January has started MUCH better than the end of 2020. December is always a stressful time for me because seasonality becomes a thing and my sites usually make a little less. The good news though is that I’ve been shifting more towards OneHourProfessor in my business, which means less seasonality.
Beyond that, I’ve officially decided to sell my BIGGEST site. I’ll explain a little bit about my reasoning for this in the report, but it’s QUITE a risk for me. But, to be honest, I’m excited about it and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
In addition, I was able to trim my expenses a bit this month and intend on doing that further next month.
This month my total income after expenses was $16,193 which comes out to $522 per day.
If you’re looking to create your own blog/online business and want to get started quickly, I suggest you sign up for my FREE course, IGNITION, by clicking here.
You can watch the YouTube Video Here:
Personal Life Update
I have so little to say about my personal life it’s nauseating. My wife and I are still hanging out at home. But, with the sale of website 1, we’re strongly considering a move to a warmer climate. We’ve been trying to do this for years and keep getting rejected.
For those that have followed me, you’ll recall we tried to move to Puerto Rico. Twice.
The first time there was an algorithm update, the second time we were about to we had a once in a lifetime pandemic. So, now I’ve just decided to stay within the states and my wife and I are considering a move to Arizona.
I used to live there when I was younger, I have a few friends there, and it’s something I’d enjoy much more than being locked in the house 4-5 months out of the year in IL. Anyway, we’ll see if that all plays out.
That’s all for the personal update.
If this is your first time on my website let me explain a few things about my detailed income reports each month that outlines the money I made (or lost) each month.
I’m doing this for a number of reasons:
1) I strive to be transparent about what it takes to make money online.
2) These reports help me keep track of my own progress.
3) These reports hold me accountable.
Keep in mind, I don’t create these to gloat about my earnings. I create them to help you understand the true “earning curve” of online business.
On a side note, I don’t disclose my actual website URL’s on my reports because I’ve had bad experiences with copycats in the past.
So, in my income reports, you’ll see website generalizations like Website 1, Website 3, Website 5 Website 4, etc.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dive into the report.
How did the Income Report Turn Out This Month?
| PRODUCT OR SERVICE | REVENUE | EXPENSES | NET INCOME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting | $3,000 | $3,000 | |
| Udemy | $38 | $38 | |
| Partners and Affiliates Revenue | |||
| Website 2 Partners and Affiliates | $11 | $11 | |
| Website 5 Partners and Affiliates | $38 | $38 | |
| Website 8 Partners and Affiliates | $81 | $81 | |
| Website 6 Partners and Affiliates | $124 | $124 | |
| Website 3 Partners and Affiliates | $165 | $165 | |
