If you write a blog or know someone who blogs on a regular basis then you probably know how much work it actually is. Being a serious blogger takes commitment, time, patience, passion, diligence and drive. Not everyone has what it takes. After a few years of blogging I hold other bloggers with the highest regard because I know they are working their asses off! 
I have had people tell me they want to start a blog and ask me how much money I make (like I’m sitting here rolling in dough from writing my blog), I have had people tell me they want to start a blog and quit after they only write one post and then I have had people shrug me off when I say I have a lot of work to do (like blogging is a ten minute a day gig). If you are thinking about starting a blog to make money just stop now. It really doesn’t pay as well as you might think. When I started on my journey of blogging I did it to vent, share a few posts about my shop and to document my kids. It quickly became so much more! I found that I loved sharing recipes, tips and tutorial about things I created and other people liked what I was doing too. People that I didn’t know came and they commented and each of those comments pushed me a little more. Now here I am nearly three years later– I quit my day job and write this blog and run my shop to pay my portion of the bills. Mmmkay let’s be honest here – my shop pays most of my bills and during the spring and summer months my shop is slow. During the summer months I try to do a few more paid blog opportunities than normal to even it all out and keep our refrigerator stocked. If you had the impression that bloggers live some glamorous rich life you are probably wrong – most of us do not! We are over creating these DIY projects because if we could afford the real thing we would be out buying it! (Can I get an Amen?!) Here is the down low on why blogging doesn’t pay:
- I spend an average of 2-4 hours on each post I write. This includes buying my supplies, creating the project, recipe, craft or printable I am blogging about, taking pictures, editing the pictures, writing the post and then sharing the post throughout my social media outlets and on link parties.
- I try to do a couple of paid blog opportunities a month and I would say I do an average of two a month. When I do these I am either compensated in product or sometimes product and cash. I have been paid anywhere from $100-500 to do a paid blog post (most of them pay out $100-$200 though). The payment usually has to pay for the product not to mention they entail a lot more work than a typical post. Most of the companies want you to buy the product a specific store, share the post throughout all of your social media outlets (sometimes more than once), fill out a reporting form at the end, include a minimum number of pictures, use particular keywords within the post and sometimes even want you to include a giveaway.
- I try to post a minimum of five blog posts a week so I spend about 20-30 hours a week blogging. I might make $400-$500 a month doing paid posts which means I get paid a little over $4.00 an hour to blog not to mention the cost of supplies for unpaid posts (shhhh don’t tell the hubs!). OBVIOUSLY I do it because I love it.
- I also get paid for some of the ads you see on my site but in all this time I have been blogging I have only made about $300 (so an average of $100 a year or $8.30 a month)
Now you are probably wondering why I keep blogging:
- I love blogging! I have made so many awesome friends and made so many connections. I get to do something I love every day. Every now and then I get emails from my readers (hey ladies!) asking how I am doing, how my family is doing or telling me they totally relate. One of those emails is enough to keep me plugging on for a year alone!
Remember that this is my personal experience. I know many bloggers feel the same way as I do and put in the same if not more work for the same return in pay. However, there are bigger blogs and bloggers who I am sure pull in more cash from blogging. I see some blogs that are doing an average of one-two paid blog posts a week and I totally support them however right now that isn’t something I am willing to do. Paid posts really are a bit more work and I only want to do posts for products and companies I already use on a regular basis. If you read this and are okay with the numbers stop back by next week because I am going to tell you what companies I go through to do paid blog posts, ads and how they all work! To see past posts from the Back to Blog School Series see them HERE.
