Earning Money as a Blogger: The Truth About Rev Shares
March 8, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Monetizing Blogs
So you want a freelance blogging job and you see lots of places advertising for bloggers in exchange for a rev share, should you accept? Well, if your goal is to make money blogging you may want to learn a little more about rev shares and how they work before signing on the dotted line.
What is a Rev Share?
A rev share, or revenue share, is when a company pays you to blog in exchange for part of the advertising revenue. The split all depends on the company. Some offer a 50-50 revenue split, others more and some less. You don’t get a base or per post pay, just a split of whatever money comes in each month through advertising revenue.
What’s Traffic Got to Do With It?
Whether a blog is earning advertising dollars has everything to do with traffic. For instance, a blog only receiving a couple of hundred visitor a month isn’t going to earn much in the way of advertising. On the other hand, a blog with thousands of visitors a day, might do very well. If a brand new blog is offering a rev share, you’ll want to think about whether or not it has the traffic and ability to generate an income.
How Much Money Can I Earn with a Rev Share?
Again, it depends. Some folks do well with rev share opportunities, but the truth is, many don’t. Many networks and blog owners offering rev shares bring in very little. I once worked for a rev share and earned pocket change for a months worth of work.
Questions to Ask Your Client
If you want to apply for a rev share opportunity you want to be sure it’s worth your while. Ask your client these questions:
- How much traffic are you bringing in each month? – You want to know exactly what you’re getting into.
- May I receive a copy of the blog’s stat report each day? – without knowing how your blog is doing traffic-wise, you have no way of knowing if you’re receiving all that’s due to you.
- How much revenue are you currently generating? - Your client should be able to confidently tell you how much you will be earning each month. Not a projected income, not what you “could be” earning one day, but how much the blog is generating now.
- May I see a revenue report? – If your client is quoting an impressive figure ask to see back up. This way there’s no disappointment when he tells you he’s earning $150 a month, but you really end up earning $7.
Don’t commit to a rev share unless you go into it with the understanding you may not earn any money at all. Most blogs don’t build up traffic or earn any kind of money for months. Research the blog and ask questions before agreeing to do any work. The last thing you want is to put in hours of blogging, and in nothing in return.
Very true. It is rare for anyone to earn hundreds or thousands on a blog per month. Revenue share will be under $100 per month, more likely to be around $50 a month, give or take, for traffic, advertising, base pay per blog (If they even offer that, depending on the company). I’ve been with my network for two years and have been pretty happy.
I am amazed at all the sites out there about writing gigs. Maybe I am not intelligent enough..however many sound like scams, some cost money and some a PHD is necessary.. I just want to find a job or two writing keyword phrase articles..and nothing fits the bill..any suggestions