16 Educational Blog Success Stories [2024]
An educational blog business involves creating a website where you share informative content on a specific subject to educate your audience.
To start on a budget, choose a niche you're knowledgeable and passionate about.
Create quality content using free platforms like WordPress or YouTube.
Promote your blog on social media and through SEO techniques, and consider monetizing it with methods like affiliate marketing and selling digital products once you have a steady flow of visitors.
Consistency and providing genuine value are crucial for success.
In this list, you'll find real-world educational blog success stories and very profitable examples of starting a educational blog that makes money.
1. Third Space Learning ($9.96M/year)
Tom Hooper, the founder of Third Space Learning, came up with the idea for his business after selling his previous online tutoring company, BrightSpark, to TES Global. He recognized the importance of market focus and decided to launch Third Space as a second venture, with a specific focus on making one-to-one tuition accessible to primary school students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This market-oriented approach, combined with valuable feedback from teachers, allowed Third Space to gain traction and establish itself as the largest online tutoring company in the UK schools market.
How much money it makes: $9.96M/year
How much did it cost to start: $100K
How many people on the team: 80
Third Space Learning has become the largest online tutoring company in the UK schools market with around 75% of English primary schools and over 100,000 teachers signed up, generating around £8m in revenue this year and delivering nearly 800,000 hours of teaching to just under 70,000 pupils since 2015, with plans to expand globally in the future.
2. EF Specialists ($688K/year)
Sean G. McCormick came up with the idea for his online executive functioning coaching business after realizing the high demand for support in managing school for students with ADHD and other learning disabilities. By niching down into executive function coaching and leveraging his expertise in special education, McCormick was able to quickly grow his business and establish himself as valuable in the education community.
How much money it makes: $688K/year
How many people on the team: 10
How Sean McCormick's online executive functioning coaching business went from $0 to over $100k per month in revenue in just a few years, with an average monthly revenue of around $57k, and grew from a sole proprietorship to an S-Corp with 16 employees and 125 active clients, serving parents and school districts mainly in California.
3. SWAGGER Magazine ($600K/year)
Drew Williams came up with the idea for SWAGGER Magazine as a hobby in 2007, aiming to provide an alternative to traditional men's magazines and cater to the digital market. Through self-printed sample magazines and validation from local stores, he saw the potential of his brand. With limited funds, he hired writers and focused on producing high-quality content to attract and retain readers. Now, the magazine pulls in 1-2k per month, with revenue primarily coming from sponsored posts and celebrity features.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 25
SWAGGER Magazine is a digital lifestyle magazine for men, with a focus on lifestyle, fashion, gear, food, dating and business and careers, pulling in 1-2K per month in revenue through sponsored posts and celebrity features, and growing rapidly with 60k social media following and a growing audience.
4. OneHourProfessor.com ($360K/year)
Ron Stefanski, the founder of OneHourProfessor.com, came up with the idea for his online business when his step-brother asked for help finding a job with a felony record. Seeing a need for employment resources for those with criminal records, Stefanski launched a website that quickly went viral, attracting thousands of visitors in a short period of time. The business has since become highly profitable, with Stefanski making over $1 million in profit and earning $30-$40k per month.
How much money it makes: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $140
How many people on the team: 3
Learn how Ron Stefanski generated over $1 million in profit from his online business, OneHourProfessor.com by obsessively measuring and following data, using SEO, and focusing on reinvesting profits into growth.
5. TrumpExcel.com ($120K/year)
Sumit Bansal, the founder of TrumpExcel.com, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the demand for Excel tutorials and courses. Working for a tech company, Sumit saw the need for efficient Excel skills and decided to create a blog and offer online courses to teach people how to use spreadsheets effectively. With over 1 million monthly pageviews and an average monthly revenue of $10,000, Sumit has successfully built a profitable business helping millions of people learn Excel.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How many people on the team: 1
A one-man business teaching people how to use Microsoft Excel effectively has gone from getting ~15k pageviews a month in 2014, to more than one million pageviews every month as of today, generating an average monthly revenue of ~$10,000, with the majority of the money coming from online course sales and a newsletter, which has 40k+ active subscribers.
6. Effortless Gent ($102K/year)
Barron, the founder of Effortless Gent, came up with the idea for his business because he noticed that his friends often asked him for style advice. He saw a need for a website that would provide all the answers to their style questions in one place, so he decided to start a men's style publication. Since its launch in 2009, Effortless Gent has generated an average of $8,000 per month through various revenue streams, including ad revenue, affiliate revenue, and digital products.
How much money it makes: $102K/year
How many people on the team: 1
Effortless Gent is a style publication that makes $8k/month from ad revenue, brand sponsorships, digital products, and styling consultations while teaching men how to build a Lean Wardrobe and managed to scaled back on brand partnerships to focus on selling their own products.
7. TechySex ($60K/year)
Martin Moore, the founder of TechySex, stumbled upon the idea for his business when he realized there was a lack of information and quality content on sex toys and sexual wellness.
After working as a freelance writer in the industry, he decided to create his own blog to provide valuable resources and recommendations.
With a focus on SEO and organic traffic, TechySex has become profitable, generating around $5K per month and attracting readers from both the USA and Europe.
The future looks promising as Martin plans to expand his team and explore new ways to increase income.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $20
How many people on the team: 0
TechySex is a website that offers sexual wellness education and sex toy reviews, making around $5k per month on average and featuring affiliate programs as the main source of income; the founder Martin Moore started it after having experience as a ghostwriter in the adult industry and noticing a huge lack of information on sex toys as well as sexual wellness in general.
