Why Some Blogs Just Can’t Make Money

March 20, 2009

There is a huge missing ingredient to blogs that make money versus those that don’t. Well, it isn’t missing, really. It is just that most beginner bloggers who have dreams of making money don’t put enough thought into it. It is actually really, REALLY simple.

Oh, yeah. And I have a confession to make…

money_labyrinth We all talk about the importance of choosing your market. We talk about choosing your niche. It is really important. And now, with that, I have a confession:

As well as PCMech is doing right now, if I were just getting started today, I would not have started PCMech. Just wouldn’t have done it.

Why is that, you might ask? Surely tech blogs are pretty popular, right?

It is a difficult market to make money with. Computer users are generally self-sufficient. They are really, REALLY cheap (especially PC users). They would rather spend hours on the internet surfing around for a solution to an issue than pay anybody to show them how. I mean, why do you think there is such a war on software hacking out there? Because they don’t want to PAY for anything. They would rather hunt around for a hacked piece of software than pay anybody.

In short, though, that is just the nature of the market. There isn’t anything wrong with it. They are a highly interested bunch. I include myself among them. I LOVE technology and computers. But, if I weren’t in business for myself, the idea of spending any money outside of my actual computer equipment would just not be there.

Tech blogs can generate a lot of traffic. You can sell ads and make decent money with that if you are successful in standing out in this very saturated market. But, if I were starting out today, I would never enter the tech blogosphere with any monetary aims. I have managed to do OK with it because I started it awhile go. Plus, I know a lot more about marketing than most people who run tech blogs.

The Importance of Choosing The Right Market

If you desire to make money as a blogger, the road is a lot easier if you choose a solid market to begin with. A few guidelines would be:

  1. As a blogger in your prospective market, can you help your reader solve real problems that exist in the real world?
  2. Does your prospective market have certain goals that would give them pleasure? Or perhaps something they fear that would give them great pain?
  3. Does your market have any kind of traits that would just make them not willing to spend any money?

With those guidelines, you can begin to see why certain types of blogs are going to have a much tougher time making any money. If your blog is essentially a news site, for example, what problem would you be solving? What are the goals or fears of people on a news blog? And surely you’re going to have a tough time getting anybody to pay you since people are USED to getting their news for free. A celebrity blog would be in the same boat. It is just pure entertainment. Entertainment blogs are tricky to monetize and that is because the audience is just there for fun. As a collective audience, they have no common problems, goals or frustrations. Plus, people expect online entertainment to be free.

The best markets are those where there is a real-life problem to solve, there is a goal which they feel strongly about, or there is a nagging fear which they are afraid of.

It isn’t a coincidence that some of the bloggers who make good money talk about how to make money blogging. Ever thought about why that is? :) It is simply because there is a big, overriding GOAL to the market. In other words, MORE MONEY. And who isn’t motivated by that? However, don’t go into “make money” blogging just because you think it would work. You have to have actually done it before you can talk about it with authority.

The same philosophy works in a BUNCH of different markets:

  • Musicians have the common goal of being better players. They want to perfect their craft, gain respect, pick up chicks because they’re so good. They’re a potentially good market.
  • Business owners have the goal of making more money and retiring early. Easy market.
  • Dating is a good market because everybody wants to have a partner and men want to get laid. I mean, face it. :)

Markets where there is competition among members of the audience are good, too. For example, I’ve seen popular sites that are all about taking cars and making them look better. drive faster, etc. Modifications, essentially. Great market because you have a rabid audience of people who are out to impress their friends and have a generally more bad-ass car than everybody around them. And they’ll PAY for that.

(I once knew a dude who paid more for the rims on his car than he did for the car itself. I was floored).

So, market selection is very important. When we talk about making good money blogging, the entire thing is going to be much harder if you’re not talking to a market which has goals or pains. It is much better to think about this before you start blogging for money. If you’re already blogging, then take stock of your market and see if it adds up. If it doesn’t, you might want to adjust to better align with something having market potential.

Either that or just blog as a hobby. :)

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  • David,

    I have to agree with your statement about pc users being cheap and include me in that group. So many times I fail to take into my own hourly rate when I start becoming cheap. Instead of payment $27 or $47 for some product or service or specialized knowledge, I'll spend hours trying to find it on my own. In the log run, my time should be more valuable than that because it takes me away from being able to make money elsewhere or to spend time with my family (more importance on the latter).
  • I think using your blog to try to offer some solutions to real world problems is great advice - whether your blog is attached to an already existing business (offline) or if it's strictly the business.
  • I definitely agree with you. Picking the right niche is everything.
  • Yes, Chris, that's a big lesson. Start taking into account the value of your time. So many people assign ZERO value to their time and it is a huge mistake.
  • super informative post, David. and maybe between one's expertise and where's there is a market to which one might add more information (useful hopefully), one's blog subject should be chosen
  • Hi David, choosing the right niche is indeed very important. Ideally, it's better to choose a niche that we are passionate about, but the BIG problem is what niche to choose.
  • Agreed, as a "cheap" person myself I get it! The best niche is your passion for whatever your into, could be many things, which means many blogs, which means more money. ;)
  • Hi David,

    Am about to launch a blog on the business affairs of premium soccer league in South Africa. There are a few blogs on the game itself, however nothing about the business affairs of the game. The current state of affairs is not very healthy as only a handful of teams are showing signs of professionalism while the rest leaves a lot to be desired. With the blog am hoping to direct all teams into managing their administration professionally, by interrogating various matters that are currently not addressed.

    The game itself enjoys massive sponsorships, however teams don't do their bit to reciprocate that by pulling fans into the stadiums. Only a few teams enjoy endorsements while the rest survive on monthly grants from the national association.

    With that bit of info shared, do you think, I stand a good chance of monetising my new kid on the blog?
  • Spot on, Dave. Anytime I spend money its to better myself and position in life, make me feel good and or give me an advantage over the rest. This is all about human nature, which I guess is what marketing is all about. If you keep thinking that way from choosing a blog topic to how you present your content and products, you'll stay on course.
  • Another way to make money with a blog is to do product review. Every one wants a review about a product. They don't want to spend their money buying an incompetent product.
  • You talk about PC users, but what about those Linux users? I know a hard core user who re-engineered the I/O feeds to his motorized telescope, wrote a new program to control it and finally was able to follow some star in perfect alignment... He could have updated the telescope software, but because it was only available for another "evil" OS he dissed it. In sales it is really important to understand your prospects.
  • Awesome confession David. I think this post really shows how making money through blogging doesn't necessarily mean going through all the usual channels. Damn, you can hit hot buttons in nearly any industry...but if you don't set out to specifically hit those hot buttons, don't expect to be raking in the cash.
  • Richard60
    My goal was to have 100 sites making a dollar a day, or $3000. per month in online revenue. That aint much to live on and you will never get rich but if you add that to an already decent monthly income from military disability, wifes social security, etc that's all I needed to put me over the top. I have a guaranteed monthly income from my blogs, landing pages, etc, I had a lot of fun building them, gained a new business as a business blog consultant in my community and a whole lot more. Sure, I spent a bunch of money over the years building my network but already I have made more than half of my original investment back and my income doesn't depend on a bunch of "suits" in tall buildings in NYC!
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