Smutlancer Revenue Report: September 2021

September was a wild month. I took a week off to rest and relax, only to take another week off at the end of the month when John Brownstone was in an accident and needed taking care of. (He’s fine.)

While I definitely need to make more money, I am grateful that I live a life where I can take two weeks off in a single month without too many repercussions. I don’t yet know how (if at all) the time off will impact us going forward, but I know that September was the best month we’ve had in three or four months. So instead of stressing out and having the breakdown I deserve, let’s focus on the positives and look at the money.

Kayla Lords, Sex Writer

My freelance work is picking up in a manageable way. I’m earning a bit more money, but I also have time to work on other things. Even better, I have more time for my personal life, which was sorely needed at the end of September.

Freelance sex writing: $500

Self-published erotica: $11.70

Sponsored posts: $125.00

Total: $636.70

I definitely want to earn more money (I need to, in fact) but not at the pace I once was. While I’d like to get this a bit higher, the level of work is just about right.

Loving BDSM

As Loving BDSM, we generate revenue in multiple ways: Patreon, affiliate sales, podcast and blog sponsorships, and more. This section may change from month to month based on available revenue opportunities.

Patreon: $813.78

Affiliate sales: $848.79

Workbook sales: $19.96

YouTube AdSense: $21.73

Podcast sponsorship: $100.00

Total: $1,804.26

While I love these numbers, I know that a chunk of them are from work done in August. We were part of a promotional opportunity alongside other kink educators, and it definitely paid off. It’s also inspired me to focus on more digital products in the future.

Between the break from recording for a week this month and then the emergency at the end of the month, we haven’t created as much content as we normally do. That may not help our YouTube revenue (which is paltry) but it may impact our Patreon growth as well. Although, one benefit of longevity is having a big archive that people find all the time. You never know which piece of content will inspire someone to join Patreon or click an affiliate link. Our old content will have to work for us until we can make new content.

The Kinkery

The Kinkery is John Brownstone’s shop for his BDSM products, and I am his business partner. He makes the products, and I market the hell out of them.

Product sales: $863.90

We definitely feel like we’re out of the e-commerce summer slump. Now comes the scary part — figuring out how to maximize the fourth quarter when those sweet, sweet holiday sales will come in. Like the income I make with my blog and freelance writing (see “Kayla Lords” above), this definitely needs to be higher. But this is a good start.

Starting in October, we’ll hit our one-year anniversary and will be able to look at year-to-year comparisons. That will let us know if we’re really growing or not.

Smutlancers

Molly and I technically “split” this revenue. We haven’t paid ourselves yet, but we’re discussing how to change that going forward. Currently, the only income the Smutlancers produces is from our Patreon community.

Patreon: $210.26

Obscene Ideas

Again, Molly and I technically “split” the revenue from Obscene Ideas and would pay ourselves half after fees and expenses if we actually paid ourselves. But we don’t.

Erotic Fiction: $13.50

Masturbation: $0

Self-Reflection: $0

Total: $13.50

Nothing much to say about Smutlancers or Obscene Ideas right now. We’ll keep plugging along until we do.

Total September 2021 Revenue: $3,528.62

That is a muuuuuch better total than last month. Too bad I don’t actually take home that amount. But I’m also not complaining. Hopefully, the rest of the year will stabilize or even grow. Fingers-crossed.

Get Your Graph Kink On

Okay, so let’s look at the breakdown:

Loving BDSM is definitely the “winner” for September, as it has been. While, of course, I’d like the different projects to be distributed more evenly, it helps that Loving BDSM itself has multiple sources of revenue.

And now for the monthly comparison of total revenue…

Let’s focus on the positives — it’s definitely not the worst month of the year. It’s enough to give me hope and allow me to push ahead. I have to believe that I can grow my income. And I know what I could be doing that I’m not. It’s all a work in progress.