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How Bloggers Make Money from Blogs

Posted By Darren Rowse 6th of December 2005 Pro Blogging News 0 Comments

Make Money BloggingDo you Want to Make Money Blogging? Subscribe to ProBlogger Today.

My Personal Income Streams

As an update to this post I’ve more recently written one on How I make Money Blogging which highlights the most profitable ways that I use blogs to generate income. I’ve also written extensively on how bloggers make money in ProBlogger the Book.

How do bloggers make money from blogs?

How-Bloggers-Make-MoneyI’ve been reflecting this week about the amazing diversity of opportunities that are opening up for bloggers to make money from blogging.

I’ve long advised that bloggers seeking to make money from blogging spread their interests across multiple revenue streams so as not to put all their eggs in one basket.

The wonderful thing is that this is becoming easier and easier to do 2005 has seen many options opening up. I thought I’d take a look at some of the methods that bloggers are currently using to make money through blogs.

Income Streams for Bloggers – How to Make Money Blogging

Advertising Programs – Perhaps the most obvious changes in the past few months have been with the addition of a variety of viable advertising options for bloggers looking to make money from their blogs. The most common way bloggers seem to earn money online is via the contextual ad program from Google – Adsense. A more recent addition that many are using successfully are Chitika.

RSS Advertising – The past 12 months have seen some advances in RSS Advertising also. I’m yet to hear of any bloggers making big money blogging through it to this point – but as improvements are made to the ad programs exploring this I’m sure we’ll start to see examples of it being profitable.

Sponsorship – In addition to the array of advertising programs that are available to join there is a growing awareness in the business of the value and opportunity that exists for them to advertise directly on blogs. I’m hearing more and more examples of this and have been fortunately to have a couple of ad campaigns of my own in the past month – one with Adobe a couple of weeks ago and another just completed with Ricoh for a new digicam over at my Digital Camera Blog. These are not isolated cases – as I say I know of many blogs exploring sponsorship with advertisers at present and suspect we’ll see more of it in the year ahead. Sponsorship is also happening on a post by post basis with some bloggers being paid to write on certain topics by companies – either in one off or a regular fashion – and they are able to make big money from their blogs doing so.

Affiliate Programs – There are larger affiliate programs like Amazon, Linkshare, Clickbank and Commission Junction but also literally thousands of others from the large to the very small.

Digital Assets – Increasing numbers of bloggers have been developing other digital assets to support and add revenue streams to their blogs. By this I mean that I’m increasingly seeing e-books, courses and tele-seminars being run by bloggers. This type of activity will only increase in future – in fact this week I’ve seen numerous examples of bloggers running courses.

Blog Network Opportunities – with the rise in popularity of Blog Networks – bloggers are also being presented with more places to earn an income from their blogging – by writing for and with others. While it might be difficult to get a writing gig with one of the bigger networks – there are plenty who are always asking for new bloggers to join and who are willing to pay bloggers using a variety of payment models. While there are distinct advantages of blogging for yourself – blogging for an established network who will handle a lot of the set up/promotion/admin/SEO etc has it’s advantages also. More and more bloggers are combining writing for themselves on their own blogs with taking on blog network blogs as additional income streams.

Business Blog Writing Opportunities – as blogging has risen in it’s profile as a medium more and more businesses are starting blogs. Many of these companies have internal staff take on blogging duties – but an increasing number of them are hiring specialist bloggers to come on and run their blogs. I know of a number of bloggers who in the past month or two have been approached for such paid work. Check out the ProBlogger Job Board if you’re looking for this type of work.

Non Blogging Writing Opportunities – Also becoming more common are bloggers being hired to write in non blogging mediums. Manolo’s recent coup of a column in the Washington Post is just one example of this as bloggers are increasingly being approached to write for newspapers, magazines and other non blog websites. Along side this is the rise of bloggers as published book authors – this is to the extent that one blogger I spoke with this week complained to me that they were one of the few bloggers than they knew who didn’t have a book deal!

Donations – Tip Jars and donation buttons have been a part of blogging for years now but this last year saw a number of bloggers go full time after fund raising drives. Perhaps the most high profile of these was Jason Kottke of kottke.org who through the generosity of his readership was able to quit his job and become a full time blogger.

Flipping Blogs – Also more common in 2005 was the practice of ‘Blog Flipping’ – or selling of blogs. This has happened both on an individual blog level (I can think of about 20 blogs that sold this year) but also on a network level (the most obvious of these being the 8 figure sale of Weblogs Inc to AOL).

Merchandising – My recent attempt to sell ProBlogger.net T-shirts wasn’t a raging success, but it is an example of how an increasing number of bloggers are attempting to make a few extra dollars from their blogs by selling branded products through programs like Cafepress. While I didn’t have a lot of success with merchandising – quite a few larger blogs are seeing significant sales – especially blogs with a cult following. I’m not at liberty to discuss details – but I know of one largish blog which will see sales over $20,000 in merchandise for the calendar year of 2005.

