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How I Made $130,856.35 Last Month Blogging

Last Updated: March 17, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 91 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.

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Welcome to March’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.

Here's how Michelle made $130,856 last month blogging. In her monthly income reports, she shows you exactly what she's working on, shares her best blogging tips, and more.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:

  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 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 March of 2017?

I earned $130,856.35 blogging and online in March of 2017, before expenses.

This makes March my third consecutive month with income over $100,000. 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 $130,000 last month alone.

While my income levels 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 took part in a webinar where I was the guest money expert, and this helped me to grow my email list and following. Plus, it was a lot of fun and helped me get out of my box a little more.
  • I had a feature in Forbes in January, which still generated over 5,000 new visitors even in the month of March to Making Sense of Cents (so wonderful!). This feature has 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 45,000 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 March of 2017, I was already at 60,000. 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, March 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 August of 2015. You can find all of my income reports here.

Breakout of March 2017 income – $130,856.35:

In March of 2017, I earned $130,856.35 from my blog. Below is how my income breaks apart in the different blogging income categories:

  • Affiliate income – $86,255.36 total:
    • Bluehost (check out my tutorial on how to start a blog) – $45,630.00
    • Survey companies – $10,291.50
    • Bookkeeper Business Academy – $1,123.25
    • MOTIF Investing – $1,058.00
    • Ebates – $1,000.00 (estimated as this is a tiered affiliate program)
    • How To Work From Home Selling On Amazon FBA – $982.65
    • Building a Framework – $854.40
    • Izea/SponsoredTweets – $384.00
    • How I Grew My Facebook Page From 2,000 to 100,000 in Five Months – $374.00
    • How To Start An Online Store – $343.36
    • Uber – $315.00
    • Credible – $300.00
    • ConvertKit – $271.60
    • $5 Meal Plan – $246.00
    • Amazon – $121.60
    • 17 Strategies Used to Go From 17K to 350K+ Page Views in 9 Months – $120.00
    • Make Money Proofreading By Becoming A Freelance Proofreader – $109.40
    • Personal Capital – $100.00
    • Digit – $90.00
    • Ibotta – $50.00
    • Miscellaneous affiliates – $22,490.60 (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 March, as well as a few other products that I sold as well in March).
  • Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course – $30,088.00
  • Sponsorships and advertising- $11,750.00
  • Display advertising – $2,763.00

Total: $130,856.35

The income amount above is for the month of March 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 $7,976.40. After expenses and fees, I made approximately $118,879.

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 March of 2017: $130,856
  • Total income in February of 2017: $160,211
  • Difference from the previous month: -29,355
  • Total in 2017: $430,300

 

Blog news 

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

Last month, I was debating keeping my income reports. However, after all of the comments and emails that I received, I will definitely be keeping them! I’m glad everyone still enjoys them because they are one of my favorite things I write each month. They are a great way to stay motivated with my business, to track how I’m doing, see what I need to work on, and, of course, help all of you.

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. So far, guest posting has been going very well!

Overall, traffic for the month was around 500,000 page views.

Below are several blog-related updates:

  • I finally started a community group for Making Sense of Cents. This is a Facebook group in which you can seek advice from other readers on all sorts of topics such as finance, blogging, travel, running a business, and so on. It’s only been open for less than two weeks and there are already over 4,000 members!
  • I created a new series on my blog where I interview extraordinary people who are doing interesting things in life. First, I interviewed JP, who retired at the age of 28 with a net worth over $2,000,000. Other interviews I already have in the works include a landlord under the age of 30 with 8 rentals, a full-time sailor, a full-time RVer, a person who paid off over $200,000 in debt, and more. I’m extremely excited about this new interview series! If there’s anyone you would like me to interview, please leave a comment.
  • I released my How To Start A Blog FREE Course. 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, I also 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.

Popular new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:

  • How I Run A Business While Traveling 365 Days a Year
  • How To Get Rich: The Steps To Build Wealth Now
  • Cutting College Costs: Understanding The Cost And Value Of Your Degree
  • How This 28 Year Old Retired With $2.25 Million
  • Less is More: Guide To Becoming a Minimalist
  • How To Stay Focused, Get Stuff Done, And Be Successful
  • 11 Reasons to Choose RV Life
  • 10 Real Ways To Make Money In A Day (or a Week!)

