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My March Blog Income Report – $72,196

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 134 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.

March Blog Income Report – $72,195.95Welcome to March’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 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:

  1. 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 at your full-time job. If it weren’t for others publishing their monthly income reports, 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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 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 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 blog income in March?

Blog income in March was great. It’s definitely my best month ever. This is true even though pageviews were down around 10%. This is why I always say that blog income is not dependent on pageviews.

I’ve decided to change how I display my blogging income each month. From now on, I will be using the income amount I earned each month, instead of what I was paid. Payments can come anywhere from 1 day to 90 days later (sometimes even longer!), and many readers have been confused by “earned” and “received” amounts. Many of you have also said that you would like to see this change because it’s easier to compare month to month, since payments don’t always come in at the same time. Now, you can see exactly what I made each month and we can compare them more realistically over the years. This may make it confusing for this income report, but I believe this is the best way to display my monthly income reports from here on out. Due to this, I have updated figures in this post to reflect that, but things may be a little wonky in the beginning because I’m not going to update old income reports.

Anyway, my business is growing, income is increasing significantly, I have tons of awesome ideas for this year, and I am just extremely excited about everything. I really love my business and I don’t know where I would be without it.

The business is doing well and I’m very happy with it. I’ve been catching myself saying “Life is really good” a LOT lately. And, I mean it. Life is really good. 

I earned $72,195.95 online in March, before expenses. Surprisingly, payments received totaled approximately $71,000, and that’s because I chased some old payments from 2015 that I’ve been waiting forever to be paid for.

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-hosted WordPress.

 

Business Income March 2016

I started my income reports back in 2012. Please click here to find them all.

Breakout of March 2016 income – $72,195.95:

The number above is for the month of March and before any fees and expenses (some fees and expenses that lower the amount above total around $2,800 (rounded up), which include virtual assistants/staff writers for my other websites, technical assistance, newsletter expenses, PayPal fees, etc., however, this does not include taxes) being taken out. After expenses and fees, I made approximately $69,396. 

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

Check out The Ultimate Guide To Making Money Blogging for all of the different ways you can make money through a blog.

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 income page you can find all of my monthly income reports from the past few years.

 

Comparisons and 2016 online income total:

  • Total income in March of 2016: $72,196
  • Total income in February of 2016: $49,607
  • Difference: +22,589 
  • Total in 2016: $166,585

 

Blog news.

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

I’m still working on getting ahead with blog posts, and eventually I hope to be at least a few months ahead with the majority of my blog posts each month so that I can spend more time promoting my work, networking, helping readers, and more.

Last month, I gave up Tailwind and starting using BoardBooster. Tailwind was great, but I needed something that would help me save more time. BoardBooster takes a moment to set up in the beginning, but then it runs very smoothly from there. I highly recommend checking out BoardBooster and using it for your blog!

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 and I am able to stay connected pretty much anywhere with it. It really comes in handy because you can’t always trust free wifi. Sometimes free wifi is slow, hard to find, or not safe. I don’t know what I would do without this device!

Overall, traffic decreased in March and I received around 500,000 pageviews. I expect that to go back up, though.

Top new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:

 

tips for a successful blog launchFeatured Question: How should I launch a new blog?

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

Starting a new blog is a lot of fun. However, you may have many questions about what to do next so that you can make money blogging, attract readers, and have a great blog.

I never had an official blog launch, but it probably would have helped things go a little more smoothly in the beginning!

