Blogging in 2009: Year of the Earth Ox
This is part 3 of a series of 3 articles about the Year of the Earth Ox, and what’s in store for us in the year 2009. If you missed the first 2 articles, check them out:
Just a note, based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, Year of the Earth Ox will commence only on January 27, 2009. So you still have time to kick out all of the rats in 2008.
Each one of us who are into blogging have our own reasons why we blog. If writing is your talent, blogging is a good venue to hone it. If you blog for a cause, then there is no reason why you should not blog for a cause. But if you blog to earn, Year 2009 will be a significant yet challenging year.
2009 will be a difficult year, but as the old saying goes – “There are always opportunities in times of difficulties”. Businesses will find ways to significantly cut costs to save more money, thus earning more money. Money spent in Marketing and Advertising contribute to the biggest cost in products and services which will pave the way for businesses to look for more alternative ways to reach customers cheaper but effective. Thus more money will be diverted into online marketing, and Blogging will be one of the areas that will get a big share of the “loot”.
Revenue Drop in Blogging
However, revenue per opportunity will also significantly drop – as the law dictates that the more supply is available, it will drive prices down. Thus the significant drop in CPM (Cost Per Mille – cost per thousand impressions) in most advertising programs like Google Adsense and Adbrite. The throng of Bloggers joining paid reviews and sponsored posts also contributed to the decrease in prices for these services.
Before, opportunities per post could go as high as USD50 to a few hundreds of dollars, but recently, most programs only pay USD5.00 – USD15.00 on the average in networks like Social Spark, Smorty, Pay Per Post and Sponsored Reviews.
Will this impact total revenue potential of bloggers who are into making money online? I doubt since with the number of opportunities available, revenue can be compensated with a few extra efforts than it used to be. So if you’re used to earn USD100.00 a day for 2-3 paid opportunities, you can still probably get USD100.00 a day with 5-10 posts, sounds tough to me though.
How Will Bloggers for Profit Earn More in 2009?
There is no secret formula but just simply hardwork, dedication and managing potential competition. As discussed above, there are a lot of ways for Make Money Online Bloggers to earn money in the Blogosphere. But it needs hardwork and dedication to stay on and make a comfortable amount of money. Managing competition is also key – to understand what the others are doing, and enable you to learn from them. All these efforts can be summarized into two very important ingredient in being a successful online money maker: Creating interesting, quality articles and Generating traffic to your site.
Interested in exploring possibilities in making money online with blogs? You can start your own simple experiment today. First, get your own blog that you can monetize. Check out the Free Wordpress Blog at Bloggista.net and sign-up for your first wordpress blog. You can find lots of references and resources on how to use wordpress online.
The Technorati Report: Blog Growth in 2008
It is said that last year, 1 blog is being created every second. Blogging growth has been significant over the past two years, as reported by Technorati, an authority in tracking the number and popularity of blogs in blogosphere. In its State of the Blogosphere Report for 2008, blog growth is still very phenomenal. The following data and figure shows the numbers:
How big is the Blogosphere?
The numbers vary but agree that blogs are here to stay:
* comScore MediaMetrix (August 2008)
- Blogs: 77.7 million unique visitors in the US
- Facebook: 41.0 million | MySpace 75.1 million
- Total internet audience 188.9 million
* eMarketer (May 2008)
- 94.1 million US blog readers in 2007 (50% of Internet users)
- 22.6 million US bloggers in 2007 (12%)
* Universal McCann (March 2008)
- 184 million WW have started a blog | 26.4 US
- 346 million WW read blogs | 60.3 US
- 77% of active Internet users read blogs
Blogging is…
* A truly global phenomenon: Technorati tracked blogs in 81 languages in June 2008, and bloggers responded to our survey from 66 countries across six continents.
* Here to stay: Bloggers have been at it an average of three years and are collectively creating close to one million posts every day. Blogs have representation in top-10 web site lists across all key categories, and have become integral to the media ecosystem.
