Technorati: Full-time bloggers are making more money than ever

October 22, 2009 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

techno-21Most bloggers are hobbyists. But there’s a minority of professional bloggers who are making more money than ever, according to a new installment of Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere report.

Bloggers can collect ad revenues related to their blogs. But they are also making money by parlaying the popularity of their blogs into speaking engagements, traditional media assignments, and running conferences.

Technorati said some bloggers are even reporting profits that place them squarely in the middle class. Among those who make money from blogging, 54 percent are part-timers, 32 percent are self-employed, and 14 percent work for corporations.

techno-11Part-timers and full-time bloggers say the main ways they generate revenue are through display and search ads, as well as through affiliate marketing links where they get a cut from a sale after a referral. About 15 percent say they are paid to gives speeches. Among the segment of full-time and part-time professional bloggers, about 17 percent get their main income from blogging.

For full-time bloggers, the average revenue in a year is $122,222. For part-timers, annual income is $14,777. The average for the full and part-timers combined is $42,548. About 89 percent believe that the ads on their sites must align with their own values. Most use self-serve ad platforms. But an increasing number are using ad networks or blog ad networks too.

techno-31About 51 percent of corporate bloggers said they received a salary for blogging. Bloggers who invest in their blog businesses face relatively low costs, but they’re not insubstantial. Site development for self-employed bloggers costs about $1,060 per year. Personal salary averages $5,992. Staff are paid $2,268, marketing and ad costs are $620, and hosting fees are $579. Hence, the overall costs per year, on average, are $10,519.

About 70 percent of bloggers talk about brands. Some 38 percent do brand or product reviews.

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About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • tlyckman
    ...and just how do we get started in blogging?
  • janice5_98
    I'm on my PC all day and into the night...would love to make this profitable, but I don't know how to go about it. Any info would be reatly appreciated
  • Name
    your blog probably sucks. Get a brain and a personality and I bet it will become easier.
  • janice5_98
    I don't even have a blog yet....Mr Brain Surgeon!
  • The Baron
    Your rude and insensitive comment definitely sucks. Get some manners and a non-toxic personality and I bet your life may yet become something other than a self-serving waste.

    Janice - In the unlikely event that this misanthropic creep even has a blog that anyone reads, I'd much rather hear what you have to say. It's a wide, wide blogosphere, so take a shot. You go, girl1
  • check out problogger.net
    get a server and domain name at godaddy for $100 /year
    install wordpress wordpress.org
    start blogging
    once you get some traffic go to buysellads.com
  • Wordpress software doesn't run well on GoDaddy. Just got over that headache. You'll need a different hosting company to be able to do a lot of the cool things with WordPress. I'm currently using BlueHost, but there are other good ones as well.
  • This is not true, Jennifer.

    I think GoDaddy is one of the best hosting & service providers. You should try that.
  • Name
    lol
  • Jeanette Davis
    I just set-up an account at blogsspot.com in which you are asked if you want to get paid for ads on your blog page. Once you sign-up, i't's explained to you.
  • abnezee
    i dont get the yellow and green pie-graph
  • Rob
    I noticed that too. The colors are backwards.
  • Name
    Im trying to make money on youtube.
    Im almost there i got like 360 subscribers.
    Once i get around 1,000 im good.


    youtube.com/yafafly
  • lawl
    how do u make money off youtube?
  • There is a place that teaches you how to make money. I think the website has helped a lot of people make blogging for a job a reality. Check It Out Here
  • wow, you noticed that too? yup.. I think their editor made it backward, it should be the other way around.

    as for the post, blogging for money should not be infused to the minds of aspiring bloggers; But Perfect Blogging = Money is the one should be teach. Just ask people who undergo a rigorous spot on blogspot thinking they will earn easy money but failed :( - - That's what I am talking about

    blogging power Let's blog the world!
  • Hi Dean,
    I'm a blogger too. But I just started blogging. Though I'm not that rich yet (lol) because of my blogs, but yes I agree with the survey. It's really not that easy to make,post blog and please readers/subscribers to read and appreciate your blog. It's our consolation for us if someone appreciates our work.

