Welcome to February’s business income report where I show you how I made money online last month. It’s time to look at this month’s update and see how I did.
If you’re new to Making Sense of Cents, 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:
- 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.
- 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 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 and a full-time blogger. I look forward to each and every day and it’s a wonderful feeling. I truly love waking up every single 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 business income in February of 2017?
I earned $160,211.27 blogging and online in February, before expenses.
This makes February of 2017 my highest income month so far for my blogging business and it was a great month all around. I never thought that I would ever earn over $100,000 a month, especially through a blog, and it’s crazy to think about how I earned over $160,000 last month alone.
While my income levels now are high, I do want everyone to remember that I started at $0 a month and have grown my income to where it’s at now through a lot of hard work.
Before you think that $100 or even $1,000 is out of your league, you should remember that it is not!
I, myself, used to think that it would be great to one day earn $1,000 online and through my blog. I looked up to many bloggers who were earning over $10,000 a month, and I thought that was impossible.
Now, I’m here to show everyone that it is possible! Through hard work and dedication, you never know where life may lead you.
This great business income month was because of a few different things that happened and that I’ve been working on lately:
- I helped promote a friend’s course launch on an affiliate income basis, and this helped me earn five figures just from the five days that the course was open for sale. I don’t usually promote products heavily through a launch because I favor a more passive income source of affiliate income, but this is a great course so I wanted to help promote it.
- I had a feature in Forbes which generated over 50,000 new visitors to Making Sense of Cents (amazing!). This feature led to many new email subscribers, many great emails from new readers, and more.
- I’m focusing on diversifying my income. In 2016, I finally created my first for-sale product, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. This helped me to diversify my business and try a new form of income. Now, my business income primarily consists of affiliate marketing, a product, sponsorships, and advertising, which is a mix that I’m very happy with. Also, I’m making a better effort at diversifying my affiliate income as well, so that I earn a larger share of income from different companies.
- I’m focusing on my email list. I didn’t start taking my email list seriously until around April of 2016 when I switched to Convertkit. Convertkit makes sending an effective and efficient newsletter so much easier and better. I never really understood email marketing before, but ConvertKit makes it so easy and now I feel like I’m an expert! I now have over 40,000 email subscribers. One of my biggest blogging mistakes was waiting years to start my email list. If you don’t have one yet, you should start ASAP!
- I’m spending more time on Facebook. I started 2016 with just around 6,500 Facebook followers and ended the year with 38,000. At the end of February of 2017, I was already at 53,000. I owe a lot of that to the ebook Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing. Growing my Facebook page has allowed me to reach new readers, improve my blogging income, grow my email list, and more.
As you can see, February was another great month. It was great on all fronts – blogging, course-wise, life, and everything else.
I’m very excited for 2017. I know it will be another great year! The business is doing well and I’m very happy with it. I’ve been catching myself saying “Life is really good” a LOT. And, I truly mean it. Life is really good!
My business is growing, income is increasing, I have tons of amazing ideas for 2017, and I am very excited about everything. I really love my business and I don’t know where I would be without it.
My Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course is still doing very well and I had many new students join the course last month. I think a lot of this has to do with all of the amazing reviews that I’m hearing about my course such as:
- One blogger went from $0 in Amazon affiliate income to over $1,500 after taking the course.
- One blogger went from $87 a month in affiliate income before taking the course, to over $1,700 a month after!
- One blogger received their first affiliate sale just two days after taking the course (and they were a brand new blogger too!).
- Another blogger doubled their monthly affiliate income from $2,500 to $5,000.
Plus, I’ve heard and read many other great reviews about my course.
If you’re a blogger, I recommend checking out my blogging course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I share my exact strategy and tips in this very informative online course. If you’re a blogger, then you need to check out this course.
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 $2.75 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.
This chart only goes back to July of 2015. You can find all of my income reports here.
