Top-Tier Bloggers Make Only $25 Per Post
According to a survey by Read Write Web, top-tier tech bloggers make an average of $25 per blog post. The survey was hardly scientific. Read Write Web sent the survey to 20 top-tier tech bloggers and social media consultants to find out how much money they make online. Half of the bloggers surveyed gave an answer. The result was interesting to say the least.
Most people who are paid to blog are paid per post. What kinds of rates are our respondents seeing? The low end of the scale was $10 per post for very short posts. Almost everyone else said they were paid $25 per post. One person said they were paid $80 per post!
Let’s say these people are half-time pro-bloggers making $25 per post, writing 3 posts per day. That’s $75 per half-day, a little less than $20 per hour, about $1500 to $1750 per month for half time work. Take two of those jobs at once, do it for a year, and you’ll make about $40k.
The survey was limited to bloggers who write for other blogs and not blog owners, which explain why Read Write Web never contacted me. I guess that a good thing. With a survey sample of only ten, I would have pushed the average pay per post to an unrealistic level. I averaged $543 per blog post last month.
Read Write Web goes on to say that the biggest reward isn’t the money but the thrill of writing and the ability to dedicate time to the subject you love. I can agree with that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to lower Michael Kwan’s pay down to a spring roll.
- Posted in Blogging, Make Money Online, The Net
- 76 comments what's your take?
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Once Michael’s pay is down, what will be your average.
Reply to this commentThe top tier bloggers make $25? I don’t consider myself a top tier blogger and I make about $20 per post. Something is a little off here.
Reply to this commentI don’t think that this info is relevant for bloggers who don’t do pay per post type of entries. And last but not least few bloggers blog just for the money.
Reply to this commentThis is not about pay per post. It’s about monthly income divided with monthly posts. Right?
Reply to this commentAndrei, yeah i think thats what it is.
Either that, or it is what the Freelance writers were paid per post, its a bit confusing and the ‘test segment’ isnt very big either.
Reply to this commentColin,
Andrei is not correct. Check out the beginning of Johns post:
“Most people who are paid to blog are paid per post. ”
He is talking about pay per post type of stuff. But $25 is decent in my opinion if it took you less than one hour to research and write the post.
Reply to this commentI find this especially interesting since the pay per posting game has changed so much since last November. My take was $2800 a month - comes out to $31.blahblah per post, but it was $125, $225, $90 or even the $45 per post availability.
Reply to this commentThis isn’t a scientific study by any means, they just called-up a few people and posted the results without requiring any proof. The number actually seems high to me considering they are probably using PPP or something like that for a third party site.
Jon
Reply to this commenthttp://WoodMarvels.com - Create Unique Memories
Chris, you may not “consider yourself” to be a top-tier blogger, but that doesn’t mean others don’t consider yourself a top-tier blogger.
I never considered myself to be any smarter thahn anyone else until I became a teaching assistant (way back) and started grading papers.
Reply to this comment$20 a post or $25 a post is pretty impressive to me… I’m still at the point where my net $ per post is negative, so I’m just looking forward to getting to a point where cash flow becomes positive.
Reply to this commentmichael arrington of tech crunch makes$$$$$$. And john only reason you make like $500 per post is you spam like there’s no tomorrow.
Reply to this commentThis sounds exactly the same as a WebProNews email i received yesterday , any who the thing is they say on average , on average i dont think everyone is john chow , shoemoney or pro blogger
Reply to this comment$543/post would be very nice.
Reply to this comment$25 still isn’t bad for part time work…
Reply to this commentAgreed, if a post only takes a few mins to write, but anything of length seems like a waste of time.
To make a decent living @ $25 a post you would have to post like 10 times a day minimum.
But, knowing you will be paid a guaranteed amount for every post would make it easier to make multiple posts…the brain seems to work better when it has incentive.
Definitely interesting, but RWW needs to rethink this one.
Reply to this commentActually a person can make a decent living off of minimum 4 posts a day depending on where you live, and if you had a full-time job as well, 4 & 5 minimum each day could bring you well over $100,000 a year.
Doesn’t seem like a bad gig to me.
Reply to this commenthmm…this is interesting, thanks for the info!
Reply to this commentOne of the biggest problems with this survey is that it clumps all blog posts together as one homogeneous mashup. There is obviously a distinct difference between the “re-blog posts” that populate many tech blogs out there (100-150 words) and much longer blog posts, like thoughtful editorials, useful tutorials, and extensive product reviews (possibly 1000+ words).
