Income School Project 24 June 2019 Update: How Much Are My Sites Making?

Ten months in. Four blogs running at the same time. A full-time job still on the calendar every morning. That is the setup for this June 2019 Project 24 update, and the honest answer to “how much are my sites making?” starts with understanding where each site stands in traffic before a single dollar changes hands.

This video covers four sites in four very different niches. The numbers are real, the growth is real, and so are the mistakes. If you are anywhere inside your first 12 months of following the Income School Project 24 method, this breakdown will give you a realistic benchmark for what the process actually looks like at month 10.

What You’ll Walk Out With

Real June 2019 traffic numbers for four active Project 24 sites, including pageviews, unique visitors, bounce rates, and daily averages
A breakdown of which traffic sources are actually performing (Bing and Yahoo outrank Google on one site; YouTube is #1 on another)
Why Alston hired a second writer and how that got Site 1 to 100 blog posts
What changed inside Project 24 in June 2019 (free WordPress theme, new YouTube mini course, 14 total mini courses)
The 1,000 pageviews-per-month milestone and why it matters for ad network access
Honest mistakes made over 10 months (poor keyword research on the first 30 articles, running four blogs simultaneously with a day job)
A step-by-step look at what comes next for all four sites
Not sure which niche or skill set fits your situation? finder.platformproof.com can point you toward the right starting lane in under two minutes

What Project 24 Is

Project 24 is a course built by Income School, created by Jim and Ricky. The premise is simple: follow 60 structured steps and you can replace your full-time income with passive income from blogging and affiliate marketing within 24 months. The first steps start at ground level, getting web hosting, picking a domain name, and writing your first posts. The hand-holding is real. You are not dropped into the deep end.

In June 2019, a few notable things were added to the course. The Income School team released a free WordPress theme for Project 24 members. That theme is not just cosmetically clean. It hit a page speed score of 99 in Alston’s live test. Members can apply the theme to as many sites as they own. That alone would be worth money as a standalone product, and it was included in the membership at no extra charge.

The second major addition was a YouTube mini course. If you want to grow a YouTube channel alongside your blog, Income School added a dedicated course for that. At the time of this video, there were roughly 14 mini courses inside Project 24, each targeting a specific piece of the blogging and affiliate marketing process. The course was evolving fast in mid-2019, and the June additions represented real value that was not there at launch.

Site 1: The Largest Site at Month 10

This is Alston’s oldest and most built-out site. The first blog post went live on September 7, 2018. By June 2019, the site had approximately 100 published blog posts and 30 YouTube videos connected to it.

June 2019 traffic numbers for Site 1:

681 pageviews total for the month
633 unique views
Average time on page: 2 minutes and 14 seconds
Bounce rate: 89.36%
Exit percent: 82.82%
Daily average: approximately 22.7 pageviews per day (681 divided by 30)

One of the more interesting data points on this site: organic search has finally overtaken direct, social, and referral traffic. That is the goal. When organic leads, it means search engines are starting to trust your content. The surprise in the organic breakdown is that Bing and Yahoo are the top two organic sources. Google sits eighth in the list. That is a meaningful reminder that Bing and Yahoo combined send real traffic, and they are often underappreciated in discussions about SEO.

YouTube is also showing up in the top sources for this site. Alston’s takeaway: if you are on the fence about starting a YouTube channel alongside your blog, this data makes a case for doing it. You do not have to appear on camera to make it work. Options include PowerPoint slideshows, voiceovers, and B-roll footage. The entry point is lower than most people assume.

Top traffic countries: United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. This is the ideal mix for anyone monetizing through affiliate programs or ad networks. Developed countries generally have stronger buying power and higher CPMs for display ads.

How did this site get to 100 posts? Alston wrote the first 30 articles in 45 days, finishing around October 24-25, 2018. He took a short break, then shifted to writing for a second site in January. He also hired another Project 24 member to write 30 additional articles for Site 1. That combination of personal output and outsourced writing is how the post count reached approximately 100.

One honest admission: the keyword research on that first batch of 30 articles was not strong. Alston says so directly. Early keyword choices affect early traffic, and this site is growing more slowly than the Income School benchmarks suggest. That lag is attributed to the weak keyword strategy at the start, not to the method itself failing.

Actions taken this month on Site 1: Alston went back to his highest-performing posts and added affiliate links throughout. That backfill of affiliate links produced measurable positive results. The next planned move is adding internal links across the site so that visitors spend more time reading and less time bouncing. The target milestone is 1,000 pageviews per month. At that point, larger ad networks become accessible, and ad revenue can start supplementing affiliate income.

Site 1 also has a digital product. At the time of this video, that e-book was not linked anywhere in the blog posts. That is a missed opportunity Alston acknowledged. Adding links to the e-book (priced under $20) throughout existing posts is a quick win that requires no new content creation.

Site 2: The Broad Niche Site

Site 2 launched in the last week of October 2018. By June 2019 it had approximately 40 published blog posts. This site targets a much broader niche than Site 1, which may explain some of the traffic dynamics.