    Anyways, hope to read more of your posts soon.
  • barbaraec
    How do you become a blogger?
  • I think it's more to it than that. You also have to engage the readers so that feel like they are responding to someOne and not someThing.
  • youngluck
    They've got the colors switched in the pie chart above
  • avatardriggs
    "Hello"...just a Note to say how Much....'I' truly & Sincerely "appreciate a Person who is 'detail, correct, & competence minded', etc.....and actually Uses & Implements IT, etc.....(Good for YOU!)
    Sincerely, Driggs Kizzire /" avatardriggs@yahoo.com "....Monday, 10/26/09, 5:20pm(CST)
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  • gsm
    Your posts are not intelligible. What are yout trying to say?
  • I make money with my blog it's true. Why else would you have a blog unless it's for your family to keep up with.
  • Yep, I can believe these numbers for sure. :-)
  • marleesmom
    Where do I sign up???
  • shannonlavenia
    Excellent article! I learned about monetizing my blogs years ago and it has created a nice stream of additional income
  • Name
    they never tell you about how many people have a blog and out of those people, how many are making real money. kuz i promise you, if we all start a blog, out of the thousands of us who read this, maybe about 10 will ever see a red cent out of it
  • Trixie
    I love that the colors on the pie chart are backwards.
  • bones090980
    I understand that blogging helps the revenue of these companies and is helping to stimulate the economy, but aren't there enough ads already on the internet? Also, 122K for blogging? We are basically talking about a salesperson in the virtual world here, right? I can't stop thinking about how the ad industry get's so much money, when the economy is not doing too well. I can understand earning maybe half that, but my goodness. When people get paid to say something is good, then customer review boards will become overrun and become worthless, a feature on the internet that I really enjoy. I want to know all possible pros and cons of every product and I take negative reviews as needed knowlege of a product, which will not be found by paid bloggers, unless they are paid to talk trash about other products. Well, I will enjoy my 50K job as a tech, who fixes the everyday broken down crap that ads and salespersons once sold and promised prosperity. I suppose there is no fix to the situation, after all, these companies need to sell their products, but on the other hand perhaps they just need to make their products better so they are sold just on quality rather than spam.
  • TROY
    HOW DO I GET STARTED BLOGGING?, HOW CAN I GET DETAILS OF HOW IT WORKS?
  • MirandaL
    Google 'Blogging'. You should easily find more than enough information to get you started.
  • Internet Marketing can be very profitable, I just started a couple months ago, and I'm still doing and setting up my sites before marketing them, but the internet has made many, many, many people money, and even some multimilionaires.
  • Jenn
    I currently write articles on Fiji- I'm a ghostwriter, if you will. I get paid a little- it's not a whole lot, but still something. I'm gaining a lot of expertise on Fiji from my writing, so I would definitely love a professional blogging job on the topic- telecommute ones specifically.

    If anyone knows of any, feel free to write me at jbean888@yahoo.com.
    Thanks :)
  • redtide124
    How do you sign up. please email me at davehendrix@optonline.net
  • Name
    how the fuck do you make money off of being stupid and sharing your horrible opinions?
  • 6figureblogger
    one you don't start by fornicating under the consent of the king, and you just shared your opinion,
    Looks like you have already blogged yourself
  • Name
    lol ur funny.
  • The Baron
    You don't. I mean, YOU don't.
  • EAGLESSUCK
    BULLSHIT.................THES IS AN OUT AND OUT LIE............NO ONE IS MAKING SIX FIGURES A YEAR BLOGGING UNLESS IT'S FOR A COMPANY
  • John
    I know many people are. It's not a lie. You pretty much have to learn how to sell and write effectively.
  • The Baron
    More specifically, eagleshmuck, no one is making six figures a year blogging when they write ALL IN CAPS, when they don't know how to spell and/or don't proofread their work ("this," not "thes"), and when their vocabulary is so limited that they have to rely on expletives such as "bullshit" in an attempt to communicate whatever it is that they are trying to say. Got it? But don't despair. In terms of making a living, a more suitable employment environment for your verbal skills (such as they are) might be down at the Car Wash.
  • T.O./JCMG/
    Lol, did anyone notice the data for the pie-chart is messed up?

