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Income Report Round-up: How 10 Bloggers Make Money Online

From what you’ve told me, I know y’all love income reports as much as I do do!

So I thought it’d be fun to collect a few in our space and showcase them in a monthly round-up post on the blog.

Some I’ve been reading for a long time and others are new to me too. It’s a great group that I think we can learn a lot from – so let’s dive in!

1. The Veteran Monetizer

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is a veteran of blog monetizing – she managed to pull in $320,888 in 2015, almost doubling what she made in 2014.

If there’s anything we can learn from Michelle, it’s that diversification is key. She makes her impressive income from multiple streams: she owns three websites, gets a lot of affiliate income and sometimes fits in freelance writing when she has time for it.

What is even more impressive is the fact that Michelle and her husband traveled every month in 2015, and they’re now living full-time in an RV. Michelle’s best month yet was December, 2015, when she pulled in $39,292 in business income.

(PS: Michelle is going to join me for a Friday Freelancer’s Happy Hour in March – be on the lookout and hear about her success live!)

2. The Travel(ing) Writer

Bryan Richards is a travel writer and craft beer aficionado from Charlotte, North Carolina. Bryan writes at the Wandering Gourmand and he’s fairly new to the habit of sharing income reports online.

In November, Bryan made $718 from freelance writing, brand ambassador gigs and sponsored posts.

Read Bryan’s year in review, and see all the wonderful places he’s traveled to, in this post. I’m excited to see how Bryan’s new year will turn out now that he’s a stay-at-home dad in addition to being a full-time freelance writer.

(I think he’s going to nail it personally!)

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3. The Millennial PF Expert

Nicole Dieker writes personal finance pieces for the millennial demographic, in addition to publishing fiction with a backing from Patreon fans. That, and she’s an all-around awesome person with an amazing sense of humor.

She estimates that her freelancing income in 2015 hit the $63,000 mark. Nicole has recurring gigs for The Billfold, The Write Life and The Freelancer by Contently.

Every month, Nicole shares a breakdown of how many pieces she wrote (impressive numbers!) and how much money she earned. For example, in November Nicole wrote 71 pieces and billed $6,561.63. You can find that and more on her website.

Make Money Blogging: Income Report Round up4. – 5.The Product Pros

Sarah Morgan is primarily a freelancer with a web design background. She is now expanding her business into creating products, both digital and physical, as well as technical courses for Badass Babes.

Although Sarah doesn’t share income reports every month, she is always writing about the strategies she’s using to grow her business.

She went from making $16,000 in 2012 to breaking into a low six figure income in 2015, with earnings of $12,498 in October.

Okay, I’m including myself in this post too! Y’all already know that I share all the deets in my monthly income reports.

I lumped myself in the products column, as it’s taking up a larger portion of my freelance earnings each month. In December, products accounted for over $6k of my $16,503 in overall income.

6. The Shooting Star

Mariah Coz of Femtrepreneur is a super ambitious and super successful power-lady, who managed to grow her blogging income from $0 to $100,000 in just 12 months. 12 months!!!

In 2015, Mariah hosted 60 webinars, had a “multiple six-figure” launch and created and launched five new courses. She went from touring with a punk band, to being an Etsy shop owner, to Freelance museum curation and finally to freelance writing for blogs and magazines.

So it’s not like Mariah was a newbie freelancer. She’s just gathered all the knowledge she gained from her diverse (and may I say amazing!) background and distilled it into actionable steps for female entrepreneurs. Mariah gets honest about the challenges (and meltdowns) that come with breaking six figure in one year in this Year in Review post.

7. – 10. Blogging Power Ladies

Mindy of Budget Fairy Tale is an LA-based blogger and Disney fan who monetizes her blog through ad networks, sponsored content and affiliates. In November, Mindy made $927.22, mostly from sponsored content on her platform.

Carrie of Careful Cents is my friend and business coach. She shares her income reports quarterly, rather than monthly. In Q4 of 2015, Carrie made $20,335 from her blog. She started shifting focus from freelance writing for clients to building a profitable blog at the beginning of 2015, and she’s now reaping the rewards of that decision.

Kayla Cruz of Lost Gen Y Girl is a twenty-something who’s sharing her  professional experience and love for HR with other young professionals. Kayla made $2,416.30 in December, mostly from publishing sponsored posts on her lifestyle blog. 

Kristin from Believe in a Budget made $4200 in December by working solely online. Most of Kristin’s earnings come from freelancing – she’s a Pinterest expert – but she also pulls in income from affiliate links and ad networks.

In Conclusion

As you can see, many of our peers are making serious coin from blogging and online business. What I love, is that it’s not all the same way.

Each of those listed have found their own sweet spot for making money online. And collectively, I would say it’s not the easiest road to take. But it is worth it. Especially, when you get to do it on your own terms.

So what do you think? Should we keep publishing a monthly round-up of income reports to show how others are carving their own unique online business path?

Gina Horkey

Gina Horkey

FOUNDER & CO-OWNER

Gina Horkey is a married, millennial mama from Minnesota. Additionally, she’s the founder of Horkey HandBook and loves helping others find or become a kickass virtual assistant. Gina’s background includes making a living as a professional writer, an online business marketing consultant and a decade of experience in the financial services industry.

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