Blogging is hot news these days. How-to blogs are sprouting like mushrooms on the Internet, while blog readership is increasing exponentially with each passing day. And it seems that everyone wants to get their fingers into the blogging pie, big or small; some may blog for fun while others want something more serious and profitable out of it. Let’s analyze how blogging can be profitable for you.
The size of the market
There are a lot of blogs out there, but only a few manage to attract a large audience which enables them to sell ad space and make money from it. Some blog writers earn over $20,000 every month from their efforts. The going gets better if you are one of those who blog for profit.
If you plan to make money blogging, the first thing that comes to your mind is what’s in it for me? You want maximum return on whatever time and effort you invest here. If this is the case with you, then I am pleased to tell you that blogging can be very rewarding. You can enjoy a hefty paycheck from blogging as a full-time professional, blogger or you can make extra income on the side.
[azonpress template=”list” asin=”B08ZVTSXTZ,1688905375,B0858VPBMM,B07KZSTGMN,B07CLQ11C2,0997111259″]Types of blogs and how they earn money
There are many different types of blogs that offer people the opportunity to blog for profit. There are some that focus on general topics such as sports, health, inspirational quotes, career, business ideas, etc. Then there are specific focus blogs that discuss topics in detail.
Some examples of blogs that make money online include the following:
How-to Blogs
How-to blogs are one of the most popular blog types since everyone loves reading how to do things. Writing a good how-to blog is not easy and you need to be a good writer. You also need to know the subject that you are blogging about which is why many people prefer hiring writers who can write on any given topic.
These kind of blogs focus on making money from affiliate sales rather than direct ad revenue as most bloggers would expect. The main idea behind such blogs is to inform the readers of new products and techniques in a particular subject, which they can use to their advantage, and then earn a commission from the affiliate sales.
Opinion Blogs
Opinionated blogs allow bloggers who have something to say, to get their opinions on issues that matter out into the open. They voice their opinion about new trends emerging in the market, their thoughts on current events and issues, etc. This gives readers the opportunity to interact with each other using comments.
News Blogs/Diary Blogs
News bloggers post updates on interesting news items which are taken from different sources; these posts may be for personal blogs or general blogs. Those who write diaries about their day-to-day activities and share them with the world are known as diary bloggers.
The main idea behind news blogs is to keep readers updated on different happenings around the world, which they can then discuss in the comments section. Diary blogs are usually written by ordinary people who want to share their views about daily life with others; some diary blogs go viral and attract thousands of readers.
Lifestyle Blogs
Lifestyle blogs are written by those who want to share their knowledge about a certain subject, such as food, fashion, beauty, fitness etc. They also share experiences which they feel would be beneficial to others. People who write these kinds of blogs usually have specialized knowledge about a particular subject and they share this information in an easy to understand manner so that everyone can benefit from it.
Niche Blogs
These kinds of blogs are written by people who have something specific to share about a certain topic or issue; these include tech bloggers, sports bloggers, parenting bloggers etc. People find such blogs interesting since they cover that particular niche topic in great depth. They provide all the latest information about that particular subject and they also give reviews of new products launched by different companies in that niche.
Celebrity Blogs
These are usually written by celebrities themselves or someone who has access to them; these blogs cover celebrity news, their daily life routines, personal experiences, etc. Celebrity blogs are also written by their fans who try to get up close and personal with the celebrities that they idolize; some even fantasize about becoming celebrities themselves.
How do these Blogs make money?
All blogs need funds to survive, online businesses usually start off free but as they grow bigger, more costs are involved which might include hiring of new staff, developing the website further, etc.
To make money on an online blog you first need to understand where your visitors come from that is search engines or advertisers; once you know this you can decide on how ads will be displayed and what kind of sponsors will benefit your blog most.
Here are some of the common ways in which bloggers make money from their blogs.
Displaying Ads
The most common way to make money through a blog is by displaying ads on it, most advertisers pay a fixed amount per 1000 impressions displayed on your website. This means if one ad gets 1000 views then the blogger will get paid for that particular ad. Blogs with high traffic get more money since they receive a higher number of views.
Sponsored Posts
Some advertisers may want to promote their products through your blog by paying you to review them; this is called sponsored posts or brand integration, bloggers who do this will get paid around $100-$300 per post depending on the advertiser and what kind of product it is.
Linking to Affiliate Products
If you have an Amazon store, eBay shop or any other kind of affiliate shop on your website then you get paid every time someone buys something from your site using the links that are provided for them. You get around 4%-7% commission on whatever product they buy. This is a good way to get started with blogging since you don’t need any initial capital and you get paid for your hard work.
Sponsoring a Post
Once in awhile some of the bigger brands or companies will approach top bloggers and ask them to write about their products; these bloggers will get paid around $75-$500 per sponsored post depending on the number of people reading their blog.
Creating Own Products
This is for those with specialized knowledge on a particular topic, they can create an eBook or any other kind of product and sell it online; the good thing about doing this is that you get to keep all the profits instead of giving away 50% to an advertiser since there is no middleman.
Membership Sites
If you have numerous posts on your blog then it will become a one stop shop for all related topics; you can create membership sites where people pay a monthly or yearly fee to access all the content on your site and participate in forums, etc. You keep 100% of the profits from such websites making it more lucrative than other models.
Investing in a blog is one way of making it profitable, though this is much riskier than the other options explained above and you will need to have enough money set aside as an investment to make it work. You can also use your blog as a means to promote another source of income such as affiliate links, etc which you can later on promote as a full time job.
What to Look out for When Starting a Blog
It is important to first understand what your blog will be about and who it will target, this ensures that you attract the right kind of advertisers and not just anyone. It also helps if you know which country has the highest internet users so that you can target that audience more easily.