Hey all! I’m back with another income and traffic report to share with you today. I started doing income reports as a way to be more transparent about my business and hopefully shed some light on ways that you can grow your own online business, too.
I know that sharing one’s income online, for the world to see, is kind of a strange thing to do. Trust me, it took quite a bit of courage (and convincing from my friends!) to share this data with you. In fact, I held back from sharing my income reports in the past because I never (ever!) wanted to appear like I was flaunting my results. Rather, I do this because I genuinely desire to help you grow your own business and want to provide some behind-the-curtain results of how I’ve grown and tweaked my own. I want to show you both what worked for me and what didn’t so that you can apply those lessons to your own dreams. My overall hope is that my income reports inspire or inform you to create and grow your own online biz.
Thank you for traveling with me, behind-the-scenes, while I take you through my income and traffic reports each month. I’m grateful that you’re here. And if you’re working on growing your own business and blog? Best of luck to you, my friend. Now, let’s get into it!
February Income
- Passive Income: $3,950
- Monthly Recurring Revenue: $9,506
- Other Income (List Surge, Webinars, Etc): $31,020
- Affiliate Income: $5,533
- Ad Revenue: $200
Total Income: $50,209
February Expenses
- Business Coach: $1,500
- PayPal + Stripe Fees: $1,050
- Infusionsoft*: $389
- Teachable*: $299
- Hotel for Conference: $279
- Web Hosting (annual): $252
- Facebook ads: $213
- ActiveCampaign: $205
- Airbnb for Meeting: $170
- Travel to Meeting/Conference: $146
- CoWorking Space: $105
- CAOC E-Course Installment Payment: $97
- OptimizePress: $97
- GoDaddy: $106
- PO Box: $43
- Zapier: $20
- Stocksy: $20
- Google Apps*: $17
- LeadPages Template: $15
- MotionMail: $10
Total Expenses: $5,033 (Anything with an * next to it is an affiliate link)
Net Profit: $45,176
The final List Surge launch numbers
The launch of List Surge ended in February, and the final revenue number came out to $45,549 with 441 total students, as you can see from the screenshot below (from my Teachable account). The reason there are two courses is because one is hidden so that I can create a bunch of trackable payment links for use in things like webinars without people seeing those links on the sales page. Y’know, in case you were wondering. 😉
These numbers are kind of crazy to me seeing as I just wrapped up a launch in December for The Blog Hive, which I sold for $497. The Blog Hive brought in around $100,000 in revenue, but the amount of work it took to create and launch is completely disproportionate to the amount of time it took to create and launch List Surge. By comparison, List Surge started as a $97 product and during the launch, I raised the price to $147. Now, it’s $197.
Obviously, List Surge only made about half as much as The Blog Hive, but it took probably 1/8th as much time to create and market. It has definitely made me rethink how I price and structure my courses, and it’s a welcome lesson and experiment.
Now I’m not saying that there was anything “wrong” with the launch of The Blog Hive and I’m still really happy with how it went. But I think it’s important to consider that, yes, you can earn more money creating higher priced products, but is it worth the extra work to do so? Or would it be better to spend less time creating smaller products? I could share arguments for both sides, but it’s an interesting debate!
Another aspect of the List Surge launch is that it really wasn’t planned. Wait, what? Yeah, List Surge was originally going to be a pretty relaxed, live workshop without much hype around it. It was only after I started planning the content that I realized it would work better as a full-on course, as there was a lot to cover.
My income goal was about $10k and my plan was to talk about the workshop for a week and then host it live. But I noticed immediately that people were really excited about this topic, so I decided to do things a bit bigger with more webinars and extra emails. It worked.
Aside from talking about the revenue of the course, I’m also just really happy that the course itself is bringing a lot of value to people. I think there’s always that worry, even if you’ve created a bunch of courses, that it won’t help anyone. But I’ve been getting comments, emails, tweets, or Facebook notifications almost everyday from people who have said that List Surge is the saving grace they needed to help them grow their list.
The course also works for people no matter where their list is at, which is something I love. I’ve got students who are just starting out (one person said she has 7 subscribers — one of which is her dog) and others who are total pros (another student said she has 70,000 subscribers!). Love it.
