Blogging can generate some serious cash these days, although most of the time the business model is one based on selling ads. Will this bubble go the way of the banner ads that were so popular during the first Internet bubble? Some of the ad rates can be quite outrageous and makes one wonder if the advertisers are really measuring the return on investment generated from those ads. Anyway, in case this bubble pops, you should definitely consider other business models for your blog as well.

Here are some impressive figures as reported in BusinessWeek:

BoingBoing - over $1 million last year

Advertising costs range from $350 to display a small button ad for one week to between $2,000 and $3,000 for the minimum 170,000 impressions on banner ads, all sold exclusively through Federated Media. Frequent posting—the four authors update the site 20 to 40 times each day.

I Can Has CheezBurger - Estimated $5,600 a month

ShoeMoney - $12,000 a month (that’s only from the blog alone)

OverHeardinNewYork - $8,100 a month

Kottke.org - Estimated $5,300 a month

TalkingPointsMemo - $45,000 a month

Perez Hilton - $111,000 a month

…24 posts on an average day—and as many as 40 on a day with talk of a Britney Spears meltdown…

Gothamist - $50,000 - $60,000 a month (for the entire blog network)

TechCrunch - $200,000 a month (holy smokes!)

TechCrunch became Michael Arrington’s full-time business in 2006, with $200,000 in monthly revenue from job boards and ads.

Go Fug Yourself - $6,240 a month

Mashable - $166,000 a month

Pete Cashmore started Mashable two years ago, to write about the emerging trend of mashups, which he defines as “the fusing of multiple Web services.” Text ads start at $100 per week, banners at $2,000.

Problogger - over $100,000 a year (multiple sites)


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