This ” April 2017 Blog Income Report: I Made $7,844.95 Last Month ” is my fourth income report for 2017 income report. This post contains affiliate links/ads. See disclosure policy. 

Hi, everyone!

Welcome to my April 2017 income report.

I managed to do what I did last month, that is, got ahead of creating my blog posts well-ahead of schedule. I was able to create all my blog posts for April back in March. I’m still ahead with my blog posts for May. By the time you read this income report, it is already June. Haha.

That’s because my wife and I are in the process of buying a house.

I’ve been quite busy at work and in my personal life these past month. I only put in 10 hours for Blogging. Thank goodness I was able to get all my blog posts done.

This past April, I started ramping my effort on building my site to be SEO friendly. I am working with my niece to make sure that my blog and posts are optimized for SEO purposes.

Previous Months’ Blog Revenues

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to see how my blog has progressed over the past couple of months, here is the information. I compiled all my total income for 2016 and monthly reports for this year for easy access and just to give an idea how I have done (money-wise) with my blog.

• March 2017 Income Report – $7,844.95
• February 2017 Income Report – $6,852.01
• January 2017 Income Report  – $4,855.34
• December 2016 Income Report (11th month of blogging) – $34,835.44

Most Visited Posts

I credited my traffic and income to several posts I published this past couple of months. I did not know so many people would see these posts. Here are my most read/visited blog posts for the past month:

• 8 Best Survey Apps That Pay You – 60,111 visits
• 7 Perfect Jobs For Stay-Home Parents – 35,134 visits
• 25+ Survey Sites That Will Add $600/Month or More – 24,449 visits
• Couponing for Newbies: Challenges in Couponing – 10,357 visits
• Save More Money and Be Richer By $14,000 A Year – 9,071 visits

Why Blog My Income Report?

Before I show you my blog traffic and earnings for April 2017, let me tell you why I wanted to blog my income.

Income Progression. I like to see my progression (income) from one month to another and want to share it with other people.

My blogging income only covers the income I made from blogging. Basically, I don’t count my day job income, freelance writing, and everything unrelated to blogging. This way, the readers know this income report is about blog income.

You will see survey money in this report, too. This survey money is affiliate money. This survey money is not the money my wife and I earn from taking surveys.

Success and failures. Blogging is not as easy as many people think. If it were, then, a lot of people would be doing it and be making money. You can and will succeed in blogging, but you will have to invest time and effort.

There is a learning curve in blogging. You will definitely go through a ton of trials and errors. You will succeed and failed along the way. One piece of advice I can give you is not to be discouraged, though, if you fail because that’s part of blogging.

I can’t remember the number of times I made mistakes with my blog. These mistakes caused big problems but I didn’t quit. I took them as lessons and learned from them.

Be one of the few who can start a blog for a special price of $3.95/month instead of the regular price of $7.99/month. This is a special price I negotiated with Bluehost just for my readers. You will get a FREE domain and a great customer service. Really, you are saving money when you use my link even before you publish your first post. That’s a best a way to start your blogging journey.

My tutorial will help you establish a blog in 15 minutes or less. You can also sign up for a FREE Blogging course, which is valued over $400 and also gives you access to an EXCLUSIVE Facebook group dedicated to supporting bloggers and help them grow their blog traffic and income. Again, access to these course and group is FREE.

Reward. I want to show people they can earn money through blogging.

For those who want to start blogging, you will see a lot of posts stating it is a scam. If you have not seen them yet, you will eventually. Blogging is not a scam. Not at all.

I have earned at least $34K in 2016 just by sharing my thoughts on personal finance and experiences. Please don’t get me wrong. Blogging can and will be rewarding but ain’t easy. You need to put in your patience, time, and dedication to make blogging work for you.

You could earn money from blogging. I took a risk and paid $100+ to get my blog up and running. It paid off.

The best advice I can give you is to blog what you love. Period. When you do that, it feels like you are just having fun or working on a hobby. That’s exactly how I feel.

I love personal finance. I love managing my money and making sure that my family has money now and in the future so we can meet our needs. So, that’s what my blog is all about. Whether you like to cook or create a DIY project, make sure your blog speaks your interest.

