Things Successful Bloggers Do

I am SO excited to bring you this next installment of Things Successful Bloggers Do That I Do Not Do.

See, in the past it might have been 'questionable' as to whether or not I really did not do the things that successful bloggers do. 

Let me assure you though.  I don't. 

Lets Re-Cap

1. Have a life outside their blog

2. Don't beat a dead horse

3. Go to Blogher

4. Have lots of readers

5. Seem to have it all

6. Swear

But for number seven, I want to tell you, I really, really, really don't.

I promise.

Ready?

Here it is.

Things Successful Bloggers Do That I Do Not Do

#7 Make money (from their blog)

Thats right folks. 

Those big name bloggers are raking it in.  I have heard conservative estimates in the six figure range for the professionals.

I recently watched a story on our local Fox 9 News about blogging.  One of the big names they mentioned reports getting around 5 million hits a month.  (I hate to mention her name because I dislike her blog immensely)  Lets just say that they get $1 for every thousand hits. (which is a low estimate)

That is $5,000 a month. 

Wow.

I dont know about you, but I have never made any money from my blog.  If fact, through tyepad, I pay to blog.  My blog has a yearly fee of $149.99.  (I know.  Its ridiculous.  I need to get my own domain and just be done with it, but that's a big step I am not sure I am ready to take.)

Typically, people who make money from their blog do it through advertising... something simple like google ads , or even the more lucrative blogher ads.  I have also heard that chitika and Amazon Associates are good options.  These are the types of ads that you apply for and they dictate what is being advertised and when and how often.

I do not have ads on my blog.  I have never had ads on my blog.  And I never...uh... well... dont plan on getting any in the near soon future. 

Some of the more successful bloggers have Target and Hewlett Packard and The Today Show flashing across the screen.  

And I can't help but wonder... how many readers do you have to have before Target comes knocking at your door?  And just how much do they pay?  And would having them want to advertise on my blog ever include a 90 second shopping spree through the store?  Just sayin. 

Now here is where I reveal just how small town (or should I say 'small blog' I am)...

...would that not be the bestest mostest greatest thing to happen in the whole wide world? 

To not only be acknowledged for your thoughts and opinions, but to have someone want to pay you to keep on writing about your thoughts and opinions?

So this is the million dollar question... (he he, I'm sorry, I know its cheesy)

So how do you feel about ads? 

Would you install them on your blog? 

Do they annoy you? 

Do you ever click on them? 

And if you already have them, do you find that they are lucrative?

What would you recommend to a new blogger?

*After reading and talking with some of you about the topic, I caved in.  I added a couple SMALL ads at the bottom left hand side of my blog.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Comments

[Michelle]

Wow! I can't believe you actualy pay to blog? Are you serious, or just kidding?

I would put ads on my blog. Not the google ads because I don't like some of the ads they put on the blogs. But I have applied for Blogher ads. I figure, why not? If someone wants to pay me to write, I'll let them. Plus, if I can rake in as much as I do from working, then I can quit my job and stay home with my kids.

So, yes. I am an advocate of blog ads and I also click on other people's ads because I know it helps them out. Not to mention the purpose of the ads. So many things I wouldn't know are out there because of ads. I actually started buying Pepridgefarm crackers because of an ad I found. (Can't remember if it was a blog ad or something in the paper, but still an ad!)

Thanks for the post!

Have an awesome week!

[Tina Fisher]

Well dear Amanda...

Here's how it rolls for me.

I am way to new to even know what blogger you are talking about in your second paragraph without watching the news clip again?!

I am quite sure nobody would ever pay me to advertise on my little bliggity blog. I would be extremely satisfied if somebody wanted to "trade" a little avertising for a free prodcut but I'm so small town...nobody would even get a fair trade out of it!

Let's see...I mostly just by pass the ads...except on one blog. Sometimes there are cute hair things on it. But I quit doing that becuase neither of my girls have any hair to put hair things in. :) Maybe some day. I did click on a lego thing once. That's about it.

They annoy me when I am trying to read and they are right trough the middle of the screen! Otherwise...I tune 'em out for the most part anyway. Sometimes I "see" them just to "see" how many there are!

