This is probably a question that just about every teacher has asked at some point.
So…do teachers make good money blogging? The quick answer is that they can. But there are a lot more issues in play which makes this a complicated answer…in a way. This article will address some of those issues and give you some solid solutions.
I have researched it and am now on the journey (or roller coaster would be a more appropriate term!) of running a teachers blog. I would like to answer for you the challenges and benefits of starting and maintaining a teachers’ blog and how to make it the most profitable that it can be.
The truth is that teachers do make good money blogging when they follow time-tested strategies to get their valuable information out to the world.
So grab your cup of coffee or other preferred drink and settle in. Hopefully you will find some great inspiration here!
Table of Contents
Why Should Teachers Blog Anyway?
Teachers have a huge amount of information to share with the world. Every classroom runs differently because the teacher is the driving force behind the functionality of the classroom. And almost every teacher, new or seasoned, gets stuck on some classroom issue. They find themselves looking on Google for some advice on how to handle their problem effectively and solve it.
Or sometimes, they are just looking for some support and camaraderie. They want to know that what they are doing in the classroom is best.
This is why teachers should blog. Most if not all teachers have a story to tell. Actually they have tons of stories to tell!
And they have great advice to give on how they conquered whatever big issues they have faced. Adding the human experience to difficult issues is a great way to encourage others along the way. Their struggles, while exclusively theirs, are not exclusive. And others who have walked their path can help them along their journey.
That is the power of blogging!
Some of the Drawbacks to Blogging
There are drawbacks to everything in life, and blogging is no different. But anything worth doing is worth addressing those drawbacks and getting through them successfully. So while there are definitely some drawbacks, there are none that make it impossible for teachers to make good money blogging.
Let’s take a look at some of the major ones and see how we can work around them.
Most People Aren’t Making Very Much Money
Actually, when you look at the statistics, it looks kind of bleak. But then you just need to think about the fact that the vast majority of bloggers are hobbyists, so it weighs pretty heavy in the statistics results.
Here is a graph with the details:
Another thing that this survey did not specify was how old the blogs were that were surveyed. Blogs under two years old generally do not make money.
What this survey does show, however, is that those who are willing to stay the course and navigate the blog world well will find success. And honestly, once you figure out how it all works, the process is easily repeatable.
I could not find a study on blog profits for those that were using blogging as full time income or how many hours weekly it would take to achieve a full time income.
I do know that there are a lot of teachers out there that do make good money blogging because they have been doing it for more than two years or because they have a product to add to their website that has worked really well with their classroom. Because they have the experience with that product, they are able to quickly turn a profit upon sharing the product and how it helped them in their teacher life.
There Just Aren’t Enough Hours in a Day
This is certainly a big issue with teachers. Between class planning, being in school, extracurricular activities, grading papers, and then home life and family, there really is not much free time left. If any.
And honestly, how many of us in general have a bunch of free time?
Everybody is super busy. And everybody needs to make sacrifices already to fit everything they already have in their day. So while this article is targeted at teachers, it is totally relevant to everybody else who is looking to start a blog while still maintaining their regular work and personal life.
So this will be a huge sacrifice of time as well. But maybe the ROI is big enough here that it just may be worth it. And what you may find that in the long run, more time is saved by investing the time now.
There will certainly be some shifting around of things to make everything that needs to be done fit. But right now, easy is not going to be the theme.
As a small bonus, I will say here that getting as much rest as you can and self care will be critical. It can be a bumpy ride. Taking good care of yourself will be critical to maintaining a positive outlook and your health.
And the teachers that do make good money blogging are the ones that have figured out how to block out their time in the most efficient way. It sounds pretty impossible. But they did it!
It Takes Time: The Big Picture
Another drawback to the ability of teachers to make money blogging is that it takes time to build a website/blog. The writing must be top notch and then Google must discover your blog in order to get it out.
Being on the first page of Google is critical to being seen by enough people to make your blog profitable. This is also very doable if you follow the protocol that Google requires. The only problem with that is that Google constantly changes its criteria–and they don’t publicize it. So nobody knows exactly what the criteria are. But we do generally know what Google is looking for, which is excellent content, knowledge, and authority in your field.
While it is possible to rank well with Google on a regular basis, it takes on average 8 months for Google to evaluate the effectiveness and authority of your posts. So generally, while you are waiting for this to happen, you continue to add good content.
Speeding Up the Process
A great way to speed up this process is to network yourself so you aren’t waiting for Google to place you.
