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November Online Income Report – $30,569

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 96 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

November Online Income Report - $30,569Welcome to November’s online income report where I show you how I made money online last month. It’s time to look at this month’s update and track how I did.

If you’re new here, you may be wondering why I would want to publish my online income report each month. You can simply skip to the next section if you’re not new here.

This all started out as my extra income report because in the beginning it was all about the money I was earning from my side jobs. In my side income reports from the beginning, I included all of the income I made except for what I made at my day job.

However, I left my day job as a financial analyst in October of 2013 and now my monthly income reports consist of the many ways I earn a living.

Many have asked why I would ever want to publicly post my income each month. Some think I’m crazy, whereas some are glad I’m open about what I’m doing. Whatever you think, I enjoy publishing my monthly online income reports and I share them publicly for three main reasons:

  • Before I started blogging, I knew nothing about side hustling and making money online. I didn’t think side jobs were worth the effort and I thought the only way to significantly increase your income was through raises and promotions at your full-time job. If it weren’t for others publishing their monthly income reports each month, I don’t know if I would have ever tried side hustling. I want to help show others the positives in side hustling and how it can change a person’s life. There are many different ways to make money online, and I like to share my story each month to help motivate others to improve their financial situation by making more money.
  • Secondly, I like to publish my income reports because it’s a way for me to look back, learn from my mistakes and actually see what areas need improvement. I use my monthly income reports as a way to track how I’ve done and I treat it sort of like a journal.
  • Lastly, I like to show others that making side money is possible and that there are many legitimate ways to make money from your home. If you are looking for information on the many ways to make money online, I published the article Monthly Income Report Roundup – My Favorite Income Bloggers that showcases many successful bloggers who are kind enough to share their income with the public each month.

I know I say this every month, but it’s the truth. Life is great now that I’m my own boss. I look forward to each and every day and it’s a wonderful feeling. I truly love waking up each and every morning.

Above are just a few of the reasons for why I enjoy publishing my monthly income reports. I like to show others that you don’t have to hate your job and hate your life. You can make changes to your life and make money in a way that allows you to truly enjoy the life you are living. I’m not saying that you have to LOVE your job, I’m just saying that your job should at least allow you to do what you like to do outside of work (whether that be spending time with loved ones, painting, hiking, etc.).

 

How was my online income in November?

November was another great month for business income. I made slightly over $30,000, which I still cannot believe. It’s crazy to think about how I’m working far less than normally, yet my income is around $30,000 a month.

This is an amazing feeling. I’m making a great income while enjoying the work I’m doing. I don’t think it gets much better than that!

The business is doing well and I’m very happy with it. Things around here are improving and I have no complaints whatsoever.

I’ve been catching myself saying “Life is really good” a LOT lately. And, I mean it – life is really good. 

Anyway, in November I earned $30,569 in business income, before expenses.

If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $3.49 per month (this low price is only through my link) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free website domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, if you are asking yourself “can you make money blogging?” – my top tip is to be self-hosted. This is essential if you want to monetize your blog as you will appear more professional and this will help you monetize your blog tremendously. My blogging income did not take off until after I switched to self-hosting.

Related articles:

 

November Online Income Report

The number above is for the month of November and before any fees and expenses (some fees and expenses that lower the amount above total around $1,500 (rounded up), which include virtual assistants/staff writers for my other websites, technical assistance on my websites, newsletter expenses, PayPal fees, etc., however, this does not include taxes) being taken out. After expenses and fees, I made approximately $29,069. 

Below are some of my other monthly online income reports. I publish an online income update every month but only included some of them below as it would be a very long list. If you head on over to my online income page you can find all of my monthly income reports from the past few years.

 

Blog news.

Making Sense of Cents is doing well and I’m very happy with everything.

I took some time off from writing in November, which was nice. However, it stung a little because now I’m not as far ahead as I once was! For December, one of my main goals is to get back to being one month ahead. It’ll take some work but it’s always well worth it.

Pinterest is still one of the main ways I receive referral traffic each month. I’m still using Tailwind and I highly recommend anyone who is interested in Pinterest to try out Tailwind. Tailwind has saved me a ton of time and the analytics the site provides are great. Plus, even though I am automating a lot of my Pinterest work, I am actually seeing an INCREASE in traffic which is great.

