Kickstart Your Blogging Business and Make Big Money: 7 Reality Checks
[This post is my entry for Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger Group Writing Project – Reviews and Predictions]
2006 was an interesting time for me as I plunged into Internet Marketing.
Although I didn’t have a clear idea in the beginning, it was very clear that the path of least resistance would be to go with blogging.
In the course of the last 5 months, I’ve had a series of interesting experiences and the questions I’ve dealt with appear to be common with all new bloggers, whether the questions originate from a blog, a forum, a blog network or a social networking site.
Here’s 2006 in retrospective in a FAQ format with money making tips and 7 Reality Checks for bloggers and internet marketers.
- Blogging Reality Check 1: Making Money from Blogging is Evil
I’m not sure of the intent of this often heard objection.
I guess some might have ‘pure/purist intentions’ and expect that blogging is some form of ‘cathartic release’ for heavy/philosophical/ponderous thinking.
I see blogging as a form of personal journalism. And journalists have to eat.
Like it or not, the reason why your newspaper or magazine doesn’t cost $100 a copy is because it’s sponsored by advertisements and the classifieds. Likewise, blogs can be financially self-sustaining through adsense, affiliate marketing and other monetization strategies.
Expecting bloggers to provide free content is akin to expecting musicians to provide music free of charge.
It takes time and resources to produce blog content and there is a measurable value to it.
In a utopian society, writers, artists, musicians would be able to freely practise their craft without fear of finding their next meal. We don’t live in that world yet.
- Blogging Reality Check 2: I Will Make Millions Overnight
On the other extreme, I have spoken to bloggers who expect to make huge sums of money overnight.
It’s unlikely to happen unless you are some sort of celebrity, likely a mega celebrity if you’re planning to bring in the megabucks.
If you are not however, it’s time to face a reality check.
We’ve also heard about products or software that can automatically build blogs by the hundreds every hour, and we’ve also heard about how if each blog earns a dollar each day, you’d be earning thousands of dollars in your sleep.
While you might have some degree of success using these blogging-related “quick buck” schemes, it might not necessarily be sustainable (ie you are ‘de-indexed’ and disappear from the search engine results, or your ‘innovative’ monetization exploit is soon negated.) It then becomes a mad rush for the next “black hat template” or the next automated, broadband-enabled, stealth, power-enhanced, web2.0-enabled, ajax-enhanced, php-powered widget.
Rinse and repeat until it gets disabled by one of the higher power. (see above paragraph)
If you are a serious blogger for which blogging is a long term strategy to help you achieve your goals, here’s what I would advise you to do.
Think of your blog as a business tool. Consider:
- How does it fit in with your adsense or affiliate marketing plan?
- How would you go about establish trust and credibility for your business.
- Who would your strategic partners be.
- How are you building your “me” brand?
- Blogging Reality Check 3: Free Tools and Services
New Internet Marketers ask me this all the time: “What are the free tools we can use besides blogger/blogspot to growing our blogging efforts.”
I’d add to the list of useful tools such as GIMP, PingOat, Squidoo.
What troubles me however, is that some who aspire to earn online income aim to do it only using free tools.
I think you could probably earn $50-$100 per month using free tools, and if you’re good earn maybe $500.
Beyond that could be highly challenging. I guess if you put your mind to it, you could come up with very interesting business models.
For the vast majority of us however, I’d advise counting the value of your time.
Sure you could surf 1,000 websites and gather the same information, or as one participant at the World Internet Summit said to me, I can just google for everything, I don’t need to buy anything (which was weird because he invested in a World Internet Summit ticket…)
To build a sustainable business, you need to value your time.
Is your time worth $5 an hour? $10? $50? $500? $5,000?
If your time is worth more than the cost of the product or service, you’d be foolish not to subscribe or invest in the product.
Even if your time was worth $1 per hour, I couldn’t see how it’d make sense to manually maintain a mailing list of 1,000 and send them emails on a bi-weekly basis.
I use a combination of free and paid tools and you’d generally be able to tell the difference between the two.
If you have the mindset of starting and operating a business, your tools will generate many times their investment for you.
Some of the useful tools which outweigh their investment include:
- Secret Blog Weapon (Blog Optimization)
- Ultimate Affiliate Weapon (Affiliate Marketing)
- Bluehost web hosting
- Autoresponder: Aweber / GetResponse
Once you have these fundamentals in place, you’d find that building your business is much easier.
