💰 Shaunda Necole: How I Get Paid To Be Me… (And How You Can Get Paid To Be YOU, Too!)
From posts to paychecks — here’s exactly how the magic happens. A full income breakdown for bloggers, creators, and anyone curious about online revenue streams.
Beautiful Souls, ✨
One of the questions I get asked, sometimes whispered, sometimes boldly, is:
And I get it.
For years, this industry was shrouded in mystery or myth.
But the truth is?
The digital creator world isn’t magic.
It’s strategy. Creativity. Consistency. And a whole lot of reinvention!
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain and showing you exactly how I turned my personality, passions, and stories into sustainable, recession-proof income streams... And how you can, too!
Let’s get into it…
🧩 The many ways I get paid to be me
(a.k.a. How I turned authenticity into an empire)
📖 1. Author of bestselling books
Two years.
Two book deals.
Two platforms turned into published works — all from showing up consistently online and sharing what I love.
I became the #1 bestselling author of 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die. And in early 2027, my long-awaited The Soul Food Pot Cookbook hits bookstores!
“Books aren’t just products. They’re legacy. And legacy pays dividends.”
—Shaunda Necole
🍗 2. The Soul Food Pot® — recipes + ads = income
My food blog started in my kitchen with one pot (an Instant Pot), a story, and a whole lot of flava!
I create Southern soul food recipes and share them with the world for FREE — and in return, the blog earns income from display ads and video commercials placed alongside the content.
Readers get delicious recipes.
Brands get impressions.
I get paid to cook and create from the comfort of my own home.
This is monetized creativity at its finest! ✨
📚 3. Soul food cookbooks and digital guides
From Grandma → Mama → Me → You.
My downloadable cookbooks and guides make soul food accessible, joyful, and modern. And they allow me to turn decades of family flavor into evergreen income!
Digital products = income that works while you sleep.
(Or while I’m in the kitchen, taste-testing the next something fabulous!)
🛍️ 4. Affiliate Income
This one is the quiet MVP of my digital creator business. Steady, reliable, and beautifully evergreen!
Affiliate income simply means this:
When I recommend a product I genuinely love (a kitchen tool, an appliance, a Vegas must-have, a book, a gift, anything!) and someone purchases through my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to them.
It’s like saying,
“Here’s what I use… here’s what I love…”
And getting paid when my recommendations help someone else!
From Instant Pot to my favorite Vegas fits, from travel essentials to the tools I use in my kitchen, affiliate income adds up quickly when you’ve built trust with your audience and only share what you truly stand behind.
Affiliate income is the definition of evergreen creativity. —Shaunda Necole
🎤 5. Speaking engagements
Whether it’s a room of 20 or 2,000 — I show up to teach creators, entrepreneurs, and marketers how to:
✔️ Win with SEO
✔️ Master influencer strategy
✔️ Navigate the age of AI
✔️ Multiply their impact and their income
I get paid to empower others.
And that’s a blessing I don’t take lightly.
🎓 6. Consulting with Shaunda
This is where my heart beats a little louder.
I offer limited consulting hours to help creators and entrepreneurs clone my success in a way that feels authentic to THEM!
Together, we build a blueprint for turning your knowledge, skills, and stories into real, sustainable revenue.
It’s coaching, clarity, creativity, and confidence, all rolled into one!
🎁 7. The Shaunda Shop
From printables to party guides to holiday recipes…
The Shaunda Shop is where I turn ideas into instant downloads and inspiration into income.
It’s fun. It’s festive. It’s fabulous.
👑 8. Real estate
This one surprises people.
When my digital creator income comes in, I don’t just spend it...
I reinvest it into properties! (Las Vegas, anyone?)
Because women influence 91% of home purchases…
And I believe we should own the homes, too!
This isn’t a side hustle — it’s a power move.
An income multiplier.
Evergreen equity.
Some superheroes wear capes.
I prefer crowns. 👑
📊 And here’s what it all adds up to…
A creative ecosystem that pays me to be me! Across multiple channels, formats, industries, and seasons of life.
💬 Shaunda says:
If there’s one thing I’ve learned on this journey, it’s this:
⭐️ “Your personality is your power. Your story is your currency. And your creativity is your freedom.” —Shaunda Necole
You don’t need permission to build a brand based on who you already are.
You don’t need a massive following to make meaningful income.
You simply need the courage to:
✔️ Show up
✔️ Tell your story
✔️ Share your gifts consistently
Legacy isn’t built in a viral moment — it’s built in the everyday bravery of being yourself on purpose.
Here’s How YOU Can Get Paid To Be “YOU” – (action steps)
⭐️ Start here: Your first steps into monetized authenticity
1️⃣ Choose your platform.
Blog, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Substack — the best one is the one you’ll use.
Pick one home base and build from there.
(I started with the ’Gram, then moved to my own real estate — my blog. That story is below!)
2️⃣ Share what you know, what you love, or what you’ve lived.
Your expertise, your culture, your stories, your recipes, your experiences. THAT is your content library.
You don’t need to “invent” content. You already are the content!
—Shaunda Necole
3️⃣ Create one “value engine.”
This could be:
A blog with ads
A digital guide
A paid Substack tier
A consulting service
A small product
Start with ONE. Then stack more!
4️⃣ Build your evergreen ecosystem.
A true digital creator business earns:
✔️ when you post
✔️ and while you sleep
✔️ and long after the algorithm moves on
That’s the beauty of evergreen revenue, and the reason today’s creativity becomes tomorrow’s security.
5️⃣ Treat your creativity like an asset, not a hobby.
Because it is.
Ready to build your own legacy-based creator business?
☕️… Or maybe you just want the BTS gossip and tea on how I built mine…
Either way, you’re in the right place! 😉
Hit that subscribe button and join me behind the scenes, where I share the strategies, stories, and step-by-step blueprints that helped me turn my creativity into consistent income.
👉🏾 Let’s get you paid to be YOU!
I love when bloggers share how they get paid. I think its fascinating. LOVE the pie charts!
Thank you, and I feel the same! Bloggers have so many creative ways to monetize our content, and it's interesting to have these conversations because we work in such a solo-preneurial space.