In the beginning of 2014, I decided to do something rather scary… BE TRANSPARENT & HONEST. I want to be an open book, but I’m scared. WHY? Because I’m still at the beginning of my journey, and the numbers are pitiful, and the failures often and obvious.

Below are the numbers, the finances, the projects, my health, and stats from July 2015. This is a snapshot of what it’s like to be a self published author. A new entrepreneur. An average guy still finding his way. It isn’t designed to scare, nor glorify, merely provide the truth of right now. For all my other Monthly Income Reports, Click Here.

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Many of the links in this post are affiliate ones, directing you to the products, apps, and softwares I use to create this monthly report. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything or affect your privacy, just gives me a commission if you happen to buy. Please note I use(d) everything I link to, and am picky when it comes to sharing such info.

WRITING:

Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, I love to tap away at the keyboard and share my words with those willing to read. However, standing out from the ever growing list of book is tough, so let’s dive into my published books, the amount of copies sold, and the kind of income a crazy pen scratcher like myself earns:

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EXISTING PUBLICATIONS:

Another slow month of book sales/downloads, but for once I’ve been somewhat proactive. You see, I have plans afoot for giveaways in August and September – in August all my focus leans towards TICK to the TOCK, before turning to Beyond Parallel in September.

Although these books have been available for free for a while now, I haven’t done anything with this. I’ve merely let them sit on Amazon in the hope people find them. I’ve tried keyword trickery. I’ve read a few books that preach about Amazon success. For me, none of it’s worked, so for the next few months I’m taking a more traditional approach – mainly, online advertising (services like BookBub).

As such, these numbers (at least for TICK to the TOCK) will look better next month, but how much better is the big question. Of course, it isn’t about download numbers, rather what happens after the hopeful spike. Will it lead to more reviews? Will it create a snowball of sorts, and a prolonged period of climbing the charts?

Will it lead to paperback sales, or more subscribers to my mailing list?

In the coming weeks I’ll know more, and I’ll be sure to talk all about it in future income reports.

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CURRENT PROJECTS:

I continue to focus on The Successful Mistake and I Unlove You, and I’m happy to say good progress continues with both.

Although I haven’t begun working with my editor at the time of writing this, I’m rather close. I think I’ve found my superstar, so we’ll see how it all pans out in the coming weeks. At this moment in time it’s difficult to say whether the editing process will take a matter of weeks or months, but in my experience it tends to move quickly from here-on-in.

That means I’m starting on other book aspects, such as cover design, the start of a marketing/launch plan, and revising The Letters of Aus & B (a series of letters that leads up to the start of the novel).

Overall, lots to keep me busy whilst the dreaded editing process takes place.

As for The Successful Mistake… I continue to make decent progress, although far from spectacular. I’ve certainly found a writing groove though, and starting to race through each section. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re edging closer by the day. I just need to keep upping the ante and plugging away.

This bad boy shall not defeat me!!

In addition to the writing, I continue to try and build exposure (again, at a steady pace). I’m disappointed to not bag  another Chapter Partner this month, but I continue the search and start fresh conversations each week.

Know anybody who wants to be part of an awesome book? 🙂

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INCOME BREAKDOWN:

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TOTAL PROFIT = £6.22

As you can imagine, not much to see here (when you make your books free, you don’t get much money).

Next month will also cost me a pretty penny, too, for I’m mailing a few dozen books as part of the Read & Pass It On Campaign (as well as a giveaway or two). I’ve written about how scary this is (spending money on something that doesn’t bring a return) in recent newsletters, but I try hard to push such fear to one side and keep my eye on the potential.

