Hey there! Welcome to my six-month blogging update. This article will share how much I make after blogging for six months and my traffic and analytics.
What a crazy six months this has been. I started my blog on February 19th and have been through so many highs and lows in these past 181 days.
In six months, my state has been plunged into three different lockdowns. My family also adopted two new cats that my dog adores, and I’ve learned countless personal and business skills.
My blog has also been on the rise in these past few months, and I’m currently participating in a 31-posts in 31 days challenge (I’m pretty tired 🤣).
You can read my three-month blogging update here.
Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the article with a quick question first.
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, where I may receive a small commission on purchases at no cost to you. The tools are ones that I thoroughly recommend for all bloggers. You can read my full affiliate disclosure here.
How Much Do Beginner Bloggers Make?
Not a lot of money. Beginner bloggers won’t make much for the first 6 – 12 months of their blogging journey. This figure isn’t trying to put you off blogging; it’s just the harsh reality many need to deal with.
What’s the reason beginner bloggers make barely any money?
It’s mainly due to a lack of traffic and trust with their audience.
Research from Income School shows that the average blogger makes $29.08 per 1000 pageviews, so if you’re barely hitting 100 pageviews a month, you won’t be making much money.
If you get 100 pageviews in your first month, expect to make roughly $2.90.
While beginner bloggers could make money from freelancing efforts on other platforms, blogging will not earn them money in the first few months.
As you’ll see in the traffic metrics and income below, my earnings are mediocre. I didn’t earn $1000 a month by my six months of blogging or hit a high of 10,000 pageviews, but hopefully, this transparency will resonate with you.
It’s nearly identical to YouTube. It can take YouTuber’s months or even years until they get monetized, and their catalog of posts can all start taking off randomly.
Recommended read: 17 Highest Paid Bloggers in 2022
Six Month Blogging Update
Here is my six-month blogging update, with how much I earned, expenses, and traffic figures.
If this weren’t a hobby that I enjoyed, I probably would have quit ages ago due to these numbers. 🤣
Income: $25
In six months, I made $25, which averages out to around $1 earned every week. My only monetization options are affiliate marketing and digital products; I’ll branch out to display advertising when I hit higher page views.
I also spent roughly 10 – 20 hours on my blog every week, so I’m probably earning 5c an hour.
Honestly, you can laugh at the number if you’d like; I give you full permission. But, in these six months, I’ve learned countless skills and have improved my expertise in numerous areas.
While it isn’t a lot of money, I know how to build a functioning yet awesome-looking blog within one or two days. I’ve also learned how to write blog posts more efficiently and have improved my vocabulary immensely.
I also aim to start a YouTube channel in the next couple of months, and I have a backlog of 77 blog posts that I can use for my videos.
Again, while it isn’t a lot of money, I can’t put a price on the skills I’ve learned and the confidence I’ve built with my writing.
Expenses: $600+
Tallying my expenses up kind of hurt, but it’s the reality of my blog.
I guarantee that you will be able to run a blog for a lot cheaper. I tend to experiment and go the expensive routes in the beginning.
These expenses include:
- Domain name: I purchased my domain for two years
- Web hosting: I use Cloudways $10/month plan
- Premium theme: Salient theme cost me $60 (my best purchase ever)
- Caching plugin: WP Rocket costs $49/year
- Spell checker: Grammarly cost me $60 for the year
- Courses: I bought multiple courses; most were a waste of money
- Keyword tool: I primarily use Ubersuggest
And heaps more
I have all of my recommended blogging tools on my resources & tools page; I’ll also include some discounts you can use later on.
Like any business, you have to invest money to get the best possible results. I always hear of people wanting to start blogs for free, but free platforms limit monetization options, look cheap, and lack customization options.
Anyways, we’ll now move on to the blog traffic and metrics.
Blog Traffic & Metrics
Here are all of my traffic metrics from the past six months, including pageviews and email subscribers.
Page Views: 1,066
I’ve received 1066 page views in the past six months. In the past week, I also hit the 1000 pageview milestone, which I’m ecstatic about!
In the first three months of running this blog, I received 467 pageviews; I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if half of those were from me. This is because I was updating my theme and refreshing pages constantly on my phone, hence the spikes in the first couple of months.