This would be the same thing as surveying a bunch of car mechanics and asking them how much they make for each car they fix. Doing an oil change is not the same as completely rebuilding the engine. The same can be said about professional blogging.
Three posts a day? If you look at so-called top-tier blogs like Gizmodo and Engadget, those guys can write way more than 3 posts a day each. I personally write about 10 posts a day for Mobile Magazine, above and beyond what I do here, at the BlueFur blog, and for other clients.
Reply to this commentI looked at that and would love to make $25/post for the work I do.. but it’s not worth that amount. They don’t break down the type of posts, they just say ‘$25 a post’ - I know for a fact that MANY sites do not pay that amount for the ‘average’ post (200 words, re-blogged).
I honestly think they pulled this number out of their ass, I could have written a post and said I emailed a bunch of top bloggers and just pull a number out of my ass.
Reply to this commentThe incredibly small sample size of ten bloggers is also a huge concern. You have to clearly differentiate people who blog for a living and those who blog as a hobby for some pocket change.
Reply to this commentWow! $543 per blog post !
Reply to this commentJohn, you’re amazing!
Tim
The question is how they even get those rates. Most want that cheap stuff or profit sharing junk. I myself refuse to do that. Heck, I have my own blog, so why should I work for free. But since most of the time American companies can find people in India willing to writer for $3, those making $25 are fortunate. I do agree that he did not ask enough people. I mean 20 out out of the millions of bloggers? Insulting.
Reply to this commentnot much of a sample population, huh? Public Schooling at its finest.
Reply to this commentDid not ask enough people, did not ask the right kind of people, did not explain what qualifies someone as “top-tier”, probably did not pick people from varying niches, and so much other stuff that makes this survey completely bogus.
Reply to this commentYeah, you’ve got a point there. I would’ve like to have seen at least 100 people asked.
Reply to this commentI’ve got to agree with you there, 20 people, with only 10 respondents isn’t much of a cross section. I’d also like to know what their idea of “top-tier” is.
Reply to this commentWish I could order some of those $25 posts on problogger, john chow and shoemoney.
Reply to this commentI’d love to know how much you pay Michael, you don’t include this in your income report.
Reply to this commentMichael Kwan works for Pho.
Reply to this commentYea, I read the title and I thought to myself “No way”.
Your post explains why.
Reply to this commentJohn you’ve finally put up a non paid-for review, yay! Still not sure why a blog making $xx,xxx per month needs to post so many 500 buck reviews, but good to see you back on topic
Reply to this commentThat’s how he makes all that money per month. I think you’re confused.
Reply to this commentI thought you already paid Michael in food. Are you cutting his pay from full-sized meals?
If you work out what I make per post, he could have asked you and me both and it would have balanced out. =)
Reply to this commentNot bad considering people with “regular jobs” are making $9 or less an hour.
Reply to this commentI’m not sure if you could use these results as a gauge of anything relevant except the fact that bloggers can actually make money for their work. Surprise
Reply to this commentthat is awesome $25 per post, but compare to you John no wonder the title is “only”.
Reply to this commentrather than free, $25 is much much better, but sometime i see some post about technology only talk about the thing that we can know by read product info, so no need someone to tell about it, but they still been pay for that?
Thats a decent amount per post - 450 to 500 words….
Reply to this comment$25 per post should be about enough to make up for 10 mins of stock market loses! I better start posting like crazy. ha
Reply to this commentPretty stupid survey if you ask me, only asking 20 people, wtf??? how many millions of bloggers are there out there? then reporting a survey on a 50% return of your redicilious target in the first place makes me think it’s just link bait…
Reply to this commentI could get a better return by just sending a few emails, don’t these people know anyone, is it just one bloke sitting in his bedroom?
I couldn’t agree more, but it’s getting some good coverage for them.
Reply to this commentIf it was Linkbait, it worked pretty darn well.
Reply to this commentThat’s what I pay all my writers… around $0.05 per word… and we pay up to $150 for a great post.. I’ve got a few of those cooking right now.
Reply to this commentIf you run your own blog then chances are that you are making more money from your blog posts than posting at other blogs… in your own blog it is easy to promote products … it is sometimes difficult on other blogs unless they are trusted and established online!
Reply to this commentSpring roll? Cute. I think you have to love what you’re doing/talking about in order to keep a active and relevant site… otherwise, most will just give up.
