How I Made $1.15 My Eighth Month Blogging

Hey loves! Welcome back to my monthly income report. I can’t believe that this year is almost over. Better yet, I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for almost a year! C-R-A-Z-Y! Well this blog post will of course divulge How I Made $1.15 My Eighth Month Blogging, but it will also give you the ugly truth about being a new blogger and how you can stay motivated when all you REALLY want to do is give up.

**This page contains affiliate links to products I recommend. If you purchase something from this page, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you**

Let’s Catch Up

So over the last few months I’ve been swamped with LIFE, and of course with anything worth having you have to make certain sacrifices, and I’m sad to say that my blog actually took a tiny backseat while I regained momentum in my life as a whole. In the past I would go through my progress and let you know what I did the entire month. Well this month will have to be different because a lot of crazy things happened this month. One of which was my Pinterest physico, but I will dive into matter a little later.

Prior Income Reports

• 1st Month – How I Made 91 Cents In My First Month Blogging
• 2nd Month – How I made $42 My Second Month Blogging
• 3rd Month – How I Made $44.82 My Third Month Blogging
• 4th Month – How I Made $59.65 My Fourth Month Blogging
• 5th Month – How I Made $25.66 My Fifth Month Blogging
• 6th Month – How I Made $15.23 My Sixth Month Blogging
• 7th Month – How I Made $29.67 My Seventh Month Blogging

The Ugly Truth

One of my favorite parts of writing these income reports every month is getting down to the nitty gritty. I’m here to give facts and facts alone. I want to be as transparent with you as possible, each and every time I write these reports. It’s very important to me that I don’t sugar coat things with you. I mean there are enough bloggers online already doing that. Questions is, how many are really giving you there TRUTH?

How inspired are you when you read how other bloggers are killing the game in all areas. They post consistently, that have sources of income and yet you try to follow in their footsteps, I mean you mirror what they have done and yet your views stay the same or better yet they get worst. You still haven’t seen any income OR it just not where they said it would. As a new blogger this is when you realize that the post you read only gave you half the playbook. They gave you just enough to tease you into thinking you could be great.

Open Your Eyes

Trust me, I’ve been booboo the fool when it came to learning the ropes of blogging. But I did do my research. I NEVER took ONE bloggers word as the end all be all of blogging. I read and I read and I read until I figured out some type of formula that at least felt realistic. And if you’ve read any of my other income reports I go through some of my findings. In a nutshell I’d say 50% of bloggers who say they made all this money their first month blogging is a straight up LIAR. They either had the blog for a minute, started up a new blog and used their old followers to get new views on their new platform OR they are selling a get rich quick product that only allows the person selling it to make money. But hey don’t take my word for it, do your own research.

To Be REAL

To be real with you I legit thought about giving up this month, and not for the reason that you are probably already thinking about. I thought about giving up because I was hit with a serious roadblock, and it’s name was Pinterest. Ladies and gentlemen, I got blocked from Pinterest. I’m talking about my entire site was blocked for spam. Spam people! Of all the things? You want to flag my baby blog for spamming people? Never would I ever.

Needless to say I panicked, freaked the 🤬 out and I thought my blogging career was over. What you have to understand if you are a new blogger is that social media will make or break your entire blogging career. I really hate to say it like that but it’s very much true. My main traffic pusher is Pinterest. So even if I don’t post to any social media sites I can still count on Pinterest to give me added views on a daily. Welp on August 4th, 2019 all that changed in my eyes. Check out my post on Pinterest Blocked My Site!

What Worked and What Didn’t

So of course this month writing what worked and what didn’t is oh so extremely important. I like this portion of the post because this allows you (ie. my viewers) to not only see where I post my published blog post but it gives you an idea of how much I posted and if that affected my overall numbers at all.

Facebook

So naturally since I was blocked from Pinterest I had to figure out how to get unblocked and fast. Plus I also had to figure out how to still get pretty consistent views. Which brought me to facebook! As some of you may know I have Facebook page vnewtondesigns and I’m also in these amazing Facebook groups for bloggers. If you would like to join some of these groups check out my blog post on Find Your Blogging Community. The goal for August was to post as much as possible but it started out soooo rough. The high I had to push out more and more post quickly diminished once I was blocked from Pinterest.

I thought to myself how in the world can I create new material when Pinterest won’t allow it to be seen? I mean anyone who Googled or legit typed my website into the browser would be able to find me and read up on all my new material, but how many of my followers would actually do it? Hell, how many cared enough to? So I did use Facebook to post this month and it did help out my numbers. Were they Pinterest worthy numbers? No! But it was better than feeling as if you were writing to no one. So this month Facebook saved my blog! Thank you Facebook!

Pinterest

Although Pinterest stressed me the 🤬 out, it allowed me to think about my blog in another light. Now air on a side of caution, but if you are solely relying on social media alone to make you famous you should probably give up now. I want you to think about this. What if the social media site you go on religiously one day decided to shut down forever? I’m not talking a glitch or a virus like they legit took it upon themselves to shut their business down. What would you do then?

