Based on my experience (3+ years), the answer is a clear yes. It’s worth it but not for the reasons most people would probably think of. In other words, the direct benefits aren’t all that amazing but the indirect ones make everything worthwhile.

What are the direct benefits I’m referring to?

Well, first of all the ad revenue.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice bonus but those who start a blog exclusively for the ad revenue are making a huge mistake.

If I think about the time I spend blogging up until this point, let’s say x hours and about the money I’ve earned via advertising revenue so far, let’s say $y, the amount of money I’ve made on a per hour basis ($y divided by x) is not exactly very impressive.

A nice bonus but hardly something that justifies the time it takes to run a blog in and of itself.

The indirect advantages however are overwhelming.

First of all, the contacts you make.

I got to know a lot of very interesting people and the contacts alone make everything worth it.

Then there’s the fact that you can promote your own businesses.

Almost everyone in the industry knows me, almost everyone needs hosting and since I offer hosting at less than a buck per month through DomainingServers.com, it’s obvious why people buy hosting from my company.

The same principle is valid for Articles.biz for example. The prices are reasonable (2 cents/word), all of the writers are from the US, so a domainer who needs content for his or her site(s) will probably at least consider using Articles.biz.

The list of indirect benefits could go on and on.

It all adds up and as a conclusion, yes, blogging is worth it but not for the reasons most people think of 🙂