Search “Make money online” using Google, and you’ll get 181 million results. Try “make money bogging” and get another 175 million results. With so many resources out there, it is hard to determine where to go and what to read.
Among all the amazing blogs in this niche, there are five that I check on a daily basis because their content is so powerful and written with such quality that I can’t stop reading: John Chow dot Com, Daily Blog Tips, Copyblogger, Problogger, and Site Sketch 101.
In March of 2007 Daily Blog Tips did a Bloggers Face-off series; to this day it is still one of his most popular topics (see the Darren Rowse vs. Jeremy Schoemaker for a great example). He used a table to formally compare the two side by side, and it was rather interesting to see their responses.
It is September of 2009, and I have decided to do a five part comparison between my top 5 favorite make money sources. I’m going to compare them based on statistics, content, and style. Go grab a shot a Jager and a Red Bull, and let’s get started!
Make Money Online with John Chow dot Com
Site: www.johnchow.com
Author: John Chow
Online since: March 23, 2000
Page Rank: 5
Alexa Rank: 6,305
Sites Linking in: 3,927
Biz Information.org Valuation: $6.33 million
Pageviews per month: 2.2 million (source: Google Ad Planner)
Feedburner Subscribers: 59,805
John Chow dot Com was the first blog I found about making money online. His free eBook inspired me to start blogging. When I first arrived at his page, I noticed it was very busy. With multiple animated advertisements, the page can be slightly overwhelming at first. He uses a three column setup with his recent blog posts on the left. His top posts and archive sections are packed full of thousands of posts with widely ranging content.
John Chow’s content is top notch for sure. His writing style is easy to read and usually gets right to the point. There is almost always one or two things that will make you crack a smile in each post, but nothing that will make you laugh out loud.
He focuses heavily on teaching his readers how to make money online, but he doesn’t give a lot of advice about how to develop content outside of how to monetize your blog. He goes into detail about how to use social media, mailing lists, and your blog to maximize your earning potential. He also typically does a handful of reviews on affiliate products and specials each week. If you already have decent traffic, but you’re having a hard time converting your traffic into money, John Chow dot Com is definitely the best place to start.
In his archives, John has some really amazing financial advice about getting loans, buying houses, making money using your paid off house, and countless other amazing financial tips that everyone wishes they knew but didn’t know where to look.
For signing up for his mailing list, John Chow offers his free eBook about making money online which covers a variety of topics which I wrote a short eBook review about. Honestly, of the eBooks I’ve read it is a little outdated (because many of the things he talks about have been updated or integrated and no longer necessary) and includes a few more technical aspects of blogging. It is definitely an awesome resource, but there are others that are better for beginners.
Finally, John does some silly stuff to break up the make money madness. For example, John just ran beer o’clock on Twitter where he gave away beers to the first 5 people that replied with their e-mails. About once a week John will share with us what’s for lunch. He also tweeted about what car he should drive since he’s driving a Pontiac Sunfire right now (I still think he was paid to tweet that).
Site: www.dailyblogtips.com
Author: Daniel Scocco
Online since: 2005
Page Rank: 5 or 6 (I’ve seen him ranked as both)
Alexa Rank: 7,210
Sites Linking in: 5,486
Biz Information.org Valuation: $7.19 million
Pageviews per month: 1.6 million (source: Google Ad Planner)
Feedburner Subscribers: 30,926
Daily Blog Tips is the most minimalist design of the 5 sites I am reviewing. The simplicity of the theme and design is extremely appealing. With only six 125×125 non-animated ads in the right column and a skyscraper in the left column, this site has far less advertising than John Chow, and the advertising is rather unintrusive. The content is easy to find in the large center column which utilizes excerpts on the main page. The categories and popular posts are easy to find and navigate through.
Daily Blog Tips is updated daily (shocker, I know) Monday-Friday and occasionally on the weekend. Most of the content is stand alone and can be picked up at any give time. The tips are typically based our blog development including blog content (both generation and style), comment generation, and general blog structure and optimization tips. Daniel wrote the bloggers face-off series which has some cool information about many of the big name bloggers. Daniel doesn’t focus heavily on monetizing like John Chow does and also doesn’t do a ton of affiliate or sponsored posts.
For signing up for the Daily Blog Tips mailing list, Daniel offers his free eBook Make Money Blogging which I also wrote a review on.
