Dec 05 2008
The big question: Does blogging really pay?
I received a question this morning from a reader. It was a good one, too: She wondered if writing a blog pays enough to justify doing it.
Here’s the short answer: It depends.
Now, I’m not going to get into addressing all the non-economic benefits of blogging. I’m busy. You probably are, too. I’m not interesting in blogging only to share my thoughts with the world. I want to make money. That’s really all I care about.
Let’s look at my Today.com blogs first. I have two, this one and one devoted to independent comic books. I try to post enough every month so that between the two, I make at least the minimum payout each month from Today.com. So that’s at least $50 a month. That’s not a heckuva’ lot of money. But, in all honestly, blogging is easy writing. I’m a fast writer. Blog posts don’t require interviews or any research beyond a simple Google search.
Also, I use my comics blog to hopefully make contacts and friends with people in the comics business. In addition to my freelance writing, I’m trying to make a career out of writing comic-book scripts. It’s a tough industry to break into. Everything helps.
I also ghost blog for three different people: two real estate agents and one insurance agent. These three pay me a combined $1,000 a month. So that’s $12,000 a year from blogging right there. That’s a different form of blogging, though. If you want to make money from blogging, doing it for other professionals — such as real estate agents and insurance agents — who want a blog but don’t want to have to do the writing, is one way to go. I’m trying to build this portion of my business.
So, yes, you can make money from blogging. But I wouldn’t count on blogging networks to provide anything other than tip money at the end of the month. The real money from blogging, at least in my opinion, lies in blogging for other professionals.
But that’s only my experience. Others have done great by starting and monetizing their own blogs. Those success stories are awfully rare, though.
12 Responses to “The big question: Does blogging really pay?”
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Great tips, thanks.
www.wantingtowork.today.com
Thanks for the idea of ghost blogging. As a writer, I find blogging just helps me build fluency. Take care!
Thanks for the comments. I think “wearmanyhats” is the perfect name for a writer these days. You have to wear many hats if you expect to make a solid living.
Dan
www.careersearch.contentquake.com
www.dexter.contentquake.com
www.indycomics.today.com
Very true. Blogging at Today is good for some money, but it’s not a full-time job. I think in blogging the pay off is later when you have a lot of content and page hits.
www.entersweepstakes.com
Thanks, Michelle:
You’re right when it comes to blogging. It certainly does take time to grow that income. On the other hand, I think you can be a pretty successful blogger without putting in as much time as you have to put into other forms of writing. I can rip off a blog post pretty quickly. I can’t write a story for the Washington Post’s real estate section without spending lots of time going over every sentence.
Dan
http://community.enormo.com/blog/
www.candyaddict.com
www.careersearch.contentquake.com
http://indycomics.today.com
How are you able to have two blogs..? I thought you were limited to one?
Great tips, thanks! Do you have any advice on how to find professionals who would like you to ghost blog for them? Perhaps through Craigslist???
Thanks,
Roz
http://lifeinaustralia.today.com
More great advice, thanks for sharing with all of us!
Happy Holidays!
HI, Roz and Wolfspirit, and thanks for your comments.
Roz: I’ve found people to ghost blog in two different ways. Two of my ghost blogging clients I found through job posts on www.freelancewritinggigs.com. (If you’ve never visited that site, I highly recommend it.)
My third ghost blogger client — and my most lucrative by far — I found through my own contacts that I’ve built among real estate agents over the years. I knew this agent was extremely active on the Internet. I also knew he didn’t have a lot of time for blogging. So I approached him with a plan that he accepted. I’m working on acquiring two or three other clients this way. It’d form the basis for a pretty nice writing business.
Dan
www.careersearch.contentquake.com
http://community.enormo.com/blog/
Thank you very much for the website - it looks as if it’s a very good resource and it’s good that it’s not a bidding site! Yes, personal contact is definitely the best way of gaining business. Once upon a time, all of my business was through personal contacts. Now, after 2 children and 2 moves abroad, I am only working part-time and so have had to change the type of work I do somewhat (from marketing/market research consultant to writer/editor/proof-reader, so it’s still a challenge to find new clients!
Best wishes,
Roz
http://lifeinaustralia.today.com