Glad to announce that the total earnings were up by over 21% compared to last month, owing largely to deals and discounts offered by my affiliate partners on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s the best month I’ve had until date in terms of affiliate earnings, slightly exceeding the earnings in September. As always, before I reveal my full income report and net profit breakdown for the month, here are a few important highlights from November. (To learn more about why I started maintaining monthly income reports, visit this page)
Content Creation
Not a whole lot of new content was created last month. Here are all the blog posts that were published in November:
10 Best Firefox Add-ons and Extensions for SEO — Despite facing stiff competition from Chrome, Firefox continues to be a popular web browser with a loyal user base. To that end, the article features 10 of the best SEO browser extensions you can add to your Firefox. Top 24 Apps and Tools for Social Media Marketers — Boost your social media marketing with these 24 apps and tools. 5 Best VPN Services for WordPress Users — Protect yourself from online security threats and cyber attacks by opting for a VPN service. This article features top 5 VPN services for WordPress users.
Switching from Sumo to OptinMonster
I’ve never been loyal to one product when it comes to lead generation optin software. When I first started this blog, I was using OptinMonster; then I switched over to Sumo, then to GetSiteControl, and then back to Sumo again. And now, I’m switching back to OptinMonster once again. So I’ve come a full circle. I switched over to OptinMonster because I really like the design of the widgets and optin forms that the tool offers, and sadly, Sumo has not updated the design of their opt-in forms since I first signed up for the tool back in early 2017. The one advantage Sumo had over OptinMonster and other lead-gen software was that their subscription plans included other useful apps such as Heat Maps, Highlighter, Live Chat, and Contact Form. But strangely the company decided to deprecate these apps in November, so I no longer feel that the tool has an edge over OptinMonster. Furthermore, the company has shifted its focus to e-commerce business; so that seems to be the direction they are heading towards. OptinMonster was also offering a nifty Black Friday deal, so I felt the time was right to switch over to them. I’ve published in-depth reviews of both these tools at 99signals, so feel free to check them out if you’d like to learn more about their key features and limitations:
Sumo Review OptinMonster Review
Marketing Mantra Podcast
I was able to record and publish two new episodes for the Marketing Mantra podcast last month.
Ep. #7 – Top 5 Productivity Tools for Entrepreneurs Ep. #8 – The One SEO Tool You Aren’t Using (But Should)
A post shared by 99signals.com (@99signals) on Nov 20, 2018 at 10:38am PST You can subscribe and listen to all the episodes of Marketing Mantra on any of these podcast platforms below: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Breaker | Radio Public | Spotify | Pocket Casts | Anchor | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Acast | TuneIn | PodBean | Overcast
2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge
As always, I spent a considerable amount of time reading business books last month. While I’m still reading Team of Rivals and Thrive (check last month’s report), I was able to read these four books as well:
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg Linchpin by Seth Godin (read my review here) The Winning Way 2.0 by Anita Bhogle and Harsha Bhogle Screw It, Let’s Do It by Richard Branson
The Power of Habit is undoubtedly one of the best books I’ve read this year. In the book, Charles Duhigg gives us a deep understanding of how habits work, and explains ways in which we can form new habits and eliminate bad habits.
I’ve been a frequent reader of Seth Godin’s blog over the years and I find his insights on business and marketing really helpful. So I thought the logical next step would be to read one of his business books. I bought two of his bestsellers – All Marketers are Liars and Linchpin, and I was able to read Linchpin last month. Though Godin follows a non-linear approach in the book, I found the concept of linchpin immensely intriguing. To learn more about my thoughts on the book, please check out my review. The Winning Way by Anita Bhogle and Harsha Bhogle was just a pleasure to read. I’m a massive fan of cricket and of Harsha Bhogle’s commentary. I believe there’s no cricket pundit in the world who understands and analyzes the game better than him. So it was really interesting to see him combine his knowledge of cricket with business and leadership, and reveal ways in which we can achieve success in a competitive business environment. Filled with amusing anecdotes and sports analogies (mostly cricket), The Winning Way is a compelling read. Screw It, Let’s Do It is one of the shortest business books I’ve ever read. It took me less than an hour to finish reading it. In the book, Richard Branson offers lessons and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs while sharing a few examples from his life and adventures as the founder of the Virgin Group.
Quotes I’m Pondering (Nov 1 – 30, 2018)
Inspired by Tim Ferriss’ Tribe of Mentors, you’ll find thought-provoking quotes in all my income reports. These are the quotes that inspired me and changed my thinking in November. I hope you find them just as insightful as I did: “The essence of knowledge is, having it, to use it.” — Confucius (Chinese philosopher) “There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (American essayist and philosopher) “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” — Dr. Seuss (American author, political cartoonist, and animator)
Income Report
Finally, we’ve arrived at the income report for November 2018. Below are my affiliate earnings, followed by other income, monthly expenses, and net profit breakdown. Affiliate Earnings
SEMrush – $2136.57 (review / eBook) AppSumo – $967.1 (latest deals) AppSumo Briefcase – $202.71 (review) Long Tail Pro – $101.55 OptinMonster – $130.39 (review) Serpstat – $528.85 (review) ConvertKit – $203.1 (review) KWFinder – $42 (review) SendinBlue – $159.32 (review) TARS – $59.4 Landingi – $23.4 AWeber – $58.8 (review) Instapage – $47.4 (review) Ninja Outreach – $40 BlueHost – $65 (review) Venngage – $24 (review) Namecheap – $6.07 WPForms – $6.32 Sumo – $50.7 (review) NordVPN – $4.6
Total Affiliate Earnings: $4773.28 Other Income
Sponsored posts – $375 (click here for more details)
Expenses
Mailchimp (Recurring) – $50 AppSumo Briefcase (Recurring) – $49 Google Ads – $37.46 Facebook Ads – $62.73 Flickr Pro (Recurring) – $5.99 Alexa Subscription (Recurring) – $19.99 Buildfire (Recurring) – $54 OptinMonster Pro Yearly – $226.20
Total Expenses: $505.37 Net Profit Breakdown
Affiliate earnings: $4773.28 Other income: $375 Total expenses: (-$505.37) Net Profit: $4642.91
That sums up this month’s income report. If you have any questions about this month’s income report, feel free to ask them in the comments section or connect with me via Twitter. To get frequent updates on all things SEO, blogging, and social media, follow 99signals on these platforms below:
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If you’re interested to learn more about passive income, I reveal some of my affiliate marketing secrets in this article + webinar. Be sure to check it out!