Site: www.copyblogger.com
Author: Brain Clark
Online since: December 11, 2005
Page Rank: 6
Alexa Rank: 6,075
Sites Linking in: 5,824
Biz Information.org Valuation: $6.56 million
Pageviews per month: 3.4 million (source: Google Ad Planner)
Feedburner Subscribers: 73,482
Copyblogger has the same clean simple format that DBT has with the categories (resources) on the left, popular posts on the right, and content in the middle. Copyblogger has a a couple more graphics; however, both are extremely content dense.
Unlike the other blogs I’m reviewing which focus on how to make money blogging and how to make money online, Copyblogger gives much more general writing tips that apply to both online and offline applications. The content is focused on how to generate more traffic, subscriptions, and links by optimizing your writing. Copyblogger doesn’t talk about making money blogging, although it does give amazing tips on how to increase your sales and improve the quality of your marketing using social media including blogs and twitter.
Of the 5 blogs I am reviewing, Copyblogger has the largest writing staff and most guest bloggers which leads to a wider variety of writing styles, opinions, and content. Overall, because Copyblogger is in the “how to be a better writer” niche and not the “make money online/blogging” niche, it is useful to a much larger audience. Whether you are actually tying to make money blogging, or you’re just trying to build an online presence for your company, Copyblogger is one of the best resources you can use.
Site: www.problogger.net
Author: Darren Rowse
Online since: November 18, 2004
Page Rank: 6
Alexa Rank: 2,654
Sites Linking in: 9,163
Biz Information.org Valuation: $14.33 million
Pageviews per month: 5.5 million (source: Google Ad Planner)
Feedburner Subscribers: 124,000+
Problogger is by far the most popular make money blogging site around. It gets nearly double the page views of the next closest site! Problogger has a very busy three column theme similar to John Chow’s. The right column is devoted mostly to ads, some of which are animated. The left column is where the normal posts are found, and the center column includes his weekly video post and the site’s most popular posts.
Problogger gives a lot of really awesome tips about how to monetize your blog and make your blog more popular. Unlike John Chow, he doesn’t do a whole lot of affiliate product reviews. I think from start to finish, Problogger’s content covers the widest range of topics regarding blogging, writing content, generating traffic, building relationships, optimizing ads, and countless others. His writing style is very systematic and organized and tends to includes step by step instructions on the particular topic (if applicable).
31 Days to Building a Better Blog is a Problogger original system to improving the quality of your blog by following a 31 day task list. There is a free version of it available via posts on Darren’s blog, and a workbook that has been updated which you can buy for $19.95. I recently purchased this book and will do a review on it when I’m done (expect it in just over a month).
The Problogger archives are very impressive with 17 major blogging topics on top of the standard chronological archives.
One final cool feature on Problogger is job board. You can check out the job board for a variety of blogging, editing, and writing related jobs (or post there if you are looking for staff).
Overall, Problogger is another site that is great for a blogger at any stage in their journey. There is a definite reason this is the number one make money blogging site online. Oh yeah, and it has the best looking favicon too!
Site: www.sitesketch101.com
Author: Nicholas Z. Cardot
Online since: ~June 2009
Page Rank: 1
Alexa Rank: 42,750
Sites Linking in: unknown
Biz Information.org Valuation: $1.00 million
Pageviews per month: 200,000 (source: Google Ad Planner)
Feedburner Subscribers: 468
You had to know there would be a dark horse in the group. With the other 4 sites being extremely well established, I decided to bring some attention to a slightly lesser know blog that I believe has the potential to will become huge.
This is the most stylish appearing site of the group with another extremely easy to follow layout and a clean cool design. The right column has a handful of ads, and the content is found on left with the most recent post alone at the top and splitting into two columns of content. The left column is chronological and the right column is organized by most recent post in each category.
If you just looked at the stats for this site you might not think much of it, and that would end up being your loss! This site is packed full of amazing content and wisdom that goes far beyond the experience Nicholas has. Based on his tips, you’d think he’d been blogging for years. He covers many key topics including layout (with more wordpress tips than the other sites in the top 5), content, and inspiration. The SEO tips are right on as well!
I also love SS101′s nofollow policy. Very few popular sites do follow on their comments, so I really enjoy seeing his fresh outlook on the topic; it remains to be seen if it works out for him.