Here are my quick tips for a successful blog launch:

  1. Pick a topic you enjoy. Blogging can easily get tiring if you don’t enjoy what you’re writing about. Luckily, you can write about whatever you want to: Food, family, lifestyle, travel, finance, photography, and more.
  2. Start a self-hosted blog. If you want to start a blog the correct way, you must be self-hosted. This can help you grow a following, improve your traffic, make money, attract advertisers, and more.
  3. Produce high-quality content. If you don’t want to read your blog posts, I doubt anyone else does! Luckily, this isn’t as hard as it sounds. This is one big reason why I recommend blogging about a topic that you enjoy. This way, you can pour passion into your writing and it’s much more enjoyable.
  4. Have blog posts already published. I recommend having at least a few blog posts already published on your blog so that new readers can have a sense of what your blog will be like. This way, they may be more likely to subscribe.
  5. Have blog posts scheduled. As a new blogger, you may feel overwhelmed in the beginning. This is a normal feeling. Having blog posts ready and scheduled for future dates can take a lot of the stress off.
  6. Create social media accounts. There are many social media outlets that exist. I recommend looking into creating an account for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, and more. While that may seem like a lot, you can automate a lot of it.
  7. Have an About page. New readers will want to know more about you and who the writer is.
  8. Network with other bloggers. Many new bloggers see other bloggers as competition. You should not feel that way! Instead, make friends with other bloggers, attend conferences, help other bloggers if you can, interact on social media, and more.
  9. Publish a blog post at least once per week. If you disappear for 6 months at a time, readers may forget about you.
  10. Guest post on other blogs. This can help get your name out there, bring new readers to your blog, meet other bloggers, and more.

As you can tell, there are many things you can do in order to launch your blog successfully. The best thing you can do, though, is to have fun!

Past featured questions:

 

My plans for my website and making money online.

Without plans and goals, it would be very hard to run a business. I believe that working towards a goal 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, and it brought around 200,000 clicks to my blog just in the month of March. I would love to see this number triple or quadruple before the year ends.
  • Accept more interviews.  I took part in a few interviews in March.
  • Double my income. Yes, I said double. I would love to double 2015’s income and I think it’s possible considering how well 2015 ended. That means I will need to average around $53,000 a month. It won’t be easy, but it will be fun to attempt. Currently, I am on track with this goal!
  • Diversify my affiliate income streams. My goal is to diversify my affiliate income and have more sources.
  • Create an ebook. I’m in the very beginning stages of creating an ebook to help others increase their affiliate income. What questions would you like me to answer in my ebook? Eventually, I plan on expanding this further into a course, but, for now, I’m starting with an ebook.
  • Increase my pageviews to 1,000,000 each month. Okay, I realize this is sort of a superficial goal, but it’s quantifiable and that’s what I like about it. I would like to hit one million pageviews a month before the year ends. Wish me luck!

 

Staff writing.

I only wrote three articles for clients in March and I have one planned for April. As you can tell, I’m taking staff writing very slow. This is because I’m trying to spend more time on creating the book discussed above, as well as my improving my blog.

Related articles:

 

Affiliate income.

Overall, I generated $55,322.68 in affiliate income in March, as outlined above.

It was a great month, and I still can’t believe how quickly my affiliate income has grown in just the past year. Affiliate income is something that I really love due to how passive it can feel. It makes full-time traveling much more enjoyable when I know I can bring in an income while having a ton of fun exploring new places.

I recommend checking out my online course for bloggers, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I earn over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing and I share my exact strategy and tips in this very informative online course. If you’re a blogger, then you NEED this course.

How was March 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 myBluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, you want to be self-hosted if you want to learn how to make money with a blog.

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I'm Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I'm passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

Comments

  2. Christine @ The (mostly) Simple Life says

    That’s amazing! That’s honestly an unimaginable amount of money to me. But if you can make that much, I feel like it’s reachable for me to replace my income eventually (less than $2000). I’d love to see a post on how you spend/save your income. Like what percent is saved, spent, or invested. Great work!

    Reply

  3. Natalie @ Financegirl says

    I am speechless, Michelle!! Seriously, congratulations!!!! 🙂 I’m in awe! My income also jumped a lot from my blog this month, but I still have a ways to go until I’m up to where you are! 🙂

    Reply

  4. Eric Bowlin says

    Affiliate marketing really seems to earn you a TON of cash.

    You know, income reports is what got me to start my blog. I’ve been making money in real estate and see other investors online with VERY successful blogs, but make a fraction of what I earned in real estate. I figured, if they can do it, why not me? So I do think showing these income reports is very helpful to readers.

