Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Is Blogging Doomed? Why A-Lister’s Are Quitting and Dan Lyons Is Just Plain Wrong

February 10, 2009 | Blogging, Feature, Making Money, Ramblings

We are most definitely in the midst of an evolution of the blogosphere. The recession is causing reality to hit home. Some of the A-List bloggers are leaving the business. What’s going on here?

Missy Ward tweeted out a link to this story on WebProNews. Apparently, Dan Lyons (aka “fake” Steve Jobs) is now quitting blogging. His reason? There’s no money in it. He says:

“More than 500,000 people hit my site—by far the biggest day I’d ever had—and through Google’s AdSense program I earned about a hundred bucks. Over the course of that entire month, in which my site was visited by 1.5 million people, I earned a whopping total of $1,039.81. Soon after this I struck an advertising deal that paid better wages. But I never made enough to quit my day job.”

My response? That’s because you’re depending on Adsense! So, Dan Lyons writes this piece in Newsweek where he calls Growing Rich by Blogging Is a High-Tech Fairy Tale.

Lyons Isn’t Alone.

If we look at the general state of blogging, we see that more and more people are looking to blogging to make money. However, a lot of the old-timers like Lyons are realizing that it isn’t so easy to make a lot of money blogging. Michael Arrington is on hiatus because he’s tired of the haters. Gawker has laid off a bunch of bloggers. B5 Media “restructured” its pay scale. Scoble has reduced to only occasional blogging and has now gone almost totally to FriendFeed. Calacanis ran to his email list.

So, some have money problems. Others just get tired of the stress.

For Most, The Money Sucks

If we look at Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere, we see figures to back this up. The mean annual revenue from U.S. bloggers is $5,060. Of the top 10% of bloggers, the average annual revenue is only $19,000.

Picture 4

The figures are about what I would expect. It is a bit humbling, actually. It is weird to see that I am personally in the upper crust of professional blogging. I do make six figures per year at this.

But, the fact that I do make a good living at this is exactly why I can tell Dan Lyons that he is absolutely full of CRAP.

It might be a fairy tail for HIM to make that kind of money, but it isn’t a fairy tail for somebody who actually does the right things. Lyons was trying to make money through traditional ads with a tech site. I know from experience – making money with a tech blog is HARD! The tech market (as far as blogs go) really just isn’t that good for one-man blogging operations. It is a saturated market. The big guys like Techcrunch and Gizmodo can do well, but a one-man blogger trying to go full-time as a tech blogger today is looking at one HELL of an up-hill fight.

The only reason I manage to do it is because I don’t completely suck at marketing. :)

The Future of Blogging Income

I wrote a report on the future of blogging income. Anybody reading this article should opt-into my mailing list to get a free copy. In it, I talk about the “freemium” model. It is the future for serious pro bloggers and it is how I think a lot of future six figure bloggers are going to make it to that goal.

To put it bluntly, the reason that the average annual income from blogging is so low is because MOST BLOGGERS SUCK AT MARKETING.

Look, if you’re going to just write your ass off, throw up some ads, promote some affiliate products, and expect to see big paychecks, then you’re going to give up like Dan Lyons.

Blogging is marketing. Pure and simple. If you don’t treat it as such, you won’t make big money at it.

Some of the “a-list” bloggers started blogging in the tech sector. It is a touch sector. And, many of them suck at marketing. In fact, some detest internet marketers. That attitude is to their detriment.

Where is Blogging Going?

The WebProNews article seems to think that it is only the blog networks who can save the blogosphere. Perhaps. But, those blog networks are still living in the old-school world where the same rules of traditional media apply to revenue. Networks can aggregate a bunch of blogs together and pull more advertising dollars.

That article says:

Like it or not, the corporation is going to have to enter the blogosphere, and by irony, will ruin it in order to save it.

Whatever.

Ironically, the story quotes examples (in radio) of Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh as some of the few “shining stars”. What these people seem to fail to see is that these radio personalities are excellent marketers!

Don’t Listen to Dan Lyons

Lyons is a smart guy. His “fake Steve Jobs” concept was a stroke of genius. But, his outlook of doom and gloom for the blogosphere is a bunch of crap.

Instead of acting like a reporter when you blog, start acting like a marketer. You find a niche. You brand yourself. You market to your audience. You provide value. It grows. And it happens to be that blogging is a fantastic tool to use!

EDIT 2/11 7:46AM: Looks like Scoble started blogging a lot more since I last looked at his site. He linked to this post, which got my attention. When I looked, I notice he’s been busy. So, it looks like I shouldn’t have included Scoble in the list above. Which is good, too, since he adds a lot to the world of tech blogging.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

  1. Bloggers, What Went Wrong?
  2. Scoble is Wrong About Blog Comments Being Dead
  3. Tech Blogging – Too Crowded? Too Hateful? No, Just Changing.
  4. January 2009 Blogging Income Report
  5. When Blogging Isn’t Blogging Anymore

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  • Great post, don't know how I missed it months ago.