My sole aim is to get books like Tick to the Tock and Beyond Parallel read by folk like you, so future books (and the future version of me) can reap a benefit or two. Another tough month, but I continue to keep my head high 🙂

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SPEAKING:

I’ve decided 2015 is the year I kick my speaking/workshop career into gear, and as such I’ve created four topics to build a portfolio around:

• YOUR STORY MATTERS, DAMN IT! (aimed at colleges)
• CREATE CUSTOMER LOYALTY & BANISH COMPETITORS THROUGH BRAND STORYTELLING (aimed at businesses)
• THE SECRET BEHIND THE MODERN CREATIVE, ARTIST & CHANGEMAKER (aimed at colleges)
• THE LOCAL AUTHOR WHO NEVER USED TO READ OR WRITE (aimed at primary schools)

Focus for the rest of the year is to refine these topics, gain kick-ass testimonials, and generate momentum ahead of 2015:

THE GIGS:

THE BEHIND THE SCENES:

I regret to say I did very little this month regarding speaking, and have come across an impasse of sorts. More on this below…

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INCOME BREAKDOWN:

TOTAL PROFIT = £0

One of my aims last month was to figure out what I was going to do with my speaking. I mused over this a few times. I sat at the laptop and tapped my fingers. I came up with nothing. I couldn’t think of anything that would bring a mutual value to both me and whoever I would speak for.

Online talks… school assemblies… local networking events… I need to do something, and I need to do something that creates a little money (because I can’t give both my books and speaking away for free), but I also need it to be something that doesn’t take up too much of my time.

In other words I need a well-balanced idea, and as of yet I haven’t thought of it. I will, though. If there’s one thing I’m pretty good at, it’s coming up with ideas. Executing them and transforming them into a success… that’s a different proposition.

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KID TURNDOG AND ME WAITING FOR THE TRAIN

CLIENT WORK:

I may be a writer, but that doesn’t define my whole world. I also help businesses Discover, Create & Share their story, and I’m constantly meeting and greeting local businesses. However, the fine line of client work, networking events, and crafting your own projects is delicate indeed – and one I’m still toeing along each day:

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CURRENT CLIENT PROJECTS:

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COMPLETED THIS MONTH

• No Projects finished this month

NETWORKING:

INCOME BREAKDOWN:

TOTAL PROFIT = £0

Another hard month in this regard, and boy-oh-boy it hurts. I have one or two leads, and because my client projects tend to be rather large, they don’t always come to fruition straight away. It’s a tough old cookie because I know one lies just around the corner, but when… I do not know.

It’s a case of keep pushing, keep looking, keep meeting people and being as proactive as possible. I can do more, and August is the month I MUST do more!

No excuses.

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LIVING ROOM OR TOY PALACE?

WEBSITE:

This website is my home, and although it doesn’t generate any income per se, it does offer a detailed overview of WHO I am and WHY I can help. As such I think it’s important to breakdown all the ins and outs:

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GENERAL OVERVIEW:

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POPULAR BLOG POSTS:

1. 50-brands-with-amazing-brand-stories-20-11 = 1,192 Views
2. how-to-get-your-book-on-amazon-for-free-indefinately = 382 Views
3. the-best-brand-stories-in-the-world-2013 = 331 Views
4. 50-brands-with-amazing-brand-stories-10-1 = 292 Views
5. 50-brands-with-amazing-brand-stories-40-31 = 287 Views

NEW BLOG POSTS:

• The Importance of Communicating Your Vision: with Brian Foley = 77 Views
• Turndog’s Monthly Income Report (June 2015) = 117 Views
• How To Overcome Personal Hardship & Find Your Passion: With Kristin Thompson = 24 Views
• How a Life On Fire Was Born From The Ashes: With Nick Unsworth = 9 Views
• Does Your Business Film Suck? Here’s How To Fix It! = 21 Views
• The Art of Aligning Your Passion & Purpose: with Dave Conrey = 18 Views
• What Makes This Simple Brand Film So Real and Awesome? = 15 Views
• Taking a Leap Into The Marvellous Unknown: Moe Abdou = 5 Views

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PURPLE COFFEE PODCAST:

SOCIAL MEDIA:

**The above Facebook stats consider a combined friend/follower count for the profile**

Fun fact of the day… last month I found an article that showed me how to block those silly little links that keep cropping up in my analytics, and do nothing but mess up my numbers. I just needed a spare evening to perform this tedious task, so I kept the tab open in my browser.

Then, one day my browser crashed and I lost the article, and I forgot all about it (until I started to write this very paragraph).