| OHP Partners and Affiliates | $4069 | $4069 | |
| Website 1 Partners and Affiliates | $4578 | $4578 | |
| YouTube Revenue | |||
| Themed YouTube Channel (Click for Webinar) | $280 | $280 | |
| YouTube Channel Website 8 Compliment (Click for Webinar) | $502 | $502 | |
| OHP YT Channel | $742 | $742 | |
| Ezoic Revenue | |||
| OHP Website Ezoic Revenue | $9 | $9 | |
| Website 5 Ezoic Revenue | $774 | $774 | |
| Website 3 Ezoic Revenue | $1081 | $1081 | |
| Website 7 Ezoic Revenue | $1684 | $1684 | |
| Website 1 Ezoic Revenue | $3289 | $3289 | |
| Google Adsense Revenue | |||
| Website 2 Adsense Revenue | $3 | $3 | |
| Website 9 Adsense Revenue | $14 | $14 | |
| Website 5 Adsense Revenue | $21 | $21 | |
| Website 7 Adsense Revenue | $57 | $57 | |
| Website 1 Adsense Revenue | $209 | $209 | |
| Website 3 Adsense Revenue | $487 | $487 | |
| Software Expenses | |||
| Vid IQ YouTube Software | $10.00 | -$10.00 | |
| Adobe Photoshop Account | $10.61 | -$10.61 | |
| ConstantContact Email | $14.87 | -$14.87 | |
| Manage WP | $17.60 | -$17.60 | |
| Mailshake App | $19.00 | -$19.00 | |
| Streamyard | $25.00 | -$25.00 | |
| Epidemic Sound | $45.00 | -$45.00 | |
| Upwork Premium Employer Plan | $49.99 | -$49.99 | |
| Google Business Drive Storage and Apps | $58.11 | -$58.11 | |
| Internet Service | $61.35 | -$61.35 | |
| Linkedin Premium Plan | $79.99 | -$79.99 | |
| Intuit Quick Books | $85.00 | -$85.00 | |
| Kinsta Hosting | $100.00 | -$100.00 | |
| Shutterstock Monthly Subscription | $125.00 | -$125.00 | |
| Clearscope SEO Software | $170.00 | -$170.00 | |
| Ahrefs SEO Software | $179.00 | -$179.00 | |
| Siteground Hosting | $180.00 | -$180.00 | |
| Active Campaign | $225.00 | -$225.00 | |
| Misc. Software and Products | $175.69 | -$175.69 | |
| Freelance Labor Expenses | |||
| Freelance Research, Editing, Video Production, and Misc. Labor | $1,079.35 | -$1,079.35 | |
| Freelance Writing | $2,352.80 | -$2,352.80 | |
| TOTALS | $21,256 | $5,063 | $16,193 |
| Revenue By Channel | Website 1 | Website 3 | Consulting | OHP Website | YouTube | Website 7 | Website 5 | Website 6 | Website 2 | Website 8 | Website 9 | Udemy | Website 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2021 | $8,076 | $1,733 | $3,000 | $4,078 | $1,524 | $1,741 | $833 | $124 | $14 | $81 | $14 | $38 | XSOLDX |
| December 2020 | $10,448 | $2,356 | $2750 | $2,316 | $1,733 | $1,670 | $950 | $173 | $15 | $80 | $26 | $76 | XSOLDX |
| November 2020 | $14,132 | $2,045 | $2000 | $1,628 | $1,386 | $1,361 | $741 | $117 | $16 | $59 | $33 | $40.00 | XSOLDX |
| October 2020 | $16,439 | $1,815 | $2600 | $1,886 | $983 | $1,230 | $670 | $68 | $13 | $289 | $13 | $0 | XSOLDX |
| September 2020 | $13,758.12 | $1,958.93 | $2000.00 | $836.18 | $877.29 | $1,159.98 | $644.78 | $68.34 | $11.52 | $116.50 | $7.93 | $0 | XSOLDX |
| August 2020 | $14,356.31 | $1,829.59 | $2,339.50 | $685.48 | $790.50 | $969.42 | $709.66 | $35.15 | $14.56 | $97.13 | $14.09 | $75.00 | $15,345.21 |
| July 2020 | $10,146.39 | $1,390.39 | $2,250.00 | $545.96 | $682.49 | $773.31 | $473.26 | $76.03 | $15.52 | $34.04 | $4.29 | $72.74 | $39.01 |
