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How much money does the average blogger make?

Asking "How much money do bloggers make?" is like asking, "How much money does a bussinesses make?"   The question is so broad it's almost impossible to give an actual answer.  But I'm going to try my best to give you a good idea!

The problem with giving you an "average income" for a blogger is simply this: anyone can call themselves a blogger.   A lot of blogs are started with the intention of earning income but never move past intention and into reality.

(Note: for the purposes of this post - I'm going to focus on American bloggers because the large majority of my readers are American.  However, I do believe that these numbers should translate accurately across the world!)

How do you make money as a blogger?

Statistics show that there are 31 million blogs in the United States.    The bad news is that, 29.5 Million blogs do not make enough money to replace a full-time income.   When you think of it that way, it seems almost worthless. You may be thinking, Why should I start a blog if I can't make money?
Remember that if 29.5 million blogs are failing to make a full-time income that means 1.5 million bloggers are replacing their income or more.  ONE POINT FIVE MILLION FOLKS.

That's a lot of bloggers out there making decent money.    The average American salary is around $58,000 per year.

So How Much Money Do Bloggers Make? Well, we can assume that one and a half million Americans are making at least $58,000 per year with a blog!

My estimate is less than scientific and is admittedly slightly more than the $55,000/yr estimate  given by Lifehacker.
You can also search for full-time blogging gigs over at glassdoor working for someone else's company but the median salary for that type of gig is a meager $30,000/year.

Blogging for a living is an ABSOLUTE reality that anyone can tap into.  But in order to be successful, you really need to understand a few things about running a blog.


How do Bloggers get paid?

Most people think that bloggers put up a few links and wait for the cash to roll in.  But that's not the whole picture.   There are many ways for bloggers to make money and advertising products is just one of them.  I'm going to give you a brief overview the most common ways bloggers get paid.

Advertising products / Services -  Like I said above, this is the one that most people are familiar with.  You've seen your favorite bloggers promoting a product.  The right terminology for this would be "affiliate sales".  Most bloggers start out with affiliate sales as their primary source of income.  But the truth? This can be kind of challenging if your not much of a buyer yourself.  (Unless you're the sleazy sort that doesn't mind promoting a product you wouldn't use.  That's just not my style.)

Selling Ad Space  - Take a peek at the page you're on right now.  >>> Over there you'll see an advertisement by MediaVine.    Once you become a popular blogger, getting a spot on your site comes at a premium and advertisers are willing to pay you for that spot.   Some bloggers actually sell each of those spaces off to individual companies but most of the time, bloggers use an ad service like Google's Adsense.   This can be lucrative because Google (and other ad networks) track your readers' web usage and then target ads specifically to their wants.   Adsense is fairly easy to get into but it offers a lower rate per click.   Ad Networks like MediaVine and AdThrive are much more lucrative but don't expect to apply to them right away as you have to hit a required number of pageviews per month before applying!

Sponsored Posts- When your blog begins bringing in tens of thousands of users monthly and your social media followers begin climbing, you will be able to start looking for opportunities for Sponsored posts.   These are posts that you are paid to write for a company usually centering around a specific product.   Remember all those "reviews" you read?   Not all sponsored posts are review posts but this is a common type because often the company will offer you the product free for your honest review.    This is different from affiliate sales because you get paid regardless of the results.  However, if your sponsor does not get results, it's likely that they won't come back to you again. *Word of caution here - if you give a dishonest review about a product - your readers won't come back! So if you have a sponsored product that you don't like... choose wisely!

Selling Products/Services - As a blogger, you'll have access to a large audience.   Why sell only other people's products?   If you have an eBook you've been meaning to write then get it together and get it up on your site.   But it doesn't stop there.  Bloggers can sell anything from eBooks and eCourses to Site Reviews and Business Coaching.    If you aren't much of a creator but you have some money to invest, you may to find and sell a physical product.  (Pioneer Women is a great example of this!  She started as a blogger and is now a huge brand!)