I've heard....don't do google ads...just what I've uh "heard".

I'll be back to see what others think. Good post!

Love your series!

Tina

[darcie]

I put ads on my blog 'for fun' once - and kept them there - do I make much money? Nope - but I have managed to accumulate a few cents...but you know the REAL prize in my blog ads? They are taylored to what I am writing about - and today, I saw an ad for a FREE photo book - I am all over that! So, while they might be annoying - I find that not only am I making a few cents here and there - that hopefully, at the end of the year with enough people clicking on my ads - I can make enough to pay for, well, I don't know - a photo book...I do love the pertinent info that I see over there and find myself clicking on others' blog ads as well!

[He & Me + 3]

I have one on my blog...at the bottom...but you probably haven't noticed it and that is why I did it. I also did a little review for a dress, but only because I got a free one in return for the girls. I don't click on the ads. I wish I could make money doing this...but then that would change the purpose of my blog. I have been approached by a few to do reviews...but have said no.

[Holly Neaton]

I'm with Tina...love this series! Holly

[gianna]

so here's what i think. i want to stay at home with my 3 almost 4 hoodlums. if i could get paid to be able to blog AND the be able to stay at home with my kids, i so would. but basically, i ignore ads on blogs. i don't know. i would want to dictate the ads myself, but you know, i don't really know.

[Wendy]

I have google ads and I'm not sure when I will ever get a check...because I don't understand how that works. I would prefer to have blogher ads instead. To help with family expenses. Once I had an awful, VERY awful ad on men's birth control stuff (pictures and all). I thought I was going to die. I stopped certain google ads after that. The ones with pictures. I was horrified.
Wendy

[InspiredDreamer]

I would certainly love to make money off my blog, but I still consider myself pretty new, so I'm taking it slow. Maybe once I break a specific follower mark I'll start, but since 20 probably isn't quite enough yet, it'll still be a while! :)

[Sara]

I have an Amazon thingie on my sidebar. I like it because I picked everything in it. It's stuff that I would recommend to you if we met at a playgroup. And I've made $0.50. You're totally jealous now, aren't you???
And yes, I've done a review/giveaway thing. But dang that was a lot of work. Don't know if I'll do it again. There are review bloggers out there who do a way better job than me.
I was just meant to write about poop, it seems. Such is life. :)

[Ruth]

Ummm... First off I just want to say that blogger is FREE. And I know you may have more options here on typepad, but free is free.

Second, no ads, I'm too small town, ya know.
I skip over them or get annoyed by them on other blogs and think they junk things up just a bit. But if you have the time or the talent to make a living off of them then I say go for it!

[Kate]

I am on the fence on how I feel about ads. I don't click on any of them because they don't interest me. BUT when a big name blogger (and I think I know who you are talking about!), and there are a few of them, are all about the ads then it just gets on my nerves. I enjoy blog where you can tell that the author writes because he/she loves it first and foremost. I hate the whole click here for this and click here for that business, just to try to make more money.
And that's how I feel about that!
Have a great day Amanda!

[CFMama]

Hi Amanda,
I have recently begun running ads on my blog only because of our financial situation. I am going to blog regardless but if I can potentially help pay one bill, let's say the internet, then I feel a little better. I am not running ads to ever be able to pay our mortgage but it's dollars and cents. I enjoy blogging and in no way dream to be a professional blogger that is scrutinized under a microscope. =)

[Val]

I am pretty new to blogging. I started about 5 months ago. Anyway, I would never judge anyone for putting ads on their blogs because I don't know their financial situation. That being said, I really dislike seeing ads on blogs. Sometimes there are so many that it's distracting - it takes away from the writing content of the blog (which is really the point of a blog, don't you think?) I don't mean to offend anyone but when I see major advertisers on a blog, I have to wonder to myself if they really enjoy blogging or if it's just a job to them? To me, I love blogging because it's a way to connect with other moms. I want to feel that there is a two-way street in my bloggy friendships, something I think would be impossible to acheive with some of the big name bloggers. I kind of feel like we are just their audience, that they don't know anything about us. It's just a job. I certainly could be wrong about that and I am trying not to generalize because I don't know everyone's motivation for blogging but this is just the impression that I get. I also think I know of the "big name" that you talked about and, for the life of me, I can't understand why she is so popular. Am I missing something?