| June 2020 | $18,386.69 | $2,100.43 | $2,000.00 | $664.08 | $457.43 | $612.44 | $397.93 | $2.82 | $5.22 | $0.45 | $4.72 | $0.00 | $201.03 |
| May 2020 | $14,388.25 | $1,628.39 | $2,000.00 | $576.57 | $489.31 | $383.33 | $407.86 | $30.95 | $11.89 | $5.78 | $5.83 | $0.00 | $298.50 |
| April 2020 | $9,868.73 | $1,268.24 | $2,000.00 | $311.09 | $723.35 | $488.53 | $499.28 | $21.63 | $24.59 | $4.80 | $1.16 | $0.00 | $628.28 |
| March 2020 | $15,729.25 | $1,244.49 | $2,000.00 | $401.28 | $324.14 | $482.14 | $599.43 | $24.68 | $20.26 | $61.30 | $2.37 | $0.00 | $629.15 |
| February 2020 | $22,548.73 | $2,139.96 | $2,000.00 | $261.22 | $340.49 | $467.75 | $543.09 | $49.32 | $36.03 | $0 | $3.05 | $0.00 | $435.32 |
| January 2020 | $20,512.80 | $2,646.41 | $3,240.00 | $1,334.33 | $264.30 | $382.79 | $541.68 | $9.13 | $12.35 | $0 | $2.35 | $0.00 | $1045.23 |
| December 2019 | $19,383.27 | $2,026.21 | $2,575.00 | $934.81 | $202.66 | $304.53 | $694.61 | $78.56 | $9.36 | $17.69 | $1,864.92 |
||
| November 2019 | $21,920.53 | $2,173.90 | $0 | $602.88 | $358.91 | $196.02 | $617.31 | $182.80 | $15.77 | $21.59 | $1,338.93 | ||
| October 2019 | $23,620.75 | $2,546.04 | $300.00 | $1,073.56 | $202.14 | $58.41 | $230.27 | $84.62 | $72.89 | $30.00 | $711.71 | ||
| September 2019 | $21,006.31 | $2,627.86 | $0 | $335.35 | $177.05 | $17.80 | $170.04 | $50.33 | $14.72 | $35.00 | $585.93 | ||
| August 2019 | $17,817.28 | $2,590.92 | $275.00 | $414.58 | $156.00 | $2.57 | $133.92 | $97.26 | $23.67 | $40.00 | $553.82 | ||
| July 2019 | $16,855.42 | $3,652.24 | $0 | $427.66 | $130.26 | $2.10 | $74.26 | $76.00 | $17.16 | $35 | $574.78 | ||
| June 2019 | $15,402.28 | $5,561.07 | $0 | $709.07 | $141.46 | $46.29 | $100.19 | $30.74 | $0 | $562.63 | |||
| May 2019 | $17,578.97 | $4,900.70 | $0 | $1,062.34 | $116.02 | $61.17 | $35.71 | $22.25 | $0 | $749.14 | |||
| April 2019 | $16,273.68 | $4,078.83 | $0 | $239.73 | $76.86 | $46.05 | $9.53 | $0 | $700.42 | ||||
| March 2019 | $17,006.79 | $3,620.30 | $0 | $439.88 | $76.24 | $152.99 | $19.98 | $20.24 | $931.22 | ||||
| February 2019 | $15,656.00 | $2,799.98 | $0 | $551.53 | $65.63 | $291.72 | $15.68 | $28.75 | $647.94 | ||||
| January 2019 | $16,483.03 | $3,280.64 | $600.00 | $469.30 | $76.52 | $401.91 | $10.41 | $45.75 | $1,009.83 | ||||
| December 2018 | $11,776.03 | $2,488.53 | $0 | $483.96 | $73.60 | $487.37 | $20.16 | $98.43 | $2,078.19 | ||||
| November 2018 | $12,886.78 | $2,324.75 | $0 | $657.86 | $79.91 | $386.31 | $10.67 | $205.87 | $789.26 | ||||
| October 2018 | $13,246.69 | $3,135.04 | $150 | $369.22 | $83.86 | $306.89 | $15.46 | $93.27 | $747.29 | ||||
| September 2018 | $11,784.71 | $3,853.20 | $175 | $321.67 | $82.99 | $210.72 | $0.00 | $14.94 | $628.97 | ||||
| August 2018 | $11,556.29 | $3,266.47 | $0 | $512.72 | $93.63 | $39.81 | $5.31 | $97.18 | $980.89 | ||||
| July 2018 | $12,864.08 | $4,991.15 | $0 | $722.76 | $84.33 | $26.84 | $8.05 | $91.48 | $707.66 | ||||
| June 2018 | $11138.00 | $6,858.01 | $0 | $432.01 | $95.96 | $52.42 | $11.06 | $50.92 | $797.02 | ||||
| May 2018 | $9152.94 | $4,288.26 | $0 | $391.63 | $100.82 | $40.23 | $6.96 | $44.40 | $699.19 | ||||