Rebrand in progress
Now this is something I’m really excited (and nervous!) about. I don’t know about you, but I’m really over the current design on this site and don’t feel it accomplishes the things I want new visitors to do when they visit my site. /endrant.
The new site design is a lot more intentional in its design and is more suited for the direction my brand and audience are headed in. I think it will be a design I keep around for quite awhile (here’s to hoping!). I’m also excited because the archives will be a lot more accessible and easy to search through (since I now have almost 700 blog posts on this site! Whoa!).
And perhaps the biggest change of all? A new name. My heart is racing even typing that, but I’ve been thinking about a name change off and on for the past year and I know that now is the time to do it. I’ll tell you ALL about the new name (and my reasoning behind the decision) when the site redesign is revealed. Stay tuned!
I moved!
Let me tell you a little story.
As some of you might know, when I started this blog, I was living in a 300 square-foot studio apartment in Tokyo. I didn’t have a desk because I couldn’t afford one and had no extra space, so I used a bar cart, that my boyfriend-at-the-time owned, as my makeshift work area. It was shoved in the corner of my apartment, near my dog’s crate.
Since then, I’ve moved four times (in the past three years), eventually upgrading to a desk in my bedroom, followed by a one-bedroom apartment where my living room was my office, and then a dining room where I did all of my work. Phew! Working out of random rooms in my little apartments was necessary, though at times demotivating and messy. I felt like I never escaped my job because it was everywhere I looked.
But a couple weeks ago, I got the privilege of moving into a two-bedroom where I have an office all to myself (with a freakin’ door! And walls!). It’s such an exciting space to me and I love having a place where I can feel inspired to sit down and do the work. Not to mention, I’m crazy excited to go to town on decorating it. Here’s a picture of what it looked like when I first moved in. And here’s a picture of the blue couch I just bought for the space! I’ll be sure to do a full tour once it’s all decorated. 🙂
Here’s how you can take action:
I wanted to start including a “take action” section for you within my income report posts. I want these posts to be as useful as they are motivating, so this section will have practical advice or action items that you can implement, based on something I learned during the month.
This month’s advice? Try launching a product with a price that’s out of your comfort zone. For me, this meant launching a less expensive course than I normally do, which led to interesting results. For you, it could mean doubling or tripling your prices.
During a recent webinar, my friend Ankur (the founder of Teachable), told everyone to choose a price for their upcoming e-course. And then double it. I loved that! Too often, we undervalue our expertise and price our knowledge too low.
So, if you normally lowball yourself, try doubling your prices and see how that goes. And if your products are on the higher end, try creating something more accessible. Experiment, experiment, experiment. It’s my favorite way to get ahead.
If you really want to create a digital product this year, I recently released a totally free, 21-day challenge called From Purpose to Product. It’s designed to show you exactly how to find your purpose and calling, along with specific products you can create and the step-by-step process you should follow, from planning to marketing to making sales. You can sign up for FP2P here.
Got any questions? Comments? Insights? I’m all ears! Let’s chat down below.
I also have a private Facebook group where I’d love to chat with you and answer your Qs! Click here to join.
March 16th, 2016 at 8:13 pm
Wow Melyssa, that was a pretty amazing month for you! I really find the product price/totals vs time spent very interesting. I wonder if part of it is also that you’re now an old pro at creating courses? 🙂 I would imagine it takes you less time than the first one did. Totally not trying to downplay your efforts on the Blog Hive of course because that content is seriously some of the best course content I’ve come across!
I am so excited for your new brand name/redesign and can’t wait to see it! Got any ideas on when that’ll launch?
March 21st, 2016 at 4:28 pm
Thank you, Marianne! 🙂 I find it interesting, too! And thank you for your comments about The Blog Hive. 🙂 I think I have probably become a bit quicker in creating courses, but that course was quite a monster, so I’m not sure if I’m quicker or if that one was just really comprehensive haha.
Planning to launch the new name and design in April. 🙂 As for the difference in Passive Income and Monthly Recurring Revenue, they’re both kind of the same. Both passive. The only difference for me is that the MRR is revenue that I once “worked” for as it came from the launch of a course. So it’s passive NOW, but I did have to hustle to get those people to sign up in the past. On the flip side, the passive income is literally just people stumbling on my website or funnels and purchasing more randomly.
