How Much Traffic Do You Need to Start Advertising on Your Blog?

9How Much Traffic Do You Need to Start Advertising on Your Blog?

Traffic is a good thing... when it's related to your blog!
[This is a part of the “Getting Started with Blog Advertising” blog series.]

This is a very typical question that I’ve gotten a number of times across TentBlogger already as well as in personal emails and tweets:

How much traffic do I need to start advertising on my blog?

Just like anything else there are a number of different perspectives that are just as valid as the one that I’m going to propose but I’ve found this to be a great starting point, especially for those bloggers who are just starting out.

I’ve also used this particular strategy in many of my individual clients who I have coached as it relates to their individual blogs and businesses.

Here’s what I tell them:

Unique Visitors is NOT the same as Pageviews!
250 Unique Visitors per Day

I suggest to people that they start advertising on their blog around the point that they are averaging at least 250 unique visitors per day. What that looks like over a month’s time is approximately 7,500 unique visitors.

Here are 10 reasons why I suggest this number:

I’ve already shared that I strongly urge people to wait to advertise until they’ve established a good rhythm to their traffic and have gained the trust of their consistent audience. Review this post here for more details.
The fact that you have 250 unique visitors per day means that your content is good enough for people to keep coming back for more. Trust, on some level, has been established.
Also, this means that you more than likely are beginning to get “organic” traffic from search engines. Organic traffic nearly always converts better which most simply means that your advertising will be more effective. That’s a good thing.
With about 250 unique visitors a day you now have a firm grasp on your audience and have vetted the types of content that seems to be holding them captive. The community and culture is being cultivated and you’re doing a good job of growing it and taking care of it! Time to capitalize!
You’ve created expectation of your efforts from your readers (and the search engines). This is good.
You, at this point, have been consistent with your writing and have a good grasp on what it takes to develop content day-in and day-out. You’ve been training yourself for advertising conversions!
With nearly 7,500 unique visitors a month you are now beginning to be a very competitive player in the advertising space and are more attractive than most other new blogs out there. Remember, with 7,500 unique visitors this will most likely translate to even higher pageviews and advertisement impressions!
It appears you are committed to your blog and your craft. Advertisers can expect returns and know that you won’t bail on them.
Luck is no longer a part of your traffic equation and your Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks are not doing most of the heavy lifting for you. Your traffic is coming from the “better” sources, like RSS subscribers, email subscriptions, newsletters, trackbacks/linkbacks, and referrals.
Finally, with 250 unique visitors a day you actually have readers who will purchase your products and click your advertisements! Better than none, right? Although this is a “duh” moment, it’s time to celebrate!
These 10 reasons can help you formulate your approach as well as your timing to start advertising. If you’re not getting close to 250 unique visitors per day then you can spend the time, energy, and focus on developing great content and cultivating your community!

How Long Will It Take Me to Get to 250 Unique Visitors per Day?

Now wouldn't that be nice...
This is a great follow-up question which is generally hard to estimate, but here’s what I’ve seen historically happen when a blogger commits to their blog and “goes for it.”

If a blogger:

Commits to blogging at least 3 times a week…
Averages 250-500 words per post…
Leverages Twitter and Facebook strategically…
FocuFocuses their content (and I mean really focuses their content)…
Spends time responding to comments, generating feedback…
Cultivates their community well and with authenticity…
Locks down their brand and messaging…
And doesn’t do something ridiculously outrageous with their blogging platform (like bloating it with unnecessary 3rd party plugins, software, or uses inferior blogging system)…
… then there’s no reason why they can’t have at least 250 unique visitors by the end of the first 6 months. I’ve seen this done much faster as well as much longer as well.

If you’re not getting at least 250 unique visitors by the end of the first calendar year then there is something significantly wrong with how you’re executing on your content, strategy, and brand.

For comparison, TentBlogger has been around for less then 3 months and is already averaging nearly 500 unique visitors per day:

Traffic is so yummy.
But I also have a lot of advantages:

Established community and online following.
Years (a decade) of experience to leverage.
Advanced knowledge of SEO and content strategy.
Leveraging a premium WordPress Theme that seriously helps with traffic generation.
Succinct and focused content, brand, and messaging.
A whole lot of luck.
But even this blog’s growth is slow in comparison to a few other’s that I’ve managed and helped coach! My hope is that you can do even better (and faster)!

Every little bit matters!
What Can I Expect to Earn with 250 Uniques per Day?

This is another great follow-up question that I feel like I can adequately answer given my experience.

Assuming that you are using the 10th strategy and method as it relates to making money blogging, a blogger can potentially earn anywhere from $50 per month to $500 if they execute really well.

Naturally, there’s a lot of factors that play into what you will actually earn but if you’re not getting these types of returns with 250 unique per day then you’re either not interested in making any money blogging or you’re not executing strategically!

But, at the end of the day, you have to admit that even the low-end is a beautiful thing! A few months and you’ll easily pay for that yearly hosting cost!

Sweet!