| April 2018 | $9637.30 | $2,028.65 | $0 | $545.01 | $85.48 | $236.23 | $11.74 | $24.90 | $804.71 | ||||
| March 2018 | $14236.64 | $778.01 | $0 | $380.29 | $94.79 | $224.68 | $13.78 | $80.61 | $1362.83 | ||||
| February 2018 | $10918.94 | $382.03 | $0 | $644.36 | $86.86 | $454.08 | $22.27 | $23.90 | $838.51 | ||||
| January 2018 | $7993.31 | $467.71 | $0 | $757.59 | $67.06 | $486.99 | $14.26 | $113.95 | $718.04 |
||||
| December 2017 | $6707.43 | $432.22 | $0 | $785.74 | $96.12 | $114.05 | $28.50 | $59.21 | $555.72 | ||||
| November 2017 | $7545.13 | $574.91 | $0 | $480.41 | $90.40 | $4.31 | $17.70 | $187.01 | $479.34 | ||||
| October 2017 | $6859.17 | $617.67 | $0 | $265.38 | $66.71 | $13.06 | $135.59 | $319.02 | |||||
| September 2017 | $6781.51 | $348.16 | $0 | $673.87 | $58.13 | $11.31 | $81.39 | $223.95 | |||||
| August 2017 | $7429.92 | $391.68 | $0 | $945.04 | $63.57 | $16.36 | $133.91 | $181.93 | |||||
| July 2017 | $5658.64 | $344.91 | $1,496.38 | $1055.57 | $94.84 | $58.55 | $41.80 | $85.84 | |||||
| June 2017 | $5924.41 | $423.04 | $600.00 | $403.84 | $79.81 | $11.87 | $148.88 | $31.71 | |||||
| May 2017 | $6805.18 | $214.18 | $51.50 | $79.00 | $82.58 | $8.71 | $76.08 | $9.67 | |||||
| April 2017 | $8175.11 | $116.65 | $0 | $106.71 | $57.76 | $3.57 | $80.25 | ||||||
| March 2017 | $9527.42 | $224.16 | $0 | $355.12 | $59.11 | $6.43 | $137.29 | ||||||
| February 2017 | $3726.98 | $160.48 | $125 | $438.54 | $52.40 | $32.99 | $165.43 | ||||||
| January 2017 | $4005.52 | $104.19 | $0 | $267.33 | $41.60 | $222.20 | |||||||
| December 2016 | $3553.43 | $52.63 | $125.00 | $384.57 | $41.32 | $138.07 | |||||||
| November 2016 | $3778.45 | $22.10 | $125.00 | $357.77 | $48.13 | $259.26 | |||||||
| October 2016 | $3841.36 | $1.37 | $126.00 | $213.88 | $48.92 | $238.90 | |||||||
| September 2016 | $3102.56 | $112.01 | $402.32 | $57.14 | $271.02 | ||||||||
| August 2016 | $3318.70 | $731.05 | $44.72 | $55.08 | $423.49 | ||||||||
| July 2016 | $3353.06 | $135.19 | $347.47 | $52.12 | $186.34 | ||||||||
| June 2016 | $3219.41 | $330.00 | $132.77 | $72.22 | $397.55 | ||||||||
| May 2016 | $4677.02 | $206.25 | $253.67 | $75.89 | $135.25 | ||||||||
| April 2016 | $5008.23 | $497.50 | $286.38 | $62.52 | $353.02 | ||||||||
| March 2016 | $2311.67 | $556.75 | $265.29 | $60.14 | $301.06 | ||||||||
| February 2016 | $2760.21 | $431.25 | $250.70 | $62.00 | $324.58 | ||||||||
| January 2016 | $233.00 | $1140.00 | $117.58 | $46.19 | $400.97 | ||||||||
| December 2015 | $121.30 | $1163.75 | $76.00 | $38.83 | $17.15 | ||||||||
| November 2015 | $138.11 | $1150.25 | $39.00 | $36.78 | $245.68 | ||||||||
| October 2015 | $107.72 | $760.50 | $89.54 | $40.65 | $49.50 | ||||||||
| September 2015 | $102.95 | $1112.32 | $113.10 | $27.46 | $17.49 | ||||||||
| August 2015 | $39.68 | $1463.75 | $51.75 | $25.09 | $12.05 |
Project Updates
Website 1 (SOLD!)
- I’ve decided to sell this site. Why? Simple. It needs work and I’m so focused on this website that I simply do NOT have the time to do it and honestly, I don’t want to. This site was my baby for years and has allowed me to grow to what I am, but now is the time to let my baby go.
