November’s income report does NOT include net income generated from this blog (Fat Stacks) and excludes my local business marketing profits along with a few other niche sites I publish.
All revenue and expenses pertain to 2 niche sites. I profile only 2 niche sites because they’re different in many ways. One serves a large, broad audience, derives a great deal of traffic from social media and is largely monetized with display ads.
The other niche site included in this income report is very narrow in scope (serves a very specific audience), derives most of its traffic from organic search and is monetized exclusively with affiliate offers.
The point of these income reports is to show that you can generate an income with niche sites. More importantly, you can use different models as well.
Why do I reveal income from niche sites?
I only reveal revenue from 2 niche sites. I have other sites in my online business that aren’t included. I simply choose to profile 2 in my income reports.
I publish these income reports because:
1. Income reports bolster credibility: If I’m going to publish a blog on how to start and build an online publishing business, it’s only fair that you know I actually generate a net income.
2. They’re popular: Let’s face it, income reports are popular. I’m not the first blogger to offer income reports, but it seems there’s an insatiable appetite for following online income.
Revenue & Overview (Split Up by Niche Site):
1. B2C1:
- Audience: large, broad and global.
- Traffic: Social media, organic search, email newsletter, YouTube and paid.
- Monetization: Display Ads and affiliate promotions.
Revenue:
- Display Ad Revenue: $108,292.80
- Affiliate commission revenue: $1,024.73
B2B1:
- Audience: Narrow, specific audience business owner audience.
- Traffic Source(s): Organic search engines.
- Monetization: Affiliate promotions.
Revenue:
- Affiliate commission revenue: $5,806.15
Total Revenue in November 2014 (Both Sites): $115,123.70
Expenses (Both Sites):
- LeadPages: $67
- AWeber: $149
- Bluehost: $5.95
- WebSynthesis Hosting (review): $147.00
- Amazon S3 Server: $1,694.19
- Amazon AWS Support: $149 (to address a Pinterest pinning issue on my site, which was resolved).
- Stock Photos: $50
- Facebook Ads: $40,060.52
- Outbrain Ads: $30,842.07
- LongerDays (outsourcing services): $4,082
Total Expenses in November 2014 (Both Sites): $77,246.73
November Profit for Both Niche Sites: $37,876.94
October 2014 Total Profit: $40,616.46
Change from October to November: -$2,739.52
Additional Metrics:
Google Organic Search Traffic (# of Sessions):
- B2C#1: 118,975
- B2B#1: 2,733
New Email Subscribers:
- B2C#1: 3,204 less 387 unsubscribes = 2,817 net new subscribers (total email subscribers: 15,079).
- B2B#1: 144 less 21 unsubscribes = 123 net new subscribers (total email subscribers: 3,593).
Net New Facebook Fans:
- B2C#1: 12,618 (total fans November 30: 90,661)
- B2B#1: None (am not active on Facebook for this niche)
Comments
3 reasons for the decreased net income:
1. In November I nearly doubled content production for B2C1 which nearly doubled my outsourcing costs (from ,600 to ,082). I won’t realize the benefit for a few months (if I do at all) because much of the work is focused on content targeting long-tail keywords to increase organic search traffic.
2. During the last 10 days of November, the cost of traffic from Facebook and Outbrain increased considerably due to Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales as well as the holiday season. I expect higher traffic costs through December. Interestingly (and unfortunately), ad revenue on an RPM basis did not increase in a corresponding fashion. The net result is a reduced ROI from paid traffic.
Moreover, I invested much time in getting Fat Stacks up and running in November, which reduced the amount of time I spent on optimizing my Facebook campaigns. I didn’t monitor and test new campaigns as diligently as usual which also contributed to higher cost of traffic.
3. November has 1 less day than October. That accounts for $1,300 less net income.
Going Forward:
1. I plan to invest much more time on optimizing paid traffic campaigns, specifically by using Qwaya software for Facebook campaigns. I’ve just completed a 2 week free trial with Qwaya. It’s looking like it’s effective software at improving Facebook campaigns so I’ve purchased access ($149/month). Qwaya software makes creating hundreds of ads and adsets very easy (i.e. bulk creation). My hope is to reduce the cost of traffic from Facebook by being able to launch thousands of ads and hundreds of ad sets in December.
I will likely increase my ad budget in December in an effort to increase net profit in light of higher ad costs.
2. I plan increase investment in content production for December for B2C1 with a goal of publishing 40 posts in December alone.
3. I plan to focus again on Bing Ads as a traffic source. I’ve only dabbled with Bing over the last 10 months, but I have plans to increase time and money in Bing Ads in December and hopefully beyond.
Screenshots
Adsense
Media.net
Quarterly Commission from 1 Affiliate Promotion Source (3 Months’ Commission)
Facebook Advertising Expenses November 2014
Outbrain Advertising Expense
Do you want to learn more?
I profile how I generate profits with both types of niche sites in my 2 guides.
The Authority Niche Advanced Course explains the method for B2C1 (the more profitable niche site).
The “High-Value” Passive Income Niche Guide explains the method for B2B1 (less profitable, but much less work too).
See below for access…
My Guides
1. FAT Stacks Authority Niche Advanced Course
This course explains in step-by-step detail how I launched a niche site and within 8 months hit 1.1 million monthly visitors generating $37,000+ net profit per month. Click here to learn more.
2. FAT Stacks “High-Value” Passive Income Niche Guide
This blogging concept has earned me thousands every month for many months like clockwork. Each month my income goes up. It’s a simple, yet brilliant blogging concept. Click here to learn more.
Jon Dykstra is a six figure niche site creator with 10+ years of experience. His willingness to openly share his wins and losses in the email newsletter he publishes has made him a go-to source of guidance and motivation for many. His popular “Niche site profits” course has helped thousands follow his footsteps in creating simple niche sites that earn big.
