As a total sucker for interesting (and silly) statistics, I have some fun blogging-related information to share with you guys today!
First, let’s dive into lunch!
Lunch
Today’s mid-day meal featured leftovers from last night’s dinner.
I reheated a plate of Annie Chun’s organic soy ginger noodles and topped them with chopped chicken and steamed broccoli.
I was pretty darn impressed with Annie Chun’s noodles! I snagged the box of noodles and sauce from my parents’ pantry the last time I was in St. Pete and wasn’t sure if the sauce would be too heavy and weigh down the meal.
Not at all! The sauce was light and added the perfect punch of flavor to the noodles, chicken and broccoli.
Moving right along to statistics talk!
Blogger Statistics
I totally meant to share these fun facts with you guys a couple of weeks ago after I attended the Southeast Produce Council Southern Exposure Conference.
As you may remember, I was a panelist at the conference and answered questions from the audience about anything and everything related to blogging, building relationships with brands and marketing.
Before the audience asked me and my fellow panelists questions, a bunch of blogging statistics were shared with the audience by the moderator which I found completely fascinating. I emailed the moderator after the presentation requesting her PowerPoint presentation because I found the information so interesting!
I’m sure these statistics won’t be compelling to a lot of you out there, but to those who blog, read a lot of blogs or work with bloggers, I thought you might get a kick out of the information like I did.
First of all, I was shocked to learn that there are 160 million blogs out there. Total insanity!
All of the statistical information below was gathered from the PowerPoint presentation given at the Southeast Produce Council Southern Exposure Conference which was assembled using Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2011 study.
Who is Blogging?
- Hobbyists (Blog for fun): 61%
- Professional Part-Timers (Blog to supplement their income): 13%
- Entrepreneurs (Blog for their own company): 13%
- Corporate (Blog for their employer): 8%
- Professional Full-Timers: 5% (Of the 5%, only 37% say their primary income is from blogging)
Demographics
- 59% male
- 65% age 18-44
- 79% have college degrees
- 44% have graduate degrees
- 1/3 have a household income of $75K+
- 1/4 have a household income of $100K+
How Long and How Often?
- 80% have been blogging 2+ years
- 50% have been blogging 4+ years
- 44% blog 2 – 3 times a week or more, with professional bloggers blogging daily
Social Media Usage
- Used by 93% of professional bloggers
- Used by 78% of all other bloggers
- 1,674: Average number of followers for professional bloggers
- 847: Average number of followers for all other bloggers
- Used by 92% of professional bloggers
- Used by 89% of all other bloggers
Influence
- 68% of bloggers say they are influenced by other bloggers, up from 30% in 2010
Blogging Revenue
- 4% of all bloggers say their blog is their primary source of income
- 37% of full-time bloggers say their blog is their primary source of income
- 14% of bloggers receive a salary for blogging
- Average salary: $24K
- Where the revenue comes from:
- Self serve (Adsense): 60%
- Direct (sell themselves): 30%
- Blog network: 14%
- Dedicated sales team: 5%
How Bloggers Measure Success
- Personal satisfaction: 61%
- Number of unique visitors: 55%
- Number of comments: 46%
- Backlinks from other bloggers: 36%
- Social media shares: 36%
Why Consumers Visit Blogs
- Reasons in order:
- Ideas and inspiration
- News and information
- Entertainment
- Product reviews
- Product information
- To hear an opinion
- Other
Question of the Afternoon
- Did any of the above statistics surprise you?
Darn it. I wish I had known you would be speaking there – I totally would have tried a little harder to get there!
Callie @ The Wannabe Athlete
I know that having 92% of professional bloggers using Facebook is a high number, but I am still slightly surprised. I would have guessed it to be higher, since most people on blogs use Facebook too. Very interesting stats though!!!
I love Annie Chun’s noodles too! I don’t think that I’ve had a bad product from them. Btw: your lunch looks delicious!
Kate Ellyn
So interesting! A lot of that surprised me. I guess because I read mostly healthy living blogs, I’m surprised that there are more male bloggers out there! I’m also surprised that people seem to make the most money from adsense because I’ve heard you can barely make anything off of it – guess that’s not true!
