Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Some experts will have you believe that blogging is the best way to make money online. A few of them will even say how a blogger can make more than $100,000 per year. But in reality, no one can guarantee a specific amount.
In reality, a blogger can make anywhere from $0.01 all the way up to $5,000 per month. However, there are simply too many variables to say with certainty just how much any one person will bring in.
I know it’s probably something you don’t want to hear, but it’s the truth. While some venues will say the average blogger will make just under $33,000 per year, that doesn’t mean you’ll instantly start making that as well.
According to PayScale.com, the median rate for what a blogger can make ranges just under $31,000 per year.
And no, it’s not something you’ll achieve overnight. In fact, thousands of blogs are abandoned every day because owners didn’t see those vast numbers within a few months of writing.
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How Long Does it Take to Make Money as a Blogger?
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s quite possible to make a lot of money from a blog. However, it takes more than just setting up WordPress, cranking out a few articles and crossing your fingers.
It can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months before just one of your blog posts begins to see traction in search engines. And sites like Google are where the majority of your visitors will come from.
While you can reach for the stars, just remember to keep your feet planted on the ground. In this, I mean to keep realistic expectations of developing a blog.
It could take months if not years to bring in a full-time income.
I’m not trying to discourage you from blogging. On the contrary, I encourage you to try. Just bear in mind the amount of work and effort that will go into making a significant amount of money.
What Affects How Much a Blogger Can Make?
In my experience, I’ve seen many things that will contribute to a blog’s success and failure. And while each situation is unique, there are several key points that are true in every instance.
Like I said earlier, the number of variables in each case makes it almost impossible to say if you’ll succeed or not. However, each of these points are extremely relevant when trying to build your own website.
The Niche of the Blog
The industry or niche you choose will play a huge role in the amount of money you’ll make. This is especially true if you use ad-sharing networks like Adsense. This is because various industries are worth more in terms of ad placement.
And let’s not forget affiliate marketing. Brands you market on your site will generate different amounts depending on the niche of your blog. Again, industries have different values when it comes to sales.
Topics That You Write About
Like the niche, the topics you blog about will also affect how much you make as a blogger. Some topics you might think are golden simply will not bring in the traffic you expect.
On the flip side of that coin, though, you might create a post that winds up being spectacular.
Case in point, the review I wrote recently about Buy Me a Coffee has turned out to be the number one article on this blog while generating the most money.
My point in this is that you can’t expect riches from every topic you cover. Blogger earnings are subjective to the audience. Which means you need to connect to your readers to really bring in the dough.
Ways You Monetize the Blog
Perhaps one of the most prominent things that contribute to how much a blogger will make is the way a site is monetized. You can’t rely simply on one system if you want thousands of dollars per year.
Most successful bloggers will use a variety of cash-generating methods to make enough to replace a full-time income.
In other words, don’t think for one second that you’ll get rich off of AdSense alone. In reality, it takes hundreds of thousands of visitors to generate any decent amount of money from ad sharing networks.
The Amount of Effort You Put Into the Blog
And lastly, the amount of work you put into your blog will affect your bottom line income. If you put in a half-assed effort, expect a half-assed result.
In today’s world, you just can’t simply set up your blog and work on it for one hour per day. Rest assured, the competition isn’t. This means you need to put in the effort to maintain a popular site that people want to keep reading.
I’ve seen many clients follow expert advice to the letter and still bring in less than $200 per month from a blog. Most of the time, this is because they don’t work on the site often enough.
It’s easy to get buried in search results. You need to keep on it if you want to boost your blogger salary.
7 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Making Money Blogging
Too many people take to the Internet with the intention of making it big as a blogger. Unfortunately, many of them will fail before the first six months are over.
However, there are ways that can improve your odds and help you build a successful website. But, it will take a lot of work from yourself to make it happen.
1. Pick a Niche that Holds Your Interest
First of all, it’s important that you pick a niche that will hold your attention. The more interested you are in a topic, the more likely you’ll keep blogging.
Now, this is an important facet behind how much a blogger can make inside of a year. You’re going to need focus, motivation and a good ethic behind maintaining your site. If the niche doesn’t interest you, it’s more difficult to maintain those aspects.
You can get bored of the topic and decide it’s not worth the time after a few short weeks.
2. Commit to A LOT of Content
Don’t believe that you can write one or two “viral” pieces and sit back to watch the cash roll in. It just doesn’t work that way. You’re going to need a lot of content if you’re looking to make a lot of money.
Your target audience is looking for a wide scope of information. If you blog about one thing, you’ll miss out on the audience looking for another.
And depending on the topics you write about, it could take an insane amount of content to really bring in enough visitors where you can make money online.
3. Know What Your Audience is Looking For
Part of writing that content is knowing your audience. Who are you writing for, and what kind of person do you want on your site? Answering those questions will help you come up with winning topics.
There are a variety of ways available online that will help you determine that target audience. Your first step should be adding Google Analytics and really diving into the data.
What articles get the most visitors? How long are people staying on those pages? Do readers explore the rest of your content? You can find the answers to these questions in Analytics.
4. Market Your Blog Well
Although most of your traffic is going to come from search engines, don’t forget to market it elsewhere. Remember, if no one knows it’s there, how can they read the blog?
Turn your blog into your brand. Social media, guest blogging on other sites and leaving links on forums can help. So can sharing your blog with others in person.
In fact, I’ve gained quite a few followers by mentioning my website at WordCamps and local meetups.
5. Don’t Focus too Much on the Money
One thing I’ve seen drive a lot of people to give up is because they focus on great expectations. Don’t expect to fill your bank account on the first day. In fact, expecting thousands of dollars within the first few months is unrealistic as well.
When you focus more on the money and how much a blogger can make as opposed to the content, you can start to discourage yourself. Sometimes, it can take an awful long time to bring in a meaningful amount.
Instead of worrying too much about the money, focus on the quality. The better your content is for the masses, the more you’ll make in the long run.
6. Be Versatile with Monetization
The Internet is full of ways you can monetize a blog. Be flexible, and explore different avenues for generating income.
For instance, you can easily add:
- Ad networks like AdSense
- Affiliate links
- eCommerce and sell your own digital products, like eBooks
- Selling ad space directly to businesses
- Sponsored posts and reviews
- Add donation links and buttons
These are just a handful of things that will vastly affect how much a blogger will make from a website. Find ways to monetize that best fit your site and the audience.
7. Practice Good SEO
The best way to improve the average blogger income is by using good SEO practices. The more optimized your content and website are for search engines, the more traffic you’ll receive.
And the more traffic you receive, the better are your chances for making money.
This means having a fast website, implementing meta tags and descriptions, optimizing your image use, and creating awesome content people want to read.
Of course, this is extremely simplified. There’s actually a lot that goes into good search engine optimization.
A Blogger Can Make as Much as He or She Wants
In the end, the amount of money a blogger will make is dependent on his or her own level of effort. You can make as much or as little as you want, to be honest. It all comes down to how serious you take the site and what you want out of the experience.
Just keep in mind that it takes quite a bit of determination and motivation to reach incredible levels of success.
Commit yourself, and build something you can be proud of while engaging your visitors. It will ultimately affect how much you can make as a blogger.
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