Planning to start a personal blog?
Wondering if it’s worth all the trouble?
Allow me to address these questions in this post.
Let’s begin.
Is it worth having a personal blog?
The answer is yes, having a personal blog is definitely worth it. Personal blogging has several benefits like personal growth, professional networking, stress relief, and extra income. You also don’t need a lot of money to start a personal blog, making it essentially a low-risk, high-reward investment.
Personal blogging, however, may demand your time and commitment especially if you want to turn it into a digital business.
This leads us to the question:
Do personal blogs make money?
Yes, personal bloggers can potentially earn five to six figures each month. Middle Class Dad, for example, earned $78,844 from July to September in 2021. Another personal blog, By Sophia Lee, confirmed making over $43,000 in their income report back in May 2020.
Since Sophia’s last publicly available income report is published over a year ago, you can request up-to-date reports via email.
Personal bloggers make money in the same way as bloggers in specific niches.
After all, personal blogging can cover a wide range of interests. It all depends on the person running it.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the ways personal bloggers make money.
How do personal blogs make money?
A personal blog can make money through sponsored content, paid promotions, advertising, affiliate marketing, consulting, and eCommerce. These are the same strategies niche bloggers use to monetize their blogs. A number of personal bloggers also make money by writing their own books and speaking at events.
- Sponsored content – A personal blogger can make money by publishing articles that feature companies or their products.
- Paid promotions – In a paid promotion, a company pays a blogger to promote something on their blog or social media channels.
- Advertising – Personal bloggers can put ads on their blogs to earn extra passive income.
- Affiliate marketing – Affiliate marketing allows personal bloggers to earn commissions by promoting another company’s products.
- Consulting – Professionals may advertise online consultancy services to potential clients on their personal blogs.
- eCommerce – In some cases, personal bloggers create a virtual shop on their blog to generate profits.
- Public speaking – Popular personal bloggers can get paid to talk in seminars and other public events.
- Book sales – Another way for personal bloggers to make money is to write and sell their own books.
At the end of the day, personal bloggers enjoy the same money-making opportunities as every other blogger.
You can check out my post on 89 Blog Monetization Strategies to learn more ways personal bloggers can make money.
Now that we’ve established that personal blogging can be profitable, let’s discuss what they actually write about.
What do personal bloggers blog about?
Personal bloggers often use their blog as an online diary where they share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. They don’t have to focus on their target audience’s needs when writing content. If they want, they can write about anything they’re interested in, like hobbies, relationships, events, and daily experiences.
Despite this, most personal bloggers tend to focus on a specific set of evergreen content categories.
For example, Dad or Alive by Adrian Kulp focuses on topics like parenting, lifestyle, food, and travel. The personal blog also has a category called “All the Sh!t that Doesn’t Fit,” which is for random topics.
What are some popular blogs?
To help you understand how personal bloggers make money, let’s take a look at some popular examples:
1. Middle Class Dad
Middle Class Dad is one of the most financially successful personal blogs on the internet. In their latest income report, the blog made $78,844 in one quarter through strategies like advertising, affiliate marketing, and coaching.
2. By Sophia Lee
By Sophia Lee reported an income of $43,000 in May 2020. Sophia monetizes her personal blog mainly through display advertising and affiliate marketing.
3. Dad or Alive
Adrian Kulp monetizes his personal blog – Dad or Alive – by selling his own books. He also makes money through sponsored campaigns, including sponsored posts and giveaways.
4. Design for Mankind
Design for Mankind, Erin Loechner’s personal blog, makes money through affiliate marketing and sponsored campaigns. Erin also does speaking engagements and promotes her book, Chasing Slow, to her over 120,000 monthly visitors.
5. Woogsworld
Kayte Murphy started WoogsWorld casually with just six posts between 2008 and 2010. Today, the personal blog makes a sizeable income through sponsorship offers and book sales.
6. The Art of Non-Conformity
The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau is a personal blog that utilizes a number of monetization strategies. Apart from selling books and promoting affiliate products, Chris also hosts daily podcasts and speaks at events.
7. Enjoy It
Enjoy It is a simple, authentic personal blog by Elise Blaha Cripe – modestly hosted on Typepad. Elise utilizes the blog as a funnel to her online storefront, which promotes affiliate products, courses, and books.
Here’s how you can start your own personal blog
Ready to start your personal blog and join the list of successful bloggers above?
Don’t worry – I’ll guide you through every step.
Just take my advice and make your move soon. Click here to start building your personal brand and scale your blogging business.