Breakout of February 2017 income – $160,211.27:
In February of 2017, I earned $160,211.27 from my blog. Below is how my income breaks apart in the different blogging income categories:
- Affiliate income – $100,151.27 total:
- Bluehost (check out my tutorial on how to start a blog) – $49,970.00
- Survey companies – $13,187.25
- MOTIF Investing – $1,472.00
- Ebates – $1,000.00 (estimated as this is a tiered affiliate program)
- How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA – $599.40
- Bookkeeper Business Academy – $515.87
- How I Grew My Facebook Page From 2,000 to 100,000 in Five Months – $486.00
- Personal Capital – $400.00
- Uber – $360.00
- $5 Meal Plan – $227.70
- Make Money Proofreading By Becoming A Freelance Proofreader – $220.00
- Learn How To Create A Profitable Ebook With Abby Lawson – $150.00
- ConvertKit – $145.20
- Digit – $135.00
- 17 Strategies Used to Go From 17K to 350K+ Page Views in 9 Months – $130.00
- Amazon – $101.35
- Ibotta – $100.00
- 30 Days Or Less To Freelance Writing Success – $98.00
- Izea/SponsoredTweets – $62.50
- Miscellaneous affiliates – $30,791.00 (I had a big launch the last few days of February for an affiliate product and the first few days of March as well, but this income is only from the launch earnings in February, as well as a few other products that I sold as well in February.)
- Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course – $44,051.00
- Sponsorships and advertising- $13,500.00
- Display advertising – $2,509.00
Total: $160,211.27
The income amount above is for the month of February and before any fees or expenses (some fees and expenses that lower the amount above total around $4,000 (rounded up), which include virtual assistants, Teachable course platform fee, technical assistance, newsletter expenses, PayPal fees, Stripe fees, etc., however, this does not include taxes) being taken out. I also had expenses for the affiliates promoting my course, which totaled $9,712.50. After expenses and fees, I made approximately $146,498.77.
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.
- $672 extra in May (2012)
- $6,523 in January Extra Income (2013)
- $11,927 in October Income – I Finally Left My Job (2013)
- $12,640 in January Income (2014)
- $23,758 in February Income – My Monthly Online Income Report (2015)
- How I Made $300,000 Online In 2015
- How I Made $979,321 In 2016
Comparisons and 2017 online income total:
- Total income in February of 2017: $160,211
- Total income in January of 2017: $139,233
- Difference from the previous month: +20,978
- Total in 2017: $299,444
Blog news
Making Sense of Cents is doing very well and I’m happy with how everything is going.
There are three things I’m thinking about (in no particular order):
- I’ve been debating continuing to publish income reports. If you find them helpful, please let me know in the comments below. If there’s something you’d like me to start adding to my income reports as well, let me know that too. I really just want to make sure that my income reports are helpful. I still find reading other people’s income reports and business updates helpful, but I want to make sure that others do too.
- I’m thinking about lowering the number of blog posts I publish this summer. I am thinking about going down to 1-2 posts a week, instead of my current 2-3 a week. This will only be for the months of June, July, and August. The summer months are usually slower for blogs due to everyone enjoying the nicer weather and their summer vacations. By lowering the amount I am posting this may help me to have a better work-life balance during the summer so that I can enjoy the months more as well.
- I’m thinking about increasing the amount that I spend on advertising on Facebook and Pinterest, and overall investing in the blogging business more. As you can tell each month, my blog business expenses are quite low. I want to start investing more in the business, such as through advertising so that I can reach new readers, and improve website traffic, subscribers, and income.
My feature in Forbes from January is still bringing in some traffic and I’m still loving it. You can read my feature here – How This 27 Year Old Made Nearly $1,000,000 in 2016.
I’m starting to guest post on other websites in order to promote my blog better and reach new readers. I think I’ve only guest posted once or twice ever since I started blogging in 2011, so this is something that I’m looking to change. I am going to try to guest post on someone else’s website at least once a month for the next year and see how that works out.
Overall, traffic for the month was around 520,000 page views. Referral traffic decreased last month, but that was expected since January is usually the best month for financial websites. That being said, my goal is to reach 1,000,000 monthly page views in 2017, so I will be spending a lot of my time trying to reach new readers.
Below are several blog-related updates:
- I released my How To Start A Blog FREE Course a few months ago. If you’ve been wanting to start a blog, then check this out. I created this email course for those who are interested in starting a blog, but haven’t done so yet. The course is free, and over 15,000 people have already signed up just in the past few months. Thank you to everyone who has sent me kind emails about how great the course is. I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner!
- Due to how well my first free course went, in August I created the free Master Your Money email course. It’s full of great money management lessons and financial worksheets (such as a free budget template), and I’m loving the positive response from this email course as well.
- I have plans for my third free email course and I will most likely put that together sometime this spring.
- This month or next, I will hopefully be creating a free personal finance support group on Facebook. I’m extremely excited for this to be live! This would be a place where everyone can talk about money freely, seek support and help, and so on.