    Putting that aside, it's sort of surprising to be getting so much money just for their opinion.
  • aumolc
    My blog runs at my.opera.com/aumolc that thousands read to enjoy but to make money out of it sounds
    gross .Somethings should be done only for fun .
  • Name
    yeah...i don't trust this article after i saw the pie chart is screwy. totally lost credibility there.
  • Dan
    These numbers are true
  • avatardriggs
    Yes.....'I' have wanted to DO...and have thought about What has become 'known as Blogs & Blogging', etc....going back to the early 1970's, etc.....(and NOW vastly/greatly Wish that 'I' had done so, or whatever I could to have Started "something which would have been ...as are Most of the Ideas/Visions...so far Ahead of Their Time...and Place in Society and the World...in general.

    IF AnyOne out there...IS Thinking of &/or Considering "doing or trying to Create/start Blogs...or Blogging, etc...'I' have literally "dozens of Ideas & avenues, Interests, and THINK areas/fields....I'd love to "share with the right/correct or Sincerely interested Person ('s) or individuals, etc.....and as 'I' could ALSO "use & need Help, assistance, and additional Input"...in, about, or concerning many of These areas/fields and Interests!! (would both 'welcome & appreciate' any Interested Persons.....IF have "background or qualifications, etc...In 'areas/fields & interests' which Desire to BLOG in/about, etc....and/Or...IF Person is truly, sincerely a THINKER. Thanks and have a great week...and Life!!
    Sincerely, Driggs K /"avatardriggs" .......avatardriggs@yahoo.com.........10/26/09, 5:34pm(CST)
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  • Parker
    Hey 'eaglessuck', have you ever heard of perezhilton.com?!!
    He started just on wordpress in the early 2000's and now he is making over 5 million a year! Just by drawing penises on celebrities faces.
    Pretty amazing shit huh?


    But there is so much competition for celebrity blogging that basically nobody could start one and make it as successful as perezhiltons now-a-days.
  • Very few people are making money blogging or on the internet except the largest sex sites and the largest SEO firms or small niche players. Who else is making money on the internet? The large social networks and a handful of dating websites. Thats it
  • catico6
    I wouldn't say that's necessarily true. I make enough money on the internet to pay the bills and afford the extras which allows me to stay at home and work how I please. I'm not going to lie and say that it is some easy task though. I write articles for a legitimate company that pays well but it can be very time consuming. It requires a lot of attention and time but nothing more than a full time job would require. It's definitely not something I'm getting rich off of but it's not exactly impossible or even all that hard to make between $40,000 and $60,000 off of it. It's possible to do even better than that but that is about the going rate and that's really not that bad for internet work. So really, to say that there are very few people, perhaps....But that's just because no one really knows where to look thanks to the numerous scams that have people running scared. Always check out the Better Business Bureau before making a commitment to any company.
  • Suzanne
    Hi Catico6,

