Welcome to our my first blog traffic and income report. I have been reading blog traffic and income reports since before we launched our blog, which makes this pretty darn exciting. I didn't consider writing income reports so soon but here we are, and I am excited to share our blogging journey so far.

Why I am here and who I am:

Hey mama, I am Trish— AKA Labor Nurse Mama. I am a labor and delivery nurse with over 15 years of high-risk OB experience. I am also a mama to 7 kids and have given birth to 6. This means I am quite familiar with the postpartum period and how to navigate it. I am the online birth class educator for Calm Labor Confident Birth and The VBAC Lab birth classes and the mama expert inside our Calm Mama Society a pregnancy & postpartum membership community! I am passionate about your birth and motherhood journey! You can find me over on IG teaching over 230k mamas daily. I am passionate about your birth and motherhood journey! We make a small commission from some of the links (you dont pay any more for using our links); however some of the recommendations, we do not earn anything; we just love em and want you to know about them. Click here for our full disclosure. Thank you!

Our Blog Journey

The beginnings of Habibi House. In 2016 Anna (Co-owner of Habibi House) and Ian (My son) were planning their wedding. My youngest was 2, and my eldest was getting married. To say that my toddler was (is) the best-dressed toddler would be an understatement. Having money for epic clothes is one perk of having a baby in your forties. This boy (until he decided to get his own opinion) never wore sports-themed or superheroes. So, when I found myself searching for a bib to go with his tux for the wedding, I was dumbfounded. Didn't brands know that some parents didn't do primary colors and Elmo? Hence, Habibi Bib was born. Out of that dream, came the labor gown, the baby swaddles, baby headwear, and finally the uber-popular boho nursing cover. We launched our Etsy shop in June 2017, bought the rights to our website, but quickly shelved the blog out of fear, even though I have dreamt of blogging for many years. It would be over a year before we tackled the blogging dream. (If a lack of knowledge and paralyzing fear is your reason for not yet launching, skip to my article on starting a blog, we are offering our services for free installation and set up. Fast forward, In March of 2018, both of our families moved from Florida to Nashville. It was after this move that we began to mull over starting the blog. May: Research, research, and more research. I was working on content. Anna was working on logo and branding. I spent hours reading blog posts, Bluehost tips, and listening to Podcasts about blogging. June: Laying the groundwork for our Pinterest account and writing content and Finding my voice. July: Optimizing the posts with SEO (through Yoast SEO) and making graphics, through Picmonkey and Canva. Leaning Tailwind and retaking the Pinterest Avalanche Course. August: Writing more content, scheduling pins to relevant boards, joining facebook sharing groups, researching, and learning. Always more learning! September: Writing content. September taught me that readers are finicky. This was a difficult month; things seemed to slow down after our huge bang in August. I refocused on content writing and applying what I had learned up to this point. Signed up and took Pinterest Ninja. (This was a Game changer for viral pins)

Why Publish this Report

I decided to publish this report because I wanted you guys to see the possibilities for a blogger who started with zero knowledge. Not that I don't love to read the high-income stories, it's just that I wanted you guys to see a great lower income report as well. Plus, I can share with you and allow you a window into our growth as we grow until the point we are also making six-seven figures per month! Dreams people, dreams!!

2018

August Blog report:

Sessions: 27,658 Users: 23,6464 Page Views: 33,390

Income

Affiliate Income: 29.33 Esty Sales: 161.00 Education: Pinterest Avalanche

September Blog Report:

Sessions: 12,239 Users: 10,704 Page Views: 15,449

Income

Affiliate Income: 12.97 Blog: 0 Esty Sales: 172.50 Education: Pinterest Ninja

October Blog Report:

Sessions: 28,429  Users: 25,448 Page Views:32,451

Income

Affiliate Income: 1.78 (Big money!!) Esty Sales: 150.00 Education: Travel Blogging Fast Track (Haven't completely incorporated the travel aspect, but many of their ideas are applicable in many areas of blogging)

Game Plan Changed

(November started a turn for us, we decided to make a game plan. I hadn't yet understood affiliate links or even how to monetize our traffic at all. Anna and I met and set a plan for my time for the next few months ) November and December: Affiliate income January: Advertising February: Guest Posts 

November Blog Report:

Sessions: 71,522 Users: 59,454 Page Views: 83,336

Income

Affiliate Income: 120.81 Esty Sales: 88.00 Education: Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing (you will begin to see our $$ growing after this course (including areas other than affiliate income which I have also learned from this course creator, who makes over 100k a MONTH!)