What does this all mean? It means those pesky links continue to occupy my analytics. Not good (although as I said last month, not dangerous – just annoying).

Overall, website and social media stats continue to do okay, although I’m a far cry from growing. If you compare where I am today to where I was a year ago, things are better. Stats and metrics are on the up for the most part, but incremental to say the least. This is a tad disappointing because we’re now over half-way though the year and I expected more.

I expected more growth, more social media followers, more people reading my posts…

I have Guest Posts planned, and more on the way, but so far they haven’t resulted in a great deal (in terms of traffic and subscribers). It’s helping a little, but not as much as I hoped. Still, I always remind myself that it isn’t about the numbers, so much as the quality behind those numbers.

I definitely feel closer to my email subscribers and readers et al. I feel like I’m helping more people, and doing so in a more meaningful way. It’s hard to quantify such assumptions, but I feel like things continue to grow in this regard.

I sure could do with a little more growth, because I hate such a stagnant feeling. I want to soar,  but I’m the only person who can make this happen. More content. More value. More marketing. More giving. More connecting. Let’s do this!

EMAIL:

Like this website, EMAIL doesn’t generate any income, but it does play a huge role in my journey. Overall, I try not sell via email all too much, rather use the medium to connect and share. Email is my primary tool to introduce myself to potential new clients, reach out to those I wish to interview, and talk to YOU on a regular basis. This is a snapshot of my email world:

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THE MAIN NEWSLETTER:

THE OTHER LISTS:

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As above. Email is something that’s far from bad, but far from good. Website traffic and email numbers go hand-in-hand, so it isn’t surprising that when one plateaus the other does, too.

Conversations and general interactions are better than ever, but again this is hard to quantify. It makes me feel like the daily emails I send are worthwhile, although not for everyone. This is seen in the continued loss of subscribers, which tells me one thing:

If I want to grow, I must add lots of new subscribers on a continued basis.

Lots will unsubscribe and won’t stick around, but those who do will more thank likely interact with me (which let’s face it, is what it’s all about).

That’s what I’ve taken from my daily email experiment. It works in terms of quality, because more people interact, converse, and generally care what you have to say and such. The flip side is you lose more people, but this is fine because they’re folk who like you instead of love you.

I take quality any day of the week, but in order to grow significantly, I need a way to add quantity at a fast (and continued rate). A damn tricky balance I’ve yet to figure out, but I believe I’m heading in the right direction.

And out of all the stats above, the one I love the most is the increased open rate (from 17% to 24%). That puts a smile on my face 🙂

WORKING HOURS:

Time is a valuable entity you can never get back, and knowing how I spend my time (or as often is the case, waste it!), is a vital cog in my growth. I’m forever trying to find a balance between work, sleep, spending time with Kid Turndog, and chilling with a book in hand. The below doesn’t break down my exact timetable, but it does provide a rough overview as to how productive I am:

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WRITTEN WORDS:

• FICTION = 13,000 words
• NON FICTION =6,950 words
• BLOG POSTS = 9,400 words
• GUEST POSTS = 0 words
• EMAILS / NEWSLETTERS = 8,850 words

TOTAL = 38,200 WORDS

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A rather similar month to July, in terms of workload. Less time on clients means more time on my writing, and more often than not, more email (enticing people into work, and such...). I’m happy with the amount of writing I did this month (discounting Guest Posts), and this number shouldn’t drop for a while, what with The Successful Mistake in full flow, and a great deal of I Unlove You editing ahead.

The big thing now is to make sure I spend more time bagging my next client, going to meetings and events and generally getting myself out there, and eventually, working with a new client – and filling my time with a juicy new project. Of course, this may not happen in August, as I have two trips planned (one in Torquay (pleasure) and one in London (pleasure with a hint of business)).

It’s not to say I have a lost month ahead, because I have lots to do and lots to achieve, but my workload may drop some.

