food blog income report

Blog Income Report October 2019

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Blog Income Report October 2019 : Find out how I made $1880.46 through my blog with various strategies. 

blog income report october 2019

At the time of writing this report I am exactly 7 weeks postpartum. I’m happy that things are a little less manic around here as we are a bit more adjusted into newborn life, but it’s still a bit crazy.  Working on this blog while caring for a baby is HARD. Find out why below . . .

Blog Income Report October 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in October:

  • Fitting in Work: It’s absolutely true that motherhood drains you in every way.  However, it doesn’t drain my brain like creative work does.  This month I was bursting at the seams with recipe ideas and ways to improve things around here. Not having the time to carry out things the way I used to has been really tough for me. Sometimes I will get a good chunk of time where I get most of a post done and feel accomplished.  Then sometimes I ask Mike to watch James for a couple hours so I can photograph something and then I feel guilty that we aren’t together.  Sometimes I’ll get on the laptop and the James will wake up 10 minutes later. And sometimes I plan to do SO MUCH and get exactly zero things done. In order to make this work, I need some structure.
  • I am hiring some help: Even though we would save a good chunk of money if I stayed home full-time and just fit work in during nap times, Mike and I agreed that it’s just not going to work for us and we need to invest in some help. I can see the potential this blog has and half-assed working will get me half-assed results. Instead of hiring a VA we are going to hire someone to come into our house and watch James 2x a week in 5 hour shifts. This will allow me to have one recipe testing and photographing day as well as one day to knock out all the laptop work that builds up. It will also give me guaranteed time where I can make appointments for myself or meet up with friends etc. I think this will be worth the money and then some. 
  • In the meantime, I’m STILL comparing: At first when James was born, I found myself being addicted to social media because I was still in shock at how different my life has become.  Now that I am settling in, I feel less of a need to be on it which means less stories and less growth etc. I think right now that is a good thing because it really hurts to see people grow in their lives and careers right now. I know I have plenty of time to get back to it, but I want to be happy for everyone doing well and it’s hard for me right now.  Because of this, I’m thinking about where to draw the line about what I want to share and how often to share and be “on” social media. 
  • Things bloggers do that piss you off:  This month on IG stories I asked everyone what annoyed you about bloggers and influencers who get free stuff and have a lot of sponsored content.  It was pretty eye opening and made me think about how I want to proceed with certain content. Check out everything I learned in my IG story highlights. 
  • Partnerships: With the above said, I am welcoming more partnerships and sponsored content for extra income but also to get out of my comfort zone.  I do my best work with pressure, deadlines and I really want to start working on my photog

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

Blog Income Report October 2019 | Metrics

Food/Recipe posts that were created in September: 3ish?

Amazon Affiliate Income: $91.53

 Mediavine Income: $1388.93

Recipe Development Projects Paid Out: $250

Virtual Assistant Work: $50

Sponsored Work: $100

Hours spent working on the blog: 2-5 but barely

Blog Income Report October 2019 Total: $1888.93

 

Valerie Skinner is a Whole30 approved personal chef & recipe developer that bridges the gap between healthy eating and busy lives by providing simple healthy meals and recipes for you and your family.Charleston Personal Chef Thyme and JOY

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Check out my Podcast: Food Conversations

Email me: thymeandjoy@gmail.com

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Blog Income Report September 2019

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Blog Income Report September 2019 : Find out how I made $1626.35 through my blog with various strategies. 

At the time of writing this, I am nearly 4 weeks postpartum and my life just EXPLODED.  I knew having a newborn and adjusting to being a mom would be hard but there are so many other things I never expected.  More on that another time . . . 

I will say that about 2 weeks after, I found myself missing work which is a testament to my personality and also says a lot about how I will get things done going forward. 

