Earnings and expenses of my travel blog in 2015
It’s May and that meant for me finally doing my taxes! Yeeaahhh!! It also meant figuring out things I didn’t even know I had to figure out. It took me quite a while researching and talking to accountants to get it done.
When I bought the domain Chronic Wanderlust in May 2013, the whole blogging project started as a hobby. I had no intention of making any money and in fact I didn’t make any money in the first two years. Writing, blogging, photography, social media, .. all that is still a hobby – but I make money doing what I love.
After my first press trips and starting to treat my blog as a business, many requests started rolling in my mailbox. I knew I could make money blogging. This is the reason why I registered Chronic Wanderlust as a business in March 2015.
So I had to keep track of my earnings and expenses. And now I’d like to share those figures with you. Keep in mind that I still work part-time (20 hours a week) and do not have to make a living blogging.
What I earned with my travel blog
It certainly isn’t enough to pay all the bills but that was never my intention. Blogging is my hobby and I prefer to have fun with it. If I don’t feel like writing anything for a few weeks, I don’t write anything. If I feel like writing ten articles a day (if only, sigh) I can do that too.
Here is my full list of what I earned with my travel blog in 2015, all detailed and grouped:
1. Writing for other blogs, newspapers, …
I frequently write articles that are being posted on other blogs and might end up in the newspapers. Although it is a frequent income, it is never certain until an email pops in to my inbox asking for my words.
€2188.92 for 14 articles for either newspapers and blogs and 1 travel guide about Venezuela
2. Sponsored Content
Companies ask me to write about them, mostly it is just some trashy sites that want some traffic or link juice – I’d have earned a lot more accepting all those emails, but I want Chronic Wanderlust to be a great source for you and your travels.
Among those emails I sometimes find great and inspiring things. Those are the ones that I test and review them and publish on my blog.
€848.41 for three sponsored posts on Chronic Wanderlust and two sponsored posts on facebook
3. Cooperations
€1389.8 for two cooperations with tourism regions in Europe. (Which didn’t include flights and rental car.)
4. Graphic design
€70 for one logo design
TOTAL income of €4497.13 BEFORE TAXES
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What I needed to spend for my travel blog
Keeping my blog up to date is also an investment. Nothing comes for free. I started blogging professionally only 1.5 years ago and I needed to buy a new laptop and upgrade my camera. See the full list of expenses of the last year:
| Travel expenses (flights, rental cars, ...) for booked cooperations | 671.01 | |
| Laptop, camera, gadgets, ... | 3753.33 | |
| Advertising (stickers, Facebook ads, ..) | 84.95 | |
| Training (courses, conferences, ...) | 758.8 | |
| Legal obligations (chamber contribution and accident insurance) | 297.9 | |
| Miscellaneous (travel insurance, office supply, books, ...) | 804.35 |
TOTAL expenses of €6370.34 WITHOUT DEPRECIATION
Conclusion
As you can see I’m not able to support myself by blogging only. But it pays for my computer, camera and of course my travels and that’s all I’m asking for (at the moment).
The
Keep on travelling,
Viki
