How Long Does It Take To Make Money Blogging?
Plenty of bloggers talk about starting a blog as the simplest money-making scheme out there. Working from home is possible, but that doesn’t mean every path is easy. Where does blogging fall on that spectrum?
With around 7 million people writing blogs around the world, you might wonder whether there’s room for another blogger on the web.
But beyond that, the big question is, how long does it take to make money blogging?
How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?
The first thing I researched was how much money bloggers make. Of course, there is a wide range of possible income when blogging. However, many blogs bring in no revenue and are only done as a hobby, while some successful blogs make over $100,000 per month!
The Most Successful Bloggers
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington, the previous owner of the Huffington Post, has created the highest-paid blog ever. The Huffington Post makes over $14 million per month! It began in 2005 as a liberal blog on life and politics and was sold in 2011 to AOL for $315 million. It is the most significant blog success story to date and is valued at over $1 billion today.
Peter Rojas
Peter Rojas, the creator of Gizmodo and Engadget, is another insanely successful blogger example. He started both blogs around the same time, one about technology and design and one about gadget and technology reviews. Gizmodo pulls in around $325 thousand per month, and Engadget averages at $5.5 million per month! Needless to say, Rojas has blogging figured out!
Peter Cashmore
Peter Cashmore founded Mashable in 2005. He produced regular content on a variety of topics. The blog now makes around $2 million monthly. What began as a humble start-up is now one of the best blogs in the world.
How Much do Bloggers Make in General?
Although these blog stories are amazing, In general, bloggers do not make that much, especially in the beginning. Although it is usually slow initially, blogging is a lucrative business plan, and the potential to make money is there!
In general, the majority (53%) of new bloggers make between $1 and $100 per month. Most people blog as a hobby and don’t dedicate the time necessary to make it a real, paying job. However, if you are willing to dedicate the time, it is entirely possible to make between $500 and $2,000 per month as a beginner blogger.
13% of new bloggers make at least five digits per year, and 4% of new bloggers make six figures annually! This data goes up as the years go on. Building a profitable blog takes time.
So, on average, most people do blogging as a hobby or a side gig, which doesn’t result in much income. However, a small percentage can make a killing with their blogs, even in the first few years.
How To Start A Profitable Blog
I can’t promise that you will make money blogging, but I can promise that you will never have the chance to find out if you never get started. So, step one is to create your blog!
Pick a Topic
Come up with an idea for your blog. You want it to be clear and specific, so people know what to expect from your blog and why they are coming to you. Decide on your niche. Think of a topic you are passionate about because if you are dedicated to making a profit, you will need to put your heart and soul into your blog.
Find a Platform
Next, you will want to decide on a platform on which to create your blog. There are hundreds of different platforms available on the internet for you to choose from. WordPress, Medium, Tumblr, Blogger, Weebly, and Typepad are just a few of the most famous examples.
Some of these are free, and some are not. If you decide you do not want to pay, there are a few downsides.
- You will not get your own domain: Your URL will have to include the platform’s name in it, and it will be lengthy. If you want to choose your URL and want it to be attractive, opt for a paying platform.
- You will be limited: If you choose to go with a free blog, you will be very limited in designing your page and what you can post on it. Additionally, you can’t fully monetize it.
- You are not the owner of your blog: If another website hosts your blog, they ultimately have the final say in what happens to your blog. They can delete it or block your content if they choose.
If you are serious about creating a profitable and long-lasting blog, it is worth the investment to pay for a URL and create your own website. It doesn’t cost much, and it makes your website much more legitimate.
Create Your Blog
Now the fun part! Design your blog however you want. Make it fun and inviting, so your readers want to keep coming back for more. If you decided to use a platform, they should have all of the tools and templates you need to make something unique and unforgettable.
Create Quality Content
After building your blog, you should optimize it with compelling content.
In the beginning stage, if you make quality content then your blog can gain popularity in no time.
The search engines look at the words in the document to rank it.
There are various things to consider when making an outstanding piece of content and we cover the whole issue below:
- Catching headline: If your headline is attractive then it would help your blog to get more
readers. - Keyword Optimization: Keyword optimization is important when trying to rank highly in
search engines, and to do this, make sure to use relevant keywords. - Unique Content: Uniqueness is an important element for your blog and it’s recommended
to use a plagiarism checker with no word limit to check the uniqueness of all of your
content before uploading. - Visuals: Without visual elements, you can’t make a good impression. So, it’s important to
have relevant images along with some videos. - SEO implications: If you don’t have On-Page SEO factors on your blog posts then you may
not be able to rank easily.