    Can you drop me an email so we can visit some more. I'd like to know more about what you are currently doing and how to find companies looking. Thanks for the taking the time.
  • grannynut
    i would love to know where you can make money on the net without investing a whole lot of money first!
  • bellstatr
    Hi, I'm about to get started with a company and I would love to have as many options as I can. Do you have any suggestions?
  • catico6
    It is possible to make money off of blogging but not everyone would be successful at it. It would take more than a professional writer. You would have to know what type of content would generate a great deal of interest. Once you have selected a topic that you know will work you then want to select a website that will host your blog. Here is where a lot of people end up making their mistake. There is a big difference between paid for hosting and free blog websites. Paying for web hosting so that you have your own .com blog to place on google and yahoo will help you gather up more page views for your blog. Getting involved with a program like Google AdSense is another way people have been making money off of their blogs. They allow ads to be placed on their blogs so that they can make money off of the number of clicks on those. Successful bloggers who work full-time, for themselves, following these tips are capable of making the amount per year that is stated above. A REALLY good blogger will maintain their blog and keep it updated at least once a week so that the information stays true and accurate.
  • scottmccowan
    damn what sites do i go to-to have my blog paid for
  • Post it at zzn.com they have free email you can put on blogger or blogspot, etc. They also have free blogs and let you put Google Ad Sense etc on them.. it is all free. You can learn about it at www.socialmarketing101.zzn.com
  • luigielove
    i would like more info for the job tell me how????
  • ALLEN
    "I want to earn money blogging" = "I want to get money by doing nothing and try to play it off like I am doing something in life." How about getting a job that requires skills..... or wait maybe you don't have any.
  • The Baron
    True. That's the same sort of people who think that they can stay home and make money day-trading stocks, or some other such nonsense they saw on a late night infomercial. Years ago, the pitch used to be, "Learn how to work from home! Make money stuffing envelopes!"
  • EldorradoChicagoRealEstate
    I think it is interesting how it is so easy to interpret the pie chart even though it was wrong. I guess it is due to common sense.
  • GuitarWarlordDOTcom
    Blogging is life and I make less than $10,000 per year. Site development can be done for around $75 if you do it yourself and don't charge yourself for time you spent learning it. I love blogging though because you can have cool content if you put the time and the work into it. You know, developing xtml, researching thousands of affilate programs and ways to generate traffic on your site. Content is always King. Don't become a victim of having an ugly blog. What I like to do is start with a simple code excersise early in the day. Then Move on to development of Social Media right around lunch time. Then, Games and Recreation for 1 hr. Then Right Back to Product Development. Afterwhich I may meet with new contacts and exchange information. Then Back to Blogging!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't blogging fun? You get to meet sooo many interesting people!!!! Anyway, Back to the Game. Oh, and Please Buy Something. God Bless.
  • Yes, I agree. Blogging can be a great source of income. But, you have to learn how to do it first. Here is a great resource
  • Blogging is really starting to take off. Now is the time to take control and get started before everyone starts doing it.You can learn how by clicking here.
  • idea happy
    I am going to start a blog on technical gadgets or cellphone - bet no one has done that yet.
  • Name
    I wish my blog had a 4700 Quantcast Rank!
  • Jen
    I love blogs. They give a dose of honesty I don't find in popular magazines and papers. I get to read what I think is important and not what a publisher thinks most people will enjoy. I don't make money off of my blog. I'm afraid it would suck the fun out of it and I would censor myself.
  • It's the wave of the future. Some people think it's a dead art. I like to think blogging could change the world. Blog away!!! Groupcrenshaw
  • me
    There's a blog called www.laineygossip.com. Its a celebrity gossip site and doesn't pretend not to be. She (Lainey) started by just writing emails to friends, then a blog, got huge advertisers and now is a co-host on E- Talk which is like Entertainment Tonight in Canada. And she still writes her blog, every week day and gets good gossip too. She left her 'real' job but still volunteers there part-time. And her husband runs the site and gets the advertisers. So they can manage to live well in an expensive city (Vancouver) all on her blog (well, and now her tv job too).
  • Check out www.blog.zzn.com ZZN has been around forever and they give you a free blog, free email, email marketing and they show you how to make money with google. good platform
  • jz
    Guys here is one way to make money on your blog.add this free no costo to join moeny making program, its easy and you get cash not points for the stuff youre referrals do! check it out!

    http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref5228942
  • Rolando
    How do I get started???
  • The next question becomes, will users be annoyed if you begin to start placing advertisements on your blog? I currently run a web design and development blog and have intentionally left advertisements off for the time being. There are a few reasons for this. The most important reason being I do not want to interrupt any part of the user experience by clouding my blog with ads. I guess you have to find a happy medium.
  • fittiings
    thanks very much, I like this very much.
  • You might get paid for creating #Labels on http://www.wadja.com.
    Trendy, sexy, new.

    Follow the #Label on http://www.wadja.com. YouTube and Twitter included.