 

Featured Question: What blogging ebooks and courses do you recommend?

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. 

I receive this question nearly every single day.

Growing a blog and building a successful business requires work, and a lot of it!

If you want to be successful, then you may want to look into buying ebooks and/or courses that will teach you exactly what to do, so that you can minimize the amount of blogging mistakes you make and learn how to run a successful blogging business from the very beginning. Plus, there are many blogging secrets that you can’t just find anywhere. So, by taking a course or reading an ebook, you will learn exactly what you have to work on.

I’m almost always taking new blogging-related courses because I know that there is always something new to learn.

Here are the ebooks and courses that I recommend for bloggers:

  • Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing – I started 2016 with just around 6,500 Facebook followers and ended it with 38,000. I’m already at over 60,000 in April of 2017. 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.
  • 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. I show you exactly how to make a more passive income from blogging, even while you’re sleeping.
  • 17 Strategies I Used To Grow My Page Views eBook – Lena Gott’s ebook is full of great information on how to increase your blog’s page views. If you are feeling stuck or if you are a new blogger, check out this ebook! Lena went from 17,000 monthly page views to 350,000 and shares all of her best tips in this ebook.

The blogging ebooks and courses above will help you to create a successful blog. They will show you how to master Facebook, get crazy traffic from Pinterest, grow your blogging income, and more.

Share in the comments below: What is your favorite blogging ebook or course?

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?
  • What are some affiliate program ideas for different niches?

 

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 2017 as quickly mentioned above. 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. Even just a day would be nice! 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 (April of 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 recently 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 am not currently working on any ebooks or courses. What are some good ones right now that you’re taking?

 

Affiliate income results.

In March of 2017, I earned $86,255.36 in affiliate income, as outlined earlier in this blog income report. This was another great month for affiliate income.

I do expect April to be lower, though, as I don’t have any plans to promote any affiliate product launches. Instead, it’ll be nearly 100% passive affiliate income (which is my favorite form of affiliate income).

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 1,900 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 March for you? Are you interested in earning blogging income?

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91 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Business Income, Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Blog, Career, Extra Money, Self-employment

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

  1. Dave @ Run The Money says

    April 5, 2017 at 6:18 am

    Michelle,

    Another $100K month? Wow, congratulations! You’ll be seeing $200K – $250K some time this year I’m sure.

    I’m enrolled in Ruth’s Elite Blog Academy. Really enjoying the course and working it hard. Can’t wait to see it pay off in the coming months!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Nate Matherson says

    April 5, 2017 at 7:29 am

    Really incredible to see how much you have grown!
    Keep up the awesome content. You are top notch Michelle.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Thanks Nate!

      Reply
  3. Brian says

    April 5, 2017 at 7:38 am

    Another incredible month Michelle! Congrats. I’m working on growing my Pinterest following and traffic.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Nicole says

    April 5, 2017 at 8:03 am

    Congratulations on another successful month! I love reading these. Helps me know that making money with a blog is possible 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  5. Jason says

    April 5, 2017 at 8:51 am

    Congrats on another great month. March was good for me. I expect April to be even better.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Thanks! Glad March was good for you too.

      Reply
  6. Kristin says

    April 5, 2017 at 10:04 am

    I love your income updates! I am almost finished with Making Sense of Affiliate marketing and I have been LOVING implementing the strategies! Thank you for all you share!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  7. Caroline Vencil says

    April 5, 2017 at 12:30 pm

    SO happy for you, Michelle!!!! This is SO exciting!!! 😀 Can’t wait to see what you’re going to do next month!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  8. Sarah says

    April 5, 2017 at 12:42 pm

    AWESOME month!! I’m so glad you are continuing to publish these; they are very inspiring!! My March was good!! I think I brought in about $2500 through blogging! I do remember a year ago thinking “If I could just average $1000/month from my blog I’d be so happy” haha! And now I’ve passed that! Blogging really is an amazing side hustle / career 🙂

    Hope you have a great day!!

    -Sarah http://www.thefrugalmillionaireblog.com

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

      Great job!

