two years ago, I focused on creating good, quality content. I didn’t really promote it other than one Tweet, a few pins and a Facebook share.

Now, however, I’ve revamped that older content and I share it all the time. Pinterest is my biggest strategy for getting traffic to my blog, and it’s because of Tailwind that it’s possible. Tailwind allows me to schedule out my pins (I’m currently pinning 100 per day! There’s no way I could do that manually!!) weeks in advance. Our baby girl is due in 6 weeks and I plan on getting fully scheduled out the month after she is born.

Below are 10 specific ways to increase your blog traffic immediately.

Online Income Report: Blogging and Freelancing

It’s that time again, August’s online income report! If you’re new here, I share monthly income reports to track my earnings through blogging and freelancing. I’ve been freelance writing since May 2012 but don’t do too much of that anymore. For now, my focus is on earning and income through my blog. And, I’m happy to report that so far, so good.

I started this blog in Sept 2014, so exactly two years ago. It took me five months to make my first $100 blogging; and now I’m consistently making over $1,000 per month.

If you’re interested in starting your own blog, check out my tutorial on How to Start a Profitable Blog. Blogging will not make you money right away, but I truly believe that if you stick with it for a good year, you’ll start to see your hard work pay off (big time!). Right now, I’m spending just 10 hours per month on my blog (and again, I’m making over $1,000). If I can do this, so can you!

*If you do decide to start a blog through my Bluehost link, you’ll receive a special discount from Bluehost for my readers only! And, I’ll send you my blogging ebook – The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – for free!

Now, onto August’s online income report.

Bluehost Sale! Start a Blog This Fall!

I started my blog two years ago in September. If you’re thinking about starting a blog – let me fill you in on a little secret: Summers can be slow. People are traveling and spending time outside. Most people aren’t looking for a side job or hobby as they are plenty busy during the summer months.

However, come the fall, school is back in session and people are getting back into the routine of normal life. You might start reading your favorite blogs again or even decide it’s a good time to start your own!

Long-time readers of mine know that blogging has changed my life. I made $18,000 my first year of starting this blog through both freelancing and blogging. Now, I’m making over $1,000 a month just from my blog. It’s pretty cool, especially considering this is just a side hobby of mine and I don’t spend that much time on it.

Considering starting a blog?

Bluehost is the hosting company that I use and love. They basically “house” your blog for a super low monthly price of $3.95. However, today only, they are charging new users just $2.95/month!!! And, through my link you get your domain name for FREE!

And, as another bonus, I’ll send you my book – The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – for FREE once you sign up with Bluehost!

But you have to act fast! The sale only lasts Wednesday, August 17.

You can use my tutorial on starting a profitable blog to walk you through the entire process.

What questions about starting a blog do you have for me?

How to Choose a Blogging Niche

You’re thinking of starting a blog but wondering how to choose a blogging niche. You know it would be a good creative outlet for you. You’d love to one day earn a full-time income from it. And you love the idea of working for yourself and setting your own hours.

Those are the reasons (among many others) why I chose to start a blog. I started this blog about two years ago and haven’t looked back. It’s led me to extremely lucrative freelance writing jobs (check out my latest income report to see what I mean), it led me to my current full-time job, it’s earning a consistent side income each and every month, and, perhaps best of all, it’s introduced me to an amazing community of friends and bloggers.

So, you know you want to start a blog, but you’re not sure what you should blog about. Does this sound familiar?

For me, choosing my niche (personal finance) DID come relatively easily. I majored in finance and love talking money, so it just seemed natural.

However, a little over a year into blogging, I decided I wanted to start a new blog in a new niche. I wanted to talk more about motherhood, marriage, home & living, careers, and the like. So, that’s exactly what I did – I started a brand new blog. While I do love that blog and hope to get back to it one day, shortly after starting it I realized that this blog right here already had a following. I was already making a small income, I had dedicated readers, and I was connected in the personal finance community. To “start over” didn’t sound appealing; and as a mom of two (almost three!) little ones, I quickly realized I didn’t have the time or mental capacity to manage not one, but two, blogs.

Today, I want to help you decide how to choose a blogging niche.

How to Prepare for a Blog Launch

Are you getting ready to start a blog? First, congratulations!! You are taking a huge step toward your future career and financial goals. I’ve been blogging for almost two years now and am finally starting to see real, legitimate income coming in from my blog. You can view my latest income report here 🙂

How you launch your blog matters. Sure, you can definitely just start posting and not “prepare” for your blog launch. But, with a little preparation and know-how, you will gain a much bigger following right off the bat than you ever thought possible.

Get my FREE guide on how to start a profitable blog here! >>

And if you haven’t started a blog yet, first head over to my tutorial to get going!

Now, let’s get started.

Online Income Report: How I Made $3,200 Online in One Month

I am so, so excited about this month’s online income report! This is my highest month ever, including the two years I freelanced and blogged only (I currently have a FT job in addition to freelancing and blogging).

And, the even more exciting news is I only spent about 10 hours this entire month freelancing and blogging! This is where my years of hard work on the blog are finally starting to pay off, and honestly I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this little blog of mine!

If you’ve been considering starting a blog, now is the time to start one! It’s by no means a “get rich quick” scheme, but it absolutely will give you an extra source of income in due time. You can read my post on How Long It Takes to Make Money with Your Blog to get a better idea here.

Ok, let’s get started with this month’s income report!

Day in the Life of a Full-time Work-from-Home Mama

I’ve done a few Day in the Life posts before, but haven’t done one this year I don’t think. Figure I am due! And, I don’t know about you, but these are my absolute favorite posts to read. Just nosy I guess! 🙂

A little background: I have two daughters (ages 4 and 2), another little girl due in October, a full-time job, and I freelance/blog on the side (minimally).

My FT job is flexible and most of it is done from home. I AM FOREVER THANKFUL FOR THIS!! I do stick to a 9-5 schedule for the most part, but there are definitely times where I’ll work on a Sunday afternoon to get my week started on the right foot, and then maybe end a few of my weekdays around 4:00 pm when my 2-year-old wakes up from her nap.

The girls go to daycare five days per week part-time. Daycare has been life-changing for not only my work schedule, but for me as a mom. I LOVE being a mom, don’t get me wrong, but I also love having something that’s just for me. This transition has been so good for my girls and it’s made me a better mom. Even if I didn’t work FT, I would keep my girls in their part-time daycare schedule.

Ok, let’s get started…

How Long It Takes to Make Money with Your Blog

I want to be completely honest about how long it takes to make money with your blog. I think some people are under the impression that you can start a blog and within a few months, be able to quit your full-time job. Sure, that DOES happen, but I honestly don’t think it’s the norm. If you’re working full-time, you’re already strapped for time. Add kids into that mix and you’ve got very little time.

Here’s a realistic look at how long it takes to make money with your blog, plus how to earn an income from your blog.