Going into 2021, I decided to use all of the strategies I know and to give every effort to growing my online income for six months. After six months, I will evaluate, adjust, and move forward. As stated in my December Online Income Report, my big goal for the year is to make $2k/month online. Well, as you will see in my January 2021 Online Income Report, that goal may happen much sooner than expected.
At the end of the year, I put a lot of effort into creating quality content and connecting with my audience. This month I reaped the benefits of my hard work and set myself up for a good start to the year.
Last year, I also put an equal amount of time into educating myself on the platforms I use to share content. Paying for a few courses on blogging, making digital downloads, and learning more about social media algorithms has helped me significantly expand my strategy. My strategies for growth online are slow-paced, but I think with consistency, they will help me gain a truly engaged online tribe.
The point of sharing how I make money online is to demystify the process for others and to show the immense amount of work it takes to make income as a content creator. I am constantly learning and adjusting, but I hope that at some point I will be able to take a step back and enjoy the fruits of my labor.
2021 January 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 November and December 2020, because most of the programs I am making money from take around 30-90 days to deposit into my bank account.
Breakdown of January 2021 Online Income – $1,790.11
In January 2021, I made $1,790.11 online. Here is the breakdown of where exactly the money came from:
Affiliate Income – $288.44
*Amazon, Kazmaleje, Majiclinks, Shareasale
Merchandise – $321.44
*Printable’s, Mugs
Services: $443.39
*Sponsorships, Consultations
Google: $736.84
*YouTube & Blog
TOTAL: $1,790.11
The total above is before taxes, of which I save 15% from that total alongside an amount deducted from my job paychecks to cover taxes up to 20%. In January, minus subscriptions and expenses, my total profit for the month is $1,174.55.
January Online Blog & Youtube Stats
January Blog Traffic: 2,917 pageviews (1,985 sessions)
December Youtube subscribers: +589 (16,979 total)
December Youtube views: 90,100 (8,200 hours)
January Pinterest followers: +13 (35)
January Pinterest total audience: 73,700
January Instagram followers : +35 (2,440)
What did I do in January to grow my online income?
In January I finally re-organized this blog and flushed out the various categories within the top menu. Now, when people find a post, the suggested posts below will auto-populate more accurately based on other posts in the category. Thus, encouraging new readers to stay on my blog for longer periods of time.
My Pinterest views are now back to pre-Holiday numbers and directly correlates to the increased blog traffic for this month. I tried using old pins and the Canva templates to regularly create new pins, but buying a pin template subscription has made all the difference. Now, I can simply plug in my photo and title to pre-made templates each month, which speeds up the time it takes me to create new pins for posts every day.
The Pinterest algorithm likes new pins, so I create new pins for old posts every day. That is the main impetus for keeping my pins visible, so the investment is worth the time it saves. Lastly, I have been diligent about doing my SEO research before writing my blog posts and optimizing them after publishing so each post begins to rank in search.
I invested in a blog SEO course toward the end of last year, and what I learned is helping me create blog posts that appeal to a larger audience.
My plans for February
Now that the blog is organized, I will spend more time in February revisiting my most popular blog posts to improve search engine optimization. I do not plan to go back and fix all of my posts, just the top 10 according to my Google Analytics. Other than that, I will focus on marketing the blog.
This month I am focused on:
- Blog posts that rank: I will do research and re-work my top 10 blog posts to ensure they rank. This means keyword research, adding copy, and doing all the things that help posts that already receive traffic move up in search rankings.
- Marketing: I need to do a better job of sharing all new blog posts on my social media platforms. I commit to sharing new posts on Instagram stories and in the Youtube community tab when they go live.
- Seasonal content: One of the big drivers of traffic to blogs is seasonal posts. Valentine’s day is coming soon, so I plan to post a few relevant topics early on to hopefully gain traffic.
How I plan to grow my income in February
December 2020 was a great month due to the largest advertising spend of the year, consequently, January is typically a low revenue-generating month. Therefore, I do not expect as much delayed income to hit my accounts in February. In the month of February, I will grow my income by:
- Digital downloads: I will market my ebooks and printables every week on Pinterest to bring awareness to their availability and to convert sales.
- Services: A few brands have contacted me about creating digital downloads for their company, so this month I will follow up and turn that into a revenue stream.
- Pinterest: I see an increase in traffic when I take the time to pin every single day, so I will create a new pin for three different boards every day. Plus, I will interact more on the platform to drive traffic to my boards.
- Instagram: I am pouring more energy into daily Instagram content that caters to the algorithm. A few brands have reached out about 60-second promos, so growing my engagement will result in increased revenue over time.
My content is gaining traction
In January, more brands reached out to me than normal for my rate card and to talk about future collaborations. I was able to secure a small Instagram deal for February, and am on the radar of more brands. The frustrating part of content creation is the brands that want to send me products in exchange for a review. Earlier in my content creator journey, I may have taken brands up on that offer, but at this point, I will not.
I know these brands have at least $100 to pay me and I put a lot of effort into my content. My online income is steady because I refuse to shortchange myself. I would rather make content that resonates with me and my audience that results in very little ad revenue than to allow brands to take advantage of me via free content.
On the other hand, a new revenue stream has presented itself. A few brands have contracted me to create content for their brand use, including digital downloads and Instagram visuals. Though I know many content creators do the same, I had not thought of the idea for myself. I like this side of things because I can work on content for others at the same time as making my own, thus providing increased passive income over time.
The year is still young, and my hope is that by focusing on simply making content that resonates with my audience for six months, I will see a return on my investment over time.
Nonetheless, is there any type of content you would like to see more of on ALove4Me?
Did you miss my October online income report? Check it out here.
