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So, this is new! I started income reports when I first started this blog, but then somewhere along the line I quit. Life got too hectic. And it still is. Life is messy, especially when you travel fulltime most of the time.
But that’s the exact reason why I need to publish income reports again. To keep track of things, to reflect and to set proper (public) goals.
When I first started out with taking my blog serious and aiming for five-figure months, I gained a LOT from reading all these income reports. I’m pretty sure this will be one of the most valuable blog posts I’ve ever written for new bloggers, so please read along!
So here we are, here is my income report from December 2017.
So a couple of years ago I was still freelancing. Right now I’m accepting new freelance writing/photography jobs or blog coaching clients when they come up and I’m in the mood (or have time), but I try to focus on building a business without clients.
I have been blogging for over 12+ years and I can’t describe how happy I am I do this fulltime now! Best decision I ever made. It took me years, A LOT of time and effort to get where I am today, but hopefully, I can give you some shortcuts, as I’m already living the fulltime blogging lifestyle.
But to be upfront, I’m foremost an online entrepreneur, and after that a blogger. Building online businesses is my passion, blogging is my ‘hobby gone wrong’ and helping other bloggers is what I do to combine these two passions.
I may use advanced marketing strategies and programs to build my businesses, as I have a marketing degree and you may not need all the programs I use, but I’m sure they will help you. That’s why I decided to combine my business expenses + blog expenses in this report.
Most of what I’ve accomplished today comes from blogging. A blog is easy to monetize in a very passive way, so you can easily make some passive income with affiliate marketing or blog sponsors once everything is set up. Then start promoting your blog with PR & Free Publicity to gain followers.
Did you know that only 11% of all bloggers earn more than $30.000? So you better make sure you’re one of the top 11% bloggers! To be honest, it’s not that difficult, but you have to realize it’s not just blogging.
See, this blogger makes $50,000 (!) every month in a very passive way. Having multiple income streams is a start. I have collected over 50+ ways bloggers and online entrepreneurs can make money and many of the ways I have used to be able to travel the past three years.
If you don’t have a blog yet, start one today. You know why? Don’t do it for the money. Do it to share your passion(s) and who knows what comes from it. The way we blog will change all the time, but having a large ‘resume’ or creative portfolio online is worth a lot! And let me tell you: working with your favorite brands is a reward and awesome on itself!
Here’s the easiest tutorial on how to start your own blog. The easiest way to monetize your blog if you already have a blog is starting with affiliate marketing.
If you already have a blog or if you’re not interested in blogging, I suggest you create an online course for free with Teachable. The difference with other ideas to make a living online is that with a blog or an online course you can make (quick-ish) five figures without working harder or more, while if you’re doing survey’s for example, it will take forever and it will be a lot more work that’s less fun. You do the work once and sell your ‘work’ over and over again.
Teaching people things you love and know about is so much fun! I absolutely love all my course students! I wish I’d started sooner with exploring my options to hosting an online course because I walked around with the idea for waaaay too long.
I didn’t know about Teachable and Udemy yet, so I just didn’t know how to technically create it. Now, you’ve got me. So create your own school on Teachable (or Udemy) for free now!
If you’re not a type that creates a lot, I suggest you get into email marketing, everyone can write emails right? Email marketing is a great way to stay in contact with people and building a following (who knows what you come up with later in life!) without creating something now. You can easily monetize your email marketing if you’ve got the right tools. I recommend Convertkit or AWeber to start with your newsletter and check out this post on earning recurring monthly income without a blog.
But even if you don’t want to get started on monetizing your own side hustle, business or blog, there are more ways to earn money online, so read further…
Reflection:
*as you can see it may look like I use multiple tools for the same things but this is because I either run multiple accounts/or it’s for my second business.
Also read: the REAL costs of running a blog and business.
Check out my posts of weekly goals here!
The one things I love about blogging and creating online courses is that the income difference doesn’t come from how much you create. It’s all about how much you promote. It’s about 80% promoting and 20% creating. I used to work in PR and Communications so I know all about free publicity (heck, you can too if you enroll in my course!) and use a combination of (very awkward) press features + Pinterest to earn more every month.
I use a combination of Tailwind and Boardbooster to skyrocket my Pinterest activity and have automated my PR strategy by using this tool. (read the full tutorial here).
I used to struggle for years before I found a good ‘flow’ in earning money online. I had to change the way I look at money and that took a lot of mindset changes and hard work. This course has helped me a lot.
Also, I realized early on that I needed multiple income streams so I got to work. I’m happy to tell you more about it, so head over to my free video training!
Want to get started yourself with diversifying your income? Head over to50+ ways to make money online (as a side-hustle), download my free passive income 101 ebooks or read this blog post.
If you’re interested in changing the way you look towards money as a blogger, freelancer or online entrepreneur, check out my course $5k in 21-days. It’s a 21-day, step by step challenge course to help you earn $5000 in just three weeks, by changing your mindset, strategies and implementing new techniques that will help you make more sales. Enroll today!
The only requirement for the course is that you have your own business, as it’s not possible to earn more if have a 9-5 job with a monthly salary.
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