June 2019 traffic numbers for Site 2:

209 pageviews total for the month
193 unique views
Average time on page: 1 minute and 42 seconds
Bounce rate: 92.27%
Exit percent: 86.60%
Daily average: approximately 7 pageviews per day

The traffic source picture here is different from Site 1. Google is the top organic source for Site 2, which is encouraging. The full list runs: Google, Facebook, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, and DuckDuckGo. YouTube appears at position six, and this site only has about 10 YouTube videos attached to it. The implication is clear: more YouTube content would likely push YouTube up that list and add meaningful traffic.

Country breakdown for Site 2: United States, United Kingdom, and Canada lead, followed by India, Australia, China, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, and Kenya. That mix of first-world and developing countries reflects the broad nature of the niche. A topic with global appeal will pull from a wider geographic pool than a hyper-local or region-specific niche.

Site 2’s 30th post went live in the first week of January 2019. Alston took a short break after that but also shifted some writing energy toward his other blogs. Running four blogs at the same time while holding a full-time job is a workload he does not recommend. The math on time is brutal. Something will get less attention, and in this case Site 2’s post count reflects that tradeoff.

Site 3: alstongodbolt.com Takes Its First Steps

Site 3 is alstongodbolt.com, a site in a competitive niche. The first blog post on this site did not go live until June 9, 2019. That means all traffic in this June update came from less than 22 days of the site having any content at all.

June 2019 traffic numbers for Site 3:

197 pageviews total for the month
179 unique views
Average time on page: 35 seconds
Bounce rate: 56.18%
Exit percent: 44.67%
Daily average: approximately 7 pageviews per day

A few things make this site’s early numbers interesting. The bounce rate is significantly lower than Sites 1 and 2. 56.18% is a notably stronger engagement signal compared to the 89-92% bounce rates on older sites. That likely reflects the fact that the audience arriving is highly targeted and coming from channels where Alston has already built some presence. The site is connected to a Facebook fan page, YouTube videos, and a direct link network, all of which point back to it. That network of inbound signals is why a brand-new site can pull 197 pageviews in three weeks.

Traffic source breakdown for Site 3: YouTube leads the traffic, followed by direct, Facebook, and Google organic. That YouTube-first picture reflects how tightly connected the YouTube channel and this website are from the start. Google organic is already showing up despite the site being less than a month old. That is a positive early signal for a site in a competitive space.

Geographic traffic for Site 3: United States first, then Canada, India, Nepal, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, Spain, United Kingdom, and the Philippines. The niche is described as competitive, and the traffic geography reflects that broadness.

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Site 4: learnkenosha.com and the Local Tourism Angle

Site 4 is learnkenosha.com, a local travel and tourism site focused on Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha is described as a tourist destination, though Alston jokes that he is not entirely sure why people come. The site has between 15 and 20 blog posts at this point, all focused on Kenosha-specific topics.

June 2019 traffic numbers for Site 4:

72 pageviews total for the month
67 unique views
Average time on page: 50 seconds
Bounce rate: 89.66%
Exit percent: 80.56%

Traffic sources: direct traffic leads, followed by Google organic, Bing, and Facebook. One interesting data point: a visitor came from the Project 24 community itself, which shows up in the referral data. Facebook has not yet found this site the way it has found Alston’s other three sites, which is unusual given that Facebook has engaged with all of them at various points.

The top blog post on this site at the time? How many bars are there in Kenosha. Alston notes this with dry humor. Local niche sites often see their most popular content come from practical, hyper-specific questions that no large publication bothers to answer. “How many bars in Kenosha” is exactly that kind of question. Nobody at a major media company is writing that article. A local site can own it entirely.

The local tourism niche presents a different monetization path than affiliate marketing. Hotels, restaurants, event listings, and local business partnerships are all potential revenue sources that sit outside the typical affiliate link model. The time-on-page of 50 seconds suggests visitors are finding relevant information quickly, which is a reasonable outcome for a local discovery site.

What Alston Is Doing Differently Going Forward

The plan coming out of this June 2019 update is straightforward. Keep adding content. All four sites benefit from more posts and more YouTube videos. Alston has been uploading a new YouTube video every day for the previous two to three months. That publishing pace, maintained consistently, is one of the clearest levers for sending more traffic to all four blogs simultaneously.

On the monetization side, the immediate priorities are:

Adding affiliate links throughout existing posts on Site 1, focusing on the highest-traffic pages first
Adding internal links across all sites so visitors click through to more pages per session
Linking the e-book digital product on Site 1 throughout the blog posts, since it currently has zero in-content links pointing to it
Reaching 1,000 monthly pageviews on Site 1 to unlock access to premium ad networks
Adding more YouTube videos to Site 2, which has only 10 YouTube videos compared to Site 1’s 30

The 1,000 pageviews milestone is worth pausing on. Many bloggers focus on Google’s AdSense as their first ad network, but higher-paying networks like Mediavine and AdThrive require minimum traffic thresholds. Mediavine requires 50,000 sessions per month. The path to those numbers runs through 1,000 first, then 5,000, then 10,000. Knowing where the next threshold sits makes the month-to-month grind feel more purposeful.

