Smutlancer Monthly Income Report: March 2020
Before anyone asks what, if any, impact coronavirus has had on my smutlancer income, all I can say is, “I don’t know.” Why? Because these income reports are always a snapshot of the past. March income reflects work from February, before lockdowns, shutdowns, and serious self isolation really began.
I just sent out invoices for March which you’ll see in early April, and so far that hasn’t changed much either. The real test will come in the next few weeks or so as brands begin to make decisions about future work they want done. Right now, I’m appreciating today, planning for what might happen, and trying not to worry too much about a future I can’t control.
So let’s take a look at March.
March 2020 Income
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.
Note: For those who are curious, I am linking “Sex/Adult Content” to a post I wrote that outlines what kind of work that means for this year. If it changes drastically in 2021 or even later in the year, I may update it. But if you’re curious about what “Sex/Adult Content” means, click the link.
- Freelance Writing
- Vanilla Content: $1570.00
- Sex/Adult Content: $5350.00
- Affiliate Sales: $58.15
- Podcast Sponsorship: $120.00
- Sponsored Blog Posts: —
- Website Sponsorship: —
- Banner Ads: —
- Book Sales: $26.67
- Patreon: $876.00
- Consulting: —
- Donations: —
- Bonus (from client): —
- Product Sales: $39.99
Total Income: $8,040.81 (down $1,261.05 from February)
March 2020 Expenses
Some expenses are monthly, some quarterly, and some annual. Taxes are something I save for monthly to be paid quarterly.
- Web Hosting: $67.67
- Domain Renewals: $43.89
- Podcast Hosting: $32.00
- Canva: —
- Buffer: $25.00
- InLinkz: $2.99 (linky tool for Masturbation Monday)
- Blog Contributors: $75.00
- Taxes: $1000.00
- Payment Fees (PayPal, Stripe): $306.29
- Shipping/Postage: $15.45
- Tech Support: $61.00
- DepositPhotos (stock photo): $29.00
- MailerLite (email newsletter): $15.00
- Adobe Premiere Pro: $21.00
- Closed Captions (YouTube Videos): $141.00
Total Expenses: $1,863.29 (down $1,033.46 from February)
March 2020 Net Income: $6,177.52 (↓ $255.59 from February)
Like nearly everyone, life has been turned on its head a bit. Until just this week (the start of April), life hadn’t changed much for me at all, as I work from home and clients hadn’t dropped me (so far) — and not going out doesn’t bother me as much as it does others. But now the kids are online learning and I have to navigate their school life with my work life. That being said, if that’s the biggest “challenge” I face, I know I’m one of the lucky ones.
What changes am I making, in light of the current situation?
All major expenditures we thought we’d have right now are on hold, including hiring a lovely person to be my virtual assistant and buying a nice camera to use for YouTube videos.
I’m shoving as much cash as I can into savings so that if/when income drops, I have something to fall back on. Not everyone has this, I know, and until about three months ago, neither did I.
I’m actively planning new projects — like a 12 episode mini-series for the Loving BDSM podcast — and getting sponsors where I can. Because I always have more ideas than time, I’m also prioritizing old monetization ideas (things I’ve had written down for months or years). If client work drops, we’ll use savings to pay bills and start working on those ideas. Even if they don’t make money right away, I know I’m laying the groundwork for better times ahead.
