My Physician Side Hustle, Part 4
Welcome back! I have been wanting to write the next addition for the My Physician Side Hustle Series for some time now! In Part 3 We discussed how my website was slowly accumulating a viewership and my decision to monetize the site. With ‘Part 4’ I will be sharing some achievements, my first sponsorship, breaking even, and the most updated site statistics. Here is My Physician Side Hustle, Part 4.
Consistency is key
I have reached a few milestones recently. First and foremost, I have officially published 50 posts! It is incredible to reflect on that achievement alone. I tend to pursue long-form blog posts. This means the majority of my articles average a word count of approximately 2,000 words or more. That means over the course of the past nine months (since the site’s creation) I have written approximately 100,000 words!
Now, I have been fortunate enough to have more articles in circulation than the 50 you will find on my website. I have had my work featured in The White Coat Investor. This article was titled My Emergency Fund in Action and details my experience leaning on my emergency fund during this past year. If you have not had a chance to check this article out, please do! Your interest will drive traffic to both The White Coat Investor as well as The Motivated M.D.! A win-win.
I have continued to have my writings featured in ‘The Sunday Best’ by Physician on Fire, amongst many others. This process, while time consuming, never ceases to humble me. Though life continues to occupy my free time, writing has become a habit. I truly look forward to sitting down and sharing my thoughts each week. My publications may not always coalesce as intended, but the process is consistently enjoyable. So, to all who have been kind enough to visit this site, I sincerely thank you…from the bottom of my heart. None of this would be possible without you.
Sponsorships
Another milestone I have reached involves the development of sponsorships. Since deciding to monetize the website a few months ago, I have seen revenue trickle in, but the site does not have enough traffic yet to bring in meaningful income. For now, it at least is breaking even… (more on that later).
However, one of my long-term goals with this website is to collect and share educational resources from trusted sources. I foresee a portion of the website devoted to various aspects of personal finance, with links to applications, products, companies, and individuals. All of these offering services my audience could potentially benefit from. In that vein, I have been privileged to work with an individual who primarily caters to physicians needing appropriate disability insurance.
As we have continued to create a strong business relationship, it has become apparent that this individual is a guru in their field. Navigating the intricacies of disability insurance is knowledge that I do not obtain, nor do I wish to. I have always wished to know as much about personal finance as is necessary to steer my future in the right direction. I completely support incorporating individuals into your life who know more than you, as long as they are willing to put your best interests first.
With this relationship, I have received my first sponsor, as well as my first sponsored post! This sponsored article was titled 6 Things to Ask About Your Disability Insurance Policy. It is a great read that takes a deep dive into the important aspects of your disability insurance policy.
The process of building sponsorships is new terrain for me. My hope is to continue to create meaningful relationships with individuals and businesses who prioritize the success of my audience’s financial goals. Because of the increase in our traffic as well as interest in The Motivated M.D. I have created a link for businesses who wish to become a sponsor. Check it out!
State of the site
Ok, now what you all came here for. Let’s talk about how my side hustle is doing. As of the writing of this post, here are the site statistics:
Age of website: 9 months
Total pageviews: 13,927
Monthly average pageviews: 1,500-2,000 (depending on the month)
Users: 8,200
Countries reached: 67 (cheers to adding plenty of South American countries)
Top Posts:
- 11 Money Lessons for My Children
- Emergency Fund: Your First Financial Goal
- Graphing Our Loan Repayment Progress
- The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Doctors
- Why Are There So Many Physician Finance Blogs?
Expenses:
- Google Domain purchases: $25.98
- Bluehost server hosting with WordPress (3 years): $298.48
- Transferring two domains from Google Domains to Bluehost: $58.48
- Mailchimp (free subscription): $0.00
- WPForms: $39.50
- Ad campaigns (Instagram): $30.00
- Ad campaigns (Twitter): $50.00
Total Expenses: $502.44
Income:
- Google Ads: $42.20
- Sponsors: $500.00
- Affiliate Marketing: $0.00
Total Income: $542.20
Total net earnings from site: $39.76
Breaking even
As you can see, revenue generated is the final milestone to share! I have officially broken even with this side hustle. It is nice to know that if the current trend continues, this will be a ‘profitable’ endeavor. I recognize that compared to the income generated with my career, this pales in comparison. However, there is something special about knowing my interests outside of medicine are not only pursued, but valuable.
I cannot fully explain why, but hitting this achievement, breaking even, was really important to me. If anything, it was reassuring to prove to myself that through dedication and perseverance (and a healthy dose of luck) The Motivated M.D. has created some traction!
Future directions
Where does the website go from here? The only way is up! The site is still in its infancy. However, knowing that continued valuable content creation and sponsorships will further profit this endeavor, I hope to do much more of the same. Priority number one remains well-written content at a digestible cadence. Taking the time each week to express my thoughts remains the most important goal of this particular side hustle.
As the site grows, so do my aspirations for it. I wish to increase the revenue generated to support these goals. I want to see a more streamlined process for delivering content straight to the consumer. It would be great to continue to garner sponsorships to drive both cash flow and allow me to build out the financial resources offered to my viewership. Lastly, I have always had hopes of using The Motivated M.D. as a philanthropic platform. I hope to eventually generate enough revenue that charity will be a pillar of this site. I may be overwhelmingly preoccupied with debt elimination currently, but it is never too early to think about other ways this platform can continue to provide value. Who knows? Maybe that opportunity will come sooner than expected! As always…
Stay Motivated!
The Motivated M.D.
I hope you enjoyed My Physician Side Hustle, Part 4! If you did, please make sure to check out all the other parts in the series. It is always helpful if you are willing to share this article with others! You can do this using the ‘Share’ buttons located to the left (on desktop) or below. Also, please make sure to follow us on social media! Our social media accounts can be found on the right sidebar (on desktop) or below (on mobile devices). Thank you!
Do you have a side hustle? How is it going? We would love to hear from you in the comments down below! Cheers!
Standard Disclaimer: None of the information on this website is meant as individualized financial or medical advice. These posts may contain affiliate links.
Congrats on your progress and success! Almost to the one year mark!
Sam
Thanks Sam!
Always a pleasure having you comment on the site. It is interesting, as I have spent a few months blogging now I have realized that writing is much like investing. If you put in the work now, you will be able the reap the rewards later. Currently, writing is therapeutic. That is enough reward for me. However, it is always nice to look at where you have gotten your site (and your brand for that matter) and see what is possible if you stick with it! Thanks again.
The Motivated M.D.