Are Your January Earnings Ahead of October?

1. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   All of my earnings across all platforms are up 8.92% from October 2010. Just considering HP, I'm up 5.1%. This is my second January on HP and my earnings have increased from January to January by 411%.
   
   This is how I judge whether or not my business is growing. On new platforms I expect to see exponential growth year over year. But I also expect month to month growth to increase as well. It's not fair to compare January to November or December, so I go back to October.
   
   There's a few days left in the month, but I've been worried about the economy, price of oil, real estate, MidEast unrest and a bunch of other stuff - so I've been tracking the trends daily.
   
   How is everyone else doing. How do you measure your business health?

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      simplymoneyboyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thats Nice, Normally i am not that much patient, because i really dont check the increase of income, because it is in hundreds. if it went to thousands, we can easily check the business grow ups.

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      relacheposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Based on your earning patterns that how you compare, but based on mine, it's not fair to compare anything to October.

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      pinkdaisyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      My earnings went down this month. Earnings always drop for me after Christmas.

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      warchild75posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      This january is 1827% up on last january so i would definatly say that is a sucess for me.And this january was only slightly outdone by dec and nov so not as bad as everyone was saying it was going to be.

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   lrohnerposted 13 years ago

   I'm up 30% from October 2010 -- a very nice surprise indeed. I had an unexpected spike this month from another site that linked to me and sent a good amount of traffic. If I discount what I've made from that spike, I'm up across the board 15% from October and 494% from January 2010 -- numbers quite similar to yours, eerily enough.
   
   Now here's the kicker -- my traffic is down across the board, and is nowhere near pre-holiday levels. And I mean down at least one-third of where it normally is/should be.
   
   My AdSense CTR has gone up, but my Amazon conversion rate is down. But...the people who are buying are buying up and spending more.

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   frogdroppingposted 13 years ago

   I'm actually sat at almost the same (today) for January as I was for october. It will probably slightly overtake October by the end of the 31st.
   
   Not sure of the % - don't do them because I can't figure them. I have an advanced qualification for math and yet I hate the subject.
   
   Like lrohner my traffic is down so 'hmmmmmm' at how that works.

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   ns1209posted 13 years ago

   This really cheered me up as I thought I was doing bad this month, yet I checked my Amazon for October and then for January! Wow, it's grown a lot, about 3 times more in earnings and orders.
   
   This makes sense as every click in December and November is going to be worth more and more likely to lead to sales.
   
   Thanks for this and interested to hear others!

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      Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'm glad this cheered you up. I had a feeling that some Hubbers were depressed because January wasn't living up to the Christmas rush. But I bet a lot are up compared to October.

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   IzzyMposted 13 years ago

   My Amazon is up 50% thereabouts on October. My adsense is down by about 15% - views much the same, slightly down but I have published more than 100 new hubs since then.
   All in, it looks like January will end up down on October as my daily averages are lower, but not by much.

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   Richieb799posted 13 years ago

   My earnings actually went down for January but it looks like they are back on the mend. I think it was a combination of Advertisers not paying as much in Jan and one of my best hubs receiving less traffic.
   This was odd to me because the traffic and clicks overall has been the same and my best article still remains 3 on Google 1st page for a high traffic keyword
   Things are looking up overall though and I learned a lot about Januarys, I only lost about $50 off my usual $300

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   IzzyMposted 13 years ago

   Do you remember, Nelle, it was roughly one year ago that I posted I had sold a greenhouse?
   It was my first sale, or certainly my first major sale, and my only one that month...and for months afterwards..but I was so encouraged by your words!
   I think my Amazon sales only started happening around August/Sept but they have grown, and continued to grow even when adsense has dropped off
   
   I need some adsense tips....
   
   Thanks again for your help, I will never forget it

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      Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I do remember that now that you mention it. I'm so glad that you hung in there and that things are picking up for you.
      
      I've gotten better at adsense, but it still isn't easy for me either. I just prefer selling stuff.
      
      Have you started looking at other affiiate programs and thought about your own site? Take a look at Golden Can if you do. It is a datafeed program that is either free for a merchant or takes the revenue from every fourth click - sort of like HP.
      
      It makes life so much easier.

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         IzzyMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         As a learner affiliate marketer, golden can look very interesting - I did tap it into Google and didn't notice they'd filled in a bit for me, and wondered why I was looking at all those pages about golden can syrup, but I did eventually find the site.

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            Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Oh my, you must have thought that I'd gone crazy! But I'm glad you found the Golden Can datafeed site. Datafeeds can drive you crazy, but it's worth the effort.

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   wildernessposted 13 years ago

   No.  My Amazon sales are down although my commission is down only very little due to higher priced items.
   
