Welcome to my fifth blog report! I cannot even begin to describe how shocked I have been this entire month! After five months of starting this blog and launching my new VA business, I earned $2135.90 in total! Like what… how does that even happen?
I earned over $1030 more compared to last month ($258), which is almost 400% more! I can’t even begin to imagine how the rest of the year will go. I hoping for the best, but I do have to go back to the office to my 9 to 5 in the middle of May.
I will say that earning this kind of money doesn’t come easy, but with some determination and hard work you can get there, too.
When I started this blog, I told my husband that I knew blogging would be a long-term investment and that it would take a long time to earn some money. I’m not kidding when I say this; I literally told him that my first goal was to make $100 by my sixth month.
As realistic as that was, it was not the case for me. (THANKFULLY!) Keep in mind that I have earned over $2135, but that is not the total net income. Below in the expenses area, I have a list of purchases and payments that I made.
There have been plenty of months where I had a negative amount, and I’m completely a-ok with that. I knew that blogging was not some get-rich-quick scheme and it’s never going to be.
I started this blog because I needed a creative outlet and a place to test my abilities. I wanted to start my own blog for five years and attempted it several times on some free platforms, but I quickly gave up.
In November 2020, after eight months of working from home due to COVID, I went all in.
If you haven’t already, you can view my other blog reports below to see how I have felt, what I’ve run into, and what I’ve done to get where I am.
Introduction
If you are new here, I’m Brittany, and I started this blog for a ton of reasons. (If you are familiar with my blog reports, you can skip this section to get to the good stuff!) However, my top three reasons have to be:
- To inspire others to pursue their passion.
- For myself, because I needed a creative outlet and a place where my voice is heard.
- To earn a passive income for my family.
What does passive income even mean, though?
According to Wikipedia: Passive income is income that requires little to no effort to earn and maintain. There are a ton of ways to earn passive income, but it is far from easy.
Building a business takes a long time, especially a profitable one. However, with the right setup and motivation for success, almost anyone could do this.
Do you need help promoting your business? Join the Facebook group: Blogging Business Alliance
Why am I sharing this report?
Sharing this report is a way for me to track my success and accomplishments. To keep everything transparent with you, the goal of this report is to show the results for each month, even if it’s not that great.
I find this especially helpful for new bloggers who have no knowledge and want to see how goals are met. I love reading other bloggers’ income reports, and I find it inspiring to see how they progressed from nothing. Hopefully, my blog report will inspire others as well.
You can go to Pinterest right now and type in ‘blog reports,’ and you’ll see tons of bloggers make $2,000, $10,000, and even $100,000 each month. Yes, I mean each month. These income reports drew me in and inspired me to start my own so that you can see the ups and downs of blogging.
Let’s get to the good stuff!
April 2021: Traffic & Income Report
Meeting all of the goals throughout the month would be fantastic. However, how realistic is that? I’ve come super close to reaching all of my goals, but I’ve had to sacrifice some time to boost the other goals.
This month was no different. I can’t even find the time to post weekly blog posts, but it’s working for me. I focus on promotions, advertising, and networking.
For my Facebook page, I put that on hold for a brief moment to boost my Pinterest followers. As you can see, I’ve exceeded that. So, it will be easier to boost my Facebook page in the future.
HUGE goals I met were my sessions and pageviews! I had over 6,000!! To me, that’s insane as I didn’t think anyone in the world would like to read my posts.
I’m glad I was wrong. 🙂 One thing I plan on working on is adding more subscribers. I recently switched to MailerLite and have fallen in love with the user-friendliness compared to Mailchimp. It will be easier to automate and link some great opt-ins in the future.
Blog Income Report
EXPENSES
With business comes expenses, and most of the time, they are necessary!! For the last six months, I have been working on a laptop that has a 14-inch screen. It’s been terrible. So, I caved in and purchased a 24-inch monitor that forever changed my world.
I feel like I can accomplish a lot more at the same time now, which I needed so badly. Other than that, it’s just the necessary expenses that I use to keep my blog operating.
To learn more about the blog programs and courses that I use, visit my Blog Tools page.
REVENUE & TOTALS
When I totaled up my revenue this month, I almost fell over! I could not believe I almost made $1300 in one month. When I was struggling to pay bills in 2020, I prayed for an extra $100 to $200 to help my family out. To see this truly amazes me.
I launched my new VA business and now have SEVEN full-time clients that need Pinterest management and pin designs.
The number one sellers were definitely my Blog and Pinterest Audits, and for a good reason. I go all out on every audit and make sure my clients have every opportunity for success.
My Blog Audits include a breakdown of the Core Web Vital lighthouse audits, overall user experience, and recommendations to improve site speed, which is SO important right now.
My Pinterest Audit includes a 50 point review of your account and a PDF will all recommendations to boost and optimize your traffic. I also give you a ton of long-tail keywords that are researched for your content and slight competition research to make sure your Pinterest strategies align with others that have success in your niche.
Both of my audits include a recorded video of me going over every recommendation. This allows you to come back and make changes as you go.
Pinterest Management is also another service that took off at the end of the month. Technically, I only had a couple of hours of work recorded, so I didn’t get the full price for the month. However, this will be significantly larger next month. If you are interested in a hands-off approach to Pinterest marketing, fill out the form at the bottom of my Pin Management page. I’d love to talk with you.
I even earned $75 for helping another blogging with the layout of her sight, the products that she offered, and I set her up to make some changes to help her receive a boost.
Even though it wasn’t an all-out coaching session, I still think she received the clarity she was looking for, which has inspired me to launch a new service!