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! I am also currently testing out a new unlimited internet option through AT&T, which should help me save money. For right now, I have both Verizon and AT&T, but I plan on changing that in the next few months after I figure out which one is better.
Popular new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:
- 15 Reasons You’re Broke And Can’t Save Money
- 50 Easy Ways To Save Money – Start Saving Thousands Each Year
- How To Make Money By Becoming A Cooking Instructor
- The 7 Money Mistakes That Shaped My Life
- The Power of Meal Planning – 6 Reasons Meal Planning Will Change Your Life
- How Melissa Made $40,000 In One Year Flipping Items
- 43 Extreme Things People Have Done To Make Money
- Stop Comparing Yourself To Others And Live Your Own Life
- 7 Lessons I Learned From My Short Sale
- How To Travel On A Budget And Still Have The Time Of Your Life
Featured Question: What are some affiliate program ideas for different niches?
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.
After last month’s Featured Question (What are easy affiliate programs for new bloggers?), some of you asked me for the top affiliate programs in other niches.
I’ve heard from numerous bloggers that they cannot find affiliate programs for the specific niche that they are in.
Well, let me tell you, you’re not looking hard enough if you can’t find any affiliate programs.
Every niche has affiliate programs, and there is an affiliate program for the majority of products that are out there. Most products will have affiliate programs, so the list is endless.
To find the specific affiliate programs mentioned below, they may be linked directly, you may have to find them within an affiliate network (such as Shareasale or Awin), click on “Affiliates” or something similar within the footer, and so on. If you’re not in my affiliate marketing course, you may want to purchase it because I teach you exactly how to find affiliate programs and how to get approved to them as well.
Here are some affiliate programs that you may want to look into according to your niche:
- Finance and Money Affiliate Programs – IGain, $5 Meal Plan, Tradeking, TurboTax, Ibotta
- Parenting/Family Affiliate Programs – Grove Collaborative, The Container Store, Wayfair, Educents, Hello Fresh, My Freeze Easy
- Travel Affiliate Programs – Airbnb, CheapFlights, Expedia, Booking.com, World Nomads, REI
- Crafts/DIY Affiliate Programs – Cricut, Craftsy, Fabric.com, Tiny Prints, Scrapbook.com, Etsy
- Food/Recipe Affiliate Programs – Graze, Thrive Market, Food Blogger Pro, Gluten Free Cooking School, Eat Drink Paleo
- Healthy Living Affiliate Programs – Raw Till Whenever, Mindvalley, $5 Meal Plan
- Beauty Affiliate Programs – Julep, Sephora, Ulta
- Blogging and Business Affiliate Programs – Ultimate Bundle, Convertkit, Freshbooks, Boardbooster, Teachable
As you can see, there are many, many affiliate programs for each and every niche to choose from. If you enjoy a product, there is probably an affiliate program for it.
If you’re interested in affiliate marketing, then I recommend taking Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. In this course, I list out over 80 possible affiliate programs for different niches, I teach you exactly how to apply for affiliate programs (and get approved for them!), the affiliate income strategies you need to implement so that you can earn passive income on your blog, and more.
Past featured questions:
- How do I increase my affiliate income?
- Do I need millions of page views a month in order to make money blogging?
- How do you build websites up to sell them?
- Do only celebrities make money through owning websites?
- How much money can a person make blogging?
- Where does blog income come from?
- Is there enough room for new bloggers to make money?
- What should a person blog about?
- How can a blogger increase their page views?
- Should my blog be self-hosted?
- How should I launch a new blog?
- What blogging tools or resources do you recommend?
- What should you do when a blog post goes viral?
- What is affiliate marketing?
- What did I learn from launching my course?
- What should you do when you’re feeling blogger burnout?
- How can a blogging conference help me?
- Why does a blogger need to have an email list?
- How can I make more blogging income around the holidays?
- Where do you get your photos from for your blog?
- What are easy affiliate programs for new bloggers?
My plans for my blog and my business.
Plans and goals can help you run a successful business. I believe that working towards a goal can help keep a person motivated too.
Below are some of the areas I am currently working on:
- Earn $1,000,000 from my business in 2017. This is a new goal for 2017. Many of you have asked why I didn’t increase my goal to $2,000,000 for 2017 since I was so close to $1,000,000 in 2016 already. Well, the main reason for that is because my overall goal for the year is to have a better work-life balance, and instead earn more passive income from my blogging business.