Also, I have received many questions recently about how I’m staying connected to the internet so that I can work and travel in my RV at the same time. I use a Verizon MiFi device and I am able to stay connected pretty much anywhere. I don’t know what I would do without this device!

Overall, traffic increased in November and I received around 375,000 page views.

Top new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:

 

Is there enough room for new bloggers to make moneyFeatured Question: Is there enough room for new bloggers to make money?

I feature one question from a reader in each monthly income report. Please leave a comment below if you have a question you would like me to include.

This is a question I often receive.

To quickly and simply answer this question – YES!

There is plenty of room for new bloggers to make money.

I’ve had many tell me that they started a blog because of my income reports and that they are able to make money blogging (awesome, right?!), so this is proof that new bloggers are still making money. I also personally know bloggers who started a year or two after I did, yet are making double, triple, or even 10 times the amount that I am earning.

The world is a huge place and the online world is just going to keep growing. Every blogger earns a living online in a slightly different way and everyone has a different message/story. Plus, there are TONS of different ways to make money through a blog and I expect this to keep growing.

Due to the reasons above, I believe there will always be room for more bloggers.

Past questions:

 

My plans for my website and making money online.

Without any plans and goals, I think it would be very hard to run a business. Constantly working towards something can help keep a person motivated.

Below are some of the areas I am currently working on:

  • Promote more – I am doing much better at promoting my articles and I’m noticing a huge improvement. One area is still Pinterest – Pinterest brought around 140,000 clicks to my blog just in the month of November.
  • Create a book – Still working on this, of course. I did have one quick question – what would you like to see in a book written by me?
  • Create something – Okay, this is very broad. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about creating something to help my readers. I have many different ideas that include creating a webinar, a course, some sort of Facebook group, or forum. For a possible Facebook group, I’ve been thinking about one for those looking to improve their finances or one for bloggers.
  • Accept more interviews. – I only took part in a few interviews in November, but I am happy with that.
  • Stop being shy – This is one of my main goals for the future. I am such a shy person and it’s something I need to work on if I want to grow my business.

 

Staff writing.

I only wrote one article for someone else in November. I only have one planned for December as well. As you can tell, it’s not something I’m working on growing as I am trying to focus on my business and my blog. However, it’s something that I’m still doing on a case-by-case basis.

Related articles:

 

Affiliate income.

One new thing in the affiliate income area for me is that I have recently been approved for Amazon Affiliates. Yes, I’m late to the Amazon Affiliate game, haha!

I know there are ways around it, but I’ve always lived in a state that didn’t allow for Amazon Affiliates (I know many others just use someone else’s address in another state). Now that I’m RVing, I’m able to use my new RV address for the Amazon Affiliates program.

I’m not sure how much I’ll end up earning from Amazon Affiliates, but every little bit helps so that I can become more diversified with affiliate income.

Overall, I earned around $34,000 in affiliate income in November. Last month was the biggest month ever for me in terms of affiliate income.

I won’t see the payments I earned in November until 60-90 days later for most of the affiliate programs I’m in. Due to this, you won’t see those amounts reflected in my monthly income reports until then.

My main form of affiliate income is through Bluehost with my How To Start A WordPress Blog On Bluehost tutorial. However, I am looking to diversify my affiliate income and I have been researching other affiliate programs so that everything isn’t reliant on Bluehost. I have been doing somewhat well with diversifying my affiliate income so far, though, with around $9,000 last month coming from other affiliate programs.

November Online Income Chart

Breakout of the actual payments I received in November ($30,569, before expenses):

  • Staff writing, website management, and consulting – $1,505
  • Website-related (from the 3 websites I own – advertising and partnerships) – $7,986
  • Affiliate income (from Bluehost (main source), Ebates, etc.) – $21,078
  • Miscellaneous (not related to blogging and online income) – $0
  • Mystery shopping – $0

Please keep in mind that I work for myself when you read my monthly income report each month. This means I have to cover taxes (which are over 30%), health insurance, and all other benefits/expenses that an employer may provide.

 

Comparisons and 2015 online income total (before taxes):

  • Total business income for November: $30,569
  • Income in October: $33,482
  • Difference: -2,913
  • Total in 2015: $281,596

How was November for you? Are you interested in earning income online?

If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $3.49 per month (this low price is only through my link) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, you want to be self-hosted. This is essential if you want to monetize your blog as you will appear more professional and this will help you monetize your blog tremendously. 

