Two years ago as we started to grow and make ad revenue, we decided quickly that we wanted to be transparent about the money that we make each year. We thought it was important to highlight where our income comes from and clarify how we operated. It was also a fun way to measure how far we've come. This is the four edition of "How Much Does Doctors of Running Make?" In this feature, we'll be covering our second half of 2022 and lessons we've learned through 2022.
How Much Does Doctors of Running Make? | Report #4
By Social Media Wizard Bach Pham
Doctors of Running Financial Summary - Quick Look
July Revenue: $3,572
August Revenue: $3,961
September Revenue: $3,759
October Revenue: $3,690
November Revenue: $4,333
December Revenue: $3,264
Affiliate + Sponsorships: $1,975
Total for July - December 2022: $20,795
WEBSITE AD REVENUE | ADTHRIVE
We've officially used Adthrive for over a year now (full review soon) and we can safely say it's been a massive change for our team. Adthrive works with hundreds of brands to provide ads on our website. Adsense is the most well-known on the internet and easily accessible for new sites. Once we grew to 100,000 page views a month, we were able to apply and graduate to Adthrive.
Adthrive has been the biggest reason we've been able to grow and support our team and journey over the past two years. Not only has it helped improve revenue a good deal, but they've also been excellent to work with from a support side.
Here is our past six months of revenue we received monthly
from Adthrive:
July Adthrive: $3,136
August Adthrive: $3,461
September Adthrive: $3,269
October Adthrive: $3,215
November Adthrive: $3,719
December Adthrive: $2,745
Adthrive has been really consistent and paralleled our highs and lows for 2022. We saw a lot of peaks and waves this past year, which makes sense with the seasons and releases of footwear. November saw our biggest month ever at Doctors of Running, much of which was fueled by some exciting new releases that month along with people getting into end-of-year deals. December saw a bit of a slowdown as things settled for end-of-year, along with readership on the site as we eased back content and took some time to enjoy the holidays.
AFFILIATE REPORT | OUR SOURCES OF INCOME
We have four sources of income at Doctors of Running. Adthrive, mentioned above, is our biggest source of income. Our other three sources are affiliate links through Running Warehouse, sponsorships through the podcast (none in the second half of 2022), and our YouTube revenue.
We do not accept compensation for reviews and have no plans to ever do so. We often see a lot of comments about reviewers receiving compensation for reviews. For those who are curious, in our experience we have never, ever been offered compensation for reviews at Doctors of Running. We do receive footwear for free from many companies, but do not allow that to affect our final reviews. Our reviews are not provided to companies for review prior to release or altered based on expectations from companies. They are 100% our own thoughts and feelings on the shoe. There are a few areas we think we can improve on though, including doing a better job of factoring costs of footwear into our reviews.
RUNNING WAREHOUSE AFFILIATE
In 2021, we began working with Running Warehouse, who have been the best in a lot of ways. Through affiliate link sales via our website and YouTube, this is how much money was generated from Running Warehouse:
(Q3) RW Affiliate Funds: $1,068
(Q4) RW Affiliate Funds: $907
As always, I want to be clear that it is not our mission to just go out and sell as many shoes as we can on a daily basis. Our mission has always been to give runners information to help make informed choices and hopefully learn a few lessons along the way that can help their running long term. Getting the right shoe for you is 100% the goal of ours at Doctors of Running. If you purchase using our affiliate links, that's amazing and we really appreciate the support. If you decide to go elsewhere or better yet, to your local run store to try and purchase the shoe, that's all the better in our eyes. We greatly appreciate our work with Running Warehouse though and the opportunities they've given us on our journey.
YOUTUBE AD REVENUE
We started receiving our first YouTube ad revenue back in February of 2021 after we passed 1000 followers - the minimum to start earning on YouTube. Over the last six months of 2022, we basically stayed true to the formula that brought us success in the first half, continuing our Sub 2 series for new shoes along with occasional comparison videos and podcast videos.
Doctors of Running YouTube Revenue: July to End of December 2022
July YouTube Revenue: $436
August YouTube Revenue: $500
September YouTube Revenue: $490
October YouTube Revenue: $475
November YouTube Revenue: $614
December YouTube Revenue: $519
Sub 2 really helped allow us to keep making video content on tight full-time schedules and we see this has a permanent fixture of who we are long term. That said, we are still interested in long format video, and as we expand how we do things we hope to keep exploring ways to not just make longer content video, but also diving a little bit outside the normal realm we have been working of shoe reviews and comparisons. We really would love to explore what else we can do in the shoe space along with physical therapy realm.
HOW WE DIVIDE EARNINGS | GIVING
This is how our budget is broken down among the team as of the second half of 2022:
Doctors of Running Budget Breakdown
DOR Giving: 10%
Savings: 5%
Core Team (4): 16% per person
Senior Contributing Team: 8.5% per person
Associate Team: 2% per person
Our budget is divided into three main areas. The first area is Savings. This is to help cover expenses and the occasional seeding or technology item. The second, and largest portion, is divided among the team based on time investment. The core team runs the day-to-day activities of the site and have weekly contributions. There is usually a 10-15 hour weekly commitment from the core team, made up of Chief Editor Matt Klein, Senior Contributors David Salas and Nathan Brown, and myself - Bach Pham, Content Manager. The next tier is our senior contributing team who have weekly work and contributions to the site monthly. The final tier is our associate team helps support the team as needed.
