Hey there! Welcome to the blog income report for August 2021. This is my third income report for Striving Blogger; you can read the last month’s one here: July 2021 Income Report.
I think income reports are super interesting to read, and I’m so happy that I can finally start writing my own ones.
This August 2021 blog income report will share my income, expenses, traffic, and recommended blogging tools and resources.
August was such a crazy hectic month, and I’m pretty glad it’s over.
I participated in a “content warrior” challenge and got plunged into yet another statewide lockdown with a 9 pm curfew. All in all, it’s been a crazy month personally, yet an excellent one for my blog.
Without further ado, let’s get straight into it.
Why publish a blog income report?
I love publishing blog income reports because Striving Blogger is all about blogging and money. It’s also a way to get an inside scoop about the world of blogging, and I really love talking about it too!
These income reports are also published for these three reasons:
- Accountability: This income report is a way for me to look back in the future and see the growth of my blog. Blogging is challenging, to say the least, so this is a fun and easy way to track my development as I navigate and grow my online presence.
- Inspiration: Income reports have been my favorite things to read from bloggers. It’s a way for new bloggers to get inspired and not give up on their blogging journey.
- Transparency: I love transparency and want to be transparent with my audience. As you’ll learn in the income report, my earnings are pretty low, yet I’m over the moon. I’m not trying to show off my income; I’m just documenting my growth as a blogger. I also love talking about earned income as it removes the taboo and stigma of talking about money.
Unlike many bloggers who post income reports after they’re making thousands, I thought I’d switch it up and share income reports from when I first started making money.
I’m not earning $10,000 in my sixth month of blogging or hitting milestones of 100,000 page views, but hopefully, this transparency resonates with you.
Anyways, let’s get onto the traffic and metrics for August.
Blog Income Report – August 2021
To monetize this blog, I rely pretty much entirely on affiliates. Like last month, I’m still in the process of taking my products off of Etsy. While it was a fun experiment, I’d much rather give printables for free to my audience (through email opt-ins) rather than sell them for a small profit.
I need to diversify my income, but it’s still such a young blog, so I’ve got heaps of time to do so. I think I’ll experiment with Ezoic once I hit 5000+ pageviews, as I don’t want to have Google Ads on my blog (just a personal preference).
Income for August 2021: $21
In August 2021, I made a $21 gross income from this blog. Yay! I finally made more than my expenses in one month.
I’m over the moon at this figure. While it isn’t much money, it will help keep me going and persevere as I know that I can actually make money from it.
With blogging, I’ve had to come over a lot of imposter syndrome, where I feel like an absolute fraud talking about specific topics. I know that I have value to give and my own take on things, but it’s sometimes really tough to push through those mental blocks and challenges.
Anyways, like I’ve already talked about, here are the two methods that I used to make $21 this month.
- Affiliate marketing/referrals
- Digital products
Expenses for August 2021: $10
Cloudways: $10 a month
Like July, the cost of running this blog was cheap, with the expenses only being from my web hosting.
My web hosting is quite expensive, but my page speeds are super fast, and I’m happy to support a company I like. For context, I bought Bluehost’s three-year plan at the start of my blogging journey, and it was the worst mistake of my life. I literally used it for two months and gave up on them.
So for August, I had a net income of $11, woohoo!
Blog Traffic & Metrics for August 2021:
All my traffic and metrics for my blog in August, including page views, posts published, and new email subscribers.
Traffic for August 2021 – 408 page views
My blog had 408 page views from 299 sessions in August.
Traffic is up 83% from July, in which I received 223 pageviews from 147 sessions. Traffic was on the rise again this month, and I see consistent days of 10 – 25 pageviews, which I’m stoked about.
It’s been exhilarating to see the pageviews constantly rising, and I hope to hit 600 – 700 next month.
BLOG TRAFFIC SINCE STARTING:
February: 128 page views
March: 129 page views
April: 122 page views
May: 135 page views
June: 111 page views
July: 223 page views
August: 408 page views
Posts Published +31
Last month, I wanted to participate in a content warrior challenge and post 31 times in 31 days. I’m happy to say that I achieved that goal and published 31 posts in August.
I’m super stoked that I stuck through the hard yards and was able to complete this challenge. While it’s great for my blog, and I wrote on many posts I’ve wanted to talk about, it’s been great for my confidence in writing.
