November Blog Income Report: How I Made $5,532.13 Blogging (2024)

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If you’re new to Finsavvy Panda blog, you may be wondering what this blog income is about and why I publish these reports.

I started this blog income report series to keep track of my beginning journey and to show you that making money online by using Pinterest and earning a full-time income online from homeis possible.

It’s my way to have fun testing, experimenting, and sharing with you what worked and what didn’t work.

My blog income reports are a true reflection of the journey and progress of a brand new blogger, me, who started with no experience with using Pinterest, any social media platform, or blogging – you’ll know that I’m not lying or exaggerating when you read through my blogging archive. I’m a very emotional and highly sensitive person so I wrote things that truly reflect how I felt and what I did as a beginner.

UPDATE: I’ve been blogging for nearly six years, and during that time, I reached my milestone of earning over 1 million dollars online, solely from blogging. You can also read my separate post and learn how you can become a full-time income blogger.

Here is the progress of how much money I made when I was still a beginner:

• How I made my first $100 blogging – including the lessons I learned 5 years into my blogging journey
• July blog income report: $703.57
• August blog income report: $2,797.64
• September blog income report: $4,509.50
• October blog income report: $4,798.01
• November blog income report: $5,532.13
• December blog income report: $6,840.01
• January blog income report: $6,790.93
• February blog income report: $7,498.94
• How I became a full-time blogger earning $120,000 per year
• One year later: How I made over $20,000 per month blogging
• Using Pinterest for blogging: How I made over $200,000 in a year with my blog

I started this blog to share with my readers my journey from living paycheck to paycheck in a low-income family, to growing my income and saving my first $100,000 by my mid-20s, and eventually building a million-dollar net worth by age 33, all while earning extra money and generating income from this blog.

I know personal finance and money is a struggle for many people, so I share my struggles and stories here on this personal blog to show how I made extra money on the side of my 9-5 job. This extra income allowed me to save more for vacations, experiences, retirement, and the things I value in life.

I also won’t hide the fact that I started a blog because I thought it would be nice to earn extra money doing something that’s fun, new, and exciting.

I told myself that it’s SO cheap to get started, and if it doesn’t work out, then so be it. At least I know I tried it without investing a lot of money.

You can learn more about how to start a money-making blog for beginners here in my easy step-by-step tutorial!

To be honest with you, I didn’t even know what “making money online” meant and the term “blogging” really caught me off guard because the last thing I thought I’d ever do was draft blog posts.

After I learned that you DON’T have to be a good writer and that you actually DON’T have to draft a blog post every day or week to earn a full-time living with a blog, I signed up on a whim!

I had absolutely NO experience in writing, marketing, tech (I’m still horrible at this stuff), and everything related to starting a blog. BUT I was willing to take initiative and invest my time in learning the strategies of what makes a blog profitable.

I really surprised myself and didn’t think I’d quit my job after making progress with the blog you’re reading now.

A quick update: As a brand new blogger, I started with $0 to making my first $100 blogging in a few months. After six months, I made my first $1,000; and within my first year of blogging, I exceeded my goal of earning $5,000 per month. Eventually, in a little over 2 years, I was able to earn over $100,000 a year with this small and personal blog, which surprised me!

I’m very happy with my blogging progress and I would love to help beginners like you!

How to start a profitable blog: Many readers e-mailed me and asked me what I did to get the results I get. To help you, I created this FREE 7-day e-mail course that teaches you how to start your blog without having to be an expert at what you blog about. There has been a lot of positive feedback from many readers so I highly encourage you to join my free course if you want to learn how to start a blog and make money.

UPDATE: You can also check out my brutally honest blogging and life lessons I’ve learned over the past few years of starting this blog along with how I made $27,689.76 in my most recent blog income report.

November Blog Income Report

Welcome to my November Blog Income Report!

This November marks my official 1-yearBlogiversary!

I had actually signed up for this blog near the end of July but didn’t do much to it. I wrote some posts (just like a diary) but ended up deleting most of them because I never had the courage to come out of my shell. So, I stopped thinking about this blog for a few months and was prepared for it to shut down on its own one day.

Say goodbye to the possibility of making money with a blog…

Out of the blue in October, I decided to give it another shot! I didn’t want this blog to go to waste without trying at least.

