This is my last income report for 2013. These reports illustrate the growth and income of this blog on a month to month basis. I also talk about what I have been working on with my other projects.
Please note that these reports do not detail income or expenditure from other projects such as Rise Forums and Adsense websites and discussion forums I own. Therefore, it does not represent my total income online. It does, however, detail any money I made through freelance blogging.
Traffic Statistics
As I expected, traffic dropped considerably during December. This was partly due to less posts being published during the Christmas period. Christmas is also the reason why traffic normally drops during December. With people spending the first three weeks shopping and the last week eating and drinking, they are spending less time reading blogs like this.
- Visits – 9,103 (-1,728)
- Unique Visits – 7,834 (-1,561)
- Pageviews – 28,017 (-4,498)
* Difference in traffic from previous month shown in brackets.
My Alexa rank increased again. Last month my global Alexa rank was 78,381. It currently stands at 69,895.
Readership & Social Media
This section details the rise and fall of my social media following. I am not someone who is active on social media websites, therefore these metrics are not a major concern to me. Still, I do recognise that these numbers should increase over time as this blog grows.
Who knows…if I had a bigger following, I would perhaps devote more time to a particular social media service. My Google+ following seems to be growing the fastest and from what many people say, it is one of the best ways of getting targeted traffic. What’s your opinion of Google+?
- Email Newsletter = 1,922 Subscribers (+10 subscribers)
- Facebook = 367 Followers (+13 Followers)
- Twitter = 1,994 Followers (No Change)
- Google+ = 661 Followers (+67 Followers)
- YouTube = 31 Subscribers (+1 Subscriber)
Income Details
Although freelancing income still makes up most of my total income, it is not a figure that I am overly concerned about. It goes up and down according to how active I have been seeking work. Less time freelancing means that I spent more time on my own projects; which usually means more income in the long term. Therefore, a reduced income from freelancing probably means that I have been working more on other things.
One good thing about December was my book income increased again. Book income for December is around $100 higher than it was two months ago. This is encouraging as I still have half a book to finish and several other books I have taken notes for. If I make the time to develop these books, I could have a good steady income from book sales by the end of the year. Books also raise the profile of myself and this blog.
In total I earned $2,068.99 in December. This is a rise of $980.15 from the previous month.
- Freelance Blogging = $1,640 (+$923.23)
- Consultation = None (No Change)
- My Books – $224.65 (+$55.11). This includes digital and printed book sales.
- Affiliate Income = $204.34 (-$8.19)
- Advertising Revenue = $0 (-$50)
* Difference in income from previous month show in brackets.
Overview
Considering I took a lot of time off in December, I am fairly pleased with the revenue I generated through this blog, my books and freelancing. There is, of course, a lot of room for me to improve.
From an income point of view, I need to find some time to develop the books I have in mind. Generating a good readership for this blog remains a priority too. I can do this in a number of ways including an increased posting frequency and publishing the high quality guides that I have planned. I could also focus more on Google+ for networking and YouTube videos for generating additional traffic. Nothing is set in stone as yet. I am going to sit down next week and decide what is the best route to follow.
I hope you all enjoyed this month’s income report. How did you perform last month?
Kevin