{"id":2437,"date":"2021-10-22T18:06:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T18:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fulltimeblog.com\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2023-05-24T17:35:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T17:35:30","slug":"income-report-q3-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/income-report-q3-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogging and YouTube Income Report: Q3 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We&#8217;re more than one third of the way through 2021&#8230;it&#8217;s cliche, but this year is really flying by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Q3 was another great quarter, which is kind of surprising because traffic dropped after multiple big Google updates this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Then again, there&#8217;s 1-3 month lagging effect on most online revenue.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ad rev usually pays out one month after it&#8217;s earned. Affiliate rev can take up to 90 days to pay out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when traffic drops, revenue may not actually drop until 2-3 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I&#8217;m getting way ahead of myself. Let&#8217;s look at the high level numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/FTB-Rev-2021-Q1-3.png\" alt=\"FTB Rev 2021 Q1-3\" class=\"wp-image-2440\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I really like the shape of this graph!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll go into detail about everything, but first, you might be wondering&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why publish income reports?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I put together these income reports for a few reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>People like &#8217;em&#8230;I mean, you&#8217;re here, right?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I like being transparent, especially about the taboo topic of money.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They force me to sit down and actually do some manual number crunching (painful but helpful)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you like these reports and want to learn more about starting your own content business, be sure to <a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/subscribe\/\">subscribe for free tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the second quarter of this year, the third quarter &#8211; Q3 2021 &#8211; was the best quarter to date for my little digital media business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s dig a bit deeper into the numbers&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blogging Income for Q3 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When I say <em>blogging<\/em> I really mean <em>digital media business<\/em>, which includes content websites, YouTube, social media, email lists, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other than brockmcgoff.com, which doesn&#8217;t make any money right now, I have three other brands: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Modest Man<\/a> (TMM), <a href=\"https:\/\/theslenderwrist.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Slender Wrist<\/a> (TSW) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manored.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manored<\/a> (which is dormant for now).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1786\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-Slender-Wrist-homepage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-Slender-Wrist-homepage.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-Slender-Wrist-homepage-300x279.jpg 300w, https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-Slender-Wrist-homepage-1024x953.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-Slender-Wrist-homepage-768x714.jpg 768w, https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-Slender-Wrist-homepage-1536x1429.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Theslenderwrist.com is a watch blog that I purchased in February. I&#8217;ve onboarded a few talented writers, and the site is undergoing a redesign right now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>TMM started as a blog, and it&#8217;s evolved into an authority site around men&#8217;s fashion and lifestyle. TSW is also a content site, but it&#8217;s dedicated to wrist watches. I bought this site in February 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UClbfoD1o7sV0VxErpxTCpyw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">YouTube channel<\/a> that&#8217;s currently housed under the TMM brand, as well as all of the social media accounts you&#8217;d expect (FB, IG, Twitter, Pinterest).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the outside, the YouTube channel and Instagram account look more like an &#8220;influencer&#8221; type of operation, but I view myself as a the owner\/operator of a digital media business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s how much the business made in Q3 2021:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advertising<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though most younger people probably have never clicked on a banner ad in their life, display ads are still a huge revenue for most content websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also see some revenue from YouTube ads, but it&#8217;s nothing compared to website ads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f3f4f5\"><tbody><tr><td>YouTube<\/td><td>$5,800<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AdThrive<\/td><td>$35,675<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>$41,475<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">Per Month<\/span><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">$13,825<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a 16% increase over the <a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/income-report-q1-2021\/\">the previous quarter<\/a>. It&#8217;s due to increased AdThrive earnings from both sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What&#8217;s interesting is the fact that the YouTube channel gets more views than both websites combined, but the ad revenue is way lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This goes to show, website views are still WAY more valuable than YouTube views<\/strong> <strong>(at least in this case).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Video and social media may be sparkly, but it doesn&#8217;t pay well compared to good old fashioned blogging (in my experience).