Welcome to the March 2018 edition of the Money Manifesto Blogging Income Report.
Every month I share with you exactly how much money I’m making from my online adventure. But why?
Well, first off, I want to inspire you by showing you that you can actually make money online.
I was a skeptic when it came to making money online until I started reading other bloggers’ income reports.
I got to know these bloggers and realized that I, too, could earn money online if I simply set my mind to it.
Here I am today, proving it is possible for the next set of online earners.
The other reason I share blogging income reports is to keep myself accountable to my income goals.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s see what I learned about self-employment in March.
What I Learned From Self-Employment In March 2018
This month I learned that income isn’t always dependent on the hours you put in to your business during the same time period. I’ve always known this, but sometimes it’s hard to realize without having it happen to you.
During the month of March I spent a week on a family cruise (trip report here) completely disconnected with no internet and I spent a week visiting family where I pretty much just kept up with email.
To make those trips happen, I did have to work ahead a bit, but I definitely didn’t put in the number of hours I usually would have to work to keep everything up and running during a normal week.
Don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t do this every month and keep my income up, but every once and while it’s nice to take a break and let your previous work stand on its own for a bit.
The previous work that earned me money even when I wasn’t working is the passive income part of blogging. I have to say, I’m quite a big fan.
You know what’s awesome? Even though I spent two weeks away from my business, I managed to have one of my best income month’s ever. How good?
March 2018 Online Income – $7,865.25
March was an amazing month for online income. My current monthly income goal is $4,000 per month and I blew it out of the water.
In fact, March was one of my best online income month’s ever coming in at $7,865.25.
While it helps that I had more than the usual number of articles due for freelance writing during the month of March (thanks to having five Fridays), my other income sources continued to grow as well.
I don’t expect to hit another almost $8,000 month in the super near future, but I definitely look forward to earning this much money on a more regular basis as I continue to grow my business.
Here’s how I earned my income in March.
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing provides a large chunk of my monthly income and was boosted a bit higher this month due to the fact there were five weekly deadlines for most of my clients, one more than usual.
Freelance writing is a great source of income because it has nothing to do with how my blog is currently performing. If I suddenly see a drop in traffic from Google or Pinterest, my blog income may suffer but my freelance writing income will remain.
This diversification of income allows me to feel a bit more comfortable that all of my online income won’t just dry up overnight.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to become a freelance writer or how to take your freelance writing to the next level, I highly suggest Holly Johnson’s Earn More Writing course.
It can help a brand new freelance writer get their business off the ground or give experienced writers some new insights that could boost their income.
You can learn more about the course or purchase it here.
Traditional Advertisements
Traditional advertising revenue, money I make from the typical advertisements you see on my posts, appears to be another solid source of reliable income thanks to my switch to Mediavine.
I’m still seeing traditional advertising revenue increase months after the switch, which is a pretty amazing feeling.
Of course, some of the increase has to do with behind the scenes work I’ve been doing to grow Money Manifesto, but either way, Mediavine continues to impress.
While this income can drop off if my traffic decreases, it should drop proportionally. It works the other way, too. If I can grow my blog, my advertising revenue should increase, as well.
Affiliate Income
Affiliate income has started to earn me a bit of money thanks to some changes I’ve made to my more popular posts recently.
Essentially, affiliate income is earned when I refer a reader to a product or service through a link on my blog that lets the product or service know I sent that reader their way.
- I get a commission if a reader makes a purchase or signs up for the service.
- The business gets a new customer that may not have ended up purchasing that product or service without seeing it on my site.
- My readers get awesome products or services that I believe can help them.
For instance, Republic Wireless sends me a commission whenever anyone signs up for a new line through my links and my readers get an awesome cell phone plan that’s just $15 per month plus $5 per GB.
Ebates also sends me a referral payment when you sign up for their service and make your first qualifying purchase.
You get a $10 check or Walmart gift card after your first qualifying purchase (plus any cash back you earn) and I get a small commission for sending you their way.
Overall, I feel like everyone wins with affiliate marketing and I hope to continue to increase this as I grow Money Manifesto. I plan to take Michelle’s Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course this year, so that should help, too.
Branded Content
Branded content is when I post an article on my site about a product or service and that product or service compensates me for my time and for sharing with my audience.
I don’t do a lot of these types of posts anymore, but I still get some great opportunities from time to time. I actually have a great one coming up, so keep your eyes peeled for it.
The key for me to accepting branded content is it has to help my readers in some way or be a product or service I’d feel comfortable recommending to my readers.
That’s why you’ll never see branded content about awful loan products, such as payday loans, or online casinos on my blog. Yes, they’re willing to pay to get in front of you, but I won’t let that happen.
How You Can Get Started On Your Path To Earning Money Online
Earning money online isn’t an easy endeavor no matter what anyone wants you to think. It’d be nice if making money was as simple as setting up a blog and writing about whatever you want, but it isn’t.
That said, earning money online is completely possible. It takes trial and error, but it can be done. I’m proof.
If you want to start making money online, I highly suggest you start a self-hosted WordPress blog to get yourself out there. Self-hosted essentially means you have complete control over your website and it isn’t owned by anyone else.
It costs money to self-host your website, but it’s relatively inexpensive and gives you complete control, unlike the free blogging platforms that can do whatever they want with your website according to their terms of service.
I’ve put together a step by step guide to starting a self-hosted WordPress blog using Siteground. If you want to start a blog, that’s where you should get started.
In just a few minutes, you can have your own blog and get started on your journey to making money online.
Having your own website or blog will allow you to build a portfolio for the work you want to feature and eventually get paid for.
For me, my website features my writing. I can use articles I’ve written here as portfolio pieces when potential clients ask to see my work. You can do the same if you’re a photographer or another type of service provider.
It will also allow you to start building your platform or following which can lead to revenue opportunities like the ones I’ve mentioned above including affiliate income, branded content and traditional advertising.
If you have any questions about starting a website or blog, please leave a comment or get in touch with me. I’d be happy to help!
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