There are so many ways for Bloggers to get paid. That's why is so difficult to answer the original question: How much to Bloggers Make?  So if the income potential is soo high then:

WHY DO SO MANY BLOGS FAIL?

People think blogging is easy but let me tell you something... blogging is not easy... at all.
As a blogger, you are running more aspects of a business than you would as a manager of a fortune 500 company.

You generate content (your blog posts), you advertise products for other companies, you may even create products, you market your own blog, you do Public Relations (or what the blogging world would call social media marketing) and much more.

It's just you. You, your computer, and your brain against the world.

29 million bloggers out there don't understand this concept.  They post their content, maybe put up a pin or two and wonder why the world didn't show up at their doorstep.  Blogs fail because people fail to get an education.  One aspect of blogging may come really naturally to you but there will most likely be things that you struggle with.  Just like any profession, to really be successful, you need to educate yourself.

WHERE CAN I GET MY BLOGGING DEGREE?

Colleges haven't caught on to the concept of blogging just yet.  There is not a Bachelor of Science in Blogging available (that I know of).   However, there are two blogging programs out there right now that give a good overview of the whole blogging process.

Elite Blog Academy -  EBA is a 6-month blogging program.   As far as college goes - this is about the closest you can get currently.   I know several bloggers who have gone through the program and they all talk about it as though it were one of the best moves they've made as a blogger. But full discretion - I did not do EBA personally.   It is on the pricey side and it only opens up a few times per year so the timing just never quite fit for me.

Billionaire Blog Club / Dare to Conquer - Billionaire Blog Club is going through a name change/face-lift right now.   It is becoming "Dare to Conquer".  As is, the BBC is an awesome program that offers a thorough walkthrough of blogging from beginning to end.  Scrivs, the founder, gives video lessons and walkthroughs on how to do everything from building your site to marketing your posts.   Honestly, He can be a bit vulgar so it may not be for you but if your an open-minded person who can handle his sass, I think you'll be really glad that you chose BBC.   Scrivs or MaryBeth (the community manager at BBC) are available at all times through the slack chat room.  You can quite literally pop on and ask ANY question and have an answer pretty much immediately!

WHY ARE THEY SO EXPENSIVE?

So I have to admit, when I first started looking at these programs I thought, "Are these people out of there minds? Who is going to gamble that much money?"   But then I realized something that completely rocked my worldview.

They weren't gambling.  They were investing in the future.    Just imagine, a year from now you could be sitting in front of your computer spilling your soul onto your own personal blog page and making a great living doing it.  If you're just willing to get the education you need, then this could absolutely become YOUR reality.

Just like we are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get a college degree, the people that were purchasing these courses could see themselves living a better life and they were going after it.

You're probably a bit like me.  For years, we lived paycheck to paycheck. We looked for answers in our budget.  Where could we cut our spending?   We looked for answers in our jobs.  Can we get a better paying job?   Then one day, I realized that I knew more than most of my bosses.  Thanks to the years I had spent at the bottom of the totem pole, I could see issues arising before the higher-ups. And what was even better, I knew how to handle those issues quicker and more efficiently than my bosses.

So why then, had I subjected myself to a life at the bottom of the pole?  Because I believed that you had to "have money to make money".   I believed I was stuck.

Just imagine, a year from now, you may be writing a post exactly like this one. Sharing with others how you actually can live your dream.

But maybe you're also a bit like me in that, you don't have that kind of money laying around?   Well, that's another thing I like about BBC.  It opens up several times per year giving you an opportunity to save a little money!

Most people want to learn everything they can about blogging before they take that kind of leap. 

So can I really make a living blogging?

Absolutely!  Blogging isn't a fairy tale career. It's not really about "getting a lucky break" or "striking it rich." 

  It's about hard work, dedication and good business sense.    So if you've got a passion for writing, passable technological skills, and a determined spirit, then what are you waiting for?  

Want to know exactly what it takes to start a blog?  

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