Bloggers are…
* Not a homogenous group: Personal, professional, and corporate bloggers all have differing goals and cover an average of five topics within each blog.
* Savvy and sophisticated: On average, bloggers use five different techniques to drive traffic to their blog. They’re using an average of seven publishing tools on their blog and four distinct metrics for measuring success.
* Intensifying their efforts based on positive feedback: Blogging is having an incredibly positive impact on their lives, with bloggers receiving speaking or publishing opportunities, career advancement, and personal satisfaction.
Blogs are Profitable
The majority of bloggers we surveyed currently have advertising on their blogs. Among those with advertising, the mean annual investment in their blog is $1,800, but it’s paying off. The mean annual revenue is $6,000 with $75K+ in revenue for those with 100,000 or more unique visitors per month. Note: median investment and revenue (which is listed below) is significantly lower. They are also earning CPMs on par with large publishers.
Bloggers are sophisticated in using self serve tools for search, display, and affiliate advertising, and are increasingly turning to ad and blog networks. Many bloggers without advertising may consider it when their blogs grow – the inability to set up advertising will not be a factor.
Brands Permeate the Blogopshere
Whether or not a brand has launched a social media strategy, more likely than not, it’s already present in the Blogosphere. Four in five bloggers post brand or product reviews, with 37% posting them frequently. 90% of bloggers say they post about the brands, music, movies and books that they love (or hate).
Company information or gossip and everyday retail experiences are fodder for the majority of bloggers.
Companies are already reaching out to bloggers. One-third of bloggers have been approached to be brand advocates.
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A very nice statistical study B! Honestly, with the way you present the blogging environment in 2009, you can definitely join the ranks of the market researcher around the web.
Keep on posting informative articles! ^_^
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
LOL – I just don’t have the patience Snow to really delve into the minute details – an attitude all successful market researchers have – just like you. Hehe.
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Snow Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Oh me?…hehehe…I’m just an OC… (lol)
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Nice statistics and information
I try not to look at the figures as it can discourage you sometimes (although it can do the other way around too)
Michael Aulia´s last blog post..Fix Windows Vista/7 Sleep mode from waking up by itself
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Hmmm, not really discouraging Mike, I’m just envious, just like your blog stats.
Happy New Year bro!
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Michael Aulia Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Hehe but I’m still not happy with my stats.. oh well I guess we’ll never get satisfied with whatever we have
Michael Aulia´s last blog post..Fix Windows Vista/7 Sleep mode from waking up by itself
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bloggista Replies:
January 5th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
You hammered it right on the head. Hehehe. It’s what they call “journey towards excellence” Hehe. Excessive then it’s greed. LOL. But you’re a good man dude, and good men are rewarded.
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It’s an interesting finding.. Keep it up..
Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net´s last blog post..Automate your Blog Direct Advertising
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Thanks Dex! And yeah, you better try that OIO Publisher tool. As I have commented in your blog (or spammed – LOL) I can share the referral revenue.
Hayop sa marketing ano.
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naku, babababa ang kita natin? panu na ang hinuhulugan kong bahay sa Alabang hahaha
Kapatid babati lang ako sayo at ngayon lang ako natapos sa aking blog. naglipat kasi ako ng server.
May you and your family have a very blessed Christmas (actually pasko pa) and may the Lord guide you through this new year.
All the best in 2009!
Pax et Bonum
bluepanjeet´s last blog post..10 Best of the Best Posts of OTWOMD in 2008
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Hello bro, congratz, looks like you’re into something bigger this year at pinaghandaan mo talaga ng husto. Still, 2009 is for bloggers, no doubt about it! Mejo double lang efforts to earn from it.
Thanks for dropping by dito sa aking barong-barong. Happy New Year to you and to your family as well. More power!
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Nice reminders. That’s why I doing my best to optimize my new project. As I really believe that making money from a blog is achievable. But unfortunately, most of us preoccupied with other activities that are distracting us.
But for the add, it is not just about creating useful contents and earning traffic. It’s also about doing relevant things.
