Richard Byrne, the prominent blogger responsible for Free Technology for Teachers, has offered an insightful piece on how bloggers make money. He is one of a category of individuals I categorize as ex-teachers or administrators who are no longer in schools but make a living within the education community as bloggers, writers, and presenters. In his post, he is quite frank about the breakdown of his income (not how much, but what he makes from his popular blog and his speaking engagements) and this information might be quite informative to those wondering about what it takes. One take away stat for me was his proposal that you need 100,000 hits a month for ad revenue from Google (he also discusses other forms of advertising) to pay expenses.
I have been a blogger for many years (2002) and posts such as this one from Byrne always make me consider the various reasons individuals blog. How does it begin and what does it become? I know my own history and professional context and this background provides some insights, but there are certainly other options. I am working on the writing of a more detailed analysis I plan to publish when I reach 12 years as a blogger and at the point of retiring from my present profession. I have a couple more months.