- Have a better work-life balance. This is my main goal for the year. While I have an okay work-life balance, I would like to be able to take a break from my blog without constantly checking my phone or laptop. I love my business, so that makes it hard for me to step away from it, even for just a few hours.
- Get at least three months ahead on Making Sense of Cents posts. I am currently 2 months ahead in content. Before the end of the month (March 2017), I would like to be at least 3 months ahead in content. Being ahead in content makes life much more enjoyable because I can focus on other things knowing that the majority of my writing work is already done. We plan on visiting many new places this spring and summer, and we just booked a 2-week sailing trip, so I am trying to get as far ahead as I can in preparation for no internet (or really bad internet service).
- Grow Making Sense of Cents to 1,000,000 monthly page views. I would love to help more readers, see even more engagement, have higher traffic, and so on. I love my blog and I would love to see it grow! I’m hoping to see at least 1,000,000 monthly page views by the end of 2017.
- Start doing more live interviews, such as podcasts and webinars. I’m not as shy as I used to be, but living in an RV and not always having internet or a reliable schedule makes podcasts and webinars are a little more difficult. I hope to find a way around that (perhaps planning out a better schedule?) and dedicate more time to this area.
- Create one more product to sell. In 2016, I created Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, and that has completely changed my life and my business. I want to think about and create another product to sell in 2017 so that I can continue to diversify my income.
- Promote the blog and business better. I am doing much better at promoting my blog and content, and I’m noticing an improvement. I started focusing more on improving my traffic from Facebook, and I’ve been very pleased with the results. I used to only see around 100 visits a day from Facebook, but for the past few months, I have been seeing around 2,000+ visits a day from Facebook.
- Continue learning and improving. I currently have a few blog courses that I’m working through.
Affiliate income results.
In February of 2017, I earned $100,151.27 in affiliate income, as outlined earlier in this blog income report. This is my best month ever for affiliate income and I’m extremely happy about it.
I don’t expect it to be this high in April of 2017, as I had one main launch for an affiliate product that was only for sale for a few days between February and March as discussed above.
I’m a very big fan of affiliate income, of course. It’s something that I enjoy due to how passive it can be. It makes full-time traveling much more enjoyable when I know I can bring in an income while having fun seeing new areas.
As I always say, blogging income is not dependent on page views. Even brand new bloggers can make money through affiliate marketing. If you know the correct way to promote a product, you can succeed at affiliate marketing. This is one of the main things I teach in my Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course.
My affiliate marketing course went live in July of 2016. I’ve already had over 1,600 people purchase the course, and I’d love to have you as a student too!
In Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, there are 6 modules, over 30 lessons, several worksheets, bonuses, an extremely helpful and exclusive Facebook group, and more. I go through everything that you need to know about affiliate marketing, such as:
- A quick introduction to affiliate marketing and how it works
- The benefits of affiliate marketing
- The exact steps I’ve taken to earn over $500,000 from a single blog post
- How to correctly pick affiliate products to promote
- The steps to increase your conversion rate
- 80+ Affiliate program ideas for different niches
- How to build trust with your readers (this is a MUST!)
- The required disclosures you need to know about
- The major tool you need for affiliate marketing
- The many different strategies to promote your affiliate links
My course is anything and everything about affiliate marketing. This course is perfect for you whether you are a new blogger or if you’ve been blogging for years, no matter what topic your blog is about, what country you live in, and so on.
I wrote this course so that it would benefit everyone, and there is so much to learn from it.
How was February for you? Are you interested in earning blogging income?
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Mustard Seed Money says
Wow Michelle you are doing amazing. Personally I find the income reports inspiring in each month. I love to see how you are doing and what got you there. The chart that you provides tremendous progress along the way and it gives me hope that one day I’ll start to eek out a profit 🙂 Thanks as always for being transparent and sharing!!!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
I do say what my expenses are each month in the income report, but I could list them out separately.
Compound Your Freedom says
Thanks Michelle. These are some really big figures. Please keep publishing the income reports. They are very inspirational and help other bloggers believe that it is possible to make it. Cheers
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
David Domzalski says
Michelle,
You continue to flat out kill it! Congrats on another awesome month! It’s funny too because it was February — so you had a few less days. And you still broke a personal best. Great stuff and you continue to be a source of inspiration. Thanks so much for sharing your tremendous progress. I tell my wife what you make each month and she is amazed!