    I also like how you have all the reports going back to 2012. I can follow how you went from earning just a few hundred dollars, to earning tens of thousands. It’s always hard to see someone earning 100k, and then think thats fine..but HOW did they get there. Thanks for the input.

    Reply

  5. Latoya @ Life and a Budget says

    Awesome work, Michelle! How long do you think it took for you to begin seeing any progress with Pinterest? I just signed up for Boardbooster a few weeks ago and while it is helping, I haven’t really seen the magic happening just yet.

    Reply

  6. Mrs. CTC @FromCostToCoast says

    Wow, that is one awesome income report Michelle! Congratulations!

    Love your tips about starting a blog as well, they are really useful.

    Reply

  7. Nicola @ The Frugal Cottage says

    Wow, that’s seriously amazing! I need to look at Boardbooster as I’m lacking in time when it comes to Pinterest at the moment. I wish I could consistently make three figures a month at the moment from my blog; your numbers are way beyond reach!

    Reply

  8. Kathleen says

    So amazing!! I am a brand new blogger so it’s great to see the potential. I am thinking of starting income reports (at only three months old!) Kind of scary 😁

    Reply

  11. BreAnna | Crafty Coin says

    I’ve had BoardBooster for awhile, but didn’t set it up well in the beginning. It’s on my to do list to get it configured correctly! Glad to hear you’re liking it over Tailwind. And congrats on such an amazing month. It’s so motivating to read this!

    Reply

  13. Josh says

    Congrats on the ebook project. My wife just finished writing one & we are slowly learning how to self-publish on the various platforms. I recommend Pat Flynn’s “Ebooks:The Smart Way” as a free & easy-to-follow guide, it’s the one resource I referenced the most.

    I think the one question I have for your ebook is if there is a way to request for waivers to certain affiliate programs that require certain traffic levels, etc to qualify for certain brands. I think about CJ Rakuten, they have a lot of great affiliate options for blogs to publish, but I gather the perception you need to have high traffic volumes to get approved.

    Also how do affiliate links impact the probability of getting ranked by the search engines, especially for new bloggers.

    Reply

  15. Tyler @ Oddball Wealth says

    I’m not surprised that your income increase by so much, you have a outstanding blog! I’m looking forward to seeing next month numbers, keep up the good work!

    Reply

  16. Natasha says

    What a blessing! Congratulations to you Michelle! And thank you for sharing because you don’t have to at all. When I want to give up, your posts keep me inspired. Happy travels!

    Reply

  17. The Financial Tech says

    Wow. This is a lot of money :). I am impress on how much your income grow compare to the last month. On my side I’ve made 0.02 cents but I started at the end of the month to monetize my blog

    Thanks for sharing these monthly income report, I love reading them 🙂

    Reply

  19. Chonce says

    Congrats on the income Michelle! This gives me inspiration and motivation like you wouldn’t image. I looked over at my bed a few minutes ago feeling tempted to call it a night. Then I read your income report and decided to put in a little more work to plant the seeds that will grow my blog and income in the future. Keep up the awesome work!

    Reply

  21. Aliyyah @RichAndHappyBlog says

    Your numbers are so inspiring! I posted my first online income report on my blog yesterday. I made $80 from one sponsored post. I’m hoping I can keep increasing my online income each month. I’ll definitely read your eBook!

    Reply

  24. Amy @ DebtGal says

    Wow, Michelle!! Congratulations!!!

    I actually received a tiny affiliate income payment this month, so that’s an improvement for me. 🙂

    Reply

  27. Erin Sturm says

    Thank you for sharing, Michelle! It’s incredible to see your progress each month. You should be very proud of what you’ve accomplished in the last few years! 🙂

    Reply

  29. kelli says

    Wow. A picture really is worth 1,000 words. Your income graph says it all! Congratulations on your best month ever. You are truly an inspiration.

