I finally crossed that $3,000 per month side hustle income mark and it feels AMAZING!
YESSSS.
My total side hustle revenue for the month was $3,538.89!
Driving that revenue success was a strong month with blogging.
I had 50,000 users and over 70,000 page views to Millennial Boss in July.
Organic search traffic and social referral traffic were way up!
Mostly because..
- I started using Tailwind Tribes, and upgraded to ‘unlimited’ so I can add my content to as many tribes as possible.
- I started working with two amazing Virtual Assistants I found on Upwork.
And I Published 18 posts in July!
My co-host on FIRE Drill podcast and I kicked off our summer masterminds, where we invite listeners to join us in building businesses together.
We meet weekly over video chat for 6 weeks.
One of the masterminds we ran was blogging and it motivated me to finally start putting effort into growing the blog.
I’ve been so focused on the podcast for the past year (which was the right decision because I love it) but that has meant that the blog fell to the wayside.
Well this month I kicked butt and published 18 posts. I think this is my most ever!
My favorite blog posts this month were:
Here was my blogging income this month: $3,161
Super strong showings from FlexOffers and Personal Capital.
I’m happy to see Personal Capital referrals come through because seeing my net worth visualized in their free mobile app was a huge motivator for me to pay off my debt and get moving on the path to financial independence.
Heck, it still is [a huge motivator]! I love seeing that chart go up!
Display advertising was up this month because traffic was up this month. This month at 70,000 pageviews was my most ever.
What I’ll be working on next month with blogging:
- Some of my old pins are taking off again. I need to check the content and make sure everything is updated. I also might re-order some of the posts to keep people on the page if they are getting bored halfway through and clicking out. (You can use Google Analytics to see how long they stayed on the page).
- I’ll continue working with freelancers. I worked my butt off in July and I’m exhausted. Bringing on the freelancers has been a sigh of relief for me. I can’t wait to see how Millennial Boss can grow once I have help.
Etsy revenue – so close to $400!
I want to cross the $500 mark on my Etsy shop so badly but it’s been a bit of a slow climb.
That being said, nearly $400 per month in revenue is pretty good.
I’m doing two Etsy masterminds right now (digital downloads & print on demand) and I sell bachelorette party products in my shop (think printable scavenger hunts and tank tops).
Meeting everyone and working together on our shops has been super fun.
I’m crushing it with Digital Downloads & struggling with Print on Demand
The digital download or ‘printable’ bachelorette products are KILLING IT and I’m struggling a bit with print on demand.
I know print on demand has SOO much potential though so I really need to just dedicate the time to figure it out.
I think my struggle has to do with the fact that I’m still learning Printful.
Many of us are using them to create our t-shirts & tank tops and we’re happy so far. It’s just a new learning curve.
If you have no idea what ‘print on demand’ means. It just means that instead of ordering inventory of 5oo t-shirts up front and storing them in my house. Printful integrates with Etsy and prints and ships your order. All you do is upload the design.
Want to sell on Etsy? Do these three things.
- Sign up for an Etsy shop with my link and get free listings
- Join our Printables Facebook Group (if you want to sell printables on Etsy. We won’t accept you into the group until you have your shop created) Create a Printful account if you’d rather do print on demand.
- Get on the mastermind email list to be notified when the next mastermind opens (or just get emailed occasional tips).
What I want to do next month with Etsy:
- Make more bundles. Those of us in the mastermind have noticed that bundles of printables do better. They also make more sense from a fees perspective. Kevin from Debt Free Happens is in our mastermind and shared this post that breaks down Etsy fees.
- Work on my print on demand products. I know I can do it if I have the time to focus. Time is hard to find though, right?!
Last but not least – We’re selling the house!
Some of you who have been following for awhile may know that I have had a saga with this house.
We didn’t know what we were doing when we were buying the house, then we didn’t know what we were doing when we tried to sell it Round 1 in 2016, then earlier this summer we spent tons of money renovating it and got an offer in 6 days but the deal fell through.
Related:
- How to Paint Brass Door Handles for $30
- How to Spray Paint a Brass Fireplace and add a Floating Mantle
Just this past week we put it back on the market and got two more offers at list. Yay! We’re under contract now so wish us luck.
Also, follow me on Instagram @Millennial Boss to see more renovation pictures. I was going for the Joanna Gaines farmhouse style decor and think we nailed it.
We’re in the negative this month (and I know this doesn’t include the tax benefits, principal pay down etc).
Also, one last thing! I went on *another* epic road trip from Colorado to Utah to Idaho to Washington.
Last month, I went from Washington to Idaho to Montana to Wyoming to Colorado so this has been a summer of amazing road trips.
Trip reports coming and more amazing pics and videos on my insta.
What have you been up to in the last month? Any questions on the side hustle income?
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- HONEST Passive Income Planner Girl by Michelle Rohr course review - May 25, 2020
- 35 Pink Aesthetic Wallpapers with Quotes and Collages - May 20, 2020
Super amazing job! Congratulations again. I want to hear more about these freelancers! What did they do for you?
Congrats! Those are some strong numbers and thanks for the mention. I do have to brag though. Last month, I came sooooooo close to hitting $400 of revenue. I hit $398.28 in July. The funny thing is that 45 minutes after Etsy switched over to August accounting I had a $5 sale. If that person had ordered it an hour earlier I would have hit $400. Never was so frustrated from a sale before! So far though things are starting out strong for August and I have $64 in revenue even though it has felt slow. Small sample size but that rate would easily get me over $400 and so close to $500. All this while NOT adding any items to my shop for 6 weeks. I am anxious to get back and start creating again.
Wow! What an incredible month! I get the most traffic from Pinterest, but seriously need to up my game. My pins aren’t always the prettiest, so I know I could improve there. Congratulations on your success this month!
Congratulations on your achievement for this month!! You are definitely crushing and I can only see you growing going forward. I also look up to your Etsy idea — it sounds awesome!
I feel like I’m still struggling with a lot of things when it comes to blogging and making money online (so overwhelming for me). But at the same time, I’m taking it as a challenge and trying to learn as much as I can!
Keep up the great work!! 🙂
What resources have you found helpful? I’m just starting out (as in, launched the blog on Friday) and also feeling overwhelmed. I work in marketing analytics so I feel like I should have such a handle on all of this. In reality I never execute any of these sorts of things in my job — I just look at the numbers.
Congrats J, that’s an awesome month. Do you think you’ll keep reinvesting that Mediavine income into the virtual assistant to expand page views? That was a heck of a return using the brand you’ve already built! You are probably also seeing nice organic traffic with the podcast expansion.
Congrats J,
I loved following your IG and the trek across the west, especially your stop in Provo!
I went to school there and similar to Gwen, started my military career in the Reserves “hacking” my way through school.
Your blog growth is amazing. I need to work on some of those little tips you are providing to get ours going!
Thanks for the update, these are so much fun to read and track along with you.