Image via CrunchBase

Yes, some blogs are profitable – very profitable.

Some are not only profitable,  they have actually helped created a relaible revenue stream for other women through blogging, for which AdvancingWomen.com applauds them.

In a major slice of good news for women on the Internet/blogging scene, Lisa Stone co-founded and took on the position of CEO of BlogHer, an online blogging community for women, with more than 13,000 members and 10,000 blogs on their blog list, reaching more than eight million women each month via their community hub at BlogHer and their  publishing syndicate of more than 1,500 blogs . Stone , who appears to be somewhat of a super star in the world of blogging, had previously helped launch three sponsored blogging networks: American Lawyer Media| Law.com’s legal blog network (2004), followed by Knight Ridder Digital’s Thatsracin.com (2005), and, one she recommended as a consultant, Glam Media (2005). Also, as  executive producer and Editor in Chief/VP, Programming for Women.com (acquired by iVillage in 2001), she launched an 18-channel network and helped grow it to a Top 30 site.  So, it probably should come as no great surprise that Stone figured out a way for women to actually make money with their blogs.  She and her partners created a successful commercial enterprise via BlogHer’s Ad Network, where BlogHer works with bloggers to provide quality sponsors and advertisers with an opportunity to support communities of women online, and women who blog with an opportunity to pay themselves. More about that here.

Lisa Stone co-founder and CEO of BlogHer

Others have gotten into the blog advertising game as well.  One reason is that with the low operating expenses of blogs, many are able to self-sustain through advertising and not be forced to sell off little chunks of themselves, at least in the beginning, to venture capitalists for funding. “Federated Media Publishing, the brainchild of former Industry Standard Publisher John Battelle, operates as a sort of uberblog, selling advertising and carrying out business functions for a stable of 130 independent blogs and related online media.

The emerging business model is to start by selling advertising and build from there with events, subscriptions or product sales. And with audiences growing at double- or triple-digit rates, ad prices are soaring for top blogs.

“Since  2005, when Silicon Valley entrepreneur Michael Arrington started TechCrunch, his popular blog on Internet startups as a labor of love, it has grown  to  a full-time staff of eight with a  CEO, 1.25 million visitors and $240,000 per month in advertising revenues, not including additional revenue from conferences and parties.”

AdvancingWomen.com would call that pretty profitable.

“When we started selling advertising in this space late in 2005, it was very experimental and risky. We were able to get maybe $4 or $5″ per 1,000 page views, Battelle, said. “For the same impressions we were selling then, we are now on average $20 to $30.”

On the other side of the coin, blogging businesses can make money because their overhead is low. “It’s dirt cheap to operate, which makes break-even incredibly achievable,” said  Jon Callaghan a partner with True Ventures, a Palo Alto venture capital firm that has invested in Om Malik’s technology news blog GigaOm.

Right now, it’s rare for even the most successful blogging operations to employ more than a dozen full-time staff members. Computer power and bandwidth get cheaper all the time. And a headquarters is not essential.

“There are no offices. It’s all virtual,” Daily Kos‘ Markos Moulitsas said about his site .

One success story

TechCrunch illustrates the new blogging math. It sells sponsorships that allow advertisers to display on the home page at $10,000 per month. It also uses Federated Media to sell display ads, keeping 60 percent of the revenue. And it charges $200 to list in its Cool Jobs section, getting about five or six want ads per day. Parties and conferences add another income source. Last month, TechCrunch organized a two-day event at the Palace Hotel that gave 40 startups a platform to tout their wares.

And, as far as spending goes, “our costs are only headcount,” Arrington said.

As blogs mature and start producing good cash flow, they often create additional blogs or new sites, forming networks with multiple products and a common brand identity. For example, GigaOm now offers four additional blogs, all with a common brand, and its staff has grown to 10 full-time employees.

“You’re seeing small media groups being created,” said Paul Walborsky, GigaOm‘s  chief operating officer. “This is the next evolution.”

If what you want is the nitty, gritty facts of the stats and trends today in blogging, read the report below, or go to Technorati for the full report:

Technorati: State of the Blogosphere 2008.

• Introduction
• Day 1: Who Are the Bloggers?
• Day 2: The What And Why of Blogging
• Day 3: The How of Blogging
• Day 4: Blogging For Profit
• Day 5: Brands Enter The Blogosphere

All Blogs Are Not Created Equal

Take a quick journey into the size of the Blogosphere

Blogging is…

• A truly global phenomenon: Technorati tracked blogs in 81 languages in June 2008, and bloggers responded to our survey from 66 countries across six continents.
• Here to stay: Bloggers have been at it an average of three years and are collectively creating close to one million posts every day. Blogs have representation in top-10 web site lists across all key categories, and have become integral to the media ecosystem.

Bloggers are…

• Not a homogenous group: Personal, professional, and corporate bloggers all have differing goals and cover an average of five topics within each blog.
• Savvy and sophisticated: On average, bloggers use five different techniques to drive traffic to their blog. They’re using an average of seven publishing tools on their blog and four distinct metrics for measuring success.
• Intensifying their efforts based on positive feedback: Blogging is having an incredibly positive impact on their lives, with bloggers receiving speaking or publishing opportunities, career advancement, and personal satisfaction.

Blogs are Profitable

The majority of bloggers we surveyed currently have advertising on their blogs. Among those with advertising, the mean annual investment in their blog is $1,800, but it’s paying off. The mean annual revenue is $6,000 with $75K+ in revenue for those with 100,000 or more unique visitors per month. Note: median investment and revenue (which is listed below) is significantly lower. They are also earning CPMs on par with large publishers.

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