A new blog is created every second of every day. Now I am no mathematician, but even with my rudimentary skills I can tell you that’s a heck of a lot of sites. At the same time, prominent bloggers like Young House Love and mom blog royalty, Dooce, are are leaving the industry. It’s no surprise one of the most common questions I am asked is, can you still make a living blogging?
Yes. The short answer is yes. The longer answer resides within the development of three specific areas: branding, work ethic and a diversified income stream.
Unique Voice and Strong Personal Brand
There will always be opportunity for an individual with a strong, unique voice. They key? Honing in on your voice quickly and building a strong personal brand.
When I first started hosting blogger education in 2009, the creative niche was still relatively small. About 175 bloggers attended the first conference, which at the time constituted large portion of active professional craft bloggers. Today we host more than 500 bloggers each year and while we pick up a large percentage of the bloggers who are financially successful in the maker niche, we don’t even pull in a quarter of the industry’s professional bloggers.
Gone are the days when posting on a general “lifestyle” blog could be counted on as a launching pad for success. Choosing a niche and fortifying a strong personal brand around what makes you special in that space is no longer just good advice. It’s nearly mandatory for success.
I’d love to have you share what makes YOUR voice unique. Will you share it with me in the comments?
Hard Work
Bloggers are more sophisticated than they were even five years ago. Blog design is clean and crisp, photographs are outstanding and bloggers are socially savvy. It’s not easy to carve out a space on the internet and make a name for yourself. It takes time to build your audience.
While creating good content takes time in and of itself, most bloggers struggle because they don’t realize that at least three fourths of their time will be spent planning, brand and sponsor negotiations, site design and upkeep, networking and social media promotion. Looking to make a full-time income on your site? Expect to put in full time hours.
Diversified Income
There are a number of ways that bloggers make money, but those who are the most successful have a diversified income stream. Here are a few of the ways bloggers are making money:
Advertising
Display Advertising – Display advertising are images and graphics often placed in the header, sidebar and footer of a blog. They are often serviced by ad networks like: Google AdSense, BlogHer, Federated Media, Rivit and Sovrn (along with many, many more), in exchange for a share of the revenue.
For more information on display ads, be sure to check out Pro Blog School’s exhaustive resource on How to Make Money Using Ad Networks.
Private Advertising – Private advertising is similar to display advertising serviced by ad networks in terms of placement, but they are managed and sold by the individual blog owner. Often they take the form of sidebar buttons and start at about $50 a month.
Affiliate Sales
Affiliate sales are a type of performance based marketing. A blogger promotes an advertiser’s product or service in exchange for earning a commission. Popular affiliate partners include: Amazon, CJ and Share-a-Sale.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content, often referred to as native advertising, is advertising content presented in a way that closely fits the tone and style of the blog where it is shown. A blogger is paid to showcase a product on their site in the form of a review or tutorial style post.
Products and Services
Many bloggers have branched out and now offer products and consulting services in conjunction with their blog. In some cases bloggers are working in conjunction with manufacturers to develop product, while in others they are simply licensing their name and likeness. Other bloggers have taken advantage of their platform to sell books, courses and consulting services.
In many cases, blogs have become the hub for an individual brand. Bloggers are thinking beyond advertising and sponsored posts to launch programs and products from the very platform that first generated interest. Their blog.
Now I’d love to answer your questions. What would you like to know about making a career out of a blog? Are you a blogger considering a product or service? Maybe you already offer something? Leave me a comment and let me know!
I think it’s interesting that the big reason Dooce left is because of native advertising, aka, sponsored posts – yet now she’s doing consulting for brands who want to work with influencers in the same way. And if you look at her blog, she’s actually posting pretty regularly – maybe not daily anymore, but it definitely looks like she hasn’t quit. I’m sure she’s still making good money, given that she’s running ads . . . so it’s hard for me to take her seriously. Maybe I just don’t know the whole story and she’s transitioning, but from the outside it doesn’t look like that much has changed for her.
Young House Love completely bailed and honestly I understand how they were burned out. But I don’t think (at least didn’t seem) it was a lack of opportunities or inability to make money.
I think in both of these cases, the amount of traffic they were able to drive was based on how much they opened their homes and let people in . . . the openness drew in readers. Unfortunately, that must get exhausting – and as your children get older and as you add to your family, it’s got to feel weird. Not everyone might be on board.
It’s honestly exciting to have the craft blog format because we still have so many opportunities . . . and for me, the money hasn’t gone away at all. People will always want to do crafts, and I just have to keep on top of how they want to see them. I can make my life as private as I want to and all I do is provide things for people to make!
