October Income Report + How Much I've Made This Year So Far - The Realistic Mama (2024)

I don’t know how but another month has flown by! Which means it’s time to pull back the curtain and show youanother income report. This month I’m sharing both how much I madeandsome behind the scenes and exciting changes coming up!

Why Share My Income Publicly?

My hope is that through sharing this income report you will have inspiration and clarity, whether you have your own blogor are thinking about starting one. Blogging has changed my life and I want it to be able to change your life too.

When I first started blogging I remember stumbling across an income report, it helped direct my business to where it is today. I want to pass on that same clarity and direction to you by being transparent about my own income now too, so you can see the endless possibility that blogging has.

You are an outstanding mom with incredibletalents and likely have a dream deep down within your soul. It’s too big, it scares you because you don’t know if you’ll ever achieve it.You barely, if ever, talk about it because it’s not “realistic”. But what if I told you it is.

Important Note:

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, it’s important that you start a SELF-HOSTED blog. Self-hosted means that you own your site, it’s more professional and easier to make money on. You can start a self-hosted blog for as little as $2.95 a month if you use this link. That’s a special price for our readersand also gets you a free domain ($15 value) free. If you need help setting up your blogclick here for a tutorial that walks you through each step.

My Word for October

Celebrate.

Last month I decided that I wanted to have a word for each month,a single wordto focus my energy and decisions on.

In October I choose the word CELEBRATE because I’m the worst at slowing down long enough to celebrate my accomplishments. I usually just set a new, bigger goal and keep going.

It was time for a change!

Benefits of celebrating:

• Creates a positive energy
• Improves mental health
• Helps you sleep better
• Motivates both you and your team

The word overflowed into my personal life too. Both my daughter and husband have their birthdays in October as well. I chose the word for the month even before I put two and two together! The word for the month fit perfectly, to say the least. I was able to take both days completely off and several other days this month and CELEBRATE with my family. A flexible schedule is definitely a perk of owning your own business.

I did learn that celebrating requires discipline. It’s required me to slow down time and time again, which is no easy task but I’ve noticed more peace andshockinglymore productivity because of it!

Next month’s word:Manifest.

Let’s Talk Numbers

In October, my blog made $4,656,which is lower than previous months but I’ll tell you why I’m totally ok with that in a second.

• Last Month:$6,639.00
• This Month:$4,656.00 (See the breakdown of where this income came from below)
• Difference: – $1,983.00

While this month’s income was lower, I’mstill totally excited, here’s why…

Income so far for 2016: $69,252.00

And if I add what we’re expecting to make in November and December, we’re looking at making over $80,000 this yearfrom this blog alone!

Not bad at all if you consider that I work only 3 hours a day on the blog.

A few more reasons this month was a little lower than our usual ($8,000-$10,000 a month):

• We are currentlytraveling and working WAY less — I used to work around 15 hours a week on the blog but while we’ve been traveling it’s been down to around 5-10 hours depending on the week. The beginning of November I’m picking back up and working aheadso that I can take a nice chunk of time off for Thanksgiving.
• We have been restructuring — Over the last few weeks we have been breaking down everything that we do on the blog piece by piece and evaluating what is the most helpful and beneficial for both our readers and our family. Questioning what can we do better at andwhat’s been most beneficial to our readers so far that we can do more of. Here are a few of the changes we have so far…
  • We’re playing around with a site redesign that will be even easier to navigate for both new and existing readers, this will likely take a few months because of everything else going on.
  • Posting less but posting better. Quality over quantity has always been my moto when I’m working on blog posts but lately I’m working on kicking it up another notch!
  • I’m doing less sponsored posts.I’ve always been super picky on what companies I work with and lately I’m narrowing it down even more so it’s more beneficial to my readers and more enjoyable for me.
  • We’re implementing more passive income streams so we can work less and make more, which ultimately means we can spend more time with our family.
  • We’re expanding the content on our blog to include family focusedbusinessand money-making ideas for both moms and family-orientedentrepreneurs We’ll continue to share parenting tips and idea for your family while expanding to also include family-friendly business ideas so youhave options when it comes to income for your family.

So… with all that in mind I’m more than happy with our income for last month. The months ahead have some really exciting things in store!

Click here to read more income reports.

Click here for a tutorial on how to start a blog today

Here’s the breakdown…

Affiliate Income:$1,084

This comes from several different sources, includingBluehost(frommy tutorial onhow to start a blog),IZEA(sponsored posts and tweets),Sell on Amazon,Amazon Affiliates,Ebates, Etc.

If you already have a blog and are trying to improve your affiliate income I highly recommend the courseMaking Sense of Affiliate Marketing— I purchased the course myself and it literally goes over every single step. It will pay for itself in no time. Personally, I would have bought it just to be a member of the Facebook group!

Successful Startup:$493

This is my complete course on creating and sustaining a successful, money-making blog. Learn how I started making full-time income with part-time hours in less than a year.Click here to read more about it– start your first blog or take your existing blog to the next level.

If you’re interested in becoming an affiliate for my course, you can make $78 per student you refer.If you have ahow to start a blog pageon your site, Successful Startup is the perfect next step for your readers after. Please email me for more info on becoming an affiliate: alida@therealisticmama.com

175 Best Date Ideas:$275

Some of this is split with my affiliates — I would love to have you on my team! If you’re interested you can find out more about become an affiliate by clicking here. Make $5 for every purchase through your link!

Sharing about Essential Oils:$70

This is something that I order anyway (regardless of income).Doing the business side has not been my focus,I just share about the oils here and thereon the blog because I have seen how well they work and I’m excited to help out my readers. I end up making a residual commissions on purchases through my links.

If using or sharing about Essential oilssounds like something you’d be interested in, reach out and we can get you more info. You an email me at alida@therealisticmama.com

Display Ads:$2,334

This is such a great passive income stream! Anytime a readers stops by any of the posts on my site, even a post 2+ years old,I make an earning through the ads on my site.

Sponsored Content (Blog Posts and/or Paid Social Shares):$400

Two of my favorite companies to get work from areIZEAand TapInfluence. I also get direct emails from brands because of the size of my site.

Total:$4,656

If you’re ready to start a blog and create passive income for your family, the next section is for you.

How to Start a Blog Today

Inspired to start a blog? Ready to create passive income for your family?

You can do it!

Here is a (free) step-by-step tutorial on how to start a blog—no tech knowledge required.

I’ll walk you through everything step-by-step!

P.S.Are you looking for extra side income? I make full-time income blogging part-time—check out this easy step-by-step tutorial on how start a blog (no tech knowledge required).