Blog Income Report September 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in September:

  • I HAD A BABY: Baby James Michael Skinner was born on September 17th after 36 hours of labor turned into a C-Section.  Life has been a whirlwind trying to learn this little guy and trying to adjust to life as parents. Recovery has been difficult for me and my emotions are all over the place still, but I recognize that this is the absolute hardest part of parenthood and we’re both trying to get through it but also enjoy it at the same time. 
  • I thought about work early: Before I gave birth, I told myself that I would allow myself ample time to not think about work because I had no idea what kind of person I was going to be.  Turns out, I am exactly who I thought I was. Taking care of a newborn is exhausting mentally and physically. My brain is 100% on James and it’s hard to focus on much else.  Thinking about work in those tiny blips of time I have has actually allowed me to take a break from the mental part of having a child but actually getting to work has been a challenge.  I don’t have a set time or set schedule to do ANYTHING right now and that’s been hard to handle mentally and emotionally for me since I was in FULL control of everything I did just one month prior. Luckily I did schedule out October and November, but I am hoping that I will be on more of  a schedule so I can get some things in line for December. 
  • In the meantime, I’m comparing: Being on social media even MORE is something I did anticipate since a lot of the time I only have one hand to do anything and because it’s my only connection to the outside world.  The problem with this is that I get to see what everyone else is up to and get to see them working and doing the things I can’t do and succeeding etc. No matter how many times I tell myself I need to “stay in my own lane” and “what’s meant for me won’t pass me”, it’s not that easy to believe!  To be honest, I almost decided not to even post blog income reports anymore because I feel embarrassed about where I am at but I feel like this journey is a valuable piece of my life and seeing the ups and downs will let me and others see how far I’ve come and also how the journey is very much NOT linear. 
  • SEO Rankings Dropping:  Now for some practical stuff,  the more content you have, the better chance you have of it ranking.  I’ve had just a few heavy hitter posts carry me through and now with the new google update, the rankings are dropping pretty fast!  This makes me nervous because I was hoping that Q4 would be a big growth spurt for me, but it may only be keeping me afloat at the same level.  Again, more content will help this, but obviously it’s not something I can do right now. 
  • Partnerships: I find it so crazy how brands reach out to other bloggers.  Some bloggers get reached out to by the SAME brands and others are completely different. In the last month and a half I’ve gotten reached out to by brands that I really don’t see others get reached out to.  Just goes to show you that everyone is different and everyone’s VALUE is different.  While there’s a lot I turned down because it wasn’t in line my life, I also did accept some awesome partnerships I never thought I would get! I really want to get comfortable with this concept and in a way that suits everyone involved.  AKA I don’t ever want to be an annoying commercial and I hope any of you would tell me if that’s the case! 
  • The Future of This Blog: before I gave birth, I came up with a plan to really ramp up this side of my business in every way. I have SO many ideas and so many creative things I want to share and really do feel renewed. I feel truly blessed to have an income source that I can work on from home doing something I love.  At this point I feel like my personal chef business will end up being the side hustle and the blog will be the main focus for a few different personal reasons that I will share at a later date. In the meantime, mom life is at the forefront and I will have to just accept that whatever I get done is icing on the gluten free cake. 

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

Blog Income Report September 2019 | Metrics

Food/Recipe posts that were created in September: 2+

Amazon Affiliate Income: $111.41

 Mediavine Income: $1214.94

Recipe Development Projects Paid Out: $250

Virtual Assistant Work: $50

Hours spent working on the blog: 2-5 but barely

Blog Income Report September 2019 Total: $1626.35

 

Valerie Skinner is a Whole30 approved personal chef & recipe developer that bridges the gap between healthy eating and busy lives by providing simple healthy meals and recipes for you and your family.Charleston Personal Chef Thyme and JOY

Lets Connect!

Check out my Podcast: Food Conversations

Email me: thymeandjoy@gmail.com

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Blog Income Report August 2019

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Blog Income Report August 2019 : Find out how I made $1729.33 through my blog with various strategies. 

blog income report august 2019

As I write this I am 39 weeks pregnant, it’s Labor Day and there has been a mandatory evacuation in South Carolina for hurricane Dorian which we are not leaving for. August was a really weird month for me!  I worked my personal chef job for the first 3 weeks while blogging in between and I have been “off” since the 23rd on maternity leave. 

