One of the goals of most bloggers and YouTubers is to get authorized for AdSense. This is when you get paid for placing advertisements within your content. But do you have a logical plan to budget the AdSense money that you make?
Most of us would probably pay a few more bills or perhaps start paying down a credit card.
However, a good budget plan can help you get the most out of the revenue from your content to generate more later. Of course, this is true with just about any budget plan whether you’re a content creator or flipping burgers at McDonald’s.
A good financial strategy can go a long way to helping you secure the future you want.
In this case, though, I am referring completely to AdSense and ways to budget the money. The ultimate goal is to generate greater levels of income throughout the year. Even a few bucks per month can make a difference when you finally get that payout from Google.
How I’m Going to Budget AdSense
These are the methods that I either practice or intend to practice starting in 2025. Most of it is going to center around re-investing the money for things that will benefit either the blog or the YouTube channel.
The better the platform performs in terms of visitors and viewers, the more money made down the road.
Now, I know it’ll be tempting to pay a bill or two. But the more money I put towards myself and the content, the better life will be down the road.
The best part is that a lot of this is tax deductible.
1. Buying Premium Tools for Reviews and Tutorials
Reviews and tutorials are some of the best types of content to create, whether it’s on a blog or a YouTube channel. In reality, eight of the top 10 videos and 8 of the top 10 blog posts for WriterSanctuary in 2024 were either reviews or tutorials.
Of course, you can only do so much with free products. Some of the better-performing topics I’ve covered featured premium versions or paid services. So, buying those products and services will provide a slew of content.
Because I have a moral compass, I don’t feel right reviewing a product I haven’t used. How can I call something the best if I’ve never used it? It’s one of the reasons why a lot of brands won’t work with me. I’m not a “yes” man and will point out flaws of which consumers should take notice.
2. Better Computer Equipment
Rendering videos takes processor time, which often slows down my productivity. Plus, I’d love an actual camera for making videos instead of relying on an affordable webcam.
This isn’t to mention that I really should upgrade some of the hardware components of my machine, anyway. I built it in 2018 and have only replaced the memory, video card, and hard drive.
You’re only as efficient as the tools you use. This includes things like a Bluetooth microphone, a network drive for in-house collaborations, and replacing parts that break down. That means I am setting up a secondary savings account specifically for hardware replacements.
I would really like to have a computer specifically set up for the video content, though. That would save me all kinds of time.
3. Content Development Services
As I mentioned earlier, you can only do so much using free tools and services. There are a lot of content development apps out there that I would love to dive deeper into using.
For example, all of the videos vidIQ has helped me create have performed exceptionally well. I would love an extra $50 per month so I could pay for the Boost version of vidIQ and do the same thing to the other two YouTube channels I own.
I also use the free version of Rank Tracker, which combines your data into one desktop view in terms of searchability and online visibility. It’s also been extremely helpful, and I’d love to buy the premium version and save my research.
Plus, the development services I use will double as content for various channels and blogs I own.
4. Website Improvements
The channel isn’t the only thing I’m working to improve throughout the year. There are a lot of plugins and such that I would love to pay for that would vastly improve the user experience on the blogs.
I loved using the pro version of Yoast SEO and Advanced Ads when I had the money. They might be the two I budget first with the blog AdSense income.
Of course, you want to be careful when adding plugins to a WordPress site. Some will conflict with one another or otherwise hurt the site’s performance. That’s one of the reasons why a lot of developers offer a free version – to test the waters before buying it.
5. Investing in Certain Stocks
I invest in stocks that generate a monthly or quarterly dividend. Using a formula I created, I find the stocks that pay the most for what they’re worth.
The idea is to generate enough every month to quit my job. Or, at least retire comfortably.
I know, stocks are risky. But if you invest in something that has been long established, it has a greater chance of survival. And when all is said and done, you don’t lose money in stocks unless you sell them. I let them ride, all while pulling in that monthly dividend.
Keep in mind that I am not a financial services guru and this is not investing advice. It’s just something that works best for me and my situation.
6. Hire Assistance?
Now, I would love to hire writers and editors to help me with both the blog and YouTube channel. Currently, I don’t bring in enough to pay anyone.