Consulting and Speaking – While it has been popular for established consultants to add blogs to their businesses we’re also starting to see bloggers with no consulting background able to make money by charging readers for their time in consulting scenarios BECAUSE of the profile that their blogs have built them. Blogging has the ability to establish people as experts on niche topics and we all know the value of being perceived as an expert. I spoke to one blogger last month who charges himself out at over $200 an hour for speaking and consulting work – his area of expertise was something that he knew little about 18 months ago – but through his blog he’s become a leader in his field and a minor celebrity in his industry.

As time rolls on there are more and more ways that bloggers make money from their blogs opening up. Feel free to suggest your own ideas and experiences in comments below.

Update: Looking for more information on how to make money blogging? Here’s a post I wrote talking about my own experience – particularly looking at the top ways that I make money from blogs.

Also check out these resources on how to set up a profitable blog:

  • ProBlogger the Book – where I and Chris Garrett sum up all of the basic tips about starting up a blog in the one volume.
About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. I have been involved in Affiliate program but never seen any luck of it. I have also been using AdBrite and WidgetBucks for 6 month and they did give me profit except for WidgetBucks which is very slow earning, I might giving a try at the other one you posted, so thanks for sharing with us

  2. This is a helpful article full of tips for someone trying to improve on blogging skills and earning more money out of it.

    Thanks!

  3. Very good information. I am not that into ads but you sure explained everything well. You can make a decent income from blogging.

  4. heya!
    Thanks for the article. i’ve been reading up your website like crazy. I’ve just started a blog and am trying to read up as much as possible on how to maybe earn a buck or two and how to increase traffic…

    So your tips help a lot!
    Thanks!
    H

  5. I’ve been following your blog for a while now, and i think it’s a nice experience. I now have a new blog, and its all about bringing
    Africa close to you, and you can check it out to pass your comment.

  6. Lovin the article alll good stuff

    nice blog altogether, helps me a great deal with my blog, and monetizing it. not to mention the traffic tips you give.

    keep up the good work.

  7. Great post. It would be great to hear from other successful bloggers what has been working for you…

  8. Other than sponsor ads it looks like Adsense is your primary source of revenue.

    I’ve found that affiliate programs offered by CJ and Linkshare may get clicks, but very few conversions. Is that your experience?

  9. I just have to say that this is a great blog! I just stumbled upon it and WOW.

    First of all I had no idea that you could flip blogs! Can this be applied to blogger blogs…even though they are technically owned by google?

    Secondly, this is a powerhouse of useful information. Thanks for the wonderful posts and useful insights!

    Warm Regards
    Sean

  10. Great tips, unfortunately not everyone worked on my main site, but I got more sites to try it on :)

    Thanks

  11. Are those ppc works and pay well like adsense?
    Thanks for the valuable tips.

  12. Excellent post Darren but above all the Yaro Starak’s Blog Profits Blue Print eBook you recommended is everything one can need to start a rewarding blog. I just started implementing some of his tips on my blog: http://www.CorporateSkills.co.uk and already my Google Adsense is shinning with more clicks.

    Yaro has answered everything and I am amazed he has given such wealth of knowledge Free and plus the whole eBook is in audio format too so what did is listen and read at the same time. :)

  13. Another good way to increase visitors and adsense income from your blog, is to post your articles also on http://www.infopirate.org

    Infopirate.org is a free social news and bookmarking service, allowing you to bookmark your articles and to earn about 80% of the adsense income on this short preview of your blog posts.

    With a small bookmarklet you can use the time to submit a post to infopirate.org reduces to some seconds.

    ;) rgds DeGon

  14. There are many ways to make money from blogs. This site gives a brief and good information about how to make money online using a blog. Affiliate programs, Advertising (such as google adsense), etc. are good processes for making money.

  15. Cool post.
    I am too late to see this post any ways I am here some how..
    problogger is excellent.

  16. hi.. hope i can make a bog like yours… maybe i can ask an advice from you,, ty

  17. I see tons of bloggers on digitalpoint and other forums who have some small blog in some small niche like “russian photography” or something, are getting like 50 visits a day, and wonder why they arent making big bucks.

  18. wow, you are a source of inspiration for all of us and I liked the way you revealed your secrets as well. Thanks a bunch ..

  19. I think making money fro a blog is a process that will take some time, if you want to do it the right way that is.

    Quality is something that every blogger should aspire for, because in the end that is what gets you the traffic. Thanks for giving out the various ways and mediums, it was an interesting read.

    I’m planning on starting a blog but I’m struggling to find a niche.

  20. Thats very informative sir, i have just started a blog and trying to implement your advice there, my current dailly earnigs are $2-$3 daily. Well hope this rises soon, Do visit
    http://www.TheManMade.com

  21. I recently got into building websites using wordpress. It took me a few months but I’m beginning to see a nice stream of income from my blogs. I build about 2 webpages a month and focus on SEO. I’ve been getting about 60-100 hits a day on some of the websites and have been bringing in hundreds of dollars a month. But there has been a couple of websites that don’t do well at all.