      Reply
  9. BernzJP says

    April 5, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    Excellent job! That’s a lot of money and you’re right about balancing your work and life with your family. Family bonding is what makes our life more complete. Wish you all the best and hope to reach or even surpass your goals.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  10. Christine from The (mostly) Simple Life says

    April 5, 2017 at 12:46 pm

    Great work! You are so inspiring! While I’m not where I’d like to be with my income, I’ve come a long way and it’s good to remember that we’ve all started at 0. Congratulations!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  11. derek olsen says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:09 pm

    TAKE ME WITH YOU!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:49 pm

      🙂

      Reply
  12. Cody @ Dollar Habits says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    Congratulations on another uber successful month, Michelle. I am so glad you decided to continue on with these posts. I find them to be incredibly inspirational.

    March was an awesome month! It was Dollar Habits’ maiden month and it was quite a whirlwind. To answer your other question, I definitely have plans to make money from my blog. I’m still figuring out all the details and getting everything set up at the moment.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks Cody!

      Reply
  13. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    Building traffic is a great area to focus on 🙂

    Reply
  14. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    Thanks!

    Reply
  15. Bryan says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

    I am new to your blog but have gone back and looked at where you started on Day 1 in 2011. It’s an incredible and inspiring journey and just goes to show what hard work can do!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  16. Sheeroh says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    I love this statement, “Before you think that $100 or even $1,000 is out of your league, you should remember that it is not!” It is very encouraging as earning $1000 from my blog seems like such a pipe dream now. Keep up the awesome work.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 1:49 pm

      Yes!

      Reply
  17. Angel says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    HI Michelle,
    I love your blog! It’s full of great tips and I learn a lot from reading here! Thanks so much for publishing these reports. They are really inspiring! As a blogger, and soon to be full time RVer, I am always encouraged by your success, and appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge! Maybe we’ll see each other out on the road someday! 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      Let me know when you hit the road!

      Reply
  18. Sarah @ Smile & Conquer says

    April 5, 2017 at 2:01 pm

    Wow, so impressive Michelle! Reading about your journey and seeing the success you have had really motivates me to take my blogging more seriously and have it provide an actual income stream. Thanks for that 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      Glad to motivate you 🙂

      Reply
  19. Joyce @ My Stay At Home Adventures says

    April 5, 2017 at 2:16 pm

    Love it!! Thanks to you course, my affiliate sales are going up each month. Congratulations on your success you deserve it!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      Great to hear!

      Reply
  20. ReachingTheCrest says

    April 5, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    Great job. Again, what an inspiration.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:21 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  21. Tiana Shea says

    April 5, 2017 at 4:16 pm

    Thanks for the information Michelle!
    I am still a baby blogger, but look to yours for inspiration – so thanks again!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:21 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  22. Penny @ pennyandrich.com says

    April 5, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    I love these income reports! Do you ever post what you SPEND your money on? I’m always curious about that as well. My cousin and I post monthly expense reports on our blog. He makes a lot more money than I do and I always find it fascinating seeing what he spends his money on.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:22 pm

      No, I’ve never done that. We mainly just buy outdoors gear 🙂

      Reply
  23. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

    April 5, 2017 at 10:21 pm

    Thanks!

    Reply
  24. Cameron says

    April 5, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    Awesome consistent earnings this year! I see you seem to be hitting on your goal of being more diversified! I would hope that leads to the work/life balance you are looking for!

    I hit that almighty .01 on my AdSense account this month! I am so focused on content and trying to get out there that money is really no option. I was much happier to read my first e-mail from a reader saying that I helped them! The power of the internet is crazy!

    Thanks as always for sharing these as they are super inspirational!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 6, 2017 at 4:14 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  25. Eliza says

    April 5, 2017 at 11:31 pm

    Congratulations on your success! I’m thankful that bloggers do publish their income reports as it shows it can be a legitimate way to make money.

    You’ve probably addressed this somewhere previously (sorry, new reader!), but I’m curious how you built up your blog without guest posting? I’m currently doing Jon Morrow’s Serious Bloggers Only Course series and that is THE recommended way to build up your list.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 6, 2017 at 4:15 pm

      I built it up through pretty much everything else – social media, direct referrals (people mentioning my blog on theirs due to my content), networking, etc.

      Reply
  26. Stock Trader says

    April 6, 2017 at 3:43 am

    Congratulations on your success!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 6, 2017 at 4:15 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  27. Rinkesh says

    April 6, 2017 at 6:52 am

    Simply wow! You are a source of inspiration for new bloggers like us. Congratulations again.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 6, 2017 at 4:15 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  28. cece says

    April 6, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    The blog biz just gets better and better for you! That is awesome.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 6, 2017 at 4:16 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  29. Victoria @The British Berliner says

    April 7, 2017 at 1:01 am

    Well done Michelle!