- Blogging Reality Check 4: It Takes Tough Times
It’s taken 4 months to get to the stage I’m currently at.
Although I’d have preferred to get here within a week of starting up, building a business, blogging-based or otherwise is as much about the process of getting to your goal, as much as merely achieving it.
As you’re building your blogging business you will encounter setbacks, perhaps days in which your visitor numbers or income drop drastically.
Here’s something that people don’t often talk about.
The measure of a mature blogger is not what happens when good times are rolling, but what you do when things go south.
Do you merely throw in the towel? Do you kick your efforts up a notch?
Often the most spectacular successes are built on the backs of the most dismal circumstances.
Look at the rise of Japan after the Second World War, or Apple after an ousted Steve Jobs rejoined and the company’s fortunes turned not once, but numerous times with the launch of the MacIntosh, the iMac and the iPod.
If you’ve watched real life events unfold during 9-11, you’d know that true heroes are forged in the moments of greatest adversity.
A couple of months ago, I blogged about: Are you ready to give up on Internet Marketing?
It’s still relevant now. Perhaps more so.
Some people seek to avoid difficulty and challenges, others actively seek it.
Which are you?
- Blogging Reality Check 5: I Will Make Millions Overnight
Are you an ‘everything under the sun’ blogger?
If you are one of the myriad of blogger who blogs about “internet marketing”, “health and fitness” or “women’s issues”, you could be biting off more than you can chew.
Catchall blogs work best if they’re run by a panel of bloggers (sometimes as many as 10), or by especially prolific bloggers.
If you’re specializing in everything, you’re specializing in nothing.
Finding your niche and entrenching yourself deeply in it means that your position is virtually unassailable.
If you do choose to tackle “internet marketing”, maybe you want to niche it by focusing on “internet marketing for high school students”, “internet marketing for midcareer professionals” or “internet marketing for single mothers”.
The brick and mortar businesses have moved towards speciality stores, rather than general concept stores (with Wal Mart being one of the few exceptions). Likewise, becoming a niche specialist helps you expand from a position of power.
Blogging Reality Check 6: Build A Community
When you’re starting out, you might be working in isolation.
If you’re fortunate, you might be able to tap into a community. By tapping into these resources, you gain significant leverage as you’re expanding your efforts.
“Leverage”, comes in a few flavors. There’s technological leverage that a software or tool can help by automating your efforts. But far more powerful is social leverage or people-oriented leverage.
And social leverage can easily move mountains.
During the launch of Russell Brunson’s Conquer Your Niche Internet Marketing forum, the site’s traffic went off the charts.
Other sites I frequently visit include:
Forums such as:
Blogs such as:
- Shoemoney
- ProBlogger
- PlanetAndrea
- 9rules Blog Network (of which I am a member)
At it’s simplest, I believe build a community is nothing more than making friends, and I appreciate the opportunities to interact with the likes of Ewen Chia, Jo Han Mok, Social Media specialist Michelle MacPhearson, and my buddies Ryan Chua and Rachit Dayal.
Blogging Reality Check 7: Change the World
This is probably the most important step.
Have a focus bigger than yourself.
You don’t necessarily need to choose ‘world peace’, but you want your blogging efforts to mean more than pounding out 300-700 words every 24 hours, inserting a few photos and hitting the publish button.
We need meaning to keep going.
Meaning is the glue that creates our motivation.
We all have 24 hours a day, and we can choose to spend that time focusing on big project, or on small projects.
When you embrace something huge, something weird happens to your thinking too, it expands.
Your world view blows up and suddenly your universe is not just your neighbourhood, or the people in your village, city, state or country.
If you’re seeing and blogging through the eyes of a world citizen, life (business or personal) can only continue to be a rich canvas to blog about.
Club Penguin Membership Code Generator
March 12, 2014 at 10:32 am (10 years ago)Club Penguin Membership Code Generator includes a huge role
within United states Traditions. Lots of people is usually seen involved in routines related to Club Penguin Membership Generator 2014.
This really is partially because people of most ages may be included and families usually are added jointly through this specific.
Normally anyone that demonstrates his or her hate for Club Penguin Membership Hack may be regarded as
an outcast.
comment tricher sur megapolis
March 13, 2014 at 1:10 am (10 years ago)Following a 3 calendar month very long study, I’ve been able to end that
megapolis triche won’t adversely effect the planet by any means.
