Okay, you say that you have a blog that receives single digit visits per day. Well there is hope out there for increasing traffic numbers dramatically, but that's a topic for another day. Why does everyone say that? Why did I? Oh well.
Anyway, back to the business at hand of blogging for dollars.
Friend of Blog Business World, and the first blogger I read on a regular basis, Aaron Gleeman of Aaron Gleeman.com has just passed the 1.5 million visitor mark this week. That's right. Aaron has had one and a half million visitors to his highly popular baseball and popular culture blog.
About these very impressive visitor totals, Aaron had this to say:
...the counter that tracks visitor totals rolled past 1.5 million this week. In the early days this blog often had a single-digit readership, so the visitor count has long since passed the point of shocking me. I want to thank everyone who has accounted for one of those 1.5 million ticks on the counter. And a special thanks goes out to my mom, who if my calculations are correct has been responsible for approximately 1.4 million of the visits.
While it's interesting that Aaron Gleeman has so many visitors, the real interesting information lies elsewhere in the post. Instead of having you wade through the various links and thoughts, I'll find the passage for you.
Aaron wants to make some money from his blogging popularity:
Wired had an interesting article about the few people who are actually making good money from this blogging thing. I remain convinced that a decent living can be scratched out solely from blogging if it's done right, although I have about a dozen too many other writing gigs (and not nearly enough money in the bank) to find out if I'm right.
I believe that Aaron is already earning indirect revenue from his blogging activities. As a direct result of his writing about baseball, Aaron has landed a number of good paying writing jobs with the mainstream and internet based sports media. In fact, the sports columns are Aaron's major source of income.
Without the blog as his business marketing tool, Aaron would have been much less likely to have found those freelance writing opportunities. As a blogger, writing daily about sports and culture in general, and baseball in particular, the blog posts made Aaron's writing a known commodity.
A blog can generate revenue for a business in more than one way. While high traffic blogs like Aaron Gleeman.com can and probably should offer advertising and products, they are not the only way to achieve blog income. As we have seen, Aaron has the blog as a writing business marketing and promotional vehicle. The blog serves as an online writing portfolio.
This indirect revenue is one of the most powerful uses of a business blog, and doesn't even require high traffic numbers. Creating a positive and interactive relationship with readers is a key strength of blogging. Discussing topics of interest to your readership, and establishing yourself as an expert in your field, can turn a blog into a powerful buzz marketing builder. That is certainly the case for Aaron Gleeman.com.
That said, I would recommend that Aaron Gleeman consider offering his own branded and tradmarked products on his blog. He could also work some affiliate deals with other vendors. Sports and poker related merchandise sells very well. With items for sale, Aaron could successfully leverage his large readership into some nice passive income. The great thing about passive income is can arrive in your account even while you are fast asleep. Now that's a goal to strive for!
Large traffic blogs like Aaron Gleeman.com can definitely earn some decent income from blogging. Smaller traffic blogs can earn indirect income, by using the blog as a business marketing vehicle. As traffic levels build up over time, more direct passive income can be earned as well.
Blogs of all traffic volumes can make money.
You simply need a little creativity to make those blogging dollars flow your way.
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