    The short-sightedness of some industry know-it-alls has always opened doors and provided opportunities for those with a broader vision (like you).

    Today's new wave of bloggers who really want to go pro could not be in a better position to make things happen. We can ride this evolution to success and write posts about how wrong the experts were.
  • Sure saying that blogging is dead is like saying conversation and debate is dead. In it's pure form..........not seo related or whatever, it's just a method of communication that has only just really started to get going as far as the masses are concerned. The real problem is weeding the crap from the good because the ratio is way way out of line. There seems to be too many spammed blogs out there with just waffle for content.

    I'd rather read any blog that anything on Twitter - I'm not playing on that one!! :)
  • So much truth in this article. I'm relatively new to blogging but I'm an experienced marketer. I have several blogs but I'm still using the free Blogger format from Google. I realize I don't have total control when I host a blog through Blogger but I continue to do this for the outstanding seo results I've had on Google (one blog has been consistently listed #1 for one of my niches, out of 24 million results).

    Turning one's nose up at blog advertising smacks of elitism. I see absolutely nothing wrong with blog ads.

    For a brief time I helped my brother (very conservative lawyer)with marketing. He considered advertising/marketing anathema in the legal field. He thought my efforts would make him look like an ambulance chaser. Although he was a tough nut to crack, I assured him he would see significant results without it appearing he had done any advertising at all. For the short time I helped him he saw an increase of over $100,000 due to marketing.

    Let the blog snobs dominate the socialist milieu while the rest of us plug along in the real world, capitalism.
  • The main point I agree with: good bloggers, to be successful economically, must be good marketers. And good direct-response marketers know that the most valuable thing we have in a business is the LIST. If you aren't capturing names and email addresses so you can send interested people more info directly, you're missing the boat. Oh, sure... have millions hit your site like the dating guy in Canada, and THEN perhaps AdSense will pay your way. If not, do lead generation (see my #1 Secret To Success here http://bit.ly/72nFU), capture names and email addresses attached to an autoresponder, and start a dialogue with good prospects. THEN you'll be in a position to sell them things directly.

    Best,

    Charles Seymour Jr
    http://twitter.com/UltimateWAHDads
  • Well said, David.

    I gather that Mr. Lyons' career has been working for media companies. He underestimated the value of their marketing platform that he gets to enjoy. Their sales staff then handles the monetization, too, so he can concentrate on writing engaging content.

    The Internet does not suspend the law of gravity or provide any other magic. Why would Mr. Lyons think that his merely writing good info was going to pay him even close to the income that his major media company employers do?

    Like any other type of successful entrepreneur, top bloggers wear multiple hats. Monetizing our own content requires a mix of skill sets that are only beginning to be widely recognized and taught.

    Smart guy but he should have read your (or my) blogs!

    Scott Fox
    Author, Internet Riches
  • This is probably the best post I've read today. Just when I was thinking that blogging was doomed, I stumble upon (figuratively) this post.

    Thank you.
  • the 08/20 rule exists in any industry and any field. So the best solution for us is blogging ourselves to the top, instead of leaving the blogsphere and becoming a real loser.
  • Not being able to buy your own tropical island on the basis of Adsense earnings isn't proof that bloggers can't go/stay pro.

    You're right on re: Lyons inability to correctly monetize. I can't imagine how many people could find a way to cash in very effectively on 1.5 targeted visitors in the tech field in a month!
  • I think bloggers as marketers within their niche can also think about "guides" style blogging, where they try to offer solid, lengthy pieces of information that readers in their subject will find useful. Research for other people who don't have the time but do have the need.
  • When it's possible to embed functionality (as a opposed to content) into a blog page, some bloggers will make a lot of money. For example, a niche blog on living, working and travelling to Peru could embed a booking engine into its site, such that the booking experience remains on the blog site through to purchase. In effect a white label travel service branded with the identity of the blog site.

    In short, when people come to your blog to 'do stuff' as well as 'read stuff' is when serious money will be made by A list bloggers.
  • I find that a lot of people like to be contrarians to gain the attention. Blogging is no longer "new", thus not newsworthy. So the "A-Listers" who used to relish in the attention of being cutting edge, are now crowded by everyday folk who are part of the legitimate blogosphere and a greater populations who no longer finds their blogging as cutting edge. Thus it becomes time to announce that you are quitting, or that the medium is dead, etc...

    Alas, everyone is talking about him now for his public bashing of his own baby. He might be a better marketer than you are giving him credit.

    I know lots of bloggers who are far from "A-List" who are seeing an increase in readers (that is my experience), so is blogging dead or are certain "A-Listers" just getting stale to the readership?

    I don't see blogging as dying. I just see it as more mainstream and that just makes some people feel so pedestrian.
  • "This is a perfect example of a blogger who is a horrible marketer. "
    I totally agree with above statement, with near 500k visitors per day one should able to make much more, even adsense income should be much higher than the current figure.
  • Big Mike
    Great post David!