This post contains affiliate links. All opinions and statements are 100% mine and links are only placed to help you with your own blogging journey.

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  3. Dee @ Color Me Frugal says

    Wow, that’s awesome Michelle! I have been using Board Booster to help automate and grow my Pinterest presence, and it’s been a lifesaver. I now spend a lot less time pinning but get a lot more traffic from Pinterest. Win-win!!

    Reply

  5. Christina @ Embracing Simple says

    Congrats on an amazing month Michelle!!

    Wow you are absolutely going to reach $300k by the time 2015 is over – you are KILLING it! You have doubled your income in the past year (which was already super impressive to me when I started reading your income reports in January 2015) – all of your hard work and dedication is paying off for sure. Way to go!

    I have a reader question too 🙂 Perhaps you share this in another post that you can direct me to – but on average, how much time per week would you say you spend blogging? I’m trying so hard to find a good work/life balance with blogging and am finding it a lot more difficult than I did with freelancing. Only because the task list seems to be ever-growing. My situation is a bit different to because I’m a stay-at-home Mom, but I’d love to know how much of your time is actually being spent on all blogging-related tasks to bring this amount of income in. Any insight you can provide would be so helpful to me! Thanks in advance!

    XO Christina

    Reply

  6. Natalie @ Financegirl says

    “Overall, I earned around $34,000 in affiliate income in November.” –> THIS. Omg! I need you to coach me because I just haven’t gotten even close and I do have pretty good pageviews! Congratulations!! 🙂

    Reply

  8. Penny @ She Picks Up Pennies says

    So inspiring. I love that you continue to share this, and I can’t believe it’s been since 2013. I’ve lurked for so long – HA! I love how you seem to balance being incredibly good at what you do and living the way you want to live.

    Reply

  12. Kristin says

    Wowza, awesome! I’m so excited for your book. I would love to read about your work/life balance and productivity too! I’m not very good at tracking how many hours a week I spend working on my blog and it’s something I probably need to work on.

    Reply

  13. Rachel says

    Awesome! My Pinterest referral traffic has been declining – I feel like my followers aren’t engaged anymore or don’t go on their accounts. Definitely something I need to investigate, seeing as it was your top source this month!

    Reply

  14. Sarah says

    Awesome as always! I’ve been loving all your Instagram pictures of living in your R.V, so much fun! It’s no wonder you’re loving life. 🙂 Good luck with your book. I want to know it all: finances, blogging, frugal living, work/life balance.

    Reply

  17. Jen says

    Another inspiring month! Thank you for posting these Michelle. I read previously that you sold your websites so I’m not sure which one you still own. Can you list the other 3 websites you still own? I would love to check those out also. Thanks!

    Reply

  21. Lisa @ The Money Pinch says

    Awesome job! It would be a dream to me to just be able to work from home blogging and being able to live by a schedule of my choosing. You’re probably one of the few bloggers I actually remember from when I started my first blog back in 2011.

    I’m curious to if you have used Boardbooster previously? I actually have Tailwind and I’m on my free trial of Boardbooster, and finding it a lot easier for scheduling to group boards / automated type of scheduling using Boardbooster. I’m just not sure which one I should stick with. Tailwind does have the advantage of being able to schedule as many pins as you’d like. Meh. But, I have Tailwind paid up for another 7 months, so I’ll play around with both and see. I’ve just been able to start really pounding the blog hard, so I’ve been writing 5x a week, started guest posting, and everything. Trying to make 2016 a good year for my new blog.

    Reply

  22. Ravinder Dande says

    Hi Michelle!,

    You are about to touch $ 300k so congratulaions .I’m rearly inspired by as how you worked to get visitos to your blog.And your blogs are very helpfull to read so i’m going to bookmarkthis site for later.

    Reply

  25. Chonce says

    Congrats on the income Michelle! I’m currently trying to balance making time to work on building my blog along with writing for others because the instant income from freelancing is great, but I also want to build streams of income long-term with my blog. So my question for you is: When you were first starting out, how did you balance earning extra income quickly through side hustling and putting in the effort to build up your blog so it can earn a solid income each month? Thanks!

    Reply

  30. Melissa @ Sunburnt Saver says

    Your affiliate income is phenomenal! So inspirational. Congrats on RVing full time – what an adventure!

