Can you Really Make Money Blogging?
June 29th, 2010 | 27 comments
I know there are millions of people out there who definitely think the answer is yes and they are right. But, most of them think they will do so by frequently posting and sticking up a few adsense ads and/or affiliate banners. And when that’s the case, they do make some money, but very rarely is it a substantial amount.
I’m writing this blog post… the same blog post that so many others have written on other blogs because I believe I have something new to offer. I bet there are at least 100,000 other blog posts on the Internet right now with a topic similar to this one “Can you make money blogging?” And I bet 98% of them say basically the same thing (yes, you can make loads of money blogging)… written primarily by people who are making little to no money blogging.
So let’s talk about the average blogger, then we’ll compare the average blogger, who makes little to no money, to “professional” bloggers who make a good deal of money.
The Average Blogger:
- Has an interest in the topic he or she writes about.
- Doesn’t really have any form of business strategy in place other than “write as much as possible” and try to build links.
- Worries WAY too much about how many people are subscribed to their RSS feed and doesn’t even build an email list.
- Will go about 1 year (max) … realize he or she isn’t making much money and quit posting to that blog.
The Successful Blogger:
- Has a PASSION for the topic he or she writes about.
- Has a solid plan for his or her business, in which his or her blog is usually only a PART of.
- Concentrates on using his or her blog as a platform to build his or her list!
- Will not quit, even if little to no money is made because of passion and confidence.
I predict one of the first 5 comments below will be similar to “But Darren Rowse of ProBlogger doesn’t seem to concentrate on building his list.” And you’re right… or at least it’s seems that way by glancing at the current layout of his blog. My answer to that, he’s leaving ALOT of money on the table and for every one successful blogger who doesn’t have a list, I’ll give you 10 Successful bloggers who do!!
Give me 100,000 RSS subscribers and 100,000 Email Subscribers all in the same niche and I Guarantee you I’ll make $100,000 more with the email subscribers.
The primary reason I decided to write this blog post is because I see SO MANY people spending hours every single day writing blog posts with no real plan… no visitor retention other than RSS… no passion.. Yet they have a dream of blogging full-time and being a “Pro Blogger.”
If you are one of these bloggers please don’t let this post discourage you. It’s meant to do the OPPOSITE of that! I hope it helps you understand what you need to do to make your dream a reality!
And lastly, I want to make one other thing clear. Owning a blog or multiple blogs and being a blogger are two different things! Blogs are useful platforms in many different Internet Marketing Business Models like Niche Marketing. So if you’re a niche marketer (for instance) using blogs for your mini-sites, this doesn’t apply to you. This only applies to those who consider themselves bloggers and have one or two “flagship” blogs where they frequently update.
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30th June, 2010 at 10:12 am
Hi Josh,
I have finally followed your advice and signed up for a getresponse account. I’m now starting to build a list. It’s slow at the moment, but I can see the value of building up the list. Once I get my free opt-in reports done I expect to see the subscribers increase dramatically.
I score on at least 1 of the criteria above – I haven’t given up!!
30th June, 2010 at 10:21 am
Spot on Josh. For me the key point is diversifying your efforts so everything doesn’t hinge on only your main blog alone. As a member of your forum I began my journey into IM with a very fuzzy idea about how to proceed, but as you say here, building a list is a key element. I think for me one important thing to decide is what you want a visitor to DO when they arrive at your blog, and then make it as easy and simple for them to do it as possible. I began with too many different options, and I am now learning to slim down and concentrate on specific strategies that will pay off in the long term.
30th June, 2010 at 10:43 am
Hey Josh
Spot on Mate…
I’ve been wondering for a while now if RSS on site was worth the space and I’ve had different points of views…
My money on (in ) the list..!!
Now all I want at the moment is to have a nice newsletter email format like yours.
Talk soon.
M.