I’ve also learned an excellent blogging workflow and have been able to reduce writing times dramatically.
The post you’re reading right now has taken me about an hour to write.
Compared to last month, where I only published six new articles, I’m so proud of myself for achieving this challenge.
Would I recommend a content warrior challenge for bloggers?
Probably not, unless you get plunged into a lockdown where you literally can’t leave your house, and you’ve got nothing better to do than write.
However, I would recommend 20 – 25 posts as a challenge, with a few break days. It’s hard to write good quality content consistently without losing the quality, and a few breaks can help you bounce back quickly.
Email Subscribers +4
In August, I had four new email subscribers, bringing my total to 12 subscribers. I neglected my email list this month and only sent out one email for the entire month.
I love seeing my email list grow, but it’s been hard to allocate the time to create new printables over the past month. Now that I’ve got time, I will make some more printables and readjust my approach to email marketing.
Another thing I plan on doing is updating my site design. While I love my current clean design, I want to improve the sidebar and home page, plus get it running as smoothly as possible.
Site designing has been one of my favorite things about blogging, and I’m stoked with how my blog currently looks.
Anyways, if you’d like to get updates for new posts, you can join the community below. 😃
That concludes my traffic and metrics for August. I’ll next get into my recommended blogging tools and resources, plus free photos you can use.
Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links, where I may receive a small commission on purchases at no cost to you. These tools and resources are ones that I thoroughly recommend for all bloggers. You can read my entire affiliate disclosure here.
Recommended Blogging Tools & Resources
Unsplash
I started contributing photos to Unsplash in May and currently have 22 photos uploaded. I aim to get this number up to 100, as I love giving back to my audience, and this is a neat way of doing so.
These photos are all 100% taken by me and are royalty-free to use on your blog, websites, or anywhere else.
Cloudways
The web hosting that I use and love, it’s more expensive than regular hosting but doesn’t compromise on speed or features.
Perks of Cloudways include:
- Superfast hosting
- Automated backups
- Free migration from another web-host
The plans start at $10/month but get billed month-to-month, meaning you won’t get charged until next month.
Try Cloudways Today (receive $15 credit at signup)
PS: If you’d like to learn how to start a blog with Cloudways, read this step-by-step guide.
A2 Hosting
If Cloudways is too expensive for you, then A2 Hosting is another excellent pick. The plans start at $2.99 a month and are fast and reliable.
Perks of A2 Hosting include:
- Fast and reliable hosting
- 100GB SSD storage
- Free SSL
Just a heads up, unlike Cloudways, you have to pay the price in full at the beginning.
Salient Theme
The theme I use for this blog. It’s a multipurpose theme, and I love everything about it. It comes with hundreds of pre-built templates and is beginner-friendly.
Read next: Salient Theme Review: My Thoughts After 6 Months of Use
Grammarly
The extra set of eyes I use for every post I write. It’s the perfect tool for spelling and grammar check and has a free or paid version.
ConvertKit
The email marketing service I use. The platform is user-friendly and is built for bloggers by bloggers.
It’s free for up to 1000 subscribers, and then plans start at $29 a month.
Unlock 1000 free ConvertKit subscribers
Rakuten
An excellent cashback app to earn money on your online or in-store purchases. The cashback rates vary from 1% – 40% and cover major retailers like Amazon, Target, and more.
Sign up with Rakuten (Spend $30 & receive $30 back)
Wrapping up August 2021 Income Report
Cheers for reading this blog income report for August 2021.
Hopefully, this August income report has been a good read. While it isn’t a lot of money earned, I think it’s interesting to read income reports from new bloggers.
The primary purpose of my blog income reports is to be transparent with my readers and showcase the highs and the lows of blogging.
I’m super proud of myself for completing the content warrior challenge and earning more than my expenses. It’s been a good month for my blog, and I’m proud of how far it’s come.
Anyways, I’ll be back with another income report for September.
How much did you make in August 2021 from blogging?
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Ahhh, I see you’re from Melbourne too. Great work monetising your blog so quickly and well done on the net income!
Yes, I’m from Melbourne! I’m so thankful that the lockdowns are finally over.
Also, thank you 🙂 Slowly but surely, I’m building up traffic and income.