Question: Do People Make Money from Blogs?

Do people really make money from a blog?

Debbie

Answer

Hi Debbie,

That's a great question. The answer to this is: typically you will only make money from a blog if you devote a lot of work to it.

Most people who create blogs create them as a way of posting updates about their life, and random pieces of information that strike their fancy. These kinds of blogs rarely make much money. Why? Because the only people who read them are people who know you personally. Your blog will not be very widely read.

If you are a very funny writer, you may decide to write humorous posts, and this may - eventually - attract readers who you don't know personally.

Or, if you have specific knowledge in a subject area, and keep all your blog posts on that topic, then you may pick up readership. I say keep all your blog posts on that topic, because if someone subscribes to your blog because you know a lot about farm tractors, but every other post is about your four year old son, the readers will stop coming back.

As you build your readership, you need to consider how you're going to make money with your blog.

Do you have a business associated with your blog? For example, if you run a blog about tractors, and your business is selling or repairing tractors, you can use your blog as a way of attracting attention to your business, and thus generate income indirectly.

Do you want to sell advertising space? There are various advertising programs whereby a company will pay you (either for clicks or impressions) for advertising space on your website.

You can also join an affiliate program with an online store like Amazon. For example, if your blog reviews books, toys, or other items, you can provide links to those items at Amazon, and Amazon will pay you a percentage on each item sold through a link on your site.

These are all well and good, but you need to have a lot of traffic before the payday will be worth the trouble you put into it.

Setting all that aside, I know there are blogs out there that will pay people to write posts for them. This may seem like a good deal at first, but remember this: If they're paying you, then for sure they're making more money from their affiliate programs - otherwise it wouldn't be worthwhile to pay you. Thus, you need to ask: Do I really want to sell my content to someone else, and take a small cut, or try to start my own blog, so I can keep the whole kit-n-caboodle?

So, in the final analysis, if you're hoping blogging will be a way to make a quick and easy buck, you should rethink that idea. Be prepared for lots of work and lots of time gone by before you see a worthwhile return on your investment!