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Today, special guest blogger Gabe Young of Free Blog Help dot Com explodes the top 5 money-making myths running rampant through the blogosphere. Gabe has a very strong background in Information Technology, and and MBA. In short, he’s an authority, and very much worth reading.
Top 5 myths of blogging for money
By Gabe Young
If only it were so easy!
There’s just so much information (and misinformation) on the web today, how do we sort through all the garbage and find the real useful stuff that will actually help us earn an income by blogging? Let’s set the record straight on some common myths.
Top 5 myths of blogging for money
- You can get rich quick. Not at all! In fact, it’s the opposite. If you poured your heart and soul and every waking moment of your day into blog for a month straight, you would probably making more money flipping burgers during that same time. Whether you plan on being a full-timer or a hobbyist, your blog site is still a business, one that requires nurturing and time to grow. In the long run, you will out-earn a short-order cook but it will take plenty of time on your part.
- It is easy to make money with a blog. Also totally untrue. Anyone who tries to sell you a “secret” to making money fast is a scam artist. So let me add a caveat to my previous myth: you cannot get rich quick unless you are a scam artist, then you have a small chance. Not only will growing your blog take a lot of time but it will also require focus and energy. You will have to pay attention to it closely and perform many experiments. Then you have to find solutions for your problem areas, which require creativity, patience, and lots of trial and error.
- You can start your money making blog for free. Of course you can start a blog for free but if you want to make money, it will cost you. It’s an investment in yourself, after all. Your upfront costs are a domain name and hosting, usually less than $100 for the year combined. However, before your first year is up, logos, themes, email service, and advertising are among your other costs, which can add up real quick.
- There is a recipe for success. There are general road maps but there is no “system” that works for everyone; there are just too many variables. Even if you were to try to reproduce the niche, the strategy, the tactics, and the theme of a successful blogger, the timing isn’t the same. Futhermore, you don’t get to see what strings are being pulled from behind the curtain. Take the time to learn from experts, digest the information, and as Simon, Paula and Randy would tell you, “make it your own”.
- Once a blog is successful, it can be put on autopilot. The internet is organic. As a result, there is no autopilot button that would work well long-term. Let’s say you were able to create amazing success after a few months or a year, in order to continue that success you would have to keep up with trends, adapt to changes, grow existing relationships, create new relationships, rethink your strategies, fine-tune your tactics, continue to market your blog, perform regular SEO and tweak your ads. And did I mention that you still have to write fresh content?!?
Not exactly what some of you want to hear, is it?
There’s a bright side to it: I’m not trying to de-motivate potentially great bloggers, rather, save bloggers who wouldn’t make it anyway several months of their time.
So, if you still want to blog for money, go for it! Now you know what you’re up against.
Gabe Young is a business professional with an entrepreneurial spirit. Gabe has an MBA and managed IT departments in the Fortune 500, creating strategies and tactics for some of the most popular websites. Visit Gabe at Free Blog Help dot Com.
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“You can get rich quickly with blog” this is the powerful myth of blogging.Many people thinks that there is easy way to get rich,but they don’t think that it is not easy.
They waste their time to get rich quickly via blogging and after a big lose of time they quit blogging.
Yes some bloggers creates wealth from blogging like Yaro,Darren or Harsh Agrawal.But you know what they do ??
Think on it and if you find the correct answer,it is not tough to get rich via blogging.
Surender Sharma´s last blog ..Wordpress Plugin Compatibility Beta Integrated With WP Plugin Directory
I am agree with the blogging myths you have added.
Make blogging your habit then it’s easy to get quick rich.
Twitter: websiteweekend
November 2, 2009 at 9:26 am
Every one of the Big Time Bloggers has stated flat out that their income followed a “hockey stick” curve. Pretty much nothing for years, then very fast increase in revenue.
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Big Shakeout Coming in MMO Blogosphere – You ready for it?
I like the direction this post took by recommending organic, natural traffic growth with good content (i.e. hard work) vs. the quick and easy schemes floating out there in the “inter-webs”.
Walter´s last blog ..In San Francisco, Composting Is The Law
Yes I agree with you that there is a lot of garbage out there on the internate about blogging. Anything with the wording “Get Rich Quick” I tend to just turn around and run from. It’s all about hard work in the beginning and not the short cut (“Get Rich Quick”).
Thanks for tips.
Twitter: websiteweekend
November 2, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@Walter – Organic search is one the best long term success strategies of all. It just takes a lot of time!
