How I made -$20,246 with Content Creation in 2024

As we approach the end of 2024, I’ve been tracking the finances of my content creation and thought it might be insightful for anyone curious about the financial side of it. In this breakdown, I’ll walk you through exactly how much I made and how much I spent to keep this running.

Income Sources

Let’s start with income. My revenue comes from two primary sources: advertising revenue from YouTube ads and the Medium Partner Program.

• Ad Revenue: For the entire year, ad revenue totaled just $412. It’s a small amount compared to the time and energy invested.

• Medium Partner Program: This month alone, the Medium Partner Program contributed $82. I also earned $392 from a paid article written in June for a company that found me through Medium. Since that lead came from Medium, I included it here.

I’ve turned down numerous sponsorships since I only promote tools I use and trust. And because my full-time job covers my expenses, I’m not actively focused on monetizing content at this stage.

Expenses

Now, let’s look at the expenses — the most significant side of the financial picture.

1. Staff & Equipment

The majority of my expenses go toward equipment and outsourcing.

• Equipment: To produce quality content, I invested in a dedicated MacBook just for content creation, separate from my work laptop, along with audio equipment upgrades like the Shure MV7 microphone.
• Editing Costs: After initially handling all the editing myself, the workload proved overwhelming. In April, I hired a freelance editor and raised costs to a fixed monthly rate of $2,000 to reflect the increased consistency in my content production, particularly after launching my free Skool community and complete courses.

2. Software Subscriptions

There are lots of software tools that help me to keep the content creation process smooth:

• Community Platform: Skool, where my community lives, costs $99/month.
• AI & Design Tools: I use ChatGPT (or Gemini) for $20/month and Canva at $120/year to support content creation and presentation designs.
• Learning & Support: I’m part of the Skool Masterclass at $125/month, which provides insights on running a successful community.
• Additional Tools: Loom for video hosting, Testimonial.to for feedback, Grammarly, Zapier, and GSuite, which cost around $70–80/month.

3. Ads

So far, I’ve spent no money on ads, relying solely on organic traffic through my content platforms.

The Bottom Line

Altogether, my income came to $859, with expenses totaling $21,105, resulting in a net loss of -$20,246 in 2024.

With a loss like this, you might wonder why I keep going. For me, it is a long-term investment. I’m focused on building trust and creating resources that provide value beyond what many paid options offer. And the comments and feedback I receive reaffirm that this approach is resonating with others.

Wrapping Up

That’s the financial snapshot of what it’s taken to keep my content creation going this year. It’s all part of building something meaningful that will pay off over time.