December Blog Report:

We applied and were approved for Mediavine this month! Sessions: 64,611 Users: 49,615 Page Views: 73,911

Income

Affiliate Income: (didn't promote much this month with Holidays, stupid rookie mistake) Esty Sales: 130.50 Ads 359.60 Education: Finished Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing

2019

January Blog Report:

Sessions: 166,180 Users: 123,423 Page Views: 197,563

Income

Affiliate: 127.35 Sponsored Posts: 275 Ads: 999.34 Esty Sales: 245.00 Education: Facebook Ads For Bloggers January Total: 1646.69

February Blog Report:

Sessions: 145,264 Users: 95,744 Page Views: 173,437

Income

Affiliate: 126 Ads: 1441.76 Esty Sales: 294.00 Education: Five Minutes to Famous (I haven't finished this yet...) February Total: 1861.76

Business Blogger vs. Hobby Blogger

Okay, so let's talk about how we got to a place that we are making money and how you can as well. I am not going to sugar coat it. Blogging is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have met some fantastic friends in the blogging community and amongst my readers. Receiving a gratitude email from a reader is the best "income" you can obtain from a reader. When the hard work is overwhelming you, which it will. Because sister (or brother), trust me when I say blogging is some serious work. It's not for the faint of heart, and it's not for a lazy person.  To make money from a blog, you must work your booty off. Seriously, short of nursing school, this is the hardest work I have ever done. But it is the most rewarding as well.

Key Characteristics of Successful Blogger

?? First, You must treat it like a business. What does that mean? You start by creating a business plan, setting business hours, and being willing to work more hours than most people would dedicate. ?? Second, Bloggers who make money blogging have invested not only time but money into their blog. I'm sure some bloggers have made money over time without spending much money. However, I am equally sure that the most prominent bloggers you follow, who make incredible incomes, invested money into their blogs.  Just like business owners who have a brick and mortar business, they didn't start their business without investment. (Read below for the top recommendations for where you should invest) ?? Third, Think outside the box. The beauty of a blog is that at some point if done wisely,  it becomes a source of residual income. This is where a try and fail mindset is needed. You must try various ideas of income ideas before you nail the one that works with your audience. Anna and I are at this point. We are about to launch our incredible blogger planners (and Planner Core) which we have worked incredibly long hours perfecting. Not only do plan to use this as a means of residual income but also to support ending human trafficking, which is a passion of both of ours. ?? Finally, Never stop learning. I follow several bloggers who are making seven figures, and one thing they have in common is that they also continue to invest in education from other bloggers. We are a community who can learn from one another. This is key to growth in all areas of life. I am a mother of seven children, but I still seek parenting education. Wisdom learns. It is not stagnant.

Recommendations:

Education is key. Do not hesitate to invest in your new business. But do your due diligence and research. I have done countless research, and I would say our traffic numbers speak for themselves.

To Start a Blog:

We are offering free installation and set up for a limited time. Head here: Boss Babe Takes on Blogging

Blogging Knowledge:

If you have money to invest and want to see a quicker return, then start with Alex and Laurens all inclusive blogging course. I wish I had done this and skipped all the small time.

To learn Pinterest:

If you want to grow fast and pay your self back even quicker, then take Pinterest Avalanche (included in the above blogging course)

Create Viral Pins:

Check out Pinterest Ninja for many resources besides just viral pin creation. Seriously, this is a very affordable course to take. It includes way more resources than you can fathom.

Affiliate Marketing:

Do not skip this course. Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing. It is one of a kind and full of valuable resources.

In this course there are 6 modules, over 30 lessons, several worksheets, bonuses, an extremely helpful and exclusive Facebook group, and more. I go through everything that you need to know about affiliate marketing, such as:

• What affiliate marketing is and how it works
• Why affiliate marketing is great
• The exact steps I've taken to earn over $300,000 from a single blog post
• How to pick the right affiliate products to promote
• How to increase conversions
• How to build trust and not lose followers
• Required disclosures that you need to know about
• The one major tool you need for affiliate marketing
• Different strategies to use to promote your affiliate products
• How to use Pinterest to succeed at affiliate marketing (yes, this includes the newest Pinterest affiliate rules!)

And much, much more! This course is anything and everything about affiliate marketing. Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing is worth much more than $197, and this is the lowest price you'll ever see it listed for. Join now and learn how to master affiliate marketing. ~ Makingsenseofaffiliatemarketing.com

I have a list of Books that are a must for every boss blogger. This will be short and sweet as I don't want to overwhelm you too much. Pick one and start there, then move your way through them. Education is the key people. This is your masters in blogging. Go to beast mode. ~ Launch by Jeff Walker Read this book before you launch your next product. It is a lot of information but so applicable. ~ Everybody Writes by Ann Hadley ~ Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert ~ Entrepreneurial You by Dorie Clark Books to read: ~ Jab, Jab Right Hook   by Gary Vaynerchuk ~ Get Over Your Damn Self by Romi Neudstadt Okay, Peeps, that is enough for this report. I'm off to do the next big thing! lol If you want to see what we have done with Pinterest and why we have had over a 600k blog views in six months, check this out. As always, sign up and let's become friends!