I spent a LOT of time on the blog this month but all of that work is going to show up sporadically through the next couple months.  In essence it didn’t really feel like I was doing much because my traffic and engagement was MUCH lower than previous months.  I admit to feeling a bit rushed and burnt out!

I’m hoping it will pick up again since people are cramming in last minute summer adventures and school starts in random parts of the month, but we shall see!

Blog Income Report August 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in August:

  • I hit a wall with photography: I’m pretty unhappy with my photography as of late. I was looking through old posts to update and I found that some of my iphone photos were way better! I’m not sure if I’m just burnt out from rushing to get some recipes done or if I need to invest in more props and surfaces but it’s really frustrating.  My plan IS to invest in better stuff after the first couple months of newborn life.  I also am going to hire a professional to come over and show me exactly where I should be setting up my surfaces and what settings to use etc.  I don’t want to just be good at this, I want to be great because I really want to set myself apart and count on this skill for the future.  I’m hoping by taking some time off and using my camera to photography my baby that I will be re-inspired. 
  • Engagement is DOWN: I am aware that this is super ironic, especially since I am the first to take public social media breaks, but this one kind of bit me in the ass. Obviously instagram favors ACTIVITY and that is not what I was keeping up with at all.  When I made my return I had lost over 400 followers AND my engagement went down horribly.  I get the engagement of someone with 7k followers and I have 18.5k.  It’s hard to say if this matters or not. There are SO many others dealing with the same issue and I think it is largely to do with the fact that IG is making changes in order to push users to boost posts.  And since you could do it for $1 per day, so many others are doing it which proves them right. I’m going to keep on posting a mix of food and personal stuff regardless of what happens because it’s what I like doing, but it’s clear that most of my efforts need to be focused on the blog and SEO. 
  • I’m Addicted to My Phone: The above was so much more apparent to me because I became addicted to my phone again.  This time though, I am not beating myself up about it. I realized that I am going to be home A LOT in the next couple months with my baby and I have to be honest and say that being on my phone is going to be a part of me connecting to the outside world.  At first I was bitter about that, but I realized that there is nothing wrong with that.  After that short season, I WILL start having a routine again and I will be able to put my phone down more and focus more on life.  Until then, I am giving myself permission to give myself as much phone time as possible so long as it’s not messing with my brain. 
  • Ad Income Low:  Ok, so this is going to sound petty but my ad income this month was under $1000.  It was under by less than $20 but it kind of worried me. In my head I set a threshold of making a MINIMUM of $1000 on ads that really wanted to stick to for now on. This data is really interesting to me because now I see that summer really is way lower than usual, but I thought July was going to be worse.  I can’t wait to see what Q4 brings so I can plan for the future. 
  • And Speaking of The Future: I heard a powerful quote on a podcast that really stuck with me. If you can make $1000 a month doing something, you can make $10k a month doing that thing. It made me think about how much time I spend doing 4-5 different things “ok” instead of 1-2 really well.  I am ready to leave the scrappy start-up version of this blog behind and really start focusing on quality in all aspects.  I have a huge list of things I need to do when I am ready to turn this into a business that can support my share of the bills and more. I actually can’t wait to spend more quality time here and have some better valuable content in store.

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

Blog Income Report August 2019 | Metrics

Food/Recipe posts that were created in August: 8+

Amazon Affiliate Income: $68.79

 Mediavine Income: $988.59

Recipe Development Projects Paid Out: $500

Virtual Assistant Work: $50

Brand Partnerships: $122.15

Hours spent working on the blog: 15-20 per week

Blog Income Report August 2019 Total: $1729.33

 

Valerie Skinner is a Whole30 approved personal chef & recipe developer that bridges the gap between healthy eating and busy lives by providing simple healthy meals and recipes for you and your family.Charleston Personal Chef Thyme and JOY

Lets Connect!

Check out my Podcast: Food Conversations

Email me: thymeandjoy@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram

Join my community on Facebook

See what I’m pinning on Pinterest