Blogging as a Small Business

Technorati has released their 2008 state of the blogosphere report.  In addition to updating their data on the number of blogs, the report also covers information from a survey of registered Technorati users.

The Blogging for Money report section focuses on blog advertising.  It shows, not surprisingly, that blog industry ad revenue follows the familiar power curve (also called the long tail).  Key data points:

• The top 1% of bloggers earn $200,000+ in ad revenue
• The median annual revenue for all blogs with advertising is just $200

This data implies a very steep power curve which means few blogs generate substantial advertising revenue.  Even for blogs with 100,000+ unique monthly visitors, the median reported advertising revenue is just $22,000.

This data does not surprise me.  While anyone can write and publish a blog, attracting the audience required for advertising success is not easy. 

But most small online publishers do not rely entirely on advertising revenue.  Most have multiple streams of revenue that include a mix of advertising, product sales, consulting, speaking, sponsorships of various kinds and affiliate program sales.

So for those thinking of starting a small online publishing business, keep in mind that advertising alone is unlikely to generate enough revenue to be successful. 

 

Comments

[Bernard32Anne]

Set your life time easier get the personal loans and all you require.