Can you Really Make Money from Blogging?

It’s been real flattering to discover that my name and my findings on business blogging have been mentioned on several other blogs and forums; however the comments sometimes contain some skepticism on whether one can really make money from blogging.

Can you make money from Blogging?

NO.

Can you make money from creating a great website that offers content or News that appeals to a niche audience?

YES.

Does Blogging make it easier to build and promote such a website?

YES YES YES.

For the remaining skeptics, here are some sites that are making substantial money from advertising on their blogs: paidcontent, pvrblog and IWantMedia.

There are several others making money by using their Blog as a launch-pad for selling their books or publications: MarketingVox, blogroots, MarketingProfs.com, winningbackamerica.com, michaelmoore.com, Mark Stevens and SethGodin to name but a few.

What do all these blogs have in common? Good quality and regularly updated content that stays true to a particular theme. Creating a good commercial blog is all about planning and finding a community to plug into that is appealing to advertisers or would be willing to buy your products. In the long term a good website should build sustainable revenue from advertising, and that comes from long-term advertising agreements or sponsorships- none of which are possible where the partner is uncertain about what content will appear adjacent to their advertising messages.

The Complimentary Blog

There is however another kind of blog that can be used for commercial gain, albeit indirectly, and this is what I term the complimentary blog - a blog that exists as part of a larger site and helps to promote or provide freshness that is complimentary to existing commercial content.

This will result in attracting new users or increasing traffic that are either drawn by an interest in the blog’s content or are able to find the blog easily through the search engines.

Examples of these are: Dan Gillmor, The NBA’s Blog Squad, Gary Stein and Guardian Unlimited.

Some complimentary blogs do compliment an associated website, rather they compliment one’s PR efforts. Politicians and writers fall into this category and have a lot to gain from blogging. Both of these groups invest large amounts of time and resource to garner support and interest in their work. Blogging enables them to get their message out and their name known without going further than their desk. Good examples of these are: Roger L. Simon, white screen of despair, Tom Watson, Clive Soley, Howard Dean and Wesley Clark.

Can you make money from blogging?

In some cases, yes.

Can blogging help your marketing/PR plan?

ABSOLUTELY!

Interesting question, Tristam.

One of the most respected blogs is Thomas PM Barnett’s journal (author of ’The Pentagon’s New Map’. He skillfully uses his blog to not only establish credentials as a key advisor to companies and organisations concerning US government affairs, but adds gravitas to his publications and reports.

This seems to me to be one outstanding example of where blogging does make money and the lines begin to blur. Would he carry the same weight and authority without it? I don’t think so. Does it sell his writing? Most certainly.

I wonder what other publishing type blogs are out there that work in a similar and powerful way.

philip atherton