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Home / Blog / Resources / Income Reports

Income Report: Q2 2015

Published on July 7, 2015 by Brock McGoff · Income Reports May contain affiliate links (what's this?)

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

TMM Income Report Q2 2015

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

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.

TMM Revenue 2015

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!

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Income Reports blogging, income report, passive income

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About Brock McGoff

The Modest Man founder, Brock is an aspiring minimalist who enjoys working out, spending time with his family, discovering new brands and creating great content.

Background: Brock McGoff has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a professional background in digital marketing. He believes that men's fashion is just one facet of self-improvement, and he started The Modest Man to help regular guys feel more confident by improving their appearance.

An east coast native, Brock currently lives in Arizona with his wife and daughter. When he's not working, he spends time with family, training BJJ, reading/listening to books and podcasts, and unsuccessfully trying to decide which movie to stream.

Expertise: Brock has built a men's lifestyle YouTube channel with over 400k subscribers. He's also worked as the creative marketing manager in a men's apparel startup. Brock has been quoted in, mentioned by or featured in publications like Esquire, Huff Post, Men's Health, WWD and Forbes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    Ask Me Anything Cancel reply

    Got questions? Want to share your opinion? Comment below!

  1. TSO says

    July 18, 2015 at 3:55 pm

    Awesome. Love it Brock.

    It’s great that things are growing and the live training is gaining traction. Keep up with the business updates. Personally I find these fascinating.

    Reply
  2. John @ The Manliness Kit says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:43 am

    Congrats Brock!

    I like this type of posts and your transparency. Looking forward to the next ones with the costs breakdown.

    Reply
  3. The Kentucky Gent says

    July 8, 2015 at 10:09 am

    Congrats on the growth!

    You just reminded me that I need to get seriously more organized that I am. Whoops.

    Josh | The Kentucky Gent
    http://thekentuckygent.com

    Reply
    • Brock says

      July 8, 2015 at 3:31 pm

      Thanks! Believe me, it takes a while to pull this data together. Definitely not indicative of my overall level of organization in life!

      Reply
  4. Dan says

    July 8, 2015 at 3:23 am

    Great post! I enjoy your style articles, but posts like this are also very captivating and interesting.

    Looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the site’s future. A new website with an accessories/clothing line would be huge for sure!

    Reply
    • Brock says

      July 8, 2015 at 3:33 pm

      Thanks! These posts are really fun to put together, so I’m glad you’re enjoying them.

      Reply
  5. Kevin Meza says

    July 7, 2015 at 11:51 pm

    Digging these types of posts Brock! I forgot to ask this on your grooming part 2 article but I was wondering why you didn’t mention electric shavers like the Philips Norelco stuff? What’s your opinion on them?

    Reply
    • Brock says

      July 8, 2015 at 2:31 pm

      Thanks! I actually don’t have much experience with electric shavers, but I’m experimenting with safety razors, brushes and different shaving techniques in general. So expect a post on that sometime soon.

      Reply

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