How I Earned Money Blogging from Home in March: My Income Report

Welcome to the March business report, where I share how I earned money online while traveling full-time last month. Below is an update on how the business performed and what I worked on.

If you’re new to Making Sense of Cents, you might wonder why I publish a monthly business report.

This series began as an “extra income report,” documenting money I earned from side jobs in addition to a day job. In October 2013 I left my full-time role as a financial analyst, and since then these monthly reports have focused entirely on the ways I make a living through my business.

Many people have asked why I publicly share what I work on each month. Some think it’s unusual, while others appreciate the transparency. I publish these monthly reports for three main reasons:

Before I started blogging, I knew almost nothing about side hustles or making money online. I believed the only realistic way to increase income was through raises at a traditional job. If others hadn’t published their monthly income reports, I might never have tried side hustling. I want to show people the benefits of side income and how it can change lives. There are many legitimate ways to earn online, and sharing my experience helps motivate others to improve their financial situation.
Publishing a monthly business report gives me a chance to reflect, learn from mistakes, and identify areas for improvement. These reports serve as accountability and a record of progress.
I want to show that making money from home is possible. There are many real, actionable ways to generate side income, and I aim to highlight those opportunities.

I say this each month because it’s true: life is great now that I’m my own boss and a full-time blogger. I look forward to each day and truly enjoy waking up every morning.

These reports also reinforce that you don’t have to hate your job or life. You can make changes so your job at least allows you to enjoy what matters outside of work—spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, traveling, and more.

Quick reminder on the recent change to these reports

I want to restate an important announcement so readers aren’t confused: starting recently, these updates are “Business Reports” rather than income reports. I’ve stopped publishing exact monthly income figures. Instead of listing precise numbers, I now include a high-level income breakdown (such as a pie chart) so readers can see where income comes from without exact dollar amounts.

Many readers asked me to continue sharing these updates even if the specific numbers were removed, so I’ve adopted this new format. The reports will still cover the business’s health, goals, progress, and reader questions; they’re simply less focused on raw dollar figures.

If you want historical exact figures, I published income reports with numbers for several years. You can find all previous income reports in my archives.

So far, removing the exact numbers hasn’t changed traffic or email subscriber growth. Most readers have been understanding about the new format, and I don’t expect the content or usefulness of these reports to change much. If you have suggestions for other items to include in these monthly business updates, please leave a comment below.

How was business income in March 2019?

For readers unfamiliar with my revenue streams, the primary ways I earn a living are:

Affiliate marketing — this is the largest portion of my income.
Sponsored partnerships.
Courses — such as the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course and the Making Sense of Sponsored Posts course.
Display advertising — I work with ad networks like AdThrive.

March 2019 was another strong month for Making Sense of Cents. Affiliate income performed exceptionally well, and other revenue areas were solid too. That’s especially welcome because I spent much of March sailing in the Bahamas and focused more on enjoying the experience than on work.

Even with more time spent traveling and exploring, the business continued to grow. I have big plans for the rest of the year and a busy to-do list I’m excited to tackle.

Below is a selection of past monthly income reports and milestone posts for context and history. I post monthly updates and keep an archive of those reports on the site.

$672 extra in May (2012)
$6,523 in January extra income (2013)
$11,927 in October income — I finally left my job (2013)
$12,640 in January income (2014)
$23,758 in February income (2015)
How I made $300,000 online in 2015
How I made $979,321 in 2016
How I made $1,536,732 in 2017
How I made over $1,500,000 in 2018

*Follow our travel adventures on Instagram.*

Blog and life updates

March was an incredible month. We sailed through the Berry Islands, Nassau, the Exumas, Eleuthera, Bimini, and back to Florida for boat maintenance. It was a busy month full of exploration, and Wes and I agreed it was our best month on the boat so far.

We planned to stay longer in the Bahamas, but decided to return to Florida so we can complete boat work and prepare to head north before hurricane season. We’re excited to move north later this year if everything goes to plan.

