Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

The Evolution of Blogging

July 20, 2009 | Blogging, Feature, Making Money

This is a guest post written by Nathan Hangen, from Webrepreneur Blog.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about blogging as a dead medium. Although I suspect that a majority of this talk spews out of the dying media outlets…probably as a last gasp effort to destroy the bane of their existence, there is some truth to it.

The thing is, it isn’t the money making blogs that are dying. The blogs taking a hit these days are the hobby blogs that once flowered the internet landscape trying to share random bits of thought and experience. Years ago, if a hobby blog caught the eye of enough people, it had the potential to turn into a six-figure earner for the lucky blogger. If it didn’t, the blogger kept going because they enjoyed seeing their words online.

Now, thanks to Twitter and Facebook, these blogs are slowly falling by the wayside at a record pace. The motivation of seeing your posts online simply isn’t enough for most amateur bloggers.

In fact, the New York Times recently stated that as much as 95% of blogs are vacated and left for dead. I’m betting that these are the blogs of aspiring hobbyists and those that simply weren’t in it for the money. When people start to blog, they realize that it takes an astounding amount of work to create solid content on a weekly basis. It takes even more effort to get people to read your content, and even more effort to get them to talk about it.

Now, I don’t tell you this to dissuade you from becoming a blogger. Actually, you should be happy that a majority of bloggers are moving from difficult to manage mediums, like blogs, to more simple methods of communication, such as social media and social networking. This leaves more open space for you than ever before, and if you learn how to do it right, you can create an authority presence in no time at all.

Twitter may have replaced the simple forms of thought exchange, but there is plenty of room to share more advanced methods and techniques. People still want to read compelling stories, be entertained, and be taught how to improve their careers. People still love to read about self-help topics, learn how to get in shape, and see and read about parts of the world they’ve never had a chance to experience. Although this means that you have to be original to create an authority presence online, it does not mean that you can’t make it happen.

3 Blogging Models that You Can Use to Make Money

So if hobby blogs are dead, what is left? I believe there are 3 specific models that you can use to gain credibility and make some cash online. These are the profitable models that are proven to work even in the ever changing climate of 2009. The key isn’t so much as knowing which method you want to go, but in having a plan to get there.

1. Authority Blog
When I think authority blogs, I think Darren Rowse and John Chow. They are the traditional “pro blogger” types. Although Darren has a blog aptly named Problogger, he first did this with his photography website and then later with Twitip, his Twitter blog. The common trend with an authority blog is that the blogger knows the material they discuss, knows how to teach others about the niche or product, and keeps a constant stream of content coming. These are the bloggers that use blogging a way to expand their business empire.

2. Publisher Blog
Very similar to the authority blog, the publisher model uses a series of reports, eBooks, and other content to establish themselves as an expert in that niche. Once they’ve done that, they use the popularity of their blog to create and disseminate digital products. David has done a great job of this with his 3 Day Money course and his Blog Masters Club. Chris Guillebeau does this very well to by giving away reports and then upselling to more advanced products. Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame is another great example. These are the bloggers that use blogging as a tool to drive their business so that they can promote other products and mediums.

3. The Social Blog
Chris Brogan is a master of this. He has worked his butt of to create an empire without alluding to it. He builds relationships and is constantly building others up. He is successful because he works on relationships…the blog is just the place where they hang out. Social bloggers generally have a great deal of good content to give away, but you’d never know it because that isn’t the focus. Perry Belcher also does this, although he is more of the Internet marketing type. You could even say that Gary Vaynerchuk used this model to drive Wine Library TV and eventually get on television. Now he’s got a 7 book deal with Harpo, Oprah’s publishing house.

This list is certainly not all-inclusive, in fact I’ve left out several dozen other bloggers that I admire primarily because there simply isn’t enough room to discuss them all. The important thing to know is that there are new bloggers making it every single day. So although hobby blogs might be dead, blogging as a platform certainly is not.

