I went into the blogging for profit game with my eyes closed. I made many mistakes and learned many lessons. When I first got started I remember thinking - Oh, all you have to do is put some ads on your blog and you get rich, right? People are going to come to my blog and click on that one banner because boy, oh, boy laundry detergent sure is exciting!
Halfway into 2014 I realized I needed to step back and figure out what I was doing wrong and why there was no money coming in. After much research and hard work, I figured out what I needed to do to actually start marking money with this project. I applied everything I learned and things started to turn around for me so needless to say if I had done my research a little earlier in my blog-ventures these numbers would be a little higher, yeah?
Check out my Pinterest board Blogging Stuff for all the articles and blog posts that helped me out so much.
Halfway into 2014 I realized I needed to step back and figure out what I was doing wrong and why there was no money coming in. After much research and hard work, I figured out what I needed to do to actually start marking money with this project. I applied everything I learned and things started to turn around for me so needless to say if I had done my research a little earlier in my blog-ventures these numbers would be a little higher, yeah?
Check out my Pinterest board Blogging Stuff for all the articles and blog posts that helped me out so much.
Not only am I going to talk about what I made last year, I'm also going to talk about how I made the money and what I'm going to do to ensure that 2016 will be a more profitable for me. I hope my honest insight into the world of a new blogger will help you on your journey into the fantabulous world of blogging for profit.
▲ENJOY!▲
These Numbers are from when I launched my blog in December 2014 until December 2015
▲ QUICK SUMMARY ▲
Amazon - $128.09
Ebay - $59.82
Commission Junction - $0.71
Mom's Affiliate (now Socialix) - $120
Share-A-Sale - $175.64
Swagbucks - $5 (from referrals)
First Year "Income" = $489.26
▲ BREAKDOWN ▲
- Amazon -
I'm not exactly sure when I started focusing on Amazon as a money-maker for my blog but it has been one of my favorite programs to use so far. I have customized and generic ads on my side-bar and in most blog posts. At the end of every post I make sure to include a Native Shopping Ad that features products relevant to the post. Native Shopping Ads are customizable widgets that were introduced sometime in the middle of 2014. I also write posts featuring multiple Amazon products and sell many of the products I feature. At the beginning of every month commission rate goes down to 4% but the more you sell, the more this rate goes up but will only go up to 8.50%. With as little effort as it takes to sell Amazon products, you'll sell tons and the earnings really add up.
There are also flat bonus earnings for program sign-ups like Prime, Kindle and baby registry signups.
- How I've Increased my Earning Potential for 2016 -
I went back and placed Native Shopping Ads in almost all of my old posts and I make sure to include one in all new posts that I do.
Click HERE to sign up for the Amazon Affiliate program. (not a referral link)
- Ebay -
I joined the eBay program in April 2014. Earnings come from advertisement impressions, clicks and sales. Much like the Native Shopping Ads from Amazon, I have place customized ads on my blog and in some of my blog posts.
- How I've Increased my Earning Potential for 2016 -
I have added another customized ad to my side bar and increased the length of it to show more products. I also plan to discuss how I use eBay to save and make money.
Click HERE to join the eBay Partner Network. (not a referral link)
- Commission Junction -
I didn't join CJ until the end of last year so I haven't got to do much here yet. CJ is an affiliate marketplace where you can join up with businesses and earn money through sales and referrals.
You can sign up to work with large companies like Burt's Bees, Forever 21, Yahoo and more.
- How I've Increased my Earning Potential for 2016 -
I plan to join more programs and focus on getting to know the site a little better to explore money earning opportunities.
Click HERE to join Commission Junction. (not a referral link)
- Mom's Affiliate -
Mom's Affiliate was a great site but now it's called Socialix and it's not the same at all. With Mom's Aff all you had to do was join and apply to write blog posts for money about different products, sites and services. It was so easy to use and the earning opportunities were easy to come by.
- How I've Increased my Earning Potential for 2016 -
I'm not sure what I can do with Socialix. I've updated my info, but I can't figure out how to apply to write articles and I don't even think the site is really active anymore. Meh.
I'll be sure to update this section should anything change.
- Share-A-Sale -
- Share-A-Sale -
Like Commission Junction, Share-a-Sale is an affiliate program marketplace. I think the basics are rather easy to figure out but there are some features I'm totally clueless about. This doesn't seem to be affecting my earnings any though. The companies you join will sometimes send out emails informing you of bonuses you will receive for writing about a particular topic. Money also comes from ad placement and program referrals. Some big-name companies you can hook with are ModCloth, Gymboree, Zulily and more.
- How I've Increased my Earning Potential for 2016 -
Truth be told, there is a $100 sign-up bonus for SAS so if I can get more people to sign up using my link, I might be able to buy myself a new dress and some tacos.
Lots and lots of tacos.
Click HERE to join Share-A-Sale. (referral link)
- Swagbucks -
I mention Swagbucks on here because I wrote a post about it and I get a small portion of points earned by the new users who have signed up using the link I provided in the post. Check out the post here: What the Heck is SWAGBUCKS? Myths and Truths of earning FREE gift cards.
Referral earnings = blog earnings.
Swagbucks is a site that allows you to take surveys, explore websites, play games, etc. for points. You then redeem those points for gift cards. It's a totally legit site and now that I have a more time on my hands I've started back doing it and the referral bonuses are a nice little bump. The site has changed since I wrote that post and it's not as user friendly as it used to be but I figured it out after a couple of days.
Referral earnings = blog earnings.
Swagbucks is a site that allows you to take surveys, explore websites, play games, etc. for points. You then redeem those points for gift cards. It's a totally legit site and now that I have a more time on my hands I've started back doing it and the referral bonuses are a nice little bump. The site has changed since I wrote that post and it's not as user friendly as it used to be but I figured it out after a couple of days.
- How I've Increased my Earning Potential for 2016 -
I recently revamped the cover to my Swagbucks because I've shared the post many times. See, when a person sees the same image over and over it become very easy to overlook - it just doesn't catch the eye anymore. I also make sure to share the link to the post on social media at least twice a month.
Click HERE to join Swagbucks. (referral link)
- What's my overall plan for 2016? -
Thanks to Pinterest, my blog traffic has increased dramatically since last year. My posts are getting tons of attention and my Amazon earnings have gone up SO much. I've recently joined a couple of ad placement programs and I've applied to write for several popular networks - I'm Just waiting to hear back from them.
Thanks to Pinterest, my blog traffic has increased dramatically since last year. My posts are getting tons of attention and my Amazon earnings have gone up SO much. I've recently joined a couple of ad placement programs and I've applied to write for several popular networks - I'm Just waiting to hear back from them.
Hopefully when I do my next report, I'll have good news that I have made enough to retire!
Or at least made enough to you know, pay some bills...
Or at least made enough to you know, pay some bills...
