That’s A Wrap March 2017: How I Made My First $60 Blogging

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Hello! Welcome to the first installment of my That’s A Wrap series. This series will be posted each month as a way for me to reflect on the previous month and become transparent about my journey to improve my blog. The highlight for March 2017 is how I made $60 as a freelance writer and blogger. Let’s jump right in!

I’m so excited to report that my journey to improve my blog is going great. Last month, I posted updated stats for my blog and stated that I had begun taking my blog and freelance writing more seriously.

It has been scary, but fun. I absolutely love writing on the blog as well as for an online magazine as a freelance writer. It does get tough at times because I still work full-time outside of the home, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I am learning so much and growing as a person throughout this whole experience. Documenting this journey is a way to prove to myself that I can achieve anything as long as I work hard.

I hope these reports motivate and encourage you to follow your dreams as well.

What Happened In March 2017

I published four blog posts here and I wrote three blog posts as a freelance writer. The four posts published on The Kay Saga can be found here:

What have I learned?

  • Blogging is different – One thing that I learned last month is that making money as a blogger is different than any other “job” that I have held. You earn money one month and get paid 30-90 days later. I will only talk about money that I have actually received in these posts.
  • The nervousness doesn’t go away – I’m still pretty nervous about putting my stats in the open, but I know that I will get over this as I grow. My reason for doing this scared is because I know that other small bloggers are scared as well and I would like them to see that growth takes time. It’s hard to learn when you read income reports from big bloggers making $5,000 per month and you haven’t made your first dollar.
  • I love connecting with my readers – This month I finally started a newsletter for my subscribers to keep in touch with me and receive exclusive content. It’s called ‘The Saga Continues’ and we dig deeper into living a balanced life. Be sure to sign up if you would like the newsletter delivered to your inbox.

March 2017 Statistics

My goal for March 2017 was to post one post per week. I ended up with four posts. I do think I missed one week because March was so long, but I still consider this a win in my book.

The March posts did much better than my previous posts and I owe that to two things. Grammarly and The Elite Blog Academy were responsible for my great posts this month.

My posts are more focused and Grammarly checks each post for grammar mistakes. I am pleased with my posts for March.

Pageviews

My March 2017 page view goal was 700. I’m so happy to report that I received 1,265 page views and 571 unique views in March. I never expected my page views to increase the way that they did, but maybe they will continue to rise in April as well.

Email Subscribers

Previously I stated that I would focus on email subscribers later as I progress in my course. This is still true, but I did have five subscribers sign up for my newsletter on my website.

I was so surprised! My first newsletter ever went out in March and I loved writing it and engaging with the subscribers.

I also shared important information with them three days before I posted on social media. My subscribers loved the inside information so I will continue to do that in the future.

Social Media

My social media platforms have gained a bit of traction and I met my goal of 20 new subscribers on each platform.

Twitter: 60

Facebook: 20

Instagram: 50

Pinterest: 100

Revenue 

Affiliate Income: $11.99

Freelance Writing: $50

I made $61.99 in March 2017 as a freelance writer/blogger! This is a very small amount, but I am proud of my accomplishment.

This amount is a combination of payment for a sponsored post (freelance) and the Conquer Your Clutter bundle that was promoted in a few of my posts.

The money that I made this month was not a lot, but I am very proud of myself. This $61.99 means more to me than the money that I make from my day job because I know that I put myself out there and worked my butt off for it.

Expenses

Website Backups: $39

Education: $58.20

When I started the blog in July, I set money aside for expenses. I knew that I didn’t want to go into debt to keep the blog running so I’m happy to report that I paid cash for my expenses.

The blog exceeded my expectations for March. I know that it will only get better from here. I plan to use any money made from the blog to pay down my massive amount of student loan debt. With that being said, let’s move on to the debt section.

Debt Payoff for March

As I mentioned before, I plan to use money that I make from the blog to pay off student loans and other debt that I have. I think it is important to include this section in the wrap-up post each month.

Finances were pretty straight forward in March. I am paid the same amount each month at work so I’m not usually surprised much by my finances.

My debt payments totaled $538.56 for March 2017. This is a bit higher than I am used to, but hopefully, the payments will begin to increase from here as I make more money writing.

I haven’t put the money from my blog towards debt payments yet because I’m still building my business, but I’m so excited to do so when I gain traction.

Blog Goals For April

In April I plan on changing my theme. I am giving the blog a full makeover and I think it is going to be awesome! I also plan to go back and fix all of the broken links that occurred when I changed my permalink structure a few months ago.

As far as social media, I want to continue to receive at least 20 new subscribers to each platform in April. I think I can post at least five posts this month if I work hard.

My April goals are pretty challenging, but I feel confident that I can accomplish them. I’m not focusing on income as much in the beginning stages because I want to focus on my blog first.

It is important to me to have great content and engage with my readers. The money will come later. Let me know in the comments if you have a side hustle or a blog! I would love to follow your progress.

I’m so excited to report that my journey to improve my blog is going great. Last month, I posted updated stats for my blog and stated that I had begun taking my blog and freelance writing more seriously. The highlight for March 2017 is how I made my first $60 as a freelance writer and blogger.

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6 Comments

  1. Congrats on all of your success! I started a blog this past January and have been experiencing similar struggles and realizations as you. Blogging is not what I thought it was, but I am loving it!
    Excited to see how April went for you!

  2. I loved this! I’ve been nervous to post my first income report as well because it isn’t much. But I’m so proud of it because I worked hard to get it. Thankyou for sharing your story of a blog in the beginning stages 🙂

    1. I’m still nervous to put it out there, but we all start somewhere. I know how it is to be proud of making just a few cent! We just have to keep working hard and we will both get where we want to be 🙂

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