While I’d miss the extra post or 2, in my humble opinion, going to 1 to 2 posts per month should be fine. That goes double if you’re working on another product/course. Good luck with the decision!
Thanks,
Dave
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
It would be 1-2 posts a week 🙂 I couldn’t do 1-2 a month, that just wouldn’t be enough – I love writing!
Lisa says
I really do hope you continue these reports , in some fashion. It would be interesting to know what you do to increase your online presence through guest posts, what worked and what didn’t. For your next digital product, could you touch on how to get a following for newbie blogs? I know that topic is widely talked about, and everybody has unique views about it.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
After receiving today’s comments and emails, I definitely think I will continue my income reports. I just wanted to make sure that people still found them helpful. I do enjoy writing them each month and it helps to push me to better myself.
Leanne says
This is incredibly inspiring! Definitely keep posting xx
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Viktoria Andersson says
Don’t stop writing income reports! I Love reading them and they inspire me to keep on blogging myself
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Money Beagle says
Glad it’s working out. Hope it keeps growing, because I know once you make enough it’s still never enough.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Brian says
Incredible progress. Just when I think you’ve peaked you out do yourself again. Thanks for sharing. Very inspiring to read.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Ryan @ Just Another Dollar says
Please try to continue with the income reports. These posts are so awesome, very inspiring! Thanks for putting in the time to make them truly valuable by linking to the different affiliate partners and sharing your actual experience rather than just raw data.
I can definitely support seeking a better work-life balance in 2017; after all, wasn’t that the point of leaving your primary career to work the side-hustle? Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more.
Ryan
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you! I definitely think I’ll continue with them after today’s comments and emails. Glad you’re enjoying them!
Kristin says
I absolutely love reading your income reports. I don’t know why but they are my favorite posts to read from other bloggers. Maybe I just find the ways fascinating? Congrats on a great month!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Alicia says
Thank you for posting your income reports. This is a way that you give back to the blogging community so I hope you continue them. It’s great to see how a person can have this kind of work-life balance and is very helpful to bloggers like me who are on their way.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you! Great to hear 🙂
Amy says
Wow…you are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your blogging information.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Amy Fillinger says
I have NO idea why it posted that last thing. What I meant to say is that I love reading your income reports. You KILLED it last month, congrats!! As a newer blogger, I find it very inspirational, and I also love the transparency. Please keep posting the income reports!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Maya says
Umm I wrote this long comment and it posted something completely different! Anyway congrats!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Haha thanks!
ChrisCD says
I love reading the income report and including a reader question is great. I always love reading your goals and plans, so please keep it up.
You did “simply marvelous” last month.
cd :O)
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Natasha @ Inspiring Single Mothers says
Kudos to you on another great month! You inspire me! Thanks for sharing so much with us. Your income reports are filled with substantive information. I understand if you decide to stop posting them because you’ve shown us a lot already and it’s really hard to share your income with the world. Continued blessings for you and your family!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, definitely check them out!
Tiffaney says
Omg! You make this seem so simple & I love it. You have a great strategy have been looking for a guide like this. Got your course & super excited to dig in!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Kori says
Though I don’t come anywhere near where you are, and would be happy to make even 1/10th of what you do? This is so incredibly inspiring to me. And motivation to keep at it and diversify those income streams.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Rachel says
I love seeing your monthly income reports! It motivates me and gives me ideas on how I can monetize my blog as well! Keep it up!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Benita rouse says
I have to say I NEEEEED! your income reports. I look forward to them every month and they are inspirational and informative. They give me many ideas as to what I need to do to help my future blog to grow. You rock!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
That is great to hear. Thank you!
Mrs. Picky Pincher says
Congrats on this month being your highest-grossing blog earnings month of all time. 🙂 That’s quite a feat!!! I’m happy to report that I’m starting to rake in a few hundred bucks each month on my writing side hustle/blog, so it’s steadily climbing upward for me after almost a year of work. It feels great. 🙂
I say definitely invest more moolah into the blog. My blog is smaller than yours and pumping just $50 (earned from blog advertising) into Pinterest ads doubled my mailing list.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks! I’ve put money towards Pinterest and Facebook, but I know many other blogs who pump like $20,000 a month into ads. I’m barely putting a few thousand into them each month.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply says
I think the income reports are great because they’re inspiring and also educational as to layout where your income comes from. See this income report is so inspiring…I’m working through your affiliate course as we speak. If only there was more time in the day! As for work-life balance…yea, I think you deserve it and I’m sure the business will continue chugging along.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great to hear, thanks!