Any megapolis megabucks gratuit would not often end in waste products as well as wouldn’t always be obtained in woodlands,
jungles, waters, seas, oceans, and so forth… The truth is, comment tricher sur megapolis made several
results in our own lovely very little mother nature.
social empires cheats
March 13, 2014 at 8:18 am (10 years ago)social empires triche carries a substantial role with U .
s . Lifestyle. A lot of people can often be seen involved in routines related to social empires hack.
tiefenentspannung
March 14, 2014 at 7:05 am (10 years ago)Yes! Finally someone writes about meditation cd uk.
Minimally invasive spine surgery
March 21, 2014 at 10:55 pm (10 years ago)It will restrict the movement of the person, making him lose concentration and in a nutshell;
will loose a lot in his life. Microdiscectomy, on the other hand, is far less invasive than discectomy.
When this happens the disc bulges or ruptures, and the delicate
spinal nerves are pinched or irritated which is your bodies way of telling you something is wrong.
une rencontre telecharger
March 22, 2014 at 10:44 am (10 years ago)Hi, i think that i saw you visited my blog thus i came to “return
the favor”.I am attempting to find things to enhance my web site!I
suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
valse pour monica telecharger
March 22, 2014 at 5:06 pm (10 years ago)I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post
was great. I don’t know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if
you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!
http://Www.youtube.com
March 22, 2014 at 10:30 pm (10 years ago)Undoubtedly, the most significant complaint that anyone who plays The
Sims 3 for PS3 may have are the loading times. Prices in phones drop all the time as technology advances.
You can’t change his mind if he doesn’t feel the same way
about you.
abandoned mansions for sale Toronto
March 29, 2014 at 1:15 pm (10 years ago)I enjoy what you guys tend to be up too. Such clever work
and coverage! Keep up the terrific works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my own blogroll.
Mary Kay
March 30, 2014 at 5:45 am (10 years ago)Hi there! I understand this is kind of off-topic but I had to ask.
Does operating a well-established blog such as yours require a lot of work?
I’m brand new to running a blog but I do write in my
journal on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog so I
will be able to share my experience and thoughts online.
Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring bloggers.
Appreciate it!
CSR Racing Hack and Cheats
March 31, 2014 at 7:19 am (10 years ago)I know this web page offers quality dependent articles or
reviews and additional information, is there any other web site
which provides these data in quality?
31 gifts
March 31, 2014 at 11:05 pm (10 years ago)Thanks for finally talking about >Kickstart Your Blogging Business and Make Big Money:
7 Reality Checks | Andrew Wee | Blogging | Affiliate Marketing | Social Traffic Generation
| Internet Marketing <Liked it!
Call of Mini Infinity trailer
April 1, 2014 at 6:35 pm (10 years ago)Hey There. I found your blog the use of msn. That is an extremely smartly written article.
I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read extra of your helpful
info. Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.
???? ???? ????? ????? ???????
April 5, 2014 at 7:08 am (10 years ago)I have been browsing online more than three hours as of late, but I never found any attention-grabbing article like yours.
It is lovely value sufficient for me. In my view, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content as you probably did, the web will likely
be a lot more useful than ever before.
home appliances questionnaire
April 5, 2014 at 10:58 pm (10 years ago)For most recent information you have to go to see web and on the web I found
this web site as a most excellent web page for newest updates.
gta 5 cars modified
April 7, 2014 at 8:36 pm (10 years ago)I’m gone too informm my liittle brother, that he should also go to see tgis weblog onn
regular basis to obtain updated from newest news update.
angry birds epic hack 2014
April 9, 2014 at 10:28 am (10 years ago)Ohio does angry birds epic cheat at any time effect politics.
Last year 5 job hopefuls jogging for some form of place
utilized angry birds epic hack 2014 as the primary matter of their plan.
Anyone may possibly consider angry birds epic cheats will be a bad matter
to be able to direct some sort of marketing campaign with,
however in reality using the societal along with the environmental impact can be offers, this specific theme could achieve lots of fans.
Photoshop free download full version
April 10, 2014 at 8:15 am (10 years ago)This kind of game gives a real experience of building a farm
and planting trees. That is particularly true
if they begin to beat such games. ‘ Just like many other ‘free
to play’ games there are always way to spend your money within the game.
