Lifestyle and personal blogs are just two of many different types of blogs that you can find on the internet. They can be a creative outlet for the writer but also a means of making money. This leads us to the question of whether one is more profitable than the other. I’ve done some research to find out.
Lifestyle blogs are generally more profitable than personal blogs. This is because they have a wider target audience, and the content is considered more valuable by search engines and readers. Lifestyle blogs will attract more traffic, providing more opportunities for monetization.
This is an overview of why lifestyle blogs are more profitable than personal blogs, but I will explore these in more detail below. To support this, I have also included some popular blogs in these styles and their corresponding revenue.
Lifestyle vs Personal Blogs
➼ Definitions and Purpose
Before we dive into which is more profitable and why – I’ll explain the difference between lifestyle and personal blogs.
- Lifestyle Blogs
Lifestyle blogs demonstrate a way of living. They focus on particular activities and interests and are usually very visual. There could be a variety of topics covered, but it always relates to an overarching theme.
Its purpose is to share that particular lifestyle with people, giving facts, opening up discussion, and sharing ideas that they can follow. Articles focus on the reader, not the writer.
One example would be someone living on a Keto diet. They may post articles about a mixture of topics such as the food, culture, and science behind their diet. The articles bring inspiration and information to others interested in a Keto lifestyle.
- Personal Blog
A personal blog, on the other hand, is more like a diary, documenting the life and experiences of the writer. The purpose is to tell stories that will allow the readers to connect with how the writer is feeling. It can also serve as an outlet for the writer. The focus is therefore on the writer more than the reader.
To use the previous example, someone writing a personal blog while on a Keto diet will document their day-to-day activities, talking about how the diet is affecting them and making them feel.
Lifestyle blogs can also include stories, but these stories are short and complement the main article. They engage the readers but are not the focus of the blog.
➼ Monetization of the Two Blogging Styles
There are multiple ways a lifestyle or personal blog can make money. The methods are generally the same but maybe tailored differently for each style.
• Advertisements
Hosting advertisements is a common way of monetizing a blog.
Any blog can apply for an advertising network to display ads on their website. The ad network will then pay the owner of the blog based on how much traffic they have on their website, measured by the number of page views.
However, each company will have different minimum requirements to qualify for their service. Ad networks that are harder to qualify for will pay you more for your page views but will require a higher number of page views per month.
Here are some of the common advertising networks and their minimum page view requirements:
- AdSense – no minimum page views required
- Ezoic – recommends 10,000 page views per month
- Mediavine – requires 50,000 sessions per month
- AdThrive – requires 100,000 page views per month
Both lifestyle and personal blogs are capable of making money through advertising, provided they meet the minimum requirements for the page views.
However, lifestyle blogs generally attract more traffic than personal blogs, but I will explain this in more detail later. Because personal blogs have fewer page views, they cannot qualify for higher-paying advertising networks, and therefore earn less money per page view on their website.
• Affiliate Links
Affiliate links refer to the links in a blog that direct readers to buy a product from an affiliate company.
For example, on a blog about caravans, there may be links to a website that sells caravan accessories.
For a lifestyle blog, the products will relate to the interests of the readers, and therefore people are more likely to click on affiliate links. The reader will consider the products based on the information you give, not your opinion, because they are practical.
For a personal blog, the products will vary and will not necessarily relate to the interests of the reader. Therefore readers will be less likely to click on affiliate links.
They will be buying products based on your opinion, which means you need to have gained their trust and respect. This is usually only the case for long-term subscribers.
• Selling Your Own Products
Your own products can include books, manuals, magazines, shirts, mugs, etc. The writers of both a lifestyle blog and a personal blog will need to gain the trust of the readers to sell their own products.
Just like affiliate links, products on a lifestyle blog will appeal to a wider audience because of common interests. But there will also be more competition for the product. Someone else with a lifestyle blog about the same topic could have a similar product.
