When I created my money and lifestyle blog Making Sense of Cents in 2011, I had no idea what I was doing.
I was a 22-year-old financial analyst making $40,000 a year and struggling to pay off my student loans. But my debt was actually a large part of why I started blogging — I wanted to track and share the progress of my financial goals.
Eleven years later, Making Sense has grown beyond my wildest dreams. Over the last five years, I’ve grossed an average of $760,000 per year in passive income by providing advice on how to start investing, which financial products to use, and how to tackle other money decisions.
My husband and I have reached financial independence, and we’ve saved enough to retire whenever we want. This has allowed me to live my ideal lifestyle: I work just 10 hours a week and travel full-time on our sailboat. I am regularly out snorkeling, exploring and hiking.
Best of all, we have plenty of time to spend with our six-month-old daughter.
Michelle’s passive income allows her and her family to live and travel full-time on their sailboat, where they have limited access to internet.
Photo: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner
How I started my financial blog
Then I doubled down on my social media presence. Now I have 110,000 followers on Facebook, where I post multiple times a day, and 161,000 followers on Pinterest, where I post about twice a week. I also have over 130,000 email subscribers.
Over the years, I’ve leveraged my audience to create several passive income streams. And in 2016, I launched my first blogging course. Today, I write and publish blogs just once or twice a week, and I have earned over $4,000,000 gross revenue in the last five years.
Working only 10 hours per week has allowed Michelle to spend more time in nature with her family.
Photo: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner
How I make $760,000 a year in passive income
I have three main passive income drivers: affiliate marketing, course sales and display advertising.
About 20% of my revenue comes from course sales. I have two blogging courses that I sell to my blog audience and email subscribers: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing and Making Sense of Sponsored Posts.
I created my first course on Teachable and did all of the planning, writing and recording work. I commissioned the graphic design elements to freelancers.
I sell Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing for $197 and Making Sense of Sponsored Posts for $159, both cost much less than what my competitors charge. Nonetheless, I have earned over $1,000,000 over the years from these two courses.
I also make passive income through display advertising commissions through Adthrive. I’m paid when readers see or click an auto-generated ad on my blog.
My top tips for earning passive income
Here are my top tips for creating content that can help you earn passive income:
1. Write like you talk.
2. Diversify your income streams.
3. Post consistently.
4. Be as helpful as possible.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, where she helps readers make smart decisions about how to earn, save, spend and invest. She paid off nearly $40,000 in student loan debt in just seven months and now travels full-time with her family on sailboat. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
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Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/12/mom-makes-760000-a-year-in-passive-income-and-lives-on-a-sailboat-i-work-just-10-hours-a-week.html