Income Report: Q2 2015

Toward the end of March 2015, I decided to write a post explaining how this blog makes money.

In case you missed it, it's right here:

How Does This Blog Make Money?

Great title, I know. What I didn't know was whether anyone would read this post since it had nothing to do with style for short men.

But it turned out to be pretty popular, especially after I shared it on Reddit.

The post broke down Q1 revenue for The Modest Man. It covered the three main ways a blogger like me makes money:

1. Earning affiliate commissions
2. Selling advertising space
3. Selling digital products

Since people seemed to enjoy this post, I decided to publish an income report at the end of each quarter (every three months).

These reports will break down revenue by category and compare it to previous periods. Then I'll share what's working (and not working) in terms of monetization.

Note: For detailed explanations of each revenue stream, read my first income report.

Affiliate – $1,480 (down 9% from Q1)

• RewardStyle – $524
• Amazon – $412
• Modern Tailor – $241
• Other – $303 (mostly Blank Label and Saddleback)

Affiliate commissions from Amazon and rStyle were down in Q2, compared to Q1. My theory is that Q2 is just a slow season for purchasing.

Simply put, people aren't buying as much stuff as they were in January. Gotta spend those holiday gift cards, right?

Advertising – $3,528 (up 13% from Q1)

• Direct Ads – $2,275
• Google AdSense – $253
• Sponsored Posts – $1,000

I started using a new ad serving platform in Q2 called Sovrn. Basically, companies can buy ad space on this site through Sovrn. If any space is unsold, I fill it up with Google ads.

That's why AdSense revenue is so low for this quarter (because ads served up by Sovrn took up most of the space, most of the time).

Even though I've accumulated a balance in my Sovrn account, I haven't actually gotten paid yet, which is why it's not included in this report.

I'm experimenting with different advertising platforms and ad stacking, so maybe I'll share more about that some other time.

Products – $2,898 (up 164% from Q1)

• Short Man Style eBook – $1,634
• Live Training Class – $1,264

Ebook sales were up in Q2, and I added a new “product” to the lineup. More on that in a minute.

Grand Total = $7,905 (up 36% from Q1)

So this blog generated $7,905 revenue in Q2, a 36% increase over Q1. This comes out to $2,635 per month.

We've got a long way to go, but I'm happy with the growth, which was due primarily to my latest offering – a three week live training program.

Held using GoToWebinar, this class took a deep dive into fit, color and other aspects of style for shorter gents. But the real magic was the personal interaction, both with me and fellow students.

I'm talking about live outfit critiques, real time Q&A, homework assignments…it was truly an awesome experience for everyone involved.

If you missed it, don't worry. It will be offered again very soon. And, eventually, all of the recorded sessions will be published on a premium membership site so anyone can learn the material on their own time.

Stay tuned!

What about expenses?

Believe it or not, bloggers have expenses too. I don't have an office, but I do have a handful of tools I can't live without. Stuff like:

• LeadPages
• Bluehost
• Aweber
• GoToWebinar
• Wistia

The monthly and annual fees for these apps and services add up quickly, and I realize that not including these expenses in this report is misleading.

Until recently, it was hard for me to track this stuff. But I recently started using this slick new accounting software, so you can expect to see income and expenses in the next income report.

Until next time, keep hustling!