I’m sure with this positive approach you’ll end up in those 16%. (if you are not there already )

Good points and yes, blogs targeting “low hanging” fruit work well too.

I appreciate your point of view on this topic. One part where I wasn’t maybe clear enough is that there are two ways to blog:
- just write for fun, in general about your topic (financial freedom, making money online, Google Adsense, …), follow the latest trends
- or create a blog in the same way as you would a typical website – based on keyword research

In the second case you could of course build a successful blog too.

But on the other hand I am running a few sites (build as blogs) but with the primary focus of getting high ranks for low comp. keyword phrases. I’m using wordpress as my free CMS and it works perfectly. One of the things that I really like about building a site in blog format is that I’m able to get spidered almost instantly.

I’m not an advocate for “blogging for money”. It reminds me of some of the people I’ve known along the way who wanted “to be a rock star”. They were involved with music (in our case, blogging), but they seemed focused on the fame (in our case, the money).

And, what information is “behind the numbers” in Darren’s post anyway? So far in 2007, 28% don’t earn money because they don’t even try to…or just fail at it. 49% earned less than $100. Why? Of those that are trying, are their blogs or actions lacking in one or more significant ways? Are the sites really just spammy AdSense sites? I’d be interested in knowing the niches and moves being made by those who are successful in earning money with their blogs compared to those who are not as successful, but are at least trying.

I’ll click on an ad, or affiliated commission link, at a blog under the following circumstances: Let’s say that one way or another, I’ve come to a blog to read a review article/post about a product I’m looking for information on. If the review seems well written, thorough, and my “takeaway” from the article/post is favorable (pluses & minuses weighed), I’ll likely click an ad/link to move to the next step of the sales funnel.

Example of a “good move” and a “bad move” in a blog posting from yesterday: I’m keen on acquiring a sturdy, yet somewhat stylish case/holster solution for an iPhone. I came across a blog posting of an amateur YouTube video review of a nice iPhone case/holster solution…and, I was ready to buy at the end of the review. I wanted to buy it so that the blog’s author would receive the commission for the value he provided me (the “good move”). But, there were no embedded affiliate links in the text associated with the video review…and, the affiliated list of product links in the sidebar did =not= have an associated product link either (the “bad move”). Lastly, there were no related Chitika or AdSense ads. He lost a sale as I moved on.

I “get” the gist of your post…and agree with what appears to be the observation about the mindset of blogging for money. But, I do think that making the right moves can ultimately lead to a nice level of money rolling in from blogging. What are the right moves? The list probably goes on and on, but the items must include the things you’ve already suggested…informative & scannable content, link-building/traffic generation, affiliations, your own products/services, intuitive navigation, understanding what the blog is about, pleasant design, etc.

I predict that your FreedomIdeas blog will likely translate nicely into on-going affiliated sales (e.g., SBI!). Why? Because you appear to be making the right moves on a number of fronts with your blog…not the least of which is providing content, to me, that is informative, and more importantly “strategic” in nature. I, and likely others, will reward you for this.

Regards, DR

PS. I believe, too, that keyword optimized/themed pages with informative content are important. In fact, I find most of the information I seek via the organic side of Googles SERPs (the 1st & maybe the 2nd page). Once I get to an article, having targeted links and/or ads encourages me to click-thru.

Yes, blogging for money and targeting bloggers as your main visitors is really tough game. Although one could make some blogs targeting completely different type of visitors.

For example blogs about celebrities and gossip do really well since the visitors are teenagers who are very happy to click on everything what they see.

Like you, I am virtually blind to ads.
However, I will occasionally look at AdSense ads on small blogs that I particularly like for the sole purpose of making those bloggers happy. (I’ve actually stumbled across one great resource that way)
And I’ll occasionally look at 125×125 ads on high-quality sites. But I won’t ever purchase anything from them. I’m only keeping an eye out for free stuff. I’m good on just about everything right now.

I personally blog because I enjoy it and I want to gain knowledge. I’ve found that I’ll retain knowledge better if I write about it and then discuss it with the few commentators I have.
Although, I do hope to find some web design jobs through my blog (which I plan on giving a custom design). I’ve actually obtained one job so far through my blog.