8. Seedtable ($60K/year)
Gonz, the founder of Seedtable, came up with the idea for his business while living in Argentina and missing the European startup scene. He launched a weekly newsletter on European tech and later expanded to include startup rankings and a Breakout List. With a focus on authentic coverage and the freedom to say whatever he wants, Gonz has attracted a loyal audience of investors, founders, and employees at top European organizations.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How many people on the team: 1
Seedtable is an authentic weekly newsletter on European tech, business, and politics, with 10,000+ subscribers and 50,000+ monthly visitors to its startup rankings, providing an insight into the European tech industry for investors, founders, and employees of leading Euorpean tech companies and funds.
9. Small School ($42K/year)
Kevon Cheung, the founder of Public Lab, came up with the idea for his business after leaving his CEO role at a funded SaaS company and feeling lost about his next step. He wanted to build a presence and voice online to create a sustainable business while also having more time and flexibility for his family. He started documenting his journey and sharing his learnings on Twitter and stumbled upon the concept of "Building in Public," which resonated with him. Realizing there weren't many resources to help entrepreneurs who wanted to build in public, he decided to fill that gap and began writing a guide in public, eventually launching the Building in Public Guide to great success.
How much money it makes: $42K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
How many people on the team: 0
Public Lab founder Kevon Cheung shares his journey of starting his online business with no niche, network, or followers, and how he utilized the "Building in Public" framework to grow his business to a mid-5-figure revenue and establish a trustworthy brand by focusing on honesty, transparency, and helpfulness.
10. Top Dollar ($36K/year)
Josh had been a finance nerd. He makes intelligent investments and spend most of his time reading, talking, thinking, and researching investment ideas. Naturally, when the idea to share content on this came up, his friends thought there couldn't be a better fit.
How much money it makes: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 1
Top Dollar Investor founder Josh Dudick shares how he turned his passion for investing and wealth management into a successful media content business generating $1,000 - $3,000 a month through organic search, social media outreach, and affiliate marketing.
11. CareerMetis.com ($36K/year)
Nissar Ahamed, the founder of CareerMetis.com, started the business after experiencing the challenges and successes of his own job search and career journey. After successfully navigating the corporate world and sharing his strategies with friends and family, he decided to start a blog to share his career advice with a wider audience. Since its launch in 2015, CareerMetis.com has grown to publish thousands of articles and generate an average monthly revenue of $1,000, all while being run as a part-time side hustle by Nissar.
How much money it makes: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
CareerMetis.com is a successful online publication geared towards freelancers and job seekers, boasting 1300 unique contributors, close to 3000+ pieces of content published and a monthly revenue of $1000.
12. Pete Codes ($14.4K/year)
Pete focused on promoting his website on platforms like Product Hunt and Hacker News to attract a large number of visitors. He also prioritized charging customers for newsletter ads and sponsored articles early on to test demand. Overall, his strategy of gaining exposure and monetizing the website quickly helped him attract and retain customers.
How much money it makes: $14.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $40
How many people on the team: 1
No CS Degree founder monetizes website interviewing self-taught web developers earning an average monthly revenue of $1,100, with email marketing and sponsored articles from coding boot camps, and plans to grow the site through job board and online course resources.
13. Mandarin Monkey ($12K/year)
Tom and Ula Cain, the founders of Mandarin Monkey, came up with the idea to start a YouTube channel teaching Mandarin/Chinese when Ula was six months pregnant and they wanted to keep busy during that time. They initially had the idea to create a live teaching platform for English speakers studying Chinese, but after some bad experiences with web design companies, they decided to focus on creating educational content through YouTube and other platforms.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How many people on the team: 2
Mandarin Monkey is a Mandarin/Chinese content creator business run by a husband and wife team, with over 250 videos on YouTube and 62 podcast episodes, and has seen their Patreon support grow steadily every month.
14. Millennial Moderator ($6K/year)
Aleksey Weyman came up with the idea for Millennial Moderator when he was teaching himself basic HTML/CSS and decided to create a blog as a way to practice. After refining the brand and seeing the value it provided to readers, Aleksey focused on providing valuable insights and industry trends to attract and retain customers. With an average of $500 USD/month and 3000 monthly readers, Millennial Moderator is now looking to scale upward.
How much money it makes: $6K/year
How many people on the team: 1
Millennial Moderator, a profitable online publication averaging $500 USD/month and around 3000 monthly readers, shares insights on developing an online publication from scratch, monitoring user experience, and engaging readers through social media channels and advertising networks.
15. The Girl with the Tree Tattoo ($3.3K/year)
Katie, also known as The Girl with the Tree Tattoo, started her business as a simple blog to share her experiences as a ballroom dancer. After realizing there was a gap in the training of adult ballroom dance students, she wrote two books and developed a solo practice guide, which she launched through a paid beta group that quickly sold out.
How much money it makes: $3.3K/year
How many people on the team: 0
A ballroom dancer turned author created a successful business by starting a blog, writing books, and launching a signature offer, The Solo Practice Guide, which helps ballroom dance students build an effective routine for practicing on their own that fits their life.
16. G7 Education ($600/year)
G7 Education was founded by an individual who recognized the importance of education in society and wanted to provide courses that offer real value. The idea for the first course, "Career Strategies for College Students," stemmed from the founder's personal experience in a similar course during their undergraduate studies. They saw the opportunity to improve upon the existing course by making it applicable to all college students and offering real-world insights from their own career journey. With a focus on quality and value, G7 Education aims to provide both in-person classes and online courses that help individuals navigate their career paths. The venture has already proven profitable and plans to expand into other areas like cloud computing and cybersecurity in the future.
How much money it makes: $600/year
How much did it cost to start: $20
How many people on the team: 0
G7 Education offers online courses and in-person classes focused on career development, with a focus on cybersecurity and cloud computing, and has been profitable at $50 a month, thanks to customer obsession and a free learning management system.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
