December Update And Income Report

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

I seriously cannot believe 2017 is here! The years fly when you have kids. Blogging and life have been a lot of fun and my December income report is by far my best income report I’ve done.

December was a lot of fun both personally and professionally. I’m sad the holidays are over but I am ready to start a new year.

I do love starting new things and the new year is a great way to begin a new chapter.

Favorites Of December

Holidays. I love love love the holidays. The lights, the decorations, and just the overall feeling you get from celebrating. This year was fun with Rion. He’s 20 months old and was really into his gifts! He didn’t quite understand unwrapping gifts, but once he got a glimpse of Thomas beneath some wrapping paper, he went hard at unwrapping those gifts. It was so fun!

End of 2016. I do love that feeling of the end of a year to start over.

Could Do Without

Weather. I mean, can we have winter already? I’m ready for a snow storm.

Cookies. I should have eaten about 500 less cookies than I actually did.

Not working out. I didn’t work out like I usually do. December was a bad month for fitness, weight loss, and anything to do with a healthy lifestyle.

More celebrity deaths. George Michael!? Carrie Fisher!? DEBBIE REYNOLDS? Fans need a break, universe!

Weight Loss Progress

:crickets:

I thought about it?

:more crickets:

I don’t know if I even did a weight loss check in for the month of December.

The good news is 2017 means a fresh start. I’ve got my gym clothes and sneakers to hit the gym today. It’s time I just start.

I might start the year by removing sugar from my diet, but this may send my Christmas cookie fueled body into complete shock. I may have to ease into that.

I’ll eventually do another Whole 30.

Blog Update and Income Report

December was such a fun month for the blog! I’ve been looking forward to sharing the Spit Up and Sit Ups income report because I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish.

I didn’t promote as much as I usually do because of the holidays. I am not sure if a lot of blogs did, but I’m really okay with that. Time spent with family is important and I needed to do that.

Followers

Facebook: 464 (+41%)

Pinterest: 4,050 (+32%)

Twitter: 4,904 (+17%)

Instagram: 803 (+42%)

Email Subscribers: 42 (+366%)

Views: 8,398 (-21%)

Views were down, but I’m not worried. My Christmas posts got a lot of traction in the first few weeks of December, but very much took a dive after. I think that’s to be expected. Not being able to promote my other content once I took vacation didn’t help, but still a good month.

I focused more on Instagram and Email Subscribers and those were my biggest increases. I had a few goals in mind for the end of the year for other social media networks and I didn’t hit them.

December Income Report

MavenX Sponsored Content: $50.64

If you’re a blogger, click my affiliate link and join the MavenX network! It’s free and a fun way to engage and share your favorite products with your readers.

Amazon Affiliates: $170.90 (Have not received)

Adsense: $11.71 (pays out at $100)

Total: $233.61

Blog Expenses

PO Box: $29 (For 3 months of service)

Boardbooster: $13 (Upgraded to the $10 package mid month)

MailChimp: $10

Total: $52

Net: $181.61

Wow! I had a great month with my gift guides for December and the affiliate income was great! Both my affiliate and Adsense will not pay out just yet, but I’ve decided going forward to include them in my income reports.

I definitely don’t expect January to be as good for affiliates given that everyone was doing a ton of shopping in December for the holidays. December was a fantastic month overall for my affiliate and sponsored links. My December income report was fantastic, and I can just keep on keeping on doing what I am doing.

Revisiting my December Goals:

5 Blogging Goals for December

1. Grow my email list. PASS
2. Pay more attention to Instagram. Try Harder
3. 15,000 Page Views. Not Even Close
4. Continue learning about SEO. PASS
5. Work on a social media strategy. Try Harder

5 Blogging Goals For January

1. Plan, plan, plan! Get a planner, start planning out the months. And stick to it.
2. Social Media Strategy. This goes hand in hand with planning but I need to do a better job at making my life easier and not more difficult
3. 12,000 page views.
4. Research legal on the business of blogging.
5. Email subscriber list. Continue to work on this list and get over 100 email subscribers!

If you’re looking to start your own mom blog check out my tutorial here! My “How To Start A Mom Blog” tutorial covers everything you’ll need to know to get you up and running in less than 15 minutes.

Read more about my disclaimer about affiliate marketing and sponsored posts here.

Additional affiliate resources

When I started my blog, I really had no idea where to go.  I turned to Find Your Tribe Online from Jen Snyder of Women Winning Online.  I found Facebook groups, Pinterest boards, and other bloggers in my niche easily.  We help each other, share posts, and support each other through the blogging process. It takes the guesswork out of finding where other bloggers are hanging out.

If you’re just starting out and looking into affiliate marketing, I highly recommend checking out Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing from Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents. This blogging course has taught me the best strategies for my blog in regards to affiliate marketing. Michelle earns over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing! Even if you’re a new blogger (like me!) I highly recommend taking this course.

Also, keep going. If you’re reading this and you’re struggling and wondering if it’s worth it to continue blogging, just keep swimming. It’s a new year. It’s up to you to make the changes and to put in the effort. For me, blogging is my second full time job, but it definitely doesn’t pay like one. Blogging isn’t easy and it’s definitely time consuming but oh so worth it. 2017 is my year!

2017 Goals

Money

I’d really really like to pay down my debt. Now that I am making money blogging, I know I can make even more online in my spare time. I have a tremendous student loan debt hovering over us. I’d really like to pay that down over the next five years if I can maintain both my full time job and full time blogging. It’s a lot of work, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

I’m not going to create a new series of posts, but I will update on my monthly progress to saving money and paying down my debt. I have a Mint account ready to go. What I am really looking forward to is not having that huge debt weighing on us as a family.

Weight Loss

I sound like a broken record at this point, but the only thing holding me back is me.

• Go to the gym three-five times a week.
• Plan my meals, especially lunches so I am not eating greasy to go food and not spending money I’d rather save.
• Monthly check ins on the second Friday of every month to hold myself accountable.

I’m super excited to get back in the swing of things in January. The only way to go from here is up!

Do you have any goals for January?