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YAY! Hands up if you made it through April in mostly one piece! And it just so happens it’s time for our April income report and blog review.
This month, was hard on me emotionally. I was terribly depressed and my anxiety was at an all-time high. Which greatly affected my business side of blog things. I wasn’t able to post nearly as much as I wanted.
I talked to my therapist about it and she recommended taking frequent breaks and going outside. She suggested that a change of scenery is often a great help to your focus. And I’m going to try to incorporate that more into my daily work routine to help me focus. So, I’m sharing those tips with you!
I had a sponsorship fall through, that I was really counting on. But, it taught me to just keep forging ahead. Even though it felt like rejection, I understand that things aren’t perfect all the time! I still count this month a win. Even just for the sheer feat of making it to the end of the month in one piece, mostly š
Sharing my goals, reality, and expectations with you will help me to keep track of my blog success. I also, hope that you will find value in learning about my hit and misses, as well as my blog income report down below.
Top April Posts You May Have Missed:
April Special Announcement!
I’m now on Twitter! Check me out @TSS_summer to follow my Twitter journey. (Any help using Twitter is much appreciated! Comment below and give me your tips! š
My Blog Goals and April Income Report:
This month my original goal was to work on building content and quality. However, I ended up putting most of my focus into participating in Facebook Groups for bloggers. It helped me to grow my following. But, was also very time-consuming.
| April 2019 Blog Goal | Goal | Reality |
| Blog Posts | 8 Written | |
| Blog Page Views | 2000 | |
| Unique Users | 1700 | |
| Facebook Followers | 40 | 111 |
| Pinterest Followers | 140 | 211 |
| Instagram Followers | 250 | |
| Pinterest Reach | 75,000 | |
| Pinterest Group Boards | 20 | 19 (so close!) |
| Guest Posts | 1 |
Wins: The
Negatives: Although I did great at building my social media followers this month, I didn’t do great with content creation. I put off taking photos and writing posts. And was very unfocused. It showed in my work. I’m glad that I have now regained focus and can hit the ground running again.
Blogging Lessons I learned in April:
- Sometimes the hardest tasks need to get done first! I often look for quick and easy satisfaction by completing small tasks and getting them out of the way. But, that is also a great way to procrastinate the important things.
- Growing a network of followers can be difficult, but ask for help and build a community with other bloggers to grow.
- Sponsorships aren’t always easy. And I need to work on more professional quality photos. I had a sponsorship fall through this month. It was both discouraging and a great motivator to work on my photography skills.
My April Income Report-
Blog Monetization April Income Report:
My April Income Report consists of money made from sponsored items and social media posts/reviews. Along with submitting possible collaborations to content creator apps. I made no money at all through my affiliate links. Which is okay. Sadly, traffic was low to the blog even though, I doubled my social media followers on Facebook and Pinterest.
In March, I made $67.47 blogging. This month I earned $11.10 in cash payments. I was also gifted and sponsored a few items with a retail value of $113.37. I have a few payments coming in during the month of May for work I completed this April as well, but I will add those into my income when I receive them.
My total compensation for April was $124.47, which is similar to last month. I hope to make $150 next month!
Collaborate with Me
I’m looking forward to more collaborations and hopefully sponsorships for The Sunshine Suitcase in the future. I would love to work with more eco-friendly, plus size and/or mental health related brands. If you can think of any brands that you think would be a good fit, comment below and let me know!
Influencer Marketing Networks I used to build my June Income:
- WeAre8- This app is an amazing asset to beginner influencers. The pay isn’t very high, but they have some great campaigns with growing brands. I’ve worked with Dunkin’ Donuts, Truman’s Cleaners, and Angie’s BoomChickaPop.
- Savings.com– This wonderful network is new on my list too. But what I love about them is that they allow me to share deals and savings with all of you. In addition to that, they offer many different types of income: giveaways sign ups, affiliates, and sponsorships.
- AmbassadHer- This influencer network has a lot of opportunities available especially in the wellness, lifestyle, beauty niches. I’ve participated in campaigns for Tonic Products, VitaCup, Benelife and more. The pay here usually includes a small bonus and you are reimbursed for the products you purchase. It often includes a portion where you write honest Amazon reviews about the product. Not all products require posting to social media. So far this is where I’ve made the majority of my blog income.
Affiliates I used to build my April Income Report
Bluehost- A very affordable way to host your blog from the getgo. It integrates effortlessly with WordPress. Self-hosting is the way to go if you want to make an income from your blog. Get a free domain and discount on hosting through my link here.
Shareasale.com– This affiliate network accepts new bloggers and connects you to big-name companies like Groupon, Grammarly, and Tailwind.
Viglink- A great way to monetize links to products already on your blog, as well as connect with
Rakuten Marketing- I just started using Rakuten Marketing. You do have to apply to each individual company you want to work with on this site, but it has a large database with lots of options.
Acorns– As a freelance blogger, it can be hard to plan for the future since my income can be pretty unpredictable. Acorns invest in my future in small amounts through round-ups or scheduled deposits. Iāve invested over $10,000 using their app. Recently they added Acorns Later, an IRA Program to help you invest in your future retirement.
Sign up for Acorns Using my link for a free towards your future
Nuleaf Naturals- They have killer CBD Oil tinctures that I love. Iāve used this to help my anxiety, depression, and migraines! Read more about my experience with CBD Oil here.
Tools I used to Grow my Blog in April:
Tailwind- Iāve used Tailwind to schedule both Pinterest and Instagram posts. This is a great way to automate your socials to help you focus more time on writing and creating. Their Tailwind Tribes is a great way to connect to other bloggers as well.
Pinterest- Working with Tailwind, I used Pinterest to post pins I created using Canva with links back to my site. Pinterest was responsible for over 90% of my traffic this month š
Grammarly- An awesome spellcheck and grammar helper, this app saves my life when I’m on a roll. They make suggestions in real time, which helps me to cut down on overall editing time.
Grammarly also tracks the number of words I check/write each week, which has helped me increase my productivity. Iāve caught many small errors using this as a guide and itās really helped me to improve my writing style.
Bluehost- You canāt have a website without hosting! Bluehost has helped me to get my blog up and running at a very affordable rate.
Canva– Canva photo editing and templates have helped me to create some gorgeous pins this month that have really helped me to get my blog out there on Pinterest.
May Blog Goals:
On The Blog-
Increase Overall Blog Worth-
In May, I want to revise my goal of turning out so many blog articles. I keep setting my sights on having 8 blog posts written each month
I will do this by writing fewer, longer and more specific posts. And tweaking a few of my older posts to rank better
May Blogging Goals-
- Blog Posts: Add 6 more blog posts to thesunshinesuitcase.com
- Page Views: 2,000
- Email Subscribers: Finish Habit Tracker Print Out Sheet and Advertise
- Guest Posts: Post 1 Guest Posts to another site
- Facebook Followers: 125
- Pinterest Followers: 225
- Instagram Followers: 250
- Pinterest Reach: 52k
- Pinterest Group Boards: 22 Total Group Boards
Thank you so much for being here in this space with me. I am truly stunned and appreciative that you are here to share in the Sunshine with me. Let me know if thereās anything you want me to include in my income report.
What's on your mind?