Blog Stats and Income Report: September 2016
6:00:00 PM
A couple months ago, I decided that I was going to start tracking all of my blog stats, social media followers, income, and expenses. I've seen a lot of big bloggers do this and I've been inspired to do the same, especially by Melissa Griffin. I mean did you see her report from July 2016? She made over $100k!
Obviously my numbers will be no where near hers, but they're still worth keeping track of! I know sometimes it can get overwhelming to see bloggers making thousands of dollars, so I thought it was important to show what it looks like for me. I only launched this blog in January 2016, so I still have a lot to learn, but I'm glad I can share it with you!
Actually, I'm more than glad, I'm super excited! I have been watching my numbers and waiting for the month to be over, so I can finally compare everything. Usually my husband is the math guy, but I can't wait to calculate everything!
Traffic Report
September Traffic
- Pageviews: 2,092 (+ 5.34%)
- Unique Visitors: 898 (+ 23.35%)
- Sessions: 1,183 (+ 16.21%)
- Duration: 1:54 (- 11.6%)
- Bounce Rate: 71.60% (+ 4.1%)
- New Sessions: 72.36% (+ 7.69%)
To be expected, I think this is my best month so far! It's partly due to the giveaway I hosted, but I will take whatever numbers I can get!
Unfortunately, I did go down in two sections: duration and new sessions. Honestly, I think I might be to blame for my duration going down. I know that I will go to my site just to copy a link for someone, plus I host a lot of giveaways which could negatively affect duration. Also, I noticed that my bounce rate went up this month, which is slightly disappointing, but I know it's something a lot of other bloggers struggle with too.
September Traffic Sources
- Social: 57.73% (+ 19.28%)
- Pinterest: 30.31% (- 16.52%)
- Facebook: 49.78% (+ 102.85%)
- Instagram: 5.42% (- 64.85%)
- Twitter: 9.81% (- 16.85%)
- Blogger: 4.17% (- 63.29%)
- Google+: 0.15% (- 75.41%)
- Direct: 20.96% (- 12.67%)
- Referral: 7.69% (- 10.58%)
- Organic: 13.52% (- 28.84%)
I'm honestly and completely surprised by this month's traffic source break down. I figured social would continue going up, but there was a huge change within the social media source percentages.
I have to admit that I've been a little off my blogging and social media game this month, so I'm pretty surprised to see that the traffic from my Facebook page increased so much! Of course, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Since I wasn't posting as frequently, I didn't have a lot of new material to post to Pinterest. Plus, since I don't schedule my Instagram posts, I didn't end up posting a lot on there, which of course will lead to a lower percentage.
I have to admit that I've been a little off my blogging and social media game this month, so I'm pretty surprised to see that the traffic from my Facebook page increased so much! Of course, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Since I wasn't posting as frequently, I didn't have a lot of new material to post to Pinterest. Plus, since I don't schedule my Instagram posts, I didn't end up posting a lot on there, which of course will lead to a lower percentage.
Social Media Report
September Social Media Growth
- Instagram: 1156 (+ 7.04%)
- Twitter: 1194 (+ 11.48%)
- Pinterest: 710 (+ 26.56%)
- Bloglovin': 225 (+ 30.81%)
- Facebook: 66 (+ 37.50%)
- Google+: 24 (+ 20%)
- Email Subscribers: 29 (+ 123.08%)
Yay! New followers!
As I mentioned earlier, I haven't been the best on social media lately. So I am very surprised to see how much some of my social media accounts grew!
Not only that, but I set a goal to increase my Email subscribers and I'm happy to say that they more than doubled! I mean look at that! My numbers are still small, but in just a month I was able to increase my newsletter stats by 123.08% !
Not only that, but I set a goal to increase my Email subscribers and I'm happy to say that they more than doubled! I mean look at that! My numbers are still small, but in just a month I was able to increase my newsletter stats by 123.08% !
Profit & Loss Report
September Income
- Freelance: $52
- Affiliate Programs: $45.05
- Miscellaneous: $22.47
- Products:
- Book: Free ($5.89 + includes shipping)
- Total Income: $119.52 + $5.89 worth of free products
It's a little hard to compare this income report to last month's because I really sat down and focused on my freelance work. While this month, I really put a focus on affiliate programs. So the numbers will definitely vary each month, but I don't think it's possible to compare my income from August and September.
Ideally, I'm hoping to be able to increase both my freelance and affiliate income simultaneously. I can't wait to see how next month goes!