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Affiliate Programs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/affiliate-programs\/\">Affiliate programs<\/a> let publishers earn a commission from traffic and sales they generate for e-commerce brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, say you read <a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/fashion-blog-wordpress-themes\/\">my guide about the best WordPress themes for fashion blogs<\/a>. If you click a link in that article and make a purchase, Full Time Blog might earn a commission from that sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve been focusing on increasing affiliate revenue all year, and it&#8217;s paying off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a high level look at affiliate revenue for Q3 2021:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f3f4f5\"><tbody><tr><td>Amazon Associates<\/td><td>$32,575<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>rewardStyle<\/td><td>$5,995<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Skimlinks<\/td><td>$4,529<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>ShareASale<\/td><td>$13,244<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CJ<\/td><td>$4,227<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Other<\/td><td>$10,654<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>$71,225<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">Per Month<\/span><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">$23,742<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a 10% increase from Q2 2021; again, I attribute it to publishing more individual product reviews and updating older buying guides (i.,e., &#8220;best xyz&#8221; articles).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Individual product reviews are extremely time intensive. I actually still do a lot of these myself. Reason being, I&#8217;m constantly trying out new products, and I&#8217;m qualified to write in-depth, honest reviews (no paid reviews, ever).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>An individual product review usually won&#8217;t generate more than $300 per month, if that. Sometimes a brand review will generate up to $1,500 per month if it&#8217;s a popular brand and if my review ranks #1 for &#8220;brand xyz review&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>But if I can publish 52 new reviews in a year &#8211; one per week &#8211; that could add over $15k annual revenue to the bottom line, conservatively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This increases the sale value of the whole site by at least $45k. Plus, that revenue keeps coming in for years, assuming the content is updated periodically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, my affiliate revenue is well diversified. I&#8217;m not 100% reliant on one big program like Amazon Associates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sponsorships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sponsored content may not be passive or scalable, but it&#8217;s still very lucrative. If a brand has a $3-5k budget for a sponsored video, for example, and I spend 1-2 full days working on it, that&#8217;s a pretty good hourly rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I say &#8216;no thanks&#8217; to 9 out of 10 potential sponsorship opportunities, but there were a couple of good ones in Q3, specifically for Instagram-only campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Sponsorships (YouTube\/Instagram)<\/td><td>$19,200<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sponsorships (website)<\/td><td>$0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>$19,200<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">Per Month<\/span><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">$6,400<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a 24% increase from the previous quarter, which is nice to see. For sponsorships, Q3 is usually quiet compared to the frantic holiday craziness that comes with Q4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind, this type of income doesn&#8217;t support my long-term goal of building valuable, sellable assets (i.e., websites that generate passive income from ads and affiliate programs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do appreciate that the opportunity to do more sponsored content, especially on YouTube, is always there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s sort of like a revenue stream you can tap into anytime, and it doesn&#8217;t go anywhere even when take long breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Digital Products<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sales continue to be abysmal for my only digital product, The Modest Man Style Guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TMM Style Guide<\/a> (ebook)<\/td><td>$397<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">Per Month<\/span><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">$132<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I recently saw a women&#8217;s fashion YouTuber launch a personal style course to over 2,000 paying customers (a $250k+ launch), so I know there&#8217;s some potential with digital products in the lifestyle niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for now, it&#8217;s just hard to focus on that above everything else on the to do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Expenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An income report without expenses doesn&#8217;t really show anything, especially if you&#8217;re self-employed (because your profit = your salary).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a breakdown of expenses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-regular\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Writers<\/td><td>$4,856<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Assistants<\/td><td>$6,620<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Video\/photo editors<\/td><td>$2,161<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Attorney Fees<\/td><td>$1,200<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/go\/ahrefs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ahrefs<\/a><\/td><td>$324<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bank fees<\/td><td>$251<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Hosting (<a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/go\/cloudways\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cloudways<\/a>)<\/td><td>$132<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xero.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Xero<\/a><\/td><td>$90<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/geniuslink.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Geniuslink<\/a><\/td><td>$0 (had credit)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"http:\/\/share.epidemicsound.com\/ftb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Epidemic Sounds<\/a><\/td><td>$45<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/go\/canva\/\" target=\"_blank\">Canva<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/how-to-use-canva\/\">how to use Canva<\/a>)<\/td><td>$39<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/creativecloud.