My Monthly Report – October 2008

This is the first of a series of reports that I will post each and every month summarizing my progress. I’ll first mention the major events that may have happened within the month that could have made a difference in my earnings. I will also break down the sources of my income so that I can keep track of how each one is doing. Lastly, I’ll conclude with the most important things that I learned and what I have planned for the near future. I’d love to respond to any questions or comments that you may have. Thanks!

Important Going-Ons for October

• Launched my Ebook on my blog at intheleed.com on October 2nd.
• Created smartpassiveincome.com on October 17th.
• Started a new project, which is still in the works. I’ll reveal that once it’s ready.
• Purchased 1-year of service with the Email marketing tool, Aweber.
• Joined the Internet Business Mastery Academy.
• Interviewed by Lindsay at Writingforyourwealth.com about my Ebook.

Income Sources

• Ebook Sales: 309 Copies – $7126.91
• Google Adsense: $596.31
• Private Advertising (pro-rated): $183.33
• Gross Total: $7906.55

A very successful month for me being that I was recently laid-off. It kind of sickens me a little to think that if I did still have my 9 to 5 job, I’d have even more money earned in the month of October – but what can I do. Again, I’m looking at it from the other side and seeing it as an opportunity for me to use my free time wisely and create new products and projects that will hopefully be as successful as my first.

I also had the best Google Adsense month I’ve ever had. My previous high was $485, which was for September. I attribute this increase to better Google Search rankings and also word of mouth. Hopefully, it will continue to rise through the end of the year.

What I Learned

1. The most important thing I learned is about the launch of my Ebook. In a nutshell – automation is AWESOME! I’ve set it up in a way that I am never needed in order to process and deliver a sale. I can be asleep or at the gym, and the book is still selling. I will teach you how this process works in future posts, but let me tell you – it’s the ultimate in passive income strategies.

2. Another tidbit is about my newsletter subscription on my other blog. I already have 125 subscribers in only half a month. If I started this back in January when the blog was first launched, I’m sure I’d have over a couple thousand subscribers. I would have been able to announce my Ebook launch to those people, and that would have increased my sales. Big mistake on my part. Get a newsletter service now.

3. One more tip I learned is about my new and upcoming project. I learned that you don’t have to do everything yourself. On my first blog, I created, designed and re-coded the entire website – all by myself. I did enjoy learning about the technical side of a blog and doing all of the design work and such, but the problem is – it took up so much time!

For my new project, I hired a person on Elance to design the website and graphics for me, and I’m really pleased with the results. Even though I paid for the service, I actually saved money by saving time (because time = money). And, I was able to work on other things while my Elance dude was working on my new project. In conclusion: Don’t be afraid to spend money for your business. Just be smart about it.

What’s Next

I have a new project that’s coming out soon. I will be using the blog platform to gain readership first, and I plan to again launch an Ebook for this project after a few months, depending on how Google reacts to it keyword-wise. That being said, I will start writing the Ebook soon, so I’ll be writing posts about the entire process.

Posted on : November 1st, 2008

Related posts:

1. My Monthly Report – October 2009
2. My Monthly Report – December 2008
3. My Monthly Report – November 2008
4. My Monthly Report – January 2009
5. My Monthly Report – June 2009

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