New research shows that the average blogger’s earnings are not as lucrative as perhaps they could be. 

European digital agency Optimus Performance Marketing recently polled 2,043 UK bloggers to discover the time they spent on a blog and their income.

Based on the figures, the average hourly rate is approximately £4.14 compared to the UK’s minimum wage of £6.13 for over 21s and £5.03 for people aged 18-21.

On average content bloggers earn £906 a year and £75.60 a month as a result of affiliate commission. They also spend an average of 18.25 hours a month blogging, however this increased to 9.75 hours a week when there was a commission being targeted.

Fashion vs beauty

As for verticals, there is very little difference in the percentage split between the top subjects. According to Optimus’ insights, 22% of respondees were fashion bloggers, 17% wrote about beauty, while 14% and 11% focused on parenting money saving respectively.

London was the area with the highest concentration of bloggers with 25% saying that they resided there. A total of 17% came from the north west, 13% from Scotland and the midlands accounted for 10%.

You can view more insights from the study on bloggers in the infographic below. 

UPDATE
 
PerformanceIN spoke to Mark Russell, CEO of Optimus Performance Marketing, who remarked that it was easier said than done to get more from the affiliate channel in such a saturated market, but he did recommend keeping up with the market’s latest developments.
 
“By writing about new trends, new products, new collections, sale news and promotional offers on sites, they can up their chances of more sales made through their followers and visitors.
 
“Dedicate social media activity through your online profiles, as well as email support, to posts and consider the longevity of them,“ he continued.
 
“Social media, particularly twitter, is fast moving and will need regular updates. It is also  wise to ensure that there is tracking on every single link to the brand’s website on your article, including links on your social media accounts. 
 
Russell said that after promotion through social media and search there will come a point where a blog will reach such levels of traffic that its author will be able to seek out exclusive features and promotions to write about.
UPDATE
 
PerformanceIN spoke to Mark Russell, CEO of Optimus Performance Marketing, who remarked that it was easier said than done to get more from the affiliate channel in such a saturated market, but he did recommend keeping up with the market’s latest developments.
 
“By writing about new trends, new products, new collections, sale news and promotional offers on sites, they can up their chances of more sales made through their followers and visitors.
 
“Dedicate social media activity through your online profiles, as well as email support, to posts and consider the longevity of them,“ he continued.
 
“Social media, particularly twitter, is fast moving and will need regular updates. It is also  wise to ensure that there is tracking on every single link to the brand’s website on your article, including links on your social media accounts. 
 
Russell said that after promotion through social media and search there will come a point where a blog will reach such levels of traffic that its author will be able to seek out exclusive features and promotions to write about.