March 22nd, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Thanks for the clarification Melyssa. And looking forward to hearing more about the rebrand!
March 17th, 2016 at 12:20 am
So it seems like “The Honey Society” is happening after all 🙂 Very happy for you girl and can´t wait for the rebrand. Sometimes we outgrow certain situations, no reason to feel bad about that! So here I am waiting for The Honey Society to launch…. I will repeat it until it manifests itself, haha 😉
xo
March 17th, 2016 at 11:07 am
Thank you for your understanding, Martina. 🙂 I really appreciate that. Buuut don’t get too attached to The Honey Society. 😉
March 17th, 2016 at 4:49 am
Love the transparence. I’ve been blogging for a year now and need to find a way to get traffic to my website. I have used your advice in setting up free content in exchange for emails, yet its useless if there isnt any traffic seeing it. Any suggestions???
March 21st, 2016 at 4:29 pm
Hey Conor! I highly recommend utilizing Pinterest as your main source of traffic. You can grow your traffic very quickly with the right strategies! I’m actually launching my popular Pinterest course for the next 10 days, which includes some extra bonuses you don’t normally get. You can check it out here: http://pinfinitegrowth.com
March 17th, 2016 at 5:02 am
I love how you mention that you have over 700 blog posts on this site! Some people think your type of success is an overnight thing but 700 posts proves it’s been a long journey. Well deserved Melyssa!
Have you talked anywhere about Infusionsoft versus Active Campaign? I would think there would be a big overlap with the two services.
March 17th, 2016 at 9:55 am
Thank you so much Donnie! I love that you pointed that out. It’s something I think a lot of people don’t realize. I’m sure you get those types of questions, too!
And I haven’t yet talked about Infusionsoft vs. Active Campaign, but do have a comparison post coming up soon. There is some definitely some overlap. Are you still liking ConvertKit?
March 17th, 2016 at 10:03 am
We have the bigger list (home decor, DIY, organizing) list with ConvertKit but I’ve been using Autopilot for the smaller blogging/business list. I wanted the website activity based segmenting that Autopilot offers and a visual customer journey builder. It’s expensive and more than we need for the home decor stuff but it’s been amazing for the business/blogging list. I looked closely at both Active Campaign and Autopilot and ultimately decided on Autopilot (I preferred the visual automation builder over Active Campaign). It doesn’t work with LeadPages so for many Active Campaign is the easy decision. Autopilot and Instapage integrate nicely so it works for us.
March 17th, 2016 at 10:07 am
Here’s an automation I’m working on in Autopilot. I love the visuals! Autopilot is a newer option so Active Campaign integrates with everything and Autopilot certainly does not.
March 17th, 2016 at 11:07 am
Ohh I love that interface! Looks so modern. It actually looks really similar to Infusionsoft’s! I haven’t heard much about Autopilot, but it sounds like a good one.
March 17th, 2016 at 7:54 am
wow congratulations, an amazingly successful month for you. I’d love to be able to commercialise all my tips content in this way. Its definitely something i’m thinking more about 🙂 I’m finding your posts like this really valuable. Thanks
Mel x
mediamarmalade.com
March 21st, 2016 at 4:29 pm
Glad you find these valuable, Mel! 🙂 Thanks for reading.
March 17th, 2016 at 10:54 am
This is fantastic, Melyssa. Congrats on your success! <3
March 21st, 2016 at 4:29 pm
Thank you so much, Abby! <3
March 17th, 2016 at 11:44 am
Wow, that must have been hard working! Wonderfull, compliments to you. And by the way….I love that cauch!
March 21st, 2016 at 4:29 pm
Thank you so much! 🙂
March 17th, 2016 at 12:50 pm
So exciting, Melyssa! Congrats too on your move. Having your own space to work is a game changer. I can’t wait to see your site redesign and the new name!
March 21st, 2016 at 4:30 pm
Thank you, Jenn! The new space has definitely helped with motivation. I love it! 🙂
March 17th, 2016 at 2:46 pm
I love reading these! Not only is your success absolutely inspiring, but the insights you offer are invaluable! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me as I launch my own online business – which I waited far-too-long to do. The resources on this site are crazy helpful and so often exactly what I need. Thanks. Congratulations on your huge success! I look forward to your upcoming changes!