That was my thought process when it came to posting new material, because Pinterest was longer a option for me….at that point in time. But if you know me then you know I would tell anyone new to blogging that Pinterest is LIFE! I would mention to them that even when I had no new blog post Pinterest always had my back. There is no other way I could get double digit views on my blog post without Pinterest and Tailwind (I will talk about Tailwind later in this post). I thought and believed all these things until Pinterest turned its back on me and my baby blog!

Although I did get out of Pinterest jail it took them long enough to do lasting damage to my views for the month. All month long I tried to play catch up and get back to where I was the month before. I started writing more post and posting to Pinterest and Tailwind. Although I started getting views from Pinterest again it just wasn’t the same. I could tell some damage was done. But I’m still using and promoting Pinterest as my number one view provider.

Instagram

I actually did a much better job this month with using Instagram! I actually made (4) post this month, which is one more than I did last month. Progress is a process in every way possible. I’m still a work in progress but I’m getting better. With that being said I will still say that this month Instagram still did not work for me but I’m not giving up on it yet.

I mainly use Instagram to motivate others, keep in contact with my blogger friends and to support others who in return I hope would also support me. I am making it a new goal to get back on my Instagram kick and post more frequently so if you would like to keep tabs on what Designs by Vee (ie. me) is up to, definitely follow me!

Twitter

Twitter and I are still trying to become best friends. I still only use it to post my new material and also re-post anyone who follows me post. What can I say? Sharing is caring, right? If you would like to follow me you can do so here. I will say that Twitter is slowly working for me, so I think I’ll keep it around a tad bit longer. Just like anything the more active you are the better the response.

Tumblr

Absolutely nothing has changed when it comes to Tumblr. I still have no idea how to really use Tumblr and trying to figure it out is still not on my to-do list in any shape or fashion. I still post to Tumblr but only because I have a plugin installed that makes it easy to post to Twitter and Tumblr. If it wasn’t for my plugin Tumblr would be nonexistent in my eyes. So with that being said, Tumblr is still not my number one supporter at this point and time. But that’s not to say it won’t work for you.

The Secret Tribe

I have made a conscious effort to stay true to my word. For example I said that I would do better with this amazing group, by posting and loving on their new post this month, but I’m afraid to say that once again I’ve slacked off! I will definitely make it my goal to do better next month. I will say that I have read a few post and made a few comments so I haven’t slacked completely off and I kept my word to an extent! So with that being said if you ever want to check this group out click this link and tell them Vee sent you!  You might as well take a peek, it’s FREE!

Squirrly

I’ve been using this WordPress plugin called Squirrly for almost six or so months now. I made it a point not to mention it until I figured out rather or not it was a good plugin/investment for my readers. At first, like any new blogger I had no idea what they heck I was doing with this plugin. I literally installed it and prayed it knew what to do on my platform. But per usual my blogging mentor Morgan got me right! Best plugin I could’ve installed yet!

But after using it for a few months and jacking it up, not only did I finally get the hang of it but I also started seeing SEO results from it! I mean people could actually Google something that pertained to what I had mention on my blog and find me. That’s right, people on the world wide web are finding my baby blog! Designs by Vee is on the map people!! If you want to get your SEO game up definitely check into this plugin. Super easy to use and it has great recommendations for your website.

How I Made $1.15 My Eighth Month Blogging

You have finally made it to the money making part of this blog. How I Made $1.15 My Eighth Month Blogging. Just like last month it was an absolute struggle making money blogging. My savior was Google AdSense. If it was not for my AdSense account I would be in the $0 league this month. Now let’s be clear, I don’t blog to make money but it definitely helps and it also keeps me motivated. I blog because it’s therapeutic and I love helping others when I can.

Designer For Hire

Once again this month I did not have any new clients which seems to be my new norm and I’m not liking it! But while this would/could discourage most, I’m amp to revamp my Designer for Hire page and actually do more promoting. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. I think the hardest part about starting an online business is getting your viewers to TRUST you and the product you plan on providing.

Tailwind

Usually I am able to make at least $15 off of people signing up and also purchasing Tailwind to help ease their efforts of posting on social media as frequently. Ironically I haven’t gotten a new referral yet since my post on Tailwind has been taking off the last two months. This month I haven’t snagged a sale but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen again next month so I still have to advise all my Boss Bloggers of the benefits! It is soo easy to promote Tailwind because it seriously promotes itself. Which is why I consistently preach the benefits of this automated system that has made being a blogger so damn easy for me. Just in case you’ve never heard of this amazing tool let me give you a quick run down I’m going to break down how Tailwind will change your life forever!!

Tailwind is the smartest way to manage your presence across the visual web (Pinterest & Instagram). Tailwind is an official partner of both Pinterest and Instagram and offers a complete suite of marketing tools including Smart Scheduling, Analytics & Monitoring, Content Discovery, Promotion, and more. Keep in mind a LOT of other scheduling apps and bots are NOT and OFFICIAL partner with Instagram and therefore their activity can severely damage your account. Tailwind is one THE only approved app that I’m aware of that will not get you in trouble with Instagram.

