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By CANDICE CHOI, Associated Press Writer Wed Dec 26, 12:05 PM ET
NEW YORK - Zach Brooks pocketed $1,000 this month blogging about the cheap
lunches he discovers around midtown Manhattan ($10 or less, preferably greasy,
and if he's lucky, served from a truck).
ADVERTISEMENT
The site, Midtownlunch.com, is just a year and a half old and gets only about
2,000 readers daily, but it's already earning him enough each month for a
weekend trip to the Caribbean or in his case, more fat-filled culinary
escapades in the city.
In the vast and varied world of blogging, Brooks is far from alone.
It's no longer unusual for blogs with just a couple thousand daily readers to
earn nearly as many dollars a month. Helping fill the pockets of such bloggers
are programs like Google's AdSense and many others that let individuals not
just major publications tap into the rapidly growing pot of advertising
dollars with a click of the mouse.
In 2006, advertisers spent $16.9 billion online, up steadily each year from $6
billion in 2002, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau. In the first
half of 2007, online advertising reached nearly $10 billion, a nearly 27
percent increase over the first half of 2006.
Little technical skill is needed to publish a well-read blog, meaning just
about anyone with something worthwhile to say can find an audience, said Kim
Malone Scott, director of online sales and operations for Google's AdSense.
That's attracted greater readership and advertising dollars, she said.
According to 2006 survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 39
percent of Internet users, or about 57 million American adults, said they read
blogs, up from 27 percent in 2004, or 32 million.
That doesn't mean bloggers are suddenly flush with money. For every blogger
earning a decent side income like Brooks, countless others will never earn a
cent.
But with the right mix of compelling content and exposure, a blog can draw a
dedicated following, making advertising a low-hanging fruit.
"This is really a continuation of how the Web in general has enabled smaller
businesses and individuals to compete if not at a level playing field, at least
a more equitable level," said David Hallerman, a senior analyst with the
research group eMarketer.
Google's AdSense is an automated program that places targeted advertising on
sites big and small. Other programs such as PayPerPost are just as user
friendly; bloggers sign up and advertisers cherry pick where they want to place
ads based on categories and the number of impressions a site captures.
Getting paid might even help validate what may otherwise seem like a silly or
obscure obsession.
For Samuel Chi, BCSGuru.com started as a way to demystify the convoluted
universe of college football rankings for fellow fans.
Chi, a former sports journalist with training in statistics, posts his
calculations every Saturday night during the season before official results are
released on Sunday. Between Saturday night and Monday, about 4,000 sports fans
log on daily to check out the "guru's" forecast.
This season, Chi made about $8,000 total from the blog; ticket brokers
contacted him directly after word about his site got out. Google's AdSense
brought in another couple hundred dollars for Chi, the owner of a
bed-and-breakfast in Amelia Island, Fla.
Neither Chi or Brooks had to do much to gain a loyal readership; when it comes
to such rarefied interests, word about a good site can spread rapidly in online
communities.
"All it takes is a couple of mentions (on other sites) and hundreds of people
can be directed to your site," Chi said.
BlogAds, which helps advertisers target relevant blogs for a commission, prices
ads by the week, with sites tiered by the amount of traffic they get.
When the company started in 2002, founder Henry Copeland said it was mainly
small advertisers selling T-shirts or promoting bands. Now he said "there's no
big brand that doesn't advertise on everyday blogs."
About a third of BlogAds' 1,500 sites earn between $200 and $2,000 a month,
Copeland said. Those sites get anywhere from 3,000 to 50,000 daily impressions.
Google's Malone Scott said access to advertising online is more democratic,
since an ad click from a tiny site is just as valuable as a click from a site
with a million readers.
Some advertisers have even found better response from smaller sites with more
passionate, engaged audiences.
For ticket broker RazorGator, advertising on blogs like BCSGuru.com means
reaching a very specific audience.
"We have found that more and more sports fans are turning to blogs and smaller
fan sites to get their information so as an advertiser it makes sense to follow
your audience," spokeswoman Toni Lamb wrote in an email.
The broker has advertised on smaller blogs like Chi's for the past two years;
Lamb would not specify how many blogs it currently advertises on.
Despite rapidly rising advertising dollars online, blogs usually don't start
out as a way to make money they're more a means of speaking to an audience of
like-minded individuals. MidtownLunch.com started as a way for Brooks to
indulge his food obsession, but he soon realized his quest struck a note with a
legion of office workers.
Taking that extra step to get advertising was a no-brainer. Companies like
Random House's Broadway Books have posted ads for food books on the site, along
with the makers of independent films seeking a New York City audience.
Brooks only spends two hours at most each day on MidtownLunch.com. But the blog
affects his life in other ways. Like Chi, he's met close friends through his
site. He has also scored freelance writing assignments, and, above all, the
site has given his endless fascination with greasy foods a sense of validation.
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