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Last Updated: 27th October 2021

How much do Bloggers make? A lot more than you think!

Today, with a simple click, people can release and access all sorts of information about various topics – from the simplest to the most complex. In a matter of seconds, people can buy and sell things without physically going to or setting up a store. Monthly, people can earn way more than the usual wage rates for a regular desk job.

Written by: Big Piggyy

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How much money do bloggers make?

The internet has become a hodgepodge of all sorts of knowledge and ideas. It has made the world smaller as it brings people closer to each other. Because of digital technology advancements, life has become a lot easier and faster.

 

Because of this, many people worldwide are grabbing the chance and are setting up digital content of their own in the form of websites, blogs, video blogs (vlogs), and social media posts. As of 2021, there are already 1.7 billion websites worldwide, and of this number, there are over 600 million blogs.

 

More than 31 million bloggers post their content online in the United States alone, 70 million posts are published on WordPress pages, and over 400 million people visit these blogs and websites each month.

 

The average income of an average Blogger

How much does one make from blogging that entices this many people and more to join this industry? According to Grant Sabatier of Millenial Money, one can earn as much as $2,000 monthly on the first year of blogging, significantly increasing in the succeeding years. 

On average, bloggers earn $8,000 a month. Top-earning bloggers are:

 

Why Blogging?

These figures alone can make one jump into the world wide web and create a blog of their own. However, setting aside high potential income from blogging, many make a living through blogging to pursue their life goals and dreams while taking advantage of its perks and benefits.

 

First, bloggers post content online to share their passion and knowledge in life. These may be related to their personal lives, such as personal advocacies, interests, and hobbies. These can also be something about their professional lives, such as their careers in business, financial management, marketing, the medical field, etc. Or, their contents can also be a mix of both.

 

Second, blogs are great avenues for businesses to provide exposure and increase their sales. Many consumers rely on blogs to learn more about what product to purchase and from what store. More than 40% of them take into account recommendations and endorsements from blogs. About 60% of people also said that YouTube vlogs greatly influenced their purchasing decisions.

 

Third, bloggers set up their blogs to improve their writing skills and build an online portfolio of their works. With the huge collection of knowledge and tools found on the internet, aspiring authors and writers can readily explore many areas, styles, and techniques to develop their craft and produce excellent content.

 

A blog opens up a wide array of opportunities and benefits to its creator. It can reach a large group of consumers and bring in more sales for their business in just a matter of days. It can be a stand-alone promotional stint for the business or support to physical and traditional advertising methods.

 

One can also make blogs anywhere, anytime. Bloggers can readily make and publish their content while traveling worldwide with just a laptop and internet connections. Blogging allows creators to earn more money than their day-job wages and do all the things they want at the same time.

 

There is also no institutional pressure from higher-ups in an office work setting since the bloggers are the bosses in this industry. Through their blogs, content creators have the opportunity to build their authority in their chosen field of expertise. They can establish and prove their credibility to speak about their blog’s niche.

 

Tools and Strategies

Professional bloggers make money out of their blogs in many different ways. Over the years, various tools and strategies have been developed and proven effective to reach the dollar targets. Some of these tools and strategies are: 

 

  • Google AdSense. Managed by Google, AdSense puts ads in website and blog spaces made available by the blogger. The highest bidder of the ad space gets the site space, and the blogger gets paid for it. The blogger needs to make some space from the blog available for ads, and AdSense arranges everything up to payment processing. A good example is Labnol.org. 

 

  • Advertising. There are various ways blogs earn through advertising, like what Playbuzz does. Bloggers can sell spaces on their sites for direct ads, usually in the form of a banner. Some get paid for each click of the ad link whenever a blog reader purchases a product through the ad link provided or whenever the ad shows up on the blog site.

 

  • Sponsored content. Bloggers get paid for publishing content about a company’s product or services. Companies may offer this to a blogger to reach their target market, or bloggers themselves find companies that are looking for ways to promote their products and services. One example is the Kitchn when it posted a recipe for pistachio brittle. Frigidaire, who sponsored it, was never mentioned in the recipe, but its sponsorship was mentioned somewhere on the page. 

 

  • Podcast sponsorships. Recent years have seen a steady rise in podcasts around the world. The podcast is the new radio show that can be accessed anytime, anywhere. It is a series of episodes in audio form that can be listened to through podcast apps. Bloggers transform their sponsored content into podcasts or make related ones promote the sponsor’s products. Entrepreneurs on Fire were among those who benefitted from it. 