Caroline @ After Dinner Dance
i was surprised that males write more blogs than females, too. i guess i just read the ones mostly written by women!
peanutbutterfingers
Yeah, where are all the male bloggers at??
Sana
This was seriously the most surprising part to me!!
Kristen
This was the biggest surprise to me too!
Kim
Wow, those are some very cool numbers! None of them really surprise me, but the one about 59% being male was interesting. I’d have thought that there would be more female bloggers due to womens’ natural tendency to want to share more about their lives and build a sense of community/family. Thanks for sharing these Julie!
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
I was shocked that 59% are men. I would have assumed there were more women out there!
Jordan@almondjay
Myself also …. for sure.
In all my years of reading and commenting on blogs ….. I only receive (rare) updates from one fella. That’s it. So, where are they all??
I enjoy ideas, news, human interest stories and opinions from both sexes. Makes life more fun!!
Loved the post Julie! Learned a lot from as always.
Marcee
Blogging as a sole income… many bloggers also incorporate other income, too. Like freelance writing and recipe designing.
As always twitter and FB are still the number one source for blogger’s social media use. Although FB has almost killed it for me with their use of timelines.
I hope we all revolt against them and timelines go away. I don’t understand what Zuckerberg was thinkin’.
Christine @ Oatmeal bowl
Last night I made the almond date bars that you posted about last week. I made mine with oats though because that’s what I had on hand. Turned out great – I had a really hard time not eating 1/2 the pan!
Jaime D.
they are addicting, aren’t they!? so glad you liked them, jaime!
peanutbutterfingers
I have to say those statistics don’t really surprise but it’s awesome they’ve been compiled. Sounds like a great conference. Gorgeous blue dress!!
StoriesAndSweetPotatoes
I’m surprised that 49% are male- I never would have guested that! I’m also surpised that Twitter is slightly higher than Facebook
Carrie @ Lift Eat Repeat
Very surprised at the 59% Male statistic. The others were pretty much normal/expected for me.
abbi
What surprised me most is the number of male bloggers. Most of the blogs I read are by women. But then again I mostly read healthy living and housing blogs and I’m sure there’s a number of “male dominated” blogs out there that are focused on sports and technology. All all of the statistics are really interesting. Thanks for sharing
Antonia @ healthinspirations
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing. Like everyone else the number of men bloggers surprised me. It was also surprising about the money making.
Caitlin @ Chasing a Mile
I was surprised that more men blog than women, but I guess that’s because I only read healthy living blogs, which is predominately female! I’m also surprised at how few professional bloggers there are! I thought it would be more like 10% but I guess there are a LOT of hobby bloggers, like me!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats
I’m surprised by the percentage of male bloggers! My fiance and his friends read my blog but always joke about making their own blog…
Life’s a Bowl
I was shocked by the gender stats, ie that a larger % of bloggers were men! This was definitely an interesting read!
Khushboo
Wow, this is so interesting! A lot of it makes sense, but I’m shocked to know blogger demographics! Who knew there were more men than women? Interesting!
Bee Goes Bananas
I was surprised about the percent of bloggers that were men … but I’m guessing that many of those bloggers are blogging to promote their businesses? Or I could be completely wrong and I’m stereotyping both sexes haha. But it’s interesting!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated
59% male definitely surprised me!
Emilie @ Emilie’s Enjoyables
I just used Annie Chun’s noodles for a veggie stir fry with scallops and they were delicious! I was very impressed with them as well.
Elizabeth @ Chocolate Drops and Pearls
That looks so delicious for a meal you just threw together!!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
I want to start a blog ! But have no idea how to go about it!
briana
Those are interesting statistics – thanks for sharing! I was actually surprised that 59% of bloggers are male. I’d be interested to know if male bloggers mostly have male readers, and vice versa.
Stephanie @ Legally Blinde
Annie chun also has these really good little sushi making kits that are great to pack for lunches.
I knew quite a few men that run blogs, mostly tech related (most of the guys I know are programmers), and it showcases their side projects, thoughts, etc. Interesting reads.