Ideally, I'm hoping to be able to increase both my freelance and affiliate income simultaneously. I can't wait to see how next month goes!
September Expenses
- Storenvy: $9
- Adobe: $32.39
- ConvertKit *: $29
- Blog Boss Babes *: $37
- Legging Army Affiliate Kit *: $29.99
- USPS P.O Box: $70.00
- Business Cards: $18.33
- Giveaway: $31.58
- Total Expenses: $257.29
Total Profit: - $137.77 + $5.89 worth of free products
This month's expenses were a little over the top, which is why I didn't end up with much of a profit. In fact, according to this report, I actually lost money.
In the end though, I'm not concerned about it. Ultimately, the bulk of my expenses came down to my P.O. box purchase. I was going to keep putting it off, but the need arose. I realized that the more that my email list grew, the more I felt uncomfortable sending out my personal address to each of my subscribers.
Not only that, but I also started a new affiliate program which required a couple upfront expenses. The company I'm working for actually had a couple of other cheaper affiliate kits, but I decided to go for the bigger one. In the end, it was the better deal. And after wearing my leggings out a couple of times, I got an insane amount of compliments and realized that I needed to order some business cards. So that's exactly what I did!
Finally, there was a giveaway expense this month. Usually, I send out gifts from the wonderful brands and authors that I collaborate with, but this time I picked up something special for one lucky winner. However, I didn't intend on shipping to be so much, so there was a little bit of a loss there. So not a big deal though!
This month's expenses were a little over the top, which is why I didn't end up with much of a profit. In fact, according to this report, I actually lost money.
In the end though, I'm not concerned about it. Ultimately, the bulk of my expenses came down to my P.O. box purchase. I was going to keep putting it off, but the need arose. I realized that the more that my email list grew, the more I felt uncomfortable sending out my personal address to each of my subscribers.
Not only that, but I also started a new affiliate program which required a couple upfront expenses. The company I'm working for actually had a couple of other cheaper affiliate kits, but I decided to go for the bigger one. In the end, it was the better deal. And after wearing my leggings out a couple of times, I got an insane amount of compliments and realized that I needed to order some business cards. So that's exactly what I did!
Finally, there was a giveaway expense this month. Usually, I send out gifts from the wonderful brands and authors that I collaborate with, but this time I picked up something special for one lucky winner. However, I didn't intend on shipping to be so much, so there was a little bit of a loss there. So not a big deal though!
Post Report
September Posts
- Number of Posts Published: 13
- Most Popular Posts:
- Product Review: Vera Bradley + Giveaway! (Published September 2016)
- Book Review: Deceitful Circle + Giveaway!* (Published August 2016)
- Chronic Illness + Loneliness (Published September 2016)
- What You Should Do If One of Your Medications Is Recalled (Published September 2016)
- Guest Post: Living Life One Day at a Time with Chronic Pain and Illness (Published September 2016)
I'm sad to say that I definitely didn't publish as many posts as I had planned to. Things just got a little complicated this month. Between my health problems and the overall craziness of life, things just got in the way.
I'm not at all surprised that the my recent giveaways are the two most popular posts for September. However, you guys continue to amaze me with which posts fill the rest of this list. It's so interesting to see which posts you guys lean more towards and connect with the most.
I'm not at all surprised that the my recent giveaways are the two most popular posts for September. However, you guys continue to amaze me with which posts fill the rest of this list. It's so interesting to see which posts you guys lean more towards and connect with the most.
Goal Report
Last Month's Goals:
- Finish secret project
Gain Newsletter followersHost an awesome giveawayHit 2k pageviews
This Month's Goals:
- Finish secret project
- Publish at least 15 blog posts
- Hit 4k total followers/subscribers
- Write at least 2 guest blog posts
I'm a tad bit disappointed that I didn't hit all of my goals this month, but I know that I tried my best. Sometimes we just have to listen to our bodies and accept our limitations. So I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for understanding :)
Overall, I think I did pretty well for my second month of trying to monetize my blog. I definitely shouldn't have as many expenses next month, so I'm really hoping to see some more profit in October!
Overall, I think I did pretty well for my second month of trying to monetize my blog. I definitely shouldn't have as many expenses next month, so I'm really hoping to see some more profit in October!
How was your September? Tell me in the comments!
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive some type of compensation. However, this adds no additional cost or inconvenience to you. For more information, you can read our full disclosure here. *
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