Do Bloggers Really Make Money Blogging?

How much money do you make from your blog per month (be truthful)?
Is it 0$, or 10$ … or 20 comments as an incentives?
Whatever it is. It’s a million dollar question frequently asked by newbie bloggers in every seminars, webinars and bloggers’ meet.
Millions of bloggers who blog with an intention to make money are in great dilemma and usually ask the below questions:

• Can real money be made from blogging?
• Can they earn good money to live a decent life out of blogging?
• What are the best possible monetization options for niche bloggers?

How much money bloggers are actually earning

Recently I’ve conducted a poll on my blog moneyCtl.com, with a question “How much do you earn from blogging?”
Total 177 moneyCtl readers responded with their votes. And the result is as below:

1. 48% bloggers don’t earn a penny from their blog (despite a lot of time and efforts).
2. 39% of bloggers (26 +13%) earn less than 1000$ which can’t help them to lead an independent life as a full-time blogger.
3. 13% bloggers (9 + 4%) earn more than 1000$ and can think of leading an independent life as a full-time blogger.
4. Only 4% bloggers who earn more than 2000$ lead a decent life.
It’s also learnt that bloggers who usually earn more than 2000$ have been blogging for at least 4 yrs.
Inference: 4% of bloggers who are blogging for at least 4 years earn > 2000$. Out of 177 voters who have participated in the poll; few of them must be blogging for fun :), without any intention of making money (fulfilling the very definition of blogging).

Can you make a living as a full-time blogger

Decision to make a living out of blogging as a full-time blogger is a great commitment. In the initial period, it is much more harder than earning money offline.
If you are really ready to put enormous time and efforts, along with your blood and sweat, then full-time blogging may be a good choice for you.
But yes,it’s not impossible. As I’ve mentioned earlier – There are lots of bloggers who lead a happy life earning big-bucks as a full-timer. So can you.

Best monetization options for you

It’s a pity that whenever a blogger thinks about monetization, he thinks of Google AdSense only.
Even though he is an expert in a particular field and can sell his products and services; he only thinks about AdSense. Moreover, monetization doesn’t mean selling AdSpaces to Google or BuySellAds only.

Monetization means “Earning money from your blog exploring all possible opportunities including selling own products and services.”

So, think about your blog and your expertise level. Can you develop a product or sell your expertise (services) via your blog? Do think about it …
Don’t restrict yourself to selling of AdSpace only, unless and until you are a part-time blogger without any products and services to sell. Below are few monetization options you can choose from:
1. Google AdSense, BuySellAds.com, direct selling of AdSpace., RSS advertising, Newsletter advertising.
2. Selling of own products on the blog like eBooks, Apps, Plugins, Software, Webinars etc.
3. Services like freelancing, training, consulting, speaking, designing etc.
4. Affiliate marketing, Job boards etc.

Act now …

Blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme. If you have started blogging to make plenty of dollars without investing plenty of time and hard work, then today or tomorrow you will get a shock (may be 440Volts).
Developing a successful blog which earns decent money takes time – usually 4 yrs or so. Hard work is the cornerstone of every successful blog.
Only 4% of bloggers make money from blogging. You will be surprised to know – There are plenty of bloggers who have been blogging for more than 5 to 7 yrs and still not able to earn even 100$ per month. Failure rate is many fold than success rate.
Passion, hard work, discipline, patience and little amount of investment (money) are the ingredients of making money from blogging.