12 Month Blogging + Side Hustle Income Report
*Asterisks set out in this article relate to advertising and they indicate that the author receives a small share of sales through the related link.*
If you’re looking at starting a money blog of your own, I suggest starting one here on Siteground, for less than £3/month!*
I’ve officially made it to one year of blogging! It has been an amazing year, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been a year – I think because I didn’t really do anything with it in the first few months due to the fact that I had no clue what to do!
Because of the other jobs I had and Uni, I couldn’t dedicate much time to it – though slowly but surely I’ve made progress and also kept consistently posting once a week.
I’ve heard that posting more frequently will lead to increased page views – but I would rather keep it at one a week and keep my standard of writing up.
I’ve seen other new bloggers burn out quite quickly when they have tried to post a lot at the same time as maintaining jobs and family life – so I would recommend figuring out a schedule that you will be able to stick to each week.
I absolutely love blogging, and wish that I had started it sooner. I love writing – I always have, and to have a creative outlet is a lovely little escape for me.
If you are working from home, or struggling with anything, blogging can really help you feel as though you are not alone. I have had many people reach out to me asking for advice or letting me know that I have encouraged and helped them – and this means so much to me.
Before I started up the blog, I wondered if anyone would be interested in anything that I had to say. I didn’t know if they would, but I thought that I would do it anyway, because even if I helped one person who was feeling as lost as I had been, it would be worth it.
This blog has opened up my eyes to new money earning opportunities, it’s had me find some fab online friends, I paid off all of my debt, and I even got to film with a BBC TV show:
Unfortunately for me time-wise my 2 part time jobs, studying at University and my daughter come first, with my blog soaking up as much extra time as possible.
I’ve been doing this part time on top of all of this, but I’ve now only got one of my part time jobs – the evening job has gone which means that I will have my evenings free to work on the blog – which I am so happy about!
Of course I will also use my evenings for studying too and working on my other money making schemes.
April was especially bad for me for spending time on the blog, as I had a load of Uni work to do – it’s finishing for the year at the end of May so it’s a busy couple of months with it.
I hope that now I will have more spare time I will be able to spend more time on my blog getting it all up to scratch. I wish that I could work on it full time!
April was an interesting month for earning extra money, as I did not put much time at all into it (which makes me sad!) but I seemed to have done ok anyway:
BLOG
Sponsored Posts – £800
I don’t want to earn all of my blog income from sponsored posts, but there’s no doubt that this is a nice amount for a couple of articles which didn’t take me long to write.
I am very fussy about the sponsored posts that I take – I won’t take anything, and not for any amount of money either. Rest assured that any company I write about on here I will have thoroughly vetted and be interested in them myself.
You can find sponsored post opportunities either by having the company find you and contact you themselves (always flattering!) or you can reach out to them by searching for the company that you want to write about and finding their marketing/PR department for someone to speak to, to discuss a collaboration.
Affiliates – £207.84 approx
Blog Hosting* – £30
Blog Themes* – $62.03
Matched Betting* – £79.80
I also had some people sign up to YouGov surveys* through my link which earned me more points – I cashed out the £50 limit a few days ago.
Affiliates were sloooow in April – it’s been the worst month of the year so far. March was the best for some reason?
Affiliates are where I want to earn the majority of my blog income. Easier said than done though! I only recommend things through affiliate links that I personally use, so I don’t promote that many. Every link will be from something that I already write about that can help you earn or save money.
These are the blog posts that I published in April:
Focus On Cutting The Big Expenses, Not Just The Little Ones
How To Make Time To Make More Money
The Benefits of Investing Early
Mistakes That I Made Whilst Paying Off Debt
I Don’t Have a Pension…What Should I Do?
Ads – $13.90
Ads are something I am still not sure about. I don’t think that the ones I use are very intrusive, which is what I am after. I don’t make loads of money with them for this reason however.
Blog Expenses: Nothing this month. So far I have only paid for my hosting and my blog theme, which were purchased months ago.
Thought that I would share my Domain Authority as I shared it in my 6th month income report. Domain authority refers to the authority of your site – it goes off lots of different metrics such as how many other sites link to you, and the higher the better. For example the BBC have a DA of 100.
