Hugh Macleod contemplates
making money blogging

For hard-up small or mid-sized businesses, The New York Times calls blogging a "low-cost, high-return tool" for marketing, public relations, raising company profiles and brand-building.

An American Express survey recently found that only five percent of businesses, supporting less than 100 employees, have blogs. But all the better; blogging experts are skeptical as to its effectiveness for most business goals.

Blogging necessitates writing skills and a commitment of more time than some firms can afford to lose.

Aliza Sherman Risdahl, who wrote The Everything Blogging Book, said finding a legitimate reason for blogging can be challenging unless the sector enjoys a steep learning curve — wine is one example.

Firms whose products are integrated in a certain lifestyle (pets, travel) or social mission (hungry children, saving redwood trees) are also good candidates for blogging.

But the trick, says Risdahl, is to focus on a blogging strategy and decide whether there is really enough to write about.

Bloggers are also advised to track their sites in order to determine who is visiting and why. And while advertising can be a slow way of making money at outset, some bloggers end up doing relatively well.

John Nardini operates a blog called Free Money Finance, where he posts five times a week. It receives about 4500 visits a day and garners between $30,000 to $40,000 in advertising per year.

"We run ads because it legitimizes the site; it’s really not about the money,” said Mr. Nardini said. He donates all proceeds to charity.

Others, like the infamous "mommy blog" Dooce.com, enable the authors to quit their jobs and support families. Heather Armstrong, who operates Dooce.com, has enjoyed celebrity-style sponsorships from labels like Nike. Her family — which includes her husband, a young child and a dog — is supported almost entirely by the blogging effort.