I have to give the site a lot of credit for its growth. In less than 4 months Site Sketch 101 has vaulted into the top 50,000 on Alexa and is getting over 200k views per month. The rate of growth Site Sketch is receiving is a testament to how solid the content is and how Nicholas personally interacts with his readers.
If you’re looking to get a different perspective from someone who is growing, not someone who has already been there, Site Sketch 101 is for you. This dark horse is high recommended.
Summary
There are tons of other great resources out there, each with their own style, perspective, and content expertise. John Chow dot Com, Daily Blog Tips, Copyblogger, Problogger, and Site Sketch 101 are the top five places I go right now for inspiration, tips, and advice. Check them out!
If there are other sites that you think should have made this list, leave your personal top 5 sites in the comments! Maybe you’ll introduce me to a new site I can’t live without.
Related posts:
Gabe | freebloghelp.com Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Great looking list there. These heavyweights are what many of us hope to be one day. They offer great advice and do a great job building relationships with their visitors. If these were the only sites bloggers have time to look at regularly, that’s pretty much all they’ll need.
Money-Era Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 5:10 AM
I read 3 out of 5 above mentioned blogs daily. Indeed, in my case John also inspired me to start my own blog. In the blogroll section of http://www.money-era.com I list valuable links.
If you read http://www.money-era.com/category/blogs/ section I am sure you will get encouraged to keep on writing your blogs by seeing great perspectives of making money online!
Rod Macbeth Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:24 PM
I’m familiar with John Chow and Problogger, visiting often. The others are new to me but I’ll be giving them a visit for sure.
Thanks for the heads-up!
Cheers,
Rod
Blake Waddill Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Thanks for your reply. I think you’ll find the others to be very helpful as well. DBT and copyblogger are especially mobile friendly imo
Tamahome Jenkins Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:47 PM
Great List! I always feel like an enlightened one whenever I know what someone is talking about ^_^
I personally don’t like John Chow’s site because, like you said, it’s really busy, plus I *hate* lightbox or pop-up newsletter subscription boxes. Copyblogger, Problogger, and Daily Blog Tips are my absolute favorites, though, and I read them everyday. I used to read Site Sketch, but felt that it didn’t provide more than the previous three, and was just a bit redundant, so I stopped. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t for me.
.-= Tamahome Jenkins´s last blog ..Why Isn’t the U.S. on the Metric System? =-.
Blake Waddill Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:38 PM
At some point all make money blogging/make money online sites start to get a little redundant. I really love the writing style/humor used on Site Sketch. I also think that he gets into plugins and site development a little more than some of the other guys because it is fresh for Nicholas.
Nicholas Cardot Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:53 PM
You flatter me my friend. I greatly appreciate your praise and I’m honored to be included alongside of these very prestigious bloggers. I’m learning a lot from these other members in your list as well. There’s a lot that we can learn from them.
.-= Nicholas Cardot´s last blog ..September Contest Final Announcement =-.
Blake Waddill Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:57 PM
I was going back and forth between a couple of other blogs, but you wrote a couple of specific articles that really pushed me over the top. The Dark Knight one probably being my fav (using a death of cast member to create buzz…). Just keep up the good work so i don’t look like a jackass ;-)
Dave Doolin Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 10:56 PM
Nick, you have a knack for it. Don’t be surprised when your site really takes off.
KitchenCabz Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Great sharing! I hope the list source above can make good reference for online money makin, begin and also proffesional blogger ;-)
Dave Doolin Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 5:55 PM
I’m at the point where content may not matter as much. I’ve got about 125,000 words over 134 posts.
With about 100 hits per day, starting from end of January.
And it’s been a HUGE struggle to even get that readership.
I probably focus too much on content, and not enough on design and promotion.
What I’m doing isn’t working. Time to do something different.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..What the Heck is HTML TITLE element and why do I need one? =-.
Blake Waddill Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:28 PM
I litterally just realized that your top post stays the same. I always checked the site and wondered why you never updated. lol. I have a bunch of catching up to do :)
Dave Doolin Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Heh… 3 more sales and I remove the sticky tag on that post. My sales chain isn’t productive, but I’m not that proactive yet.
I’m looking for professional formatting help for this ebook now. If the design outfit I want works out, it’s going to be amazing.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..What the Heck is HTML TITLE element and why do I need one? =-.
