Yes, by December 2015, I did make a REAL income online…. But NOT in the way I expected to… Not even close! In 2015 I tried EVERYTHING:

• Sponsored blog posts
• Affiliate programs
• Selling my own stuff
• Sponsored social media posts

And what ended up working the best…?

Combining all of the above… using Twitter! Running a sponsored post? Talk about it on Twitter. Joined an awesome affiliate program? Tweet about the products you love. Have something to sell? Let the world know… with Twitter of course. Why Twitter? Facebook & Pinterest are great for traffic, but you can not actually control who sees your content. As a new blogger, Facebook & Pinterest can be hard to break into & having something go viral is not guaranteed. But anyone can gain thousands of Twitter followers using these 4 simple steps. This strategy works well for Instagram too!

The numbers here only tell half the story – the other half – the REAL SECRET is in exactly how I’m using Twitter to build an income online. I’m just about to launch an online course teaching you EXACTLY how to make the kind of money I’m making online. Make sure you sign up here to get details about the exclusive prelaunch.

Not only will you find out HOW you can use Twitter to make money online, you can be an AFFILIATE for the course too – earning commissions for every sale. The plan for 2016 is for ALL of us to grow together, quit our day jobs & work online from home! Now that you know that Twitter is the secret to success, let’s talk money!

Income Report

Despite the popularity of my blog income reports, I only managed to post 3 income reports in 2015. Clearly a monthly reporting schedule is too ambitious for me! In 2016 I’m aiming for quarterly income reports. Make sure you sign up here to get my new income reports!

In case you missed any of them, click here to read my previous income reports.

December Highlights

• Linqia hired me for 5 campaigns. Thanks to my Twitter strategy for success, each campaign offered more than the previous offer!
• BlogHer hired me for 9 campaigns. Again, I was getting paid to tweet. Not pennies, but hundreds of dollars.
• My post about How To Sell on Amazon continued to generate affiliate income leading up to the holidays.

2015 Highlights

In September I joined the Elite Blogging Academy . I wish I had joined as soon as I began blogging, but there is a TON of great information for building a blog at all levels.

Right now I’m using the unit about Creating a Marketing Plan to help with the launch of my first course & the Elite Blog Academy forum will be a great place to look for sales!

In May I took an excellent Pinterest training course. This course helped me to get my very first viral Pinterest pin! It came highly recommended to me from Sarah at the Early Bird Mom (click here to see what else Sarah recommends in my interview with her).

It was a slow start, but I ended up writing 12 sponsored posts in 2015, 10 of them were with Linqia. My first sponsored post paid just $15, but my last one was for $600 (with Linqia, of course).

I was beyond excited to be interviewed on the Brilliant Business Moms podcast about How I Sold $45,000 on Amazon.com. I’m set to be interviewed again about my success with Twitter, so stay tuned for that!

This Blog Income Report: What’s Included?

Below are my income & traffic numbers for both December on it’s own & 2015 in full. For income, I’ll combine both of my websites Mom Resource and Bath Time Fun Time, since my income accounts are all linked up together anyway. For traffic, I’m only sharing Mom Resource numbers because that is where I’m focusing my efforts. If it becomes interesting to also share my Bath Time Fun Time traffic I will, but I don’t expect there to be any major changes.

The Numbers

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you use these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. If you have questions about this or any of the income or expenses please leave a comment below.

2015 Income Totals

• Linqia sponsored posts & referrals: $3,617.56
• Ebates rebates & referrals: $492.16
• BlogHer sponsored tweets: $615.00
• Printable Baby Shower Games: $924.58
• Amazon Associates: $111.66
• Sverve tweets & referrals: $58.68
• Socialix ads, sponsored post & referrals: $87.66
• Google Adsense & Youtube: $206.98
• ShareASale affiliate sales: $119.09
• BlueHost affiliate referrals: $455
• The Selling Family affiliate referrals: $1,281.25
• The Motherhood sponsored post: $200
• Affiliate Window (Lonely Planet & Etsy affiliate sales & referrals): $121.56
• Building A Framework: The Ultimate Blogging Handbook: $20
• Udemy: $20
• Angie Makes: $14
• Consulting: $85