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BEARD WATCH

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HEALTH & WELL BEING:

The final piece of the jigsaw is my health and wellbeing, which is arguably more important than everything else. 2015 is the year I wish to bootstrap my routine, and ensure I stay healthy, active, and on top of the stress and vigour working for yourself brings. You can’t measure happiness, but you can track your daily day, which certainly plays a role if you ask me:

FITNESS:

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DIET:

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Another up-and-down month, I’m afraid. I’ll have one decent week, followed by a bad one. I’ll eat well during the week and ruin it at the weekend. Overall I don’t feel good for it, and I’m desperate to regain control over my my health.

Sometimes being in-between projects doesn’t help, as I worry more and let the negative thoughts in. This, too often, leads to bad food and self-wallowing.

I’m getting lots of exercise in (although I could and should do more), but my diet lets me down. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t good. I’m not putting on weight, so much as losing tone and generally feeling urghhhh.

I need to get out of this rut and into a positive groove. Again, this is down to me and my own will!

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TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME:

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TOTAL LOSS = – £453.13

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A MUG OF THE GOOD STUFF

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I regret to say this is another bad month. No client work means no money for Turndog, and I don’t think I need to say much more.

A bit of a shocker, but despite the bleak number, I’m still keeping my head high for the most part. August is an exciting month in many ways, and I just know a few good things rest around the corner. I have to put the pieces together, and again, this down to me to get it done!!

SO, THE PLAN FOR AUGUST:

Right, let’s end with a few mini objectives to help keep the eye on the prize throughout June:

1. WRITE LETTERS 10-20 FOR THE LETTERS OF AUS & B SERIES
2. ADD A NEW CHAPTER PARTNER TO THE SUCCESSFUL MISTAKE
3. START WORKING WITH A NEW CLIENT
4. SHIFT 2,000 COPIES OF TICK TO THE TOCK
5. FIX MY ANAYLTICS ISSUES (LINKED TO SPAMMY LINKS)

I don’t wish to set an editing aim yet, as until I start working with my editor it’s hard to place a date or number on things. Instead I want to make up lots of ground on The Letters of Aus & B, and with a few long car and train journeys ahead, I think I can achieve this.

With The Successful Mistake in full flow, it’s important I place my attention bagging a new chapter partner, and although I didn’t achieve it in July, I think I can in August. Onwards and upwards, as they say.

And with Tick to the Tock taking my book marketing focus this month, I plan to shift at least 2,000 copies of my second novel. Achievable? It will be hard, but yes, I think it is. I have a few cool promos setup and am prepared for a few days of heavy lifting. It should be interesting at the very least, and a great learning curve.

Other than this, it’s all about finding my next big client project and setting the wheels in motion. I’m eager as pie to get things done, wrap my claws around a new challenge, and help a business in need. Like I keep saying, I know something good rests around the corner. It’s up to me to go find it!

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And finally, I’ve set myself three 2015 Goals (This Post explains all), which EVERYTHING I do over the next twelve months works towards. These are what they are, and this is what I’ve done to stride closer towards these this month:

1. IN NOVEMBER, GO ABROAD WITH KID TURNDOG FOR THE FIRST TIME & WEIGH 11 STONE THE DAY OF OUR FLIGHT = It has to be said that I took a backward step in this regard. No money in makes going away rather hard, and I certainly didn’t take a positive step forward with my weight.
2. BUY & SHARE A COFFEE WITH 25 PEOPLE WHO APPEAR IN THE SUCCESSFUL MISTAKE = No closer to this target, but with a trip to London I’ll hopefully get to meet a few people I’ve previously interviewed.
3. REACH 100,000 PEOPLE THROUGH MY STORIES & WORDS = I don’t feel like I made any progress this month, but didn’t take a backward step, either. Steady all-in-all, which is okay, but far from great.

And there you go, folks. Another Monthly Income Report at an end. I know these reports are long, but I hope they help you in some way (if only for pure entertainment/laughing at me purposes). These Monthly Income Reports are hard to write, but I find them rather therapeutic, too. Thank you for reading, and please get in touch and let me know your thoughts. I’d love to start a convo on TWITTER or FACEBOOK.

Speak soon,

TURNDOG

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