typing.jpgI have been receiving a number of inquiries on how to earn from blogging. I’ve referred most of my correspondents to my contacts who are in the content and/or blogging business, but I may have missed some. Hence, I’m posting this short guide on one’s options in pro-blogging, which is more or less my standard response.

Blogging as a Career

If you’r thinking of pro-blogging or online publishing as a career (or an alternative source of income), I can refer to this post by my fellow Filipino pro-blogger Abe on the various means by which one can earn from blogging.

There’s a link to a powerpoint presentation that he showed during the second iBlog summit this April 2006 (where both of us were speakers on the problogging panel)—The presentation has definitions, good leads, and even a study on the compensation of bloggers. There are also interviews with several probloggers.

Basically, one’s options would be as follows:

As a career problogger. Career probloggers are writers who blog for blog networks. Income is usually either revenue share or a flat/fixed amount per blog, or sometimes on a per-post basis. I think the average rate today would be US$200 per month per blog (on the larger blog networks).

Prospective writers have a choice of different topics/niches ranging from technology, to health, to family, and many other different themes. Blogging is, after all, best when themed or directed at niches. You get better quality traffic this way.

As an independent problogger. For this you would have to have some technical know-how (in setting up blogs and ads, and optimizing your sites for the search engines). You would also have to invest some time, effort and money in setting up your sites. This involves setting up at least one blog and putting up advertisements from Google AdSense or similar programmes, or getting direct sponsorships.

This is best done with multiple sites, though, as your earnings would be a function of your traffic and readership (and the likelihood of your readers clicking on ads). Hence on to the next option.

As a “blog overlord”. Quite a daunting title, but this is what one would usually call an owner of a blog network. I mentioned before that you would have to have a substantial amount of traffic to earn from contextual, pay-per-click advertising. And having many blogs is one good way to do that. Owners usually have too many blogs to write on
themselves, and usually opt to pay other people to write for them.

My story

Now as for personal experience, I posted my problogging story on ForeverGeek.

My main undertaking these days is as a network blogger. I write for BloggyNetwork. I also do consulting work with Enthropia, part-owner of Bloggy, on various other content matters, such as hiring people and assigning writing tasks. This actually includes some headhunting, as I also look for other people who can work with us on content-related matters either on full-time or project basis.

Is pro-blogging for you?

There’s room for anyone who’s passionate enough about writing and blogging. I don’t see the trend dying off anytime soon, but as things are, we can’t rely on things to sunny all the time, so we’re always looking for great things to do and be part of (check out the PayPal4PH initiative!). I think in the Philippines pro-blogging is just beginning to take off. I’m aware there are some companies that provide outsourced services to foreign firms looking for writers. There are even foreign content firms that have set up offices locally. They’re not a mobile/telecommute set-up, though, so their writers would still have to be at the office at regular working hours.

If you’re interested in pro-blogging, you can leave a comment on this post. I usually refer people to my network contacts who are in need of writers (and I did mention I do some headhunting, too, right?).

Starstruck? Let's go star tripping.

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