Early in February 2011 I guest-posted on a blog called “ Everything About Blogging” with an article entitled “Why Are Most Bloggers Not Making Any Money?”. Up to the time of writing some rather interesting, even in some cases disturbing, comments have been made on that post. In view of that I thought I’d copy some of these onto this blog and expand upon them. I’ve replaced commenter’s names with numbers in order to keep a focus upon the points raised: -

1) said “I am quite new to blogging and am still in a see how it goes phase. I am still gaining followers.
I was thinking that the only way of getting money, would be to build your followers to 100+ and perhaps then some would click on your adverts. I don’t have any adverts on my blog as I didn’t want to be disheartened with only having a handful of followers. I am getting 20+ page views a day though.”

0) (Owner) replied: “I think you are on the right track. Build your readership and make sure you drive enough traffic to your blog!! The rest will obviously follow you, that is, money!!!”

“Huh?” – I thought. – “You’re running a blog called ‘Everything About Blogging’ and giving answers like that one? – Unbelievable!”

2) said “bloggers are not making money because they don’t have patience.”

I pondered, considered the matter, and decided that this discussion was turning into a bullshit-contest. I was going to have to say something rather soon.

3) said “I enjoyed your: Hamster of Doom analogy [Copyright David Risley] but, I didn’t get any new information about how to achieve this goal, what type of marketing strategies work-
Take care,
P.s. Overall, a well written article needing more substance- feels incomplete.”

OK; time for me to chime. I replied: -

“ @1) – Unfortunately your secret formula to success doesn’t work: A blogger friend of mine has over 100,000 visits a day to 1 of his blogs and makes only just over $15,000 a year from banner-advertising. His other blog has lower traffic, no banner-ads whatsoever, yet he makes a six-figure-income from it.
You say you’re getting 20 hits per day: Those 20 arrive at your blog, read your article, and leave. – That’s 20 potential customers a day walking away empty-handed. Result = $0.00
@0) – So 1) builds his/her readership to 2000 visitors a day… Now 2000 potential customers are walking away empty-handed. : Result = $0.00.
This is an example of being on the Blogger Hamster Wheel of Doom.
Read the revised Six-Figure-Blogger-Blueprint available as a free download by clicking on the appropriate banner at the top of this blog.

What I’m saying here is that unless you actually try to capture the visitor in some way and send them into your sales-funnel, you may as well have absolutely no traffic at all, because what traffic is arriving, no matter what quantity, is escaping without even knowing anything about the funnel, if one exists at all.

@3) – Did you download the free revised Six-Figure-Blogger-Blueprint?
What do you want – a free course on successful blogging in a single article?
Here’s how to download the free 6FBB: Look at the top banner on this blog; the one that says “Are YOU on the Blogger Hamster Wheel of Doom? – Free Download” etc. ( It’s on my blog too at http://kkomp.com ) Click on it. Watch the short video presentation. Enter the requested details. Respond to the confirmation email. Download the Blueprint: Easy.
@2) – Keep waiting patiently while the rest of us progress and make the money that you left on the table.”

4) said: “I think the focus for bloggers should actually be more on quality instead of money.”

I replied: “ @4 – Quality is always a good thing to have; but quality doesn’t pay the bills. A quality blog that is marketed the right way can actually have your readers asking to buy something off you!”

I think 4) is probably a hobby-blogger. – Fair play to 4).

5) said “ @Sharron: Hey you Sharron; if you have 2000 readers, you may get at least 3000 views a day.so ad company like traffic revenue.net pays you 3$ a day, and it your readership increases, site rank increases,it get listed first in Google search and finally huge amount of traffic which gives you a lot of money. If you gain readers, your traffic increases which results in the increase of your site rank and your site gets priority in Google search which further leads to lot of traffic and finally you earn lots of money $$$$$$.”

I replied: -

@5) I like your argument: It’s logical but far too basic.
I wish I had 2000 readers a day – I’d be making far more than a poxy $3 a day if I did…
Let’s look at that another way; and I’m gonna name-drop here: David Risley – professional blogger and entrepreneur – my guru who taught me a large percentage of everything I know, makes over $200,000 a year and gets about 10,000 visitors a day approx to his 2 blogs. Using your business-model he’d be making $5475 a year – which, incidentally, is about [a third of] what he makes from banner-advertising each year from 1 of his blogs. (The other one doesn’t run banner ads.)
I suggest that you read his FREE Six-Figure-Blogger-Blueprint – May I write a URL here owner? I need to do so in order to tell people where to go to get it from. – http://shazza-recommends.com is the link you’ll need to visit to get hold of a copy.

5) appears to be another example of a blogger on the Hamster Wheel of Doom: Working feverishly to build a colossal volume of traffic, all to make the price of a cup of Starbuck’s coffee from. :S

6) said “Sharron, after many years of blogging and trying to earn from Adsense, I turned to proper sites (as in not blogs) and now I earn an incredible living from it!. Blogs just don’t get the positioning and the visitors that a website can.”

I replied: -

@6) – I’d be interested to hear how you manage to differentiate between a “real website” and a blog: By “real website” do you mean inactive Web 1.0-style fixed pages of html? – As opposed to the interactive and changeable/malleable nature of a blog?
You say “Blogs just don’t get the positioning and the visitors that a website can.” but a blog IS a website – just not a static one.
Do you yourself own and run these static websites you speak of? If that is the case, and I’m not being funny here, but have you ever considered that it may be that you are fully adept at designing static websites but your interactive blog-designing skills suck? – In other words you’re a good internet-marketer but a lousy blogger? Maybe you need to find the middle-ground and your income will increase even more.
Search-engines absolutely LOVE blogs, particularly SEO-optimised blogs with great layout, efficient-marketing, and high-traffic.
(P.S. Here’s a tip – which quite possibly has no relevance to the above: Using a great and well-designed flash animation on a blog does nothing for search-ratings, because spiders don’t read flash: They just ignore it until they get to some html code that they can understand. – ‘Just thought I’d mention that.)”

*So having brought the discussion here, as well as at its original location; do you have anything that you’d like to add? – Any comments on comments, comments on replies? I’d be interested to hear them, and to answer any points or questions that you bring up. I’m still answering points made at the original location also; but thought it an idea to split the chatter at this point and go in probably different directions with it. Not far below where you’re reading right now is a comment-box: Please do use it, and I look forwards to hearing from you soon.