I know this as much as anyone. I’ve certainly been the “victim” of expecting too much of myself in the past (although the word “victim” is a misnomer, as the fault has usually been mine).
I knew that as I wrote down those bold claims, but I also knew that I needed a kick up the ass in October. And publicly-stated claims usually provide me with the extra dose of motivation that I so desperately needed after having spent the summer months working (and achieving) very little.
So with the month now over, one overriding question remains: did I follow up on my promise to move forwards with my projects with great speed and gusto? Read on to find out!
What Happened in October?
I started the month with the expectation that it would be one of wrapping things up: namely my much-delayed LWB re-launch and the launch of a brand new online freelance blogging course based upon my existing freelance writing guide.
With my writing business going so smoothly and requiring no more than an hour of my time on average per day, I certainly had the time to get a lot done. And upon reflection, I think I did pretty well.
I certainly wasn’t putting my nose to the grindstone and working all hours of the day and night, but then I don’t want to put myself in that position. What I do want to do is help more people and create greater and more diverse income streams. I have to work in order to do that (a concept I seemed to be lacking an understanding of through the summer).
Most notably, you guys finally saw the re-launch of Leaving Work Behind on 4th November – the result of hard work throughout October. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far and I am very happy with how things have gone. Although the re-launch hasn’t resulted an enormous spike in traffic and a huge influx of new subscribers (more of a hump), it has (I think) finally set a solid foundation in place upon which I can build something far greater than what already exists.
I’m especially happy with how quickly the community forums have sprung to life so far. If you haven’t registered yet then do so now and get involved!
Meanwhile, I didn’t launch my new freelance blogging course course (which will be called Paid to Blog), but I’m not worried about that – I didn’t want the two events to be too close anyway. Now that the smoke has cleared from the launch, I’ll be ready to move ahead with Paid to Blog soon.
With all that said, how did the month go in terms of the numbers?
Monthly Income Report – October 2013
- Freelance writing:
- Income: $7,698.35
- Expenditure: $2,037.15
- Profit: $5,661.20
- Websites:
- Income: $2.04
- Expenditure: $0
- Profit: $2.04
- Affiliate Marketing (Leaving Work Behind):
- Income: $1,555.98
- Start a Blog That Matters: $66.54
- Market Samurai: $71.52
- Amazon: $14.52
- TweetAdder: $96
- Westhost: $1,250
- Freshbooks: $14.96
- AWeber: $5.70
- Point Blank SEO: $30.49
- Freelance Writer’s Den: $6.25
- Expenditure: $688.56
- Profit: $867.42
- Income: $1,555.98
- Information Products:
- Income: $1,043
- Expenditure: $58.90
- Profit: $984.10
- eBooks:
- Income: $42.11
- Expenditure: $0
- Profit: $42.11
Total profit for October 2013: $7,556.86
After the huge nosedive that was September’s income report, I’m really delighted to see that things have bounced back so strongly.
But what is interesting is where the money has come from. It’s not that my affiliate or product sales have increased – they are as relatively steady as ever. No – it’s a big increase in my writing earnings that have been the cause October’s healthy uplift. In fact, my gross writing earnings in October were the highest ever.
You may be wondering how this came about. After all, over the past few months I have switched from a pure freelancing role to subcontracting work to writers and acting in an editorial role – making sure that the pieces they produce are suitable for clients and making changes where necessary. So how did I make over $7,500 gross in one month?
The answer is simple really: I secured a number of new clients in October. I can’t tell you why – it’s not like I went out in search of them – but I worked with five new clients in the month.
That’s the beauty of getting referrals through bylines and your blog: you don’t have to be actively in search of new clients for them to materialize. It only strengthens my firm belief that any freelance blogger who wants to elevate themselves must work hard on creating a quality blog.
Looking Forward (and Upward)
While the increased writing income is fantastic, it may well never be higher (I know I’ve said that before, but still…).
Ultimately, I do not want the writing to represent the core of my business. That is why I have poured so much time, energy and money into the re-launch of LWB. Without wanting to sound arrogant (which may be difficult in this case!), I look around me and I think I can help people far more than some other bloggers out there who are far better known than me. Clearly they’re marketing themselves better than I am, but in spite of that, I think what I have to offer is just as (if not more) valuable.
I have resolved myself to the fact that I can’t succeed only by trying to help people. I have to get to those people too, which means actively seeking to increase the reach of Leaving Work Behind (and Healthy Enough). I need to work as much on marketing my content as I do producing it, if not more. Otherwise, my blogs will never fulfill their potential. I’ll be working on that in the coming weeks.
What’s in Store for November?
Although there are now less than two months left in the year, I still have three big projects that I want to complete before 2014 rolls around:
- Launching Paid to Blog
- Launching my Leaving Work Behind book
- “Hard launching” Healthy Enough
I hope to launch Paid to Blog this month and make good progress on my other two goals. I hope that doing so will set December up nicely, enable me to see off 2013 in style and give me a great platform to build upon in 2014.
I feel like the whole year has been building up to these final two months and I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
Photo Credit: Images of Money