So, I wrote a few posts here and there, BUT AGAIN, I was afraid of going public and what people would think of me. With so much fear holding me back, I didn’t know what to do with this blog. Should I just let it go?I was so lost. My mind was almost set on giving up again… 🙁

In November, I decided to really give it a go!This time,I was serious about making a commitment!I said… screw what other people think! I wrote some real content, signed up for a Pinterest account, connected with a few like-minded bloggers, and learned A TON about blogging along the way! Finsavvy Panda was born! 🙂

When I first created my Pinterest account in November…

So, after hearing my story, I want to start off by saying the same thing I said a few months ago:

For those of you who are nervous about starting a blog, or you started a blog but you’re making less than $100, please don’t feel discouraged. I was in the exact same position as you not very long ago! Just keep at it and focus on learning because you won’t know when you’ll start seeing results. The secret to seeing results is not giving up!Please head over to my July blog income report where I made $703.57. I will tell you that I was making ~$0 and struggling for many months in my blogging journey!

UPDATE: Because I truly understand the struggle of a brand new blogger, I listened to my readers and created this affordable ebook, The Treasure Map To Blogging Success in 30 Days, to help beginners start and set up their blogs the RIGHT way from the beginning to the end. And YES, there is a proper way of doing this to avoid costly mistakes that are hard to undo. I am guilty of making these mistakes! Not only does this ebook teach you how to PROPERLY set up your blog, but it also provides a profitable roadmap to help beginners understand how blogs really make money!

I want this blog income report to be as real and authentic as possible. I’ve put a lot of hours into this blog and most of those hours are spent tweaking older posts to see what affiliate marketing strategy works. That also includes making new pins for Pinterest so that I can promote them. As you can see, I DON’T spend most of my time writing new blog posts…

via GIPHY

I also want to point out that both my daily traffic and earnings have been quite volatile so I can’t predict what will happen next (that’s why it’s important to diversify both your traffic and income sources).

For example, I had a lot of last-minute affiliate earnings that came in during Black Friday, which caused my blog income to increase by roughly ~$500+ out of the ordinary. This blogging journey continues to be a crazy roller coaster ride and I want you to be aware of that!

I’m constantly asking myself whether I can even make $2,000 to 3,000 in the next month. My fiancé tells me that he’ll be happy for me regardless of what happens (he doesn’t want me to feel any pressure)! Plus, he’s REALLY surprised that this blog has been making over $4,000 per month since September! He even gives me the confused“W.T.F… are you effing serious” look when he sees money coming into my bank account from Mediavine and affiliate programs!

I’m not trying to self-handicap myself, but I am just telling the truth and how I really feel… I honestly HONESTLY don’t know where or how far this blog will go, but I’ll continue to put in my best efforts in the months ahead! This is my way to tell you guys to not give up regardless of where you are in your blogging journey!

Just like you, I saw ALMOST NO results at the beginning for many months!

Well, just keep swimming, Dory…

via GIPHY

I’ve been thinking about whether or not I should put these income reports on a hold because 1) I am afraid of coming off as bragging or lying (or even both) and 2) it takes me a while to prepare them.

On top of that, I’m actually starting to feel that my income reports are coming off as another “How I made blah blah blah blogging…” because my numbers don’t look very realistic for beginners or those who have been struggling to make their first $100 to $1,000 after many months.

I really want to help beginners and those who just aren’t seeing any results with their blogs. With that said, I may stop my blog income reports and come up with more helpful posts that will guide you in making your first $100 or $1,000 blogging.

If you’re new and have been wanting to start a profitable blog but just not sure where to start, you can sign up for my FREE 7-day e-mail blog course here!

I want to show others that IT IS POSSIBLE to build a blog and earn extra money on top of their full-time jobs. This includes helping stay-at-home parents who are seeking work-from-home jobs!

Just like you, I was REALLY skeptical about the idea of working from home and making money online over a year ago. But after seeing other bloggers’ income reports and testing them myself, I realized that it is possible!

Start your blog for cheap today!

You too can start a money-making blog today with the same hosting company that I use.

You can start your blog for cheaphere with my easy step-by-step tutorial. There’s also a low-pricing offer exclusive to through my tutorial when you sign up. On top of getting the low price deal, you’ll receive a free website domain name for the first year (a $15 value) when you purchase, at least, 12 months of blog hosting when you use my tutorial to sign up!