Amy! I was so happy to see your name pop up when I logged on. It has been too long. I appreciate your insightful comment. You’ve worked hard to develop a brand and a name for yourself in a specific niche and you’re the perfect example of how successful that can be.
Like you, I don’t share much of my private life online. I utilize my accounts mainly for professional use. Having said that, I’ve gone back and forth since I started blogging as to whether or not a private outlook on things was a disadvantage. It took me forever to realize that it all just depends on the type of blog you have and the strategy you choose to employ. I have finally settled into a comfortable place – thank heaven!
While I sited to of the more popular articles, I’ve really been surprised at how many articles I’ve seen claiming that the money isn’t there…Whether it’s that sponsored post are drying up (which we’ve seen to an extent) or that ad blockers are going to decrease revenue (which I believe is overblown), there have been a ton of posts. No reason to freak people out needlessly.
It really is good to hear from you. Keep in mind, that you’re always welcome to join us in April as my guest. I’d love to see you. xo
I LOVE this article! It gives me hope. This is the number one question I have had since I started my blog about 10 months ago and no one has ever answered it. Until now. Thank you!
I would say that my niche at penniesintopearls.com is frugal living but my specific spin on it is that you can live frugal and fabulous all at the same time! I have found, now that I have been in the blogging world for almost a year, that this angle isn’t super unique. I am trying to think of a better way to pitch myself and my blog to stand out more. Thanks again for the article! Feeling motivated!
Well, I am glad that I can help out! It sounds like you have some solid blogging experience under your belt and you’ve already developed your brand quite a bit. I would really recommend digging deep and considering what things within frugal and fabulous you can do better than anyone else. Being a foodie on a budget, fashion on a dime and mix in a higher concentration of those particular posts. Having said that, branding yourself doesn’t always have to be a super specific niche. Sometimes it’s simply super unique things that are totally you. A lipstick you always wear, your ability to get up at the crack of dawn…It’s funny how the smallest thing can be a huge deal.
Good luck! xo Tauni
Great article, Tauni! I am learning a little bit at a time about what it takes to have a successful blog. So far, I’ve only just purchased my website & haven’t even published it for viewing. I suppose I have struggled to feel like my stories are worth reading – although I do believe deep inside me that someone, somewhere may benefit from my experiences & words of encouragement.
I’m in a fork in the road, so to speak, in my life & the idea of blogging professionally appeals to me a great deal. As a brand new mama, I can’t think of a better way to get to be with my baby girl full time! Writing has always been a passion of mine; yet I haven’t quite found enough of my voice to bravely share what I dream about telling others.
It sounds like, from examples such as this article & others I’ve come across, that the story telling is only a small part of the blogging experience. I’d love to learn it all!
Thanks for sharing these helpful steps about how to find success in the world of blogging!
XO
Oh man, I find that there’s a little something to learn every day regardless of how long you’ve been blogging. It’s such a big, big world and each of us no matter how “popular” or successful in the eyes of the world are really contained to such a small corner of it.
One thing I have learned though, is that there is never a perfect time to hit publish and sometimes we have to just go for it! Go ahead and publish those posts. Even if you don’t publicize them, the act of writing publicly will hone your voice and prepare you for bigger things!
xo
tauni
Hi I have found your post really useful. I have been blogging since March and have slowly built an audience. I love blogging and found that since I’ve started that my niche is slowly developing. Now I post a weekly upcycling repurposing craft tutorial. I have yet to monitize my blog and am not sure how to go about it.
I don’t want to clutter my site with loads of ads and I hate pop ups. I was thinking of some affiliate advertising but not quite sure where and how to start. I don’t expect to make loads of money blogging but enough to cover my costs with a bit extra would be nice. I also like the idea of eventually developing my own products and services to sell, but at the moment not sure how or what. I feel I’m still working out what my brand is and growing my audiences. I ve learnt so much since I’ve started, I wasn’t even on social media before I started blogging and didn’t own a camera other than my phone. I have learnt that promotion is a big part of blogging but content is key, there is no use promoting something unless it’s good.
Thanks !
Pinning! Can’t wait to read this 🙂
<3 Kara
http://www.fcnextdoor.com
Awesome Kara! Let me know if you have any questions! xo Tauni
Thanks for this great article! Your sectionon Advertising gave me some great ideas. @BecomeAdult
Awesome Steven! Best of luck to you in your blogging journey! xo Tauni