These posts are a way for me to share the ups-and-downs of working for myself, of trying to take my business off the ground, of how to make money as a digital nomad, or whatever you want to call it. They’re a way of holding myself accountable every day because I know at the end of the month I’m going to have to tell you what I’ve done to be better.
You can read all of my previous income reports here.
July 2017 Income Report
July was one of my favorite months of the year. I literally worked on the road for the entire month, saw incredible new places and still managed to keep up a decent income without sacrificing that vacation feeling (most of the time at least).
Expenses
Since I was on the move most of the month, I sort of let my marketing fall to the wayside in favor or organic growth and organic coconuts on the beach. I’m paying for it in terms of affiliate income this month, but the sand between my toes made it all worthwhile.
Email Marketing
Still using MailChimp for my monthly newsletters. I’m hoping to really create a better email marketing “plan” in the next month or two and will see if MailChimp fits in with this plan or not.
As always, MailChimp costs me $15 a month.
Total Expenses: $15
Told you I didn’t spend much! Expect this number to grow next month for sure!
Income
In July I didn’t pitch for any new work and stuck with my few regular clients so that I could enjoy my time in Costa Rica and Oaxaca instead. Sure, my income suffered a little, but I’m still happy with what I’ve made this month and how I managed to split my time like a true Digital Nomad.
Copywriting
As has been the case for most of the year, the bulk of my income from July came from copywriting.
As I mentioned a few months ago, most of my copywriting jobs come from a website called Copypress. I also write for another website called Blogmutt every once in a while.
This month I made $1,280 through copywriting work.
Sponsored Content
I had a few companies contact me last month for work this month and managed to work on a few sponsored pieces which I really enjoyed doing.
In July, I made $480 on sponsored content.
Freelance Writing
I wrote a few short articles this month for some websites that I really enjoy writing for. It’s been nice to be able to actually choose to write about things that I truly care about and that I know are helpful to people more and more regularly.
This month I made $140 on freelance writing.
Youtube
I have over 300 subscribers! I don’t know how this happened, but it’s pretty cool! I earned not much more than usual, but I also didn’t create any new videos this month. Keep your eyes peeled for tons of content in the coming weeks over on Youtube and hopefully an even bigger jump in subscribers by the end of August!
This month I made $9.00 on Youtube ads.
You can check out my Youtube channel here.
Affiliate Marketing
I haven’t paid any attention to my affiliate marketing posts or done any push at all for the products that I usually love to chat about and it has shown in this month’s affiliate income report. I think it’s a combination of still trying to figure out what works best for Eternal Expat, my personality, and of course, my lovely readers. Trial and error and more reading and more learning is required.
In total, I made $30.10 on Affiliate Marketing.
Total Income: $1,939.10
Part of me is super disappointed to be so close to 2k, but then again – it’s just a number!
Digital Nomad Revelations
I had a lot of time to think about my freelance business, my blog, my writing, and life, in general, this month. I’m so happy with how things are shaping up and I’ve finally figured out how to be happy with where I am while still striving for more.
A year ago, if you’d asked me what I wanted my life to look like in July 2017, I would have told you I wanted my blog to be my main source of income. It certainly hasn’t worked out that way, and yet, I’m happier than ever to not have that pressure on this website. I love and value it and my readers so much, that I don’t want to put that pressure on it to be my main source of income, maybe ever.
Besides, I’m writing for a living. I get to write about travel every day, more and more for websites that I truly respect and find value in. I’m building a business in my own way and if in a year’s time my business looks completely different to what I imagine, that’s pretty awesome, too.
As always, thank you guys for following along on this journey with me. I hope these income reports help you in some small way and if you ever have any questions about earning money as a digital nomad – feel free to drop them in the comments or send me an email!
Read all of my previous income reports here.
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