If you want to build a profitable blog, it helps to know where you’re going with it when you get started.
As obvious as this seems, any time spent ambling through the blogosphere reveals a lot of people whose blogs are very… random. That’s fine if you’re journaling as a creative outlet, but that particular outlet doesn’t put any extra change under the couch cushions!
If your starting wish is just to “make money blogging–somehow,” you’ll be less effective than if you have a specific goal. For example, you might want to bring in an extra $2,000 a month through Google Adsense and selling text links. Or you might want to use your blog to attract readers to buy your latest mystery novel.
Having a goal in mind helps you set up a blog format that makes sense for you.
In the blog-for-profit world, blogs tend to fall into one of two categories, which I’ll call the “Advertising Model” and the “Marketing Model.” Some are a combination of both, but you’ll often find that one aspect is emphasized more than the other in professional blogs.
The Advertising Model
In this model, your blog is designed much like a magazine. You’re providing content through blog posts and collecting money by displaying advertising alongside. You might also slip in some affiliate links, but that tends to fall more under the marketing model. With the advertising model, you don’t need to sell or pre-sell anything–you write whatever you want on your chosen subject.
In the beginning (before your blog is big enough to attract advertisers on its own), you’ll probably be monetizing the site through Adsense, Chitika, or other advertising programs where your pay comes in proportion to the number of clicks your ads get. This means you’ll probably put the emphasis on getting visitors to click on ads rather than hoping they’ll stick around and read pages and pages of your content and subscribe to newsletters. Since those ad clicks, as of right now anyway, don’t open in a new window, it’s quite possible you’ll never see the visitors again.
This model is often less about building relationships with visitors and more about drawing them to your site only long enough to read an article and click an ad. They usually come in via search engines and are looking for specific information (ideally this is closely matched to the ads you’re displaying). If they see a product related to their search, they may be in the mode to buy, and if they click away on an ad, you’ll get paid. Ads are usually prominently placed, so visitors will see them, and be enticed to click through from your site, instead of backing out to the search results to click something there.
You probably won’t get a lot of blog comments using this model, as it’s less about building a community and more about being a middle man, connecting potential buyers with sellers. One up side of this is that you won’t have to spend much time moderating comments. Eventually you may even hire out the content creation, and the end result is a site that brings in a largely passive income and requires very little of your time.
As your site grows, and traffic increases, you might begin to attract merchants who are interested in advertising on your site directly through banner ads, text links, “sponsored” posts, and the like. Direct advertising methods often mean a flat monthly payment for you, so getting people to “click” is less important (though advertisers will still want to see visitors coming through from your site to theirs, so obscuring their ads is not wise).
The Marketing Model
In this model, your blog is designed to draw in visitors and turn them into fans who stick around. The end goal is to build relationships with people, so you can more easily sell them your products or services.
You give them valuable information on your blog, and when it’s time for them to hire a writer, a graphic designer, a programmer, a wedding planner, etc. they naturally think of you because–through your blog–they’ve come to know and trust you. This format also works well if you’re linking to affiliate products. A visitor who enjoys what you write and has come to trust your opinion is more likely to try a product you suggest.
The “Marketing Model” also applies if you’re selling a book/novel, handmade furniture, pet supplies, or any kind of product of your own. When you hear the term business blogging, this is what people mean.
With this blog model, you would be wise to have a mailing list (not everybody remembers to check a blog, but everyone checks their email) and to actively encourage people to leave comments and get involved in your community. You may eventually add on a forum to facilitate community building. People like having places to hang out where they have common interests with the blogger and other visitors (after all, reading blogs is way more fun than being productive at work). Even better, if you’re doing a good job, your readers will even tell their friends about your blog, and this helps your site, and your fan base, grow.
Unlike people who surf in from the search engines, repeat visitors are less likely to click on ads. They’re usually there more for the community aspect than because they’re researching products and the like. Text links and banner advertising may still be attractive to merchants, but you’re less likely to make big money through pay-per-click ads, such as Adsense. But if you’re selling your own product or service, you probably don’t want people to leave your site anyway. You want them to buy your product, not someone else’s, right?
