In the last few months I have gotten several emails from perspective mom bloggers who want to know what kind of money can be made blogging. Most kinda dance around the specific question I KNOW they want to ask but some come right out and ask. How much money do you make EXACTLY and do you think I could make that much too?
I think all to often we see articles and advice that you can make money blogging but then when moms go out and try it they may only sew a few dollars trickle in. They get discouraged and they think they have been duped or that it is a matter of luck. Some quit blogging and others continue but are highly dubious of the moms who “claim” to make real money. I know I felt that way at one time. I saw Internet Marketers online claiming to make upwards of 5-10 grand a month and when I managed to squeak by with only $50 after busting my butt behind the screen…I was skeptical.
I am not skeptical any more but I am realistic. Some of the figures floating around are not going to be within the reach of the average blogger. Much of it is about having the right niche at the right time. Much of it is about having the right voice and the right writing style. BUT much of it is still about working hard, finding a unique voice and site, testing and tracking your efforts, and always looking for ways to put your content in front of more and more eyes.
I saw this article online today that addresses a WSJ claim that bloggers who have 100,000 uniques per month make on average $75,000. In my personal opinion that figure is crap. I am sure some do make that much but they must have a super hot niche with hot affiliate products to promote. That just cannot be the “average” IMO. I had 88,000 uniques to just ONE of my sites last month and that would theoretically make me $66,000 richer this month. Yeah… that didn’t happen. If that HAD happened I would be blogging right know from my villa in Tuscany or my condo in Costa Rica.
So how can you gauge the amount of money you can potentially make? Heck if I know!
Well, actually I saw a much better model on Frederic Patenaude’s site a few weeks back. I like Frederic because he makes a very good living online in the raw foods niche. He also does some business to business stuff but mostly I see him promoting health and information products so he is closer to my “niche” than a guy who promotes IM stuff. The IM niche (Internet Marketing) model is not very relevant to me and what I do.
Anyway in his graph, in the video on that page, you see the general figures you can make depending on the size of your list. He claims that if you have 3000 readers you can make about $1500-3000 per month. For 5000 readers the number is $2500-5000 and for 10,000 readers the figure is $5000-10,000.
I really like this chart but that may be because I have had results that mesh with it. My list number and monthly income falls within the second tier and I DO see gains when my reader numbers go up. For me the key is having regular readers and also still having that search engine traffic that comes from relevant, focused, content. Those visitors don’t always subscribe but they DO buy and they do increase ad network revenues.
So overall I find it better to work on building your lists (subscribers) rather than just trying to drum up high traffic numbers. The money is in the list.
Tiffany,
I laughed so hard when I read what you wrote about the WSJ article because I agree with you. If it is true I should be making way more this month then I’m making. I’ve looked to you many times for examples and to learn from you through observation. I observe many people online and see what works for them but this doesn’t mean it will work for me.
It really is about a combination of things and what I feel often happens with mom bloggers is the concept that they feel it will be easy to slap an ad up, write about something they do and people will flock to them. Nope. There is a strategy when it comes to be in the business of blogging, internet marketing, affiliate sales, consulting, etc. Reviews are time consuming and there’s lots to be thought about when it comes to a blog from SEO, design…oh geez I’m preaching to the choir. You know what I’m saying! Great article. I read all of what you write.
Sommer’s last blog post..National Healthy Schools Day
Tiffany, thanks so much for sharing your opinions. I’ve always found you to be incredibly honest, insightful, and supportive to other bloggers. You know what you’re doing and you tell it like it is. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Lynn from Organicmania.com’s last blog post..Kids’ Birthday Parties: Eco-Green versus Eco-Cheap?
What Mom bloggers need to realize is that to make money blogging you need to treat it as a business like any other. You need to look at your business in the same way. Analyze, research niches, research products you could promote, maybe even go as far as coming up with a list of potential products you could create for the niche.
Too many Mom bloggers think they can create a Mommy blog about their lives and make a living at it. SO few actually do. SO VERY FEW. It saddens me to see many “successful” Mommy bloggers, in the eyes of others, losing so much potential profit on their blogs.
They leak links that don’t make them a dime. They pimp themselves out for a free pen. I’m much more skeptical that you can actually make real money from a Mom blog where you’re just sharing your life.
Now, if you have a niched blog like your NM blog — where you’re teaching, sharing, offering advice, reviewing, creating your own products, promoting others and so forth, then it can obviously be successful.
I just think many Moms come into blogging not understanding how to run a blog as your full time business… VS just to write and share your kids and somehow make money.
casual friday every day’s last blog post..i have met you yet and it is good to know you. really, really good to know you.