Blogging for Profit: A New Blogger's Perspective

Blogging can be very rewarding both personally and professionally. Just like social media, blogs give any and everyone a voice to share their knowledge and experiences, except blogging is more in-depth and has been compared to journal writing. Those of you who have been following me in my first attempt at a blog will know that I am doing this as a part of graduate class. However, I realized even before starting this blog that it would provide a great opportunity for professional development and it has the potential to lead me to my next career move. As someone who enjoys a good read, both in novel and blog form, I have thought about writing a lot lately. My dreams of writing my own science fiction novel like the authors who have captivated me over the years, J.K. Rowling and Bella Forrest just to name a couple, seem to drift further and further away as the demands of life always seem to great to manage it all. It has got me thinking about what it would take to be a full-time blogger and actually make a profitable income to support myself and my family. So I did some research, and this is what I found:

Persistence is Key

It is totally possible to make a profit from blogging, but it is not going to happen overnight. A lot of today's most successful blogs were launched in the early 2000s. Forbes provides 10 great examples of blogs that have grown to generate millions of dollars' worth of revenue per month. Taking the #1 spot was none other than HuffPost, better known as the Huffington Post, which was launched in 2005 by Arriana Huffington. After a 6-year period of providing content on politics and life from a liberal standpoint, Huffington was able to sell her site to AOL for an estimated $315 million. The site now generates upwards of $14 million PER MONTH.

I say all this to point out that if you are interested in starting a blog for profit then you better be in it for the long haul. It could take several months, or even years, and a ton of content production before you begin to generate any kind of livable income. LifeHacker blogger, Melanie Pinola, says the easiest way to make an income from blogging is by becoming a freelancer or employed blogger. Otherwise, you will be starting from the bottom and will need to take the necessary steps to monetize your blog which usually starts by having ads placed on your site.

How do bloggers generate revenue?

Bloggers can generate revenue in a variety of  creative ways. Blogging Basics 101 does a great job of breaking down some of these options. For the beginner, however, there are several networks that you can partner with to have ads placed on your site which will pay you for the cost per clicks (CPC) or cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM) when readers visit the ad. AdSense from Google is one of the more widely known networks with this service. Once you have established a growing audience then you could also have the option of selling private advertisements which gives you the power to set your own rates.

According to LifeHacker, there are many factors at play that will determine how much you could make with your blog. These factors include how often you post, the quality of your content and the sources used to back your statements, the competitiveness of your chosen topic, and your ability to build an audience and generate traffic. The truth is, from what I've read, very few blogger's are able to
generate a full, livable income from blogging alone. This can be a little discouraging for someone who is just starting a blog, but I wholeheartedly believe that if you are passionate writer and can add value to the conversation then it will translate in your writing and people will read it. There are so many other benefits to blogging that making money is just an added bonus.

After the slight discouragement, I needed a little inspiration and encouragement so I stumbled upon another blog called 'Create And Go' which gave insight into how much bloggers actually make. The writer's admit to making upwards of $50,000 a month through their blogs. The blog points out the importance of having a niche that the blogger is well versed on or are at least passionate about learning it. The biggest takeaway, though, was execution which was said to be the #1 important aspect of income variance in blogging. This really resonated with me because in my professional life, I am always having to come up with new and creative ideas to reach new people in my target market and I have experienced enough failures to know that execution is everything. If I were to start a blog for profit, then this site is probably where I would start.

Other benefits of blogging

While it takes a great investment to build up a reputation for your blog (and monetize it) that will allow you to see any kind of income from it, there are many other benefits of blogging. Not only does it give you a creative platform to share your discovery's, but it promotes self-growth and helps build relationships. Plus, it's fun! It can be used as a tool to market your business and bring traffic to your website. And, it can also be used as part of a professional portfolio. Whatever reason you have for starting a blog is, my advice to you is be passionate about what you write, make sure that it adds value to the world, and don't stop!

The prospect of becoming a full-time, professional blogger is enticing with its flexible work hours and potential income opportunities. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be quitting my day job anytime soon. But, what I do know is that I will continue my blog pursuits no matter where it may lead. Maybe it will inspire others to start blogging. Or, maybe, it wont. Later down the line, I may try my attempts at monetizing my blog just for giggles. There is a possibility that nothing will come from it and I never see a dime. But, there's a small slither of hope that I could turn this thing into something great and even add something meaningful to the world. That, alone, makes this experience entirely worth it!

Thank your for reading! Do you have a blog? Feel free to share some of your thoughts and experiences below in the comments.

Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertadams/2017/03/02/top-income-earning-blogs/#77bd0ead2377
https://lifehacker.com/can-i-really-make-a-living-by-blogging-1537783554

https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-can-i-make-money-from-my-blog/
https://createandgo.co/how-much-do-bloggers-make/