    Reply

  31. Diana says

    That’s amazing, Michelle! Michelle, I have two questions since I’m not sure if my email went through to you regarding Blog/Web Site Coaching. Could you tell me how much do you charge? Also, what is the schedule like? I did read what you’ll be coaching on. I was just wondering how do you coach someone on blogging/website since I’m not in your area to show me how. Thanks, again!

    Reply

  32. Tanille says

    This is so inspiring! Even though I am just a couple months into blogging, I have quickly realized that I LOVE IT!! I go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it! I know the process will take time, but reading your story has confirmed my thoughts that it is possible to earn a living doing something that I love! Good luck on your future endeavors and I will be sure to continue checking out your posts!

    Tanille @ InspirationalMomma.com

    Reply

  33. fehmeen says

    That is a very decent amount of income for the month and I’m thankful your broke it down according to the source because I was wondering myself which strategy is best. Obviously, affiliate market is! But that is only something you earn though if you manage to get your blog popular enough so scores of traffic comes your way. And I’ll be sure to try Pintrest and Tailwind. I have been a bit late to join the party in terms of social media.

    Reply

  36. Natasha says

    Thanks for the continued inspiration Michelle! I’m still trying to figure how I can make an income. I also want to create products but am stumped on what so that it serves my niche. Keep soaring!

    Reply

  37. Preston says

    Michelle, I just found your blog. You are killing it! I hope that I can get to where you’re at someday! Keep up the good work- it provides me the motivation to keep grinding!

    Reply

  38. Sunny says

    I noticed you were saying one of your goals is becoming less shy/more confident in order to help you business…I wondered if you have heard of Chalene Johnson? She’s a celebrity fitness instructor, but she’s super dedicated to teaching people the things she’s learned throughout the years about setting and achieving goals, organizing you life, and most importantly becoming more confident. She’s super encouraging and I have found her (free) coaching so helpful! She has a podcast channel called “The Chalene Show” and another one for building a business/online business called “Build Your Tribe” and a ton of other places you can find her like Periscope and her website chalenejohnson.com…I just know she has helped me so much in the area of confidence and many other people with growing their online businesses and things…anyway thought that might be helpful 🙂
    I really love your blog! Your journey is so inspiring and you have answered so many of my questions already about side hustling, blogging, and making money online! Thank you for sharing all your tips and tricks and monthly income reports! 😀 I don’t have my own blog/website yet, but I definitely want to start one sometime soon, and all the info and help on your blog is so great!!

    Reply

  39. LaTisha says

    This is awesome! I remember when you were saying that you wanted to start earning with affiliate related income and now it has become a significant portion of your revenue. So kudos to you for making it happen. Here’s to a fantastic 2016!

    Reply

  40. lex wright says

    You state that you earned almost $8000 from your other 3 websites, whats the url’s for these sites cant seem to find any links to them.

    Reply

  41. Caitlin Pyle says

    November was awesome for me. I had my second-best month ever at just over $87,000 in income. Most of my income comes from sales of my online courses, but I am dabbling more and more in affiliate income and consulting these days 🙂 My best month ever was June of this year — $106,441. You’re inspiring me to start sharing my income report, too, Michelle! I’ve been nervous that people would think I was crazy, but the blogging world will always benefit from more transparency.

    Reply

  44. Mehmat says

    Hello Michelle and happy new year,
    I’ve been reading your blog for more than 2 weeks and congrats to you for your work and also your huge income.
    but a question engaged my mind,as far as i know you have 3 blogs and i think makingsenseofcents.com is your main blog but except bluehost,which affiliate programs do you use to make money? i didn’t see any affiliate links on your blog. and if the bluehost A.P is the only one,it would be hard to believe that you make with it about $20k with bluehost (affiliate program) and with this blog.
    could you please explain a little more?
    Thanks a lot

    Reply

  45. Suzi Whitford says

    <3 Love this! How motivational.

    Can't wait to feature you and summarize how big, medium and small bloggers make money from blogging.

    I feel the hardest part is making that first $100. Once you know you can make $100, you can scale up and up!

    Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  46. Jake says

    I am currently trying to make a blog about living on a tight budget (cause that’s what I have experience in! Lol) do you think there are too many blogs on this topic? Is it too “crowded” for someone that’s never started a blog before?

    Thanks for he great blogs! I enjoy reading them all!

    Reply

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