September Blog Earnings Report: How I Made $102,911

Welcome to the September online income report, where I share how I earned money online last month. Here’s an update on what happened in September and how my business performed.

If you’re new to Making Sense of Cents, you might wonder why I publish these income reports every month. If you’re already familiar, feel free to skip ahead.

This began as an extra income report, capturing the money I made from side jobs while still working a traditional job. I documented all income except my day-job salary. In October 2013 I left my full-time position as a financial analyst, and since then my monthly income reports have reflected the full range of how I make a living online.

Some people have asked why I publicly share my income. A few think it’s odd, while others appreciate the transparency. I publish these reports for three main reasons:

1. Before I started blogging, I didn’t know much about side hustles or online income. I believed raises at a traditional job were the main route to increasing earnings. Seeing other bloggers publish monthly income reports inspired me to try side hustles. I publish my reports to show the benefits of side income and to motivate others to improve their financial situation.
2. Publishing monthly income reports gives me a way to reflect, learn from mistakes, and identify areas for improvement. I use the reports like a business journal to track progress over time.
3. I want to demonstrate that earning legitimate income from home is possible. There are many ways to make money online, and sharing my experience can help others understand those options.

I genuinely enjoy being my own boss and working as a full-time blogger. I wake up excited about each day, and I’m grateful for the flexibility my business provides. I want people to know you don’t have to dread your job or your life. Making changes and pursuing alternative income streams can allow you to enjoy life more and spend time on what matters to you.

How was my business income in September?

I earned $102,911 online in September, before expenses.

September was a very productive month. I caught up on work I had paused while developing my course earlier in the year, and I’m now nearly two months ahead with blog posts on Making Sense of Cents, which feels great.

I’ve also earned over $100,000 from my Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course so far. The course has received encouraging feedback, including students reporting major improvements in their affiliate income and some even making their first affiliate sale within days.

If you’re considering creating an online course, I highly recommend it. Despite the stress and nerves involved in producing my course, it was extremely rewarding.

If you’re a blogger, consider my affiliate marketing course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. The course outlines my exact strategies and actionable tips to help bloggers increase affiliate revenue.

Overall, my business is growing, income is rising, and I have many ideas I’m excited to implement. I’m very happy with the direction the business is heading.

The business is doing well and I’ve been saying “Life is really good” a lot lately — and I mean it.

If you want to start a blog, I created a step-by-step tutorial to help you launch affordably, including hosting options that make monetization easier. Switching to a self-hosted WordPress setup was a turning point for me and helped my income grow significantly.

Blog news – I won Blog of the Year!

Making Sense of Cents is doing well, and I’m thrilled with how things are going.

In September I attended FinCon16, which was excellent. I took part in many sessions, met fellow bloggers, reconnected with old friends, and enjoyed the community. FinCon is my favorite conference and I recommend bloggers consider attending.

I also won a Plutus Award at FinCon for Blog of the Year. It’s been a great year, and I’m excited for what’s next. Thank you to everyone who supports the site.

Traffic remained relatively steady, with around 400,000 page views in September. While page views are down compared to past highs, earnings remain strong. This demonstrates that income isn’t solely dependent on traffic. Still, I hope page views climb again and am working to diversify traffic sources and grow my email list.

I’m ahead on content, so next month I plan maintenance tasks and participation in a new three-month SEO mastermind. Since I’ve never focused much on SEO before, I’m eager to learn and apply new strategies.

Here are several blog-related updates:

• I’ve reduced the number of weekly posts to two main articles (Monday and Wednesday) plus a side-hustle interview every other Friday. This allows more time for quality content and promotion.
• I released a free “How To Start A Blog” email course. Over 5,500 people have signed up, and feedback has been very positive.
• Following that success, I launched a free “Master Your Money” email course in August, which includes money-management lessons and worksheets like a budget template.
• I’ll be creating a free personal finance support group on Facebook to give people a place to discuss finances openly and get help.
• In April I switched to ConvertKit for email marketing. The platform has simplified my newsletter workflow and helped improve affiliate income even with lower page views.
• There’s a valuable Pinterest bonus included with purchases of Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I use a proven Pinterest strategy that has driven substantial traffic, and a guest instructor shares her full approach as part of the course.

I’ve had questions about staying connected while traveling in an RV. I use a Verizon MiFi device, which provides reliable internet access where public Wi-Fi can be slow or insecure.

Popular new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:

• How To Quit Your Job And Become A Full-Time Blogger
• What I Learned By Donating And Giving Away Nearly All Of My Stuff
• 30 Incredibly Easy Ways To Be Happier, Wealthier, and More Successful
• The Ultimate Guide To Getting Started RVing
• Do You Know Your Net Worth?
• Are You Better Than Average?

Featured Question: How can a blogging conference help me?

I feature a reader question in each monthly income report. Last month I attended FinCon16, my fourth time, and I already bought a ticket for FinCon17.

If you’re considering a conference, I recommend attending—especially if you want to take your blog more seriously, grow professionally, or eventually blog full-time. Conferences can be especially valuable for full-time bloggers who want to expand further.

Conferences are helpful for several reasons:

• Networking – Conferences offer unmatched opportunities to meet peers and form relationships that can lead to collaborations and new ideas.
• Experts – Sessions and speakers at conferences can be among the best resources for learning advanced strategies in blogging and business.
• Motivation – After attending a conference, I always return energized with new ideas and plans.
• Meet sponsors or clients – Companies at conferences are often looking to partner with blogs or hire services like freelance writing, which can lead to profitable opportunities.

Are you thinking of attending a blogging conference? Which ones interest you?

Past featured questions have included topics like increasing affiliate income, whether you need millions of page views to earn money, how to sell websites, and what tools and resources to use when blogging.

My plans for my website and making money online.

Setting goals is essential for business growth. Here are areas I’m currently focusing on:

• Promote more. I’m improving article promotion, and Pinterest drove about 175,000 clicks to the blog in September. My aspirational goal is 500,000 monthly Pinterest clicks by year-end, which may be ambitious but worth pursuing.
• Diversify traffic. A large share of my traffic comes from Pinterest, so I’m working to strengthen other channels.
• Continue learning. I joined an SEO mastermind and am studying SEO intensively to boost organic search traffic.
• Accept more interviews. Increased course publicity led to more interview opportunities in September.
• Double my business income. My aim is to surpass 2015’s income—an ambitious but motivating target that I’ve already exceeded for 2016 so far.
• Increase page views to 1,000,000 monthly. This quantifiable goal targets summer 2017, with a focus on Pinterest, Facebook, and SEO to drive growth.

Affiliate income.

I earned $56,415 in affiliate income in September, as detailed above.

I’m a big supporter of affiliate income because it can provide a relatively passive revenue stream that supports a flexible lifestyle like full-time travel.

Affiliate income dipped slightly in September but remained strong despite lower page views. This underscores that effective promotion and strategy matter more than traffic volume alone—something I teach in my Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course.

The course launched on July 5, 2016, and over 600 people have enrolled. The program includes six modules, more than 30 lessons, worksheets, bonuses, and access to an exclusive Facebook group. It covers everything from affiliate basics to advanced tactics like choosing the right products, increasing conversions, building trust, disclosure requirements, and Pinterest strategies for affiliates.

This course is designed for bloggers at any stage or niche and aims to provide practical, actionable guidance to increase affiliate revenue.