My last post, ]]> http://punkrockhr.com/making-money-as-a-human-resources-blogger-part-ii/feed/ 16 http://punkrockhr.com/hr-blogging-how-do-you-make-money/ http://punkrockhr.com/hr-blogging-how-do-you-make-money/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:33:17 +0000 Laurie http://laurieruettimann.wordpress.com/?p=2014

I am a partner at HRM Today, a social network that was created to help improve the HR blogging community. There are blogs, a network of HR professionals, and forums where people come together and discuss important workforce issues.

One question caught my eye.

Breanne asked, “How do you make money on your blog?”

My answer was simple: there are no rich bloggers out there.

There are wealthy people who blog, but the money is earned through

• owning a business (related to the blog) with a tangible product or service,
• speaking to groups,
• organizing conferences,
• or working for a real company.

I want to be paid handsomely to sit at home and write about myself — but it’s not going to happen. People enjoy reading about my experiences in Human Resources and I have received compliments on my blog; I have been interviewed by a few MSM outlets and have been asked to provide insight on workforce strategies & talent acquisition in Corporate America; however, no one will give me an unlimited bukkit of cash to blog about my life as a Human Resources professional, to post pictures and stories about my cat, or to write about my sick & crazy grandmother.

It’s a shame. It’s a crying shame, really.

Business Week published a slide show, last year, with a nice list of the most successful bloggy entrepreneurs. Those entrepreneurs made money through a mix of advertising, VC infusion, and licensing agreements. Go Fug Yourself, a site mentioned in Business Week‘s article, earned a little less than $7,000/month at the time of publication. While that may seem like a lot of money for a blog about celebrity fashion, it’s a business — and there are expenses that offset the revenues. You could double the monthly revenue and I’m sure the authors of the blog — Heather & Jessica — wouldn’t consider themselves rich.

ProBlogger had an interesting and informal poll of bloggers and revenue streams — and I learned that a whopping 28% of bloggers made no money in 2007, and 25% of bloggers who made money earned less than 33 cents/day.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 in one format or another. If anyone has the key to being a wealthy HR blogger, besides marrying a dude like J. Howard Marshall and waiting for him to have a heart attack, please let me know. You can contact me here or find me on Twitter.