If you want to learn if blogging is for you, please check this post “Is Blogging For You?: The Truths About Blogging”

Inspiration. I want to serve as an inspiration to those who started or think of starting their blogging journey. I honestly did not think it’s possible to earn money this early on, but it has happened. I was skeptical about blogging at first, but I took a chance and tried it anyways. I know it will only continue to be better from here. I can sense it. I want to share to the world earning this early is possible.

A lot of bloggers have messaged me and told me that I gave them the encouragement to go further with their blogging journey or purse blogging because of what I have done and what I have accomplished. For many, I was an inspiration especially for those who wanted to quit early on in their blogging journey.

I believe my commitment, tolerance, willingness, perseverance, and a ton of luck continuously help me with my blogging success.

Transparency. I believe in transparency. While I blog about everything under the realm of personal finance, my blog is also a monetary vehicle for my family. That’s the fact.

When you see ads in my posts, those are income-generating ads. When you see highlighted links, those are affiliate links.

When you see companies I recommend or use; those companies may provide me commissions. I only recommend products and services I use and I believe will provide beneficial effects to my readers.

I have been fortunate to receive offers from different companies. I choose to limit those offers simply because I don’t want to share products and/or services I do not think are good or beneficial to my readers.

Let’s put it this way. If my intentions were just to make money, I would be able to make more because of those offers. But that is not my primary intention.

What’s in it for you with blogging?

I realized that a lot of the readers of my income reports are those who consider blogging and making money from it. I’ve been asked by a lot of people why I blog. Now, I am returning the question to you. What would blogging do for you?

Blogging is more than just a hobby. You could benefit well from it, seriously.

I stated at the beginning of this post that my wife and I are buying a house. The things I didn’t tell you about it is that the down payment for the house will come from my blogging money. The monthly payments will come out from my blogging money as well.

Yes, all the house payments and down payment will be coming from my blogging money. If you consider creating your own blog and monetizing it, here are some of the benefits:

• Help. As  a blogger, you have the opportunity to help other people with your knowledge and expertise. For example, I was in deep debt before but was able to get out of it quickly. Because I’ve experienced that and some other finance-related experiences, I have been able to share my thoughts and experiences and help others even in the smallest oossible ways.
• Authority. When you become a well-known blogger and your blog’s content is the go-to site of a lot of people, you are becoming or become the authority in whatever niche your blog is in.
• Money. You can make full-time money by working part time. I do this now. I only put in roughly 15 hours a month on my blog and still make full-time money. You can even retire, travel the world, and not worry about money because blogging makes money for you.
• Network. I can’t tell you enough how blogging is a great way to expand your network. This network will be there for you from personal and professional stand point. I don’t think I’d survive my first year without my fellow bloggers.
• Personal relationship. My relationship with my wife has gone to another level because of blogging. My wife and I work closely with my blog. She’s the brain and I am the writer. We communicate and exchange ideas, we help out each other to make sure I write the best post I could possibly write, and others. Blogging helps us become closer and have better marriage than ever before.
• So many more. There are a ton of other benefits you can gain from blogging.

Tips for Bloggers

I have dealt and used ad networks to find the best of the best products to offer to my blog readers. I don’t just apply and use the offers from these ad networks because I want to make sure I bring forth products that truly help my readers make money, save money, and manage their finances effectively.

It can be exhausting to find networks that will really help you and your blog propel to new heights especially when there are thousands of them over the internet and you can’t figure out the right ones for you. If you are a publisher or a blogger and are looking for ad networks that work and pay out really well, I highly recommend the following ad networks.

I’m recommending them because I get positive reviews from my readers and my revenue from these ad networks are great (to say the least).

IGain

If you are in the personal finance niche and are looking for survey sites to add in your list of income-generating networks, then, IGain is for you. I have made over $2,000 over a few months with this ad network. The range of survey sites impeccable. The customer service it provides is beyond outstanding. I’ve worked with a lot of ad networks and IGain’s customer service is, by far, the best.

If you are looking for exclusive offers, which can’t be found anywhere else, then, IGain is for you.

In addition, one of the most exciting things about this ad network is that it offers games and promotions almost every month. Some of their past promotions included increased payouts, cash incentives, and Amazon gift cards.

Truly, there are so many great things about IGain.