 

  • Social media promotions. Social media is one sure way to reach a large audience to promote blogs and, at the same time, post-paid content from sponsors. The more followers the social media page has, the higher the price companies are willing to place their ads there. Take your cue from Melyssa Griffin.

 

  • Paid content promotions. Sometimes, it’s hard to reach the desired audience for a blog organically. To promote content beyond the current followers and readers, companies allot extra cash. Sites and blogs earn by introducing the products stated in the promoted content to new audiences. Learn from PPC Hero

 

  • Brand partnership. Bloggers, such as Minimalist Baker, strike a deal with company brands to promote their products and services. Brands can provide some items for the bloggers to try and get paid each time such items get advertised through product reviews by the blogger or through sales at a certain given time.

 

  • Courses. Bloggers with authority and credibility in their niche can offer classes and courses to their readers to learn more and improve their skills. This is most common in digital marketing, arts and design, information technology, language, and many more. Bloggers earn through registration fees from course enrollees. This is what interior designer Maria Killam did. 

 

  • Consulting. Companies or individuals who aspire to be successful in their chosen fields can hire highly skilled and well-trained bloggers to provide consulting services to improve their performance or add value to their processes. One blogger who delved into providing consulting services is The Nerdy Me who offers consulting on blogging and social media management, among others.

 

  • Private coaching. Bloggers who are considered experts in their respective fields can also be hired by individuals or a group as private coaches to reach their goals and targets or develop skills. Bloggers like Blog Tyrant commit dedicated coaching services to only five clients.

 

  • Conference speaking. Institutions and agencies may also hire bloggers like LadyBossBlogger with authority, credibility, and knowledge in their respective fields to talk about related topics at conferences and seminars. Through this, bloggers get paid to share knowledge, provide inspiration, and encourage actions to a large group of people.

 

  • Book deals. As bloggers get better at their writing skills, they can partner with companies to provide detailed information about their products. The authors then get share earnings from the sales of the book. One such blogger is James Altucher, whose book Choose Yourself sold more than half a million copies. 

 

  • Freelance writing opportunities. Bloggers, especially those who are still starting, can earn by accepting freelance writing projects from companies or individuals. They get paid either per piece or per word count. Blogger and Youtuber Jorden Roper of Writing Revolt does freelance writing jobs and helps others succeed in freelance writing.

 

Examples of Successful Blogs

Several blogs have successfully made their mark on the internet and are worth emulating. These bloggers have made blogging their main business as soon as their earnings surpassed their salaries from their day jobs, and they quit their 9-5 jobs and worked full-time in managing their blogs and creating content.

 

Some of these professional bloggers include:

 

  • John Lee Dumas. His blog, Entrepreneur on Fire, which started in podcasts, provides consultation services for entrepreneurs on financial matters. His ten-year-old blog earned more than $69,000 in the first year and almost $21 million since it began. His revenues come from sponsorships, coaching, affiliate ads, and subscription packages.

 

  • Pat Flynn. As of 2021, Flynn has a net worth of over $2 million with a monthly income of $100,000, wherein most revenues come from his blog Smart Passive Income. He shares tips and know-how on entrepreneurship, online marketing, and podcasting. He has online courses, affiliate ads, and published books that greatly contribute to his earnings.

 

  • Abby. Together with her husband, Abby runs Just A Girl And Her Blog, which provides tips and tricks for Do-It-Yourself own home organization and decorations. From 2014 to 2016, her blog has earned as much as $51,000 monthly from affiliate marketing and her eBooks and courses.

 

  • Harsh Agarwal. Agarwal’s blog Shout Me Loud provides knowledge, tools, tips, and tricks to blogging. His passion for computers and technology paired with blogging has made him one of the sought-after professionals in blogging. He earned over $40,000 in February 2018, mostly from affiliate marketing, advertising, and his eBook.

 

  • Matthew Woodward. Through his blog MatthewWoodward.com, Woodward provides training on increasing website traffic and search engine optimization for aspiring bloggers. In 2017, his average monthly salary as a professional blogger had reached $25,000, and he has earned over a million dollars since his blog started in 2012. 

 

  • Jon Dykstra. Fat Stacks Blog talks about getting success in niche marketing in niche blogging. Dykstra makes about $28,000-$30,000 a month running his blog through affiliate marketing.

 

Now, enough with other people. Let’s talk about how you can start your blog and make money. As with all things in life, there is no such thing as “easy money.” Earning your keep and getting the big bucks require time, effort, determination, diligence, skills, and wit. 