For example, the writer of a home décor blog might write an ultimate guide to simplify your living space, but there might be another home décor blog with an e-book about de-cluttering your living room. They might be different books, but they solve a similar problem.
For a personal blog, you will not have the same competition because your story is unique. But it is less likely that your story will appeal to the masses – unless you are a high-profile individual. Therefore, selling your products on a personal blog is a lot harder than on a lifestyle blog.
• Sponsorship
Whether you reach out to a company or a company reaches out to you, another way of making money is writing sponsored blog posts. This means a company will pay you to write a post that promotes their product.
This can apply to both styles of blogging, but it’s whether you can get someone to sponsor your blog that makes a difference.
Most companies will want to see how much traffic you have on your website to ensure that they are investing in a popular website. If your website is popular, there is more chance that their product will sell if you promote it.
So once again, more traffic brings in the possibility of making more money.
• Guest Appearances
Some popular writers may be asked to make a guest appearance on other blogs or other platforms. If this is the case, the host will either pay you to make an appearance, or you will at least have some exposure to increase the traffic to your website.
For this to be effective, you would have to be an expert in your field or live an extraordinary life. You would need to stand out from the crowd for anyone to want you on their website, podcast, or show.
It can be difficult for both a lifestyle and a personal blog. However, it is easier to learn more about your chosen topic for a lifestyle blog (and therefore become an expert) than it is to make your life extraordinary for a personal blog.
➼ The Importance of Traffic
As I mentioned earlier, traffic is the key to making money on a website. Advertising networks will pay you more. There is a higher chance of someone clicking on an affiliate link or buying your products, you are more likely to attract sponsors, and you have a higher chance of making guest appearances for others.
It is harder to increase traffic to a personal blog because it is very unlikely that someone will find the blog through a search query. In other words, no one will be looking for your blog unless you direct them there through marketing.
Unfortunately, marketing takes time, energy, and sometimes money. There also has to be something to market. If you are marketing a personal blog, you will need to be a high-profile person or live an extraordinary life for people to be interested.
This is where search engine optimization (SEO) can help. This is an effective strategy for increasing traffic to your website. You are attracting people who don’t know anything about the website but have a search query that you can answer. SEO helps your website reach the first page of Google when someone searches for that answer.
For this reason, SEO is not easy, if at all possible, on a personal blog. There are no direct questions that someone will be asking that your personal story can answer for them.
There are some exceptions, such as someone looking for other people going through a similar experience. But even then, Google will prioritize websites that give information on that experience, not opinions and stories.
On the other hand, SEO can be very effective for a lifestyle blog. The content in this style of blogging is very helpful to the target audience, and this is exactly what Google is looking for when ranking websites.
If the content is helpful and answers a specific search query, your website has a high chance of making it to the first page of a Google search (or any other search engine).
This does not mean that a personal blog cannot have more traffic than a lifestyle blog. It simply means that it will take a lot more time and effort, and because of that, it will be harder to make money. That is why lifestyle blogs are a much more popular option for bloggers.
In this video you will see that website traffic is very important for any blogger.
➼ The Value of the Content
The value of the content not only affects how Google perceives your blog, but also the readers’ opinion. People want to get something out of reading your articles, whether it’s information, entertainment, or making a connection with someone.
To generalize the different styles, a lifestyle blog will post informative articles whereas a personal blog will have articles that are either entertaining or allow the reader to connect on an emotional level.
For a personal blog, your life story might not hold much value to the general public. It needs to be something that is worth the time of the reader. There are many other places people can go to find entertainment or a sense of connection.
However, a lifestyle blog will have content that is considered valuable by many readers as well as Google. The articles will be informative and provide answers and inspiration for the reader.
Blogs are also commonplace for people to find information because of how easy it is to access.
Because of the perceived value of their content, lifestyle blogs will naturally cater to the masses and increase their potential to generate income.
➼ Profitable Blogs in these Styles
So far, I have been explaining why lifestyle blogs are more profitable than personal blogs. Now I will show you some real-life examples.