Share-A-Sale and FlexOffers

I lumped these two together because they are almost the same in many respects. They have a ton of offers for just about any product out there in the marketplace.

Whether you are in the personal finance niche or fashion niche or food niche or something else, Share-A-Sale and FlexOffers. At one point, I made over $1,000 in one month from FlexOffers.

Panthera Network

I mainly used it for survey-related offers but it caters a wide range of niches. Some of niches include, but are not limited to, pets, family, books, health, beauty, entertainment, games, employment, education, and home. A  bulk of my earnings for surveys come from Panthera. I have earned thousands of dollars from this network in such a short time period (i.e. in upper $1,000 a month).

I’ll tell you that I’m not alone when I say I make a lot of money (i.e. commissions from Panthera). A friend blogger of mine who is in the fashion niche makes at least $600 a month through Panthera. Another friend of mine who is health and fitness makes around $900 a month.

April 2017 Blog Income Report : I Made $7,844.95 Last Month

My blog income for April 2017 decreased by 1.27% from March. My blog traffic decrease to 181,994 visits from 184,335 from last month. A lot of my friend bloggers have told me that I should spend more time with my blog and make a lot more efforts to monetize it since my blog traffic is going great.

As much as I want to, I can only spend a couple of hours a day or every month. There are so  many things going on at work and at home that need more attention that blogging. I should say 24 hours in a day is not enough. Haha.

Income and Expense Strategies

To improve my income, I employed several income strategies. These strategies included working with advertising networks and becoming affiliates for products and services I use, which helped me earn commissions when people sign up for such products and services. I also allowed businesses to do guest posts on my blog and/or to be mentioned in my post for a set fee.

I don’t promote products I won’t use or even recommend to my loved ones. I turned down a lot of great opportunities from a lot of companies because I didn’t feel my readers or I could benefit from what they offer. I just don’t want to compromise my beliefs.

I also focused more on Pinterest and bought a course for Pinterest. I’ve been applying the lessons I have learned from the course. The main reason I bought this course is that I want to capitalize more on the power of Pinterest in terms of generating traffic and additional income for my blog. Even though I haven’t put everything I learned into practice, I’ve seen a lot of traffic gains already.

Here are the products and services I recommend for those who want to make money, save money, and better manage their finances. I get these offers mostly from my ad networks.

Bluehost: $525.00

• I did not know anything about coding, WordPress, and other things related to blogging. With Bluehost, you can create your blog in 15 minutes or less. I took a chance and it paid off. I earned over $34,0000 in 2016. For $3.95/month, you have little or nothing to lose but, potentially, a ton to gain. Not sure if blogging is for you or don’t know where to start? My tutorial will help you establish a blog in 15 minutes or less. You can also sign up for a FREE Blogging course, which is valued over $400 and also gives you access to an EXCLUSIVE Facebook group dedicated to supporting bloggers and help them grow their blog traffic and income. Again, access to these course and group is FREE.

Affiliate Networks: 4,144.87

• I managed to have tried a lot of affiliate networks in the past couple of months. After trying and testing all of them, I have finally found the affiliate networks that have allowed me to earn additional money. If you are looking for affiliate networks, I highly recommend these networks: iGain, Offer Juice, Panthera Network, Share-A-Sale and FlexOffers.

Advertisements: $2,054.39

• The ads I have are from AdThrive, Google Adsense, NewsMax, and Smart Asset. If your traffic is above 100K a month, I highly suggest you look into getting into AdThrive. Its customer service and the payout are really good.

Tailwind: $225.00

• Tailwind is the reason my traffic increased in such a short time. I’ve been blogging for less than a year but my traffic per month hovers around 180K now. If you sign up using my link, you will get $15 as well. There’s a Tailwind Free Trial, and you can also subscribe for $9.99/month when you sign up for a year. You can always contact me for FREE if you have any Tailwind questions. I don’t charge for helping bloggers, but if you want to donate, you can do that as well. 🙂

Budget Printables: $134.91

• I created my Budget Printable Binder Kit this April. It contains the exact budgeting worksheets that my wife and I used to help us get out our $40K debt and save more than $70K in just 2.5 years. The binder kit is currently on sale for $14.99, which is 50% of its original price of $29.99. This price won’t be here for long. So, if you are looking for binder kit to help you fix your budget, I highly recommend you grab this binder kit on sale.