My blogging progress as a beginner with no experience:

• Updated Blogger Income Report: $22,343.23
• How To Become A Full-Time Blogger and Earn $120,000 Per Year
• February Blog Income Report: $7,498.94
• January Blog Income Report: $6,790.93
• December Blog Income Report: $6,840.01
• November Blog Income Report: $5,532.13
• October Blog Income Report: $4,798.01
• September Blog Income Report: $4,509.50
• August Blog Income Report: $2,797.64
• July Blog Income Report: $703.57

I also want to say thank you SO much to those who support me through my affiliate links. Although most of my income doesn’t come from blogging-related content, it still helps keep this blog running! So really, THANK YOU! 😊

Now, before we dive into my blog income and traffic results, let’s talk about what happened in November along with the things I learned which may be extremely helpful to you as well…

My Affiliate Marketing Results:

If you’ve been following my blog income reports, you’ll know that I’m always learning how to make money with affiliate marketing.

I also mention how investing in this affiliate marketing resource has been a total game-changer for this blog — without it, I don’t think I would’ve been able to grow my income to this level.

Believe it or not, I still haven’t implemented all of her strategies because there is a lot to do and it will take some time. You can actually skim through her course within a day, but to ACTUALLY follow and implement ALL of her strategies WILL TAKE SOME TIME!

My blog income results (both from affiliate marketing and advertising display) after implementing some affiliate marketing strategies:

Michelle’s Private Facebook Group (FREE Bonus):

This is great for people who want to learn how to make money with affiliate marketing.

I FINALLY joined her Private Facebook Group that’s exclusive to Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing students. I know, it’s been over 7 months… like seriously, where have I been? I guess I’m not really a Facebook type of person LOL! But surprisingly, I still managed to learn A LOT just by reading the feeds within her Private Facebook Group!

For example, Michelle has days where she would ask people to post their blogs so that others can give constructive feedback. Of course, you would have to critique others as well if you choose to post your blog in the group. Even when I’m not participating (I am quite shy), I’m still able to learn A LOT from reading other people’s feedback.

There was a time I read one person critiquing someone else’s blog where they said the person’s blog or banner looked “VERY AMATEURISH” along with a quick paragraph of actionable tips.This really got me thinking about my own blog and I thought… “YIKES! Does my blog look AMATEURISH?? I should probably change my theme and design soon!”

YES, those words may sound harsh but we need some tough love if we want to improve our blogs!

With that said, Michelle’s Private Facebook Group is a great resource to get tips on how you can improve your blog! It’s not one of those “I’m going to be nice so I’m just going to say you have a great post and a great blog.” This is REAL constructive feedback to help you step up your game! And yes, this group is really active so people in there are VERY likely to answer you (including some very established bloggers)!

Again, I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook, but I usually scroll through the comments in Michelle’s group during my downtime. This helps me gain access to valuable blogging and affiliate marketing tips without wasting time on social media!

Overall, I really do think Michelle’s Private Facebook Group is an excellent bonus! And YES, it is FREE to join (plus comes with other high-quality bonuses) when you purchase her affiliate marketing course.

I also have an honest review of Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing here for you to learn more.

Google SEO and Pinterest:

I mentioned in my last income report that I’ve been talking about investing my time in learning SEO to improve my Google traffic.

I won’t lie.

I actually had a lot of distractions last month. This includes updating and making pins for my holiday posts, so I didn’t focus on Google SEO as much as I thought I would. I couldn’t help myself but I was freaking out about the upcoming holidays!

On top of that, I spent a lot of timecreating my FREE 7-day e-mail blog course for beginners.

Fortunately, I was still able to squeeze in some time to optimize a few of my blog posts for Google SEO near the last two weeks of November. One thing I REALLY regret is not paying attention to Google SEO when I first started blogging, but obviously, everything seems crystal clear in hindsight. When you really put yourself in the shoes of someone who is a true beginner, it’s not easy to realize these mistakes especially when there’s so much for new bloggers to take in.

I was aware that I should focus on Google but I didn’t. Not because I didn’t want to, but because it was hard for me to focus on too many things at once.