How To Make Money Blogging
Millions of people have blogs, but a small percentage of them make money off of them. How exactly do you make money blogging? What sets paid bloggers apart from unpaid bloggers? Here are some things you can try to make money from your blog.
Ads
Many bloggers begin making their money by selling ad space on their page. Once you have followers, businesses will want to use your space to reach your audience. You can rent out space on pop-up boxes or social media headers as well.
Affiliate Promotions
Along with ads, companies will often pay you to promote affiliate products. By discussing and persuading your audience to try a product, it brings more customers to that business and they pay you!
Services
Selling classes or services on your blog is another great way to pull in some income. Bloggers can sell anything from consulting services to freelance wiring courses. You can offer one on one coaching or offer a 3-week online course.
Sponsors
Once you have gained a following, businesses related to your niche will want to sponsor you. You can get blog sponsors that pay you to sponsor them exclusively. These are called site sponsors. They have full advertising decisions over your site.
Other sponsors will just want to sponsor one post. With these, you simply write a blog post and mention that they are the sponsor of it. You must disclose the blog post with the company, but it is a non-threatening way to get their name out to your audience.
Another sponsorship you can get is for social media content. If your blog has resulted in a large social media following, then you can make posts for sponsored companies and make anywhere between $25 to $500 per post, depending on how many people are following you.
Tutorials and Reviews
You can review products and services from other companies on your blog for money! This is another excellent way to create a profitable blog. Doing tutorials on how to use a specific product is an option as well.
How Long Does It Take To Make A Profitable Blog?
Although every blog is different and it is nearly impossible for me to predict how long it will take you to make money blogging, it is possible to make money off of your blog within a year. The more time and effort you dedicate, the quicker you can expect to see a return on investment.
Create a Plan
What is your goal? Envision what you want your blog to be like when it is up and running, and envision how you want your audience to feel. Now, work backward from there and decide precisely what steps you need to take to get there.
Create a step by step schedule and goal chart to help you get there. The length of time that this will take depends entirely on your goals and your desired outcomes. Some people may set a 6-month plan to get their blog up and running and start making income, even if it is just a few cents. Others may develop a three-year plan where they will earn $2,000 a week in the end. Whatever your goals, decide on them and map it out.
Dedicate Your Time
The amount of time you choose to invest in your blog will directly correlate with how quickly you receive revenue and how successful your blog is. If you are serious about making blogging your career, you should consider working on it full time.
It is impossible to say precisely how much time it will take you to start making a profit. It depends on your dedication, your content, your audience, your platform, and more.
Why Do Most Bloggers Make No Money?
If you want to make money off of your blog, then it is no longer just a blog, but it is also a business. You have to treat it as such. Many people fail to make money because they think their blog will magically produce income, but in reality, you need to put in entrepreneurial effort to create a profitable business.
Wrong Niche
One way that people go wrong with their blogs is by choosing the wrong niche. People either choose niches that don’t have a profitable audience or they don’t stick to a niche and they lose people’s interest.
If you are starting a blog, decide exactly what it is going to be about and stick to it! People who are interested in that subject will be coming to you for relative and applicable content. You lose people’s interest if it is not specific and if it does not stay consistent from post to post.
You also want to make sure you can post about it again and again for years to come! Choose a topic that will always be relevant and changing!
Bad Outreach
People may have interesting content but if nobody hears about it, then nobody will see it. Things like creating an email list, reaching out to other bloggers, attending expos, reaching out to businesses, promoting your blog on social media, and talking with potential sponsors are just a few of the necessary outreach methods you should be implementing.
Lack of Commitment
You need to be dedicated and on top of your content. You need to set a schedule of how often you are going to post, who you are going to reach out to when you are going to send emails, and more.
Many bloggers start off strong, then they get lazy and their content gets dull or their motivation dies out. Fighting through difficulties is critical to achieving your blogging goals.
Bad Content
You need to create a blog that helps people in one way or another. You need to be solving a problem with each post you make. If your content is not useful and relevant, nobody will want to read it and more importantly, nobody will want to sponsor you or give you money to include them on your site.
Listen to your audience and create content that will last! Fleeting topics are interesting, like the best new albums this month, but after 30 days they are no longer applicable. Aim to create content that people will search for in the future and in the present.
What Next?
So, how long does it take to make money blogging? Well, I can’t exactly answer that question because so many different factors determine the outcome.
If you are dedicated to your blog, have a strong audience, solid outreach, and consistent content, you have the potential to make millions of dollars from your computer!
It can be overwhelming in the beginning, but as any successful blogger will tell you, it is completely worth it. If you are thinking about starting your own blog, remember, no matter what the outcome is, it never hurts to try!
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