Why Turning Pro-Blogger In January Is A Bad Idea
posted Jan 18, 2008 at 12:00:00 PM by Doug Gibson.
As mentioned previously, I have been looking for short term contract and freelance work since being laid off. I have aspirations of becoming a "pro blogger" one day, or at least to supplement my freelance income with a decent blogging income. However, seeing the sad state of online advertising in January, I've decided to pour 90% of my efforts into looking for freelance work.
The seasonal aspect of online advertising is something I've always kept in the back of my mind with respect to when I could potentially attempt to do blogging full time. For anyone out there with similar thoughts, I don't recommend quitting your job in January to become a pro blogger!
In general, advertising revenues are a bit low at the start of each quarter and require some ramp-up time. However, at the start of the new year, which is also after the advertisers' big holiday spend, online advertising is horrific. Ad networks' fill rates are low and CPMs are roughly cut in half or worse. It is normal for things to not start ramping up until mid-February, and even then the CPMs and fill rate - and therefore overall earnings - may be a bit "off" until well into Q2.
So when is the best time to turn pro blogger? It really depends on the type of site(s) you run. Like advertising, many niches have seasonal trends as well. Looking at the advertising trends alone, and assuming you have an existing blog or three, I would advocate watching your earnings trends through April and May and if all looks well, consider making the jump in June. The more preparation and traffic building you can do leading up to that point, the better. I would not make the jump any later than October, however, because then your window for building traffic before the holiday season is over is very small and you'll be facing the the first quarter draught of the next year very soon afterwards.
What the earnings threshold is for an individual to feel comfortable leaving his or her day job to go pro blogger is another question entirely.
