The Power of the Mid-Tier Blogger

It's difficult to say just how many blogs are out there—mostly because new ones crop up each day. According to Wordpress, a popular publishing tool, 58.6 million posts are published each month on the platform, while 409 million people view more than 22.6 billion pages each month. Recent data from Tumblr shows that it now hosts 275.9 million blogs.

Basically, the blogosphere is massive—and it's growing very fast. We often hear about the ones at the top—A-list bloggers like Chiara Ferragni and BryanBoy—but what about those somewhere in the middle? Increasingly, it's the Vanessa Lamberts, those with solid followings but a lower profile, who are making an impact on the industry and cashing in in a major way.

"If you have a social following of 50,000 and your content is great and your readership is loyal, I would say you could easily make $50,000 in your first year," said Lambert, who declined to disclose how much she currently made from her blog. Heidi Nazarudin, the blogger behind The Ambitionista and founder of blogger network BloggerBabes, seconded this: "When I was mid-tier, I would say I was making about $50,000 a year." Nazarudin is now ranked #198 on Fohr Card and rakes in upwards of six figures each year.

According to multiple sources, mid-tier bloggers can charge up to $2,500 for one blog post, plus corresponding social media conversation. The average fee, however, probably ranges closer to between $400 and $1000, depending on the breadth, scope and content. Even those with just 10,000 followers can find ways to monetize.

"We try not to let bloggers take less than $200 per post, even if they're small," said Nazarudin, whose BloggerBabes network helps broker deals between brands and bloggers.

Two hundred dollars might not sound like a lot, but if a blogger is publishing two to three sponsored posts a week, as many are, even on the low-end of the spectrum, it can quickly add up. And certainly, there is no shortage of opportunities for motivated bloggers to partner with brands.

Source: The Power of the Mid-Tier Blogger