One Year Online--A Look Back

Well, it is hard to believe that exactly one year ago on May 26, 2009, I published my first online article on HubPages.  I don't exactly remember how it started or why I did it, but what started as a small, little experiment or hobby has developed into a "part-time" quest for developing passive income.

I ended up starting this blog to chronicle my journey and share with those other "part-timers" (or anyone else who might be interested) what I am learning along the way.  I have also shared my goals, frustrations, and the results of my various efforts.

One year ago, I had no idea what a keyword or a backlink was.  I didn't know the difference between "follow" and "no-follow".  Now I can use Google Adwords Keyword Tool to try and enhance my CPC.  I have a rough idea of how to drive traffic and improve my SERPs even though I may not be very good at it.

For those of you who have followed this blog, you know that it has been my goal to ultimately earn $100 daily online by the time my youngest reaches college.  My thoughts are that this will help pay for her college and then ultimately provide a supplemental source of retirement income.  That day was nine and is now eight years away.

I am really only about 1% of the way toward my goal, but I still have 8 years left.  So, let's look back and see what the actual results of the last year have been starting with content and traffic.

HubPages:  I have published 141 Hubs, have 256 followers, and have received 25,000 views during the past year.

eHow:  I published 43 articles of which 38 still exist.  These have been viewed just over 8,900 times.

Xomba:  I have 44 articles and 212 bookmarks.  The total number of reads is 10,795.

My Online Income Blog:  This is post number 117.  I really don't have easy access to the number of views, but there are 35 followers through blogger and 8 Facebook followers.

Real Assets Blog:  I have 14 posts with 3 total followers.

Infobarrel, Triond, Squidoo:  There are 6 articles on IB, 5 on Triond, and 5 lenses.

Life123:  I published over 20 articles on Life123 before the program for authors was discontinued.

All told, I have 390 pieces of original content published on the internet.  These were all completed in one year's time which averages out to just over 1 piece each day.  Personally, I find that pretty amazing considering all the days that I did not write.

For all that effort, however, the earnings will seem rather minuscule.  I have to remember that those articles will be out there with the potential to be earning each and every day.  I have done nothing on eHow since October of 2009, and yet those articles continue to earn month after month.  Not a lot, but something.

With those comments, lets look at the earnings.  As of this evening, my total earnings are as follows:

AdSense:  $325.72  --  I have received 2 checks already and will get the next one in late June.  This took 5 months for the first, 3 months for the second, and 4 for the next one.

eHow:  $157.74 -- There has been only one month that I didn't make payout, and that was when the UK site was started.  I should make it this month, but it could be close.

Life123:  $440 -- I really liked writing for Life123.  Too bad it couldn't continue.  They were honorable and paid the maximal amount of $20 for each article.

My expenses for the year consisted of $1 for advertising and $57 for the Michelle Adams Flipping Guide.  So my net profit for the year amounts to $923.46 - $58 = $865.46.  Divide that by 390 articles, and I got $2.22 per article this past year.  Of course, this is heavily influenced by the Life123 payment but I'll take it.

I hope to improve upon these results in the next year.  My next post will discuss my goals for the next 365 days and what I hope the impact of my activities will be.

So, how has the past year been for you?  Productive?  Profitable?  What will you be doing to improve your results?