   My adsense is down over 40%.  Traffic is up about 10% but CTR is down some and ECPM is down more than 50%.  The biggest problem seems to be that the CPC is way down, by something well over 50%. The clicks just aren't paying anything at all in January.
   
   This month has been poor enough that I've become concerned but haven't found anything that I might have changed to make a difference.  The same hubs are getting clicks and earning, but not what they were.

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      IzzyMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I had two items shipped today that sold for only 1 cent each (on special offer obviously) so no commission.
      Good for pushing number of sales up, but I'd already reached the higher percentage I aimed for and still hundreds away from the next. Bet the buyers got charged a small fortune in postage! Another way to screw affiliate marketers.

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      Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe it's time to try a niche that you haven't worked in before. Shake things up a bit. Wander up and down the Amazon aisles and think out of the box for a few hubs. Or just try a new hub format. Get a little crazy.
      
      That's actually how I ended up here. The economy was in a tailspin and stats were down, so I thought what did I have to lose. I had never worked on a shared site before - or participated in a forum. But it has worked out very well.

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         wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Actually, I've been doing just that.  I opened another account on HP with a decidedly sales oriented view.  It's still too new to have done much, but one of my 3 Amazon sales came from there.  In addition, the few hubs I've written lately on this account have taken a different bent as well.
         
         I'm not too dissatisfied with my Amazon.  I would like more, but don't expect much more at this point.  Nov and Dec were terrific at well over $200 in commissions, but I never expected (or even hoped) that would last.
         
         It's Adsense that concerns me, with the huge fall off in CPC.  I used to get an occasional click in the $3 range, now absolutely nothing over $.40 and even that's unusual.

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   Bill Manningposted 13 years ago

   I'm afraid all my sales are down quite a bit this month. It may very well be the types of sites and products I write about.
   
   My sales are down from October and just about any other month of last year. But January for me is always the worst month.
   
   I notice you are very meticulous about tracking your sales, getting it down right to a point percent.
   
   I'm not good at that, I basically just see if I made a little more one month to the next.
   
   I think this will be a good year overall for most who work online. Next month I expect things to pick up in general.

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      Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The only metrics I really watch is money in the bank and sales trends. Then traffic. But not much else. I couldn't tell you what my average Google EPC is. But I do watch sales and money really really closely. I check every day and keep track of the direction - up or down. Keeps my nose to the grindstone.
      
      Ebay is driving me crazy because I think you need to be aware of click value per campaign to make sure you don't get tossed out. So I've started to obsess about it - perhaps too much.

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    Wendy Krickposted 13 years ago

    I'm down 10% from October, but I'm not concerned because the 1st half of January was dead with lots of returns. Now the sales are back up. So I'm feeling good.
    
    This is a really great way to check your growth. Thanks Nelle.

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    rmrposted 13 years ago

    My Amazon revenue is up quite a bit over October, but My AdSense earnings are down, considerably.

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    Kidgasposted 13 years ago

    October has always been my best month both in 2009 and 2010.  Not sure why since I am mainly AdSense focused.  This month has been good from a traffic standpoint.  I have almost as much traffic now as in October 2010 but CPC is lower so earnings aren't as good.
    
    Nice to see you Nelle.

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    Edweirdoposted 13 years ago

    I've only been here one year, so there isn't a great quantity of data for me to look back at, so I used your Oct vs Jan comparison, and my Adsense is 60% higher this month than it was then!
    
    I also looked at Amazon commissions, and they are up more than 60% compared to October!
    
    I took a long time off from writing new hubs to pursue other projects, but seeing this huge increase is a real motivator to get back into it. I am also considering using a second account strictly for sales - I think I may be getting too much notoriety on HubPages, so it might behoove me to "hide out" under a (different) pseudonym
    
    Thanks for bringing this up, Nelle!

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    ryankettposted 13 years ago

    No, I can't be 100% certain because I won't be checking my AdSense from public computers (or any outside of my home connection that is), but a few days ago it looked as if I would be exceeding September but a little bit down on October.
    
    I'm not prepared to take that as a negative though, I am one who keeps an eye on a wide variety of indicators. My Amazon conversion rate remains the same, my traffic is higher, my CTR for both AdSense and Amazon is steady. The one and only factor, pure and simply, is the eCPM.
    
    The Amazon side of my Hubpages earnings has held up, AdSense has suffered, but if traffic has increased and CTR has remained steady, then Advertiser rates for content this month is entirely out of my control and out of the control of anybody who relies heavily on that network.
    
    If the advertising spends return in February to their September/October levels then I will experience significant growth in earnings just so long as my traffic remains at its current rate, and I am talking a drop in GA earnings of around $1 per 1000 hits.... I accept my traffic, based upon my usual eCPM and increased earnings in the latter stages of the month, as a strong enough sign that I will not suffer in the slightest for the remaining 11 months of this year.
    