This style of blog tends to be more work than the “set it and forget it” model of Adsense sites, but the rewards can be great. Once you’ve turned people into fans, they will (we hope!) buy from you again and again.
Which is Best?
So, which is best? Both take the same amount of time to build up, so it really just depends on your personality and what you want to accomplish with your blogging.
If you have a business you want to promote, books or other products to sell, etc. then it makes sense to work more on the second model. If you enjoy writing and want to make some extra money, but you don’t see yourself selling anything, then the first can still get you far.
Right now, most of my blogs fall into the advertising model, and it’s part of what lets me make good money without putting in a lot of time at the keyboard every day. I’ve never minded giving Google or Chitika a cut of the advertising revenue, since they completely eliminate the customer service aspect for me. It’s easy for me to take off a week and leave the computer at home without having to worry if someone who’s purchased ad space might have an issue and be emailing me while I’m gone.
With this blog, however, I’ll probably work more toward building a community. Though I’m a long ways from having anything to sell, there’s a book in the back of my mind that wants to be written. I’m also thinking of doing some tutoring or consulting in my local area, and a blog is much more effective for attracting clients than a post on Craigslist. By reading your blog, people can decide if they like you and what you’re about before even contact you.
Also (and you’ll find this with a lot of niches), “writing” isn’t necessarily a topic that would make great money with advertising. Consumer-oriented blogs generally do best, especially with pay-per-click advertising (where the amount you get paid depends on the amount advertisers are bidding for clicks).
Now that you know all about my strategies to take over the world build passive income through blogging, tell us about your plans.
What blog style attracts you most?
16 responses so far ↓
1 Marlene // Jul 23, 2008 at 8:37 am
Your blog is informative. Thanks for the info.
The marketing model appeals to me most. I do have a product to sell and want to provide knowledge to my readers. I do use Google ads but do not care that much about revenue from them. I appreciate the search engine exposure I get.
2 chairgirl // Jul 23, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Interesting post… I guess my work blog is more the second model than the first, since I don’t host ads on the site… but my links to my employer are kind of like ads, so I’m not sure. I can’t really see people returning to my blog day after day… so far most of my traffic is coming from google searches.
This whole field of pro-blogging is new to me, though, even though I’ve had many personal blogs (that made no money). I’ll be eagerly awaiting your updates on this topic.
3 Frank C // Jul 23, 2008 at 6:20 pm
This was a good analysis.
I’m strongly in the advertising side since I operate about 100 sites, blogs and mini-sites, right now and most are essentially billboards. Even my flagship blog is primarily designed to make money from search traffic.
The thing I don’t like about the ‘marketing’ approach is that the way it’s often conducted, at least in the “make money online blogging” field, is a lot like multi-level marketing (MLM) and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
4 Tom - StandOutBlogger.com // Jul 24, 2008 at 2:09 pm
While I am currently building my blog with the advertising model, my aim is to make the transition to a mix between them both. Because I will be creating my own products that will be for my readers but still looking to sell my ad spots.
5 Lindsay // Jul 24, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Marlene, keep working on creating great information on the blog. It’s the best way to draw in the perfect audience for what you have to sell.
Chairgirl, I imagine it’s difficult to promote something as prosaic as chairs, but I liked your post on the book chair, and could see some articles on how to choose the best seating (including information on ergonomics) being helpful to a chair-buying audience.
Frank, I agree with you on those “make money online” blogs (usually penned by people who have yet to make any money…) and actually avoided starting this one for more than a year, just because the topic is so saturated. But every time I see a writer bidding to write for others for $5 (or less) an article, I want to scream. I’m hoping to help those folks realize they have the potential to make much more by working for themselves.
Tom, I’ve definitely seen some nice blogs that are a mix of both. People usually phase out the pay-per-click ads (i.e. Adsense) that take visitors away from the site (no good to do that when you’re trying to sell them *your* product!) and do more of the direct sales for advertising spots (when you make the rules with text links and banners, you can always make them open in a new window).
