What separates the top bloggers in the world from their peers? What skills, knowledge, and connections have helped them gain the high level of success they enjoy? This list of the richest bloggers in the world will introduce you to some of the biggest names in the blogging industry and give you an inside look at what’s worked for them over the years so that you can apply some of those ideas to your blogging efforts and maybe even join this exclusive club.
Michelle Phan
I would be remiss not to mention one of my favorite bloggers and YouTubers, Michelle Phan. Michelle was an early adopter when it came to YouTube, as she started creating tutorials in 2007 on how to use makeup. Before long, she had accumulated a massive following that made her—according to Wikipedia—the first beauty guru on YouTube. By leveraging both YouTube and her blog, Michelle has taken full advantage of all platforms possible and is now a bona fide mogul with millions upon millions of fans across social media. If there’s anyone that can teach us about making money from blogs (and putting ourselves out there for our passions), it’s Michelle! Michelle reportedly earns $350,000 per year through advertising alone. Michelle is also popular enough to have inspired her own board game, which proves that you don't need to be a blogger or vlogger or even into blogging or vlogging at all to make some serious bank from your passion project. Michelle is worth $1 million. That's right—she makes more than seven figures annually without ever leaving her home base in San Francisco. Michelle knows what she's doing when it comes to monetizing blogs. She's even got her line of cosmetics called Em Cosmetics. Michelle is proof positive that bloggers can turn their blogs into real businesses. Michelle's success story shows that if you're willing to put in the work, it doesn't matter where you live or who your audience is. Anyone can become a top blogger in the world by working hard and building up an audience.
Natalie MacNeil
This Canadian blogger came into my radar back in 2008. With over 6 million blog posts and 15 best-selling books under her belt, MacNeil’s claim to fame is on how she rebranded herself from Natalie MacDonald to Natalie MacNeil. She started as a personal finance blogger, though over time has become a health expert, fitness specialist, and travel blogger.
So how did she do it?
Well, according to an interview with Forbes Magazine, she attributes her success to focus. She says that when you are working towards your goals and dreams you should have one focal point.
For example, if you want to be a blogger then focus on blogging; if you want to be an entrepreneur then focus on your business. If you try too many things at once (like blogging AND entrepreneurship) then neither will work because they will both require your attention. So what does all of that mean for bloggers who want to get rich? Just blog! Focus on blogging and writing good content. Don't worry about making money right away or even getting famous. That comes later. Just focus on providing value to people through your writing and eventually you'll reap the rewards!
Nicky Case
The case is one of many bloggers who started a blog to document his life and has used it to create a successful business. The case is a software engineer from San Francisco, CA, with an MBA from MIT. He writes about topics such as statistics, Web development, work ethics, and reviews technology for fun. He decided he wanted to write about all those things and start blogging after a traffic incident in 2009 that caused him to become severely depressed. He started blogging as a creative outlet but quickly grew passionate about it because of what he was learning along the way and soon realized he wanted to make money off his blog too. To do so, he set up an online store where people could buy his t-shirts and stickers. After launching several products on Zazzle (an online merchandise company), Case said people began contacting him asking if they could sponsor some of his blog posts or get their products featured on his site. He also got approached by advertising companies wanting to place ads on his blog pages. Today, he makes over $10,000 per month from various sources including banner ads, product sponsorships, and affiliate marketing through Amazon Associates. His blog has grown into a full-time job, allowing him to quit his day job at Google and focus solely on blogging.
Here's his best advice for new bloggers: Make sure you have something valuable to say, he says. Don't worry about getting tons of readers right away.
He suggests starting out writing content that only your friends would be interested in reading and building from there once you've established yourself as an authority in your niche. Also, try to network with other bloggers and make connections as oftentimes these can lead to more opportunities. Case says that having mentors will help you learn more about blogging faster than trying to figure everything out on your own. I think one of my biggest advantages has been being mentored by other bloggers, he says. You should try to surround yourself with smart people.
Overall, his best piece of advice is don't give up! Keep going even when you feel like giving up because persistence pays off in blogging just like anything else. Keep working hard and good things will happen, he says. It's hard work, but you'll feel good about it when you look back. Lastly, Case doesn't spend much time thinking about monetizing his blog because he enjoys blogging for its own sake rather than for profit. Instead, he encourages new bloggers to just focus on producing quality content and build their audience from there. Once your blog has an audience and reputation behind it then monetization becomes easier because advertisers are more willing to pay attention to your blog as well, he says. However, if making money is important to you then definitely take advantage of every opportunity available—whether that means sponsored posts or selling physical products via sites like Etsy—because every little bit helps!
Pat Flynn
From a financial perspective, Flynn’s blog is impressive. He started blogging for Side Hustle Nation in August 2012 and has since quit his full-time job to blog full-time. On top of that, he earns an additional income through affiliate links. Based on his published numbers, Flynn earned $50,000 in 2014 before taxes and grew that to $110,000 by 2015. He makes money from both his digital products as well as book sales with Choose Yourself Press—his first one hit #6 on Amazon’s top 100 books list and #1 on the Business & Investing bestseller list within a few days of its release date.
According to Forbes, Pat Flynn’s blog brought in around $200,000 last year. For 2016, it’s projected to bring in at least twice that amount. All told, Pat Flynn has made about $400,000 blogging over three years. That might not seem like much compared to some other bloggers on our list, but keep in mind how quickly he got there and how young he still is (he just turned 31). It should also be noted that Pat hasn't taken any outside funding or debt whatsoever—he bootstrapped his way here using only revenue generated from blog traffic and product sales. Pat's growth strategy is simple: write helpful content that readers find useful. This means focusing on topics such as productivity, getting better sleep, improving your finances, and more. His blog isn't filled with ads either—instead Pat relies solely on affiliates and direct advertising deals to make money. Pat's side hustle has grown into a business worth millions of dollars in less than four years; if you're looking for inspiration, look no further than Pat Flynn's story.