[Christina]

You know if I ever get enough readers to make money of course that would be cool.
I don't see it in my future by any means.
But they don't annoy me, that said, I have never clicked on one.
I say if you can make some money doing what you enjoy and are good at its all good.
(within reason, I know who you are referring to and I too dislike her blog a lot.)
Love yours though!!!

[Margaret]

I look at blogs a lot...never pay attention to ads, if they are there, and often don't even notice them. They annoy me if they pop up on top of something I want to read, though.
Would I? If the money was good and the ads were suitable, yes, I would.
Get your own domain! and again, you ARE successful.

[Margaret]

Amanda,
You have an entry about wishing someone had told you...the chill you felt in August was your fall... I'd like to read that again, but can't find it. Link, please?
Thanks, Margaret

[Blessed Adventures]

Just found your blog! Great place here!

[Jenney]

First off, I LOVE these posts :o)

I could care less about ads unless they are inappropriate or something. I had to laugh though because a friend of mine got stuck with toilet and bidet ads for a month. Very entertaining!

I guess if a company came to me and asked me to put an ad up, and I was ok with their product, I'd put an ad up.

Heck, I advertise all the time, for free. I mention what kind of diapers I like, sales I've gotten, and where I grocery shop!

I have only ever clicked on one, for LEGO Duplos. I wanted to see what they had new for Christmas, and Snug will be geting (via grandparents) a set I saw on there. I guess that ad worked on me.

Other than that, I usually completely ignore them.

I've thought about getting an ad, but really, I don't have that many readers. 21,000 hits in the last YEAR doesn't make me great advertising turf :o)

[Amanda Jo]

I love this series! Just so you know.

I've alway wondered if ads were even worth the trouble - this is a very informative blog with some GREAT comments!

[Pineapple Princess]

Amanda,
Everyone adores you... ads or no ads... we just love our Amanda!
I say go for it!

[Bethany]

I don't mind ads, but I'm not sure I would put them up. I don't think it would be worth the chance of less the ideal ads coming up and the pay that might come for the hits I get would be laughable. ;)
I love your creative mindset to come up with these great series. I'm also loving the baking blog. I pop in over there once or twice a week as time allows. I really don't know how on earth you do it all. Do you ever sleep?

[Karen@SurvivingMotherhood]

I am really not into the world of ads. Didn't know there was so much money in it! I knew there were sponsored posts where you got paid to write about products, but I never had an interest in that. (And quite frankly, I never read a post when it says "sponsored post"...)
Having said that, I have had a few ads in my sidebar which were simply links to another website. I was contacted by someone almost two years ago and agreed to put three links up for one year - they were to a home improvements store, and a clothing catalog, and an insurance company (I think) and if I remember right, I got about $180 for them. Used the money for a blog makeover!
And there's one now, which will come down next month. Same deal - a link to another website, for a printer this time. And I think I got about $75 for it.
I'll keep on being unsuccessful. Thanking God for speaking anyway!
*grin*

[Kristin Smith]

I guess I always thought you had to have lots of followers and hits a day to get people to let you use their ads...I am small town too and dont really even know how it works!:)

I love the idea of making enough for a little blog makeover though!! Good luck with whatever you try!!

And have a blessed Thanskgiving!

[Kimberly @ Raising Olives]

I have private ads, much more profitable than Google or other ad networks. My blog is just 9 months old and is probably smaller than yours, but I make (what I consider) a nice amount of money each month with those private advertisers.

This is a great series!

[Marissa]

this was super interesting thanks for sharing your perspective

[carma]

Wait a minute, you caved in before getting my opinion???? ;-)

[Jamie @ Six Bricks High]

Please do keep us posted. I'm not opposed to the whole ad thing. I don't think I have ever clicked on any, but I would if I knew it was helping someone out. The only ads that drive me bonkers are the pop-up kind that scroll across the screen. I find that super annoying when I'm trying to read and usually just X out the page.

[Melissa]

Ads all the way! I have added them to my blog more out of curiosity then anything. If you can make money off of people just reading your blog I say GO FOR IT!