ShareASale

If you’ve read my previous income reports you will notice that I usually don’t say too much about ShareASale because I typically don’t make any money from this affiliate. So needless to say that was the case for this month but I’ve already made over $25 using ShareASale so it’s definitely worth checking out! You just have to have patience and make sure you are promoting

Previous Income Reports

• January 2019: 91 cents
• February 2019: $42
• March 2019: $44.82
• April 2019: $59.65
• May 2019: $25.66
• June 2019: $15.23
• July 2019: $29.67
• August 2019: $1.15

August Income Report Breakdown

Google AdSense – $1.15

TOTAL: $1.15

Traffic Breakdown

So in the month of August I have a total of 1,409 users. Out of the 1,409 people 1,339 were new to my website. Now out of the total of 1,409 users I was able to hit a total of 1,789 page views. Not bad for not putting in a lot of effort in and being blocked for the first couple of days in August.

Out of those 1,789 page views my users stayed at least 26 seconds. So that’s telling me some of you guys are seriously not taking the time out to read my post, while others visited and probably shared and post and left. As always, the goal is to have viewers/users stay on your page for at LEAST one minute in order to lower your bounce rate from other users who come to get cliff notes. So Thank you in advance if you have made it this far in the post. Giving me a whole minute of your time is greatly appreciated.

Google AdSense for the Month of August

A quick breakdown of what you are looking at right now. In the month of August I had 4 Google Ad clicks which amounted to $1.15. Now keep in mind this is not money that has been paid out to me yet. With Google Adsense you have to reach $100 in order to receive payment. This is why the more exposure to your blog the better. You have a higher chance of getting paid for all your Google Ad Clicks.

My Blogging Schedule for August

Schedules in theory sounds great but we are human and sometimes we fall short. Well this month I didn’t fall short I just fell! But it was not from lack of trying! I promise you that, you will see the old Vee coming back hitting you left and right with steaming hot material that you will actually enjoy reading. But just for the heck of it, here is what my schedule looked like for the month of August.

Blog Post

Per usual my goal for my Blog Post is to always post at least twice a month. I ended the month with 3 blog post! Yasss ladies and gentlemen she rocked it! I was NOT playing this month.

• My Myrtle Beach Family Vacation
• Pinterest Blocked My Site
• How I Made $29.67 My Seventh Month Blogging

Retail Rants

This will be the FIRST time I did not complete my goal of dishing out my bi-weekly Retail Rants. Like I said this month started off rough so naturally my motivation was down. Hints the 1 post. I got to do better, and I will.

• Deliberately Disrespectful

Motivational Quotes

For the month of August, I was able to get one motivation quote out. Not the best but still better than nothing. Progress can sometimes be a slow process plus, I’m human and there is till four more months in the year!

Get The Looks For Less

• Neutral Vibes

Interior Design

• Fall Decor Ideas For Any Home

Goals for August

If you are new to my income reports, I like to put down what my goals were for the month so I can compare how good I may be doing or how terrible the month is going based on where my numbers are for each category. So if you want to stay on top of your blog, the best thing to do is to create monthly goals. You might not cross all of them off but the idea it to crush each and every one.

Designs By Vee Goals

• Page Views: 3,000
• Blog Post: 2
• Retail Rants: 2
• Motivational Quotes: 2
• Get The Look For Less: 1
• Interior Design Post: 1

My Social Media Goals For June

• Get my Pinterest followers up to 700
• Facebook likes to 150
• Instagram followers to 1,500
• Twitter followers to 100
• Tumblr followers to 10

Affiliates Goals

All my goals for my affiliates will remain the same for August. I promise one of these days I’ll be able to change them. My baby blog is on it’s way to a major glow up, I can feel it!

ShareaSale
Make at least 5 affiliated sales

Google Adsense 
Make at least $5

Designer for Hire
Get 6 more clients for the month.

My Top Pin For The Month Of August

Before You Go

Remember that everyday is a new day. As a blogger you will learn that your inspirations will change from day to day, month to month. Never let a bad day, week, or month stop you from being successful. Because at the end of the day there is someone out their going through what you are going through right now. Someone in your exact shoes who wants to give up and looking for a good reason not to. Be that reason! Let your platform be the inspiration that another blogger needs, like I hope mine was to you.

You have no idea how many bloggers reach out to me after reading my income report and tell me how inspirational and real my post was to them. How it motivated them to continue writing. Let me tell you there is no better feeling then when one of your viewers reaches out and let’s you know how much you helped them. This is why I do what I do and why I push myself to keep going even when my income get’s lower and lower every month.

Be Passionate

If you love what you do and you’re passionate about it, never let anyone or anything stop you from pushing through. I mean really, look at you, you made it this far. You might as well go all the way and make a name for yourself. You are only as successful as you want to be. Keep pushing, keep writing, and keep inspiring people with your wit and wisdom and when you have that strange feeling to give up remember, I’m here. Let’s get through these woes together. Blogging is a community and we never leave another blogger behind.

Thank you for stopping by and show my post some much needed love! Now scroll to the bottom and leave me a comment! I’d love to hear more from my viewers