My DA has increased from 35 last time to 37 this time. Happily, this is good! Some people aren’t that bothered about DA, but companies generally ask for it if you want to work with them.
SIDE HUSTLES
LODGER – £500
I have mentioned before that I have a lodger, which really helps me out – I use part of the money to pay for my car insurance and petrol, so I don’t have to take this money out of my salary. I recommend getting a lodger if you have a spare room, because it is an easy source of income.
DOG BOARDING – £148.75
I have been doing dog boarding* for a few months now and really love it. My husband and daughter were bugging me to buy a dog for our family, but I said no because I don’t want to have such a big commitment and expense.
We all love dogs, so having the chance to make money looking after them but being able to hand them back was perfect for us! If this looks like a really random amount, it is because it’s after fees.
I was really busy with other stuff this month, so I didn’t book anything else in – which is the beauty of a flexible side hustle.
MATCHED BETTING – £23.94
Majorly slacked on this in April. Very disappointed in myself! I was so busy with work and Uni though, so a lot of other things had to drop. I am determined that in May though I will get back on it, as this is such a good way of earning extra money with little effort. Here’s my post about it* if you don’t know what it is!
Goals
Blog
My goals for the blog are to increase my page views first and foremost. I have been manually pinning over on Pinterest for a year now, so I think that it’s about time that I used a pinning scheduler – I tend to miss days here and there which is not good for the pageviews. My pageviews goal for May is to actually triple my views.
As I only work on the blog part time, I would love to increase the money that I earn from it so that I am able to spend more time on it.
My favourite social media platform is Instagram, so I am going to continue focusing there as I love the sense of community that is over there – come over and join in! I enjoy the Instagram stories feature, so I will try and make sure that I use this more if this is something that you enjoy too?
I set up a Facebook group called Frugal Food Shopping which is where you can come and share any tips and advice that you have for reducing your food shopping bill, as well as asking for advice if you are struggling.
I’m planning on setting up another Facebook group soon, so keep an eye out for that!
I’m going to work on other social media sites as well, so that I can make sure that all bases are covered.
I have a biiiiig To Do List full of stuff for my blog, which is mostly technical behind the scenes stuff that I won’t bore you with!
I need to focus on my email newsletter too – I have been trying to do this, and provide good content to those who are signed up – I try to make it a bit more personal so it’s like sharing emails with friends, as well as mentioning any relevant posts throughout. A good way of adding people to your mailing list is with content upgrades, which I will be doing more of.
Side Hustles
I have many, many goals for my side hustles. I love them, and I want more and more of them. I now have more time to do them, so I need to ensure that I use this time wisely.
My side hustles are:
I’m going to work on all of these more and hope to grow them – Uni finishes at the end of this month so I need to use this time before my daughter is off school for the summer holidays (July) to get as much done as possible!
I also have another blog in the works that I will be launching before the end of May. I’ve got the domain etc, just need to set it all up because I focused on getting the wedding hire website and social media up before this one (bear with me though, it’s not finished yet!).
All in all, I’m looking forward to stepping up my blogging game now that I have some more time, and I need to make sure that I don’t waste it! How are you getting on with your blogging and side income goals? Any tips for me?
Love reading these posts, I’ve always wanted to do one myself! Think they are a great way to motivate others! Well done!
You definitely should – let me know when you do and I’ll check it out 🙂 thank you!
Loved reading this, I find income reports so inspiring! You’ve done brilliantly in your first 12 months, well done you :).
Thanks Michelle 🙂
Congratulations! I’m one month in to blogging and your advice is very helpful, I will definitely be sticking around, thank you!
Thank you Mandy, and I hope it helps! 🙂
I am really trying at the moment to get my blogs up and running again and I love these kind of posts for showing me the kind of possibilities of making money. I have been blogger for 2 years but I’ve never really looked at it as a way to make money and eventually I would like to!
You definitely can – let me know if I can help in any way!
Congratulations on making it through your 1st year blogging AND earning money through it as well! We’re coming along with blogging. It’s been 2.5 months for us. Like you, we only post once per week. Sometimes we’ll post an extra day per week. But between me working some and my toddler staying home full-time with me (no daycare) and my husband works full-time… Even once a week can seem like a lot sometimes! But we’re going to push through.
