{"id":7716,"date":"2016-07-05T14:38:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T14:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/?p=7716"},"modified":"2023-05-24T17:36:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T17:36:02","slug":"income-report-q2-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/income-report-q2-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Income Report: Q2 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Can you believe it&#8217;s already July? It&#8217;s time for another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/income-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2292\">blogging income report<\/a>! Read on to learn how\u00a0profits from this blog increased by 45% over Q1.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Q2-2016-Income-Report.jpg\" data-lasso-id=\"2293\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7732\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Q2-2016-Income-Report.jpg\" alt=\"Q2 2016 Income Report\" width=\"620\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In these quarterly income reports, I open up the kimono (so to speak) to give you a glimpse into the business side of blogging.<\/p>\n<p>You might be thinking:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Business side? I thought this was a style blog&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I hear you, but I like to publish these income reports for a few reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>People often ask if and how I make money with The Modest Man.<\/li>\n<li>I like to be transparent.<\/li>\n<li>Online business fascinates me, so it&#8217;s fun to talk about.<\/li>\n<li>To inspire other people to start and grow their own blog.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t know the first thing about monetizing a website, you might want to read this post first:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/how-this-blog-makes-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2294\">How Does The Modest Man Make Money?<\/a>\u00a0(opens in new tab)<\/p>\n<p>In this post, I&#8217;m going to break down my revenue, expenses and profit for the second quarter of 2016.<\/p>\n<h3>TMM Revenue for Q2 2016<\/h3>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at the big picture &#8211; quarterly revenue for the past 18 months:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7725\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7725\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TMM-Quarterly-Income.jpg\" data-lasso-id=\"2295\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7725 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/TMM-Quarterly-Income.jpg\" alt=\"TMM Quarterly Income\" width=\"620\" height=\"392\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7725\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Q2 2016 was, by far, the best quarter for revenue yet!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Revenue from this website can be broken down into three general categories:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Advertising\/sponsorships<\/li>\n<li>Affiliate commissions<\/li>\n<li>Selling products<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Let&#8217;s see how each one did this quarter (note: some links below are affiliate links).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Advertising &#8211;<\/strong> $12,946 (<span style=\"color: #339966;\">up 82% from previous quarter<\/span>)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Direct Ads &#8211; $2,350<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/adsense\/start\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2296\">Google AdSense<\/a> &#8211; $407<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adthrive.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2297\">AdThrive<\/a> &#8211; $1,830<\/li>\n<li>Sponsored &#8211; $8,359<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From banner ads to sponsored blog posts, advertising continues to be the biggest source of revenue for The Modest Man.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7727\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7727\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/10-style-tricks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2298\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7727\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Sponsored-post-example.jpg\" alt=\"Sponsored post example\" width=\"300\" height=\"347\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7727\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/10-style-tricks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2299\">Sponsored post example<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In terms of total revenue,\u00a0June was my best month to date ($9,674), and this spike was driven by revenue from sponsorships.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been fortunate to work with a bunch of awesome sponsors this year, and I have <a href=\"http:\/\/menfluential.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2300\">Menfluential<\/a>\u00a0to thank for\u00a0facilitating many of these partnerships.<\/p>\n<p>Menfluential vets and negotiates with potential sponsors, which often takes several weeks and many emails\/calls.<\/p>\n<p>That frees me up to do what I&#8217;m best at: creating content.<\/p>\n<p>I predict that this part of the business will continue to grow, especially when the Q4 holiday season hits.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adthrive.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2301\">AdThrive<\/a> continues to do a great job at filling unsold banner ad inventory (any banner spots that aren&#8217;t purchased directly by sponsors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affiliate &#8211;<\/strong>\u00a0$4,474 (<span style=\"color: #339966;\">up 49% from previous quarter<\/span>)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rewardstyle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2302\">RewardStyle<\/a> &#8211; $972<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/?_encoding=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;linkCode=ur2&#038;tag=themodestman-20&#038;linkId=OCG3YRBVSZ7QVEQT\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2303\" data-lasso-name=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a> &#8211; $2,098<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/modern-tailor\/\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2304\" data-lasso-name=\"Modern Tailor\" rel=\"noopener\">Modern Tailor<\/a> &#8211; $1,089<\/li>\n<li>Other &#8211; $268 (mostly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/warby-parker\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-lasso-id=\"2305\" data-lasso-name=\"Warby Parker\" rel=\"nofollow sponsored noopener\">Warby Parker<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/saddleback\/\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2306\" data-lasso-name=\"Saddleback Leather\" rel=\"noopener\">Saddleback<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I&#8217;m an affiliate for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/modern-tailor\/\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2307\" data-lasso-name=\"Modern Tailor\" rel=\"noopener\">Modern Tailor<\/a>, one of the better affordable custom clothiers. That means that I get a small commission when someone I&#8217;ve referred to them (via hyperlink) buys something.<\/p>\n<p>For some reason, lots of people bought shirts and suits in Q2 (compared to Q1).