Of course this is not why I write but if it did bring in some extra money for the babies I would be fine with that. Live life to the fullest, take what God and the universe brings to you.

xoxo

[olivia]

i read everyone's comment! gosh, there are alot of sweet people! :)
i don't read many blogs that have ads. or maybe i just don't notice them? visually, i think we are all used to online ads. there's no getting away from them. comes with the territory. i had no idea people got paid for each time the ads got clicked? i would totally go around clicking your ads just to show my support for you!

[zeemaid]

hi,

unless you're serious, you won't really make much money blogging. I have made maybe $100 in the last six months. I have google ads but they make you wait until your account reaches $100.00 and at cents a click it takes a long time. Plus if they feel that you've been getting clicks suspiciously they yank your money... just like that. I still have it but I'm barely half way there to pay out.

I think there is more money in offering up individual ad space. otherwise, in order to really make money you have to devote serious time to blogging and have some kind of niche.

[Alisa]

My personal preference is no ads. Some of the more famous bloggers I read, I started before their rise to fame. I have to say that it's hard not to notice the sell out factor. My blog is for my family, a scrapbook of sorts. Once I hit 100 daily hits, it was hard to not try for more. In the end, I had to go back to why I blog. For an outlet for me. If people enjoy my writing even better. If I get a free product here or there (maybe 2 per year) I am happy to pass that on.
I hate those blog her ads that follow you around the screen.
Just my personal opinion though.

[tracie]

If I had a blog that I felt appealed to the general public I would definitely have ads to make money from it.
I think bloggers like Dooce and PW are successful businesswomen because they found a niche and filled it. And are making quite alot of money doing it. Kudos to them. Being able to work from home and profit from it sounds perfect to me.
I have seen your blog become different from the beginning of it, so I have always just assumed that you are heading that way. And, I hope you do well at it!!

[Janmary N Ireland]

I do have some ads and links on my blog.

I started with blogher but only made a few dollars and it was quite restrictive about giveaways etc. Since stopping blogher I have been paid for some links and been given products for giveaways. Not a lot but enough to save for extra vacation spending money. I prefer these type of ads paid for up front instead of relying on clicks and purchases by my bloggy friends.

I also signed up for linkshare as I loved some of the products ( including
Lego, crocs, cath kitson etc) but their buttons and banners slowed my
blog way down so I deleted them. Never made enough to receive any funds anyway!

I would go for it, but be choosy about what you accept and stick to your style and principals no matter who pays you ..... But you will always do that anyway:)

So have you ever found the ads on my blog distracting?

looking forward to following this new journey of yours

Hugs

jx

[Amanda Rettke]

GREAT feedback Jan!!  I have never been distracted by ads on your blog.  Only by your Etsy shop... its AMAZING!

Blessings-
Amanda

[Darrin]

on a topic blog (for example a retro blog like mine) I like to have ads that are relevant to content. I've found some cool items and merchandise from visiting fellow retro bloggers ads that have popped up on their blogs and sites.

[vitamine]

You get the right point. Guess what it actually does take to be a successful blogger. I’ll tell you:

1. An editorial calendar.
2. The discipline to follow that schedule.
3. Other people who keep you honest and on your toes.

[Susan]

i love this series of posts :)

[barb]

I like my google adsense ads on my blog because they are actually relevant to my site. I made me 1st $100 last year just a few cents at a time so got my 1st payout. This year I'm already up to $55.00 again so those cents do add up. For gosh sakes womean export your blog to Blogger for free! You can always export it again if you get your own domain. You are paying more now than you would be for your own domain! Go to blogger mine is on blogger & I've recently got my first sponsored giveaway products! I'm at 400 posts though now so it does take time. I'm hoping they start coming to me I would love it, reviews & freebies & such. I have joined blogher & blogspark but nothing has came of them yet.

[Debbie]

I would have ads on my blog...if I knew how.
I like ads that are relevant to the blog, though I don't recall ever clicking on one. I don't like AdSense...at all.
I agree that you should get your own domain. I spent $9.95 for the name and hosting for a year through . The blog is set up in Wordpress. I know it would be somewhat of a pain, but it would be totally worth it.