There are a few ways you can do this. Of course, social media is at the top of the list. If you do happen to have friends and family that are interested in your field, then you have a good start.
You can also join groups in your field and network with them, but not in a spammy way. People will pick it up quickly if you are not being genuine and authentic. The point is that you have quality information to share, not that you are trying to make money off of your contacts.
Pinterest is also very valuable, especially if you are in a field that values visuals. Making pins that enhance the ideas or items that you are promoting can be one of the biggest helps in getting your blog established.
Honestly, I think that the majority of teachers that do make good money blogging use Pinterest to jump start their blog because it is such a teacher friendly forum. And that is a wonderful place to start, especially because most teachers are already on there for their teaching resources.
There’s so Much Competition
On the surface it looks like there are so many blogs that there is nothing left for you to write about.
But how many times have you googled something and didn’t find exactly the answer you were looking for? Every time that happens is a potential for someone to fill that gap to solve your problem. And there are still so so many of those gaps to fill. That is good news for you. There is still plenty of room for excellent content!
Building a Website is Hard
So this point is just plain true no matter how you cut it. There is a huge amount of work involved.
It is pretty easy to start a blog. And it is pretty easy to add to it in regularly scheduled, bite-sized content that you add.
But it takes a whole lot of those bite-sized chunks to equal an authoritative site.
What Exactly is Hard?
So while I say that it is hard, what I really mean is having the drive and keeping your dream alive long enough to get through the desert is what is really hard. Keeping your motivation alive when it seems like you are not getting anywhere is hard. And that is why so many bloggers are in the under $10 category (not counting the hobbyists, who are not blogging for income).
For teachers, this goes back to the time problem. And what that comes down to is scheduling 1-2 hours in the evenings, which for me looked more like late night, as in 12-2 am.
And that is hard. I get it. But getting to the other end of that and seeing results is more rewarding than I can tell you. And upon getting to that point, I can say that maintaining a profitable website is waaaay less time consuming than trying to establish a new site.
Decoding Google is Even Harder
I already shared about some of the difficulty of Google in one of the points above.
And while it is true that decoding Google is really hard, there are others who have done that work for you and can show you how to create content in your field or niche that will rank consistently well on Google.
I had been writing good content for a couple of years, but nothing was really getting Google’s attention. I had a total of 10 keywords that were ranking at all according to Google Analytics. And those were not ranking anywhere near page one.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to tweak my content and then watch a brand new article hit page one of Google within its first two weeks. It was at that point that I realized it was a process that I could learn and could master. And then to see my keywords go from 10 to over 70 the following month.
So even though we can’t go order a manual for step by step instructions for Google, we can get a manual that explains the general processes that Google does like.
Making Blogging Work For You
Even if you are a teacher and have no apparent disposable time, it is possible to make blogging work for you.
Here are some suggestions to find more time:
- Don’t turn on the tv.
- Try to avoid scrolling down social media more than necessary.
- Watch your Youtube or other online time-suckers.
- Schedule in your website time so it isn’t something you are just doing when you aren’t doing anything else.
- Get more sleep–it will give you more energy and clarity to work more productively.
- Keep a checklist so you can see what you are accomplishing.
- Multitask certain things. Example: you can be recording a blog post with Google Docs voice while on your daily walk.
- Batch your content. Then you don’t have to reorganize and restart multiple times.
- Summer vacation!!!
If you combine it with something that you already do, it is easy to add it to your life. You are already functioning in that capacity, so now you can write and report on it. It is definitely easier than trying to learn something new to blog about.
And finally, blogging will not work for you if you do not love what you are blogging about. It will become tedious and mundane. And you will start hating every minute of it. So if you do anything, make sure that you are blogging about something that truly interests you and keeps your thoughts positive.
One of the biggest reasons teachers make good money blogging is because they love being teachers and have so much that they would love to share. Finding an audience that would love to hear how they are managing in their world is amazing for both the giver and the receiver.
This does not mean that a bad day in your field means to scrap everything. We all have bad days, weeks, and sometimes even more. If you need to take a break and come back refreshed, it could make things better in the long run. Too bad we can’t always do that in our teaching jobs, lol.
Finding the Right Support
Find a group of people who blog either for a living or at least part time for money. You can even work with a group of hobbyists just to see how they got established, especially if you are early in your process of becoming a blogger.
Don’t get bogged down in the myriad internet articles and sites that promise you the world. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of hours of time I lost going down rabbit trails of people promising me that I would be making $10,000+ by the end of my first month blogging. Don’t believe it!