2015 Income: $8,430.18

2015 Expenses

• Pinterest course Pinning Perfect: $79
• Aweber: $388
• Quickbooks: $119.40
• Hosting for MomResource.com: $161.86**
• Hosting for BathTimeFunTime.com: $131.91**
• Meet Edgar: $147
• Crowdfire: $24.98
• Roundteam: $17.97
• Izea: $3
• Google Ads: $898.63
• Tailwind: $49
• SocialWarfare plugin: $4
• SendOwl Affiliate Program: $39.68
• SocialOomph: $6.44
• Dollar Photo Club: $80
• Paypal Fees for Printable Baby Shower Games: $80.59
• Payhip Fees for Printable Baby Shower Games: $47.12
• InLinkz: $22.65
• Canva: $26.95
• Hootsuite: $49.95
• Mom Resource website redesign: $682
• Bath Time Fun Time website redesign: $400
• Facebook course: $97
• Facebook ads: $1.26
• Pinterest ads: $742.41
• Affiliate Window (initial setup payment, credited back to my account in income section above): $5

2015 Expenses: $4,305.80

I did a LOT of experimenting in 2015, which accounts for many of these expenses. Some of them I would do again in a second (both of the website redesigns were WORTH EVERY PENNY). Others I chalk up to a learning curve (not sure how much I really got out of that Facebook course, but the Pinterest course was fantastic).

2015 Net Profit: $4,124.38

December Income

• Linqia (sponsored posts & referrals): $2,335.80
• BlogHer sponsored tweets: $215
• Printable Baby Shower Games: $6
• Amazon Associates: $24.39
• Google (Adsense & Youtube): $20.32
• Ebates rebates & referrals: $128.60
• Sverve tweets & referrals: $26.29
• ShareASale affiliate: $13.42
• Craftsy affiliate: $15
• Udemy: $20
• The Selling Family: $307.90
• Affiliate Window (Lonely Planet & Etsy affiliate sales & referrals): $90
• Angie Makes: $14
• Consulting: $15

December Income: $3,231.72

December Expenses

• Aweber: $29
• Quickbooks: $9.95
• Hosting for MomResource.com: $14.23**
• Hosting for BathTimeFunTime.com: $10.94**
• Meet Edgar: $49
• Crowdfire: $19.99
• Roundteam: $9.99
• Izea: $1
• Google Ads: $298.63
• Tailwind: $7
• SocialWarfare plugin: $2
• SendOwl Affiliate Program: $15
• SocialOomph: $6.44
• Dollar Photo Club: $10
• Paypal Fees for Printable Baby Shower Games: $0.96
• Payhip Fees for Printable Baby Shower Games: $0.33
• InLinkz: $1.67
• Canva: $12.95
• Hootsuite: $9.99

December Expenses: $509.07

**Note about Web Hosting: Use my discount to get a FREE domain & start your own blog for as low as $3.95 a month. 

If you are considering starting a blog, use my guide How to Start a Blog in Just 4 Steps to get a 40% discount off the monthly price & a FREE domain name.

December Net Profit: $2,722.65

Not bad at all given my net profit in the January 2015 Income Report was $38.04!

Top Posts for 2015

1. How To Sell On Amazon
2. Twitter For Beginners
3. How To Start A Successful Blog
4. DIY Blogger Talks Fears, Traffic & Success
5. Online Income & Traffic January 2015

2015 Traffic Overview

I post this so you are not discouraged if your traffic is low as well. It’s tempting to worry about how to get traffic numbers up, but I want to encourage you that you CAN still make money online even if your traffic is not yet what you want it to be.

2015 Pageviews, Users & Sessions

2015 Traffic Sources

2015 Social Traffic Sources

Why Blog?

Yes, I use Twitter to make a lot of my online income. Yes, I leverage my Twitter following to promote different programs & campaigns. But guess what? Even though having lots of blog traffic is not required, you do still need to have a blog. Did you know you can start a blog for as little as $3.49 per month? Use my discounted rates & step by step guide to start a blog. You will receive a free domain name ($15-$200 value) if you purchase at least 12 months of hosting & hosting prices start at just $3.49/month (you can get this lower price through my link). If you’re thinking about making money blogging, then this is your best option. My post here will walk you through everything you’ll need to do to get up and running in less than 10 minutes! If you’ve been thinking about creating a blog of your own, I want to encourage you to start today!

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