    That said, I will prepare better for next January in order to counter the shrinking AdSense pot, and that means boosting Amazon sales.

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    Pcunixposted 13 years ago

    I'm down about 10%, but this week is back to good levels. We will see what February does.

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    I've been thinking about the awful weather this month in the Northeast US, Mid-Atlantic - even the Southeast. Will it make people spend money online instead of driving? Or will the large fuel bills take money away from discreionary purchases.
    
    I think that external factors have made this a tough month.

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       ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Another factor which is relevant to non-Americans is the weakening of the dollar over the past couple of months, the exchange rate is dictating that my Amazon sales are worth less to me in my own currency, I measure my earnings in pounds rather than dollars... I suspect that my losses this month would be significantly lower had I tracked my earnings in dollars rather than pounds.

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          Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Wow, I hadn't even thought of that.
          
          While it's nice to hear from you. Shouldn't you be out on the town. I mean your in SF, one of most wonderful cities on earth.

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             ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Yep, girlfriend has just awoken, cya

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    lakeerieartistsposted 13 years ago

    Actually my January earnings are just about the same as October. 

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       Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I've been reading your recent hubs. You should have a great February.

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          lakeerieartistsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Had a bunch half done, with no time to finish.

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    N. Ramiusposted 13 years ago

    I am doing awful this month.
    
    About $9 in Amazon which is less than half my October earnings which was my prior worst month and down from my best of $100 in December.
    
    AdSense is dreadful. Clicks are down like 15% from most months and earnings are down even more.
    
    Between the 2 money makers, this has been the worst month for me since before I added some 30 hubs back in April/May last year.
    
    Very depressing actually.

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       wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       You and I need to go off and have our own pity party!  With $9 from Amazon for each of us we could really have a ball!

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Wilderness I think you and N. Ramius just need more hubs, that cover the different selling seasons. It takes a lot of content to have consistent sales over 12 months. Just keep plugging away. That's what Izzy did last year and now she's sitting pretty.
    
    Honestly the past few years have been some of the toughest I've seen in the 10 that I've been doing this.

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    prettydarkhorseposted 13 years ago

    eCPM was reduced to one third if I compare Oct and Jan, but my views increased. CTR is relatively the same between the two months and is lower than the average 2.0 - need to work on that.
    
    If I compare last January to now 2011, my adsense increased five folds (I was only four months here at HP by that time). I received my first adsense payment when I was five months here and it continuous to increase every month, plus I also received payment every month since then.
    
    I am happy to say that my separate account dedicated to amazon  increased by almost fifty percent if I compare October to January. It augments my income with adsense which is lower now because of decreased eCPM

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    Hovalisposted 13 years ago

    Overall, just looking at Adsense and Amazon, my dollar figure is 10% up. I'm only 2 items away from going to the next tier on Amazon, so I'm crossing my fingers with that. My conversion percentage on Amazon is down, though, and there has only been a marginal increase in earnings. I'm figuring this is a January thing with people thinking to buy and then remembering their credit card bills.
    
    Adsense is the big winner for me from October last year to January this year, and is up 33%. I'm hoping the growth continues. I'll be a happy camper if it does.

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       ThomasEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       My amazon earnings are 85% of Decembers, with enough items on order and not shipped I am within a hairsbreadth of matching December if they ship on time. My adsense revenue is up 50% on December.
       
       These adsense figures sound impressive, but aren't really, they are a factor of being very recent to the platform.

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    kirstenblogposted 13 years ago

    I have tried really hard not to worry about preformance this month. The logical side of my brain says that this month is a write off, people worry about the debts they accumulated over christmas and bad weather and are not going to be spending much (other then credit card companies that is!). Your thread got me to have a look at my amazon and I have to say this month is surprisingly better then Amazon (and here I was thinking it sucked!).
    
    I have been working since last April on my online store and by the end of summer I was seeing a hand full of sales each month, not huge but definitely going in the right direction. This month has totally tanked tho, not a single sale
    
    I have spent it adding new items to my store, promoting my store and setting up satellite sites to refer customers (earns a separate commission from being an artist designing the goods, more if as the artist I don't set the commission above the minimum of 10%). I have also found squidoo to be really great for writing about my products and art for sale so my writing tends to be there more now (I love the ads for my zazzle store). I keep thinking its more a case that as we move away from the winter blues I will be better placed to get those sales. I have high hopes for valentines day
    
    I am also back working the day job so its really a case of do what I can when I can around the job and other real life responsibilities.
    
    All in all I am happy and trying not to worry about this month to much. It is time to put more things in place for next month and the climb out of winter

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    EmpressFelicityposted 13 years ago

    I've just checked my stats and found that my Adsense earnings are actually up 3.5% compared to those for October 2010.  I'm feeling slightly more cheerful now! 
    