 

How do you get started?

 

FIND YOUR NICHE

The internet already has a saturation of information and content, blogs, and websites. You need to set yourself apart from the 600 million blogs out there. Choose what specific topic your blog will be about, and this specific topic is called niche.

 

Finding and deciding on your niche helps you focus on your blog’s content and target audience, direct sponsorships, and advertisements related to your niche. Maintaining your niche can gather loyal readers and make you an expert in that field, which brings in more income opportunities.

 

Your niche should align with your passion and interests. It must be something you want to talk about over and over again. It must be profitable as well. Do market research, find out what people, or your potential audience, demand or take interest. Check out the competition as well. If there is already too much in that field, explore other niche areas.

 

CREATE YOUR WEBSITE

Decide on your niche first, then set up a website for your blog. This website will be the home of your blog and will contain all of your content, products, and services. It will also be the avenue for your readers, target market, and potential companies to connect and work with you.

 

The first thing that can establish your brand as a blogger is your website’s domain name which is what the audience types in to get to your site. Choose a domain name that can represent and showcase your personality, your niche, or your blog. It must be short, unique, and memorable. 

 

Next, you need to decide on how to get your website posted and published on the internet. You can avail of a web host who ensures you get the necessary technologies and services,  making your website viewable on the internet. This will give you the freedom to work organically around your website’s site map, design, etc.

 

If web hosting is too big a task for you as a newbie blogger, various blogging platforms can host your blogs for you. You only need to put in content and choose among the pre-set designs and work around it. This approach is good for beginners like you who are still exploring your brand.

 

Another important factor in creating your blog’s website is your theme, which provides your blog’s entire look, feel, and brand. Choose a theme that responds to your blog’s objectives and is easily catered to by your web host or blogging platform. The theme should also be capable of switching sizes and layouts based on your readers’ devices. Go for simple themes that can help your audience navigate easily and focus on your content.

 

Finally, organize your blog’s content by creating a menu. Menus help your readers check their desired content from your blog quickly and easily. Make your menu simple and focus on the top topics of your blog. Many blogging platforms offer themes with a pre-set menu. You can avail yourself of the blogging platforms or work around them. 

 

WRITE YOUR CONTENT

Now that your website’s structure is set up, it is time to put content into it. Content is the heart of your blog. It includes not just your written articles but also information about your website and you as the creator. This helps build the personality and credibility of your brand and blog.

 

Your website’s homepage shows the audience an overview of your niche and your blog’s content. It must contain everything about your blog in a glance – your brand, logo, contents, and areas the readers can explore while on your website. The homepage sets the audience’s first impression of your site. It must be user-friendly, look clean and enticing, and easily lead the audience to your content.

 

One important piece of content for your website is the About Me section, which contains all the relevant information about you as a blogger. This section will introduce your audience and share your background, passion, and interest, which must be your niche and your blog’s goals and objectives. Letting your readers know can establish rapport and trust to make them subscribe to your blog and avail of your products and services.

 

It is also vital for your website to contain ways on how people can contact you. Your contact details may be in the form of your business mobile number, e-mail address, or a section on your website where they fill out their concerns directly. The Contact Me page makes it easier for your audience to provide immediate feedback, customers to avail of your products and services, and companies for potential sponsorships, brand deals, and affiliate partnerships, an easy way to get started in the affiliate world is using a popular affiliate network, for example: Awin (https://www.awin.com/)

 

Lastly, your website must have your blog posts, where you share your knowledge, expertise, opinion, review, or feedback on various topics related to your niche. Publish blog articles regularly to fill your site with more content and increase your traffic by creating viral content. However, when you hop on a trending topic, never lose sight of your niche. Instead, work around it to bring in more readers to your blogs.

 

Your content must be written by you or your group of content writers and collaborators. Never plagiarize the work of others. Plagiarism and cheating will only damage your credibility and authority in your chosen field and make you lose your readers and audience.

 

GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST

Your content-filled blog needs readers to keep it rolling. An email list or a list of email addresses from people who have subscribed to your blog or signed up for freebies, updates, and promos should contain your recurring audience and help spread your blog more by sharing your content with family and friends.

 

By signing up, people tell you that they are interested in your content and are eager to know more. They are also permitting you to contact them again for the latest updates and newest blog posts. Grow your email list by putting a landing page or action button on your site where people can subscribe to your blog.

 

As your email list grows, sending out marketing campaigns to each email can become harder and more time-consuming to manage on your own. Various email marketing services can help create and send out marketing campaigns to your readers and subscribers. 

