Welcome to February’s online income report where I show you how I make money online. It’s time to look at my monthly income update and track how I did last month.
Background information on my monthly online income reports.
If you are new here, you might be wondering why I publish my online income reports each month. If you are not new here, then you can just skip to the next section 🙂
This all started out as my side 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 (that was a fixed amount and boring anyways).
However, I left my day job as a financial analyst in 2013 (wow, I can’t believe it’s already been that long) and now my monthly income report consists of the many different ways I bring in an income each month.
Many people have asked why I would ever want to publicly post my income each month. Some have called me crazy, and some are glad I am 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 and promotions at your full-time job. If it weren’t for others publishing their monthly income reports each month, I don’t know if I would have ever tried side hustling. This is why I like to publish my income reports. I want to help others see 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 see what areas need improvement. It’s also entertaining to go back to older income updates and read about the interesting things I did to make money. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
Lastly, I like to show others that making side money is possible, and that everything is not a scam. If you are looking for information on the many ways to make money online, I created the article Monthly Income Report Roundup – My Favorite Income Bloggers that showcases many awesome bloggers who are kind enough to share their income with the public each month. Just a few years ago, I didn’t think making money online was possible at all. Now, I realize that it is possible!
I know I say this every month, but it is the truth. Life is great now that I’m my own boss. I look forward to each and every work day and it is an amazing thing.
Above is exactly 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.).
Also, if you have any questions about making money online, you can always send me an email and I always reply back. If I haven’t covered something in this income report, I highly recommend that you check out my other reports as well because I covered A LOT of topics, including reader questions that I have received. I am unable to put everything in this single post because this would then become one messy whale of a post.
How was my online income in February?
As you can see, February was obviously a great month for online income. It was by far my highest month yet, but as you will read below, this was a one-time occurrence.
February was a great month even without the website sale though. With the move, I was not able to work as much so it’s great that things still managed to come together well.
I was able to still earn a good income last month because I worked ahead as much as I could in January. Doing this allowed me to focus more on the move in February, which was a lifesaver.
I am hoping to continue to work ahead as much as I can because I love how much time it frees up in my schedule so that I can focus on other tasks as they come due.
Anyway, in February I made $25,557.90 in business income, before expenses.
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, at only $3.49 per month for blog hosting (this very low price applies if you pay for 36 months upfront). Plus, you will get a free blog domain if you sign up through my Bluehost link as well.
Related articles:
The number above is for the month of February and before any fees and expenses (some fees and expenses that lower the amount above total around $1,800, which includes virtual assistants/staff writers for my other websites, technical assistance on my websites, PayPal fees, etc., however, this does not include taxes) being taken out. After expenses and fees, I made approximately $23,758.
Below are some of my other monthly side 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 extra income page you can find all of my monthly income reports from the past few years.
Blog news.
As you’ll read in the section below, I sold one of my websites. It was a smaller website of mine that I previously bought and built up on the side.
I decided to sell it so I could focus more on Making Sense of Cents. Making Sense of Cents is growing month after month after about a year of it being completely flat. Due to this, I recently decided that I want to spend more time here on this website, as it is my favorite and it is my baby.
I plan on spending more time creating more beefier posts, promoting my content better, and more. I’m excited to start focusing more on Making Sense of Cents again!
If you are wanting to start a blog of your own, read my post How To Start a WordPress Blog. It gives step by step instructions on starting your own blog. It starts at only $3.49 per month for blog hosting. Plus, you will get a free blog domain if you sign up through my Bluehost link.
A big jump in income.
I’m sure most of you noticed the big jump in income I experienced last month. That is not a normal jump and I expect next month to go back down to around the $15,000 monthly online income range.
I experienced the big jump because I sold one of my websites. As I said earlier, I decided to sell it so that I can spend more time on Making Sense of Cents. I have many plans for Making Sense of Cents, and owning all of these websites on the side right now is not at the top of my list at the moment.
I realize that over the past year, I have been focused on building up websites and buying websites, but I have come to realize that right now I need to focus on just a few projects so that I can give them more of my attention. I believe this is the right step for my business right now.
However, this might mean lower income in future months because I did earn a little bit of income each month from this website. I’m hoping to make up for it since I will be devoting more time to Making Sense of Cents, which will hopefully lead to me seeing an increase here.
I am also possibly selling one or two of my other websites as well this month, and we will see how that goes.
Like I said above, this is not a normal jump. However, it is nice to know that I bought a website last year, built it up, and was able to sell it at a good number.
If any of you have questions about selling a website, you can leave them below and I will attempt to help you out. I am no expert but I will try my best.
IZEA – A way to make money through your blog and/or social media accounts.
I am doing another plug in my monthly online income update about Izea.