The last portion is towards our giving program! We dedicate a portion of our profits to charity each month. See our next section to learn more about what's going on with DOR Giving.
REFLECTING ON DOR'S 2022 END OF YEAR GROWTH
The second half of 2022 was nothing short of crazy. Each six months is bigger than our last, and this was no exception. As a whole, we had the most amount of content produced ever with 159 reviews, features, guides, and more created in 2022 - roughly 40+ more than the previous year. This doesn't include our broadened investment in our weekly podcast and YouTube production which also doubled in 2022.
The biggest part of our growth in 2022 was building on top of our work outside of shoe reviews. The first halfway of 2022 saw a ton of new features to the table including a new Beginner's Guide to Running, a Walking Guide, and a Beginner's Guide to Nutrition/Hydration thanks to a partnership with Jennifer Giles. We updated some of our longtime guides including our Carbon Plated Super Shoe Resource and introduced a Running Research Archive. Finally we kicked off our Sustainability Series which opened new discussions and relationships, talking with Reebok, Zen Running, Hylo, and others.
We also continued to hone in on our reviews and make sure they were as functional as possible for readers. That included continuing to tune the things that make us unique, particularly our science write-ups known as Thoughts as a DPT. All of this really combined to help make this year our biggest yet in every way possible. We're tired, but also really, really proud of the work we've accomplished this year.
We have a lot of work to build on though as we want to continue evolving how we write reviews in a way that is as beneficial to the reader as possible. We also want to keep bringing new stories, guides, and unique features to the table that continue to help make an impact on the running community. We feel there's a lot of good work that can be done to help runners better understand the options they have when they shop for shoes or enter a running retail store.
The other big thing we have been talking about is how to continue our donation program. We put a bit of a pause in our monthly DOR Giving program at the end of 2022 to craft a better way to serve the running community. We are excited to announce a big, new way we're going to do that later this year. It will always be part of the team's mission to help grow the running community with the income we generate, and we're excited to elevate how we do that soon.
We want to say thank you so much for joining us on our journey whether you are new or old to the team. We are really proud of the work our group as accomplished and look forward to building on our success in 2023. As always, please shoot us an email to doctorsofrunning@gmail.com to let us know how we can continue to better serve you.
SUPPORT DOR
Check out Gear We Love! (As noted, the following links are affiliate links that help support Doctors of Running. Thanks so much!)
Ultraspire Fitted Race Belt: The best way to carry your phone and goods on the run. No bounce and various sizes for waist. (Also recommend the Naked belt)
Saysky Running Gear: We were really taken aback by this Scandinavian company's ultra-thin, durable performance clothing
Skratch Recovery, Coffee Flavor: Mental and physical boost post run. Coffee flavor is excellent and goes great straight into a fresh brewed cup
goodr Sunglases: Run in style with goodr's super fun sunglasses.
Feetures Socks: Massively grippy socks that will make you feel more one with the shoe
Amphipod Hydraform Handheld Water Bottle: Perfect for long runs when you need hydration in the summer
Trigger Point Foam Roller: Help get those knots out post-run and feel better for tomorrow
Theragun Massager: This small version is great on the go for working tired legs
Ciele Hat: Our team's favorite running hat of choice!
Fractel Hats: Our team's wider fitting running hat of choice!
GUIDES AT DOCTORS OF RUNNING
Beginner's Guide to Running Shoes: Are you a brand new runner and unsure where to start? Visit this guide first to get started.
Stability Shoe Resource Page: Our comprehensive guide to stability shoes and alternatives for neutral runners as well
Carbon Fiber Plated Shoes Resource Page: Want to go as fast as possible for race day? Visit this page for all of our super shoe reviews
Guide to Walking Shoes: Featuring some science behind walking and the best running shoes for walking based on our everyday testing and clinical experience working with patients.
Getting the Right Fit: Unsure if your shoe fits? Visit this page to help you determine how to find the right shoe for your feet. Comfort is one of the most important things we emphasize at Doctors of Running before you get out the door and on the road. Sometimes the right shoe for you is not what works for many others. That is why it is important to try different shoes when you can to get a better understanding of works best for your needs.
Beginner's Guide to Nutrition/Hydration: Guest writer Jennifer Giles (Registered Dietitan/Nutritionist) helps bring a new guide for fueling to Doctors of Running as part of our summer hydration series.
Find all Shoe Reviews at Doctors of Running here.
Thanks for reading!
FOLLOW DOCTORS OF RUNNING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: Doctors of Running
Youtube Channel: Doctors of Running
Instagram: @doctorsofrunning
Twitter: @doctorsrunning
LinkedIn: Doctors of Running
Strava: Doctors of Running
Podcast: Virtual Roundtable
Pinterest: Doctors of Running
Please feel free to reach out, comment and ask questions!
Contact us at doctorsofrunning@gmail.com
NEXT: Beginner's Guide to Nutrition/Hydration
Contact us at doctorsofrunning@gmail.com
NEXT: Beginner's Guide to Nutrition/Hydration