There is plenty of honest support out there. And the more they talk the more you can see whether they are being sincere or just trying to get you to pay for their course.
That being said, you do need support of some kind. It took most full-time bloggers a significant amount of time to figure it out. So why should you start over in trying to figure all of that out? It would save you a lot of time, money, and frustration if you find resources that can help you to learn the way things work better from the start.
Dive in With a Friend
This is one of my favorite parts of this whole blogging world thing that I have done.
I have been blessed to have friends alongside of me almost from the start. My friends’ support has been amazing.
I can’t tell you how awesome it is to schedule a day every week to go to a restaurant or Starbucks or Barnes & Noble with a friend and we just work. If we have questions for each other, then we are available. But there are no kids and no daily distractions. Just a chance to get a large chunk of work done and a bite to eat.
And if one of us has to go to the restroom, we don’t have to pack everything up! Sadly, we tout that as one of the biggest advantages of working together! We can just walk away for a bit, or get up and stretch and not worry about all of our stuff.
But seriously, having a friend who gets you because they know what ups and downs you are facing with your blog is the best thing ever. And when you are down and ready to quit, they won’t let you. Because they know how far you’ve come.
Don’t Give Up!
This could be the biggest advice I would have to teachers who want to make good money blogging.
I got this advice from the company that I chose to learn how to profitably blog from. Ricky Kesler, the co-owner, has said numerous times that the number one reason blogs fail is because they quit before they have a chance to see success. And he further elaborated that many times bloggers quit right as they are coming to the cusp of success.
Jim Harmer, the other co-owner of the aforementioned company, has likened blogging to a ghost town for the first several months to a year. You are writing your heart out to absolutely nobody, except maybe some family and friends that you have roped into reading and commenting on.
So, the biggest advice that you can give yourself right now: DON’T QUIT!
If you need to slow down for a bit or take it down a notch, then do it for the sake of whatever is going on in your life. But get back to it. And find that thing that will motivate you to stick it out until you are successful.
Some Help for You
Jim wrote a book recently that documents that need to find what motivates you to get to the success that you know is possible but just don’t know how to make reality. It is called Work Energy: Finish Everything You Start and Fearlessly Take on Any Goal. (This is an Amazon affiliate link.) Just like everything else he does, it is full of his heart, passion, and love for others. Because he really wants to help others succeed, his company is very different than most others. It is open and vulnerable in ways that most other online courses are not.
If you go on Amazon to look at this book, and then look at the review by Stacy Brady, it will tell you everything you need to know about him, his ethics, and his life and business practices. Honestly, if you read all of the reviews, they are pretty amazing.
As a side note, this is not a book about blogging, but a book about succeeding in whatever you are dreaming to accomplish. But because blogging is his field, when you combine this book with his other training, you will find absolute gold.
I bought it and agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers. It is the most genuine business book you will read. And it should be able to give you the motivation you are looking for to make your dream a reality!
Jim and Ricky are also currently starting new blogs and publicly give us the results of how those blogs are succeeding and failing. And they have a time tested, proven method that allows anybody to succeed in almost any niche.
One final crazy thing these guys do: they put their website names and analytics out there for us to see that they are on the level. Who does that? And that is why I was willing to pay for their course. It is the only online business course I have ever bought. And it was worth every penny!
Why I Wish I Did it Sooner
The name of their company is Income School. Clicking on it will take you to a video by Jim explaining just a little bit of his life, dreams, and how he can help you with yours.
I spent almost a year watching their videos on Youtube and trying to make it work for my blog. I was able to put out some great content, but it wasn’t what it needed to be until I bought their program. Within a month, my blog was no longer stuck and has been making progress ever since.
So if you have no time to waste, do it sooner than later!
So, to answer the question: do teachers make good money blogging? Some do, many don’t. And you absolutely can. But you have to be the driver of your future and your determination, persistence, and knowledge is what will get you there. You can do this!
For a little more about my story, click on my blog post, Lesson Plans and Curriculum: The Story of Complete Literature.
Source for Earnings Graph: Can You REALLY Make Money Blogging? [7 Things I Know About Making Money From Blogging]
So true that there are not enough hours in the day. I am glad that I can stay home and make some money blogging
I think that “there aren’t enough hours in the day” is the main drawback to this. I have several friends who are teachers. They are always stretched thin with their normal duties. I have no idea how they would fit blogging into the mix!
