You’ve probably noticed many of the top bloggers reveal blogging income and there is much debate over if this good practice. Recently, I noticed bloggers who are starting out will reveal their income as well, showing the progression through a starting blog to one that gains momentum over the years. The main argument is when showing income, you are devaluing the purpose of starting a blog in the first place. For example, when people begin to see the income, they easily forget passion was the main reason a blogger started the online journey in the first place. Over the years, I’ve explored several blogs and I think it’s a great idea to reveal your income along the way. My motivation for providing it on my blog was Matthewwoodward.co.uk, who showed his progression from $0 to 25,000/mo in an 18 month period. However, he put a twist on the way he presented the information to his readers.
If you’re starting a blog then it’s important to follow these fundamentals when declaring your income. This way, you protect your passion and provide motivation at the same time.
Let’s get started…
The Mindset
No matter what type of blog you’re starting, you have to have the right mind frame in place. From the beginning, you have to know your main objective and purpose so you are focused and clear along the way. Whatever you plan on publishing on your blog should be outlined before getting started so, in this case, your income reports. You have to get ready to provide a breakdown each month and research other blogs to show the type of information people find engaging. Here’s what I did:
I did some research, going over monthly income reports on niche related blogs. By doing this, I was able to get into the mind frame of what kind of information will be important. I made sure I had the fundamentals in place to be able to gather these reports. For example,
- Google Analytics for traffic
- Google Analytics for top content
- com for social share reports
- YouTube for video content
The information you want to present will be different so make a list of each element by visiting relevant blogs in your niche.
Here’s something else:
With monthly income reports, you will want to be completely transparent so it’s important you keep that on your mind. If you’re showing people how to make money online by starting a blog, you want to show them a step-by-step process along the way. Many of the blogs I have researched have succeeded because they provided a complete income report, whether there was a profit or loss. In other words, these bloggers were completely transparent.
Reasons to Reveal Income
If you are still undecided about revealing your blogging income, then consider these two important reasons why you would.
Inspiration –
When many top bloggers were asked about revealing their monthly income, they said it was for inspiration. By being transparent, they were able to inspire their readers to start blogging. It was a great way to show readers that if you focus and are serious, then you can be successful online. However, they added that while publishing their income reports, they were completely transparent about the steps they took along the way. For example,
- The content written
- Where they advertised along the way
- Videos they published
- Who they networked with
- Where traffic came from
- And any other information they know readers would find useful.
Next,
Build Credibility –
When asked how it helped with their overall success, these bloggers stated it increased their credibility. For example, many bloggers claim to make enormous amounts of money, however, these are empty statements without any proof. When you show people where and how much you are making through your blog, it’s a great way to gain credibility in your niche. It’s a great way to get people to follow what you are doing so they can gain the traction you have over the months. Let’s look at it this way…
If someone said they lost 30 lbs over 2 months, who would you believe and follow?
- A person who just makes that statement without any proof on how they did, or
- A person who makes the statement and walks you through the entire process of how to lose the 30 lbs.
If you’re like me, then #2 would be your choice…right?
Showing your blog income can be very powerful in building your credibility but it’s important to have the right mind frame and to be doing it for the right reasons. Only then will you be able to declare your income and get the right benefits from it at the same time.