Kat @ Jakaar Wonderland says
As everyone has said before me. These posts are very inspiring!!!
These posts allow me to look at the big picture as I start putting up posts (with affiliate links within) and start sharing them on social media!!
While I have many smaller benchmarks to hit first my main long term goal is to replace both my husband and my own income (after business expenses)!
These posts remind me that day is very possible.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great to hear 🙂 I’m glad everyone is enjoying them still over the years.
Holly says
I love your income reports. They have inspired me to jump more into blogging and I’m working at creating 30 posts before I launch a new blog.
If you are ever in Virginia and need new headshots or images for your site, just hit me up. We would have a ton of fun! The personal side of your blog is also fun to read!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Holly says
You also spoke of striking a balance between work and life as one of your goals and I was thinking after I read your post you should check out Kevin Kruse.
I would encourage you to check out his podcast at
http://productivity-podcast.com/
It has radically changed my life in just a very short time. I highly recommend it, the advice he gives is very helpful and since implementing it I’ve seen a big difference in what I’m able to accomplish and how I feel too. I’m a busy Mom to a 4 year old, expecting in 3 weeks,and photographer. But I’m still getting a TON done.
Check it out!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
I’ll have to check that out, thanks!
Cody @ Dollar Habits says
I just launched my blog last Wednesday and I already have almost as many page views as you did in February … okay, minus a comma and three zeros. 😉 I thoroughly enjoy your income reports and look forward to them at the beginning of each month. They are super inspirational and it’s really helpful to see how your online income breaks down. Please, keep ’em coming.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Haha!
Sarah says
Ooops I have no idea why that posted!!! Agh!
Anywho I had said I love your income reports!! They rock and are so inspiring! Keep up the great work!!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Daniel Palmer says
Keep the income reports coming! I can tell from the comments that I’m not alone in finding them incredibly motivating.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes 🙂
Cat says
Please keep publishing your income reports! I enjoy reading them and find them inspiring!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Paige says
I love the income reports! I think that they’re both inspiring & helpful. I use reports like yours as a guide for where the most profit can be gained & where to direct my attention. Plus, I would never have had the courage to start a blog without seeing how successful bloggers like yourself have been.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Cameron says
Awesome job!
I do enjoy the reports. The transparency does help show how this can be done for others. It also is always so well done that you show the other tips as well. I do also like the breakdown of how the site has been built from the ground up.
I would understand the want to drop the numbers and have some ‘stealth wealth’ but the overall percentage of total for the income streams is nice.
Thanks,
Cameron
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Moïse says
Wow you are doing great.
I love all your posts but I have to say I look forward to this one every month. You put really nice info in it every single time. It gives people some insights, which I think is really awesome.
Thanks for this and all other posts,
Moïse
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Smart Provisions says
Wow, great job, Michelle! You just beat all your other months again! Keep up the great work, it’s very impressive to see you rock on month after month!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Helene says
To me, your income reports are always my favorite to read. I like them because you are so transparent and upfront with how you make money. There are a lot of bloggers that just seem scammy with it. Also I am wiht you when it comes to needing a work/life balance. It’s something I REALLY struggle with!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks Helene!
Fejiro says
I love these income reports! I actually look forward to seeing your name pop in my email inbox. They’re so motivating and encouraging! I hope to start a blog soon because of them.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Aww thanks!
Debbie Gartner says
Wow, Michelle, that is truly amazing. Personally, I find these very inspiring and very helpful, so I hope you will continue with them. And, you can definitely afford to hire and asst/DA and/or expand this so you can have some more personal time. Congrats.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thank you!
Graham @ Reverse The Crush says
Congratulations on another successful month, Michelle.
I hope you continue with your income reports as I find them extremely motivating. Income reports are something all bloggers can relate to, no matter what the niche is. Also, I would be interested to see a breakdown of website traffic. I’m not sure if you have shared before, but it would be interested to see where you traffic comes from. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
I definitely think I will continue them after the great comments and emails here!
Bill says
Great blog with so much good info. Do you know of others that are in different niches that are doing as well as you?
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, there are many blogs in all niches that are doing well 🙂
Jason Butler says
Congrats for another record breaking month.I love reading the reports each month. They help to keep me motivated.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Courtney says
Michelle, you are truly an inspiration! I recently launched my blog, youraveragedough.com, and although I am only a few weeks in, I hope to be even half as successful as you! I think it is great that you are so transparent with your readers. It gives other bloggers something to strive for and it is so informative. Thank you 🙂
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Congrats on starting a blog!
