Blog Income Report June 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in June:

Nerdy Spreadsheets: This month I decided to buckle down and make a nifty spreadsheet for the work I want to get accomplished before maternity leave and what I will do when I start up again. The income gained has proved that this really is turning into it’s own business, so I need to treat it like one in order to keep it growing. Let’s keep in mind that my first recorded income month 2 years ago was SEVEN DOLLARS!! I’ve put SO much work into this for very little return and I feel like I am just scratching the surface of what I can do. My plan for then next 2 months while baby is still comfy in my belly is to completely schedule out September and October. I will have one new recipe post each week that will be drafted in June and July and I am currently updating old posts which are taking forever. I am amazed at how terrible my SEO was then will hopefully see a return on the updates in the next 6 months are so. I am still taking clients and working Whole Foods 2x a month and I am TIRED from being in the third trimester, so all this work is easier said than done, but at the same time, work is what gets me up in the morning and continuing to build a business has kept me active during this pregnancy.
Amazon: Normally, my Amazon affiliate earnings are around the $30-$40 range each month. This month I happened to have someone place a huge order where I received $38 in commission in one day in addition to my regular earnings. YOU CAN’T PREDICT THIS STUFF!! While I would love to count on this happening a lot more, it really is about luck and also making sure you have valuable links everywhere to increase your chances of this.
Recipe Videos: In June I took 2 recipes that I was getting a decent amount of traffic from and created recipe videos for them. The 3 ingredient nutella brownie and crispy air fryer potato videos took a couple hours to film, edit and upload but as of right now they have made a total of $7 in income at this point. Investing in making a video for recipes that are climbing up the rankings does pay off, especially over time! I also want to point out that I shot these videos on a $10 tripod with my iphone. It seriously does not need to be fancy to make it work!
Thrive Partnership: As some of you may know, I take on VERY LITTLE partnerships. One partnership that made the cut was Thrive Market. They don’t force me to post anything, but when I do I simply link my deal of 30 days free and 25% off first order. I honestly don’t expect much out of partnerships as I think it is an unstable way to make money and I share naturally and don’t push it, so whatever comes in is icing on the cake for me. Over the last 2 months this partnership specifically earned me $240!
Social Media Update: My post about why I stopped fighting social media algorithms gained a lot of attention. It has been quite a few weeks since I’ve taken all social media off my phone and only use it on my laptop. There was one night I slipped up and scrolled too much and got upset at 2 things I saw. It was amazing to see I was back in that cycle of low level constant anxiety after that. It made me think about truly how much social media used to use ME instead of me using IT. One thing I have realized is that there are things that I am missing out on by not engaging with others like I used to. But, I have accepted this as a small price to pay for having a piece of my life back that has allowed me to create better content and REST before a huge life change. I’m much more on the JOMO spectrum these days (Joy of Missing Out).
All content in one hub: Again, just because I am not on IG stories, it doesn’t mean that I am not sharing those personal pieces of my life that others have come to enjoy. I share regularly on my Youtube channel and also through podcasting. I enjoy these mediums so much more than the quick dopamine hits that come from sharing on IG. It has made me a much better person. I thought about how strange it is to have this website as a hub for so many different types of content. You can’t really niche this website which may hurt in the long run. But right now, Thyme and JOY is my personal brand. It’s my business, my lifestyle and how I share my random crafts with the world. Maybe one day something will stick and will spin off into something else, but for now I am actually ok with spinning all of these plates.
July Downfall: As I mentioned above, July is probably the worst month for blog traffic of all time. I had such a great month in June and it sucks that the momentum probably won’t continue to pick up speed until late August or September. I have to be ok with that and remember that all business is seasonal! Taking the time now to prepare for later will help my numbers grow.

A note on the metrics below: All of this is income that was MADE in June. I don’t actually see all payment for this money for about 2-3 months depending on the company paying me.