How I Earned $114,812 Blogging in One Month (January)

Welcome to the January business income report, where I share exactly how much I earned online last month. Let’s dive into this month’s update and review the results.

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

This began as my extra income report, focused on earnings from side jobs. Early reports listed all income except my day job salary.

I left my day job as a financial analyst in October 2013, and since then my monthly reports reflect the full range of ways I earn a living.

Many people ask why I post my income publicly each month. Some think it’s strange; others appreciate the transparency. I continue to publish these reports for three main reasons:

1. Before I discovered blogging and side hustles, I didn’t believe side income was worth the effort. If others hadn’t published their monthly income reports, I might never have tried side hustling. I publish my reports to show the benefits of side income and to encourage others to improve their finances. There are many ways to earn online, and sharing my journey helps motivate readers to take action.
2. Publishing monthly income reports gives me a record to review, learn from mistakes, and identify opportunities for improvement. I treat these reports like a business journal to track progress.
3. I want to demonstrate that earning money from home is possible and legitimate. For readers looking for more examples, I previously compiled a roundup of monthly income reports from other bloggers to show different successful approaches.

I say this every month because it’s true: life is great now that I’m my own boss and a full-time blogger. I wake up excited and truly enjoy every day.

These reports are meant to show you that you don’t have to hate your job or your life. You can change your circumstances and earn in ways that let you enjoy life outside of work—spending time with family, pursuing hobbies, traveling, and more. A career should at least allow you to do the things you love.

How was business income in January of 2018?

I earned $114,812 blogging and online in January 2018, before expenses.

January was another strong month for the Making Sense of Cents business.

I took about 10 days for a vacation in the Bahamas, including travel days, and I barely worked—so that felt like a significant win. Being able to take a relaxing trip while still earning an income from just my laptop is one of the greatest perks of this work.

February was already shaping up well (I estimated revenue above $180,000), and March looked even better, with a real possibility of breaking $200,000. From early signs, 2018 was on track to be an excellent year.

My biggest goal for the year remained improving work-life balance. I’m making progress but I’m not yet where I want to be.

EDIT: November 23, 2018 – Making Sense of Sponsored Posts is now available. It explains how I began earning from sponsored content and how I now make $10,000–$20,000 per month through partnerships.

To return to the monthly numbers… I never imagined I’d earn over $100,000 in a single month from blogging. It’s surreal to think I made more than $100,000 in January alone.

That said, I started at $0 and grew this income through a lot of hard work. If you think $100 or $1,000 is out of reach, remember that it’s not. I once thought earning $1,000 online would be a dream; now I share these reports to show what’s possible with dedication and effort.

January was excellent across the board—blogging, courses, and life in general. The business is healthy, my ideas for the year are plentiful, and I’m genuinely grateful. I find myself frequently saying, “Life is really good.”

My Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course continued to perform well, with many new students joining in January. The course maintained momentum without additional guest posts or webinars.

Blog news

Making Sense of Cents continued to do well, and I’m pleased with the direction of the blog.

Wes left on a long sailing trip in January—he was on a 2,500-mile sail from Les Sables, France to Croatia. While he’s away, I planned to use the extra time to push ahead on content. My goal is to be about three months ahead on posts by the time he returns; I was roughly 1.5 months ahead at the time of this report.

Being ahead on evergreen content helps maintain a better work-life balance, especially since spring and summer are travel-heavy months and we might be looking at buying a sailboat, which will take additional time.

I’m brainstorming a personal finance product to sell on the site and would appreciate reader feedback on what would be most helpful.

Overall traffic for the month was about 550,000 page views.