Bill Bolmeier Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 6:54 PM
I read all of them but Site Sketch is new for me. Thanx.
.-= Bill Bolmeier´s last blog ..How To Schedule Automatic Twitter Tweets and Facebook Status Updates =-.
Dave Doolin Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 6:56 PM
By the way, this is a brilliant article… I like your whole perspective!
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..What the Heck is HTML TITLE element and why do I need one? =-.
Errol Moo Young Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 8:55 PM
Site Sketch is indeed a dark horse. I regularly read John Chow, Problogger, Copyblogger and Yaro Starak’s Entrepreneur’s Journey among others. But the rapid growth of Site Sketch 101, having started in June 2009, gives me no choice, I’ll have to end the comments and race over to Site Sketch right away. Great post, your reviews are very informative and accurate.
Aidil Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 10:14 PM
hey, great list. I learn a lot from all the ‘big’ guys in term of blogging.hopefully one day ill be as near as successful as them.:)
.-= Aidil´s last blog ..8 Common Myths About Mr Right =-.
LetUpdate Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 2:57 AM
You really have comprehensive review writing here. I like john chow writing style which easy to understand. And I also like the tips of Daily blog tips,it surely help me to build my blog. And the others kindly new to me, i will check it. :D
.-= LetUpdate´s last blog ..Learn Email Marketing from eBook =-.
Zeesu Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 3:52 AM
Should we add propsblog to the list as I see it as good http://www.sitesketch101.com in terms of content and response to users.:)
.-= Zeesu´s last blog ..What is affiliate marketing and how does it work? =-.
Zeesu Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 3:55 AM
one more thing http://bizinformation.org is useless.sorry for that.my blog is valued at 65K.if someone is ready to purchase it half the price i am ready to sell.Just my opinion
.-= Zeesu´s last blog ..What is affiliate marketing and how does it work? =-.
Blake Waddill Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 7:34 AM
I know the numbers are off. Even the number of views on that site are inflated. The main point of that was for entertainment purposes. :-)
You flatter me about the list… I have a long way to go
Tom Harvey Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Great reference point for us to see the blogging ‘Gurus’ and how they work. I was only aware of 2 of those so will check out the others and thanks for the references and insights.
Keep up the good work
Tom
ZXT Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Hey Balke, really cool of you to include SiteSketh101 to your list. I actually discover your blog from Nick’s blog.
Anyways all these blogs are all useful. Thanks for sharing.
Zee
Young Says:
September 29th, 2009 at 9:05 PM
I knew all of them except SiteSketh101 before, I have another new website to learn how to make money now, thank you.
Mr. I Says:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:56 AM
DBT and CopyBlogger are my favorites. Although, I like John’s advice but the heavy design is something I not like and I am not following him now.
I did not know about SiteSketch. Will watch out.
.-= Mr. I´s last blog ..Reader Question: Why Am I Not Getting PageRank? =-.
Blake Waddill Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 10:05 PM
It seems like a lot of people have never heard of Site Sketch 101. I knew most people would have heard of the first four, so I’m glad SS101 is getting some attention!
Nicholas Z. Cardot Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Me too! Thanks so much for the publicity here at your site. I sure do appreciate it.
Katie Says:
September 30th, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Hi!
Just stopping by from eHow. This is such a useful article, I am going to be back to re-read it frequently as I am new to blogging. Thank you for all of the tips and resources!
Katie
Casey Says:
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 AM
I read all of them but Site Sketch. Thanks for sharing.
Regards
Casey
BlogrPro Says:
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:27 AM
I didn’t expect SiteSketch101 in this list. But pretty cool list that you have provided here.
Blake Waddill Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Thanks for the comment. Most people didn’t ;-)
I figured I would toss in a site that most people haven’t heard of. It’s no fun hearing about all the same sites that you already read.
Koalagifts Says:
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:35 PM
This is a fantastic and very useful article. Thank you for presenting the information so clearly.
The Costume Mistress Says:
October 4th, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Very informative – will have to check these out!
Teresa Says:
October 4th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Thanks for the information on the top 5 money sites we should visit.
Barbara Stanley Says:
October 4th, 2009 at 6:47 PM
I will definately be checking out these sites. I have much to learn. It is great to have something to go by, a referral. Thanks
Harsh Agrawal Says:
October 4th, 2009 at 6:56 PM
Just my 2 cents but I wont say all of them are make money online site.. Most of them are blog on Blogging tips and make money online is the secondary part from John chow one… A MMO blog is something which has almost 80% post on making money online tips and rest on other stuff like blogging and wordpress….