Briefly, I want to talk about the new service I plan to launch on my website, which is 1:1 VA Coaching! This requires hard work and determination on your side, and if you are ready to start your own VA business, learn with me!
Right now, I am offering my VA Coaching with a discount of $50! You can use the code “VAlifestyle” to receive your discount. If you are interested, please email me at brittany@uptownsage(dot)com.
Conclusion
In all honesty, nothing could have prepared me for how well I would do this month. Overall, I had a 300% increase in revenue, and I’m beyond thankful.
I truly give my all when it comes to my clients and business, and I’m so happy to see that my hard work is paying off. Hopefully, before I know it, I will quit my 9 to 5 and focus on helping as many as I can grow their business.
I often sit in amazement, but I truly believe that blogging and running my business has lit a fire in my soul. There isn’t a day I don’t prepare, research, or work on my blog- so know that this isn’t an easy route. Money just doesn’t come to you because you post an article or offer assistance. (I wish!)
Time investment, learning your direction/brand, and understanding how you can solve a problem for your readers are a couple of the foundational layers of blogging and a VA business. It took me five months to get a glimpse of all that, so take your time, but always continue to make progress.
If you find yourself struggling or need to ask for some advice, join our growing community at Blogging Business Alliance and subscribe to the email list for amazing tips and tricks to help grow your business!
Until next month,
I always love reading your income report because it shows me what is possible and you don’t mince words. Like you have said, you had months where it was negative, “and I’m completely a-ok with that.” It’s the honesty.
So thank you for the inspiration to keep going and never give up. I’m not in a rush for cash. I am in it for the long haul.
I appreciate your comment so much! I’m so happy it gives you the inspiration to keep going. Blogging is hard work, but treating it as a long-term investment helps to remain realistic.
Thanks for reading, Kyle. I know you will do great things. 🙂
Thank you so much for your transparency! This definitely motivates me to also start my income reports, no matter how small. Sometimes looking at all the income reports on Pinterest make everything seem so unattainable. This is REAL and shows that it’s a process and requires hard work before reaping any reward. I am only one month in and hoping to see growth like you have and will remember to not give up (because there are DEFINITELY days I want to throw it all away LOL!) Thank you for the reminder to keep going and making progress. 🙂
Thanks, Anaiah! I agree completely with the Pinterest articles. That’s one reason I like to keep it real. It’s nice to see that others are making tons of money, but it seems like they leave out the important steps.
Starting a blog a tough, but remaining consistent can really test your limits. Without these blog reports, I wouldn’t have known how much I accomplished throughout month. Keep your head high and always strive to make progress, even if it’s small!
That’s so inspirational! You’re the best Brittany!
Thank you, Claudia!!
This is so encouraging. I hope to one day start making money from blogging. I know it will take time and I love blogging. I love reading blog post like this because it encourages me that one day I can make money from blogging. I hope to get their one day. Thank you for the encouragement.
Great job Brittany!
That’s so amazing that you got up to about 2700 sessions per month! You shouldn’t be surprised at all, your posts are great, well laid out/written and have great content!
I do laugh at the idea of blogging for “passive income” though. I feel like it’s anything BUT passive. Hopefully in a few years that will be different!
Do you know if mailerlite allows for two different mailing lists? (ie: if someone visits one section of your blog you can have an opt in for one list and if they visit another you can have an opt in for a diff list?). Thanks!
Keep up the great job!
Thank you!! Haha, I have to agree. Blogging is not passive in my eyes at the moment. It feels like two full-time jobs sometimes, lol.
Maybe one day after I set up some courses or eBooks, I will be able to use that term more freely!
MailerLite have certain lists you can send emails to. So, I do believe they have that option. Their website is so much easier to navigate than others, you should try it out.
This is a genuinely helpful blog income report. It will help those bloggers who are looking for ways to make money blogging. Thanks for sharing this.
Also, super awesome that you made it with only 6000 blog views.
Thank you! One thing I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t matter if you receive 100 page views, there is money to be made. Networking is the main aspect to earning money and it helps so much.
This is awesome and inspiring to read! I’m still struggling to make money with my blog but really haven’t been taking it too seriously because I’ve been doubting myself!
Thanks, Sara! It’s a lot of hard work, but you got this!
Great post. Thanks for sharing industry tips. You deserve all the success!
Hey Brittany thanks for sharing your income report. you just motivate to new blogger with your awesome blog income report
Thank you for the honest and open sharing of your blogging journey. I just started this moth and it is hopeful and inspiring (but also realistic)!
Congratulations, Lindsay!
This is a very helpful post. I really like that you are honest when are not making the exact amount you planned for. It’s very important for those starting out, like me, to see that it isn’t easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Haha! I wish it was. That would be the ultimate life changer. 😊 However, it still feels pretty great to see accomplishments being met, so I can live with that!
I enjoy reading your report. It gives me the courage to keep pushing my doubts, and I believe I will be there one day. Thanks for sharing.
No problem, Pam! Thanks for stopping by. You got this!
Very valuable tips!
Congrats on the income! I love reading all your posts.
So good to see you writing down your goals. You’ve inspired me to write mine down too. Thanks, Kris
Still trying to get my feet under me. At this point my 9-5 pays me well enough so just trying to be consistent and not worry about numbers. Posting a week and staying consistent on Facebook and Pinterest.
Congrats! Thanks for sharing! Those are some great tips!
Wow… This is very inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
I love your transparency and authenticity. No matter what the internet sometimes makes us think (or attempts to make us think) online entrepreneurship does not equal instant earnings. Thank you for sharing your numbers!
Thank you so much, Daphne!!
Love the way you took your time to explain everything. You’re a jewel.