30th June, 2010 at 11:10 am
The same thing is true not just for blogging but around any platform you use in marketing. Im a great believer NOW, in relationship building and trying to over deliver when it comes to wanting to actually help people.
Autoblogging isnt the answer but I think normal blogging can be time consuming for people which is why they find it hard to deliver quality consistently
30th June, 2010 at 11:36 am
Josh’s post = truth, truth = Josh’s post. Very well said. Great to hear someone just tell it how it how it is. No BS.
Now I have to do it:
“But Darren Rowse of ProBlogger doesn’t seem to concentrate on building his list.”
30th June, 2010 at 12:22 pm
“Josh and List Building sitting in a tree…
K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”
LOL…
You’ve been in love with list building for a long time, Josh. And I think you’re probably right…it’s a indispensable source of solid income for those who choose do pursue it, as long as you’ve got enough of a trust factor with those on your list that that they’ll give serious consideration to your mailings.
However, I’m not really sure how critical this is once you move outside the IM niche. Between your own products and those that you promote, the IM niche pushes a never-ending stream of “pimpable” products. I’m not sure that’s as true in other niches.
Also, I will continue to contend that many people don’t want to become a “personality” and aren’t interested in accumulating followers. They may just want to share what they know or are learning. This doesn’t invalidate your basic point at all…but I still think it’s a very valid position for many people.
30th June, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Josh,
Great article, as always!
My blog acts as the central hub of my marketing efforts. Building my list allows me to share ideas, value, and build relationship.
I definitely appreciate all you advice.
Your friend,
Jim Hageman
30th June, 2010 at 1:59 pm
@ Chuck – Email Marketing works in any niche. It’s used by some of the biggest companies int he world and I guarantee you’re on the lists of some of the biggest companies in the world, you just don’t realize it.
If you think it’s only useful in the IM niche you’re so far away from right it’s not even funny. And you don’t have to have products to promote to have a profitable list! For instance, I can drive 500-1000 (currently) people to anything at all at the click of a button and I haven’t promoted a single product to them. If traffic is valuable to you then email marketing should be!
If you don’t’ want to believe that, that’s fine. You’re missing out, not me
30th June, 2010 at 2:22 pm
It all takes time, but this is one thing I do need to add soon. I’m trying to think of some thing people will want to sign up for.
Thanks for the push.
30th June, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Hi Josh,
Great article! What caught my attention was that most bloggers do not have a plan when they are considering writing their new articles. I totally agree with you on this subject, you need to know very specifically what it is you are trying to achieve. Only then can you start making plans to drive traffic to your website.
Stay lucky
Kind regards
Kevin Martyn
30th June, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Even if you don’t have a blog, email marketing can still be very effective. Static sites with quality content can also be used for list building, lead generation, etc. And when your rankings tank, email marketing can keep you in business.
30th June, 2010 at 5:02 pm
thanks again Josh. I am on the newbies on the online marketing profession. Its almost a year now and the learning has been huge. I am still sorting through the maze and have not lost the persistent knowing feeling that this is going to all work out.
Encouraging tips with honesty from the odd one of you folks is a great way to start a new day.
30th June, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Josh:
I really enjoyed the post. I agree that the money is in your email list but RSS sucribers can help bring people back to your monetized blog and maybe even sign-up on your email list, if yougive them something of value.
As for planning, everyone needs to make sure they create long-term and short-term goals. It is important to even have a daily to-do list to make sure you are focused on the tasks that help make you money.
- Rick
30th June, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Hey Josh,
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
With 10 websites and a blog, I can tell you that my worst site income is 10 times my blog income.
Having said that, my blog is a useful tool in adding credibility to my general theme.
All the best,
Mad Guy
30th June, 2010 at 10:50 pm
I agree with madguy
I have a static html site which does far, far better than any of my blogs. I also think that not every niche lends itself to list building.
Can you imaging trying to build a list on yeast infections?
Spoils your dinner even thinking about it!
