First, I’d like to thank Ramsay from Blog Tyrant for taking the time to make this survey and allowing me to share its results with you.
These statistics come from the answers of 350 bloggers who responded to questions such as: Why they started their blogs, the goals they’re trying to achieve, the amount of income they make, the challenges they face, etc.
I hope you find them useful…
What can we learn from these results?
- Age doesn’t matter: Around 63% of bloggers are between the ages of 30 and 59, with close to 20% being older/younger. Don’t use age as an excuse for not taking the initiative to start your blog.
- Most bloggers are beginners: Almost 35% of bloggers have been doing it for under a year, therefore most people out bloggers are in the same boat as you.
- A majority of bloggers are slackers: Spending less than five hours per week isn’t going to cut it if you wish to make a full-time income from your blog. Please don’t be like most bloggers and dedicate your blog the time necessary for it to be a success.
- Most bloggers make zilch: That’s what happens when you don’t put in the work. However, some bloggers do make a sh*t load of money and that’s what you should be striving for.
- Bloggers need a second source of income: No surprise here as making a full-time income takes time, hard work, and dedication.
- Most people blog for the money: There’s a good number of hobbyist in the blogosphere, but based on these results, most people blog with the intention of generating income.
- Smarting a blog is cheap: Even though around 40% of bloggers spent over $100 to start their blog, a good majority spent less. What other lucrative businesses can you start for under $100?
- Domain name and hosting cost money: You might be able to avoid designer fees and most other fees associated with starting a new blog, but not these two.
- Most bloggers focus on one blog: I recommend you to focus on one blog starting out and experimenting with others as you gain the experience required to run a successful blog.
- Bloggers are quitters: Not surprised that a good majority of bloggers quit at some point. Make it a point to be the exception to this rule.
- Most bloggers worry about traffic and money: These two go hand in hand as you can’t make any money if you don’t have anyone to sell to. Focus on growing your traffic and providing each new blog visitor a great experience… the money will follow.
- Text is king: Videos and podcasts are two of the fastest forms of content today, but text is still king.
- Writing amazing content is critical: Most bloggers can’t be wrong. Writing amazing content is critical to your blog’s success. Become a thought leader in your niche and people will flock to your blog.
- Google is your friend: Google is the largest search engine in the world. They achieved this by providing their users with useful results on whatever topic they’re interested in. Be Google’s friend and you won’t regret it.
- Most bloggers keep it in-house: Outsourcing is great but I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re starting out.
- Bloggers love vanilla: Do you like vanilla flavored ice cream?
Conclusion
While not being the biggest sample size, I still think this survey gives us some insights on the many factors that lead to bloggers failing.
Most bloggers aren’t making any money and what would you expect from spending less than 5 hours a week at any job?
If you’re looking to start a new blog, go into it with the mindset of spending as much time as necessary to make it work. Create great content and allow Google the time it needs to trust you… The traffic and money will follow.
Don’t follow the steps of most bloggers. Learn from the best and never settle for less.
What’s your opinion on these stats?
