It’s official: 2017 is more than halfway over, and that means it’s time for another quarterly TMM income report.
If this is your first time reading one of these income reports, you might be (understandably) confused.
After all, this is a blog about men’s style, not online business. Let me explain…
I decided to “open the kimono” by creating periodic income reports to show you exactly how I make money running The Modest Man (this site, plus the YouTube channel).
Why do this? For a few reasons:
- I like being totally transparent.
- Online business is fascinating (this book got me into it…).
- Many people are curious about how bloggers earn a living.
- To inspire others to start their own businesses.
If this is your first income report, read this first ↓
How Does The Modest Man Make Money? 
What follows is a breakdown of revenue, expenses and profit for Q2 2017.
TMM Revenue (Quarterly)
Let’s start with the big picture – quarterly revenue for the past 30 months:
I noted in the Q2 income report that revenue had dipped a little (from Q4 2016), and I’m happy to report that it’s bounced back to a record high at just over $28k.
This is a great sign because the second half of the year is usually stronger, in terms of revenue, due to the holiday season.
Going by average monthly revenue so far this year, total revenue for 2017 should be at least $110k (conservatively).
I think it’s good to have something realistic to aim for, so my loose “target” is $150k.
Show Me the Money
Revenue from this website can be broken down into three general categories:
- Advertising/sponsorships
- Affiliate commissions
- Selling products
Let’s look at each category for Q2 2017 (note: some links below are affiliate links).
Advertising – $17,595 (down 3% from previous quarter)
- Direct Ads – $2,000
- AdThrive – $4,349
- Sponsored – $9,926
- Other – $1,320
Advertising was almost flat compared to last quarter, but not across the board.
AdThrive (pretty much all of the banner ads on this site) was down slightly because I cut down on the number of ads that were showing up on mobile (to preserve user experience).
But ad revenue from YouTube has increased as the channel has grown (over 25k new subscribers in the past 90 days).
Revenue from sponsorships was also down slightly, but this ebbs and flows each month.
Affiliate – $8,527 (up 60% from previous quarter)
- RewardStyle – $1,445
- Amazon – $4,868
- Modern Tailor – $340
- ShareASale – $493 (mostly Warby Parker and Saddleback)
- Skimlinks – $1,125
- Other – $256
Huge increase here! The biggest driver was the fact that I finally got my first Skimlinks payment (my fault, not theirs).
In reality, Skimlinks is only generating about $150/month right now, but it’s truly passive income, which is nice.
Products – $1,933 (up 21% from previous quarter)
- The Modest Man Style Guide – $1,598
- Grailed – $402
The Style Guide continues to sell consistently, but it’s a very small part of the business.
I started to sell some of my nicer used clothing on Grailed, which has added a little extra revenue to the bottom line.
But I’m not really expecting much money from that. I just can’t bring myself to drop some of this stuff off at the thrift shop. I’d rather sell it to someone who really wants it at an incredible price.
Total Revenue = $28,054 (up 12% from last quarter)
Keep in mind, this is quarterly revenue, not monthly. So it comes out to about $9,351 top line revenue per month (before taxes and expenses).
Speaking of which, let’s look at all of the recurring and one-time expenses for Q2.
Recurring Expenses (paid monthly, totaled for the quarter)
- Assistants – $840
- WP Engine – $747
- Phone – $330
- ConvertKit – $202
- LeadPages – $201
- Internet – $120
- Adobe CC – $63
- SmarterQueue – $60
- Bluehost – $60
- Canva – $39
One-Time Expenses
- Web developer – $1,750
- Accountant – $249
- Hard drive – $102
- Bank service charges – $102
- Postage – $66
- Text Expander – $40
Total Expenses = $4,971
Q2 wasn’t as expensive as Q1, mostly because I didn’t buy any expensive new gear or book any travel.
I did make another payment to my web developer (who is working on the new site right now).
Other than that, pretty standard expenses.
Profit = $23,083 (up 24% from previous quarter)
Setting aside about 30% for taxes, this comes out to about $5,386 cash in my pocket per month (about $1k more than the last quarter).
Of course, as a self-employed person, I have to pay for health insurance, retirement savings, etc.
But still, it’s enough to live comfortably in almost any city, which is pretty sweet.
Thank YOU!
None of this is possible without you. Thank you for your readership and support!