Wendy
30th June, 2010 at 10:54 pm
@ Wendy – I personally wouldn’t target that niche, but I guarantee all of the top companies in that niche have big lists full of names and emails of women. I don’t think many people really understand how many companies effectively use email marketing in just about ever niche there is.
30th June, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Hey Josh, I can’t believe some blog owners don’t collect email addresses, glad you mentioned it, it’s a top way to profit from a blog.
Sally
1st July, 2010 at 4:05 am
I think every newb to the MMO scene goes through Problogger & then they realize that he is the exception and not the norm. Blogging daily takes time and effort without a lot of instant gratification. It’s very difficult to keep going that way.
After all of these years, I have finally sucked it up and took the plunge into building a list. I think the monthly fees of Aweber and Getresponse were holding me back. I finally decided to jump in with Mailchimp to get me started and on my way. I figure I can always move if I’d like once I’m over the 500 free members limit.
B
1st July, 2010 at 6:27 am
I felt like you are talking about me, I am still under Average Blogger column.
1st July, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Yes I believe the best way is to pick one niche.
Start a squeeze page offer something of great value to those interested in that “thing”.
Become an authority to them.
Start your niche list give them good value in your emails and then you can slowly siphon your emails with your aff products.
Son’t stop giving them good free info in between your emails for them to buy,
Hence more sales at one time as opposed to waiting for them to find you.
Great advice Josh.
Thank you
Gina
1st July, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Thanks again Josh for the great content. I am not sure how someone could focus on more than one blog anyway! My problem for along time was not writing my goals or a plan on how to get there….this really drives it home for me.
Todd
3rd July, 2010 at 3:09 am
Hey Josh
So my blog has to be just a part of an even bigger marketing plan? You know what, Josh, I never looked at blogging in this light. And I see your point.
To be honest, I am at a point right now where I am frustrated with the clicks I’m getting. But I am not about to give up because I believe there is huge potential on the web. It’s just a matter of doing things right and having the right tools to help me out.
Thanks for this enlightening post.
Jaime
4th July, 2010 at 9:16 am
Josh!
You have just kicked me up the proverbial…. I have all the gubbins for auto responders and all the rest of if, but like many people online… Just havn’t got round to it… yet!
Will do… Thanks for the reminder!
5th July, 2010 at 6:47 pm
“I am not sure how someone could focus on more than one blog anyway!”
That is it! More than 1 blog and you are sort of “pushing the limits”, especially if you don’t outsource the writing part (IMO the biggest time-consuming task for a blogger). For me, writing for just one blog, coupled with moderating comments, replying to them, and deleting spam is enough to keep me away from building any more.
Thanks Josh for yet another thoughtful post. Keep it up.
7th July, 2010 at 4:21 pm
hey Josh,
If I was to add to your title, I would make it, “Can you really make money blogging… Yes, but 95% of bloggers won’t.”
Maybe that’s why I read somewhere that 95% of blogs are abandoned within the first year…
People want easy money, but they aren’t willing to work hard (and smart) to get it. You’ve got to know what you’re doing (and do it) if you want to be successful!
OK, rant done.
Steve
10th July, 2010 at 5:37 am
I just read another blog about dedication in blogging. As you stated, passion for the subject is a huge part of that. Otherwise it’s just a job…
I agree about the email subscribers. I’ve had great results with email marketing and find that if someone’s subscribed to your emails, they’re more likely to be reading it. Emails are harder to ignore than a RSS feed.
5th April, 2011 at 7:18 pm
“I just read another blog about dedication in blogging. As you stated, passion for the subject is a huge part of that. Otherwise it’s just a job”
Could not agree more! Can you make money by blogging? Sure, but the best course of action for you would be, unless you are passionate/knowledgeable about the topic at hand, is to outsource the writing part, and focus on traffic and conversions. Otherwise, it would be no better than your regular boring day job. Thanks for a wonderful article, Josh.