  22. hi i followed it and just created a blog… please review it and let me know to make more money.

  23. Flipping domain is the best. You just have to be creative enough to find the right name for the domain.

  24. Hey, all the information you have put together in this post is all we, begginers need to start to make money.

    You’re awesome, thanks a lot!

  25. good sourcing….I still love with google ads cause the topic and adver many various according our web topic….the other still low

  26. Good Tips Daren,

    always remember that your primary goal should not be to make money. You should enjoy blogging, else you might get bored by it too fast :-). Blogging is a lifestyle!

    Hendrik

  27. Great info and thank you very much!

  28. Today I found this blog and are amazed by the quality of information posted here. Nowadays are very few blogs that offer quality of information ,we subscribed to your blog via RSS and we look forward the following articles

  29. So far I have had no luck with YPN. I have submitted mutiple sites to them .. some which have a very nice steady stream of traffic with no luck. They don’t even reply with a rejection. I could understand this on a few of the smaller starter sites I had submitted but on others I know it didn’t have to do with design, amount of content or traffic. Hopefully once they are out of beta this will change. For now, it doesn’t look like much of an adsense alternative though .. other than being a clone of it. I will have to check out Microsoft network. I wasn’t aware of them starting one up.

  30. The vast majority of my money has come from AdSense revenue though I only get pennies per click, it still pays better than anything else I have tried.

    Perhaps my site are just too general and therefore it’s hard to target a specific product for advertising.

  31. Loved all the advice I’ve made some money with adsense but would like to make more

  32. A while back I tried to blog for extra income to no avail. I continue to read posts such as this in search of a ‘winning formula’

  33. finally i am landing to very comprehensive blog. thank you for inspiring newbies to at least try to follow your guidance. thanks mr rowse note: can i ask for your back link to my new blog?

  34. Great blog Darren.
    I am just starting out to see if I can turn a blog into a form of income. I’ve only been going a week or so but it is great fun. It’s a great help to have blogs like problogger helping to educate you in the process. This post is extremely interesting as it gives an insight into the various means of making money via a blog.
    Thanks again, I will keep reading with great interest.

  35. No matter how many times I do read this post, always something or the other gets added up to my arsenal. The comments in such a kind of posts are hugely informative.

    Thanks a lot Darren for helping us out with the way you earn your livelihood. Kudos to u.

  36. Hi Darren,

    I found your article really authentic and useful. I am new to this subject and your inputs are really good. Hope I will be able to make use of them. I have put a small post on your article on my blog. I know it would be very difficult for you to find time to visit my blog, but if at all you feel like it and visit, then give me the feedback.

    Regards

  37. That is very interesting post. Many people know what adsense is, but there are still plenty of advertising programs to choose from. Great info.

  38. I am so impressed with your site.I have no idea before so many money making opportunity through blogging.Its incredible.

  39. I have found CPA or PPA, Cost Per Action or Pay Per Action instead of PPC (Adsense) to be a better way to monitise a website or blog. There are not a lot of blogs making real money with adsense. There are plenty making money with CPA…

  40. i have a good reading here… thanks Darren.. now i start my campaign to generate income from my blog….

  41. As a relative newcomer on the scene of Blogging, I appreciated the new information I can now use to extend my websites reach.

  42. Flipping blogs sound really fun might have to try it sometime! Atm Im running http://www.genxor.com – Make money with a 16 year old.

  43. Interesting — all these ways to profit from blogs, but no mention of http://www.cranies.com? Cranies.com allows bloggers (any bloggers), to sell the password to a single blog post. You can take your credibility into the Cranies.com market, sell a single (or multiple) blog post(s), and leave your investment in the market to see what happens. You can also market the teaser for your post via social bookmarking, etc. It was designed to honor the talent of every blogger on the internet…

  44. Interesting post. There are some revenue sources mentioned that I wasn’t aware of. Thanks for the information!

  45. Great post.
    It would be interesting to hear how the acceptance for different available business models have changed over time since you wrote the post. In some blog fields it seems like perks, such as free clothing and invitations to events in the fashion industry, is a strong driving force for content developers. Another available business model is of course to sell premium content and access to members-only areas.

    I have started a blog where I wish to collect innovative and existing business models from different industries at one place. Hopefully it will generate new cross-industry ideas.

  46. Wow! Great Article!

  47. Some very useful information, never really thought of using the blog as a way to make money ……..but why not?

  48. Thanks Darren, Your article is almost 3 years old but still it is very useful for those who want to make money from blogs. Your post is a masterpeice. Thanks again.

  49. Great articles, I learned some new methods today.
    Thanks,

  50. Thanks for pointing out some ad programs I didn’t know about. But which is the best for producing income?

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