December 2016 Income Report

If you’re new here I’ve posted income reports ever since I started this blog, four years ago. I initially had goals of making a few hundred dollars per month and then slowly growing that amount. Luckily, that’s what I’ve been able to do.

In 2012 I decided that earning money online was going to be the only way I could create the life I wanted living in a small town with no good job options. I dove in head first and started trying things out. I’ve failed at sooo many different things and have had great successes with others.

As of now I earn an income through being a freelance writer, virtual assistant, and blogger. (And yes, I know how crazy that sounds to most people!)

December 2016 Income Report

I had predicted December to be a low month and it would’ve been – only on December 31^st I received a large affiliate payment that I wasn’t expecting for a couple more months. This payment boosted December up to my second highest month for the year!

December was also a month where I didn’t work all that much. My girls were off of school for two and half weeks (they were supposed to go back last Thursday but our first big snowfall this winter postpone that.) When they were home I worked efficiently and spent the rest of the time with them.

After that break I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the world 🙂

In December my total income came to $8,872.31.

As a reminder the income in this report is that money that was actually received during month. It does not necessarily reflect the amount of work done in that particular month.

The income broke down like this:

• Freelance Writing/Virtual Assistant Work $1,500
• Blog Ad Networks $2,350.54
• Affiliate Commissions $4,871.77
• Sponsored Posts $150

If you’re confused about what any of this means you can see a breakdown here.

Recommended Blogging Tools

If you’re wondering what tools I recommend for blogging, here’s a list:

Domains and Web Hosting –Bluehost. If you’re interested in blogging but haven’t yet started you can get hosting from Bluehost for as little as $2.95 per month PLUS a free domain name when you go through this link which is just for my readers. If you need help getting set up you can find a step by step tutorial here.

Social Media Scheduling – For Pinterest I use Tailwind. I started using this about a year ago with great results. Tailwind is affordable and super easy to use.  You can get a free month of Tailwind with this link.

I’m also subscribed to Hootsuite as I used to use this for scheduling my virtual assistant clients Twitter accounts. I still use it for mine. Although, truth be told I don’t really love it and could probably do without.

For Facebook I just use the built in Facebook scheduler.

Bookkeeping – GoDaddy Bookkeeping. I absolutely love this bookkeeping software. You can read my full review here.

Photos – I find a good majority of my photos on Pexels. This site is free with copyright free images. If I can’t find one there I’ll buy an image off of 123rf.com or look for one on Haute Chocolate which I also have a subscription to.

I use PicMonkey to edit all of my photos.

Best Blogging Course – Elite Blog Academy. If you’re looking for the best blogging course I highly recommend Elite Blog Academy. It is expensive but it was what helped me go from a couple thousand dollars per month to at least $5k per month. (Join the waiting list or read my review here.)

2015 vs. 2016 and What’s New for This Year

I made a lot of changes at the end of 2015 which I carried over to the beginning of 2016.

First, I kept implementing many of the principles I learned in Elite Blog Academy and was able to keep growing my blog income until it got to a level I was very happy with. At first I was scared I wouldn’t be able to sustain it but after several months I decided blog income was steady enough for me to cut back on some of my freelance work.

I started transitioning out of freelance work in 2015 and by April of 2016 was down to where I wanted it to be. I ended up keeping only the freelance work that fit into my life the way I wanted and that I enjoyed doing.

I figured that even if my blog income completely tanked I now have the skills to make money in a variety of ways online. If I ever need extra money I can pick up writing gigs, VA work or social media management jobs. The possibilities are endless!

Despite getting my freelance work the way I wanted it I still felt some major blogging burnout in 2016. Even though I was earning a lot more I wasn’t enjoying blogging the way I used to.

This year I want to go back to enjoying everything I do and so I’m pulling myself out of the box I’ve put myself into. I plan to share more personal stuff, experiment and just enjoy what I’m doing without placing any expectations on myself.

I ended up earning over $20,000 more in 2016 than I did in 2015 which blows my mind. It’s crazy to think that not too long ago I was earning $20,000 in a year!!

I haven’t set any income goal for 2017 and am not sure if I’m going to. (Again, I want to feel like I am free to experiment and do as I please without placing expectations on myself. )

2016 was good and I’m thankful for everything it brought. I’m looking forward to this year even more. Here’s to an amazing 2017 for ALL OF US!!