Lately, I’ve been really honing in on where my expertise lies and how I can better serve you on this blog. I mention in my free course Blog Your Way to Passive Income that when you’re starting out, it’s a good idea to go broad on your topic and slowly take notice of the areas that tend to light you up a lot more.
So I’m taking a bit of my own advice here – that would be a first! – and focusing in on what actually lights me up just as much as you. And that just happens to be..
Monetization.
The strategies, the ideas, the numbers, the stats and the results. I love learning the nitty gritty details about how to make your business profitable and passive. So to get the wheels spinning, we’re going to be looking at 20 of the best income reports for bloggers and entrepreneurs that will help you to monetize your online business.
Whether you’re in the middle of creating your first course, got an ebook you want to promote or even thinking of ways you can utilize affiliate products on your blog. If you want to start creating more revenue from your blog, the quickest way to get there is to learn first hand how others did it themselves. And if you’re thinking this isn’t possible for you, think again.
20 Income Reports to Help You Monetize Your Business
A smart business owner, doesn’t place all their eggs in one basket. That’s because if you avenue “dries up” there are still several other avenues that are brining in money. That’s why you’ll see a lot of variety in these income reports with how these bloggers make their money.
Pinch of Yum
The first income report I ever read was Pinch of Yum’s monthly income reports. My Mother emailed me their link and my jaw dropped to the floor! That’s not possible, is it!? It amazed me how transparent they were, how it seemed so much more possible and how they shared their monthly breakdowns of income and expenses considering their first income report was a total of $21.97 and their latest was over $50k! That was my first taste of seeing where you could go with your blog, and I knew that was something I wanted for myself (I just wasn’t willing to admit it just yet).
Just a Girl and her Blog
The thing that impresses me the most about Abby is that she created Just A Girl & Her Blog, her now 6-figure income producing blog in under 2 years, when she wasn’t even trying to! Initially she created her blog as a hobby, a creative outlet but soon became obsessed with blogging. Her income reports started at $2446 and are now over $40k (in less than 2 years!!!). She’s one of the sweetest most down to earth bloggers in our industry and I have a sneaking suspicion you’re going to love her just as much as I do.
Melyssa Griffin
The second income report I ever came across online was Melyssa Griffin’s income reports (who is my total idol and who I will not stop being obsessed with!). In her reports she not only breaks down her income and expenses but new strategies she has implemented in her business. It really helps bloggers to see what it takes and what we can do ourselves to make it happen. Melyssa’s first report was $9226, but lately they’re coming out at $30k – $100k+!
Miranda Nahmias
Miranda started her self-titled blog in December 2015 and by May 2016 was already making over $2000 a month on her blog via her virtual assistant services! Her income reports are refreshingly realistic, especially for VA’s. She shares not only her income and expenses but the the goals she wanted to achieve for the month and whether she achieves them or not. She even adds a few personal goals into the mix which makes her extremely relatable. So watch this space, she’s going places!
Believe in a Budget
Kristin writes for bloggers and entrepreneurs also, she initially started her blog as a way to document getting out of her credit card debt by doing different side-hustles. Now, she makes over $5k a month from her blog. She shares in her income reports that she makes her money from ads, affiliates, sponsorship and her side-hustle ebook. But the bulk of her income comes from freelancing. I love the variety of ways she creates her income, which just shows that there are many different avenues you can take to monetize your blog!
Making Sense of Cents
Michelle is another one of my idols, but for a different reason. Since creating her blog to improve her finances and pay off her student loans, she has gone on to create a blog that earns over $70k a month FROM AFFILIATES!!!! I LOVE that.Michelle’s income reports are always extremely detailed and honest, but considering she used to be a financial analyst this makes total sense. Ha, get it? 😉 And to any of you out there who worry that you can’t think of a product to create, or that you have no “expertise” on something, let this be proof that you don’t need it. You can borrow others, and get paid for it too!
Embracing Simple
Christina is a work-at-home Mom to a gorgeous 1-year-old girl. Seriously, gorgeous. Not only does she run her blog, Embracing Simple, but she also offers freelance marketing & writing services to her clients while being a full-time carer for her daughter. She shares her income reports because she believes it’s a great way to prove to others that it’s possible, even if you have kids! I gotta hand it to the Mothers in this list, you all seriously astound me with how you do it all! Got nothing but love for you.
Busy Budgeter
Rosemarie started writing her income reports in December 2015. She even explained that she had to take three months off to look after her daughter and the income still reeled in without her actively working on her business. One thing she said in her latest income report that I loved was, “I am NOT special. I’m not crazy smart. I don’t have a writing degree and I’m certainly not a grammar expert. I just love to write and I love to help people and I’m really good at reducing our spending. So, I blog about that and am able to support my family making far more than I ever could in my previous career.” Still don’t think it’s possible for you?
Coming Up Roses
Erica has a load of personality that she spreads around on her blog. She’s a lifestyle blogger and business consultant and makes her income in a variety of ways such as coaching, sponsored posts and her e-course. She explains in her income reports that she believes in transparency and not skimping on value. She doesn’t just want to show you what she did, but how she did it as well. And people are loving her for it because for April 2016 she made over $2700!
Arts and Classy
Meredith is an artist who runs Arts & Classy, an interior styling and decorating blog for renters and home owners – which I get a load of advice from for our home! Her latest income reports are making just over $2500 from affiliates and ad networks, which is incredible for a side-hustle! And the cool thing about them is that she keeps it all very realistic for us.
Smart Passive Income
If you don’t know Pat Flynn by now, where have you been? Pat’s the king of creating passive income online solely from affiliate products! His income reports are ridiculous and always over the $100k mark. Just remember, he started at $0 once upon a time!
Jessica Gavin
Jessica is a culinary scientist and her blog specializes in family friendly recipes and food science – wow! Back in 2014, Jessica and her husband decided to start an experiment to document where their income was coming from through their blog. As you’ll see in their income reports, they have three main avenues – sponsorships, ads and affiliates.
Lost Gen Y Girl
“You have a blog, you can make money, you don’t need hundreds of thousands of pageviews, you just need to be dedicated.” That’s what Kayla preaches all through her. She had actually been blogging for three years before she started to write her income reports with her most recent one topping just over $3500!
By Regina
Regina is another blogger and business owner you should definitely know by now. If not, venture on over there lovely. Check out her income reports where she makes over $11k. Regina is so refreshingly honest with a side of swag thrown in the mix. Her approach to business is realistic, and yet she still makes it exciting for us!
Joyful Abode
Emily is a stay-at-home mom and navy wife who blogs about homemaking, real-food cooking, mindful mothering, blogging and business and crafts. In her income reports Emily shares that the bulk of her money comes from her writing services with her products and affiliates following closely after.
What Mommy Does
Lena made over $33,000 between June – December 2015 using affiliate products, sponsored posts and ads on her blog. She started her blog in 2010 and decided to write an income report to document her rise to success.
Living for Naptime
Chrystie runs several online businesses which help fund her newest blog, Living for Naptime. She only started her income reports in Feb 2016 and makes over $1500 a month! Not too shabby indeed!
Aileen Barker
Aileen is on a journey to making $5000 dollars a month from her blog and is currently sitting at $500+ only after publishing five income reports! She’s well on her way!
As you can see there was A TON of variety in these income reports, from courses, ebooks and affiliates to coaching, sponsorships and freelancing! There are an inordinate amount of ways to make money from your blog. Real money. It’s possible. I hope you know that now. And I hope that these income reports have not only inspired you, but motivated you to start taking action today!