For example, I spent most of my time learning how to use Pinterest when I was new to blogging, which was definitely worth every second of my time! Seriously, Pinterest is a lot easier to get traffic from than Google when your blog is brand new! I was able to increase my blog traffic from ~18,000 to now over 90,000 monthly page views just by spending my time learning how to use Pinterest to promote my blog.

Up until today, I still use Pinterest to get a chunk of my traffic!

I’m so happy I invested my time in learning how to use Pinterest for traffic! It’s one of the reasons why I’m able to make over $1,300 USD every month from ads alone!

Here are my results after diving my head into learning how to drive traffic using some Pinterest strategies.

Now that it looks like I’m getting steady traffic from Pinterest (KNOCKING ON WOOD), I’ll be focusing most of my efforts on Google!

I also mentioned in my last blog income report that after learning some Google SEO concepts, I was able to rank from page 8 to page 3 for one of my posts. Now, I’m seeing that I’m ranking on page 1 for lower competition keywords. I’m not sure how long it will last, but hopefully, I’ll be able to hold my spot! I am actually starting to see some organic traffic coming from that post! 🙈

UPDATE: After using Pinterest for so many years, I finally created a free 7-day email course, Skyrocket Your Pinterest Traffic in 7 Days with Finsavvy Panda. If you’re either new to Pinterest, or a blogger who wants to increase their Pinterest traffic, then I recommend enrolling in my free Pinterest traffic course!

My blog traffic report:

It looks like my traffic increased to 97,443 page views (75,541 sessions) for the month, which I didn’t realize until I logged on to check (see screenshot below)!

Checking less of my Google Analytics!

Once you become more focused on other areas of your blog that generate a higher return on investment (ROI), you won’t have time to constantly check your traffic.

I admit that when I first started blogging, I was constantly looking at my Google Analytics. I knew that I shouldn’t be, but I couldn’t help it! TRUST ME, I KNOW HOW IT FEELS! It’s like having OCD and you just can’t stop no matter how hard you try!

But now that I am focused on creating evergreen content, pins, courses, printables, optimizing my older posts for Google SEO, etc., I couldn’t be bothered with checking my traffic as often. Doing this has definitely helped me a lot with focusing on things that actually matter. On top of that, I’m able to give myself some peace… finally…

(Okay, I still check once a day, or once every two days… better than 10 times a day??)

After blogging for over a year, I learned that traffic doesn’t mean anything if you’re not able to convert your readers. This is not to say that high page views don’t matter. They do!

My next step is to learn how to convert my readers better!

Important lesson: My mindset has shifted to thinking in terms of“revenue per page view” rather than just “page views” itself! This is definitely something that I’m trying to improve on going forward.

Okay, I know you’ve been waiting to check these numbers out. So, let’s take a look at my blog income for this month.

November Blog Income

In November, I earned $5,532.13. Please note that this is in Canadian dollars before any expenses or fees.Payouts are before any expenses and occur 30-60 days.

Affiliate income – $3,304.33

• Money-saving resources (Checkout 51, Ebates, $5 Meal Plan, survey companies, etc.) – $2,153
• Amazon – $52.31
• Blue Host – $510 USD ($652.80 CAD)
• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing – $229.60 USD ($293.89 CAD)
• Tailwind – $15 USD (19.20 CAD)
• Pinterest ebook – $133.13

Here are a few screenshots for proof…

Total display advertising – $2,227.80

Mediavine – $1,740.47 USD (~$2,227.80 CAD)

Total blog income = $5,532.13

Blog Expenses:

I think it’s important to invest money back into your blog if you’re serious about making money from it.

With that said, I decided to purchase a set of stock photos for my Pins last month. Up until now, I’ve been using free stock photos, which is totally fine, but I wanted to see what impact paid stock photos will have on my blog.

They were running a sale where you could grab 100 stock photos for $49 USD (~$66 CAD). I hear that a lot of bloggers stock up when this deal is on, so I decided to give it a try!

Oh BTW, if you’re wondering… I’m still on my free trial with ConvertKit, so $0 expense for now. 🙂

I was able to get a FREE 2-month trial because it came as a bonus when I purchased the Genius Bloggers’ Toolkit last month.

You can read my last month’s blog income report for a review of the toolkit — I really do believe it will bring new and intermediate bloggers a TON of value at a really great price (definitely not exaggerating)!

Blog income after expenses = $5,466.13

Thank you for reading this far. I really hope you learned something new today!