    Reply

  31. Graham says

    Congratulations!
    Earning more than $72,000 in 1 month in any business is mind boggling. I’m happy to hear and continue to be inspired by your success! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  33. Lloyd says

    It’s always great to read your income reports Michelle. I’m making progress with mine, thanks to you I had a great month with traffic and just today I cut my first decent affiliate income, I can’t wait to publish April’s income report on my blog because of this. Keep inspiring us!

    Reply

  36. Kaitlynn Marie says

    I need to step up my game! You made more (and from my meager calculations without knowing all of your expenses, took home more) than I make in a year. In one month. And I have two jobs! This gives me renewed motivation to teach myself new skills that I can put toward something special. From what I can see, affiliates and sponsorship is where you get most of your money from. I need to start looking into those! These reports are always eye opening, but damn. I really appreciate you putting this out there because it’s usually something people keep private. But it sure is a nice motivator 🙂

    Reply

  37. Cornel Manu says

    Wow. This is amazing and inspiring at the same time. Congratulation on the income and keep doing it bigger.
    I never knew hosting affiliates can bring that much.

    Reply

  41. Sireesha says

    Hey Michelle

    I have been following your blog for sometime now. I am getting into blogging now after putting off the idea for very long. Your blog is partly the reason I am getting the confidence to start off. The way you try to diversify and work in every area of the blog is very impressive. Keep up the good work.

    Reply

  43. Michael says

    Hi Michelle,

    Thank you for sharing this level of detail and tips you share. I was able to start generating new revenue by the ideas you share in these updates. It is very kind of you!

    –Michael

    Reply

  44. Grace says

    Very impressive income. I have been following your blog for sometime but not often enough I guess.
    I have been blogging off and on for a few years through blogspot. Made a couple hundred dollars over those years.
    I plan to change to blue host and change my name and work on increasing my income.
    I have read that to have some one move my posts cost money but many of the posts I would not want to move.
    I am thinking of just taking some of the best and bring over to new blog myself.
    Any suggests.
    Thank you for your postings and I have read how to create a blog thank you for that posting

    Reply

  46. Mayank Dhuria says

    Congratulations on a huge jump in the income. These posts are a big motivation for all of us.

    Thanks for making us believe that nothing is impossible to achieve.

    I have recently started blogging and I was wondering after how many posts/number of views, should I start applying for affiliate links? Thanks. 🙂

    Reply

  48. Melinda says

    Wow! That’s amazing! I own a business and run a blog and don’t make that much! Definitely going to start following you so maybe I can learn some new things 🙂

    Reply

  50. Kelli says

    KelliMichelle, you are now ma one month more than I make in a year! And I’m working a soul crushing 50+ hours every week plus a 2 hour per day commute! I am equal parts in awe, inspired and envious. It might be time to give this ‘blog thing’ a whirl. When/if I do I will definitely be using your links. Love your site. Keep up the goodwork!

    Reply

  51. Amanda E. says

    Michelle! I am so happy for you and this month’s income report. This is my first comment on your blog, but I have been following your blog unknowingly through Pinterest for about a year now. About two weeks ago I started reading your monthly income reports and I was absolutely hooked. I have probably read 20-30 of your posts in the past 2 weeks because I just can’t get enough. You are so inspiring and I just really want to thank you for that! You have also inspired me to start my own blog through your BlueHost link because you are the first person to share that with me so thank you! I look forward to reading more and following you on your RV’ing journey!

    Thanks again!

    Amanda E.

    Reply

  52. Victoria@ The British Berliner says

    Wow! Wow!!

    Congratulations Michelle!
    You’ve really done well! Thank you so much for being generous with your time and writing, and sharing because you’re so right, you’re an inspiration to many and so “normal!” You’re amazing and deserve every success.

    ‘Love it! Well done!

    Reply

    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      If you signed up for my email list, then yes. The 300,000 readers are how many unique visitors I receive each month.

      I recommend getting it immediately. It’s also beneficial to build your email list from the very beginning. I regret waiting so long to start building mine.