In the past three months of blogging, I’ve received 599 pageviews. Now, this number is barely from me, and I’m thrilled with how my traffic is starting to rise.
My organic clicks from Google are rising, and I receive anywhere from 1 – 15 clicks a day. Organic traffic fluctuates a lot, and I expect it to continue for the next few months.
So, I’ve earned $25 from 1066 pageviews, which is close to the earnings figure estimate from Income School.
Posts Published: 77
In these past six months, I’ve published 77 blog posts. I’m ecstatic with that number, and I aim to have around 100 posts by the end of September.
This works out to an average of 3.08 posts a week.
It’s crazy to think that I’ve put out 77 pieces of content that I’m really proud of in the past six months.
I’m also starting to really get my strive, and I can smash out a 2,000-word blog post in 3 – 5 hours, something that would’ve taken me days beforehand.
Email Subscribers +9
I got my first ever email subscriber on May 9th, which had me thrilled. I get, on average, about 1 – 3 subscribers a month.
It’s been a slow trickle of subscribers, but I hope to increase that number next month by creating more freebies and forms and changing my strategy.
I use ConvertKit because it’s free for up to 1000 subscribers. It’s great because I don’t need the added cost of email marketing yet.
You can join my email list below if you’d like to. 😊
How to Start Blogging
You can read this post if you’d like to learn a comprehensive guide on starting a blog.
Or, if you’d like a simple format of how to start a blog, then follow along with these five simple steps.
How to start blogging:
- Choose a niche: A category or segment of a larger market. Photography is a large niche, whereas product photography is a more targeted niche.
- Select a domain name: The URL of your blog, etc., ‘strivingblogger.com.’ Make sure it’s short, relevant, easy to remember, and avoid hyphens.
- Buy web hosting: The server that hosts your blog and all of its information. Two good web hosting options are:
Cloudways – Use code ‘SUMMER30’ for a 30% discount for two months.
Hostinger – Get up to 80% off through my link. - Customize your blog: Download a theme, install plugins, customize your menu, and add different pages.
- Write your first post: Write on whatever niche you’ve chosen, and make sure it’s user-friendly, high-quality, and conforms to basic SEO practices.
Just like that, with those five steps, you’ll be able to create your very own blog.
Now let’s move on to all of my recommended blogging tools and resources.
Recommended Blogging Tools
These are all of the tools I thoroughly recommend for all bloggers. You can find my extensive list on my resources & tools page.
Cloudways
The web hosting that I use to run this blog. Get super fast hosting, a 1-click WordPress installation, 24/7 customer support, automated backups, and heaps more.
The plans start at $10/month but are billed month-to-month, meaning you won’t get charged until next month.
Use the code ‘SUMMER30’ through my link to get a 30% discount for two months on any plans.
Hostinger
If Cloudways is out of your price range, Hostinger is another excellent deal for fast yet cheap hosting.
Hostingers’ ‘WordPress Starter Plan’ starts at $2.99 a month and features a free domain name, free email, SSL, up to 25,000 visitors, and 100GB SSD storage.
You can choose between 1 – 48 months of web hosting, and it’s up to 80% off through my link.
WP Rocket
The caching plugin that’s helped my site score 95+ on Google Pagespeed Insights.
WP Rocket applies 80% of the best web performances from installation. A fast blog leads to happier users and increased rankings.
You can get a 10% discount through my link, and I will receive two more months on my WP Rocket plan. It’s a win-win for both of us. 😃
Grammarly
The extra set of eyes I use to check every article I write. It checks spelling, grammar, conciseness, tone, plagiarism, and more.
I’ve got the paid version, but the free version is adequate for most users.
ConvertKit
The email marketing software I use and love. The platform is super user-friendly and is free for up to 1000 subscribers. Plans then start at $29/month.
Wrapping Up
So that finishes off how much I make from blogging after six months. It’s been a journey, but one that I’m so proud that I’ve embarked on.
I still know that I have a long journey ahead of myself, but it’s great to start seeing some of the hard work pay off in terms of page views.
Hopefully, this transparency resonates with you, and it shows you that blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme.
I was sick of seeing bloggers talk about making thousands of dollars within four months, so I thought I’d change the cycle and show the reality for most bloggers.
Anyways, I’ll be back for a 12-month update. Thanks for reading! 😊
How much did you make in your first six months of blogging?
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