    This is a perfect example of a blogger who is a horrible marketer. Monetizing a blog has to be a multi pronged approach, and relying soely on Adsense as a means to monetize his blog, was shortsighted considering the type of traffic his blog was generating... and the blog has to be one component of a total business building system. Glad to see your showing others how to effectively monetize their blogs in 2009.
  • There is a lot more to blogging than making money.

    One definition of information is "whatever reduces uncertainty." In other words, good blogs answer our real questions. In the process of clarifying these relevant questions and answers, we generally have to communicate with each other by visiting other blogs, commenting and generally trying to expand the knowledge domain around our given topic or theme.

    My favourite blog is concerned antique tractors, which is all that I can afford for my hobby farm. The last time my three point linkage went willie-wonkos, a kind colleague in Scandanavia explained the problem, with his best effort at written English. The diagram he included actually did the trick, but even better was the friendship that we started.

    Like I said, there is a lot more to blogging than the money. But as one sage expressed it, "do what you really love and the money will follow." So I say the community, shared ideas and mutual support which is the foundation of blogging is reward enough for me to stay in the game. If I make some money along the way, that would be good. And if I don't, at least I will not have to pay any tax.
  • Nathan: Ahh, you're onto something there! 6 figure blogger or 6 figure business owner? Well, once you get to that point, they are one and the same. Bloggers who do well treat it like a business.

    Stealth, I didn't say Lyons was the enemy. He was just wrong. You can make good money as a blogger...its just that he was going about it all wrong. For example, was he capturing email leads for those 1.5 million readers? If not, case in point.
  • Rob
    Mr fake Jobs definitely needs to hire an ad consultant to run his advertising campaigns. If he's making a cool grand on a mil and a half visitors, something's terribly terribly wrong. That much traffic can EASILY be translated into an extremely high full-time income. Quitting because Adsense wasn't the best fit? Nothing short of weak.

    I run better numbers than he does with a TINY fraction of the traffic. I'm not a great writer, and I'm not a genius. You're right - it's ALL marketing. Sell yourself, and you'll do A-OK.
  • It was good to run across this article and to consider.

    To me lot of ads on a blog looks desperate. If the ads don't serve me as the reader and my reason for even being there, it's just inconsiderate and a bad use of space.

    Dan Lyons isn't the enemy, seems like hes raising some important and plausible points; anyway, successful people are the exception anyway. Right?
  • David, great post and I agree with you on the marketing aspect, but do you really consider yourself as a 6 figure blogger or as a 6 figure business owner?
  • Spot on, David.

    Goes to prove that it's much more difficult for bloggers to become marketers then it is for marketers to become bloggers.

    Now, a very smart marketer will figure out a way to leverage the large base of bloggers that aren't making the cashola they should and teach them how to do it.

    For a nice fee, of course ;-)
  • It looks like you are right David.
  • Well said David. As I understand it Problogger himself (Darren Rowse) said at BlogWorld Expo that it will take 2 years before you can see a monetary return on your blogging.

    Perhaps better would have been 2 years from when you start marketing yourself/your blog
  • Hehehe....looks like I attract Scoble to mention this post. But, I an also amend this post to say that Scoble now seems to be blogging quite a bit more. Which is great news for tech blogging. :)
  • "Fairy tail", eh? Humor? Freudian slip?

    Whatever, like Kay says, you're always motivational.

    Thanks.
  • Ayup. I saw that piece and left a comment disagreeing with him too. My feeling is if they are leaving, good - more room for us!

    You are absolutely right that you have to sell your own stuff - my Adsense income is a very nice bump to start the month with, but I couldn't live on it.
  • Once again I'm impressed by your ability to make negatives into positives. Highly motivational. Thanks.
  • Scott, well done on getting those advertisers. Yeah, there will always be money in advertising for bloggers. Its just that a lot of bloggers find it really difficult to get to that point and that's why selling your own stuff is usually a better way to go.

    Well done, though.
  • It does seem like a quite a leap in logic to say that because AdSense isn't earning enough, there's no money in blogging.

    ari
  • David you are right - it's up to bloggers to market. I have ads running (or about to run) on all my sites. While I'm not at six figures yet - I'm getting close. And the so-called down economy hasn't hit me yet. All of our 2008 advertisers re-upped and most prepaid between six and 12 months of advertising. We added two new advertisers in January and expect to add two more in March or April. If you provide good content, can show your advertisers that your posts show up on page one of Google relevant to your topic, and you're not afraid to ask for the business - it's there. If I can do it anyone can. Great site.
  • I think that bloggers could move towards community funded reporting ala Spot.Us.

    Dan Lyons could easily get more money from small donations (people giving $10 each) than he could from advertising.
  • I like your honest, straight up approach. I also agree with you about marketing.

    Many factors are in play for a successful and rich blog.
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