Can you really make money blogging?
Seriously, can you really make money blogging? This is a question that gets asked a lot these days. I’m not talking about earning a few dollars here and there. I’m talking making blogging a full-time occupation, one that lets you work without having a boss breathing down your neck, one that you can take with you on a vacation to Rome, Shanghai, and even Timbuktu.
So, can you making a living blogging?
It all depends on whom you ask. There are those who try to sell– I mean literally sell– you the idea that you can make $10,000 or even $20,000 (US) a month devoting just a couple hours a day to your blog. For just $97 they’ll show you how to make easy money with minimal effort on your part.
Then there are those who pessimistically proclaim that you can’t make money blogging, period. What they’re really saying is that they can’t make money blogging.
You might have read about Daniel Lyons, for years known as “Fake Steve Jobs,” whose blog received over half a million visitors on the day the New York Times revealed his true identity. His big payout for the huge traffic spike? About a hundred dollars– a rather paltry amount for half a million visitors.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, being a great writer doesn’t guarantee that you’ll succeed financially from your blog. If you just want to write about something you love, and you’re not looking to make money from your blog, that’s fine. If you are looking to make money from your blog, on the other hand, you should realize that blogging and monetizing your blog are two separate issues.
Not all blogs are created equal in their potential to generate revenues. If your main goal is money (not that it should be), then you shouldn’t feel bashful about making money. In fact, money should take precedence over other considerations. You should start by doing research to identify few potential topics which you feel comfortable blogging about and, more importantly, which you’ll make money from.
There are almost an unlimited number of niches to choose from, but not all have commercial value. If your blog is about meditation, for instance, be aware that most of your visitors are not necessarily looking to buy stuff. And they not appreciate a plaster of advertising on your site.
That’s not to say that you can’t blog about your passion in life. There many topics that I write about that have low monetization potentials. But I write about them anyway because I love writing about them. My point is, have a clear idea about what you want to accomplish. If you’re unsure whether or not to blog for money, then sort out your feelings first. If somewhere down the road you manage to build a huge following for your blog and yet are unable to earn significant income from it, don’t complain that you have been screwed by the blogging gods.
If you’re unsure whether to blog on something you love or something that will make you money, assuming that they’re not the same, why not set one up for each topic? I’d set a few dozen blogs if there weren’t only 24 hours in a day. It’s really a no-brainer to get a blog set up. You can set one up in minutes through one of the free blogging networks like Blogger or WordPress.
As for the “Fake Steve Jobs” who made only about $100 on the day his site received half a million visitors, it’s not hard to see why he managed such a meager amount despite the huge traffic spike. Put yourself in the shoes of a New York Times reader who visited his site that day. Are you there to buy something from “Fake Steve Jobs,” or do you go there simply out of curiosity and have nothing better to do with your time. If someday this site happens to land half a million visitors a day, I can guarantee you that I won’t be making just $100 a day from it.
Back to the question, can you make a living as a blogger? I hate to answer a question with a question, but I think the most appropriate answer is: Can you?
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Comments
In response to your question, yes, you can make a living as a blogger. However, don’t be fooled by all the hype stating such things as; become rich overnight, make thousands while you sleep, etc, etc.
To make significant money online it takes lots of hard work, determination and patience. You must be an action taker and continually learn as much as possible. Anyone who possesses those qualities can be an online success.
that would be my question for my self now.
initially, i never thought that i’ll maintain a blog. then i started to like it since i’m gaining friends and i explore so many things on line.
the idea of making money on line as a blogger make sense on me just this year. and i think, i have to agree with you that making money by blogging and blogging are two different things. the monitizing is really a big challenge
“Then there are those who pessimistically proclaim that you can’t make money blogging, period. What they’re really saying is that they can’t make money blogging.” Well put!
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