Last month was a record month and this one is a doozy… $4100! Oh ya. Good timing too since I’m somehow managed to spend a ridiculous amount of money here in Kigali in my first five weeks. I think I’m getting the hang of living cheaply here now, though. I guess its obvious that I’m pretty happy with August’s results!
Earnings Breakdown:
- Google Adsense – $342 – Boo to Google. I’m working hard at getting my living in New York site listed for my main keywords but it’s just not happening. The long tail search results are good, but as far as the major keywords, my site’s nowhere to be found. Once they kick in I could see my Adsense jump up by quite a bit… but I’ve been waiting for that to happen for months. Normally it’s just a waiting game but now I’m really putting a push on getting quality links.
- Affiliate Sales – $655 – My three travel insurance affiliates are contributing pretty evenly now which is what I wanted… now I just need to work at growing them all. I have a few ideas but it’s not a priority at the moment. I added a visa service affiliate to my working holiday visas website but I’m not sure yet if I made any sales. I’ll add them onto next month’s report and let you know how it does.
- Advertising – $2827 – Huge month! I rescued a $950 ad sale from the depths of my spam box which was pretty sweet, plus I had $950 renewal with another company. A few other sales here and some renewals there and all of a sudden I’m at my best month ever. Pretty lopsided in favour of the ol’ ad sales but I’m not going to complain.
- Ebook Sales – $273 – I think I did well with ebook sales this month due mostly to a mention in the HODR newsletter that went out to several thousand people who are both interested in volunteering and also in donating to HODR. Perfect match! I think they’ll mention me again in the next one with more of an emphasis on the fact that half the proceeds will be donated to them. A few reviews were posted on some popular websites which I think helped. I didn’t do any guest posting or spend any time on promoting the ebook myself, so it was a pleasant surprise to sell so many copies this month.
This is the first huge month I’ve ever had. When I talk about my earnings goals I’m always hoping for a steady $2500 so earning over $4000 came as a pleasant surprise. I do think it’s realistic to earn at that level consistently but I would need to have a pretty big renewal lined up each month. If advertising on the internet continues to gain in popularity like I think it will then this isn’t unrealistic. The lopsidedness makes me a bit uneasy but I’m encouraged to see my affiliate sales above $500 again.
I’ve abandoned the link building efforts for now and I’m working on a few fun things to keep my sanity. I’m finally getting my indie travel in Africa website started and I imagine I’ll start work soon on a local NGO’s site. I’ve also dreamed up a possible partnership idea which I think has a lot of potential and I’m waiting to see how that unfolds.
I’ve decided to stick around here until the end of October partly because I really want to get on top of things and also because I moved into a cheaper room in my house ($300 a month) and mostly because I’m having a good time here. I’m off to Kenya for two weeks in the middle of September to catch up with a friend, relax on the beach and maybe chase animals in the Masai Mara, so it might not be as productive a month. But I’ve been working a lot and I think I could use the break.
So that’s all from me. I’m really enjoying the work I’m doing now and excited to see that it is possible to pull off some pretty big numbers with this gig.
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