October 2020 Valerie & Valise Income Report

Here we are, already in the final few months of the year. It’s hard to believe how 2020 has all gone so far – and what’s next. You don’t have to agree, but I’ve been over here having a party about the outcome of the election 🍾🥂 It gives me hope that we’ll soon be welcome around the world again – in part because of properly managing the Coronavirus pandemic, and in part because our political behavior will be worthy of respect again.

But enough politics! We’re here to talk about October!

TL;DR:

• Travel: 🤠✈ + 🌲🛣🚗
• Blogging: 🙆🏻‍♀️
• Income: 😬

Travel in October

While 2020 continues to be a year of traveling less than usual, I did spend a fair amount of time on the road. The photos in this month’s post show it was pretty fun too – West Texas has a lot of character, Northern California blends the best of the Golden State and Pacific Northwest, and I even did some exploring at home (at the local pumpkin patch!).

• Destinations Visited: 2
  • Lubbock, Texas
  • Crescent City, California (𝗑2!)
• Flights Taken: 6
• Days on the Road: 9 of 31 (29%)

October Travel Highlights & Lowlights

The best travel experience I had in October was… exploring Crescent City. I can’t announce anything yet, but Mr. V and I loved CC so much that we took a second trip later in the month! (Three guesses why…?)

The worst travel experience I had in October was… flying American Airlines. Because it was a work trip, I didn’t have a choice, but ugh, American.

My October travel highlight from years past was… my trip to Huntsville, Alabama in 2018! I spent five days in All. Things. Space. I even got to spend a day at Space Camp.

Blogging in October

The last few months of the year are always tough on my blog – I just have a natural seasonality in the destinations I write about. Despite this (and 2020!) I managed to hold steady compared to September. Woo!

• Pageviews: 92,517 (↓1% from September, ↑40% from October 2019)
• Unique Visitors: 82,198
• Traffic Breakdown:
  • Organic: 77%
  • Direct: 11%
  • Social: 11%
  • Email: <1%
  • Referral: <1%
• Most Popular New Post: 3 Days in Crescent City: 15 Best Things to Do for a Weekend

Posts I Published in October

First off, I have to share my big milestone this month: Celebrating My 7th Blogiversary 🥂 (With a Giveaway!)

I was also busy publishing a lot of other content too:

• 7 Essential Affiliate Programs for Travel Bloggers
• 9 Epic Portland Road Trips to Plan Right Now
• 10 Essential National Park Gifts for Every Adventurer
• How to Make Alaskan Kenai Cheese Dip
• 3 Days in Crescent City: 15 Best Things to Do for a Weekend
• Homesick Candles Reviews: These Don’t Smell Like ‘Home’
• 10+ Travel-Inspired Gifts for Travelers Not Traveling Right Now

And I updated How to See California’s Sequoias on a Redwoods Road Trip – all that writing probably explains why I feel a little burnt out creatively right now!

October Blogging Highlights & Lowlights

The highlight of blogging in October was… steady traffic from last month. It’s always good to not lose a bunch of traffic! 

The lowlight of blogging in October was… really struggling to get my traffic to grow on social media or email. These are goals I’ve been working on for the whole year, and I actually seem to be getting worse at them. It’s hard to stay heartened when the systems aren’t working.

Business in October

My income fell a significant amount this month compared to last month – for some reason, one of my top affiliates has been highly ineffective this month. I haven’t figured out what the issue is (whether it’s on my end or theirs or this time of year!) but you can bet it’s on the top of my to-do list heading into Black Friday and the holiday season.

October Income Report

Total income for October 2020: ↓18% from August
Months I’ve been blogging: 85* (7 years! 💃)

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*I share this number so you can see how long it has taken to earn this much. ‘Overnight success’ usually requires years of hard work – this blog is no exception.

October Business Highlights & Lowlights

The business highlight for October was… a solid income month even during the slower 4th quarter of the year. October is an especially tough time for earning as everyone’s waiting for Black Friday – but I still did okay.

The business lowlight for October was… my big affiliate fail that I can’t quite figure out. Hopefully fixing this will be my highlight for next month! 

Upcoming in November

November is already off to the races! I couldn’t complete this post until we had a resolution to the U.S. presidential election – now that we do, I’m excited for what November, the rest of 2020, and frankly the whole future holds.

From a travel perspective, I have two trips coming up in November, to Nevada for work and to Washington and Oregon for Thanksgiving/a little bit more work.

Do you have any trips planned? How are you feeling about the future of travel right now?

Until next month! ✌❤️✈️