August Blog Income Report Explaining How I Made $936.50
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August was a solid month for my make money online blog with $936.50 in gross income before expenses. This month I earned money through several different areas of the blog, including affiliate marketing, display advertising, digital products, online courses, memberships and sponsored posts.
I like tracking each income source separately because it gives me a better understanding of what is working and where I should focus my time going forward. Instead of relying on one source of income, I have been building several different ways for the blog to make money.
After deducting $205.00 in blogging expenses, my estimated net income for August was $731.50
Affiliate Marketing: $149.99
My blog generated $149.99 from affiliate marketing during August.
The affiliate income came from content focused on making money online, blogging, side hustles, online business ideas, and resources that are useful for people trying to build an income online.
I included affiliate recommendations throughout relevant blog posts instead of relying on one specific article. Some readers discovered the blog through search engines, read an article, and then clicked through to one of the recommended products or services.
I also continued using older content to generate affiliate income. Articles that were already published continued bringing visitors to the website, which gave those readers opportunities to discover the affiliate recommendations included within the content.
The $149.99 earned this month shows me that affiliate marketing continues to be an important part of the blog’s overall income. My goal is to continue creating content around topics where readers are actively looking for tools, platforms, and resources while making sure the recommendations remain relevant to the content.
Display Ads: $58.08
The blog generated $58.08 from display advertising in August.
This income came from advertisements displayed across the website as visitors read blog posts and moved between different pages.
The advertising revenue was generated from the traffic coming to the blog throughout the month. Some visitors landed on individual articles through search engines, while others visited additional pages after finding the website.
I continued focusing on publishing content that can attract search traffic because increasing the number of useful pages on the blog creates more opportunities for people to visit the website and generate advertising revenue.
The $58.08 from display ads was not the largest portion of my income this month, but it provided another source of revenue alongside affiliate marketing, courses, digital products, memberships, and sponsored content.
Digital Products: $37.85
My blog generated $37.85 from digital product sales during August.
These sales came from digital resources promoted through the blog and related content. I focused on making these products available to readers who wanted additional resources beyond the free information available in the blog posts.
Some readers found the products directly through the website, while others came across them after reading related content.
The $37.85 is a smaller portion of the overall monthly income, but I still consider it valuable because digital products give me another way to monetize the audience I am already building.
I plan to continue experimenting with different digital products and improving the way they are presented throughout the blog. The goal is to create products that naturally fit with the topics readers are already interested in.
Online Courses: $484.08
Online courses generated $484.08 in August, making this the largest source of blogging income for the month.
The course income came from readers who discovered my content and decided to take their learning further by purchasing one of the courses promoted through the blog.
The blog content helped bring people into the website, where they could learn more about different ways to make money online. From there, some readers were interested in more detailed training and chose to purchase a course.
This was the strongest-performing income source this month, accounting for more than half of my total gross blogging revenue.
The $484.08 result also gives me a good indication of where I should continue putting effort. I want to create more content that naturally connects with the courses and make it easier for interested readers to find the training that is most relevant to them.
I also want to continue improving the existing course promotion throughout the blog rather than simply creating more content without considering how readers can move from free information to paid resources.
Memberships: $106.50
Membership income totaled $106.50 for August.
This income came from readers who chose to become members after discovering the blog and wanting access to the additional resources available through the membership.
I continued promoting the membership through relevant content and giving readers opportunities to learn more about what was available after they finished reading the free articles.
The $106.50 in membership revenue gives the blog another source of recurring income and is an area I want to continue developing.
My focus going forward will be on growing the membership audience while continuing to provide enough value to encourage existing members to remain subscribed.
Sponsored Posts: $100.00
Sponsored posts generated $100.00 in August.
This income came from a sponsored opportunity related to the blog’s make money online audience. The sponsored content provided another way to monetize the website while creating content that was relevant to the people already visiting the blog.
I want to remain selective about sponsored opportunities because I do not want to publish promotions that do not fit with the website or provide value to readers.
The $100.00 earned from sponsored content was a helpful addition to the month’s revenue and gave the blog another income stream outside of affiliate marketing, advertising, products, courses, and memberships.
Sponsored posts can also become a useful part of the overall monetization strategy when the opportunities are relevant and properly aligned with the blog’s audience.
Total Gross Blogging Income
After adding all six revenue sources together, the August numbers came to:
Affiliate Marketing: $149.99
Display Ads: $58.08
Digital Products: $37.85
Online Courses: $484.08
Memberships: $106.50
Sponsored Posts: $100.00
Total Gross Income: $936.50
The online course income was the largest contributor, followed by affiliate marketing, memberships, sponsored posts, display ads, and digital products.
Having this breakdown makes it much easier to see where the money came from instead of simply looking at the $936.50 total.
August Blogging Expenses
The blog also had several expenses during the month. I am estimating the following expenses for this income report.
Software and Tools: $48.00
I spent approximately $48.00 on software and blogging tools during August. These expenses covered the tools I used to manage the website, create content, monitor performance, and support the different aspects of the blogging business.
I try to keep software expenses under control because monthly subscriptions can quickly add up. Going forward, I want to make sure every tool I pay for is actually providing enough value to justify its cost.