March 21st, 2016 at 4:30 pm
Aww that is so awesome to hear, B.J. Thanks for sharing! Let me know if there’s anything you wish I would cover on the site. 🙂
March 17th, 2016 at 4:29 pm
I love reading Income Report from bloggers. I feel like I’m taking a peak into what successful bloggers are doing and learn so much more from it. These post are also extremely motivated as well.
http://joliecious.blogspot.com/
March 21st, 2016 at 4:31 pm
That’s exactly what I hope people get out of these reports! Thank you for the motivation, Jolie. 🙂
March 18th, 2016 at 2:36 am
Wow, Melyssa. Your income report this month is so much, like way way way much more, compared to when you were still designing websites. It’s really inspiring!
March 21st, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Ha! Very true. 🙂
March 18th, 2016 at 4:39 am
Congratulations! Love hearing your story and that is such good advice you’ve shared. I KNOW that I’m pricing my e-course for freelancers crazy low, but I’ve already got plans for extra things to add to it in a few months when I’ll double the price.
Looking forward to hearing all about the new direction for your business! I wonder if there’s something in the air at this time of year? I just shared yesterday on my blog about the new direction my business is taking too 🙂
March 21st, 2016 at 4:31 pm
That’s awesome that you’re finding ways to increase it, Sagan! 🙂 And I agree. I think it’s something about a new year that sparks change.
March 18th, 2016 at 6:21 am
You’re kicking butt as usual – love this. And it’s good to see that it isn’t all profit too – you’re out there spending money to make money. I’m working on my next project/products and I’m thinking of a higher price point so I love your advice here!
March 21st, 2016 at 4:32 pm
Thanks Jackie! I appreciate that. 🙂
March 18th, 2016 at 5:25 pm
Great work! You demonstrate that you have to spend money to make money. This is something I struggle with in my online business. I want to do everything myself.
March 21st, 2016 at 4:33 pm
I’ve noticed that I spend about 10% of my gross income on my business. I think that’s a good rule of thumb to feel comfortable with for any business, big or small. In the beginning you may invest a little more, but 10% of your income is a good starting point (and once you have that percentage, you can hopefully struggle a little less with spending it because it’s “set” if that makes sense). 🙂
March 18th, 2016 at 10:16 pm
I’m really curious as to what the name change will be! What kind of desk do you have for your office??
March 21st, 2016 at 4:33 pm
The name change won’t be anything too crazy. 🙂 And my desk is actually a dining table I bought at Ikea a couple years ago.
March 20th, 2016 at 1:56 am
I always love your honesty and authenticity in your posts!!
Looking forward to seeing your office makeover when it’s done, and also the new site name and design. Renaming is an interesting topic as I’ve just started my blog (like a month ago) but am already having doubts about the name. Ack! Anyway looking forward to hearing more about your big switch soon! 🙂
March 21st, 2016 at 4:34 pm
Thank you Michelle! And for what it’s worth, your name sounds pretty cute to me! 🙂
March 20th, 2016 at 5:42 am
Love reading your reports as they help keep my focused! I am now working from home full-time on my recipe blog, though I am not making full-time income yet. However, just this past week I’ve already met some of my social media goals that I wanted to meet in a months time and it was really simple – just by being more active. I’ve also triple my daily sessions/page views, and income already. I’m hoping to be able to double my income every month, but will see how that goes! I’m launching another side project in July of another passion I’m interested in, as well as trying to piece the idea together of a recipe e-book and include it for affiliate sales using e-junkie. On another note, I’m actually hoping to move this fall as well. I know what you mean about the space issue as I’m suffering through that as well.
March 21st, 2016 at 4:35 pm
That’s fantastic, Lisa! It sounds like you’re making incredible progress. I love it! 🙂
March 20th, 2016 at 10:04 am
I just found your website thanks go Elise Blaha Cripe and her podcast. I love listening to her talk to small business owners and when I saw the topic the chat I become super excited. I am brainstorming ideas for starting a blog / website and love hearing how others are doing it! While ecourses may not be in my near future I know there are other ways to create income and I intend to share my income reports from the beginning. I think it’s a great motivator for everyone to see other woman killing it in small business and building their brand.