I agree, it is really tough, especially when your job requires a lot of “after hours hours.” But right after I started my website, I saw an article in Forbes about a husband and wife who were both school teachers and they managed to build their websites AND quit their teaching jobs after about 2 years of working on their sites because their websites made so much more money than the teaching jobs. At that point, I knew that it would be super hard, but totally doable.
The amount of time required to have and maintain a blog, would make things difficult for a teacher or anyone in a demanding job. What most people don’t realize, is that blogging is a job in itself.
Yes, it is definitely a job in itself. The biggest thing that inspired me to keep going and realize that I could actually do it was an article in Forbes magazine. It was about 2 teachers that built their websites in their spare time at night after all of their teaching work was done and the kids were in bed. They were able to build their sites to full time and quit their teaching jobs because their websites made so much more money than their teaching jobs. I don’t necessarily want to quit what I’m doing, but I would like to be more financially comfortable.
it is certainly demanding and time consuming. Blogging requires a lot of work.
Blogging is a full time job, personally speaking. I spend a lot of time writing, researching and up-keeping my site, as well as using social media. It’s a big deal and the pay off is, to be frank, awful. It is possible for anyone to make money, but it takes a lot of time and commitment.
Those are all true, Nyxie. But over time the payoff gets much better. Seeing constant upward progress helps me to keep going. We’ll get there. Once I realized exactly what my content should be doing, it helped.
Consistency and good content are key, and you have both. You’ve got this!
Some of those facts are spot on. I remember being excited to finally make twenty dollars in one month while I was blogging. Looking back, I can’t believe I stuck with it!
I remember when I was excited to finally earn $20 blogging in one month. I can’t believe I actually stuck with it!
Man, I can’t imagine blogging and being a teacher because both take so much time and effort. This is super helpful! Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!
I believe that the key is to focus on where you can add value. Personally, I don’t get very involved in web design. Nobody can roam and create content like I can though.
You are right, Brian. Without value you have nothing. And web design is not my strong suit either. But every company I have ever worked with has said while it is important, the content is way more important. And yes, your roaming and content are pretty awesome. 🙂
I love when I find teacher blogs. It gives me insight on what they go through. But I get that it can be tricky to balance blogging with teaching.
It is tricky. Teachers have to be really good with organization and time management.
I’m a teacher and a blogger! However, I decided to run my blog to have a chance to do something different, something that I’m truly passionate about. I have earned very little and I’m afraid my nische is not something that will ever make me rich, just like working in Polish schools, so I’m consistent! 😉
Consistency and content is key! After trudging along for a couple of years with little progress, I finally broke down and bought a program to help me blog better. I have never put down a lot of money on any online course, but this one was different and better than all the others I had researched. It has already worked wonders and gotten things moving in the right direction. I am so excited now to see my dream becoming a reality!
They can make good money blogging. The big issue with most blogs is that they don’t understand the importance of SEO, having a well structured website, and making sure they are working on linking structure. Blogging is not an “if you build it they will come” type thing. You need to make it easier for people to get to your blog.
All very true, Blanca. But the information on all of this is out there. They just have to find it and be willing to put the work in to get that SEO moving in the right direction.
My kids teachers work A LOT of hours as I imagine most do. It’s hard to fathom them putting time into something else as well. With that being said I know of a teacher (I occassionally help him with his website) who has written several books, blogs all the times and appears on podcasts and TV, while teaching in an inner city high school
Yep! My inspiration to keep this whole thing going was a married couple that was featured in Forbes magazine. They were teachers that found the time to build their blogs to more than full time income. I knew if they could do it in their miniscule spare time, I could do it too. Kudos to your teacher acquaintance that is knocking it out!
I can imagine that for a teacher it can be very hard to find time to blog, especially that their work doesn’t finish in the classroom, they need to prepare for their classes and they need to grade papers as well. I am blogging full time and I can’t find enough hours in the day to do everything.
Yes, I know of some teachers that have done it that inspired me. They had to be really good at organization and time management. It is very hard, but it is possible! At first, it is very time consuming, but once you can get to a maintenance phase, it is so much better. We still have to put in significant time, but not like at the beginning.
And for teachers, I think that initially their progress is a bit slower because they can only grab a couple of hours a day instead of full time. But building consistently does still help growth.
There really aren’t enough hours in a day, but if you really love to write, it can be a great outlet.
Yes, Rachel, those hours definitely don’t just appear. There have to be some sacrifices and superhuman organization and time management skills!
I would think that teachers make great bloggers as they are generally good at writing. I would also think that they have some fun stories to share about their careers as teachers too.
You are right. There is a huge amount of material for them to write about.