- As of this writing, this site has had a pretty miserable migration experience which has dropped the selling price significantly. Long story short, while I tried to move things to the new site owner, a partner basically opted out of working with the site even further and cost me over $200,000. Yes, that one hurt. I’ll explain more about this once I get approval from the new site owner. I’ll never share the actual URL out of respect for him and his efforts, but I have quite a story.
- Traffic increased by 15% this month. Nothing surprising there, January is a new year and that plays into the niche.
- EPM dropped to $53/1000 visits. This is much lower but that’s for two reasons. For half the month, the new owner was integrating things. Plus, the one partner I used to work with opted out of working with the site, which hit the monthly income hard.
- PLAN: Finish the sale of the site and eventually make a video all about what happened. I’ll try to share exact figured, but need approval from new owner.
Udemy Update
I don’t focus on Udemy any longer. They sell my courses for too cheap.
OHP Website Update
- Another very good month for this site. I continue to have top-tier content created and also continue to guest post on high profile sites. This tactic has worked incredible well and I think the graph shows how much growth has happened in both revenue and traffic.
- This month I earned: $4,078. This is another record month and earnings increased MoM by 76%.
- Pageviews are now at 59k this month, which is an 82% increase MoM. Pure insanity and amazing proof that my current tactics are working well.
- Referring domains increased to 786 and keep climbing. I’m still trying to get content that ranks so that I can get more organic links. Not there yet, but I’m working on it.
- EPM dropped slightly to $68, but I’ll never complain about that. I’d like to increase this further though and I think I will with time.
- PLAN: Continue guest posting and creating great content. Now I’m going to focus a little bit more on review and comparison types of content as that drives a lot of highly-monetized traffic. For example, I just finished a ThriveCart Review. It’s not ranking well, yet, but I hope it will as time goes on now that I have a higher DR.
Website 3
- Pageviews hit 110k this month, which is a 15% decrease MoM. This was all my fault. Long story short, the site was down for like ten days this month and I didn’t know. It was stupid and I was busy, so I never caught it. Sad.
- This month I earned: $1,733. This was a drop of 26% MoM. The reason? The same thing I mentioned above.
- Referring domains decreased to 475. I don’t know why, I’m not paying much attention to it.
- EPM decreased slightly to $15.62. This makes sense considering the dumb mistake I made. I think February will be better.
- PLAN: At this point, this site will continue to sit. I may end up eventually selling, but for now, I’m going to let it sit.
Website 5
- This month I earned: $833. Not a bad month considering I haven’t even looked at the site. The earnings dropped 12% MoM.
- Pageviews hit 71k this month, which is a 14% increase MoM.
- Referring domains dropped to 413. I looked and I didn’t see why this happened, but I’m just letting the site sit and I’ll focus on other projects.
- EPM decreased to $11.78. I’m assuming because there is less advertiser demand as the end of the year.
- PLAN: I will continue to let this one sit.
Website 6
- Earnings decreased 28% but it’s random and it’s not best to look at % increase/decrease because of how little the site makes.
- Traffic increased 1% MoM, not bad.
- How Much Have I Invested in This Website: $5,718
- How Much Money Has This Website Made? $1,445
- Total ROI: -$4,273
- How Much Content is on the Website? Keep in mind this website is mostly focused on affiliate content with some informational content.
- 222 Blog posts
- PLAN: Production has been paused. This website is sitting and I’ll let it sit until I decide the next move.
Website 7
- This site grew again this month in earnings and traffic. I’m so happy I started this one, it’s surpassed expectations and I hope it continues to get bigger. I think it will, I don’t see a reason why not at this point.
- Traffic increased by 27% MoM simply due to new content and I hit 100,000 pageviews. Great milestone!
- Earnings increased by 5% MoM. I’m hoping to lift this more, but it’s hard with the topic of the site and who it serves.
- How Much Have I Invested in This Website: $28,775
- How Much Money Has This Website Made? $10,876
- Total ROI: $-17,899 (If I were to sell the website today, I’d make around $32,000 net.)
- How Much Content is on the Website: Keep in mind that this is an informational type of website, not affiliate related at all.
- 1213 Informational pages on the website
- 119 Informational Blog Posts
- PLAN: Continue investing in content and monitor the progress.
Website 8
- Traffic increased again by 43%. This is a big deal because it’s just based on the current content. Pageviews are now 8.7k.
