Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Direct Sales: The Forgotten Revenue Stream For Bloggers?

October 17, 2009 | Blogging

I’m over here at BlogWorld Expo 2009 in Las Vegas. As usual, there is a monetization track for bloggers and it always proves popular. Sometimes the sessions are standing room only.

Every session, I hear the standard fare. Banner ads. Affiliate programs.

Every session, a huge line forms up at the mic for questions. Most of the bloggers aren’t making any money. They are there to learn the “secrets” of the gurus. Guys like Darren Rowse, John Chow, Brian Clark, etc.

Most sessions, it seems they completely gloss over the most lucrative form of blog monetization: direct sales.

Brian Clark gets it. His philosophy to monetization is very similar to my own. He launched Teaching Sells, for example. And Thesis. Darren is only now getting into some direct sales. John doesn’t do it, however that is by choice on his part. Most of the other panelists on the monetization track just completely miss the boat.

Advertising is NOT the key to making money as a blogger. It takes a lot of traffic to make it work. Trying to make money with banner ads is like running full speed on a treadmill and wondering why you’re not getting to the carrot on the end of the stick. Those who run fast enough can get the carrot. The rest just keep trying and never get there.

The key to making money as a blogger is thinking like a business. That means having things to sell and engaging in marketing to build a relationship with the audience and ultimately sell them your wares. You can make six-figure level income with relatively small traffic numbers when you do this.

This year alone, due to Blog Masters Club and 3DayMoney, this blog is earning a five-figure income which would rival many people’s full-time jobs for the year. This blog’s traffic is such that I wouldn’t make even a fraction of that if I were littering this blog up with ads. This blog might make me $10-$20 per day if I were using network ads (if I’m lucky). Instead, it is making me several thousand dollars per month.

And that doesn’t even include income from PCMech.com, where I use a combination of ads, affiliate stuff and direct sales.

So, bloggers! Don’t forget direct sales. It should be the FIRST thing people think of when it comes to blog monetization.

Even so, a number of the panelists fail to communicate that fact.

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  • I read your Six Figure Blogger Blueprint a few months ago and this was the main thing that stuck with me. I knew you were right, I'd heard it before and yet (just like most new bloggers) I still tried the ad networks and OIO publisher to sell banner ads. I made a whopping zero dollars from that waste of time and energy at such an early point in my blogging career.

    I liked what JB Glossinger said on his panel when he told us to stop wasting time looking at analytics & statistics and get busy creating content to sell. For the next two weeks I'm focusing only on putting together my own product. If I wait until I think I'm expert enough, I'll never get it done! Thanks for reminding me once again...this time I'll listen. :)
  • RussRave
    Hi David,
    glad to see you had a worthwhile and enjoyable trip in Vegas. I totally agree about the prerequisite for enormous volumes of traffic before banners or Adsense could start to mount up to anything substantial.
    I'm focusing on building a following and fine tuning some skills and then developing projects (some in process at present) that will offer value to my blog visitors.
    Kudos to you for having enough insight and perspective to produce some really worthwhile products such as 3-day etc.
    Also,.. congrats on the impending new baby girl. We have 2 boys aged 2 & 4 and just got news of a 3rd on the way (this will be our last) which we'd be thrilled if was a girl,.. otherwise the boys can start a boyband or something :-). Now this is really motivating me forwards!
    Russ
  • I've had this in the back of my mind for a while - this is definitely something I want to do, but I have to come up with a good idea first as a "product", and then I have to find the time to actually create it! Thanks for the reminder! :)
  • Richard60
    I agree with the "direct sales" approach but have several problems with it. I would love to see a post from you titled: "10 Ways To Sell Advertising On Your Blog With The Direct Sales Approach." Selling anything using the direct sales approach is very time consuming and a new blog is going to have a tough sell. If it's a popular, well trafficked blog then it would seem that affiliate advertising would be a better way to go.
  • Thanks re-emphasizing that David.
    This has clearly being your thing for a while now. You've always encouraged selling your own stuff.

    The easiest temptation for a new blogger is to go down the banner ads route.

    I sometimes watch this video of yours as a reminder of this
    How Money is REALLY Made With a Blog?

    Thanks for sharing
  • Thanks for this post, David.
    Many bloggers may have this in the backs of their minds, knowing that they will have to go this route someday (me included). But the reality is to bring that to the fore and get busy now.

    A great reminder to refocus on what will be most beneficial in the long term
  • Great post - I have adsense on my blog. I mainly put it up as I just wanted to experience what having adwords on my blog would be like and to see if anyone actually clicked on them. Which would appear not to be the case at all! I plan to take them down at the end of the month and make my site look a bit more professional without all the ads.

    I do include affiliate link banners on the side because I feel these products are exactly what beginner bloggers should be looking for. Things like aweber email, web host, Yaro's subscription site and Darren's build better blog in 31 days. I'm not a fan of those ads that are displayed on blogs where it seems evident they're just there with no influence from the blog creator/author. For me they're there as I feel bloggers can benefit from them. (I should add yours too to fill my last remaining spot ;) I would probably do better if I were to directly email my list about products but I feel I'm not ready for that just yet.

    I do plan to have my own product eventually for beginner blogger. Can't wait :)
  • Good advice for everyone. Direct Sales seem like the difficult way to earn a living while everyone is looking for the easy widget they can display that will earn them a living.
  • Thanks for the reminder David,
    I'm still stuck with ads and affiliate marketing until I develop my first product.
  • I'm always surprised how bloggers gloss over the possibility of actually selling a product. But it takes a bit of effort compared to slapping up a network ad, so maybe that's why.

    I have a long time before I'm even interested in seriously monetizing my blog, but I would love to do it with a small range of products, so I can manage the quality myself and keep the revenue generation consistent with my own goals & values. :)
  • Amen, brother. Easily the most powerful business model there is.
  • Figured this out a couple of months ago, but it takes time to put together products I'm proud to sell. Just don't have one of those "4 hours ebooks" in me.

    I am just NOT ready to "go public" with the little projects I have simmering away... nothing is quite finished... the sales chain is still a bit fragile, and I think I want to move to a speedier host than the shared hosting I'm on now.

    @Christian, *everyone* is in sales, whether they realize it or not! Especially with this economy.

    Very good to see the mindset moving in this direction as well.
  • You are 100% right David. This is why I keep telling people they need to learn how to sell. You're in sales, whether you realize it or not. So many bloggers and business owners of all kinds avoid selling like the plague. I get it. But there's a REASON most businesses fail, and blogging is not immune to this.

    If you're not willing to sell, you're in trouble, period!
  • Dead on man! Good to know I'm on track with creating something of my own right now.

    I'm also glad to see you're (as always) telling it like it is when talking about other bloggers and in this case panelist at Blogworld. You're one of the most stand up and transparent guys in the business and it's because of that you're readers should appreciate you.

    Looking forward to more updates from you!
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