The Retrospector

Funny thing this is. About one month ago I decided to start this blog. I’ve got some pretty reasonable goals in mind from what I can tell by the feedback in the group writing project I participated in on blogging goals. I certainly didn’t expect the kind of results that I had, and I’ll probably be the next edge case that has a little more attention for awhile before everyone moves on to the next flavor of the day that made more money than it should have.

Types of income

I’d like to take a second to point out the types of income that a blog can have. The key here is that there’s more than one kind. The $88.51 did not come from just direct methods, but some indirect methods as well. (Direct methods being advertising income, or anything on the site that generates money. Indirect methods being income that generates because of your blog or as a result of having it.)

The breakdown

I know everyone’s first curiosity lies with where the money came from. I’ll give a general breakdown and explain a little about the indirect earners.

• Ads - From all the ads on my site, I’ve pulled in a whopping $5.01. Now, for me and my goals this is great stuff. All I really wanted was for my site to pay for itself. If I get a little extra, it’ll just get put aside for next year’s blogging expenses or likely to start another site altogether. (See goals link above.) I get a horrible CTR, and most of my traffic are just stopping in for less than a minute on one page…but I’m not too worried about it. If I can make the few bucks a month to keep up with expenses I’m good.
• Affiliates - This is really good stuff. The hosting site (see the banner in the left nav) that I’m using has an affiliate program that pays out 50% of the first purchase when you refer someone to their site. If just one customer buys hosting through them via your affiliate link, it’s payday. I managed to get one the last month, and in comes $33.50. (I tell you, it’s the easiest hosting setup I’ve ever done in my life. From the moment I bought the service to the time I had my first blog post live was about 45 minutes. I’ll have to post about my experience doing that one of these days too.)
• Indirect Income - This last part is the most exciting yet. It’s also something I credit to sheer luck. I’ll give you the quick version since this can get lengthy. My bank was having a special on accounts that set up direct-deposit. This special included new accounts, and dormant accounts. (I just happen to have an account with like $6 in it sitting around for a few years that I decided to tie in to my blog income streams.) Well, when I signed up for AdSense and PayPal, they both made a set of deposits totalling $1.18. This triggered the promotion at the bank where they would deposit $50.00 into any account setting up direct-deposit! That’s right, $50.00! (I even called to verify what happened, and they just said “Well, it’s your money. The promotion is legitimate for any kind of direct-deposit and those qualify.”

Going forward

I have to admit that this month’s income streams were probably not the norm, but that’s why it’s so exciting! Sure there’s a bunch of luck, and most of it is a one-time deal that I won’t be able to expect every month going forward…but it’s a perfect example of how not every dollar made comes from the same place you would expect it.

How many of you out there have had experience with indirect income in the first few months with a blog? I know there’s some lucky folks out there that have success stories that don’t add up to millions, but hover in the hundred-dollar range that could share some excitement. Share your story! I’d be interested in seeing who else has had some luck in their early blogging days.

Tags: blogging, income, earnings, lucky, indirect

   

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