March 21st, 2016 at 4:36 pm
So excited you hopped over from Elise’s website! That podcast was really fun. 🙂 And I love that you’ll be doing income reports, especially from the beginning! I wish I had started them earlier so that people could see that growing your income is much more gradual. I’m sure yours will be epically inspiring, Sara! 🙂
March 21st, 2016 at 10:16 am
This is massively inspirational, thank you for sharing.
March 21st, 2016 at 4:36 pm
Thank you so much, Wendy!
March 21st, 2016 at 3:16 pm
Hi Melyssa, congratulation to the great income last month and good luck for your redesign! You mentioned that you wrote already 700 articles. How many articles do you write per week and what would be the minimum for somebody starting out (in your personal opinion of course)?
March 21st, 2016 at 4:38 pm
Thank you so much, Ray! Nowadays I write 3-4 blog posts per month. But when I was starting out I posted 5 times a week for around the first year. I’d say that when you’re starting, once a week is fine so long as your weekly posts are extremely detailed, useful, and shareable. If your content is shorter then you may want to up it to 2-3 times a week, but still aim to provide a lot of value.
March 21st, 2016 at 4:46 pm
This report is extremely inspiring and encouraging as a new blogger! I’ve been working on growing my traffic using your Pinterest tips, and I can’t wait to see the results! Thank you for all the resources you provide.
March 22nd, 2016 at 8:12 pm
Thanks Hilary, this makes my day! 🙂
March 22nd, 2016 at 6:24 am
I think I’ve asked you this before, but would you be willing to do a post on what you do with your money (aside from expenses?) Like: The Last 10 things I’ve purchased as a blogger. I’m curious to see what happens when you make $50,000 a month. I’ve been successful, but this is a level of success I have never experienced and honestly wouldn’t know what to do with.
March 22nd, 2016 at 11:29 am
This is a great suggestion! I’d be interested to read a post on this as well.
March 22nd, 2016 at 4:17 pm
Ohh that’s an interesting idea, Nia! So, just so I’m getting it right, do you mean the last 10 things I purchased in general (including random stuff like clothes) or things I purchased directly for my business?
March 22nd, 2016 at 6:44 pm
psst.. if you added “last 5 purchases” as a small part of these income reports, you won’t hear ANYYYY complaints from me 🙂
March 23rd, 2016 at 3:22 pm
Just in general – your report covers your biz expenses
March 23rd, 2016 at 10:10 am
Great idea Nia. Nice name too 😉 I’d have no idea what to do with that much money in a month but I’d love to find out.
May 3rd, 2016 at 9:25 pm
Why did I just find you over on nerdyorganized and say to myself “Hey, she has a great name!” You beat me to it.
March 22nd, 2016 at 6:09 pm
I am so happy for your success! You’re an inspiration to all of us entrepreneurs, Melyssa 🙂
March 22nd, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Also – it’s hard to express how impatient I am to see the new website!
March 22nd, 2016 at 8:16 pm
I’m SO excited to share it soon!
March 23rd, 2016 at 4:47 am
Happy for you, Melyssa! ????
March 28th, 2016 at 2:59 pm
Thank you so much, Daisy. 🙂
March 23rd, 2016 at 10:08 am
Whoa!! This is so motivating. Congrats to you. I’m not totally shocked because the work you put into is obvious. I really need to take action and get that first small product going but I’m still unsure of what it should be. I signed up for From Purpose to Product so I need to go back and check it out. My list is still small too.
March 23rd, 2016 at 6:15 pm
I always feel so motivated reading your income reports. When did you originally start doing this? Is there a minimum income you recommend hitting before starting to release these?
March 28th, 2016 at 3:01 pm
Thank you so much, Sam! I started doing them around the summer of 2015, though I wish I had been doing them from the beginning. I think it’s powerful to see people who are new at earning an income online (and who may not even be earning a full-time income yet) do income reports. Especially when you can see their growth! So, I definitely don’t think there is a minimum income you need to have before doing these. In fact, the sooner, the better. 🙂
April 2nd, 2016 at 7:49 am
Good to hear! I started a few months ago when my income was just €50,-, this month I am at €127,-…and I truly felt a bit ashamed to put such small numbers online!
