Here are some opinions from top bloggers.
Steve Pavlina (How to Make Money from Your Blog)
Steve Pavlina starting making $4 per day after six months of starting his blog. At the end of 2006, it was making more than $1000 per day. In April 2006, the site had received over 1.1 million visitors and over 2.4 million page views. Adsense is his biggest income source, with donations coming second. He now has a best-selling book published and his name is ubiquitous in the personal development world.
Pavlina says, “a high five-figure annual income is certainly an attainable goal for an individual working full-time from home. But I happen to agree with those who say that 99% of people who try to generate serious income from their blogs will fail.”
ChristianPF (How to Make Money with a Blog
In this post, Bob Lotich offers comprehensive information on how to make money blogging. He also answers the question about how long it takes to make money blogging. Lotich says, “Well just like most things in life, there is no legitimate quick and easy way. It takes time and hard work.” From the above link you can see a chart suggesting that it typically takes more than a year to start making any significant income.
Penelope Trunk (Reality check: You’re not going to make money from your blog)
Trunk offers eight reasons why you shouldn’t think about trying to make money blogging. She says, “Almost everyone should forget about making money directly from blogging. It’s so unlikely that it’s a total waste of your time trying. I am actually shocked at how ubiquitous the idea is that blogging is a get-rich-quick scheme.”
CopyBlogger (Why You Can’t Make Money Blogging)
Sonia Simone gives a mixed review with an analysis of the now abandoned, Fake Steve Jobs blog. The site was mentioned in the New York Times resulting in more than 500,000 visitors in one day. The income for this spectacular inflow of traffic was about $100 in Adsense revenue. Simone says, “So if Fake Steve Jobs can’t monetize a blog, the rest of us are doomed, right?” She later goes on to explain that the problem was “that Fake Steve Jobs didn’t come up with a working business model, so he didn’t make any money.” Simone points out what she calls, “a fundamental marketing truth: If you don’t offer customers something they dearly want, whether it’s to gain some great pleasure or escape some great pain, you’re not going to make any money.”
Performancing (Can Anyone Make Money From Blogging?)
Chris Garrett says, “Anyone could make money from blogging but only a percentage of people actually go all the way and succeed. Critical to success is having staying power, not being defeated by minor setbacks, being willing to put yourself out there and put in the hard work. If you stick to it and can do all those things then yes, I am sure anyone can do it.”
ProBlogger (A Reality Check about Blogging for Money)
Darren Rowse is the expert at earning money from blogging. He says, “I’ve run many polls here at ProBlogger on how much people are earning from the medium and on every single occasion they reveal that the vast majority of bloggers are making very little per month. While it is possible to make amazing money from blogging the sad reality is that most don’t make more than pocket money. Even some blogs who ‘deserve’ to make money blogging don’t. ”
Rowse’ article covers five facts about making money blogging:
1. It takes a concerted long term effort.
2. It takes luck.
3. It takes a lot of work.
4. Many don’t make much money blogging.
5. It’s hard.
Can You Make Money Blogging?
Absolutely! People are making money now and more will join the ranks of professional bloggers. The possiblity to earn a great income from blogging exists just like it is possible to make money acting, being a musician, artist or athlete. Professional bloggers, rockstars, famous artists and high-paid athletes all exist, so the opportunity is clearly there. However, blogging, like anything else worthwhile in life, is a lot of hard work with little remuneration for a long time. Blogging superstars like Leo Babauta of ZenHabits and Yaro Starak of Entrepreneurs Journey paid their dues with hundreds, if not thousands of hours of work over the course of several years to get the notoriety and income they currently enjoy. If you are talented, work hard and have a little bit of luck the opportunities are available. Just don’t expect it to be easy, passive income.
Update
Another option for a more secure way to make money is to write for other blogs. Here is a recent article on ProBlogger.
NerdyNomad earns about $1000 per month from her blogs aimed at backpackers. She shares some of her experiences on her site.
My wife and I have a one year plan to change our careers and move to a new country.
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