Smutlancer Monthly Income Report: March 2019
I’m honestly not sure where March went, other than seven glorious days of being in London for Eroticon. I haven’t peeked at the credit card statement yet to see just how bad it was. But my growing philosophy in life is that I work too damn hard not to enjoy myself from time to time. London was definitely a splurge — and worth it. Also, according to my new and kinky tax accountant, a write-off.
Okay, let’s get into the March 2019 income report.
March 2019 Income
My March income is primarily based on work completed in February. I bill clients on the last day of every month, and they have 10 days to pay. Affiliate sales tend to pay quarterly, but some pay monthly. I break down my freelance writing between vanilla and sex content because I want to show what’s possible in either category.
March was ridiculously busy for the first two weeks, then I took two weeks off, and came back to a quiet end of the month. The whole thing was a complete whirlwind. But because I decreased my work for February in preparation for March, income went down a bit, even as output went up.
- Freelance Writing
- Vanilla Content: $1250.00
- Sex/Adult Content: $5800.00
- Affiliate Sales: —
- Podcast Sponsorship: —
- Sponsored Blog Posts: —
- Website Sponsorship: —
- Banner Ads: —
- Book Sales: $29.13
- Patreon: $233.00
- Consulting: —
- Donations: —
- Bonus (from client): —
- Product Sales: $126.57
Total Income: $7,438.70 (down $726.38 from February)
March 2019 Expenses
Some expenses are monthly, some quarterly, and some annual. Taxes are something I save for monthly to be paid quarterly. When income goes down, so do some expenses (thankfully).
- Web Hosting: $42.98
- Domain Renewals: 83.85
- Podcast Hosting: $32.00
- Canva —
- Buffer: $10.00
- InLinkz: $2.99 (linky tool for Masturbation Monday)
- Blog Contributors: —
- Taxes: $1000.00
- Payment Fees (PayPal, Stripe): $231.67
- Shipping/Postage: $18.60
- Tech Support: —
- Patreon: $25.00 (creators I support)
- Copyscape (plagerism checker): —
- TinyPNG (image compression): —
- DepositPhotos (stock photo): — $29.00
- Wavve (a podcast promo tool): $10.00
- Transcription Services (for Loving BDSM): —
- Tax Preparation: $295.00 (this doesn’t include what we OWE in taxes for last year)
- LLC Corporation set-up: $400.00 (cost includes setting up a DBA for my blogger name)
Total Expenses: $2,181.09 (up $717.05 over February)
The expenses had a massive fluctuation because of the domain renewals (that’s what happens when you have multiple domain names) and the services of our new tax accountant who’s also going to do bookkeeping for us. Even better, she’s kinky and doesn’t bat an eye when I refer to wooden paddles or sex blogging.
March 2019 Net Income: $5,257.61 (↓ $1207.63 from February)
Yes, the numbers are waaaaay down from the past couple of months. I’ve been waiting for this to happen both because I took time off and because I knew some of these expenses were coming. I’ve already seen preliminary numbers for April, and I’m very happy. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — fluctuations in income are very normal in the freelancing life (vanilla or smutlancer).
I’m not good with rapid changes (there’s not a spontaneous bone in my body) so this is why I place a premium on steady client work — even as I consider transitioning away from it a bit. Nothing in life (especially a smutlancing life) is guaranteed, but good clients who pay the full amount and on time are priceless.
Whatever you choose to do, if there’s a way to alleviate stressors or anxieties (like not knowing how much you’ll make), I say find the way. As a writer, steady client or publication work is useful. In other industries, what pays regularly will differ, but if it’s something you’re willing to do and it pays enough, do enough to have income you can count on.