Sponsored Posts/Mentions: $760.78 I got around 6 sponsored posts/mentions this past month. I could have done a few more but time was not on my side. I’ll do better this May.

Total Gross Income: $7,844.95

Expense: $0.00

Total Net Income: $7,844.95

 Social Media Strategy

I have been asked so many times what my strategies are to increase my traffic. The shortest answer I can say is I heavily focus on social media. When I am not creating my post or working on my blog design, I focus my time using Pinterest. I don’t pay a ton of attention on Twitter and Facebook.

I decided to focus on Pinterest. I made the right call.

If you want to know how I was able to increase my traffic from 0 to over 170,000 in just 9 months, please follow the blog post below.

Read: How I Increased My Page Views From 0 to 170K In 9 Months

My Pinterest presence is great. Since I started using it a couple of months ago, I have gained a lot of followers every day. As of March 2017, I had 13,997 followers.

How did I improve my Pinterest presence? I credited my Pinterest success to my favorite program, Tailwind. I just cannot stress enough how Tailwind has helped me improve my blog’s traffic in such a short time.

Some of the features of Tailwind include:

• Pin scheduling (Optimize pinning schedule based on your audience’s engagement)
• Time management (by allowing you to do multi-board pinning, bulk upload, and others)
• Content discovery on Pinterest right from Tailwind
• Results Measurement (see which pins are working and which aren’t)
• Pinterest Management, Analytics, and Marketing Tool
• FREE trial.  I recommend you opt for a year subscription for only $9.99/month with unlimited pinning ($119.98/year) versus monthly subscription of $15.00/month with 400 schedule pin limit per month.
• If you sign up through my link, you will also receive $15.

What I Did and Didn’t Do

I decided to include this section because I know a lot of my colleagues (i.e. bloggers) and those who want to begin blogging would love to see what I did to earn money and increase my traffic. This also includes the things I didn’t do or failed to succeed on.

Did do

• Free 8-Day ‘How To Blog’ eCourse. I finally created this FREE eCourse, which was really published last March 2017. After months of consideration and continuous suggestions from my readers, I finally took a dive and created this FREE eCourse. For those who are looking into creating your own blog, this FREE eCourse is for you. Aside from my blog tutorial,  which will help you establish a blog in 15 minutes or less, you can also sign up for a FREE Blogging course, which is valued over $400 and also gives you access to an EXCLUSIVE Facebook group dedicated to supporting bloggers and help them grow their blog traffic and income. Again, access to these course and group is FREE.
• Pinterest Boards. My Pinterest collaborative boards have gained a lot of contributors. In the past month, at least 32 people became contributors. I consider it as an accomplishment because a couple of months ago, I only had a handful of contributors and less than 10 pins before I opened it to the Pinterest community. There are a ton of people who emailed me or messaged me stating they wanted to join. I have not really gone through all of them, unfortunately. But I will. As of April 30th, the statistics for these boards are:
  • Bloggers’ Portal – 78,554 pins and 457 contributors (accepting new contributors)
  • Money Tips – 23,573 pins and 132 contributors (accepting new contributors)
• SEO Improvement. I’m in the process of improving my blog’s SEO. To do this, I am working with my niece who happens to be an SEO expert. I’ve been putting off her help because I wanted to learn as much as I can with SEO. Since I have been busy these past couple of months and don’t have time to work on improving my blog’s SEO, I finally said yes to take her help.

Did not do but should have done

• New products. I have so many products to try and/or review in my inbox right now. I have not had the time to get through them for a couple of reasons: (1) I decreased my blogging time to spend more time with family, and (2) I worked on some honey-do list this past month (It was a long list).

May 2017 Goals

Going through life, in general, without a goal is like walking on winding road without a foreseeable end in sight. The blogging goals I set for this May are both easy and challenging to achieve.

• Page views. I want to see 10,000 views a day, at least. Maybe it’s impossible to achieve it, but I will try my best to make it possible. (April Goal: 10,000/day ; Result: 6,066/day) – Failed. Getting closer, though.
• Income. I want to double my income from March. Yes, double the amount it is. (April Goal: Double my March’s income ; Result: $7,844.95) Didn’t reach it. But, of course, I am more than happy to earn additional money.

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