Honest Drawbacks From 10 Months In

This update is useful because Alston does not hide the rough parts. A few things did not go as planned:

Keyword research on the first 30 articles was weak. The initial content foundation for Site 1 was built on keyword choices that were not well-researched. That decision compounded over time. Organic traffic growth is slower than it might have been with a stronger keyword strategy from day one. The lesson: spend more time on keyword research before writing than you think you need to.

Running four blogs with a full-time job is a grind. Alston tried to keep four separate blogs in active rotation simultaneously while working a regular job. He does not recommend this approach. The energy required is significant, and the split attention means each site gets a fraction of what it would receive if the focus were narrower. For people with jobs, starting with one or two sites and taking them further is a more realistic path than spreading across four.

Not linking internal digital products from the start costs money. Site 1 has an e-book that is priced under $20. That product was available but not linked anywhere inside the blog posts during the entire first phase of the site. Every reader who came to the site and left without seeing the product was a missed opportunity. Adding product links into existing content is one of the fastest revenue moves available, and it requires no new writing.

Traffic benchmarks take longer than expected. The Project 24 method describes a general timeline for traffic growth. The actual results depend heavily on the quality of keyword research and content. Month 10 at 681 pageviews on the biggest site is below what the course’s benchmark curves suggest. That is not a reason to quit. It is a reason to audit the content strategy and sharpen the approach going forward.

Find Your X

Alston’s four-site approach in June 2019 is one version of how to apply the Project 24 method. But the starting point is not the same for everyone. The niche that works for a Kenosha tourism site does not work for someone in a tech city. The affiliate strategy that fits a hobbyist blog does not fit a competitive personal finance site. What you already know changes what you should build first.

If you are trying to figure out which direction to go, finder.platformproof.com walks you through a short set of questions and gives you a personalized recommendation based on your existing skills, available time, and income goals. It is free and takes under two minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Project 24 from Income School?

Project 24 is a blogging and affiliate marketing course created by Jim and Ricky at Income School. The course lays out 60 structured steps designed to help someone replace their full-time income with passive income from websites within 24 months. It covers everything from getting a domain name and hosting to keyword research, content strategy, and monetization.

How many pageviews were Alston’s sites getting at month 10?

In June 2019, Site 1 had 681 pageviews, Site 2 had 209 pageviews, Site 3 had 197 pageviews (with content only live for the last 22 days of the month), and Site 4 had 72 pageviews. Combined across four sites, the total was approximately 1,159 pageviews for the month.

Why is 1,000 pageviews per month a milestone worth targeting?

Reaching 1,000 monthly pageviews opens the door to ad networks beyond Google AdSense. While the major premium networks require much higher traffic, clearing 1,000 pageviews signals that a site is gaining real search traction and that the content strategy is starting to work. It is an early validation marker, not a monetization endpoint.

Should you run multiple blogs at the same time when following Project 24?

Alston’s direct recommendation is no, especially if you have a full-time job. Managing four blogs simultaneously while working a regular schedule splits your time and energy too thin. Each site gets less than it would if you concentrated on one or two. Starting with one site, building it to meaningful traffic, and then adding a second is a more sustainable path.

Does YouTube help drive traffic to a blog?

Yes, based on Alston’s data. YouTube shows up in the organic traffic sources for multiple sites. Site 1 has 30 YouTube videos and sees consistent YouTube referral traffic. Site 3, which is deeply tied to the YouTube channel, shows YouTube as its top traffic source. You do not need to appear on camera. PowerPoint slideshows, voiceovers, and screen recordings all work.

Which traffic sources were performing best across these four sites?

It varied by site. On Site 1, Bing and Yahoo led organic traffic with Google further down the list. On Site 2, Google was the top organic source. On Site 3, YouTube led overall traffic. On Site 4, direct traffic was first with Google organic second. The takeaway is that relying on Google alone leaves traffic on the table from Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, and social channels.

What was the biggest mistake Alston made in his first 30 articles?

Weak keyword research. Alston says directly that his keyword choices for the first 30 articles on Site 1 were not strong. That decision affected the site’s organic growth rate for months afterward. Strong keyword research at the start matters more than writing speed. Writing 30 articles in 45 days with poor keywords produces slower results than writing 30 articles over 90 days with well-researched ones.

What is the free WordPress theme included in Project 24?

Income School released a custom WordPress theme to Project 24 members in or around June 2019. The theme is optimized for page speed, scoring 99 in a live test. Project 24 members can apply the theme to any number of their own websites at no additional cost. Income School indicated plans to sell the theme publicly at a later date, making the free member access a meaningful added value.

Sources

Income School Project 24 course overview and June 2019 updates as described in the video
Google Analytics traffic data for four sites, June 2019, as reported by Alston in this video
Income School WordPress theme page speed score: 99, as demonstrated in Alston’s accompanying page speed test video
Project 24 60-step framework as described by Jim and Ricky at Income School