Three Distinct Business Models To Make Money Blogging
By Bryan Clark on Jan 21, 2008 in Make Money Online
Early on in your career as a moneyblogger, you need to decide which path you’ll take to make money online. Whether you want to be a superblogger ala Darren Rowse, or a niche blogger that isn’t as well known, but makes plenty of money nonetheless, or if you want to be like me… someone who develops the blogs, and then sells them off to others so that they can continue building them. All three routes are profitable, but which is right for you?
- The Superblogger - The superblogger runs the big blogs like Problogger, Entrepreneurs-Journey, and John Chow. These guys are in it for the long haul, and they generally make a good chunk of their online income through their blogs. I’m not saying they don’t venture out and work on other projects, but a big part of their focus is on one or two blogs. Most of their time is spent updating, tweaking, and promoting their man blog or blogs. These guys rely largely on branding, and name recognition to earn an income.
- The Niche Blogger - The niche blogger differs from the superblogger in the sense that they don’t have all of their income coming from just a few big blogs. They have several blogs, all which require little to no maintenance, and they are all producing small amounts of income in comparison to the superblog. That’s not to say that they don’t make as much money as the superbloggers… but they don’t make it from one blog. They rely on dozens of blogs to produce a few dollars to a few hundred dollars each. This may sound like a lot of work, but these “niche” blogs don’t have to be updated daily. The idea is to set them and forget them. You try to obtain high search engine rankings through the use of keyword targeting, and you sit back and watch organic traffic make it’s way to your blogs.
- The Blog Broker - This pretty much sums up what I am. I purchase and develop other blogs so that I may sell them for a bigger income than what I bought them for. It’s a pretty simple idea. Buy someone else’s blog (or create your own), develop, optimize, brand, and promote it. Sell it off for a profit. Although this model has been profitable for me, it also costs a lot to get going. I try to build these blogs within 30-60 days, and in doing that I spend a great deal of money getting them to that point. If you are just starting out, you could be running in the red for quite some time before you figure out exactly what you are doing.
All three of these business models are very different from the others. Although they must share a few traits in order to be successful.
- Quality Content
- Proper optimization (Seo, Monetization Strategy, Etc.)
- They must appeal to an audience (even a small one)
You see, no matter which method you choose… the fundamentals stay the same. Quality content is always king, and you must have traffic in order to make money. That’s not to say that you have to have 1,000’s of visitors a day - many of the niche blogs out there only have a few hundred visitors a day, yet make a ton of cash.
No matter which method is right for you, you can make money online with any of them. If you were to master all three, and be able to devote a significant amount of time to each, you could be quite an earner. The best bloggers don’t rely on one monetization method to make money online. So why should you, as a blogger, rely on one blogging method?
Which of these methods have you tried?
Popularity: 6% [?]
17 Comment(s)
By Nick on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
I ran in the red for the first five months, big time. I basically worked a job to support my blog. Which is crazy now that I think about it, but it’s impossible to ever get to a point where you make money just spending the five bucks a month on hosting. I mean you can, but if I wouldn’t have forked out some ad dollars, and appearance money, I honestly believe I’d still be here crying about it, help me I’m doing something wrong.
I stepped it up, got my site looking better than 99% of the blogs in my niche, and instead of trying to cover every sport out there, I trimmed the fat, and started focusing on what I love the most, baseball. I didn’t alienate myself to the point that it would be bizzare for me to say something about football, but I seldomly do it now. Which I consider a good thing, because in January, sometimes it’s hard to create content on something that happens from April-October. So, in a way, it worked out that I started trying to be a Super Blog.
I don’t even know what I’m rambling about now, but I know when I started I had a point, so it’s in there somewhere… I do need to protect my spot as the top commenter too, so it serves two purposes.
By Missy on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
lol., good post, Nick. Im glad you realized you were rambling, hehe.
Speaking of footbal? How about that Eli Manning & Favre game yesterday. Man what a freakin meltdown, Eli stole the show from Favre. It’s a match-up now between Brady and Mannning.
