I have been blogging for 7 years now. One thing I have noticed is, few bloggers have made it in life….majority are poor. I usually visit other websites to see what’s going on but most importantly websites owned by top bloggers in the world. Believe it or not, some bloggers make up to Ksh 500 million per month-here are few examples of the richest bloggers in the world:
Ewdison Then, ‘Slash Gear’: $60,000 – $80,000 per month
Matt Marshall: $50,000 – $100,000 per month
Gina Trapani: circa $110,000 per month
Collis Ta’eed: $55,000 – $120,000 per month
Jake Dobki:$80,000 – $110,000 per month
Timothy Sykes: Monthly Income: $150,000 – $180,000 per month
Vitaly Friedman: $150,000 – $190,000 per month
Mario Lavanderia, ‘Perez Hilton’: $200,000 – $400,000 per month
Pete Cashmore:$560,000 – $600,000 per month
Michael Arrington: $500,000 – $800,000 per month
In Kenya, the highest paid blogger pockets Ksh 700,000 per month after expenses. The most depressing part is that less than 10 bloggers make over Ksh500,000 per month.Nearly all the websites littering our blogosphere make between Ksh10,000 and Ksh40,000 with only less than 20% making above Ksh100,000.
The most shocking thing is that most bloggers live in low income estates like Umoja,Kibera,Kawangware,Mathare and Githurai.I am aware of one who lives in kileleshwa and a couple of others in posh estates like Kilimani and South C.But the fact of the matter is, even those living in posh estates have other side hustles besides blogging.
The major reason why most bloggers are poor is because they aren’t innovative enough. One thing I have noticed is that majority source information from established blogs, which after some times make it impossible to attract new readers and retain regular readers. Without unique and original content, a blog won’t survive the test of time.
Depending too much on AdSense: There is no way you will become rich in Kenya if your only source of income is AdSense. The platform works best for newbies and when a blogger knows the game, he graduates to other monetization platforms. Some bloggers have found it wise to join MGID,others are now into affiliate programs and few are getting stand-alone adverts. If you have time, go through the list of richest bloggers and find out how they make money; most of them earn through sponsored content and stand-alone adverts.
The last and obvious reason you are poor as a blogger is because you were born in Kenya. You see,we are a poor country and advertisers have limited budget for advertisements. You find that even if they bid on AdSense, the best they can give you for a single click is Ksh10.The average cost per click is Ksh 4(it reduced from Ksh5).In USA,advertisers pay up to Ksh100,000 per single click, which is why your find a blogger making Ksh 1 million per month from 30,000 daily visits.I have seen bloggers regretting why they were not born in USA,UK,Canada or UAE where AdSense pays handsomely.
