Any links to products on this page are not affiliate based – I do not get paid a commission if you buy any product that I recommend. If you would like to know why this is the case, check out my article: Why I Am NOT Trying To Make Money From This Blog.
I’d like to do things a little differently. First, most income reports from ‘make money online’ bloggers do not include expenditure, or if they do, the information is rather limited.
I would like to be more candid in revealing exactly how my business is operating. So, you will get the full monty. Besides, if these were just gross income reports, there would be very little to report at this point! 😉
Typically, these reports will be monthly. Because there has been so little to report in the way of income, I am bundling my first four months into one post. The format of the reports will probably change as my business develops, but now, you are simply getting a copy-and-paste from my Excel spreadsheets!
May 2011
There is very little to say about May – I only started my internet marketing efforts near to the end of the month. Modeling For Kids was launched on May 23rd, and I paid for the year’s hosting up front. I also bought a seven day trial subscription to The Best Spinner for article marketing.
June 2011
I went into full on ‘shiny object syndrome’ in June, using Fiverr on more than one occasion for pointless jobs that took me nowhere. Lesson learned there – maybe Fiverr is good for certain things, but more often than not, you’re going to get what you pay for. And $5 doesn’t tend to provide much value.
I paid £17.03 to sign up to the ViperChill VIP Forum (edit: now defunct), which turned out to be a waste of money, as the forum is very quiet indeed. I also experimented with stock photos, but decided in the end that Flickr photos used under the creative commons licence would suffice.
Some money was also spent on Modeling For Kids – I bought a couple of (pretty awful) books for research purposes. The quality (or lack thereof) of the books backed up my assertion that the niche was in dire need of a quality authority site.
I also invested a bit in Leaving Work Behind prior to the launch, buying an ‘under construction’ theme, as well as the Canvas theme from WooThemes (which I would heartily recommend). I also signed up to Aweber – just $1 for the first month.
June also saw my first AdSense earnings – an awesome £3.67!
July 2011
July saw some mystery expenditure, as well as more Fiverr jobs. I spent the month dabbling with AdSense (for the majority of the month, I did not have AdSense on my niche site), so earnings were very modest indeed.
August 2011
I signed up to Build My Rank this month, and to date it has been very effective. However, I have not even been using it for a month yet, so am not in a position to endorse it.
I also bought the Thesis theme for my Modeling For Kids site redesign. I have mixed feelings about the theme. I don’t think it is made clear that the theme is only for those with a pretty good understanding of CSS, HTML and PHP. It is extremely powerful, but only if you have the knowhow to take advantage. If you are looking for a turnkey theme, Thesis is definitely not it. I also was victim to a bug that I couldn’t shake off – so I had to completely reinstall the theme and design the site again from scratch. Not much fun.
My AdSense earnings increased about threefold, but again, there were not adverts live on my site at all times.
What’s In Store For September?
I am determined that September will mark the end of my shiny object syndrome issue. I have resolved to not buy any more eBooks or courses – there is plenty I can be doing to build upon my existing knowledge. Learn by doing, as I say!
I am hoping that September may be the first month that I turn a profit. A combination of not buying any more crap combined with a considerably higher income could make my wish come true. I am at the mercy of Google in terms of both my traffic and AdSense earnings, so we will have to wait and see!
Photo courtesy of Images Of Money
Kalyan says
Hey Tom,
Nicely presented, looking your report, we can see your income stream is picking up. Good luck with that.
I believe $1MBP should entice more traffic and revenue. I am surprised you haven’t monetized this site. Will your Million Dollar blog site be a different one?
Tom Ewer says
Hi Kalyan,
Thanks for your encouragement 🙂
I’m in no rush to monetize this site – gaining a decent following that recognises that I am not trying to sell them anything is far more important to me.
This will not be my $1MBP site (it can’t be a ‘make money online’ site). I’m not totally sure whether or not I am going to do one yet, but I have a good idea of what it will be if I do!
Cheers,
Tom
Peter says
Good Morning Tom,
As it’s about half past eight here in Sunny Florida on 9/11. I was wondering what you use Fiverr for?
Your comments on “That” theme were right on. I have no design experience so basically my sites looked like a whiteboard. Also, I kept getting hit with phishing attacks due to the whole Tim Thumb fiasco which of course they denied. All my sites were slapped heavy by Big G and I’ve now wasted a year and a half’s worth of work.
I’ll keep looking for your messages,
Peter
Tom Ewer says
Hi Peter,
I’ve used Fiverr for the following:
– Logo design
– Website intro videos
– Backlinking
– Mass article submission
The logo design wasn’t up to scratch (what do you expect for $5!), the videos weren’t great, and I don’t think the backlinking was worth doing. The mass article submission was okay (it was basically $5 to submit articles via Unique Article Wizard).
I’m really sorry to hear about your sites. Relying too much on Google’s traffic is always dangerous, as that rug can be snatched from underneath you at any time without warning.
Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂
All the best,
Tom
P.S. What’s your handicap? 😉
Kelly says
Hey Tom! Great post 🙂 I hope you can turn a profit in September as well! I too am suffering from shiny object syndrome. I know you can get over it!
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Kelly 🙂 Unfortunately, further to today’s niche site update, turning a profit this month looks very unlikely. Such is the life of an internet marketer!
Payt says
Hi Tom,
I found you on Twitter and now follow you.
I started my niche website/adsense adventure in May, so about the same time as you.
I have focused mainly on Adsense but got 2 sites taken down last month for trademark reasons.
Keep up the good work mate! My adsense earnings are slowly going up every month and I may start a website like this to document my progress!
Tom Ewer says
Hi Mike,
Sounds like a great idea – it’s certainly been a big help for me in terms of keeping me on track, and I hope it has been useful for others too! Let me know if you do decide to launch a site. Best of luck with your increasing earnings – let me know how you get on!
Cheers,
Tom
Jeremy @ Zero Passive Income says
Nice Income Report Tom! BTW found your site through Kelly Ng at http://www.mypassiveincomejourney.net
Tom Ewer says
Hi Jeremy! Glad you’re along for the ride, and thanks for the compliment. I’ve actually been reading your blog for a few months!
Jesus Ramirez says
Hey Tom,
Nice site you have here. I like your income reports! Nice to see what people are doing, and keeping it honest and down to earth. (Google +1 for that!)
In regards to the Thesis Theme, I know what you are saying, but it is very powerful, and you can look around online for copy and paste solutions. I think that it is worth the investment in learning the CSS/HTML/PHP aspect of it. It can be very useful.
I have some stuff on my page that is copy and paste, but I think I will add more. It seems that a lot of people feel like you do.
anyway keep up the good work!
PS
found your site through your comment on Social Triggers
Tom Ewer says
Hey Jesus,
Thanks for the compliments 🙂
I basically agree with everything you say about Thesis. Copy and pasting is possible to a pretty large extent, but for those who have little to no knowledge about CSS/HTML/PHP, it can still be pretty confusing.
I checked out your site – it looks great! Nice clean design, attention-grabbing headlines…consider me subscribed to your RSS feed!
All the best,
Tom