Bryan:
I think im a mix of all three, i have a flagship blog, a few niche blogs, and i actually SOLD a blog last month.
Maybe there is another bus model, the “i dont know what im doing blog model”. lol.
Whatcha think guys?
By Alan Johnson on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
As far as my blog is concerned, value is my business model and investing in your brand is something I strongly believe in (from design and logos to custom podcast intro songs in my case).
Because let’s face it: search engines can apply penalties, PPC campaigns can become ineffective but there’s nothing that can stop people from typing in your URL and dropping by if your resource is actually worth it.
Alan Johnson
By Cassanova on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
Great post. I guess I’m a niche blogger but I’m having a problem with posting frequency. Because I have to keep on making fresh content to get traffic.
I think with these SERP algorithm modifications static sites get buried easily. Fresh content is very important which make niche blogging requires a lot of time and effort.
By 360 Survey on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
Hey Bryan,
Thanks for summarizing these categories. While I’ve heard of 1 and 2, I’ve not heard of 3.
I guess it makes sense that there would be buyers of established blogs - so why not make it a business to manufacture and then resell them!
By Do Follow Directory on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
Great post. I personally think spreading out is the safer way. For all beginners it is advisable to start with your option 2, the niche blogger.
By Nick on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
Missy,
I agree, the Giants defense made Brett look baaaad. How great would it be if baby bro, Eli, knocked off Brady and the mighty Pats?
I have to ask though, what kind of name is Eli, who would name their kid that?
By Tyler Weaver on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
I am a niche blogger, if you can even describe it as niche blogging. Maybe more niche site sculptor, ok too glamourous.
Though I am trying to make a move on to the “superblogger” type status. It is more attractive in the long run I believe.
The broker aspect seems pretty lucrative, and I may consider doing that as I love buying and selling sites. I just hate to part with ones once they are making good money.
By Alan Johnson on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
Cassanova, posting quality updates on a regular basis is probably the most important aspect when it comes to blogging, and not just as far as search engines are concerned. Having the determination it takes in order to keep wirting, even if you start losing momentum is always a must.
Alan Johnson
By April on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
I have been thinking of doing #3. I’m actually in the process but I need to get to the point where I’m getting traffic and money in. But in saying that, I think I’d be too upset to sell it. I’d want to keep it for myself.
By Nick on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
I think that’s the most imporatant part of number 3. You have to have the smarts to know when to hold em or fold em, if you have a site that is making 2,000 a month, and it’s 8 weeks old, then you may want to ride it out, but you also have to have the guts to not be sentimental about it, and pull the trigger. You have to enter it with a plan, and stick to it, otherwise you are going to end up with ten sites that you can’t manage.
By Missy on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
“otherwise you are going to end up with ten sites that you can’t manage”
Yeah, like me. Well said, Nick.
By Nick on Jan 23, 2008 | Reply
Missy, you got a good site though. I’m going to turn my mom onto it, she has some health problems and can’t eat meat.
By Alan Johnson on Jan 23, 2008 | Reply
Missy, I would personally recommend going with as many projects as you can handle without having to compromise as far as quality is concerned. While putting all of your eggs in one basket is not the way to go, spreading yourself too thin is also not an option.
Alan Johnson
By Missy on Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
Nick: Thanxs for the kind words. Would love to have your mom visit my blog, just keep in mind in NOT a nutritionist. But CAN definitely converse with her at Groovy Veg and/or direct her to other solid resources. Thanxs again.
Alan: I definitely think i purposely give myself alot, because i like to be constantly challenged. (that is not hard to do, as in challenge me. lol.) But yeah, i like to diversify and have several sources of projects and income.
Missy.
By Mubashar Iqbal on Mar 2, 2008 | Reply
Bloggers have more opputunity to make momey though their blogs. You just need a distinct way o do so and sohould have the basic knowledge of making money online
By Private Label Rights on Apr 22, 2008 | Reply
Great Post!, I enjoy reading it.
It’s a great way to start My Online Business with Blogging!!.
Thanks,
Edwin
http://www.EdwinHarahap.com