Which blog site is better?

[iTopz]

Hello, I just thought about my blog site - blogspot which I have two blogs on. I was wondering what's easier to make money from ads from - blogspot Vs wordpress blogs...can wp blogs even make you money?
Thanks, I do wonder an awful lot ;)

[Made4Print]

Hi,

I have a blog at blogspot for some useful code that I give away to hundreds of people:

http://redmanscave.blogspot.com/

This has google ads and has a 'donate' button.

I created this a few years ago and its a good thing I dont expect anything from it becuase it hasnt generated many click through's and not a single donation :-)

[mrsapedia]

can wp blogs even make you money?
Yes, they can and do for me. It's not so much the platform (within reason) but your content, traffic, and presentation of the ads that are important.

[fisicx]

Yes, they can and do for me. It's not so much the platform (within reason) but your content, traffic, and presentation of the ads that are important.

Agree with the 100%. If you want to make money then you need visitors, lots of them. And the way to get lots of visitors is to provide lots of great content that people will want to read.

Let's assume you ger 10p per click. To make £10 you therefore need 100 clicks. But adverts only really convert around the 2% mark so to earn your £10 you will need about 5000 visitors. As the blog becomes more popular you will attract higher paying advertisers but they will want to see you stats before shelling out lots of dosh to appear on your site.

[Interconnect IT]

If you're on WordPress.com, you can't advertise on your blogs. WordPress.com can, and do, of course - but you won't see the ads as they hide them from direct visitors and users - which is a little naughty if you ask me.

[fisicx]

If you're on WordPress.com, you can't advertise on your blogs. WordPress.com can, and do, of course - but you won't see the ads as they hide them from direct visitors and users - which is a little naughty if you ask me.

Can you elaborate? If direct visitors and users can't see the ads who can? Does this only apply to WP hosted blogs because an awful lot of WP blogs carry adsense and other revenue generating content.

[iTopz]

Yes, I was specifically on about WP blogs (the free one's). Very much like the blogger service.
I also wonder if it's actually restricted to the blog pages (e.g. blogs can't get the maximum amount for some reason, but your own website obviously can). If anyone ges that then thanks!

[Interconnect IT]

@Fisicx - self hosted WordPress carries no adverts, and you can of course do what you like with it. It's when you use the WordPress.com service that a: they serve up ads, and b: you can't add your own. As far as I'm aware you can pay to remove ads, but can't pay to add your own.

You only see adverts on WordPress.com if you have a referrer id.

[PR Wales]

Without a doubt the best way to monetise your blog is if you run a self-hosted wordpress blog, (or 10).

I initially got caught up in the "earn money while you sleep" blogging myth which was perpetuated a few years back. But the truth of the matter is, as was mentioned above, you need a lot of traffic to make any sort of decent return on a single blog. A LOT of traffic.

So I started to diversify, to make the most of my $2-$5 dollars a day in adsense revenues, spreading my nets further in the hope of catching some more fish, (google adwords "Keywords" tool is your best friend in this instance).

Now I run a number of blogs, on wildly differing, (and mostly a little controversial) topics, and I invest a day a week in creating PR for these blogs, using free press release websites. This became a lot easier once I was running my own google news source. ;)

This keeps a steady stream of traffic landing on my blogs, and my adsense earnings are up to around $300-$500 dollars a month currently.

Not that this amount is going to have Richard Branson quaking in his boots, but its a work in progress, and it pretty much covers all my hosting costs with change for a packet of Walkers and a can of coke on top.

My webhost has a special offer on presently meaning I can register .info domains for 99p a time, and as I run a reseller account which means I can operate as many small websites as I want for a set amount a month, each time I set up a new blog, it costs me only the time it takes to set it up and update it.

Sorry for the ramble, but using blogging services like blogger etc, is only really any benefit if stuff like alexa traffic rank is important for massaging your ego.

To earn money with your blogs you need to be able to get 'under the hood', to paraphrase our american cousins, and the only way to do this effectively, is if you host it yourself.

Hope this helps.

Ian

[iTopz]

Thanks for the posts guys...the more info the better imo.
Interconnect, I don't quite get what you're saying. This is what I interpreted from your post;
1. You can't advertise on a wordpress blog?
2. You can advetise on a wordpress site which you own yourself?
Thanks again guys.

[Interconnect IT]

OK - first principles:

WordPress.com is the provider of a free blogging service.
WordPress.org provide a free blogging platform that you install on your own server.

If you use the free service you can't place ads, if you use the service you download and install yourself you can do whatever pleases you. So yes, your interpretation is correct :-)

[iTopz]

WOOHOO. Thanks Interconnect, very helpful.
I take it these 'custom' sites do better at making money rather than the typical blogger.com user?
Anyway, I'm now informed :)

[Interconnect IT]

Yes, but few blogs make any significant money :o)