I would imagine teachers do have so much information to share with the world. It’s nice to have an outlet. Making money blogging can be tricky though for any niche.
My daughter is a teacher and she has an overload of work just preparing. She teachers 1st grade and is very busy I don’t think she would have time to share it all, not now anyway 🙂
That is true, Cindy, The teacher bloggers that I know had to give up some other things in order to be able to make blogging work. It is difficult but very worth it down the road if they can find bits of time.
Writing a blog is definitely not a “Get Rich Quick” theme, but it is a great outlet for creativity if you enjoy the work. I am excited to read the book about Work Energy you mentioned!
I really feel like the biggest thing is NOT giving up. If people don’t see overnight results they get discouraged and want to just not do it anymore. It took me about 3 to 4 years to see any sort of return on blogging but I also did not initially set out to make money from blogging. I didn’t even know you COULD until one day a brand offered me like $50 to post something! I was shocked! hahaha!
I think its the same with any Niche of Blogs, some make money whereas others do not. I guess there is a lot of work and understanding of how to rank before you can start to make real money. Teaching is such a full-on job, so that would leave little time I would imagine.
This is great and honest information. It struck me while reading it that certainly during the pandemic when schools are do unpredictable teachers blogging would be a great way to deliver tips and ideas on how they can keep students up to date on curriculum. Also a great support to each other as I’m sure teaching currently is full of challenges.
i spend a lot of time blogging and i am on disability. so i cannot imagine being a teacher full-time and a blogger. good luck to all teacher bloggers.
Blogging can definitely be a form of income if you keep at it. Teachers are pretty busy though, I don’t know how much free time they have to do a blog!
Great information here! I have quite a few friends who are teachers and can’t wait to share this with them!
I like how you highlight what could be considered issues, then you point out solutions. It’s got me thinking about myself as a blogger, and how I should keep at it. It’s hard work!
True. When I came to blogging, I thought it is easy. But it is as demanding as any other job. And definitely understanding the seo and google ranking is still the hardest part. Your taking up each point and addressing it in a more approachable way, is what makes us going. ❤🌸
Your comments on blogging hit home. It is difficult, competitive, and hard to make money. I agree with many of your tips on how to free up more time for blogging.
Good to know that teachers also can make good money from blogging. This is very informative blog and one of my friend who is teacher but now he is working from home due to lockdown I am going to share with him
You nailed it with “There’s so Much Competition”. Blogs have come at a staggering rate and the big players are making it harder and harder to rank. It is easier to get get a fulltime job nowadays and have a blog on the side.
Monetizing a blog is definitely a process and it doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why I believe it’s important to be passionate about blogging so you can love what you do even if you’re not making money.
Sounds like I need to pick up the book ”Work Energy”. It sounds like the motivation I might be needing and exactly why I was guided to this blog.
I have certain teacher friends who had been thinking of blogging. I guess this post will help them..
what an indepth and useful resource for all our teachers out there I am sure many will find this really useful x
There are ocuntries where they pay good money to teachers. In my country, nope.
This is so interesting and really detailed! Thanks so much for sharing!
I have never thought about this before, so this post made for a really interesting read.
I agree, there may be teachers interested. Glad you shared this with us, thank you!
Blogging requires lot of work, but if done properly from home you can definitely make money.
I think so, since they are also good in expressing their thoughts and in sharing their ideas
YES! Most people should stick with it! It’s certainly not a get rich quick game!
I believe they do so, yes. There is a couple of two Jamaican women teachers I closely follow.
Teacher can make good money through blogging as well as YouTube. A teacher can upload daily lecture as well as resource material for students and other teachers. Your suggestion will guide many other teachers to get good money.
Your article is very enlightening, especially since I have so many relatives who were or are teachers and have so much to offer the wide world out there. One in particular is so creative and artistic but I doubt she had ever considered having any type of teaching blog.
Yes, blogging makes good money regardless of profession but the education niche is actually a great choice since it’s needed and the information that they share is so valuable especially now that classes are now conducted online.
Absoluetly, but it talkes a lot of work
I think that teachers could make some good money blogging for sure. They would just have to do some research on how they can get traffic and the different methods they can decide on for making money.
I think their is a clear advantage since they know audiences well. But blogging take a lot of tedious work. I think it’s difficult to balance but teachers will do well.
I think that anyone who has something useful to share should blog, and that includes teachers!
I do agree that teachers don’t get enough time in a day. thanks for sharing this.
You have raised some great points. If it helps them they should definitely go for it.