How Top Bloggers Earn Money
written by John Chow
Business Week has posted an article (really more of a slide show) profiling 13 big blog money makers. However, it looked like they never told the featured bloggers about it. Shoemoney found out he was on the list from a flood of congratulation emails. Problogger found out he was on the list by reading Shoemoney. I found out I wasn’t on the list when Zac Johnson made a post asking why I wasn’t on the list?
There were a few bloggers on the list I’ve never even heard of… but where is the almighty and highly controversial John Chow? With so much secrecy on how much bloggers make, sometimes it’s a complete guessing game… why not feature John Chow, who gives a full revenue statement each month on much his blogging is generating. It could just be the writers of Business Week never heard of him, or his blog. It’s all too common that the people working in the industry (like myself) know a lot more than the people writing these articles… which is why bloggers are making a ton more than writers for these main stream magazines.
The list contain some well known (like TechCrunch at $200,000 per month) and some not as well known blogs (like Kottke.org at $5,300 a month). Revenue figures range from $5,300 to $166,000 a month (based on stated ad rates and before ad network cut). The article references the Technorati Top 100 a few times so the answer to Zac’s question maybe due to the fact that Technorati doesn’t have me in their official Top 100 list. However, I doubt that was the real reason for not including me. I think the reason was I’m too evil for Business Week to handle. 
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(19 votes, average: 2 out of 5)
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Not everything is about John Chow, you know.
That is impossible!
No that is not possible.
I am not sure why I wasn’t on that list. Oh, probably beacause I just broke the ten buck mark today. Yippy another milestone! The one buck mark was exceptionally exciting as well.
John, Do recal your fist dollar earned trhough blogging? Have you mounted it in a frame on your office wall?
Mine is right here in front of me.
my first dollar was all digital. i was paid via paypal and spent it via debit card. never saw it. I guess I could just pick a dollar bill and say it was the first earned. or better yet I’ll just print out my paypal statement and frame it on the wall.
My first dollars was bank transfer for adsense income. It was something like 160 Euros ($200+). Now my biggest income come from paypal (I love paypal - They are so direct paying).
John, you’re not on the list cause you’re too evil.
I’m not, so I’ll be on the list. Ha ha!
If you want to see my daily progression:
BlogaDollar.com
Greetings from France John.
Well, at least on John Chow’s blog, it should be. Duh!
wow, the hell, you don’t say? I was beginning to think everything was about John chow, my wife was getting jealous, because I put up his pic and took down the family pictures. lol.
Of course..2 nights in the doghouse and the family pics are back up - sorry john!
Get out, you have John’s pictures up on your walls, too?!?
Hi John,
When you make your first million they will feature you!
monthly?
Daily…
In all.
” I think the reason was I’m too evil for Business Week to handle”
I agree with you. Keep up the evil work
That’s something other bloggers dont attract!
I was expecting to see you there!
John can’t be everywhere!
No? Why noy?
I’m sure he can
They are subjective by not adding you and many more or simply they haven’t heard of you. Anyway, that’s not a fair list.
How is it not fair? The article doesn’t say it’s profiling the biggest moneymaking blogs, it just says they picked 13 sites. They did a pretty good job of covering the broad range of things you can blog about and still make money, from celeb gossip to cat pictures to talk about making money.
I think so, too!
Great point
Reporters are no different from other human beings… they gravitate to what they know and stick to it… even if its obviously very little; too bad research isn’t a big part of journalism anymore.
Hey i agree with you upto some extent but can u tell me why blogger earn more money telling otheres how to earn money thru blogging.they drive more traffic for writing on such topic.
That can be good you
Sue them and you will gets thousands of visitors
Kottke isn’t that well known? He’s been around forever! It was interesting to see what some of the other sites make in a month nonetheless.
There’s a kinda weak article that goes with the slideshow if anybody is interested.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2007/sb20070713_202390.htm
I haven’t heard of some of them myself until I read the article. It is very likely that a lot of wealthy or successful people in general are not “known” simply because the world is so much bigger now, and not everyone knows everyone. And then there are the Amish…
Yeah, Kotttke is like the grandaddy of blogs, impressive too one small banner to adobe costing $5300.
I deeply admire Kottke and his blogging style. So far he has resisted from monetizing his blog too much. If he actually did as much as John does then I’m sure he would earn much more than $5300 that he does now.
I am curious to see if kottke comes off his 2 month shutdown after being mentioned. I do not think he will.
There will be more articles as the years pass. But the thing with these articles is that they profile you after the money is made, and then people jump on the bandwagon, but by then it is too late.
I have to say some of those sites I’ve never heard of. But certain people who should have made the list didn’t and I think some people who made the list shouldn’t have.
Bleh.
John when you will be one of them?
Yet again, you aren’t placed where you should be! So not fair.
either they forgot you or you make so much money it wouldn’t be fair to put you on the list! LOL
You should definately be on the list. 5,600 isn’t anything to write about. It’s good money but you’re making way more and so are MANY others. Either way atleast someone had your back
I think Zac Johnson says it perfectly when he stated that bloggers working in the industry are more in the know that the mainstream writers. I think “pro-writers” for newspapers and magazines a lot of time have a blind spot to other types of media.
Yeh those writers don’t know half of the stuff they are talking about…which explains they will always work for someone else and never have the ability to work for themselves
I can wait till I am on a list like that… I am going to make a list of bloggers that are making over $20 and under $100 a month.
Lol!
That list might take you a year to compile.
That’s cool. Do it. Bloggers like us needs doses to keep blogging! Thanks.
Let me know where to sign up!
Just go to my blog and send me an email with you url and how much you make a month.
Just like the Business Week Article I am only going to list 13.
I would like to get this up by the end of the week so get emailing and you one better steal my post idea!
I read the article a day or two ago and wondered why you weren’t on there. Some of the guys on there make less money than you do and I haven’t ever heard of them.
The list is limited to who/what the offline news publication knows. It seems very limiting, I must say.
Who cares? It’s a mention on Business Week’s blog. LOL, the things bloggers get excited about.
Maybe you should go “surprise” them by telling them how much you make.
The list is not good. Who cares about such lists. We know you, that’s it. Keep blogging for us! Thanks….
I was SO surprised not to see you on that list… but like the commentor above me says… who cares about that list.. You know how much you make, and you should be proud either way! *=)
Whether it is the real world or the blogosphere, the old boys club still exists.
most of those sites have quite a bit more content than you do, well, except for icanhascheezburger
i guess john u need to improve ur blog still to come up to that level…right now u r concentrating on too many things in ur blog …problogger is better than ur blog
What a great work this guys do! Wow. I hope someday get around that value in a week =] Thanks for the tips in the other article.
This was a great article. But just like you would expect, there were some great bloggers, such as John, who were left out…
Let’s face it, if they wrote the article with the sole objective of featuring the BEST money-making blogs, there’d be more than 13 on the list.
Actually not left out, but awaiting to roar!!