Sure, you could argue that some of these models are hybrids of others and that some of the names mentioned above used a variety of methods to become successful. While this is true, try to think about what they are primarily known for. Although they all do a little bit of everything well, having a primary means of operation helps them to define each project as an addition to the whole. After all, if you want to make a living as a blogger, then you’ll have to spend your time wisely and plan each and every project with as much detail as possible.

If you want to make a living online, I suggest you study these various models and find out how you can contribute. Identify your niche, plan your attack, and get started. It could take a year or two before the income is steady, but if you stick with the plan then you can become successful.

Nathan Hangen is a webrepreneur, social media consultant, and triathlete. He authors the Webrepreneur Blog and is a frequent contributor to Darren Rowse’s Twitter blog, Twitip.

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  • I think many blogs were started with the right intention, but they soon realised how hard it is to keep them fresh and updated. If you can stick with it, other like minded people will enjoy reading it so long as you provide honest value for the time they spend.
  • I agree 100% with this post. It takes a lot of work to set up a blog that will be noticed by all three of the methods mentioned. If you are willing to do the work, you will reap the rewards.
  • A very good observation Nathan! I especially like how you defined the 3 blogging models. I guess targeting to follow the

    Authority Blog model can be the hardest and most-challenging.
    As you have given as examples, John Chow and Darren. It took years just to fully establish their authority, whereas publisher and social blogs can be well-made within at least two years (in my opinion) since these models are known to use marketing strategies, they can just launch up and get attention instantaneously.

    But as I have observed too, most blogs nowadays seems to start into social or publisher blogs but the main goal is still to end up as the authority type. :)
  • Thanks Nathan for this timely post. I originally wanted to make my blog a personal hobby blog, but I quickly figured out that most people aren't interested in my day to day life. TV provides much more interesting lives to observe.

    So, I have moved to a more informational style of blog where people can learn something useful and apply it to their lives, blogs and businesses.

    The quality of blogging will probably only get better as hobbyists leave the realm to move onto Twitter and Facebook leaving hardcore bloggers such as ourselves to develop professional blogs.

    Cheers!
  • Wow, I didn't realize this one was up already :)

    Thanks again David for the chance to hang out, you've got a great crowd over here.

    I'm pretty skeptical with that "abandonment" number, but there are a lot of blogs that just fade away. However, if you hang in certain circles, like many of us here do, you'll notice that there are a lot of great things happening. I'm very excited about what the future holds.
  • I agree with Mike that lots of “hobby” bloggers are moving over the new media. I believe most of them are seeking entertainment.

    So the ones seeking for valuable information from blogs and websites would be serious "audience".

    Hi David, busy connecting with your "students" on the other side?
  • That is a high number for how many blogs are vacated. I think there are more and more people that is ready to replace the ones that are vacated. We just need to work hard to get visits and create content for our blogs. Greg Ellison
  • Nice thorough article. Following on from Mike's comment I agree that the number of people looking for information online is still growing at a pretty rapid pace. I think this, combined with the fact that, certainly at the moment Google loves blogs, means that good blogs that actually provide value will have a place on the internet for a long time to come. The blog categorisations above are pretty useful too - it is always a good idea to have a plan before just launching into a blog.
  • That 95% figure makes great newspaper headlines, but you're right, it is very misleading. I'd wager that 95% of Twitter accounts and Facebook accounts will lie dormant isn't 12 months time, when the next social medium of the moment comes along.

    The thing about blogs is they are a terrific medium for both publishing and building a community. The traditional idea of a blog as an online diary has now been surpassed, blogs are now fully-fledged content management systems, but open to all. If anything blogs are more powerful and more important now.
  • Good to see you over here Nathan! I agree with you that a lot of the "hobby" bloggers are moving over the new media, and I see that as an opportunity too. Remember though, the overall market of people looking for information online is just growing and growing, so there is still room for many more of us.
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