October 2017 Blog Transparency Report – $762 gross, $97 net

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Last month, I published the results of a crazy monthly blog income report survey.

The conclusion? Most bloggers enjoy income reports and find them useful…

However…There was a caveat.

The reports needed to be detailed. They need more than “How I made $110,000 last month through Bluehost affiliate links!!1!”

Bloggers don’t get value from that, and many even reported feeling discouraged by seeing other bloggers making solid money.

Discouraged. From reading a monthly income report.

Obviously something we should avoid at all cost.

BLUEHOST BLUEHOST BLUEHOST

There. It’s out of my system.

Henceforth, my blog income reports shall be renamed to Blog Transparency Reports.

Reader Monica sent me a heartwarming email after last month’s report:

Done and done Monica

I may or may not have teared up. Monica, you are greatly appreciated, and I’m listening.

The DYEB Transparency reports will include…

  • Revenues. Huge huge revenues (jokes)
  • Where those revenues came from.
  • Expenses.
  • Where those expenses came from and why they’re important.
  • 3 monthly goals – Did I hit or miss?
  • NEXT month’s 3 goals
  • What worked throughout the month
  • What didn’t work
  • A “focus” for next month, and why it matters to the business.

Is that detailed enough? Enough intro-ing. Let’s dig in.

Pinning is caring. Or something?

October 2017 – What happened?

I didn’t do any marketing. I didn’t launch the giveaway. I didn’t really promote any podcasts.

This has been my first month without growth.

It’s scary and a little frustrating, but there are two important things to remember:

  1. I didn’t try lol (I really only hit publish and attended FinCon)
  2. It still felt like a great month.

It really did. I loved the content I put out, and had an extraordinary time at FinCon (read my takeaways here. They’re good)

Do You Even Blog Income and Expense report

Revenues

This is a point of controversy.

Should my blog marketing clients be included in my own income reports?

Everyone else includes this stuff in their reports…but I’m hesitant.

I would NOT have these gigs if it were not for DYEB, and the work itself is actually blogging. That’s why I’m choosing to include it. I wouldn’t have these clients outside of my own blog/podcast.

Other than that, I didn’t do ANYTHING for October.

I didn’t push any affiliates. I didn’t launch anything. I didn’t ask for sponsorships. I didn’t really do anything.

Kinda weird to think about…as I felt like I worked the entire month and had fun.

What gives?

Expenses

In addition to Gumroad and ConvertKit (my bread and butter), I’m choosing to include FinCon in my expense report.

I’d wager I’m the ONLY blogger currently including this in my report.

So neener.

This look like a huge amount, but includes just about everything. Flights, FinCon tickets, lodging, Ubers and Lyfts, beers, food, and more.

Next month, expect to see Facebook Ad expenses here 🙂 🙂 (I’m taking Monica Louie’s course. It’s amazing so far)

3 Goals for last month (w/ emails as a focus)

  • Income – $1,000 – FAIL ($762.25)
  • Traffic – 4,000 views – FAIL (3,723)
  • Emails – 750 total subs – FAIL (477)

3 Goals for next month

  • Income – $2,000
  • Traffic – 4,000 views
  • Emails – 750 total subs

Podcast Downloads: 2,029

Stagnated. I didn’t market anything lol.

No marketing? No growth…

What worked this month?

FinCon.

I don’t care how much it cost, it’s going to be worth it in the long-run. (And it was an entertainment expense, as I had a blast). I’d spend that money again in a heartbeat.

Other than that, I didn’t get to my marketing strategies this month, hence all the fails.

I wasn’t able to get my giveaway launched in time (which was supposed to hit the traffic and email subs.) I never did reach out for podcast sponsors. All I did was content, which is the sole purpose of DYEB anyways.

I published…

We produced game-changing content this month (in my super not-so-humble and completely bias opinion), but really didn’t focus on marketing goals.

What didn’t work?

Marketing.

I didn’t do any of it.

I completely slacked, then went to FinCon…without even attempting my marketing strategies. Hence few email subs (just organic growth, which I’m still pleased with), average traffic and podcast downloads, and not much revenues.

Question: Should I be frustrated?

I can’t complain. I had a great month with FinCon and producing content…but the business stagnated. Growth stagnated.

Today I’m struggling with the “balance question.” Should I devote more time to marketing efforts, which will come with a loss of content output (and possibly quality?)

  1. Where’s the balance between content and marketing?
  2. What will provide the biggest ROI in the long-term?
  3. What will provide enough revenues to sustain myself in the short-term?

These are questions for November.

The theme and focus for November

I’m about to break my “one-goal” rule this month. I’m going to have two focuses.

  1. Email subs to 750
  2. Revenues to $2,000

The reason? I already have a plan for the email subs.

I’m launching the massive giveaway next week (early November), and will be pushing hard with content upgrades for every piece of content this month.

Now for the money…

I’ve got plans.

Big hairy audacious plans.

I’m not precisely sure what it’ll be called, but DYEB has another “product” launching January 1, 2018, which I’m confident will be extremely valuable for bloggers.

I learned a TON with the 30-day challenge (a lot of what NOT to do in the future), and I’ve got something in mind I think bloggers in the 0-24 month range will really enjoy.

But what about November? Black Friday.

It’s the easiest marketing “date” in the U.S.

When you hear early access to the DYEB product will ONLY be available on Black Friday 2017, you already know exactly when that is. Day after Thanksgiving.

We already associate that day with spending money (or if you’re like me, NOT spending a dime and watching football with family), but it’s a great day for marketers everywhere.

So I’m opening up a pre-sale access Black Friday only.

It’s gonna be fun, if nothing else 🙂

Question: What did I leave out of this report? Anything else you’d like inside info on?

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