Other updates:

• My sister joined as a virtual assistant in July 2017 and has been managing Pinterest images, Facebook groups, social post scheduling, and other tasks. Her help lets me focus on creating products and improving my work-life balance.
• I’m considering adding group coaching to the business. Group sessions would allow me to help more people while creating a supportive community for bloggers.
• The Making Sense of Cents Facebook community group continued to grow and reached nearly 10,000 members. It’s a place where readers discuss finance, blogging, travel, and business topics.
• I launched a new interview series highlighting interesting people doing extraordinary things. The first interview featured JP, who retired at age 28 with a net worth over $2 million.
• I released a free “How To Start A Blog” email course. Over 37,000 people signed up, and the response has been positive. I also released a free “Master Your Money” email course with financial worksheets and a budget template, which has been well received.

Popular new posts on Making Sense of Cents last month:

• From Well-Paying Day Job To Risky Full-Time Side Hustle – Why I Made The Switch
• My Year In Travels – Where I Went in 2017 – Hiking, Biking, RVing, Sailing, and More
• Stop Feeling Bad For Yourself: Quit Making Excuses For Why Life Isn’t Better
• From Rags To Riches – How Tina Immigrated To America With Nothing and Now Has a Net Worth of $2,000,000
• How To Save Money On Your Phone Bill: Stop Paying Over $1,000 A Year On Your Phone
• 10 Meatless Monday Recipes You Should Try
• The Ultimate List of Over 50 Money Saving Tips For 2018
• 70+ Ways To Make Money On The Side in 2018
• How to Take a Mini-Retirement And Love Your Life

Featured Question: What are your biggest blogging mistakes?

I answer one reader question in each monthly income report. Leave a comment if you’d like your question featured.

All bloggers make mistakes; I’ve made many. The important part is learning and improving. Here are the top mistakes I made:

1. Starting on Blogger instead of WordPress. I originally used Blogger, and that led to problems—including my site being temporarily shut down. Switching to self-hosted WordPress was a turning point; it’s more professional and gives you control.
2. Trying to do everything myself. I eventually began outsourcing tasks. Now I have an editor, a virtual assistant, and hire out small tasks like printables and technical work. Outsourcing freed up time for higher-value activities.
3. Publishing short, unhelpful posts. In the early days I posted a lot but the posts were brief and unfocused. Today my posts usually range from 1,500 to 5,000+ words and provide meaningful value to readers.
4. Obsessing over Google Analytics. Early on I refreshed my analytics constantly, which wasted time and became unproductive. It’s healthier to focus on creating quality content and long-term growth.
5. Delaying an email list. I ignored newsletters for years and regret it. Since taking my email list seriously in 2016, it has grown to around 80,000 subscribers and become a crucial part of the business.

Those are my biggest blogging mistakes. I hope you avoid them—what are your top blogging lessons? Share in the comments.

My plans for the blog and business

Setting goals helps run a successful business and stay motivated. Current priorities include:

• Get at least three months ahead on blog posts. I aimed to increase my buffer to make travel and seasonal months easier to manage.
• Grow the blog to 1,000,000 monthly page views. I hoped to reach this milestone by the end of 2018 to help more readers and increase engagement.
• Create two more products to sell. After the success of Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, I planned to diversify income with two additional products.
• Grow the email list to 150,000 subscribers. Increasing subscribers was a key audience growth goal.
• Work less than 40 hours per week. I wanted a better work-life balance and to avoid weeks spent entirely on the laptop.
• Have fun. Enjoying the work and life balance was an important, if less measurable, objective.

Affiliate income results

In January 2018, affiliate income totaled $60,643.66. January included a successful affiliate launch for the Work at Home School Summit, where I earned five figures and won both the opt-in and sales contests. I prepped in January with email campaigns and promotional content, and the summit’s results were reflected in February numbers as well.

I value affiliate income for its passive potential, which supports travel and lifestyle freedom. Affiliate marketing isn’t dependent on massive page views—new bloggers can earn if they promote products correctly. I cover these strategies in detail in the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course.

The course launched in July 2016 and has enrolled over 4,000 students. It includes six modules, 30+ lessons, worksheets, bonuses, and an active student community. Topics include choosing affiliate products, increasing conversions, disclosure requirements, and promotion strategies.

Whether you’re a new blogger or experienced, the course is designed to be broadly useful across niches and locations.