Blogging is big business. Business owners are using it to increase traffic, build backlinks through off-site blogs, and create hype that enhances the impact of their website.
But how are some bloggers making millions of dollars blogging? It’s a phenomenon worth looking into, especially if you have a desire to increase your revenue online and who doesn’t?
We researched the web and found a list of top earning blogs in the world today. The following five bloggers and influence marketers are all making millions of dollars through their blog using either advertisements that are running alongside the articles they write, affiliate marketing or product creation and services. Some are using a combination of both.
All of the following blogs have a net worth of at least $1 million as of this post.
John Chow
John Chow is a successful blogger who gained attention from the blogging community by announcing that his site was making $40,000 per month. He added that he was only working two hours per day. He did this in only two years, amazing people everywhere who wanted to know how he did it. He is currently ranked number 16 in the AdAge Power 150 list and number 1 on the list of Top 50 Canadian Internet Marketing Blogs. John is the former owner of TTZ Media and has some other business interests and investments.
Chow has eBooks he has written that are available on Amazon Kindle that speak about his blogging and marketing success and offer pointers to other marketers and bloggers that may help increase their productivity levels and rates of success.
While there is no one road to success or cookie-cutter pattern to wealth, no “get-rich-quick” plan that works, or other fairy tales, John Chow has proven what hard work and determination can do with one man and a purpose.
Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse’s name is almost synonymous with blogging. He has single-handedly created a blogging empire with his ability to maintain a blog that has both longevity and profit. His site is known as Problogger.net, and he features numerous articles, blog articles, and podcasts that he uses to tell writers and marketers how to maximize their impact as a blogger and improve their ROI. In this podcast, “How I Make Money Blogging,” Darren explains how he creates and maintains a steady income of millions using blogging techniques and strategies.
Rowse says in the podcast that he made most of his money by affiliate commissions through eBooks, courses, and online services, product sales, eBooks, and instructional media in specific niche areas. He emphasized that he makes a lot of money on his digital photography school because it focuses on a target audience of photographers who are interested in what they have to offer.
Other income is made through his live events, speaking engagements, and other digital products. So it’s clear that organization is important here too. Darren makes a lot of money through Amazon via affiliate sales as well as his eBooks and other digital products.
If you check out Darren’s site, you will see that he doesn’t just sit back and wait for the money to roll in. He works diligently and consistently in some areas to create multiple streams of income. Passive blogging without putting in the work and time required to promote and build an audience is a futile activity if you wish to monetize your blog. Darren is an example of someone who has the fortitude and desire to go all the way with the potential of blogging.
Darren highly focuses on his niche area and is in touch with what he does well, a key factor in the success of blogging and online marketing.
Darren is from Australia and has the perseverance and dedication that all marketing bloggers and writers should aspire to reach their goals of making serious money online.
Neil Patel
Neil Patel is a marketing guru who lost thousands of dollars to a marketing firm which provided no results for his company, so he was motivated to learn marketing on his own. As a result, he has provided worldwide advice to such huge companies as Google, General Motors, Viacom, and others on marketing techniques.
He focuses on digital marketing, and he makes most of his money by helping small and large businesses capitalize on the potential of online media and advertising to increase traffic and conversions.
He focuses on results rather than the process and increases the profit of his customers in a big way. He offers his services on his website to others who want to subscribe.
Neil Patel also founded Kissmetrics, the popular analytical sales tool that enables small business owners to increase their targeted traffic and improve conversion rates.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk says he was successful “in everything but school.” This is an interesting comment from this self-made entrepreneur who added in a Larry King interview, that Ivy League graduates are the least likely to succeed as an entrepreneur because they are accustomed to thinking about using connections to get what they want. It doesn’t work on the online market as an entrepreneur.
Gary feels that the best entrepreneurs and business owners are those who are willing to take risks for their investments and dreams and walk away from traditional business thinking that might interfere with the process of creating a brand.
He makes a large portion of his income through his online ad agency, Vayner Media, which focuses on helping other business owners increase their impact on the web via digital media.
Jeremy Schoemaker
Jeremy Schoemaker is another influencer and successful entrepreneur in the blogging space. He started by using Google Adsense on his blog and received a check for over $130,000 for ads on a site known as Nextpimp.com. But he didn’t stop there. Jeremy went on to include some other assets on his site that produced a steady income stream for him.
Some of the ways that Schoemaker says he made his money include:
- Affiliate marketing
- Subscription revenue
- Product sales
- Pay-per-click ads
- Company sales
Jeremy says he started by just doing independent blogging and affiliate marketing, focusing on helping businesses do the same and increase their traffic and sales. This appealed to some fellow entrepreneurs and small businesses, and he expanded his reach to include helping others succeed as well.
Some of his money is due to subscriptions from those other businesses wanting help on marketing, while other income is due to PPC ads and sales of companies that he no longer had time for. He did make some business mistakes like overdoing the keyword count in the Nextpimp site, but he was always looking to the horizon for other opportunities.
Conclusions: The Gurus of Blogging
What do all of these marketers have in common besides the fact that four of the five are completely bald? They are all determined, hard-working bloggers and entrepreneurs who started with one blog. But they radiated their efforts out to a multitude of other pursuits that led them to their success. And they all had a strategy.
If you are a business, marketing blogger, or entrepreneur who wants to increase your visibility on the web and experience more success in your online efforts, try an infographic.
Infographics help gain attention by putting high-quality graphics and important data all in one place. Customers respond to this form of media because it saves them time while giving them essential information that they need.
At InfographicDesignTeam.com, we help brands maximize their impact on the web. You may not end up being a John Chow or Darren Rowse, or others we’ve focused on today. But their success should inspire you onward to create and promote your brand in a way that brings real results.