 

E-Mail List Tools

  • Mailchimp manages your email list and creates marketing campaigns to be sent out
  • Constant Contact offers email marketing, e-commerce, website management, and social marketing
  • Sendinblue offers bulk email marketing in affordable rate packages
  • Drip provides start-up companies and e-commerce businesses access to customer data and tools that can help in their marketing campaigns sent via email and SMS
  • Hubspot offers sales and customer services alongside marketing services.

 

INCREASE TRAFFIC

Give your blog a promotional boost and reach more audiences by putting it out on social media pages. The pages are micro-blogging sites that can help spread your brand and content far and wide. This year, over 4.4 billion people worldwide are active on social media, and reaching even just a quarter of it can already propel your blog to success.

 

This number covers all people in all age groups – from children up to the elderly. The majority of the social media users worldwide belong to the 18-34 age group, with some portions from the 13-17 age group and the 65+ group. In 2019 and 2020, people spend an average of 145 minutes or 2.5 hours a day on social media pages.

 

All of these data can help you plan your marketing strategies and target the right audience for your blog and your content on social media. Some social media platforms like Facebook offer paid boosts to publish your posts and contents to a wider audience. Aside from this, it is also good to gather reach and engagements organically.

 

Create an educational, intriguing, fun, or mysterious post to keep social media users interested in your content. This can be in text-only posts, infographics, photos, videos, or a mixture of these forms. 

 

Post content regularly and always leads them to your blog by putting in a link to click on for more. You can also hop on the trending topics and viral posts or videos by posting on social media without disturbing your website’s contents.

 

Among the more popular social media pages worldwide are: 

 

  • FacebookHaving a complete FB profile and making friends with people who are related in any way to your blog’s target audience will add traffic to your blog.  
  • Instagram: Create a bio that showcases your expertise relevant to your blog and includes a call to action to generate traffic back to your blog site. 
  • Twitter: Write short provocative tweets to compel your Twitter followers to check out your blog site. 
  • YouTube: Accompany your blog with a short, engaging video to drive traffic to your blog site. Give it a boost by providing a clickable link within the first 150 characters of the video description.   
  • Reddit: Bloggers can leverage the number of Redditors by joining subreddits that are related to their blog’s niche. But first, you need to participate actively in the various threads to earn the trust of the users. 

 

You can join some or all of these pages as your business, blog, or person.

 

Social media can help you easily connect with other bloggers and create a community to help promote and complement each other’s works. It is an excellent approach to quickly respond to your readers’ comments and reactions to your blog. Through this, you can also maximize search engine optimization (SEO) for your blog to make it reach more traffic.

 

Is there a Blogger inside of you?

Blogging may look easy and quick to do by everyone, but some people are more suited to this business. To ensure its success, it can be a lot harder than expected. Certain qualities can help you become a better blogger and keep you in the business for a long time.

 

People who love writing are more likely to stay in blogging for many years. You have to tirelessly think of and write articles about different aspects of your niche to be posted on your blog. You must always be keen on the latest trends or create a viral post of your own.

 

Blogs need regular and constant updating and posting of content to keep it afloat. It must stay active by putting out information daily, weekly, or monthly for many years. Other blogs need to be filled with loads of content first before they can pick up loyal readers, returning traffic, and companies for sponsorships and brand deals.

 

People who enjoy connecting with others also make effective bloggers. Blogging presents your thoughts and ideas to the world and allows others to provide feedback or ask for additional information from you. People may find your content helpful and inspirational that they will reach back to you for more.

 

If you love talking to various kinds of people and offering help or sharing some tips on something, blogging is the perfect avenue for connecting to different people from across the globe. With the power of the internet, there are only a few places and few people left that are hard to make connections to.

 

Lastly, people with an entrepreneurial spirit are more likely to be driven to pursue blogging as their main career and business. All the efforts, time, and work you put into your blogs deserve to be rewarded and give you the comfortable life you deserve. 

 

Blogger Tips

As proven by the many successful blogs mentioned earlier, it is impossible to make a decent living out of blogging. If their life is what you also want for yourself, keep the drive running and build your successful blog. Undoubtedly, you will meet a lot of hardships and struggles as you start your blog, even as you maintain it in the years to come. Keep your eye on the prize and keep that fire burning until you reach your goals.

 

Your Passion

Remember, write what you are passionate about. Your topics and articles must be aligned with your interests, making it easier to write and finish your content. When you feel strongly about what you write, working on it won’t become such a chore. 

