If I’ve ever had you under the impression that Diamonds N’ Denim makes a lot of money- I’m sorry, because that’s soooo very wrong.
My First Blogging Income Report, EVER
Each year, this blog makes about $60-$100 via ads and about $10 per year via affiliate links (most of which come from links to my book that I sell at a whopping 99 cents per copy).
I spend roughly $62 – $95 per year on hosting/my domain name.
Ads cover mycosts, and affiliate links give me a $10 profit every year, basically.
So at the end of the year, after writing anywhere from 12 (once a month) to 144 (3x’s a week) posts a year at about 2 hours per post, or 24 hours to 288 hours spent per year, I basically make between $0.83 to $0.034 per hour. HAHAHA. WELL sh*t.
It’s So Worth It Though
Here are a few of my reasons why it’s worth it to me to keep “barely making it” with this blog:
#1 Blogging is my passion project and hobby.
I love reading, learning, writing, and helping others out by sharing information I’ve learned along the way. Running this blog is a hobby. I don’t get paid to go camping, or travel, or kayak, or ride my horse. In fact, each of those hobbies cost me a little bit of money almost every time I do them. It’s miraculous really that I’ve found a hobby that *doesn’t* cost me anything.
#2 This blog has made connections that are PRICELESS.
I’ve had so many meaningful conversations, and relationships come out of this blog. This has helped me spiritually, mentally, emotionally, financially, academically, and even in mycareer. My email list, especially my 20DTTMYAD Challenge email list, has been exceptionally rich in networking and connections. Every Friday, I get responses back from some of the smartest people I know, and throughout the week, I get enthusiastic, refreshing replies from people taking my 20 Day Email Challenge. It’s absolutely fantastic to have this kind of a support system (and dare I say, friend group).
#3 Diamonds N’ Denim gave my freelance business legitimacy.
When I was first testing the waters of freelancing more than two years ago, I didn’t have much of a leg to stand on. I had no college degree, no experience, and no connections. But I assured those first clients (bless them for taking a chance on me) that I would work hard, and that I was a decent writer. I used my blog (which was still a “.wordpress.com” site at the time) as a portfolio, which let me get a foot in the door. To this day, people use my blog as a greater weight than any other projects or websites I have listed in my portfolio.
Some people even hire me directly through this blog because they stumbled across this page. I could easily argue that my freelance business would have NEVER taken off if it weren’t for this blog. That’s almost invaluable too.
Because of my freelance business, I can work anywhere I want (even from home), as often as I want, for $25/$35 an hour, without a college degree. By January 2019, it’s my goal to increase my hourly rates to $35/$45 an hour (which I believe is entirely possible). Beyond all that, Diamonds N’ Denim is like an excellent character reference (character witness? ha!).
It’s often difficult for me to tell where I end, and where Diamonds N’ Denim begins. It’s so darn easy for people to dig through my past, see my beliefs, core values, and even political affiliation. If you’ve read this site, you’ve seen a huge part of who I am. People trust me because I share so much information about myself and my values here.
#4 It Would be Counter-Intuitive to Try to Make More $
Going back to Reason #1, I genuinely care about my readers. This blog is about better personal finance and making decisions based on what’s best for you, not consumerism. If I started pushing more products onto you guys, I wouldn’t be sticking to my values at all. The only way for me to ethically increase my income is to increase my quantity of visitors (which would, therefore, increase my advertising income). That’s a matter of time, and it relies on me putting out consistently good content. I know that my income will steadily increase as my visitors do, but that’s just a long waiting game that I’m not going to put any pressure on. I’m very pleased with how Diamonds N’ Denim is doing right now.
Let’s Talk!
- If you’re a blogger, share your profits and expenses below, and then drop a link to your blog. Am I the only 3-year-old blogger who barely breaks even?
- If you’re not a blogger, would you ever consider becoming one? And, would you have to make a certain amount of money for it to be worth it to you?
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As always, thank you for stopping by!