On the technical side, many bloggers experienced issues when the Social Warfare social sharing plugin was hacked and caused redirects. Because of those problems, I switched to an alternative plugin, Social Pug, which offers similar functionality without the recent issues.

Other blog-related updates:

I’m roughly one month ahead on blog posts and want to be two to three months ahead for a smoother workflow.
Site traffic for March was around 400,000 page views.
I’m working on a practical series to help readers with basic financial tasks—how to open a bank account, how to write a check, choosing an online bank, setting up an investment account, and related tutorials. I welcome suggestions for additional topics.
The Making Sense of Cents community Facebook group continues to grow and now has over 14,000 members. It’s a place for readers to ask questions about finance, blogging, travel, and running a business.
I released a free “How To Start A Blog” email course that’s enrolled over 50,000 people. The course guides new bloggers through the basics and has received positive feedback.
Following that success, I launched a free “Master Your Money” email course that includes practical money-management lessons and worksheets like a budget template.
I also offer free resources like “10 Easy Tips To Increase Your Affiliate Income” and “8 Easy Tips To Make Money From Sponsored Posts On Your Blog.”

Popular new posts from last month:

Less Stuff, More Freedom
Is Your Job Costing You Too Much Money Each Year?
Make Extra Money By Learning How To Teach English Online
10 Easy And Affordable Meal Prep Ideas
50+ Crazy Things People Have Done To Save Money
Top 5 Credit Card Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
How I Made Over $1,000,000 in Photography Without Being a Pro

Featured question: Where do you find photos for your blog?

I answer one reader question each month. This is a question I receive almost daily: where do I source photos?

Images are essential for blog posts—they help tell stories, break up text for readability, and provide visual content for social media. However, you can’t simply copy images from Google or Pinterest without permission. Using someone else’s photos without permission can lead to legal trouble and is unfair to the photographer.

I get most photos from three main sources:

My own photos — I use images from travel content and Instagram, taken with an iPhone and an older DSLR.
Ivory Mix — a stock photo service that fits the aesthetic of my site and adds new images regularly with unlimited downloads for members.
StockUnlimited — a large stock library I recently started using; it offers a vast catalog of premium assets.

Where do you source images for your blog? Please share in the comments.

Plans and goals for the blog and business

In April we’ll focus on boat maintenance rather than moving. It will be busy, but I have a long list of blogging tasks I want to finish.

Having clear plans and goals helps run a successful business and keeps motivation high. Right now I’m working on several priorities:

Complete the Facebook Ads for Bloggers course — I’m taking two key courses this year to grow the site and learn new acquisition channels.
Finish the Stupid Simple SEO course to improve search performance and traffic.
Get to Inbox Zero and consolidate several to-do lists after months on the boat.
Create a free opt-in for affiliates to promote the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course, which will help affiliates generate leads and ensure they’re credited for future sales.
Get at least three months ahead on blog posts so I can focus on travel and other priorities without constant content pressure.
Work less than 30 hours per week on average to preserve a healthier work-life balance.
Be more present—my goal for the year is to enjoy travel and life outside of work while still running a business I love.
Have fun—this is more of a guiding principle than a measurable goal, but it’s important to me this year.

Affiliate marketing results

Affiliate income was particularly strong in March, driven by an affiliate launch I participated in. Affiliate marketing remains my favorite revenue source because of the passive potential and the ability to earn while traveling.

To maintain and grow affiliate revenue, I’m focusing on several strategies:

Planning affiliate offers across 2019 so promotions are organized and intentional.
Applying SEO techniques to improve organic traffic and conversion potential.
Exploring Facebook ads to expand reach and promote high-value offers.
Creating a high-quality funnel to nurture readers and provide value even during periods of limited connectivity.
Working to grow overall site traffic to reach new readers.
Analyzing top affiliate posts to identify improvements and optimization opportunities.
Testing new affiliate products to see what resonates with my audience.