The Sunshine Suitcase is officially a month old after going live! Thank you to all my readers for making this possible. It’s been a crazy month. I can’t believe I’m already writing my first review and income report. This Month, I started this blog, spent a lot of time out on my boat and even got to meet one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Gilbert at Wanderlust Fest on Oahu.
Although it’s been a busy month, I’ve been trying to create a good work-life balance. Where I am able to create in a happy and mindful way while pursuing experiences that light up my soul.
It sounds corny, but it feels amazing. Living my life this way often allows me to effortlessly incorporate self-care into my life and has greatly improved my day to day life.
My monthly reviews on The Sunshine Suitcase will help to sum up how and what I’ve been doing in my personal and business life.
This Month I practiced self care by:
- Taking a Yoga Class
- Journaling Each Morning
- Attending Elizabeth Gilbert Immersion Workshop at Wanderlust Fest
- Increasing my time outdoors
- Skyping with an old friend
Top February Posts You May Have Missed:
- 30 Journal Prompts for Anxiety and Depression
- DIY Linen Spray with Essential Oils
- Guide to Self-Care
- Oahu on a Budget: Things to do for $5 or less
My First Sunshine Suitcase Month in Review
Learning how to blog isn’t always an easy journey. However, I’m taking the time to evaluate my goals and progress to help make this journey more trackable and easier to understand.
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.
My Goals and Income Report:
This Month I set some goals for the blog to help get it up and running. I hoped to get at least a few page views and to be able to get my social media accounts up and running with a few followers to start getting The Sunshine Suitcase out there. My expectations weren’t set very high, but I knew I would need some time to figure out how to gauge my success.
| Blog Goal | Goal | Reality |
| Blog Posts | ||
| Blog Page Views | 450 | 1,591 |
| Unique Users | 350 | 1,237 |
| Facebook Followers | ||
| Pinterest Followers | 15 | 47 |
| Instagram Followers | 100 | 115 |
| Pinterest Reach | 10,000 | 47,100 |
| Pinterest Group Boards | 5 | 7 |
| Guest Posts | 1 | 1- Shinesheets.com |
February was a great month for me to test the waters and evaluate my goals. Instagram, Pinterest, and Pageviews this month were all success for me. Facebook Followers and Content Creation were areas that I struggled with.
I was able to write a few high converting blog posts. My Guide to Self-Care was by far my highest viewed blog post this month and sent over 90% of the traffic to my site.
My Guest Post on Shinesheets.com helped to get a little traffic to my site along with Pinterest. Check out my post 15 Mindful Activities to Try When you Feel Anxious.
Blogging Lessions I learned:
- Quality Content is important. My longer posts with more information and links did much better.
- Focus on beefing up my current archives and adding more posts of quality.
- Go back and edit a few of my original posts to include more details and links to other posts on my site.
My Income Report-
Blog Monetization Income Report:
I didn’t expect to make any money at all during my first month of blogging. Signing up for affiliate programs was my first step, and I incorporated a few links into posts. I was very blessed to make money in my first month! A whole $10.24 from Revoffers.com.
Although $10 barely covers my weekly coffee habit, I am so very thankful to see some type of income during my first month as a blogger. My roommates and I celebrated when I made my first affiliate sale, we were so excited.
In the future, I hope to include a few ads as well as sponsorship to my blog income roster. I did apply to 2 ad companies Medianet and Google Adsense this month but was too new to qualify.
Great Beginner Influencer Marketing Networks :
- 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.
- 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.
- SocialPubli- This is a new network I joined. I haven’t made any money through them yet. So I can’t really attest to how easy they are to use.
Other Affiliates I work with as a new blogger are:
Bluehost- A very affordable way to host your blog from the getgo. It integrates effortlessly with WordPress to help make this blog happen. 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 big name companies like
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. I’ve 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. I’ve used this to help my anxiety, depression,
Tools I used to Grow my Blog in February:
Tailwind- I’ve 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 🙂
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. I’ve caught many small errors using this as a guide and it’s really helped me to improve my writing style.
Bluehost- You can’t 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.
March Goals:
On The Blog-
Focus on Content Building-
In March, I want to work on creating more quality blog posts. Creating a blog calendar of upcoming posts. Focusing on engagement on social media rather than frequency or
- Blog Posts: Add 8 more blog posts to thesunshinesuitcase.com
- Page Views: 3,000 with 2,700 Unique Visitors
- Email Subscribers: Create an Opt-In and get 25 Subscribers
- Guest Posts: Post 2 Guest Posts to Other Sites
- Facebook Followers: 40
- Pinterest Followers: 100
- Instagram Followers: 250
- Pinterest Reach: 75,000
- Pinterest Group Boards: 10 Total Group Boards
Personal March Goals-
- Read 3 books- First Up Is:
- Attend 2 exercise classes
- Get outside every day
- Get my October Wedding plans finalized
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 there’s anything you want me to include in my review and Income Report posts that weren’t covered in this months post.
What's on your mind?