.-= Harsh Agrawal´s last blog ..Dreamhost Webhosting 50$ Discount coupon October 2009 =-.
Blake Waddill Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Thanks for your reply. I guess everyone has their own definition of what an MMO blog is. John Chow is self proclaimed MMO and Daily Blog Tips is Self Proclaimed Make Money Blogging (although I think it strongly favors blogging content over making money specifically).
What are a couple of sites you consider to be true MMO blogs? I’m always looking for new resources!
shon hyneman Says:
October 4th, 2009 at 7:20 PM
WOW! Looks like you done your homework! I need to visit some of these websites. Thanks for the information. Kepp up the good work.
Rozygal Says:
October 5th, 2009 at 12:26 AM
Ah, great I did find this after all. I really admire the effort you have made to put out such great info. You are a most helpful person!
Thanks!
Nhoel Says:
October 5th, 2009 at 2:02 AM
6. KEYWORDSPEAK.COM -lol :)
thanks for the list.
thanks,
-Nhoel of http://keywordspeak.com
.-= Nhoel´s last blog ..Foods You Can Eat While You’re On Your PC =-.
Maren Says:
October 5th, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Thanks, Blake!! Just popped over from ehow.com to see what you’ve got going on here. Nice article! Like many others, I wasn’t aware of SiteSketch101, but am popping over there as soon as I submit this comment! After receiving numerous “love” letters (rejections!) from publishers for my writing, I’m beginning to dabble in blogging. It’s amazing how difficult it is to be signed by a publisher. This information will be most useful to me – thank you for your post!
Blake Waddill Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 9:27 PM
Just keep after it. If you focus on your blog and make it work, some other doors might open for you. Problogger has some writing job listings you might check out as well.
Cat VanVliet Says:
October 7th, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Wow, great article. I enjoyed this read. The topic was well researched for sure! Thanks :-)
4 Marketing Sites You Can’t Afford To Miss || Props Blog dot Com Says:
October 8th, 2009 at 4:00 PM
[...] The Top 5 Make Money Sites You Should Visit [...]
Roxanne Browning Says:
October 9th, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Thanks for the round up, I looked over the sites you recommend, and see value in all but I always go with the underdog and liked Site Sketch 101 the best. Excellent blog, you did your research. May I ask you where you got the Twitter retweet button? I’ve been looking for this and can’t find it.
Blake Waddill Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 9:25 PM
It’s Called Tweetmeme. Digg Digg is actually a little better but for some reason my site wasn’t syncing up right. Digg Digg allows you to show digg, reddit, twitter, and 3 other social networks.
The other sharing plugin I use is called Sexybookmarks. There are a ton of other great ones, but I just love the styling of this one in particular.
If you need help getting it setup let me know.
Roxanne Browning Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Thanks Blake, I installed Tweetmeme to my site and it looks great! Thanks for you help.
Tech Buzz Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 6:06 AM
sometimes i also read garry conn’s blog as well
Penny Stocks Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:32 AM
i used to follow John CHow, Shoemoney blog before but from few months back i only visit their blogs once in a while just to be updated about whats new there.
i like Darren’s blog
Kaarina Says:
October 16th, 2009 at 1:19 PM
This is such a great list- never would have known all that info- you’re one smart dude.
Webpage Lottery Says:
October 21st, 2009 at 7:36 PM
I agree with you that sitesketch101.com is a very cool site. It kind of also talk about topics that are different from other typical blogs.
BWE09: Problogger, Copyblogger, and Chris Brogan Hang Out In Their Underwear || Props Blog dot Com Says:
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:25 PM
[...] The Top 5 Make Money Sites You Should Visit [...]
antony Says:
October 29th, 2009 at 12:53 PM
thanks for giving the information The Top 5 Make Money Sites You Should Visit
Car Insurance Guy Says:
November 11th, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Ah!!! at last I found what I was looking for. Sometimes it takes so much effort to find even tiny useful piece of information.
Nice post. Thanks
marshall Says:
November 27th, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Great list Blake! I added all 5 to my feed reader and think this will help boost my new efforts.
Thanks,
marshall