Reply to this commentI made ‘0 cent’ per post now.
However, I love my way, love travel and continue to write down.
Any way, thanks for your nice post.
Dinh Trung
Reply to this commenthttp://www.kienthucdulich.info
When I was writing for b5 $10 to $25 per post would of be nice to have considering half the posts I did were in video as well as written. I was lucky the first three months if I was making $4.00, which is why I don’t blog for them anymore. It would of been ok if it was just a hobby I was looking at doing for a few extra bucks but not near enough considering I want a full time income.
Reply to this commentahaha $20 an hour!?!? I’d be happy with that, I would have until you said what you averaged last month per post. Now I see why you post like 3 times a day. But I agree with VeRonda. You have to blog about something you are passionate about or it will just die off. Good post, John. Thanks
Reply to this commentNice post, love to see the potential earnings if you do it right and right now am learning to.
Reply to this commentWill pay per post strikes our PageRank away?
Reply to this commentConsidering the current market situation, its good figure..getting something is better than getting fired
Reply to this commenta spring roll seems like a nice gesture.
Reply to this commentbut why is that only?!
surely $25 / per post is not all that bad. 10 blogs are you are making a cool $250…
Reply to this comment$25 is too low for permanent link…
Reply to this commentI will not do.
I average probably close to that $25 mark, but I’ve never really figured it out.
Reply to this commentI range from $10 and the highest I made was $24
Reply to this commentthe highest I received was $50 but I only average between $8-$10.. sigh.. i guess i still have to workout with my 10-month old blog to receive $25 per post.. happy for you guys..
Reply to this commentI didn’t know there are so many people working freelance to write blog posts!
I engage freelancer in elance.com for some of my blogs and the average price is about $5-$10 per article of 300 - 500 words.
but I still think it is better to write our own blog posts, nothing beats getting ravishing comments for a good article written, right? That’s why i am still writing all the articles for my very first blog on personal development, even if it is excepted from some other articles, i will try to add in some pictures to make them nicer to read! No choice, I’m a personal development addict! haa
Reply to this commentNot too shabby. With one of my eco-blogs, I was making more than that…now, I’m at square one as I’ve sold that blog.
Reply to this comment$25 per post is pretty much for part time blogger
Reply to this commentmichael kwan would be making a spring roll a day if you did that. he is the only blogger on earth who writes over a hundred words, lol
Reply to this commentI usually make from 10-30$ per post but I got punishment for my PR
Reply to this commentWHAT! the content and ad revenue is going to be there for years!
Reply to this commentGreat point Jack.
How long did the people in this study wait for the majority of the ad revenue. The majority will come in the first week or so, so if they waited a whole week, maybe it’s accurate, but if they only waited 2 or 3 days, it might not be so accurate.
Reply to this commentWell, in the site where I write, they usually pay you $ 16 lowest and could go as high as $ 176 . The most common is $ 32. And yes, you’re right, we could make big money out of it, if we are dedicated and serious enough…and of course know how to write well.
Reply to this commentWhat site is this, mate?
Share!!
Reply to this commentAs a rule, I never take up any project that pays less than $ 113 per hour and the same holds true for blogging. I am currently interviewing with a company and I’m pretty sure I can get that much or more. They want a free lance blogger.
As for another of my own start up site, bestoptimizer08.blogspot.com, I pay much much lesser to a contributing writer. The writer is happy, I’m happy happy and in any case can’t pay much more.
Reply to this commentI love free and I like money. But nothing is better than free, and I am hoping people will get that into their heads one day. Though money is nice, and it would be nice if I got paid for posting, but free is the way for me
Reply to this commentIts really big money if you can dedicate and have passion for your jobs. Especially blogger.
Reply to this commentI think there should be a standard price and the standard is decide by the reader.
I do not believe that the sum of $ 20 is real. I am writer of blog
Reply to this commentI think Yes 25 is realistic price for most bloggers. But bloggers with reputation in specific niches can surely earn more.
Reply to this commentReally? I thought that the top bloggers make at least $500 a post, such as yourself.
But I thought the best bloggers make at least $100. Whew, this just goes to show that you have to still be a hustler, even though you are a blogger 
Reply to this commentYour name here suggests that atleast writers still get 250/hr
Its a good deal for anyone.
Reply to this commentHow do you determine your value of per blog post?
To Your Success
Reply to this commentBryan Hee
there are only few people on reviewme and other networks who charge high.
Reply to this comment