- Earnings increased by 1%, which is a good sign. Maybe some stability with the site.
- EPM is $9.24, which is pretty good considering it’s all information content with no ads yet. The money is all made from affiliate purchases at this moment.
- How Much Have I Invested in This Website: $5,029
- How Much Money Has This Website Made? $536
- Total ROI: -$4,493
- How Much Content is on the Website? Keep in mind this website is mostly focused on affiliate content with some informational content.
- 173 Informational Blog Posts
- PLAN: Continue content production of 3 articles a week.
Website 8 Complimentary YouTube Channel
- This channel continues to grow and that’s just super exciting for me. Now, the channel is making over $500 a month and my wife is going to try to engineer viral videos. No idea if she can make it happen, but she’s got some great ideas. If interested in this business model, check out this webinar.
- Gained 629 subscribers this month.
- Views increased 26% MoM.
- Earnings decreased by 15% MoM. This doesn’t concern me in the slightest. We had a video go viral in December that added some revenue that was more than usual.
- How Much Did We Invest in This YouTube Channel: $70
- How Much Money Has This YouTube Channel Made? $2033
- Total ROI: $1,963
- PLAN: Continue publishing videos daily. Create a potential viral video once a week. There’s more of a workflow to this and we’re focused on it, it’ll be cool if we can make this happen. Otherwise, the video creation process outside of this is completely outsourced. I’m super excited for this, I have a feeling this is when the channel will see exponential growth.
One Hour Professor YouTube Channel
- Channel earnings hit $739 this month. This is an decrease of 1%, which is good considering how much I cut back on videos.
- How Much Have I Invested in This YouTube Channel: $3,472
- How Much Money Has This YouTube Channel Made? $7,265
- Total ROI: $3,793
- Gained 661 subs this month.
- Views increased by 13% MoM.
- PLAN: I am going to maintain 1 video per week right now. I like this because it’s less pressure and I can do this or go live, which I’ve been doing more of.
Themed YouTube Channel 1
- This channel still did pretty well in January. It’s not as viral as it was, but still doing well. We haven’t touched the channel in months, so it’s pretty impressive considering.
- How Much Have I Invested in This YouTube Channel: $0 (Thalita is editing all videos)
- How Much Money Has This YouTube Channel Made? $1,056
- Total ROI: $1,056
- Gained 2,588 subscribers this month.
- Views decreased 9% MoM.
- Earnings decreased 17% MoM.
- PLAN: Let this channel sit for now and collect money. Not worth continuing to work on it as the earnings per 1000 views is too low.
Lessons Learned
Every month, I’m going to reflect back and tell you a few different lessons that I’ve learned. My hope is that the lessons each month will be a cautionary tale for you that makes it so that you don’t make the dumb mistakes that I do along the way.
- Sometimes it makes sense to sell BIG websites.
- Never trust long-term partners. Sometimes they do crazy things.
- Guest posting is alive and well.
Did I Meet my Goals for January?
8+ Guest Posts: SUCCESS!
Revise Website 1 Content: FAIL. But I sold the site, so that works too.
Continue revising OHP content: SUCCESS and I’m seeing some amazing results from this.
What Are my Goals for February?
10+ Guest Posts: I want to increase my guest posts a bit this month.
Continue growing OHP content through content revisions: Revisions are so boring, but they’re working incredibly well. So I’d like to keep doing this and try to grow traffic by 30% this month with the process.
Record Consulting Videos: I have some interesting consulting videos that are needed and I want to record all of them this month. If I do, it’ll mean an extra $1800, which isn’t too bad at all.
What are your goals for the month? What questions do you have? Let me know in the comments below!
I literally just sold my biggest site (low-mid 6 figures) and had a similar situation with a long term partner. I’ve been driving thousands of leads to them every month now for years and they refused to give the new site owner the same affiliate rate they were giving me. I know it’s nothing compared to your 200k, but it probably cost me about 40k right off the top of the sale. I just can’t believe they weren’t willing to even entertain it. Every other affiliate partner kept their deal in tact except this one big one.
Isn’t it incredible they’d do that? You’d think that they’d want to keep your partnership in good standing in the hopes that you may create another site in the same niche. So stupid.