      Reply

  54. Melinda says

    Michelle,What affiliates would you suggest to be the best? I was looking at Adthrive- is that one that you use? I currently have Google Adsense and that’s about it right now. I definitely need to up my game!

    Reply

  55. Rebecca Parker says

    Your blog is the reason I started one of my own. You inspire, encourage and educate all of us! I haven’t tackled affiliates yet but I’m building up the courage and I don’t have a clue as to how to do Pinterest. I use it personally but don’t know how to advertise my blog. I’m taking baby steps for now but you inspire me to keep going! Thank you so much for all you do!

    Sincerely,
    Rebecca

    Reply

  56. Emma Healey says

    Mind blown! This is such an inspiration Michelle. Whenever it gets hard with the endless amount of tasks that need to be done to run a successful blog I just get online and look at your income reports and think ‘just keep blogging’!!!

    Reply

  57. marco says

    Awesome !!! I can’t wait to see april income you almost double Feb that’s amazing
    I started my blog thanks to those incoming report 😉

    Reply

  59. Kent F says

    Hi Michelle – Congrats on such a huge month. I follow other bloggers who also make eye-popping income from Blue Host – so this is not a fluke as you have incredible traffic. My question relates to your second large income source – Surveys. Do you make this large sum from actually taking surveys or by others signing up under you to take surveys? I would assume the latter, which is certainly fine again based on your huge following. How does that income source breakdown? Is it 95% for signing others up or 20% or 5%? (as an example). Thanks in advance!

    Reply

  60. Alicia says

    Your income report is very inspiring. Thanks for sharing. I just started using Board Booster and I’m really liking it. It’s saving me time, and getting more pins out there. I just started writing a report (more as a way to hold myself accountable) and it’s helping me stay focused.

    Reply

  61. Mhairi Morris says

    Hi Michelle

    First of all, I want to thank you. I was one of your 200,000 visitors from Pinterest and I have been astounded by what you’ve achieved in a relatively short space of time.

    I have blogged in the past, but always lost interest pretty quickly, and never for a second thought it could be such a huge earner. Then I found your post (your March 2016 income post) and have been voraciously hoovering up every piece of information I can find on monetising a blog!

    My main motivation is to raise funds for my research. I’m a cancer researcher in the UK and the Research Councils funding is sooooo competitive, and so I’m looking into making a blog that will earn its keep to fund me and my PhD student!

    One question I’d love you to answer in your next income report, and it’s perhaps a bit nebulous and hard to answer, but do you think it’s possible for any blog to make money, no matter what the subject matter?

    Another question I have that is perhaps easier to answer (!): would you recommend resurrecting an old blog (think 3+ years inactivity) or would you recommend starting it from scratch again?

    Many thanks once again for the incredible inspiration you have been – if I ever do make a successful monetising blog, you can be sure I’ll be citing you as my original inspiration!

    Best wishes

    Mhairi

    Reply

  63. Katie says

    I absolutely love your writing and advice for other bloggers and people in general! I am inspired and am so thankful to have you to learn from as a person. Keep up the great work and I look forward to growing to these numbers 1 day!

    Reply

  65. Mike says

    Michelle,
    You are a real inspiration. My blog starts tomorrow. Thank you for all of the great advice in your posts.
    Take care…
    PS – your dogs are cute

    Reply

  66. Kelsey says

    Hi Michelle,

    Thank you for posting. Without your reports, I might not have started my blog.

    I launched end of March and earned ~$7 in April. 🙂 You have to start somewhere, right? I plan to publish my progress reports and hope to inspire others as well.

    Kelsey

    Reply

  67. Mantras says

    Awesome! Realy inspiring post. I am always motivate after reading your blogs. TGhanks for the insights.

    Reply

  70. verona ahmed says

    not really a comment. Needs advice. I don “t know a single thing about blogging, i do personal card readings, Can i use this? I came through a very though divorce, i can give advice in emotional problems while divorcing. I lost everything i was working for the past 30, but i wont give up.Please help me someone out there?

    Reply

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