Josh says
Congrats on the progress & being able to help us experienced & inexperienced bloggers improve our own sites. I think 1-2 posts during the summer is a good idea, especially if you can use that time to focus on your other ventures & maybe lay some groundwork for when traffic picks back up again in the fall.
ReachingTheCrest says
this is pretty impressive. i say keep doing the reports.
Scrivs says
Hi Michelle,
Simply amazing. I started following you around July of last year and to see your growth in that short period of time has truly been inspiring.
Looking back at things do you wish you had created a course earlier or do you feel like you timed it just right?
Francie says
What a awesome month for you. Yes, please keep publishing your income report its truly inspirational.
Brittany says
Yes! Continue with the income reports!
If you are looking for suggestions, you could add a “What I’m learning lately” section. Like just little tips and snippets of advice you’re learning as you continue to grow your business. Just a suggestion!
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
I enjoy your income reports 🙂 they do seem impossible for me though, but I’d love to think that I could improve on mine! It’s crazy to see how much you get from Bluehost, what would you say the reason for that is compared to other bloggers?
Natalie says
I know this question is for Michelle but I couldn’t help but chime in! 🙂 I know with my Bluehost manager, he’ll work with me to incorporate new ways to promote. He does this at a level that I’ve never seen any other affiliate do.It helps me a lot, so if you use them, I highly recommend taking advantage of that. Also, not sure if you read Smart Passive Income, but Pat’s income from Bluehost is also at this level.
Natalie says
Love the level of detail in this post! Congrats on your highest earnings month!! As for income reports, I would be okay if you didn’t do the income part but still did some sort of “goals post” or “life update” monthly. I realllly love reading what bloggers are up to, even if it’s in their personal lives and especially in their blogging lives. It doesn’t necessarily have to be income for me.
Manoj says
Hi Michelle,
Really exciting. Hats off for your brilliant work. Your income reports inspiring me to go ahead with blogging career. Well done.
Wish you all the best
Tatiana says
$160,211.27 – it’s fantastic… for me… it takes a lot of effort and patience. This report is cool. I’m very lazy… But you inspired me! Thank you!
Ashlyn says
Thank you for posting these income reports! I started a blog last November for women, and your posts really inspire me! Congrats on the success girl 🙂
Monica@WellIDeclare says
Well…that’s awkward. I just wrote an amazing plea for you to continue your income posts and this. 🙂 FAIL! Thank you for inspiring with your posts. Great job!
The Financial Tech says
Wow 160k in a month, it’s crazy.
Please continue to share these report, I love reading them and they are motivating.
Michael says
Wow Michelle, that’s awesome! Keep it going, you are doing a terrific job.
February had a few pleasant surprises for me. I got the opportunity to coach a couple on debt management and will be working with them. I also received some freelance writing opportunities, which I am really excited about.
Shannon says
I LOVE your income reports. They are such a huge inspiration for me. You are doing great!
Ryan says
Hey Michelle. Wow, girl, you are killin’ it! I hope this is where I can leave a question to maybe be the featured question next month. My question is this: Can you go back to when you were first building up traffic and share what your strategies were that really made a difference? Thanks!
Anja says
I find the income reports helpful and interesting. I read your blog through the Bloglovin app.
Toni says
Wow, Don’t stop posting your Income reports. I really dig them and they are, in fact what convinced me to start my blog! They are the most motivational reports I have ever read. I have also taken your course and I am starting to see some money roll in. Thanks for all you do, you’re a real sweetie!
Chris @ DigitPedia says
Hi, I just wanted to chime in about you thinking whether to continue publishing income report. It’s clear lot’s of people find them useful so it would be a shame for them to completely stop. I definitely enjoy them and feel appreciative because each month it is a kick of inspiration so thanks are necessary 🙂 But perhaps they could be refreshed a little bit, I personally find them quite overwhelming in terms of the content. There are so many links in every post and so much text, the formatting could be improved to make it easier to digest. I kind of feel like the “featured question” alone could be it’s own blog post rather than part of the income reports. If you don’t want to keep them on like this maybe switching to quarterly reports could be an option, I’ve seen a couple of other bloggers do that. I hope you appreciate I’m trying to be constructive haha. It would be great to see income reports continue for regular readers but a refreshing of there format could also be fun. Hope that feedback helps. Chris.