Reading blog income reports are inspiring and encouraging at times because it shows us that it’s possible to earn an income through our blog, which we hope to start earning more one day.
Once a week definitely feels like a lot for me too! Because I’m so focused on making it really detailed.
I’m sure it won’t be long for you guys at all!
Love to read thes kind of post, I find always inspiration from them:D, you’ve done a great job!!!
Thank you!
Congratulations on a full year of blogging! We only find time to post once per week. It’s amazing how some people are able to post three to four times per week.
We haven’t tried to monetize our blog yet and probably will not for the foreseeable future. In regards to side hustles, I’m likely going to give (community) college teaching a try next year. Just one class per semester at night. I enjoyed reading through your side hustles… I’ve never heard of matched betting before!
Thank you! Some people post every day. I would go insane, lol. That sounds like a good idea!
Well done! I was inspired by you 6 months ago to start my little blog and I love it. Thank you.
Thank you Kerry and yay – love that!
Thank you for sharing. Your story is inspiring! Congrats on one year of logging!
Thank you Sarah!
Nice work! Early in my monetisation journey, so loving those figures! Shows the possibilities…
Thank you! Hope it helps 🙂
A great post. I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a while now and this is very inspiring! I don’t work at the moment but find it difficult to find the time to get one started and keep it going as I have an almost 3 year old and a 3 month old, on top of doing everyday tasks like shopping, housework etc. Hopefully I’ll have more time soon to start one. I’ve also just rediscovered Instagram and love following you and other bloggers on there.
Thank you Allison! I know how you feel, we are such busy mamas! Could you do it in the evening?
Great work on your first twelve months! I have a few months left before my anniversary but i doubt i’ll be doing as well as you.
I’ve just restarted match betting myself after a hiatus. hopefully we can both keep it up and make some cash.
Thank you! Aw not long! I am so bad with it. I get bored easily lol
I’ve just come across your blog and I love it! Love the layout and your style of writing – it’s so easy to read. Your blog has actaully inspired me to spend a little more time on my own personal blog!
Aw – thank you so much Toni!
Congrats on your first year of blogging! The first anniversary is a big deal 😀
I also love reading this kind of reports. It helps me stay motivated when it comes to my own blog and, to be totally honest, it’s nice seeing how others are actually doing! Great job so far! Few have the courage to try out so many things in such a short while 🙂
Aw thank you Adriana – that’s a really kind comment! I love income reports too, because I’m nosey though, ha! 🙂
Congrats on your first full year with the blog! Not a bad month at all and a very good goal set for next month. I would recommend spending a little time on twitter if you haven’t already. Seems like that social media platform just keeps getting bigger. I’m not a huge fan of it, but once I started using it more frequently, I did notice an increase in traffic. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! I’m not a huge fan of Twitter. I don’t find the interaction to be as good. But I will take your advice, thank you 🙂
Well done on your progress so far on your blog. Thanks for posting this article with all the great tips.
Thank you Cathy!
Love reading these, Francesca!
I have my mind set on dog boarding as well but my accommodation at this point doesn’t permit it.
Keep up the awesome job!
Thank you! Aw that’s a shame, definitely something that I would recommend getting into in the future.
Congratulations! My wife and I are in our first few weeks of blogging and everything that we’ve read about it says that making it through to the end of the first year is the toughest part of starting out, so it’s inspiring to see what you’ve achieved. Well done!
Yes you’re right – and I think the stats say that most people stop after 6 months of blogging? Keep at it! 🙂
Hi Francesca,
Congratulations on making it past your first year!!
Pleased to see you made it onto a BBC show too.
I love reading your income reports, they are so inspiring.
I’ll be starting my own money blog soon, still in the research stage and pre-writing at least 10 posts before launch.
I’ll be asking you for advice when it goes live, if that’s ok?
Thanks Leon! Yes of course, happy to help!
Congratulations on your blog birthday 😀 How wonderful to hear your success. Onwards and upwards! x
Thanks Sam 🙂