March 25th, 2016 at 10:37 am
Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your webinar on Wednesday. Great post as usual!
LEACH | http://www.theleachlife.com
March 29th, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Aw, this makes my day. Thank yo!
March 29th, 2016 at 11:44 am
so excited for your rebrand!! How fun!!
March 29th, 2016 at 3:23 pm
I can’t wait to show it to you!!!
March 30th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
And the name change?! Man, I’m totally just freaking out over here 😉 You are wonderful & I am so excited to see what you have in store!
April 5th, 2016 at 7:36 am
You are SO sweet! Thanks, Elizabeth <3
March 31st, 2016 at 12:25 pm
Yay! So excited of your rebrand 🙂 I also doing “rebrand in progress” because I switched from service-based business to product-based like ebooks, ecourses, themes etc. I can’t to see new look your website 🙂
April 5th, 2016 at 7:37 am
Thank you, Alex! I hope your rebrand is coming along smoothly 🙂
April 5th, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Thank you 🙂 Soon in the next week I hope.
March 31st, 2016 at 10:14 pm
I’m excited to see your rebrand! And thanks again for adding these income reports. :)) They definitely motivate me.
thegoldsister.com
April 5th, 2016 at 7:37 am
Oh I’m so glad, Kate! Thanks so much for commenting 🙂 I can’t wait to reveal the new look soon!
April 4th, 2016 at 4:29 am
It’s great to see TNC make strides, and continue to grow. Congrats on the courses and webinars thus far.
April 5th, 2016 at 7:38 am
Thank you so much! This makes my day 🙂
April 4th, 2016 at 11:04 pm
Awesome job with your product and launch! I’ve just done a very soft launch of a product before rolling out to my list and was extremely happy with my sales. You never know when something you plan on giving away turns into a viable revenue stream for you. That’s what I had planned on doing myself.
April 5th, 2016 at 7:39 am
Wow, congrats on your success! That’s awesome 🙂
April 5th, 2016 at 11:04 pm
不错，不错，看看了！
April 8th, 2016 at 12:45 am
Melyssa,
I love all of the content you share but your income reports are by far my favourite! I find it SO helpful to get a look at exactly how you’re running (and making money from) your business so that I can learn from it and also realise what’s possible!
Thanks for sharing all that you do!
And I’m excited to see the rebrand (though I quite like the current design too).
Sam xx
http://www.smart-twenties.com – how to make the most of your twenties
April 14th, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Thanks so much, Sam! I’ll definitely keep posting these. They’re some of my favorite posts to write!
April 9th, 2016 at 10:00 pm
Hey Melyssa! I see you’ve got InfusionSoft and OptimizePress on this list of expenses. Are you going to be using these services, and/or doing demos with them for your students?
I have an OptimizePress license (because it was cheaper the LeadPages when I was just starting out and seems to do pretty much the same thing). If you start doing any OP demos with your webinars, like you do for LP, I’d be super stoked!!
Also, my friend Genevieve Mari is a great OP wizard and her demos are awesome.
April 14th, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Amen, so with you!
April 14th, 2016 at 5:35 am
Melyssa –
I know I’m late to the party as this is from Feb, but I am totally with you on the work vs. price point thing.
This INCREDIBLE article by Ramit Sethi on the Four Hour Work Week blog is like, so brilliant and thought provoking on that topic.
It’s definitely made me think and if you haven’t seen it yet take a look! http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/03/04/5-million-week/
xo, Court
April 14th, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Thanks for sharing and commenting, Courtney!
April 14th, 2016 at 7:32 am
Love the new site Melyssa, and just, yes please to the office tour – I love stuff like that and would love to see your space, desk and decoration style even though it’s out of the scope of your blog I think many of your readers wanna take a peek!
April 14th, 2016 at 5:02 pm
Awesome, I’ll get on it asap! 🙂
May 5th, 2016 at 11:20 am
Thank you for sharing Melyssa! A workspace has so much mental impact: it can be inspiring or depressing. Your office looks so dang cute, I’d say inspiring!
May 7th, 2016 at 5:29 pm
I completely agree, Emily!