In recent years, there has been a major rise in the number of celebrities launching their own blogs. From actors to musicians to models, it seems everyone who’s anyone has a blog these days. But do these celebrity blogs actually generate income for their famous owners? Or are they just vanity projects to boost visibility? Let’s take a closer look at the blog business model for celebrities.
Making Money from Celebrity Blogs
Celebrity blogs have several potential income streams available to them. Like any other blog, they can make money from:
- Advertising – Displaying ads or sponsored posts can bring in steady revenue. The level depends on the blog’s traffic and niche.
- Affiliate marketing – Bloggers get a cut when readers purchase products they recommend. Celebrity endorsements tend to convert well.
- Branded merchandise – Selling own-brand products like t-shirts, mugs and other gear. Fans love supporting their favourite celebs.
- Sponsored content – Getting paid to feature a brand, product or service in a blog post. Rates are higher for celebrities.
- Public appearances/consulting – Speaking at corporate events or advising brands. Their blog presence adds credibility.
- Book deals and licensing – Landing lucrative publishing deals, quotes licensing or TV show concepts based on blog content and brand.
Brad Hoss and Other Success Stories
There are plenty of examples of celebrity bloggers spinning their digital platforms into impressive income streams. Consider video blogger Brad Hoss (aka Bradlee), who has built a multi-channel network with over 3 billion views. Brad makes most of his income through YouTube ad revenue sharing deals and brand promotions. But his network also includes celebrity blogs, including his own lifestyle-focused blog “Far From Fame” which brings in six figures annually.
Other celebs earning big dollars from their blogs include interior designer blogger Lauren Liess andProject Runway winner turned style blogger Christian Siriano. Top celebrities can demand over $10,000 per sponsored blog post. While lesser known names earn less, even micro influencers with a moderately engaged audience of 10-50k followers can charge around $250+ per #ad post. Overall, the income potential correlates strongly with the size and engagement level of a celeb’s audience.
Challenges Facing Celebrity Bloggers
However, maintaining a profitable blog involves much more work than just leveraging star power and existing fanbase. Plenty of big celebrities have launched blogs full of promise which soon get abandoned or fade into infrequent updating.
Running a successful blog as a celebrity requires commitment, good business sense, and smart leveraging of one’s personal brand. It can be especially hard for A-listers already busy with their core entertainment careers. Blogging needs regular, fresh content to keep audiences engaged over time. It also takes effort to translate blog traffic into profit through ads, affiliates and sponsors.
Many celebrity bloggers eventually turn to hiring teams to help with the workload – editors, photographers, managers, admins etc. But not all can necessarily afford this. And for newer celebs, blogs can actually become an unwanted distraction that detract from their main career goals.
Sustainability of the Celebrity Blogging Model
Another question is how sustainable the celebrity blogging business model really is. Internet fame and platform profitability can be very temporary things. One semi-viral moment or brand controversy is often all it takes for rapid gains to unravel.
So while riding high, smart celebrity bloggers bank earnings for that inevitable rainy day. Most continue churning out content to keep audiences engaged, while prudently diversifying into other mediums like video, books, or products.
Others however, gradually let their blogs run out of steam as new priorities take over or blogging burnout sets in. Some return after career breaks or attempt reboots. But generally speaking, longevity is not easy in the world of internet celebrity. The next rising celeb is always just one viral post away.
Conclusion
So in summary – do celebrity blogs make money? Absolutely they can. The income potential is huge, especially for top stars with big engaged followings. But balancing the commitments of content creation, audience engagement and financial management is much easier said than done. Sustained success requires business savvy alongside just having famous names. Those entering the blogosphere simply to cash in on fleeting fame are likely in for disappointment. Still, for committed celebrity bloggers putting in the hard work, six and even seven figure incomes are very realistic.