Below are popular examples of lifestyle blogs and their revenue:
- Barefoot Blonde: $14 million
- Hello Giggles: $14 million
- Vulcan Post: $5 million
- Sincerely Jules: $4 million
- The Sartorialist: $4 million
- Cup of Jo: $1 million
These are just some of many lifestyle blogs earning millions of dollars each year.
Personal blogs, on the other hand, are not as popular and therefore harder to find. You will more often see personal blogs integrated into other blog styles, such as lifestyle blogs.
Grok Nation is one example of this. This blog features articles that focus on the author Mayim Bialik, but also articles that touch on various topics that appeal to the reader, such as culture and faith.
It is hard to find a stand-alone personal blog because people are recognizing that personal blogs are not as profitable as the other styles. They may be good as a personal outlet, but only high-profile bloggers will attract enough traffic to earn a decent income this way.
➼ Expanding the Blog: Podcasts and Videos
It’s not uncommon for a website to branch out with other types of media, such as podcasts or videos. This is a way of increasing your exposure to the website, gaining more traffic, and making more money.
Personal blogs may be dying out, but the concept has not. Now vlogs have become a popular outlet for people sharing their stories and experiences. This is known as ‘vlogging’ and can be done through a variety of platforms, such as Youtube or Twitch.
A great example of this is Logan Paul’s video blog on Youtube, where he documents himself and his controversial antics. This YouTube vlog attracts viewers because of the unique and shocking nature of the content. He leads an interesting life and therefore earns over $20 million in revenue from monetizing his vlog.
However, this is an area where lifestyle blogs will also thrive. Particularly considering lifestyle blogs are quite visual, to begin with. A lifestyle blog attracts viewers or listeners to an associated vlog or podcast for the same reason that they are attracted to the blog. The content covers a variety of topics and appeals to a wide range of people.
➼ The Niche of the Blog
Finally, the main topic of a blog is known as its niche. This is a topic that appeals to a particular target group. For example, travel or parenting.
A blog’s niche is important because a successful niche will target a large enough audience to attract traffic to the website, but will also have little competition.
If you choose a popular niche, such as fashion, you will have a huge target audience but also lots of competition. Therefore you will struggle to make it onto the first page of Google and will be sharing the target audience with many other websites.
If you choose a niche that has a smaller target audience but is still popular, you have a good chance of rising to the top of Google and attracting most of the traffic for that niche.
For example, camping in the wilderness is a niche that is not incredibly popular but will still attract enough traffic to be profitable.
This is a great disadvantage for personal blogs. Emotions and experiences don’t necessarily make a great niche, and you can’t choose what your niche is.
To put this in perspective, Logan Paul is popular because his personality attracts viewers. However, he was born with that personality, and those with a different personality can’t replicate that niche.
Lifestyle blogs, on the other hand, can be any niche. If your current lifestyle does not have a niche that you think will attract many readers, you can adopt a new hobby to open up more possibilities.
Therefore, being able to choose your niche, as with a lifestyle blog, will increase your chances of attracting more traffic to your blog and generate an income.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, lifestyle blogs are more profitable than personal blogs. Personal blogs can still be profitable, but generally, lifestyle blogs are much more popular with higher volumes of traffic.
If you are considering starting a blog, I would recommend a lifestyle blog. You can still document stories about your life along the way to keep the readers engaged but will have a wider variety of options and a higher chance of earning a decent income.
I hope you have found this article helpful in understanding the differences in profitability between personal and lifestyle blogs.
What are your goals and how much would you like to earn from your blog in a few years? Please share in the comments below.
May you Prosper Concerning all Things!
Haly
I have a website through Wix but really haven’t done that much with it…still looking for a pitch on creative nd interesting ideas. My goals are to be a designer… I love decorating nd doing things in my home nd I’m also beginning to play around with my sewing machine…but I loved your article… it was very helpful .