Mai Piu Acne Gratis
April 19, 2014 at 4:18 am (10 years ago)??n?=you? ???k?y?=?an, may? ??b?ng=help? ??w?=I? ???y?xi?=in a short wh?le,
for ? while? ??ma??. However you aren’t sure for y?u
wish to mess ar?und now w?th c?emical substan?es
to have easy, comfortable since radiant s?in, the best way
features needed intended. With a revitalising blend of dandelion
??ot and milk thistle, it’s specially formulated to
tip the balance bac? in your fa?our.
car
April 19, 2014 at 9:07 am (10 years ago)Once this i – Phone app is installed on the phone, it starts to track down the
mobile’s location even with the Smartphone offline. When he receives a message
or phone call on his cell phone does he suddenly begin to ignore you.
The Nokia 6600 Slide mobile phone comes with a large 2.
Matthias
April 20, 2014 at 12:51 pm (10 years ago)Read this incredible website and bought a steam shower and never ever looked backwards, marvelous resources on this
website can not thank you enough
Kerrie
April 20, 2014 at 9:35 pm (10 years ago)After study a few of the blogs on your website now,
and I really like your way of operating a blog. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon.
Pls take a look at my web site as well and let me know your
opinion.
best used cars under 10000
April 28, 2014 at 4:45 am (10 years ago)There is no time like the present to take the plunge and purchase your first
RC car that runs on fuel. With hatchbacks, you can fold the rear seats so that you can have a storage area that is
bigger than the trunk of a sedan. Racing resumes at Lime Rock Historic Festival 31 on Monday, Labor Day,
for a last day of competition.
kasino på nett
April 29, 2014 at 1:51 am (10 years ago)Hello I am so thrilled I found your site, I really found you by error, while
I was researching on Digg for something else, Anyhow I am
here now and would just like to say kudos for a tremendous post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also
love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the minute but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to
read much more, Please do keep up the excellent b.
docs.google.com
April 30, 2014 at 5:06 pm (10 years ago)Tremendous issues here. I’m very happy to see your post.
Thank you a lot and I’m taking a look forwqard to touch
you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?
Luxury steam showers
April 30, 2014 at 10:00 pm (10 years ago)That is visually like my own shower enclosure I bought just recently, so satisfied about it for any individual found on
the fence on the subject of getting one, do it now,
you wont be sorry
Dexter
May 2, 2014 at 11:51 am (10 years ago)I delight in, result in I discovered just what I used to be
having a look for. You’ve ended my 4 day lengthy hunt!
God Bless yoou man. Have a nice day. Bye
winrar password remover download free
May 3, 2014 at 8:41 pm (10 years ago)Very rapidly this website will be famous among
all blogging and site-building visitors, due to it’s pleasant content
deer hunter cheats
May 6, 2014 at 7:35 pm (10 years ago)Hey I am so excited I found your weblog, I really found you by mistake,
while I was looking on Digg for something else, Regardless I
am here now and would just like to say many thanks
for a remarkable post and a all round entertaining
blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I
have bookmarked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the
excellent work.
Curs Valutar
May 8, 2014 at 3:46 am (10 years ago)Un Curs Valutar de Kickstart Your Blogging Business and Make Big Money: 7 Reality Checks conversie valutara nu este o obligatie usoara de a a realiza de zi cu zi cu modificarea ratelor Curs Valutar straine .
Fiind o piesa instraina , curs la oricare piesa locala se va a
socoti pentru Curs Valutar puterea de achizitionare in cusur instraina se muta
in fitece moment uro .
support.infocubic.com
May 8, 2014 at 12:27 pm (10 years ago)This is a topic that’s close to my heart… Take care!
Exactly where are your contact details though?
askfm tracker
May 15, 2014 at 10:36 am (10 years ago)Its not my first time to visit this website, i am visiting this web site
dailly and take pleasant information from here daily.
best pet vac
May 17, 2014 at 8:10 am (10 years ago)Vacuum cleaners often perform the work of a broom without raising up a dust cloud.
Do not let the looks deceive you however; some
of these vacuums are tough machines. Try to view as many
of these customer reviews as you can.
eyelash manufacture
May 18, 2014 at 7:29 am (10 years ago)You’ll find many procedures to produce them seem
longer. While a dispute with the FDA required that the original formulation (which did contain a
prostaglandin) be pulled from the market, I believe Marini Lash is one of the best Prostaglandin-Free eyelash enhancement products available on the market today.
Take your false eyelash and hold it over your natural lash line
to determine how many, if any at all, need to be trimmed off.
search engines
May 23, 2014 at 9:46 pm (10 years ago)Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after browsing through some of
the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m
definitely glad I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back
frequently!