    I love reading the updates on your success. It’s an inspiration to all, that with hard work and passion, everyone can make an income doing what they love best. 😀

    Reply
  30. Ms. Frugal Asian Finance says

    April 7, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Impressive numbers again this month. So glad to see that your blog is doing well. Keep up the great work!

    Reply
  31. Jan Maly says

    April 7, 2017 at 8:42 am

    Great report as always, keep it up! Can I have a question please? Is this your only blog or you have more websites?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  32. Matt says

    April 7, 2017 at 2:10 pm

    Wow! You’re an inspiration to me as a blogger. I hope to one day reach a fraction of your success.

    Reply
  33. Kim says

    April 7, 2017 at 2:39 pm

    Congratulations on this month’s income. I think it’s always good to reflect on our incomes. Keep up the great work!

    Reply
  34. Prateek says

    April 7, 2017 at 9:57 pm

    Woah…!!! Thats a lot of money you’ve made last month. Please also share some tips to start earning right from the start.

    Reply
  35. Melanie says

    April 8, 2017 at 7:32 am

    Love it! Thanks for always sharing these reports. It’s so helpful for other bloggers no matter what stage their blogging journey.

    Reply
  36. Kristine Puzel says

    April 8, 2017 at 7:52 am

    This was a great post for me to read at 5:30am on a Saturday morning. Building a blog with a full-time job is a challenge, but posts like this fuel my determination. Thank you for the details and insight – they really are so very helpful !

    Reply
  37. Michelle says

    April 8, 2017 at 8:18 am

    Michelle, congratulations!! This is so exciting 😄 It really does inspire those of us who are doing it to take action and never give up. Publishing your reports reminds me that anything is possible through hard work and commitment. I recently started following you on Instagram and I love your travel posts. Stay blessed!

    Reply
  38. Michelle says

    April 8, 2017 at 8:22 am

    sorry! I put in the wrong email address and that ugly creature appears next to my name!

    Reply
  39. Lisa says

    April 8, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    You are amazing! I’ll be happy just to reach the 30$ minimum from my survey sites… soon!!

    Reply
  40. Zascha says

    April 9, 2017 at 4:23 am

    As always: well done! I’m always amazed with everything you do.

    Reply
  41. Wallet Squirrel says

    April 9, 2017 at 9:53 pm

    Oh my goodness breaking $130,000 in a month is awesome. Especially when I was just going over your $672 in May, 2012. That’s an awesome leap in 5 years!

    I’m starting off still and only at $265 this last month, obviously a long way to go, but it’s awesome seeing your May, 2012 income report.

    You mentioned that you’re going to keep doing these, I’m glad. It’s great to see where you’ve been and how you’re doing. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  42. Tejwinder Singh says

    April 10, 2017 at 1:16 am

    This is something that motivates me. Making money is not enough if no one tells you how they do it. But, you have shown us the way and the means. Thanks for such a motivational article MICHELLE

    Reply
  43. Dhruv says

    April 10, 2017 at 10:03 am

    Wow this is truly motivating! I really need to reevaluate my social media strategy and incorporate a stronger brand presence with Pinterest.

    In my first month I made a little over $100 which is not bad in my opinion.

    Can’t wait to reach the 100,000 visitor mark so I can partner up with AdThrive!

    Reply
  44. Kate says

    April 11, 2017 at 8:39 am

    Such a great post

    Reply
  45. Johanne says

    April 11, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    Hi Michelle,

    I’ve been following your blog for a couple of months now. Today I launched my own blog, and I was wondering about a couple of things. I’m from Europe, the Netherlands to be exact, and I was wondering if you know any European bloggers who’ve had the same experience as you had with affiliate marketing and/or if you know how effective the course has proven to be for Europeans?

    Thank you!!!

    Reply
  46. Going Gonzo says

    April 12, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    wow that’s amazing! Congratulations on an extremely successful month.

    Reply
  47. Michael @ Hobo with a Laptop says

    April 13, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    Incredibly thorough, as always!

    Reply
  48. Ming says

    April 14, 2017 at 10:39 am

    I love to read your income reports. Every time I read it, I feel so inspired and push me to work harder to get closer to my goals. Thanks for sharing with us!