Pinterest is quickly becoming a major player in driving blog traffic and it won’t be long before it is up there with FB and Twitter for Social Media usage. Can you tell I love it? I’m trying to get a tour of the offices (I have buddies that work over there), and when I do I will be sure to blog about it! I know we all love Pinterest!
Raquel @ Toned, Tan, Fit & Techie
I was surprised by the fact that a small majority of bloggers are men! I guess since most of the blogs I read fall under the healthy living/cooking categories, my perception is skewed! I only read a small handful that are written by men!
Jamie @ Don’t Forget the Cinnamon
Fascinating stats, Julie! I loved them! Like many others, I was very surprised to see that 59% of bloggers are male. I guess you’re right – I just read a lot of female authored blogs! I also thought the influence statistic was interesting, too. Thanks for sharing. As a complete side note, I love the outfit you wore at the panel.
Jenn (eating bender)
Never would have guessed more men blogged than woman
Nathan Miller
I’m surprised that there are more male bloggers than women. Wow.
Lauren @ Chocolate, Cheese and Wine
Wow, I love all the stats!
I was really surprised by the high number of male bloggers…I guess that comes from the business blogs?
Claire @ Un Bello Aperitivo
Does that mean you are in the top 5% Julie? Woo!! Go you!
Also amusing and probably not surprising, on the bottom of the list “why consumers visit blogs,” the second to last reason is to hear an opinion! haha.
Debbie
Wow! Some of those are really surprising.
Great lunch, as always!
Brandi
How cool! 160 million?! Crazyyy!
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes
what fun statistics! I was suprised to read that there are more male bloggers than female! I would have thought the opposite!
Melissa
You know I love the stats posts!! Thanks for sharing these- so very interesting!
Have a great weekend Julie!
Carol @ Lucky Zucca
I gotta say that the income stats surprised me a bit and the number of blogs.
Serena
Me too. 59% are men? Wow.
Kelly
The number of male bloggers surprised me a little bit … hmm …
I love random stats!
Yellow Haired Girl
The % of males and adsense being the biggest revenue generator definitely surprised me!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
Great data, thanks for posting.
adventureswithben
i was surprised there were more male bloggers. i can’t think of any that i read by men!
heather
Statistics were interesting.
I agree, a blog site / website, has to look clean, and must be easy to navigate. I really do not like pop up boxes that you have to close down constantly, I find them annoying.
On your diet/food intake, you are just too good !!! All your meals look so healthy, and really delicious. Please tell me that now & again you eat other stuff that isn’t necessarily so clean !!
Jay
Such interesting statistics! Thanks for sharing these, Julie. Blogging is such a unique field and it’s fun to see it being recognized as a “real” job!
Amelia @ Eating Made Easy
I’m actually not surprised by a lot of these statistics, except I am really surprised by the fraction of bloggers who make so much money! 1/4 make six figures?! Holy cow.
Amber K
I don’t think that is how much the bloggers themselves make, but rather the total household income, which could mean another salary is being accounted for if they’re married.
julie @ peanut butter fingers
Oh, duh! That makes a lot more sense, lol.
Amber K
Julie-
I read your blog every day and I love it.
I just wanted to say thank you for everything- since I never comment. You are a great role model and I love reading your blog for inspiration. Thank you!
-Paige
Paige
I’m surprised that nobody broke down bloggers by race. I think that is an interesting statistic to explore, or at least be aware of…
I read a lot of blogs (probably too many) and I read blogs by authors of varying racial backgrounds (to clarify, I read blogs of a racial focus, for example exploring race in pop culture, or the intersection of race and media, etc) , so I would be interested to learn what percentage of bloggers are black, white, etc. Was that mentioned at the conference?
Martie
The data didn’t cover race, but I agree that would be interesting to see, too!
peanutbutterfingers
These are SO interesting. Like everyone else, super surprised that the male population is outblogging us.
I was surprised that only 8% blogged for their company! I would have thought there were more businesses out there blogging, but it seems just us regular folks are chattering!
Thanks for posting these – very cool.
Megan @ Fiterature