Blog Income Report August 2020

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in August:

I published 0 Recipe Posts: ZERO! Honestly, I knew August was going to be one of the busiest and stressful months of my life and it really was. I’m glad I didn’t put any pressure on myself to make any new posts even though I feel like the gap could be negatively impacting it. This goes to show that the work that’s been done before really does take time to mature and grow and each year builds on itself if you’re somewhat consistent.
Zero Instagram Activity: Even though I haven’t looked at my Instagram since May, now that I am in a new place I am itching to make new connections and starting to feel the pull back into the world of IG. I still haven’t figured out how to approach this since my mental state is a bit fragile and I don’t want to trigger any old feelings. Either way, IG is a great way to learn my new area and to make friends like I did in Charleston. I still need to think on it, but my gut is telling me to get back on soon to start making connections and to start using it again mainly as a business tool.
Traffic and RPM’s: My RPM’s with Adthrive dipped a bit at the beginning of the month. It kind of scared me! Now they floated back to around $20 which is great. I still don’t regret my decision to switch and only hope it gets better from here!
Setting Expectations for Work In Q3 & Q4: As my tone may have indicated before, I am kind of struggling with this new life even though it’s only been a few weeks. I am not a patient person and it’s hard for me to give things time to settle out. We now live in a smaller town which has its benefits, but I am still not sure what to think of our new town as well as the house we purchased which is much older than our previous house. There are little things to go over, such as repainting, homebuilding tank installations, and ensuring that the attic and basement are in good condition. Moreover, we had a lot of things to deal with while moving to the new house, including basic renovations and repairs. I know we could contact movers and packers to take off most of the house-moving tasks out of our hands but we were a little unsure about it. Perhaps, we can hire a nationwide auto transport company to move our vehicle so as to avoid any further stress over settling into this new place.

Anyways, our woes don’t end there. James is turning one in a few weeks and I am still struggling with waves of postpartum depression even though I love that kid more than anything. The short of it is that I need to find a balance quickly before my mental state gets even worse. Once Mike’s schedule settles out after his training, I will start looking into putting James into a part-time home daycare 2 days a week. This will help BOTH of us be better people as I require time for myself and to work in order to contribute to our family. I also think quarantine has not helped him be socialized with others which is important as an only child. I feel like this blog has been put on the back burner in a lot of ways.

When I was pregnant and working as a chef, it was a side hustle and when I had James it was even MORE of a side hustle. I’m ready to give it more of a shot before I decide to get out in the workforce again which realistically won’t be for another couple of years. I know this job has some serious potential and I feel the pull to start living up to it and stop making excuses. There’s no more waiting. We don’t have these big life changes looming over our heads. The time is now. Obviously, I needed to vent about that, and this goes for a lot more than the blog. I’d like to make big changes in my self-care and health too since it feels like I’ve been neglecting myself for way too long. *end soul rant*
Pinterest Viral For 2 Days: This month I had a post go Pinterest viral for about 2 days. While it did get my pageviews up for the month, I was expecting a bit more income than I got from it. Unfortunately it was at a time where RPM’s were still on the low side. Either way, it was a post that I made when I was first pregnant and started pushing out on Pinterest well over a year ago. Goes to show that just showing up and keeping on doing the work will gain you a better chance at striking gold like this. Consistency is key!
SEMRush: In December it will have been a full year since I purchased SEMrush and all I can say is that it totally changed my blogging game and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what it could do. It is well worth the $1000 per year ESPECIALLY if you split it with a few other bloggers. Sometimes I just go on and browse for ideas and see what features it has. It’s both fascinating and relaxing in a strange way.

My goals for September are to just find my groove again with blogging and start by developing and publishing 2 new posts per week any way I can. I need to figure out my new photography set up including the best place in the house with natural light and some other logistics. I do have a very part-time babysitter starting and Mike can help out with some of his time off when he can. Then once his schedule is final I can put more effort into a solid routine. I would really like to start sending out newsletters monthly to gain some traffic and I will probably be “back” on social media by the end of this year even though I have secretly been enjoying the hell out of scrolling through Tiktok!