That’s why this budget point for AdSense has a question mark. It really depends on how much I can pull in and how much professionals are going to charge.
When it comes to hiring help, it’ll probably rely mostly on affiliate sales and sponsored posts, which I’ll talk about in a moment. However, the little bit that comes in from AdSense can help build momentum to grow.
What About Budgeting for My Books?
If you noticed, I didn’t mention using any of the AdSense budget to pay for services and tools for my books. That’s because the products I’m investing in throughout the year are mostly focused on publishing.
For instance, let’s take a look at AutoCrit, the AI-driven editing tool I’m using for my next book. The content I’ve created from using AutoCrit to edit my next book has almost paid the $180 I spent for the year of using it.
In other words, a lot of what I’ll be reviewing and such will center around publishing books and building blogs. This includes case studies to see what marketing methods work best for a self-published author.
The point is that I’m investing the money into my books while also generating a ton of ideas for content.
When Will I Keep the Money for Myself?
Eventually, I would love to bring in enough money from the blogs and YouTube channels to the point of retiring from freelancing. But I also know that reinvesting the money back into more products and services is what’s going to keep the momentum going.
The tentative plan is that I will feel safe enough to retire from freelancing and focus purely on books and content once I bring in more than what I do with my monthly clients. The moment I can sustain that level of income for three months, then I’ll most likely retire from freelancing.
Currently, clients make up 97% of my income. I want that number to drop to 40% before I consider retiring. That will include money from a variety of avenues, though.
The reason I am using a three-month window is to make sure I am sustainable. I don’t believe in quitting with hopes and dreams. I need to know that I can sustain myself and my household. It’s the same mentality I had when writing for Textbroker before quitting my job at the school district.
It’s all about securing consistency of income.
To do all of this with AdSense would mean an excessive amount of traffic to the blog and YouTube channels, though. That’s when other methods of monetizing come into play.
Going Beyond AdSense Monetization
AdSense is an easy way to monetize your content, but it’s also one of the lowest-paying methods when you consider alternatives. For instance, I’ll make more with a single sponsored post than I will with six months of AdSense on the blog.
It’s these other methods you should focus on more if you’re trying to replace a full-time income. The only reason why I bring up using a budget for AdSense revenue is because it can help you get to that point.
AdSense doesn’t pay a lot, but you can put the income toward something that will generate more revenue.
For instance, I plan on reviewing the premium versions of products and services that also have affiliate programs. This means I earn a commission on anything sold from my website. If someone likes the review and decides to try it themselves, I’ll make a few extra bucks tacked on top of the ad revenue.
Book sales, sponsorships, affiliate programs, and even online courses have greater potential for making money than ads. The advertisements are just a nice residual income to tie it all together.
In fact, I’ve earned quite a few commissions thanks to the Buy Me a Coffee posts on this website. It’s programs like that you want to get into from the get-go. It was something free to use that I reviewed and promoted that had a referral program linked.
The hardest part is creating the content and then appeasing the Google and YouTube algorithms to show it to people. It can feel like an uphill battle at times, but then something goes viral and boosts your visibility.
What Are You Buying with AdSense?
It can take quite a while before you see any money coming in from AdSense. Consider that the payout threshold is $100, meaning Google doesn’t pay out until you hit that milestone.
Then, keep in mind that earnings vary on your niche. In my case, I made roughly $0.00803 per visitor in 2024. That’s because my RPM was only $8.03. This is how much you make per 1000 views.
So, to earn $100 to get a payout from Google, the blog would need about 12,453 visitors. Most new blogs won’t hit those numbers until two or three years into their life.
You see, AdSense isn’t something you should bank on to replace your full-time income. Instead, use it as a residual income that can help pay for something you want to help you generate more traffic.
When you budget the AdSense payout wisely, it can contribute to maintaining the content in a variety of ways. You just need to get the site to the point of getting a payout.
- An Evening with Gary Kidney on After Hours - April 7, 2025
- Fixing a Dead Blog: March 2025 – A Bit More Growth - April 5, 2025
- Master the Art of Writing: 19 Expert Tips to Help New Authors - March 31, 2025