Monday Shakeout: How Much Does Doctors of Running Make?

Happy Monday runners! Each year since 2022 we try to release two reports a year to share how much the team is making. We believe in transparency and want to highlight where our sources of income are coming from. In our fifth report, we're keep it simple with a quick update on our midyear growth. If you'd like to check out our previous report, find it here.

Monday Shakeout | How Much Does Doctors of Running Make? (Report #5)
By Social Media Wizard Bach Pham

Doctors of Running Financial Summary - Quick Look

January Revenue: $4,150
February Revenue: $3,199
March Revenue: $3,268
April Revenue: $4,155
May Revenue: $5,518
June Revenue: $5,479
Affiliate + Sponsorships: $4,837
Total for Jan - June 2023: $30,606
Prior six months: $20,795

WEBSITE AD REVENUE | RAPTIVE

We use Raptive (formerly Adthrive) as our revenue source for the website. Raptive is essentially an infinitely better Google AdSense for larger website. It works with hundreds of brands to provide ads on our website. Once we grew to 100,000 page views a month, we were able to apply and graduate from Google Adsense to Raptive.

Raptive has been the biggest reason we've been able to grow and support our team and journey over the past two years and a half 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:

January: $3,719
February: $2,745
March: $2,629
April: $3,603
May: $4,966
June: $4,807

Raptive has definitely kept up with our growth. May and June were our biggest months ever at Doctors of Running. A lot of that is related to Summer release season where some of the year's most popular shoes come out. We've also seen a lot of folks visit our guides during this time. We released some new brand guides like our New Balance and Newton Running overviews, along with some requested guides like our Haglund's Deformity piece which offers Matt's best recommendations for those who struggle with shoes that have rigid heel counters. The culmination of everything has really helped us ramp up into the summer months.

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 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, we have never, ever been offered compensation for reviews at Doctors of Running. We have been offered to join affiliate programs directly by some running footwear companies, but we do not accept those either (we do, however, work with Running Warehouse - more below). We do receive footwear for free from many companies, but do our best to 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. This year we've worked a bit harder on trying to integrate cost discussion, especially with the highest priced shoes, but we're still working to improve on that from review to review.

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 in 2023:

(Q1) RW Affiliate Funds: $2,413
(Q2) RW Affiliate Funds: $2,424

These six months have been some of our biggest for Running Warehouse. Part of that is through their support of our podcast which has been rolled into the funds seen above. They helped support the growth of our podcast those six months.

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. This season we've seen a lot of growth in our affiliate funds, and that is all thanks to you the reader for checking out our reviews and deciding to shop through our links. We're really grateful for that and look forward to sharing some ways we want to return that back to the community in 2024.

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. Here's how we did during this timeframe:

Doctors of Running YouTube Revenue: January to June 2023
January YouTube Revenue: $431
February YouTube Revenue: $454
March YouTube Revenue: $639
April YouTube Revenue: $552
May YouTube Revenue: $614
June YouTube Revenue: $672

Overall, it's not entirely surprising that we haven't made huge strides here. We focus on very short form content which doesn't allow much room for revenue and for our long form podcasts, we don't do mid-roll ads. Unlike a lot of YouTubers, we do waver between the website, podcasting, and creating videos and where to prioritize our time. Ultimately, our website and podcasts have been our favorite arenas and where we focus much of our attention, but as we head into 2024 and think longterm, we still want to figure out how to best use our carved our space on YouTube.

In May and June, we saw a bump for several reasons. We hit our summer shoe season which meant a lot of popular shoes like the Kayano 30 hitting the market. We also reintroduced slightly longer videos to help provide more depth and context. We did Sub 2s starting in 2022 as a way to help us do more videos amid our hectic full-time schedules outside of Doctors of Running. Eventually we've slowly gravitated back to a more traditional video to share all of our thoughts. Sub 2/3 will definitely remain a part of the work we do for those want a quick, concise snippet about new shoes that hit the market.

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: 7-8%
Savings: 5%
Core Team (5): 10-15% per person
Freelance: 2-3%

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. The percentage slightly varies among the team based on workloads and contributions. Finally, we have a small freelance bucket when we have additional work that brings in contributors to the site.

Lastly is our DOR Giving. We've been setting aside a portion of each month's budget in 2023 to help launch some fun projects in 2024 aimed at giving back to the community. Stay tuned for more details!

REFLECTING ON DOR'S 2023 GROWTH

These past six months have really been all about refinement and rhythm. We've worked really hard to have a steady release schedule that both brings folks in daily to check out our work and also one that gives the team room to breathe. Part of that is learning to trust our work and not release things just to be in the moment. We've let reviews go out a bit later and relieve the pressure of working on industry timeline in order to provide our very best.

In return we've also added Monday Shakeouts starting in June of 2023. This has been one of our very favorite new additions to the website, giving us a chance to talk a little more about running and running science (and occasionally, more about shoes too). One of the things that is unique to our work has been our DPT section, which provides a venue for digging into biomechanics research or explore themes related to the shoes we've reviewed. The Shakeout was created to let us be a bit extra free about our writing and explore topics we've really wanted to spend more time on. Some examples our Nathan's exploration of Saucony's Kinvara Pro study, taking a look at shoe rotations for different runners, and talking about flat feet. We have hopes to keep expanding this line of work in the future as we work to bridge more of our science backgrounds with the footwear industry.

We also have grown our podcast tremendously during this time. While not a source of revenue, it has been a major project that we've come to love, allowing us not only to share a lot of our knowledge as PTs, but also talk with people we normally wouldn't get a chance to delve into discussion on a regular basis. If there was a place we'd be happy with settling long term, the podcast is definitely it just for the amount of enjoyment we get and hope listeners get as well.

That's about it for our midyear summary report. Please shoot us an email to doctorsofrunning@gmail.com to let us know how we can continue to better serve you.

PAST MONDAY SHAKEOUTS

Novablast 4
Changes We're Excited to See
Why Heel Bevels are Natural
Do Heavier Runners Need Different Shoes?
Shoe Rotations for Different Runners
Strength Training to Prevent Injury - A Case Study
On the Impacts of Different Stacked Shoes
The Importance of Heel Bevels in Shoe Design
Low vs. High Drop Shoes
Why is Proprioception Important to Runners?
My Favorite Flat Feet Shoes of 2023
Best Running Movie Scenes of All-Time, Part 2
Best Running Movie Scenes of All-Time, Part 1
What a Week at DOR is Like
Reflections on Saucony's Running Economy Study
Sustainable is Only Going to Work if It's Good
A Simple Guide to Footwear and Foot Health
Best Flat Feet Shoes by a Flat Feet Runner
How Long Do Shoes Last?

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!

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