Over the past few months I’ve really not done that much to my niche sites. I’ve created a couple of new ones, added some basic content, but that has really been it. I’ve not created any links etc and just left things to run as organically as they can. Coupled with the fact I’ve moved house and don’t have internet yet (I’m typing this in my lunch break at work) has meant that any money coming in is what I would probably call passive income. I did the hard work months ago and now I’m just sitting back and getting revenue each month. Nice work if you can get it, but obviously not enough for me to retire on.
How am I doing?
June was my best income month on record with my Amazon affiliate site improving to earn me £175.46 and my AdSense earnt me £450 to take me beyond my previous best I set in April.
I’m loving affiliate sites at the moment as I can see the potential in them for being able to create a site I can be proud of. Yes, I’m selling products, but I can only do that by creating a site that can attract visitors, can get them to trust me, and then sell them the idea of buying something. This allows me to write informative posts, share great content, and be happy to promote it. With AdSense I’m creating sites that rank well but where I want people to want to leave straight away through an AdSense advert. AdSense is still my biggest earner though so I’m not giving it up yet until the money starts drying up.
Authority Site
I’m made no inroads into this yet as I’ve not had the time to get started and also think that I need to think a lot harder before committing to this as I don’t want to jump into something that I’m not going to get anything out of. I thought I had a big idea but a while down the line and I don’t think I do. Back to the drawing board.
Paying Tax
It’s worth noting that this income hasn’t been taxed yet, so it’s not just free money (yet). I’m putting a third of my money in a separate bank account and at the end of the year I will have to pay tax on the profit I’ve made (I work full-time and niche sites are my bit on the side). I’ll be honest and say I’ve not done a massive amount of research into this as will try and seek out some help from fellow internet marketers, but by putting this aside I hopefully won’t get a big surprise for money I owe to the taxman. If you’ve got any useful info or tips on tax then please leave a comment.
Speak soon
That’s it for this mini update. Done.
Not bad considering you’ve not had much time to work the affiliate side of things. Keep up the good work. As you know I’m looking at alternate methods to making money online such as a directory type site for some extra passive income. These types of sites do demand more effort but can be rewarding so I’m told. Will update you on any developments with this.
Oh best of luck for the big day, whenever that is?
Gary
Cheers Gary. I’m chuffed with £600 extra a month and would love to increase that but know that I’d have to do a lot more work to get there.
I’ve started looking at converting the AdSense site I spoke to you about into a directory site and think that could be a better earner for me, but need to get it right before launching it. I like that is avoids the middle man and could provide recurring income based on the subcriptions chosen.
Big day is 3 weeks away! So basically that means no niche site work for the next 6 weeks then as I’m away after. Should be getting Broadband at home next week so might be able to cram some work in before the weddng. Emma will love that!
Be a nice break from it. I had almost 3 weeks off not doing anything online and it was great. I needed it.
Yeah I would try and move that site over to a directory site. You could still have adsense on it too!
Hey Adem,
On the tax thing, I’m in the same boat for next year. I figured out that in my neck of the woods (Canada) you just have to file it as self-employed income. In my case the funds are also in US dollars, but it seems that you are allowed to do a conversion using the current bank rate when you file and then just add it to your taxable income in Canadian dollars. I suspect the process should be something similar for you. Hope that helps.
Andre
I get paid in £ so that’s all fine and will just need to complete a self-employed tax form, but it would be interesting to know what I can claim back etc.
I’m hoping I can invest some of my profits so that I have less tax to pay and am effectively buying goods tax free. I want to get a new laptop etc so want to see how I go about putting this down as a tax expense as it’s where I’ll be doing work from.
I guess the first place to start is actually getting all my revenue and expenses figures together….
Hey Adem! Good work on the niche sites! Tax returns are a pain in the backside but not too difficult to do. Anything you spend on your business is tax deductable, so this would include the obvious things like your computer, domain registration and hosting fees, etc, but you can also include other expenses like stationery, business related telephone calls, business mileage (say that time recently when you had to have a business meeting in Cardiff with some of your associates…). If you work from home you can claim tax deductions for a percentage of your gas, electricity, internet charges etc (relevant to the proportion of time you spend using these things for business rather than personal use). I mostly get paid through Paypal, which charges me a small fee to receive money, so those fees go on my expenses too. I’m no expert but I’ve done a couple of tax returns now so give me a shout if you need any help!
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Hi Lisa,
Thanks for that info. That’s kinda what I’d heard from other people too and just need to work out what forms to fill in and actually get some order to all the income/expenses I’ve had. I’ve nto kept anything filed and most info is on emails, etc so that will be the fun part! I’m not sure I cna really claim mileage for my Stag, but will see what else I can claim for.
What information do you have to attach with your forms? Do they just take your word for income/expenses (and maybe ask for it later if needed) or do you need to provide evidence at that time with your tax return?
Cheers
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That’s not a bad passive income at all, well done.
In relation to the authority site, you’re much better off waiting until you have a really good plan before trying to make an authority site – but it looks as if you know that already! I’m still waiting fo a good plan too!
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