Hosting and Domain: $32.00
My hosting and domain expenses came to approximately $32.00 for August. These are necessary operating expenses for maintaining the website and keeping the blog accessible to readers.
As the blog continues to generate income, I consider hosting and domain costs part of the basic cost of running the business.
Freelancers: $75.00
I spent approximately $75.00 on freelancers during August. This covered assistance with some of the work involved in maintaining and developing the blog.
Outsourcing certain tasks allows me to spend more time focusing on content, monetization, strategy, and other areas of the business.
At the same time, I want to make sure freelancer expenses remain reasonable and that the work being outsourced provides enough value to justify the cost.
Advertising: $50.00
I spent approximately $50.00 on advertising during August. The advertising budget was used to help promote the blog and its content.
I kept the budget relatively small because I want to make sure paid traffic is producing worthwhile results before increasing spending significantly. If advertising produces positive results, I may gradually increase the budget in future months.
Total August Expenses
The estimated expenses for August were:
Software and Tools: $48.00
Hosting and Domain: $32.00
Freelancers: $75.00
Advertising: $50.00
Total Expenses: $205.00
August Net Blogging Income
After subtracting the estimated $205.00 in expenses from the $936.50 in gross income, the estimated net income for August was:
$936.50 gross income − $205.00 expenses = $731.50 net income
So my final August numbers are:
Gross Income: $936.50
Expenses: $205.00
Net Income: $731.50
I am happy with the result because the blog generated nearly $1,000 in gross revenue while keeping operating expenses relatively low.
August Traffic and Blog Performance
Traffic remains one of the most important things I monitor because the amount and quality of traffic directly affect many of the blog’s income streams.
During August, I focused on publishing content around topics people interested in making money online are actively searching for. I continued working on articles covering blogging, side hustles, online business ideas, affiliate marketing, passive income, digital products, and other ways to generate income online.
The goal was not simply to publish as many articles as possible. I wanted the content to give readers useful information and encourage them to explore additional pages on the website.
The more engaged a visitor becomes, the more opportunities there are for that visitor to read another article, join the email list, purchase a product, enroll in a course, become a member, or respond to a sponsored opportunity.
I also continued paying attention to which articles were attracting visitors and which topics were producing the strongest results.
Email List Growth
Growing the email list was another focus during August. I want the blog to have a direct connection with readers instead of depending entirely on search engines and social media platforms.
The email list gives me another way to communicate with people who are interested in making money online. I can use it to share new blog posts, helpful resources, digital products, courses, and other updates.
Going forward, I want to continue creating useful reasons for blog visitors to subscribe. The goal is not simply to collect email addresses. I want to build an audience that actually looks forward to receiving useful information.
What Worked Well in August
The biggest success this month was the performance of the online courses. With $484.08 in revenue, courses generated the largest share of the blog’s income. This tells me that there is interest in moving beyond free blog content and purchasing more detailed information and training.
Affiliate marketing also performed well with $149.99, giving me another strong reason to continue creating content around products and services that are relevant to my audience.
Membership revenue of $106.50 was another positive part of the month because it provides an opportunity to build recurring revenue. The $100.00 from sponsored posts was also a nice addition and helped diversify the income even further. The combination of these income sources shows why diversification is important for the blog.
What I Want to Improve
There are still several areas I want to improve. First, I want to increase the amount of traffic coming to the blog. More targeted traffic creates more opportunities across every revenue source.
I also want to improve the performance of older articles. Some existing posts may have additional potential if they are updated, expanded, reorganized, or connected to newer content through internal links.
Another area I want to improve is the promotion of digital products. Digital products generated $37.85 this month, so there is room to experiment with better product ideas, stronger promotion, and more relevant content.
I also want to continue improving the membership and course funnels so readers can easily find the paid resources that match their interests.
Sponsored posts are another area I would like to explore carefully. The goal is not to accept every opportunity that comes along, but to find partnerships that make sense for the audience and provide useful information.
Goals for September
My primary goal for September is to increase gross blogging income beyond August’s $936.50. I would like to reach at least $1,100 in gross income while keeping expenses below approximately $250.
I also want to focus heavily on increasing online course sales because courses were the strongest revenue source this month. Another goal is to increase affiliate commissions by publishing more helpful content that naturally connects with relevant products and services.
I want to grow membership income, create additional digital products, increase website traffic, and continue building the email list.
I also plan to keep working on older content instead of focusing exclusively on new articles. Improving existing content can create additional opportunities without requiring an entirely new article every time.
Finally, I want to pursue more relevant sponsored post opportunities while making sure any sponsored content fits naturally with the make money online niche.
Final Thoughts
August generated $936.50 in gross blogging income for me from six different online sources.
Affiliate marketing brought in $149.99, display ads generated $58.08, digital products brought in $37.85, online courses generated $484.08, memberships produced $106.50, and sponsored posts contributed $100.00.
After estimated expenses of $205.00, the blog’s estimated net income was $731.50.
The strongest income source this month was online courses, while affiliate marketing, memberships, and sponsored posts also made meaningful contributions. Going forward, I want to build on those results while improving digital product sales, increasing traffic, growing the email list and continuing to diversify the blog’s income.