Holly says
Keep the income reports coming. The numbers are inspiring to see, but I also like how you list your goals, mention what is working, what isn’t, etc. I appreciate the context and I appreciate clicking on these reports once a month and having my jaw drop haha.
Susan Velez says
Hi Michelle,
This is my first time posting on your blog, I love reading it. I especially love reading your income reports. It’s amazing at how much you make from your blog.
I have learned a lot from just reading your blogging tips. It’s extremely inspiring to see how you started out and built up a successful blog.
Your story definitely keeps me motivated and inspired to keep working on my blog. Congrats on all the money you make. It’s nice to see that your hard work paid off.
-Susan
Erica says
Please continue with the income reports. I also have a featured question. Do you have any tips for creating facebook ads and paid pins on pinterests? Thanks so much for your help.
Paige Overturf says
One post in, 8 new tabs…I’ve already poured a cup of coffee and decided to pull an all-nighter just so I can keep reading your blog!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
AWw thanks!
Kim Martinson says
Wow, so impressive and inspiring. Yes, please keep doing these income reports in great detail. Thanks.
Dave says
Hi Michelle.
This is my first time posting a comment to your blog.
I’ve been following a long for only a short time. I can’t remember how I found your blog.
At any rate I find your income reports motivating and inspiring.
I grew up with my parents taking us on summer vacations in an RV. I think that is one is the appealing things that draws me in, along with all the other content you share.
I vote yes to continue the income reports. I also vote for a more stream-lined format. I agree with Chris that they are a bit long winded.
I’ve taken a similar approach and have started a savings report for my few followers.
Blogging is a lot of work but fun. Keep up the good work.
Dave Gates
davegates.net
Ms. Frugal Asian Finance says
Impressive numbers. I know it’s a lot of hard work, and that you’ve gone a long way. But you’re definitely an inspiration for me and other bloggers out there.
Bryan says
These numbers are truly inspiring. I love your transparency!
Dhruv says
Wow! 160k in a month!!?? Some people take YEARS to make that kind of income.
I’ll be sure to implement these tactics on my blog.
Thanks 🙂
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Sarah | I Heart Frugal says
I really enjoy reading your income reports. It gives me hope that I can profit from my blog and stay home with my kids long term. You are an amazing inspiration! Thanks for all of your great tips!
Kristina Yesnat says
keep it up, you’re really inspired me, everyday i’m come to u’r site to make my lazy time to be productively.
Lokender kumar says
Hi Michelle Schroeder,
Really inspirational!
I have just started a blog and now I am hoping one day I will earn some money from my blog.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Regards,
Lokender
Howard says
Interesting article. As all people have different passions to engage their writing abilities with, my question to you is about subscriptions. WHY CONVERT KIT??
Please explain
Thanks
Howard
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Why not Convertkit? It’s easy to use and has all the functions I need for newsletters.
Victoria says
I am a homeschooling mom who would like to stay at home full time. At this time, the only way I can do that is by having a flexible by my own boss type of job working from home. I find this blog post not only very informative, but inspiring and encouraging! This really motivates me to seriously consider starting a blog. Thank you for such transparent honesty, and available free help. Looking forward to learning more in considering this “side hustle” for me and my family.
Jemma says
Please continue to share with us! It’s so inspiring to us new bloggers. I’m not sure if I missed it but did you/could you list your blogging expenses to (if you don’t mind)?
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
I share them in every income report but I also just released this – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2017/09/the-products-and-services-i-use-to-make-a-successful-million-dollar-blog.html
DNN says
hi Michelle,
I’ve learned from you and others that it’s possible to take side hustle blogging seriously. And to consider saving every penny, dime, dollar and cent possible to achieve total financial freedom. I’m curious if you blog every day or every other day while you held down your day job until you got to the point where as you didn’t need your job anymore. How many years did it take you if you don’t mind me asking to build up the content of your blog until you were earning enough money to say “I quit my job?”
And by the way, do you frequently update your YouTube channel? 🙂 It would be nice to watch a few of your inspiring YouTube “side hustle blogging videos.” 🙂
Piyush Agrawal says
I blog quite often and I seriously appreciate your
content. This great article has really peaked my interest.
I am going to book mark your website and keep checking for new information about once a week.
Miguel says
I am also starting a small blog and I hope someday it will succeed Thanks for your writing, it makes me more motivated