My first year as a blogger and influencer: detailed income report will tell you all about my first year as a food blogger and influencer. I’ll go into detail about exactly how much I made, and what I learned along the way.
The Purpose
I write these income reports in hopes to inspire you and offer guidance so that you can follow your dreams too. My journey isn’t about “how I got rich quick”, it is a slow steady burn consisting of hard work and a passion for this business. I assure you with a combination of passion and consistency, you will succeed.
The background
I’ve been steadily working on my business Kenna’s Cooks for about two years now. In 2021 I had some extra time on my hands as college was still online for me. For 6 months I was constantly researching different ways to make money online. I learned that if you have a specific skill that you are well-versed in, you can then share it online and make income from it. Basically I needed to find something valuable I could offer others, and then monetize my platform.
For me this valuable skill was cooking. I had always loved cooking and had a decent beginning knowledge base to work with. I began my journey in the summer of 2021, but didn’t fully commit to my dreams until October 21, 2021. That day I decided to start treating my ideas and passions as a business, and began filming and uploading cooking videos on TikTok and Instagram.
I didn’t get much traction until December 19, 2021, when I had my first ever viral video. I also did not earn any money in 2021. I spent those first initial months working on building my knowledge around cooking and practicing my skills like filming, editing, and posting. Basically the first few months just consisted of me getting familiar with the whole process.
Equipment I used
This is the Overhead Tripod I use to film all my videos. It’s very sturdy and so far has been getting the job done.
How much money I made in 2022
My First Year as a Blogger and Influencer: Detailed Income Report
Below is a breakdown of how much I made in each month of 2022. I only record the amounts when they are deposited into my bank account, not what month they are made.
| Month | Source | Amount $ |
| January | N/A | $0 |
| February | Affiliate Marketing | $2.30 |
| March | N/A | $0 |
| April | N/A | $0 |
| May | N/A | $0 |
| June | Affiliate Marketing | $21.72 |
| July | N/A | $0 |
| August | N/A | $0 |
| September | N/A | $0 |
| October | N/A | $0 |
| November | Google AdSense | $396.05 |
| December | Sponsored Content Google AdSense | $392.11 $123.73 |
| Total Income for 2022: $935.91 | Affiliate Marketing Sponsored Content Google AdSense | $24.02 $392.11 $519.78 |
Detailed breakdown of 2022 earnings
Affiliate Income: the $24.02 dollars I made in Affiliate income are from companies I became an affiliate for. I signed a couple contracts in 2022 where I received a free product, which I then promoted on TikTok and Instagram. Later in my journey I decided not to do free product collaborations anymore and started charging a fee (I explain in sponsored content below).
Sponsored Content: the $392.11 dollars I made from sponsored content is from my first ever brand deal. Brand deals are strategic partnerships between an influencer and a brand, where the influencer promotes the companies products for an agreed rate. I finally landed my first paid brand deal in November, where i made three videos for the company. Looking back, I had priced my work extremely low, but this is all part of the process of finding your worth online.
Google AdSense: I made $519.78 in 2022 from my ads on my website. I started my blog in February of 2022, but didn’t make any money until November. It definitely took a lot of time and effort, but is well worth it as it is now my steadiest form of income. I am currently still with Google AdSense but am working towards getting accepted into Mediavine.
Conclusion
Overall, I was very excited about what I had accomplished in 2022. I didn’t earn nearly enough to live off of, but the extra dollars definitely helped. In 2022 I finally found my filming style and my niche which was huge. I was able to set up my blog and get it monetized, and I was also able to score my first brand deal. For being new to the social media influencer and blogging world, I felt like I had a pretty great first year.
I knew that the next year I would grow and earn even more, which I did! Read all about My Second Year as a Blogger and Influencer here.
As always thank you for reading and following me along my journey. I’m excited to continue growing and sharing my successes and failures with you 🙂
