April numbers are in — and there are quite a few updates the leader board this month.
First, we’ve got a new addition — Matt & John from Lifestyle Business Design. These guys knocked Alex & Becker off the list, after they stopped reporting monthly numbers.
Next, Pat’s trailing twelve-month gross numbers finally crossed the $500K mark for the first time — simply remarkable for what’s basically a one-man shop (with virtual assistant help from Virtual Staff Finder. Even more impressive given that Pat hasn’t even released a product of his own from his main money site yet.
More details below, but first, here’s the updated leader board:
| Rank | Name | Main Website | Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) Gross Income | TTM Average Monthly Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat | Smart Passive Income | $500,480 | $41,707 |
| 2 | Justin & Joe | AdSense Flippers | $197,728 | $16,477 |
| 3 | Crystal* | How I Make Money Blogging | $145,489 | $14,549 |
| 4 | Trent | Online Income Lab | $113,792 | $9,440 |
| 5 | Spencer** | Niche Pursuits | $111,981 | $6,098 |
| 6 | Mike | The Financial Blogger | $102,144 | $8,512 |
| 7 | Anton | Grand Online Profits | $83,989 | $6,999 |
| 8 | Kirsty | Nerdy Nomad | $78,390 | $6,533 |
| 9 | Matt & John*** | Lifestyle Business Design | $76,545 | $9,568 |
| 10 | Dave | Travel Blog Success | $50,641 | $5,064 |
* Only began publicly disclosing in July 2011.
** Only began publicly disclosing in May 2011.
*** Only began publicly disclosing in September 2011.
Here’s the big news this month:
First, an introduction to the newest members of the leaderboard…
Matt & John of Lifestyle Business Design are two young dudes operating an online business empire from Davao City in the Philippines (where Justin & Joe from the AdSense Flippers also live).
Matt & John’s business is based around an outsourcing company that currently brings in about $10K in revenue a month. They’re hoping to cross the $12K mark in May.
They also have a recruiting company bringing in a small amount of revenue. And they’ve begun building out niche travel sites, which they’ll monetize with affiliates.
Their site is definitely worth checking out, since (unlike most bloggers, who share just a glimpse into a portion of their online business) their income reports are comprehensive, sharing all aspects of their company.
Also in big news for April — Spencer got banned from AdSense, and Google released a webspam algorithm update, which has shaken up many niche sites.
The AdSense Flippers weathered the update relatively well — with some sites dropping, some sites gaining, and some sites sitting still.
But this update has forced both Spencer and Justin & Joe to double-down and think seriously about diversifying their business models.
Spencer made clear the money he’s earned from AdSense is just a small portion of his overall business (with a huge chunk of revenue coming from his keyword research tool Long Tail Pro). So he’s definitely well-insulated, even after losing AdSense privileges.
Spencer mentioned to me that he’s considering publishing one month’s worth of income from across the different segments of his business. I haven’t heard any more about it since then, but it’ll be interesting to see just how much money he’s making with his
And, as I mentioned, Justin & Joe are starting to think about expanding their business, possibly by developing and selling tools for niche sites. It’s a smart move considering that it will tap into both their core competencies and the needs of their audience.
So it’ll be interesting to see what they come up with — as well as the money it will generate.
Two other blogs recently came into my radar
The first, Steven Aitchenson’s blog could soon make an appearance on the list after a few months’ worth of income reports have posted.
Steven is in the personal development niche, and sells products he’s either created or co-created. They consist of guided meditations, motivational tools, and personal development product reviews.
Last month (which he admitted was higher than normal because of the launch of a new product) Steven made $10,728.70 — higher than the monthly average of most of the top bloggers on the leader board. So he’s definitely someone I’m going to continue watching.
The other blog doesn’t quite make as much money (yet!), but it’s still an interesting case study…
Pinch of Yum is a foodie site run by husband-and-wife team Lindsay and Bjork Ostrum. Lindsay runs the recipe and photography side of things, while Bjork is the behind-the-scene techie and analytics guy.
They get a huge amount of traffic from Pinterest (nearly 70,000 visits in April!), and started making money through affiliate programs (donating all the profits to a charity in the Philippines.)
Last month, Lindsay wrote and released an e-book on food photography, which generated over $1,300 last month alone.
They recently decided to take their charitable actions to an even greater extreme. In a few weeks, they’ll be moving to the Philippines, working at the Children’s Shelter of Cebu.
Now, any income they receive online will help to offset the costs of that trip. So if you’re at all interested in food photography, definitely check out Lindsay’s book and show them some support.
Lastly, if you’d like to receive ongoing updates on these top bloggers — and any others I gradually uncover — including how much money they’re making, and how to replicate their success, I invite you to drop your email address and name here:
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