Good luck, you guys, and thanks for commenting!
6 Link // Jul 31, 2008 at 10:08 am
Good post, I am constantly learning and refining my blogs. I finally cracked my first $100 in Google adsense. Milestone 1 achieved. Thanks for the info.
AFI
7 Kevin // Aug 3, 2008 at 12:06 am
Howdy
It seems to me that the best idea would be the combo blog.
Get the returning readers who might buy one of your affiliate products because of the trust factor. At the same time still be getting fresh visitors who will be more likely to click the Adsense ads.
Of course it would be good to get them on a mailing list, and to come up with a slant to get them to return.
Kevin
8 T Edwards // Aug 6, 2008 at 9:31 pm
This was a really informative post. As a new blogger I am ABSOLUTELY OVERWHELMED by the volume of information out there about making money from a blog. I finally decided that I would just try to keep it up, keep providing the best content that I can, and keep making friends. If I do that, shouldn’t I ultimately make money?
T
9 Lindsay // Aug 7, 2008 at 8:24 pm
T, I can sympathize. I want to get into real estate investing, and there are tons and tons of books on the subject, and everywhere you turn, some “guru” wants to sell you a course for hundreds (or thousands) of bucks.
Just try to find the folks whose values match your own and pay attention to them (I only buy the real estate books from authors who make their money buying and holding respectable property… I don’t want to be a flipper or a slumlord). You’ll find that there are a lot of paths to earning an income online.
10 Halina // Aug 15, 2008 at 9:22 am
Hi Lindsay- just thought I’d leave an actual comment on your Web site. You certainly have me interested in starting a blog site. I’ve had several ideas too, but the one I see having the biggest need is a blog for scientists, especially scientists who are just starting out from grad school. Many folks going into science don’t realize just what is lying ahead of them.
Anyways, thanks!
Halina
11 Sharon - missing children // Aug 16, 2008 at 2:11 pm
You’re an inspiration. Great information on blogging. I have 5 going and several more in the planning stages so this was a timely “read.”
12 Lucky Chica // Nov 7, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Interesting information. I think my approach is definitely the community-building, but it was good to see it spelled out for me here. Sometimes, it’s just as important to realize what you’re NOT trying to do, as much as focusing on what your goals are. thanks.
Lucky Chica
http://www.thathappenedtome.com
13 Jules @ Lovely Las Vegas // Feb 8, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I don’t have anything to sell, but I do wish to create a community to share ideas. I’m writing about my experiences and recommendations in Las Vegas, yet I want to hear from others if they have different favourite places, etc.
So I guess I’m more community based, but I guess essentially based on the current set up it is more advertising based. I need to reconsider and come up with something because I really want to be more marketing based.
Any ideas? Thanks!
14 Bob // Feb 23, 2009 at 12:34 am
I’ve got my one first blog going, and a practice website, starting on 1/1/09. I haven’t monetized and as far as I know I have very little traffic. My theme is very broad and I am thinking about spreading it into several different blogs. I am planning on using both adsense and affiliate marketing.
I’m learning the mechanics of writing, the story telling and the computer science all at the same time. I’m slowly and surely making progess.
The “Two Blog-for-Profit Models, Which Suits You Best” post is one of the clearest and best articles I’ve read about getting started in this business. Thanks. Allah’u'Abha
15 Terry Christensen // Sep 16, 2009 at 7:03 am
Wow! This is all new to me. I do have a blog, but there is so much I have to learn. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. I don’t even know how to do AdSense. Thanks for the info.
Terry
16 WritingForCashExperiment.com // Jan 12, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Thanks for the very imformative post. Targeting your audience and defining your purpose is the first step to any successful business venture. I too fall into the mixed category as I am beginning a brand new blog whose purpose it is to not only find legitimate online money making opportunities through writing, but through other avenues as well. I have read stories of great successes and also of great failures, so I decided to try for myself so I can pass on the how-to’s and the how-not-to’s to others who want legitimate work at home business opportunities.
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