Joy Cho
With her blog Oh Joy!, Joy Cho is a self-made woman. Cho first began as a lifestyle and wedding photographer before she decided to take her talents online. Since then, Cho has managed to parlay her web design prowess into a successful career in blogging and web design. By blogging full-time, Cho has generated over $300,000 in revenue through affiliate links on Oh Joy! Her passion project will be featured at MoMA in New York later next year - making her one of only five bloggers with work on display there. To say that Joy Cho is killing it would be an understatement. Her blog brings joy to all those who visit it, whether you're a designer or not. But more importantly, Cho's blog shows just how powerful blogging can be when done right.
Joy herself had these words to share: I'm passionate about blogging because I feel like people need to have their voice out there, she said. We've seen so many instances where women were being told what they should look like and how they should act by certain corporations.
Today, Joy Cho continues her mission to inspire other female bloggers across the globe by running a successful business of her own. Through social media outlets such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (to name a few), Joy spreads joy around every corner of the world - from Asia to Africa. Joy herself is doing something right, which is why we wanted to know exactly how she did it.
Nadine Sykora
Sykora blogs about natural beauty and skincare. She started blogging in 2006 after she found she wasn't happy with her job. Her blog quickly caught on, thanks to her charm and bubbly personality. In 2010, Sykora launched Kjaer Weis Beauty, which has a full range of products including lipstick, eyeshadow palettes, and lipsticks; she's since become known as one of New York City's most influential beauty bloggers. Though Sykora hasn't released any numbers regarding how much money she makes from blogging, it's rumored that she earns around $1 million annually from advertisements alone. To put things into perspective, Forbes ranked Sykora number 8 out of their list of Top 10 Bloggers Earning More Than $100K A Year, beating out big names like Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart. It is estimated that she is worth $15 million. It seems Sykora's blog paid off!
Mark Cuban
Cuban was a bartender at Sambuca, one of Dallas’ hot spots, when he started blogging. He used to post pictures of his friends having fun and figured that he would attract other people who wanted to do what they were doing. And it worked, Cuban said. I started getting traffic immediately. From there, he took his blog and turned it into a business that led him to be dubbed one of The Top 10 Bloggers in the World by Forbes Magazine in 2011. That same year, he told Forbes Magazine that he has an audience of about 2 million each month on his blog alone and his website attracts about 3 million monthly visitors. With those kinds of numbers, you can see why Mark Cuban is considered one of The Top Bloggers in the World. He also owns Landmark Theatres, Magnolia Pictures, and HDNet Movies. As for how much money he makes blogging, well, let's just say that if you had invested $1 in Mark Cuban's blog back in 2005 when he first started blogging full-time (Cuban made $3.7 million from Blogging last year), your investment would have been worth $972 today. Blogging pays!
Chalene Johnson
Johnson's journey to blogging riches started in her early 20s. While a university student, she began selling workbooks and online quizzes for business students. Johnson parlayed that success into a full-time gig selling stock photography through iStockphoto before moving on to found Problogger in 2004, which would become one of the top blogs in the world with thousands of subscribers paying $79 annually to get tips from top bloggers including Chris Brogan and Brian Clark. As part of her launch plan, Johnson managed to secure a meeting with Google co-founder Larry Page - who turned out to be one of her biggest fans - as well as General Motors executives who also paid attention to what was being said on social media. They were so blown away by what I had accomplished, says Johnson. They asked me how I did it. She told them about blogging, which led to an opportunity to write a book about blogging that became one of Amazon's top sellers within weeks of its release in 2010.
Today, Johnson has a net worth estimated at more than $4 million thanks largely to her blog, which still generates enough revenue for her not only to cover living expenses but also to donate money each year to charitable causes like Pencils of Promise (Johnson was named an ambassador) and support other bloggers via Patreon. Her total annual income is estimated at between $600,000 and $1 million.
Gary Vaynerchuk
He started Wine Library TV, which he grew into a wine blog phenomenon. He also wrote an e-book called Crush It!, which serves as a guide for bloggers looking to start their own business. His website and many of his blogs are now on Seeking Alpha. Forbes estimated his 2010 income at $6 million (nearly double that of 2009), placing him number 81 in its list of top-earning celebrities, right between Lebron James and Eli Manning. Vaynerchuk is famous for his attention to social media; his highly active Twitter account has just over 800,000 followers—more than Jay Z or Barack Obama!
By comparison, The New York Times’ most popular blogger gets about half that many readers. According to Vaynerchuk's latest book, #AskGaryVee, if you want to make it big in blogging you have to be willing to take risks and push boundaries. If you do things that other people tell you not to do – like publishing six videos per week instead of two – then there’s a good chance your blog will become popular too.
For example, one time Gary decided not only to buy every ad space on his blog but also every ad space on everyone else’s blogs so they couldn't advertise there either... Yes, really! After Gary bought all those ads, traffic spiked by 1,300%. Now that’s some serious blogging power! I think sometimes people mistake a willingness to risk with recklessness, Gary says. To start a business, you need courage. That doesn't mean you're going to succeed but it does mean you're going to get knocked down along the way. One thing we can learn from Gary is how important networking is when building up your blog network – whether through using sites like Meetup or simply by making friends with bloggers who can help promote each other's content on their blogs. Gary was able to grow his blog because he was doing what he loved, sharing knowledge with others who were interested in learning more about wine. Gary had no idea that blogging would turn out to be such a lucrative career choice for him but it did and today Gary is considered one of the richest bloggers in America.