Did I meet my July Online Income goal? Not quite, but I was close.
In July, I was able to overhaul my blog and define the content a bit more effectively. Over the years I have struggled with grouping the various types of content I create for this blog into categories that make sense.
After taking a Pinterest course to help me learn how to better use the platform, I was able to cull the content I create into a few categories.
My Youtube channel is definitely focused on all things beauty, which sometimes includes wellness. I truly believe that taking care of your physical and mental health is the internal aspect of “beauty.”
With that in mind, I was able to define and categorize the content I create into beauty, wellness, and personal development.
Does that not fit perfectly?
I have never been able to determine how to categorize the book reviews and advice I have housed on this blog. Nor, the five-year plan I am tracking or the various posts about my journey toward self-acceptance.
Then, it hit me. All of those aspects of life are me working toward developing my personal self.
I couple that together with the recipes and healthy eating tips alongside my fitness journey to equal wellness.
A long time ago I decided to share my life on the premise that my journey may prove helpful to someone else.
I share what I have learned, my triumphs, and my struggles because I want to empower women and girls through my own journey.
My journey is not unique or impressive, but I know that as a black woman, I can uplift my community by sharing what I learn along the way.
Through sharing my struggles, hopefully, someone else can skip the mistakes I made or at least know that we have similar hiccups.
This blog now has a stated mission and purpose.
Now that I have defined this space, I can effectively share content that speaks to a particular reader.
As we grow this community, I want you to know that I am not a unicorn and that I share not because I think I know everything. Instead, I share because I want to encourage community around our commonalities.
June 2020 Online Income Report (+ TRAFFIC)
I am only reporting income that has actually been deposited into my bank account. This means all the money that I am showing you today was actually made in May and June 2020, but most of the programs I am making money from take around 30-90 days to deposit into your bank account.
Breakdown of July 2020 Online Income – $949.43
In July 2020, I made $949.43 online. Here is the breakdown on where exactly the money came from.
Affiliate Income – $42.92
* Amazon: $42.92
Merchandise – $50.98
* Gumroad: $12.84
* Spreadshirt: $38.18
Advertising – $812.14
* Google Adsense: $462.14
* Brands: $350
Services – $43.39
*Consults – $43.49
TOTAL: $949.43
The total above is before taxes, of which I save 15% from that total and have an amount deducted from my job paychecks to cover taxes as well.
In July, I spent $310.40 on products for an organization video and on a Pinterest course for a net profit of $639.03. However, I do plan to return a few of the organizational products I purchased to the tune of about $50.
July Online Blog & Youtube Stats
July Blog Traffic: 1,913
June Youtube subscribers: +818 (14,174 total)
June Youtube views: 102,500 (7,900 hours)
July Pinterest followers: 2
July Instagram followers : +97 (2,143)
What did I do in July to grow?
My Youtube following grew immensely in the month of June. I was inspired by the current social climate and the various movements geared toward buying black. That led me to create the Buy Black series.
I shared various hair care products from Black-owned businesses that I have used and loved throughout my natural hair journey. Also, changing my posting schedule to match when subscribers are on the platform has proven positive for increasing traffic to the channel.
Nothing could have prepared me for the reception of that series and in 7 days, my channel grew significantly.
After finishing the Pinterest course, I took time to work on SEO, monetization, and categorizing my blog. Then, I put the strategies from the Pinterest course into action.
I also moved my downloadable/printable products to the shop page of my website for easier navigation and to increase traffic.
In about a week and a half, my new Pinterest page is thriving and driving a bit of promising traffic to the blog.
My Plans for August
This month is all about consistency. I hope to post new pins to Pinterest every day and work on executing the Pinterest strategy that I know works.
I will continue to go through old blog posts to edit, create pins, and update the SEO.
Actively accepted me into their Influencer Marketplace, and there are a few promising opportunities. I will apply to a few this month, and hopefully secure a few deals for September.
Lastly, I re-launched my monthly Newsletter with an August challenge. Moving forward, I plan to send it out once a month.
How I plan to grow my online income in August:
- I want to make $1,000 in August. That means securing a sponsorship. Right now I have no prospects, so if I can make that happen, I will be grateful.
- Create a new haircare printable. I have a Youtube video idea that would pair well with a printable. If I can find the time to create the printable, then I will be able to drive traffic to the blog via the Youtube video I hope to post by the end of the month.
- Edit SEO on all old posts. I have a lot of great useful posts on this blog, but no one is able to find them. To get more traffic to the blog, my posts have to be search engine optimized (which helps google determine if my content is relevant to those searching for a particular topic). This is a time-consuming task, so I expect to continue this goal through August and maybe even September.
- Create Pinterest worthy graphics for old posts. In the short time since I began posting pins with the strategy I learned, my blog traffic has grown. Hopefully, posting new content daily will help me grow and will also help me identify which content people are most interested in reading more about.
- Promote my Youtube videos on Instagram and Pinterest: I haven’t done a good job of creating short promo videos for my Youtube posts. Nor have I spent much time Pinning my videos to increase traffic. This month I will create regular promos to hopefully boost traffic to the channel.
My overall goal is consistency
Now that I have a strategy in place, I need to consistently post on the blog to drive traffic.
With a few subscriber’s suggestions and brainstorming ideas, I have enough content ideas to post twice a week. Moving forward, I will publish new blog posts every Monday and Thursday at 7 am.
Also, now that I have Adsense up and running, I should make a few dollars off of the channel next month. More importantly, with regular content creation, hopefully my monthly page views will increase as well.
I know that was a lot of information, so if you have any questions or suggestions feel free to comment below or email me at alovefourme@gmail.com.
Thank you for sticking with me through my sporadic posting on this blog. You helped build this community, and as it grows, I hope you stick around. Is there any type of content you want to see more of on ALove4Me?
Did you miss my June Online Income Report? Check it out here.