IZEA is a company I used a lot when I first started blogging. If you already have a blog or social media accounts such as Twitter or Facebook, then signing up for Izea is a great way to make some extra money. All you have to do is sign up and wait for opportunities to come your way. You can sign up for it even if you don’t have a blog. You can just connect your social media accounts and start making money right away.
With Izea, you are getting paid for whenever a company wants to advertise themselves through your blog and/or social media accounts (such as your Twitter account). You get paid electronically, and they always pay. They partner with big name companies such as Marriott, Netflix, Walmart, Kraft, Lego, and more. It’s an EASY way to make money through your blog, so I highly recommend you check Izea out.
Click here to sign up for Izea. It is free to join and free to use. To get started, sign up, connect a few social media accounts, and validate your email so that you can start earning extra cash.
I also have a $500 giveaway that you can enter if you do decide to sign up for Izea which can be found here.
Wes’s website.
With the big move, we fell behind on his website. We plan on getting this up and running in the next few months though.
Our goal over the next few months will be to schedule posts, brainstorming ways to market his blog, and outlining future blog posts.
My plans for my website, online income, and making money online:
Publish an ebook – I haven’t made any progress on this. I keep going back and forth about how important this is to me in 2015.
Promote more – I have been doing much better when it comes to promoting, especially on Pinterest. Pinterest alone brought around 55,000 clicks to my blog just in the month of February! This is a great increase from January’s number of 43,000. Also, keep in mind that just a few months ago I was only receiving a few hundred visits a month from Pinterest, so this is a huge jump. I’m hoping it continues well into the future.
Accept more interviews. – I conducted a few email and phone interviews in February, all of which I am very excited to see live. I saw mentions on websites including Kiplinger and The Everygirl, which were very exciting to see.
Stop being shy – This is one of my goals for 2015. I am such a shy person, and it’s something I need to work on if I want to grow my business.
Staff writing.
In February, I worked on a few staff writing jobs. Staff writing is something that has slowed down in recent months in terms of income categorized below, as most of my staff writing is now bundled into blog management as well, in case any of you were wondering. This is because with some of my clients, they have me manage their websites and write for them as well, all for one flat fee each month. I just wanted to explain this as I know some of you had questions about it.
I am still staff writing, but I am not actively looking for any positions.
Update on my blog and social media management services.
Blog and social media management is still a service I enjoy providing to my clients. Nothing new in this area happened last month.
If you are interested in the different services I provide when it comes to blog and social media management, you can find a summary of the services I provide here.
If you are wanting to start a blog of your own, read my post How To Start a Cheap WordPress Blog. It gives step by step instructions on starting your own blog. You can also get a free domain by signing up through my link.
Related articles:
Affiliate income.
February was a great month for affiliate income. I believe I earned around $6,000 in affiliate income just in the month of February.
I won’t see the payments until April for most of those, so you won’t see those amounts reflected in my monthly income reports until then. I am extremely excited about how much my affiliate/passive income has jumped in the past few months, especially with how little work is needed in order to earn this income.
I don’t believe I published a single affiliate related post in February, so this is another reason for why I am so surprised by how many sales I earned. I plan on doing one or two affiliate reviews in March though.
EDIT July, 2016: I recommend checking out my online course for bloggers, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I earn over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing and I share my exact strategy and tips in this very informative online course. If you’re a blogger, then you NEED this course.
Business and extra income in February ($23,758, after most expenses)
Staff writing – $550
Managing websites and social media for clients, as well as blog coaching- $5,150
Website-related (From the 6 websites I own – advertising, partnerships & Adsense) – $5,428
Affiliate income – $1,630
Website sale – $11,000
Selling items from our home – $0
Miscellaneous (not related to blogging and online income) – $0
Mystery shopping – $0
One question I am asked nearly every time I publish my monthly online income report is whether or not I can further break down my income. I have never fully broken everything down line by line, and I do this mainly to protect myself and those I provide services to.Most bloggers who completely break apart their income have most of their income coming from affiliate links, while I do not. When more of my income comes from affiliate marketing, I will start breaking it apart more.Keep in mind that a majority of my income comes from private clients that I work for so sharing their name and what they pay me wouldn’t be the correct way to run a business. It also wouldn’t help you much either, so there wouldn’t be a point for me just to share someone’s name.Also, when you see my monthly income each month please keep in mind that I work for myself. This means I have to cover all taxes (which are around 30%), health insurance, and all other benefits/expenses that an employer would normally provide.
Comparisons and 2015 online income total (after most expenses, but before taxes)
Total extra income for February: $23,758
Income in January: $15,396
Difference: +8,362
Total in 2015: $39,154
How did you do in February? What are your extra/business/online income goals? Why do you work towards making extra money?
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