Before you bounce, I would like to leave you with some freebies that can help beginners grow their blogs. They are the awesome stuff that I used when I first started as well!

Dig in! 🙂

Free Blogging Resources to Boost Your Blog Income

1. Join the Amazon Affiliate program – You can promote any product you like from Amazon for FREE. But, of course, promote only the products that will help your audience in your targeted niche.

2. Join these free affiliate networks to increase your blog income – Once you get accepted, you can apply for different companies that you want to work with and promote them on your blog.

• Awin
• ShareASale
• MaxBounty
• FlexOffers

3. Tailwind – This Pinterest scheduler app has changed my life! I don’t pin manually as much anymore and it has saved me SO MUCH time! I’ve only been using Tailwind for many months and I see a huge improvement in my traffic! The app has some limitations and it’s not perfect, but it sure saves a ton of time because you can schedule your pins to pin throughout the day! Plus, it’s the only pinning scheduler available that most bloggers use. You can get a FREE one-month trial plus a $15 credit with Tailwind by using my link here.

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too many blogging resources because I believe in quality over quantity. I’ve been blocking a lot of noise and just focusing on a few resources for help. As a result, all of this has helped me generate some blog income outside of my full-time job. It hasn’t been easy and it won’t be easy, but I believe you can do it when you stay focused on YOUR own goals. Again, don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle. Instead, be inspired and learn from them.

4. You can use Moz to learn some SEO strategies.

I mentioned that learning SEO is my next step and so far, this is a great resource for beginner tips. It’s literally simple for newbies who don’t know anything about SEO! No fluff and no BS! If you’ve been relying 100% on Pinterest or any other social media for your traffic, then you’ll want to consider learning how to use Google to diversify your pageviews! Again, I want to say thanks to my friend, Alexis from Fitnancialsfor telling me to start learning some SEO now that I understand Pinterest.

FAQs About Starting a Successful Blog That Makes Money

Since I receive emails daily from readers, I will share some of their questions along with my answers in these posts to assist you in starting your blog. You may have similar questions or ideas, and reading these could help you get started.

1. Can I have a professional website and blog on the same site?

Here’s what one reader wrote to me:

Hey Ling,

I’m going to start working as a freelance proofreader and copy editor soon. (I have lots of experience and am completing a formal proofreading course by the end of October.)

Is it possible to have a professional Proofreading site for my clients and also blog about word games, grammar tips, idiosyncrasies of language etc. from that same website? My affiliate links would be books, word games, and courses (including my own soon). I think I could market effectively with the combination. Can my blog be called something other than the name of the website?

I’m thinking the website would be SandiProofsAndEdits.com and the blog something like Sandi’sWordPlay. What do you think! Honest answer, please. I’ve read lots of blog tutorials, but keep coming back to yours.

I hope this answer to my reader helps if you have a similar question or concern:

Yes, it’s absolutely possible and even beneficial to have a professional proofreading site where you plan to blog about word games, grammar tips, and language idiosyncrasies as these are related to sprucing up your reader’s English and writing skills. At the same time, your proofreading and editing blog can serve as a platform to showcase your expertise, passion, and personality, which can help in attracting and connecting with your potential clients once you come up with courses and any coaching/services.

For naming, I think it’s absolutely fine to keep it as SandiProofsAndEdits.com since this is clear and straightforward. It effectively communicates the services you offer. Your domain name and blog name are essentially the same thing. I haven’t come across someone with a different “blog name” from their domain name. For example, my domain name is finsavvypanda.com and my blog name is FinSavvy Panda. You likely don’t want to separate them to avoid any confusion. Again, you can still blog about word games and anything else related to your blog’s niche while keeping the name SandiProofsAndEdits.com.

Including affiliate links for books, word games, and courses is a smart way to monetize your blog. Just make sure your website is easy to navigate, with clear distinctions between your professional services (related to your proofreading courses and/or services) and the blog (with articles and posts) to avoid any confusion for potential clients.

Overall, it sounds like you have a solid plan in mind, Sandi. I think your idea of combining your professional site with a blog on related topics is a wonderful strategy to build and grow your online presence and business!

Over to you — How has your blogging journey been? Do you share your blog income report? If you’re looking into starting a blog, don’t forget to sign up for my FREE 7-day course below where I provide you with epic and valuable information! 🙂

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