 

Writing about your passion and interests will also inspire you to create more and more content. These contents will be written with much ease compared to a topic you have forced yourself to write about. The readers can also feel your emotion and mood through your blogs and articles. If they feel your passion through your content, they would most likely enjoy reading it and sharing it with others.

 

Opinion vs Facts

Facts should back your opinion. Blogging can establish your authority and credibility as an expert on your niche. Facts and the truth strengthen your credibility. Start your blogging career right by keeping the correct virtues and siding with what is right. 

 

An opinion on a matter not supported by facts is only hearsay – weak and baseless. Hearsay can become fuel to misinformation and disinformation, which is very dangerous, especially on the internet. Add value and goodness to the internet and the world by producing content that is beneficial to your audience.

 

Use the force of the Internet

Use to your advantage the immense power of the internet – for good and not for the bad. The internet continues to evolve, and more tools, techniques, and opportunities are developed each day to make people’s lives easier. Make use of all this as you make a living out of the internet.

 

There are loads of free tools that you can use as you start your blogging career. You can maximize these tools to establish your brand and move on to the paid ones to make it even better. Once you have established and strengthened your brand, name, and credibility as a professional blogger in your niche, you can create tools and products to help other aspiring bloggers succeed.

 

Limitless opportunities

In blogging, you can turn your passion and interests, whatever it is, into a profitable career and business. The opportunities are limitless. The internet is endless as a place to grow your career, at least not for the immediate future. You can tackle a wide variety of ideas – from the most common to the most novel – and there will be people who can see and read your work.

 

Still, even with the infinite possibilities and opportunities the internet and blogging can bring into your life, your success depends on your talents, skills, and values. Utilizing the internet and letting it do all the work will not guarantee you the life and the big bucks you aimed to achieve. You still have to do some hard work yourself and reap the sweeter fruits later on.

 

Don’t lose Hope or Patience

Be patient and consistent enough in managing and releasing content on your blog. Your first few contents may not attract that many readers yet, which can be discouraging, especially if it lasts for a longer period. However, let it not discourage you and keep you from writing and producing more content. 

 

You have to be driven enough not to lose motivation to continue putting out content, especially in times of poor traffic and low audience reach. Just keep on writing and writing and posting it on your blog. Who knows, the next one may be your big one. Some companies lurk on new websites and bloggers to look for their new endorsers or affiliates.

 

You have to be determined and diligent enough to look for more topics to talk about and write about. Even if your blog has already gained traction, this can easily dwindle if you do not maintain it. Your first success in blogging is just a sneak peek of how big it can still grow if you continue to work on it.

 

You have to be interesting enough to stand out and make a difference. You have to be wise and creative enough to implement strategies to reach the top. There are well over a billion posts and information that are found on the internet each day. What makes you the one in a billion? What would catch people’s attention and keep their interest in your work? Remember this as you continue to write and plan for your blog’s content.

 

 

And finally, strive to be humble and kind despite the successes that you have achieved. Keep in mind the hardships you have been through and help those who want to succeed in blogging. Instead of looking at aspiring bloggers as competitions, they can become beneficial to you as they will be the target market of your coaching and consulting services – more people helped, more money coming your way.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to make money blogging?

Thanks to the rapid technological advancements in the world over the years, work and businesses have become more flexible and fluid. It is relatively quick to earn big bucks when you venture into blogging. You can start earning the perks or money in a matter of months.

How do bloggers get paid?

Bloggers get paid through perks, company benefits, X-deals, or money. The material or perk payments are usually given to those who are still starting in the blogging business. Monetary payments are oftentimes sent through online payment channels such as PayPal or through bank transfers.

Who is the highest paid blogger?

Ariana Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post (HuffPost), is the highest paid blogger in the world. She started HuffPost together with former AOL executive Kenneth Lerer as a commentary blog in 2005. Now, the website has become a multimillion media empire since 2011.

Do bloggers make good money?

Like any other e-commerce industry, blogging can definitely give you good money if you put your heart and dedication to it. Never give up until you reach your goals. Whether it takes months or many years, your efforts will surely pay off. 

Are blogs still profitable?

There are millions of blogs created in the world today. But despite this, blogging is still a profitable business. A successful blog is rooted on the creator’s talent, skills, dedication, passion, and individuality. All of the tools that can help propel your blog to success are readily available. Take them, use them well, and surely, your career in the blogging business will prosper. 

Big Piggyy

"Show me the MONEY!!!" – Jerry Maguire

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