\u00a0Wedding season, perhaps?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/?_encoding=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;linkCode=ur2&#038;tag=themodestman-20&#038;linkId=OCG3YRBVSZ7QVEQT\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2308\" data-lasso-name=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a> earnings continue to climb, I think because these two posts are starting to rank really highly in search engine results:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/best-no-show-socks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2309\">Best No Show Socks<\/a>\u00a0(try Googling &#8220;best no show socks&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/watches-for-small-wrists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2310\">Watches for Small Wrists<\/a>\u00a0(try Googling &#8220;watches for small wrists&#8221;)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>They&#8217;re both solid posts, and they both contain a fair amount of links to Amazon. It&#8217;s great to see Amazon revenue finally start to take off!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Products &#8211;<\/strong> $3,786 (<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">down 17% from previous quarter<\/span>)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2311\">The Modest Man Style Guide<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; $2,434<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/introducing-tmm-shirts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2312\">TMM Button Up Shirts<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; $1,352<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5488\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5488\" style=\"width: 227px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/guide\/\" data-lasso-id=\"2313\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5488 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1_3-227x300.png\" alt=\"The Modest Man Style Guide\" width=\"227\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5488\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2314\">The Modest Man Style Guide<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2315\">Style Guide<\/a> continues to sell consistently (averaging about one sale per day). It&#8217;s not a huge source of revenue, but it&#8217;s very consistent, and it makes me happy <em>every single time<\/em> I&#8217;m notified that someone bought it.<\/p>\n<p>I really thing it&#8217;s the best resource for shorter men who want to jumpstart their style journey, but I still really appreciate the fact that people are willing to spend their hard earned money on something I created.<\/p>\n<p>In April, I got the final payment for sales of the limited edition TMM button up shirts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Consulting &#8211;<\/strong> $490<\/p>\n<p>Over the past few years, I&#8217;ve done lots of freelance marketing work to keep the lights on at TMM headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>TMM has finally grown to the point where I no longer have to take on freelance work, but I still do some special projects for friends, family and clients.<\/p>\n<p>I report all of that revenue\u00a0under the &#8220;Consulting&#8221; umbrella.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Total Revenue = $21,607 (<span style=\"color: #339966;\">up 39% from previous quarter<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Remember, this is quarterly income, not monthly income. So it comes out to about $7,202 per month, before taxes and expenses.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of which, here are my recurring and one-time expenses for Q2 2016:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recurring\u00a0Expenses (paid monthly, totaled for the quarter)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assistant &#8211; $1,050<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/convert-kit\/\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2316\" data-lasso-name=\"ConvertKit\" rel=\"noopener\">ConvertKit<\/a> \u2013 $447<\/li>\n<li>Phone \u2013 $330<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/leadpages\/\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2317\" data-lasso-name=\"LeadPages\" rel=\"noopener\">LeadPages<\/a> \u2013 $201<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.meetedgar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2318\">Edgar<\/a> \u2013 $147<\/li>\n<li>Internet \u2013 $120<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themodestman.com\/bluehost\/\" target=\"_self\" data-lasso-id=\"2319\" data-lasso-name=\"Bluehost\" rel=\"noopener\">Bluehost<\/a> \u2013 $60<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2320\">Canva<\/a> &#8211; $39<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>One-Time Expenses<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Retreat &#8211; $900<\/li>\n<li>Travel &#8211; $385<\/li>\n<li>Camera Gear (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Canon-50mm-1-8-STM-Lens\/dp\/B00X8MRBCW\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=themodestman-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2321\">new lens<\/a>) &#8211; $227<\/li>\n<li>Web Developer &#8211; $100<\/li>\n<li>PayPal Fees &#8211; $86<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/facetwp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-lasso-id=\"2322\">FacetWP<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; $79<\/li>\n<li>Facebook Ads &#8211; $59<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Total Expenses = $4,230<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I hired a part-time assistant to help out with email and social media, so that increases my monthly recurring expenses substantially (well worth it, though).<\/p>\n<p>I also booked a trip to this awesome retreat center to hang out with a great group of bloggers an entrepreneurs later this summer (again, money well spent).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Profit = $17,377 (<span style=\"color: #339966;\">up 45% over previous quarter<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m really happy with the growth. Things are on track to hit the overall business goals for this year (double traffic and revenue).<\/p>\n<p>The great thing about more revenue isn&#8217;t having more personal income. It&#8217;s the ability to invest back into the business.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hiring writers and photo\/video editors<\/li>\n<li>Investing in a new and improved website (very pricey)<\/li>\n<li>Buying new gear (like video cameras and lighting)<\/li>\n<li>Trying out new brands at readers&#8217; request<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course, it&#8217;s also nice to\u00a0be able to extract a comfortable salary, <del>buy a Tesla<\/del> contribute to retirement accounts, etc.<\/p>\n<h3>Thank YOU!<\/h3>\n<p>None of this is possible without you.\u00a0Thank you for your readership and support!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can you believe it&#8217;s already July? It&#8217;s time for another blogging income report! Read on to learn how\u00a0profits from this blog increased by 45% over Q1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716"}],"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=7716"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11986,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7716\/revisions\/11986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockmcgoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}