Nike Free Tr2
May 28, 2014 at 11:20 am (10 years ago)Hey there would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re utilizing?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different web browsers and I must
say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good web hosting provider at a
honest price? Cheers, I appreciate it!
appetite suppressant
June 5, 2014 at 6:25 pm (10 years ago)Adiphene will deal with your weight loss in 5 other ways ,
which means you’re going to lose extra weight, and you’re going to lose it much
sooner than you’ll with dieting and exercise alone. Below
is healthier details about the elements of Adiphene which will show you how to
to understand which ingredient entering into your body does what.
One of the essential explanations why numerous hyper-propelled individuals never appear to realize their weight
loss objectives on time is Emotional Eating.
Hung
June 9, 2014 at 4:28 pm (10 years ago)Hey there exceptional blog! Does running a blog like
this take a large amount of work? I’ve very little knowledge of coding but
I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near future.
Anyway, if you have any suggestions or tips for new
blog owners please share. I know this is off subject nevertheless I just had to ask.
Many thanks!
internet
June 10, 2014 at 6:55 am (10 years ago)Launching PR, main website and email promotion, and paid campaigns in as coordinated an effort as possible
will help drive a burst of interest and hopefully downloads.
Search engines are far more ‘intelligent’ today and effective SEO requires actual meaningful content pages, social networking, articles submissions, and a focused marketing effort.
Make an effort: Unique content is, by definition, rare.
i grow low level laser
June 10, 2014 at 2:01 pm (10 years ago)The beginning of the end came the day Nia’s boyfriend didn’t take up her offer of caring for him
when he was ill. A study published in The Journal of Dermatology revealed that chlorine causes
discolouration and a change in hair texture. Testing blood or saliva usually
is done in the morning and evening with the normal ranges as noted below.
Best Acne Treatment Products
June 11, 2014 at 12:36 am (10 years ago)I like this website very much, It’s a very nice situation to read and obtain information as well as tips.
uin.cc
June 12, 2014 at 2:24 am (10 years ago)It’s been a big issue now, for this makes the third year.
Probably, she finally realized that and decided to put an end to her existence in which she could barely find any sense.
Every cent earned by the business was used to pay for
a nine-story building, where the first official National Book Store was located.
adult sex toys, adult toys, xxx toys, adult online store
June 12, 2014 at 4:19 am (10 years ago)Great article.
best appetite suppressant pills
June 18, 2014 at 3:09 am (10 years ago)If you want to know the crystal clear details it is better to view
just about any online store web sites explaining the actual product or
service information using elements. There are hundreds to choose from, allowing you the choice of matching the type with
your own health and fitness goals. Glucomannan is
among the most active hunger suppressants in Adiphene, and it works to suppress yearnings and help you handle your parts.
treatment plantar fasciitis
June 18, 2014 at 1:36 pm (10 years ago)About 1 in every 10 people will experience symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis at some point in their lives.
 This exercise can be done with a water bottle as well.
The pain from plantar fasciitis is described as being dull, aching or sharp (all
three for me) and can usually be reproduced by flexing the
toes upwards and tensing the fascia.
spwiki.free.fr
June 18, 2014 at 11:50 pm (10 years ago)Your content is good as well as informative in my personal opinion. You have really done plenty of research on this topic.Thank you for sharing it.
Ultimate Outlet Coupon Code
June 21, 2014 at 10:17 pm (10 years ago)I used to be recommended this web site by way of my cousin. I am
not positive whether or not this submit is written via him as no one
else recognize such special approximately my trouble. You are incredible!
Thank you!
guidance lawsuit funding
June 23, 2014 at 2:21 am (10 years ago)We funding lawsuit know that they’re doing for kids that aren’t
on the case. Tags: benefits of taking up the
good part is we’ve got fabulous quality of life places.
theautoimmunepaleocookbook.ibarraetxea.com
June 24, 2014 at 9:27 pm (10 years ago)That’s due to the fact the tested recipes provided in the cookbook are designed to strengthen a
person’s vigor. The moderates insist they feel better, and have the numbers, especially for blood sugar and cholesterol, from their
doctors to prove it. This soup is really nice because it is strongly recommended to help you have a better body.
scorpion Vs subzero
July 2, 2014 at 8:49 am (10 years ago)Aw, this was a really good post. Taking the time and actual effort
to produce a great article… but what can I say… I procrastinate
a lot and never manage to get anything done.