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Adobe CC<\/a><\/td><td>$32<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/go\/link-whisper\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Link Whisper<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/link-whisper-review\/\">Link Whisper review<\/a>)<\/td><td>$52<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/support.loom.com\/hc\/en-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Loom<\/a> (screen recording)<\/td><td>$22<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/go\/lasso\/\">Lasso<\/a> (affiliate link management)<\/td><td>$57<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/pics.io\/hello?utm_source=picsio&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=referral&amp;utm_content=5e658f09f2ea22249383bec2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Pics.io<\/a> (media management)<\/td><td>$36<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>$15,917<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">Per Month<\/span><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">$5,305<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This was a little more than Q2 because I started experimenting with video syndication: basically paying video editors to repackage YouTube content for Facebook and TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don&#8217;t know if this is going to work out, but I figured it&#8217;s worth a shot. Video content is extremely time intensive to produce and hard to outsource, so if I can get more mileage out of existing scripts\/footage, that would make video more lucrative, in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, expenses just include the usual stuff &#8211; writers, contractors, software, hosting, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Total Profit \ud83e\udd11<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding everything up, here&#8217;s what Q3 2021 looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Revenue<\/td><td>$132,297<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Expenses<\/td><td>$15,917<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Profit<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>$116,380<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">Per Month Profit<\/span><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><span style=\"color: #1e7899;\" class=\"ugb-highlight\">$38,793<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is about an 13% increase over Q2. I&#8217;l take it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, this monthly profit is pre-tax. At the end of each month, I transfer 30% of that profit to a high yield tax savings account, then transfer 50% of the profit into my personal checking account. The rest stays in the business checking account for current and future expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, as a self-employed person, I have other expenses like health insurance, travel, education, utilities, rent, etc. Since these aren&#8217;t associated directly with the business I&#8217;m reporting on, I don&#8217;t list them here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much is enough?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/releases\/2018\/Q1\/money-only-buys-happiness-for-a-certain-amount.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A study<\/a> showed that $105,000 was the ideal annual income for &#8220;life satisfaction&#8221; in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ve probably heard the stat about $70k\/year being enough to ensure emotional well-being. Apparently, you get diminishing happiness returns as your income grows beyond that point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Obviously, it depends where you live and what kind of life you want to live.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll never live somewhere crazy expensive like NYC again, and I just don&#8217;t plan on buying any exotic cars (although I did just pick up a sweet new hybrid CR-V).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/thumbs-up-randy-marsh.gif\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Theeenks!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But I do want peace of mind, i.e. knowing that my family is completely set financially, forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>So I don&#8217;t just need $105k per year. I need enough cash to generate $105k per year indefinitely (about 2.6m dollars).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Not that I plan on retiring. I&#8217;ll always work, and I love the game of finding high leverage or passive ways to generate income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But having this number, $2.6m, in mind creates a very clear goal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Including what&#8217;s already stashed away, accumulate $2.6m as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The question then becomes&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How do I do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>One big exit?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Multiple smaller exits?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep working on the business and stash away as much profit as possible?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, it&#8217;s not all about money. I enjoy the niches I work in. I love creating <a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/writing-product-reviews\/\">actually good content that helps people<\/a> and makes the internet a better place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I don&#8217;t want to do this forever, and I&#8217;m definitely not going back to the 9-to-5 life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So financial independence is the only way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>If you need help starting or growing your own digital content business, <a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/subscribe\/\">sign up for my email list<\/a>, and I&#8217;ll send you some free tips.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re more than one third of the way through 2021&#8230;it&#8217;s cliche, but this year is really flying by. Q3 was another great quarter, which is kind of surprising because traffic dropped after multiple big Google updates this summer. Then again, there&#8217;s 1-3 month lagging effect on most online revenue. Ad rev usually pays out one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2437"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11922,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions\/11922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}