Angel Cuala´s last blog post..Did Your Children Really Enjoy Their Christmas Gifts?
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Thanks for the additional tip, Angel. I still believe 2009 is a good year, esp for bloggers who are into monetization.
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finger crossed na lang, pero grabe, andami na talagang bloggers sa mundo.
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
UU nga eh. However, di rin naman ganun kadami seryoso. Hehe. So all opps para lang sa mga hardworking talaga.
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Hmmm. That was some intriguing numbers. But then again, most blogs that are being made on the internet today are blank and some of them are not updated regularly. There’s only but a handful of people who really take blogging seriously, so I don’t see any income from blogging going down anytime soon.
and besides, there are still a lot of ways to go about extra money making on the internet. Ngayon pa, na Web 2.0 na??
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bloggista Replies:
January 4th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
You got a point there Mikhail, the pie will only be share by those who are working for it. That is why no matter how many websites and blogs one has, if there’s no regular updates, wala rin tlaga.
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Part 3 – Blogging in 2009: Year of the Earth Ox | State of Blogosphere | Bloggista.com…
Revenue per opportunity will also significantly drop – as the law dictates that the more supply is available, it will drive prices down. Thus the significant drop in CPM (Cost Per Mille – cost per thousand impressions) in most advertising programs like…
whoaaa! ganon na kadami bloggers ngayon sa buong mundo… amazing!
dream ko na lang is maging blogging capital of the world ang Philippines or Filipinos will be the best bloggers in the world.. LOL parang isa lang labas nun ehh!
ganda ng presentation ng facts and figures.. i just hope na 2009 is not totally a recession period sa onling earning opportunities..
good luck to all of us! may we all have a JuanDerPul year! ^__^
JuanDerPul PINOY´s last blog post..Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009! A JuanDerPul Thanksgiving
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bloggista Replies:
January 5th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
A very JuanderPul comment bro. Hehe. Cge lang, let’s all continue our efforts and hardwork and sooner we will be rewarded.
More power to you!
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i hope that 2009 will be good for all my blogs!
Ceblogger´s last blog post..Manny Pacquiao vs Ricky Hatton Fight Results Predictions
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bloggista Replies:
January 5th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Lovely new look Von! And sports niche is one lucrative niche. Hehe. Goodluck!
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Honestly, I feel the drop in cost per click the fast several weeks.. It’s like top advertisers left or at least reduced the online advertising costs to cope up with the economic woes. That’s why I made a major decision to ship from an adsense publisher to adwords advertiser..
And this means another experiment on my part. I’ll share my findings perhaps at the start of the second quarter..
Joliber´s last blog post..SSS.gov.ph – SSS Online Inquiry Website is Always Down
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bloggista Replies:
January 5th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Thats a good move Joliber. I have been an adwords advertiser since last year, and it is indeed a great way to get traffic to a website – esp if you are into selling products/services.
Good luck!
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[...] Now here’s the question, are we overcrowded in the blogosphere? How big is the blogosphere? Find more answers in this very interesting article, Blogging in 2009: Year of the Earth Ox. [...]
Now i am more serious in doing the SEO and relevant information this year! Thanks for sharing this info Brother!
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bloggista Replies:
January 6th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Thanks for the link love there bro! Yours is a very interesting article.
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Hi B,
I am back and first things on my agenda is to greet you a fantastic new year. I have missed being able to drop by and visit during the hectic holidays and am now back to my daily routine.
lots of hugs and may the new year bring us all new and exciting things for all of us. 
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bloggista Replies:
January 6th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Hey Metz! We missed you! Hehe. Good to see you’re back in action.
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Nice stats! I am seeing a surge of visitors as I promote my blog more aggressively in forums. Hopefully, adsense income as well.
Millionaire Acts´s last blog post..House: Asset or Liability?
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There is no other way to help increase revenue but to increase traffic as well. This is one of the most challenging thing when one wants to blog for profit. Congratz bro!
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1 blog in every second…that’s mind-blowing!
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