    Reply
  49. Swaloven says

    April 15, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Hi
    i am read your complete post with full concentration, and get most great tips and found motivational talk.
    but man i want to know about Google Adsense, how i can more earn from Google adsense ?
    i have 50k traffic monthly on my blog but my earning only 300$ so please guide me or give me any suggestion
    Thank you

    Reply
  50. Tania says

    April 18, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    That’s very impressive indeed! Thanks for sharing your methods with us.

    Reply
  51. Jessica says

    April 18, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    Love ur blog👍🏼

    Do you earn any residual income and if ao what company is that from then?
    I was thinking maybe you earn a residual income from bluehost ?

    Looking forward to explore more of ur blog❤️🌺

    Jessica

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 18, 2017 at 6:09 pm

      It really depends on what you mean when you say residual income 🙂 Do you just mean affiliate marketing in general is passive or are you referring to something else?

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        April 19, 2017 at 1:45 pm

        Hi,

        Yes i mean if any of ur affiliate marketing is passive, like for example, if someone sign up for Bluehost do u get paid for that each month as long as they are bluehost customers?

        You earn allot from blue host so thats why i wonder or if that income is from new customers signing up on bluest every month.

        Hope you understand what i mean 🙂

        Reply
        • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

          April 19, 2017 at 2:29 pm

          No, I don’t get paid per month for as long as their are customers through Bluehost. I wish! 🙂

          Reply
          • Jessica says

            April 20, 2017 at 5:04 am

            Oh Ok, yeah that would be awesome if u did 😉
            Thank you so much for responding….sending lots of love from Sweden and i will continue following your blog 🙂

            Reply
  52. LaToria Bolden says

    April 19, 2017 at 1:38 am

    This ia such an inspiratio.n. I am working hard on my blog and you are such an inspiration

    Reply
  53. Moshe Chayon says

    April 22, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    I’m a new blogger sill in my first year, I have only about 2k page views a month. My blog is on wordpress.com and I can’t put affiliate links on my site. How would you recommend I get started with affiliate marketing?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 22, 2017 at 6:54 pm

      I recommend switching to self-hosting – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2014/08/how-to-start-a-wordpress-blog-on-bluehost.html

      Reply
  54. Buy, Hold Long says

    April 24, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    That is fantastic, you really are doing well for yourself. You should be very proud. I hope you can continue to keep the income coming in and making your life different.

    Reply
  55. Brandi @ Dream Creative Daily says

    May 1, 2017 at 10:48 am

    I love that you aren’t afraid to show your income reports! I read so many bloggers who say they don’t want to show their income, and I think it’s a really inspiring way to show how rewarding blogging can be financially! Thank you for that!

    Reply
  56. Samuel Chinedu says

    May 1, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    I’m new to your blog, Michelle and all I can say is WOW!

    I’m inspired by your incredible blogging journey. Congratulations!

    Reply
  57. Paula @ Easy Baby Life says

    May 3, 2017 at 9:40 am

    This is a great income report, Michelle! Love your level of details – I need to improve my own reports. 🙂 (And the level of income, LOL!) A question – I am really struggling with getting real Facebook interaction. Did it help that you to start a group instead of a page?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      May 3, 2017 at 1:35 pm

      I have both a group and a page. They are completely different 🙂

      Reply
  58. Ilya says

    May 4, 2017 at 7:22 pm

    Hey Michelle,

    I’ve been following along for a while (and even created an income report roundup with you in it) and it seems that you’re consistently able to keep your expense to income ratio very low.

    Do you have any permanent part time workers or do you simply hire people/freelancers when you need something done?

    Your site’s growth is very impressive, but it makes sense as you have to be extremely dedicated to pay off college loans so quickly and graduate college quickly.

    Cheers!

    Reply
  59. Francis says

    June 4, 2019 at 8:03 am

    This is incredible. I have started diversifying my blogging portfolio. I want to be the next that will share my own blogging story that will wow many and inspire other newbies to take blogging serious. Gradually, I’ll get there. Thanks for sharing how you achieve this fit.

    Reply
  60. Linda says

    December 4, 2021 at 8:13 am

    Wow
    I just read through and I’m screaming. I started a blog too but it seems like I’m stuck.

    Reply

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Making Sense of Cents welcome page photo
Hello and welcome!
My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.

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