    January's Amazon is up about $4.00 compared to October as well.

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    emievilposted 13 years ago

    My January 2011 earnings are definitely up by 15% from my October earnings and by almost 100% from January 2010. But my earnings per 1000 visits went down in January (as opposed to October). I'm guessing that means the ads have higher values(?) in October than this month?
    
    
    As for my Amazon earnings, they're definitely up from Oct., by almost 400% (but then again, the base is just $2 ). January 2010 Amazon earnings were non - existent so I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by my Amazon earnings this month.

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    Dale Nelsonposted 13 years ago

    Hub traffic is up about 25 % since October as is earnings and 25% less than December.
    
    I attribute it to age of content though.
    
    Been working on a new project and have not made any new efforts towards traffic.

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    Mutiny92posted 13 years ago

    My amazon sales are up 50% over October and Adsense is about the same.  Amazon is even up over November, which REALLY surprised me.

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    PurpleOneposted 13 years ago

    I'm up about 100% from October - that's Adsense and Amazon combined. I'm currently on a leave of absence from my real job though and wish it had increased more.

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    waynetposted 13 years ago

    Things are converging quite nicely with all income streams and with my new projects this year I hope to triple my income.....must dash got to create some dvds!

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    viryaboposted 13 years ago

    I feel much better reading everyone's comments.
    
    Amazon earnings up 80% from my October earnings on Amazon. Pretty much the same number of items sold though.
    
    As far as my adsense, January earnings fell short of October earnings by about 25%. Both October and November were good adsense months for me. January hasn't been so good.
    
    January 2011 earnings is up around 300% from earnings of January 2010 though, so i guess that's encouraging.

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       Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       It's sounds like things are going well for you. I'm glad you're feeling better about things. That's why I started this topic. I think we get caught up in the Christmas season and then January is a big letdown. That can make it hard to stay motivated.

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          viryaboposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          You are so right Nelle.
          This thread should put many minds to rest.
          
          And it's a much better way to look at things and track one's performance, than popping in and out of Google adsense checking earnings every day (i had to stop doing that just a while back)

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    Bill Manningposted 13 years ago

    I have to admit my earnings are up like around 400% compared to last January.
    
    However I really did not what the heck I was doing so I don't really think that counts.

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       Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Of course it counts! Give yourself a lot of credit for figuring things out and working the program right. I bet lots of hubbers who have spent a similar time here haven't see that kind of increase.

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          Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks, I admit it feels good to finally know how to bring in the clicks. However there is always much more to learn and I keep finding out new things every day.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Ditto!
       
       I'm not sure what the significance of October is?  I had a stunning November and a disappointing December, but January is up there again.

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    Smart Rookieposted 13 years ago

    My Jan earnings are more comparable to my Nov. earnings than my Oct. earnings. I attribute this to having more hubs, and the older hubs given more time to rise in the serps.
    
    In the beginning it looked kind of hopeless, and few days ago I had a day where I earned absolutely nothing. not a single click, not even a penny. It's been a lousy adsense month, but Amazon has picked up the slack. I'm going to focus on getting better adsense performance. That said, I seem to be doing okay if comparison to October is the reasonable standard.

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    sagebrush_mamaposted 13 years ago

    Amazon is right on par with October, as is my traffic.  I think I will probably exceed my October earnings just a bit, which was how things trended for late summer/early fall...slow and steady?  Adsense is about half, maybe just a bit over, compared to October, but it's been improving the latter part of this month.
    
    I appreciate, Nelle, your taking time to be an encourager here.  Never would have imagined I could supplement the family budget this way, but it really has been helpful.  My husband couldn't believe how well I did during the holidays.  I try to learn a little more each month, and your posts  always give valuable insight.

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    Ms Chievousposted 13 years ago

    My Amazon and Adsense earnings in January are a little lower than October 2010. But there is always tomorrow and a day could make a difference!

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       Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I love an optimist!

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

    Marisa I just like to see an increase in overall earnings every month. But expecting January to be better than November or December has never been realistic for me. So I just go back to October. As long as January is better than October, it means in my mind that my revenue continues to increase.
    
    I'm sure others like Relache have other ways to measure success.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Aha, now I get it!
       
       I'm also quite happy so long as the trend continues gradually upwards. In fact I've got so used to that, I was quite excited by November's figures and assumed it would keep on going.  It was a disappointment to see them collapse in December, especially as I thought I'd get some benefit from Christmas sales.
       
       Now I think I had it all wrong - I suppose dance schools take a break over Christmas so they're not thinking about buying dancewear or shoes, and now they're back for a new term I'm getting sales again!

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    jrcemailposted 13 years ago

    Wow, I thought I was the only one.  But coming here I see that it's not just me!

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