Source: Indianapolis Star
Bil Browning is the kind of guy who has a hard time finding motivation to keep a journal.

Now, he writes all day for his blog, The Bilerico Project, one of the nation's top political Web sites for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

The difference? For one, money.

The Indianapolis man is one of just a few bloggers in the country who've managed to turn their hobby of spouting off online into an actual business.

In just four years, The Bilerico Project has grown from a Web site about Indiana politics and the gay community to a national blog with 50 contributing writers and guest posts from the likes of presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The blog is drawing national advertising. And last month, Browning and his business and life partner, Jerame Davis, decided to form Bilerico Media LLC to invest in the blog and launch others.

"We're actually starting to handle it more like a business," Browning says, "rather than, 'Wow, look. We're a really cool blog that took off, and people are giving us money.' "

Most bloggers make less than $10 or $20 a month from advertising, experts say. To bring in more than that, bloggers need to attract a readership of thousands, day after day. Three thousand visitors a day, for example, may equal $900 a month.

Browning wouldn't say how much money he makes off The Bilerico Project. The site gets about 2,500 to 5,000 visitors per day, he says, and about 150,000 page views per month.

The Bilerico Project started out as a blog known for breaking stories relevant to Indiana's gay community. For example, the blog was among the first to report that Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy would speak to the Indiana Family Institute and say he "embraces" a same-sex marriage ban.

That news flash landed Browning a quote in Sports Illustrated and his blog a few minutes in the national spotlight. It also made him re-evaluate The Bilerico Project's future.

Browning and Davis, along with managing editor Alex Blaze, decided to make the jump to a national blog. They redesigned the Web site and went after big names to become contributing writers.

They signed up Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign; Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; and Matt Foreman, who recently stepped down as executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Once they were on board, others quickly signed up.

Now, The Bilerico Project gets about 15 applications a week from people who want to be contributing writers.

Full article: Indystar E Technology Sites - Personal Tech News, Video Game Reviews, Gadget Reviews and more from Gannett News Service