@David – It turns out that “Get Rich Slow” doesn’t work either… and I have a post on that brewing… it’s counter-intuitive, but makes perfect sense once you see so-called “fast money” from the correct point of view.
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Big Shakeout Coming in MMO Blogosphere – You ready for it?
Twitter: pnstlion
November 2, 2009 at 2:23 pm
@Surender – You’re right, it’s not incredibly hard but it does take time. There are a few exceptions but for the most part, blogging for money takes hard work and persistence.
@Walter – You got the point exactly. If someone takes the time to build an empire with a good foundation, it’ll pay off in the long run.
@David – Getting rich quick is possible but not likely. I, too, run fast from “systems”.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Do Unto Others’ Blogs As You Would Have Them Do Unto Yours
Twitter: pnstlion
November 2, 2009 at 2:24 pm
@Dr Wordpress – I agree that there’s a happy zone. One way to get there is to create successes by setting realistic goals. I’ll be making a post about that soon.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Do Unto Others’ Blogs As You Would Have Them Do Unto Yours
I agree with you gabe, the mostly with number 5 myth. Yeah, there are no autopilot for success blog but yeah, there are auto blog which kill your blog for sure.
Dana @ Online Knowledge´s last blog ..Welcome My New Theme: Atahualpa 3.4.4
It seems the only real way to get traffic and become successful is to get organic search results. SEO is where the true success seems to lie.
Twitter: pnstlion
November 2, 2009 at 8:54 pm
@El3ments – SEO is one big part of the overall equation, no question. However, although I get a lot of traffic organically, most of my regular visitors are from relationship building.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Do Unto Others’ Blogs As You Would Have Them Do Unto Yours
@Gabe – Good point. I just started and I already have a few regulars. They are my friends but they still come and tell people about the site. In the long run, unique visitors are worth more when it comes to ad revenue correct?
Twitter: pnstlion
November 3, 2009 at 6:40 am
@El3ments – You’ll want a combination for various purposes. To increase relevancy, you’ll want to have a nice reader base who visits your site and comments often.
Depending on how you’re planning on monetizing, your target could be either. For example, income from direct emails of course requires people who’ve been to your site before. However, most of those visitors won’t click on ads.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Brand identity, part I – And you are special because…?
@Gabe – Good point. I never thought of advertising with direct emails or newsletters. Having regulars to start and continue discussions is good for everyone. Helps keep readers, which we are proving right now since I keep coming back. It also gets new visitors interested and discussing or interacting.
El3ments´s last blog ..Interesting News Articles
Twitter: baddeacon
November 3, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Looks like I need to spend more time at the grindstone.
Sean´s last blog ..Why Printmaking? (A Study in Polarity)
Twitter: pnstlion
November 3, 2009 at 7:13 pm
@Sean – Hey, we all do. Once we momentum starts building, it’s hard to let off the gas though.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Brand identity, part I – And you are special because…?
Nice Dave I think this is the first guest posts I have seen here on WIW, without a doubt one of the largest supprting facts arguments I have seen for any myth. Bottom line this aint easy. haha
Extreme John´s last blog ..Halloween Costume Contest Pictures and Voting
Twitter: websiteweekend
November 5, 2009 at 11:37 am
@Extreme – The guest writers here on Website In A Weekend are just killin it! Here’s who has published and who has committed:
http://website-in-a-weekend.net/about/guest-writers/
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Twitter Redux – Making Sense of Social Media Madness
Twitter: KiwiGordie
November 6, 2009 at 2:55 am
Another thing worth mentioning is that Google Adsense is one of the worst, if not the worst way to try to make decent money from your blog.
Gordie Rogers´s last blog ..Help! I’m At A Lifestyle Design Crossroads.
Twitter: websiteweekend
November 6, 2009 at 6:57 am
@Gordie – Yep, which is why you won’t see any here!
Great post. It is scary to see how many people should that bloggers instantly become rich after posted some content over the internet. Blogging is a real work.
Jean-Baptiste Jung´s last blog ..How to write a great blog post title
Twitter: websiteweekend
November 8, 2009 at 6:39 am
@Jean – The crazy thing is that “big time bloggers” don’t really make that much money. John Chow makes, what, $40k/month? That’s peanuts in the big picture.
Folks, be sure to head over to Jean’s blog and dig out his other work as well. Jean blogs at http://catswhoblog.com, http://catswhocode.com and http://wprecipes.com. You should subscribe to all.
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Black Magic SEO! Vampire Weekend sucks SERPs
Twitter: bluepop13
December 22, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I absolutely agree with him. Not because I believe every single word he says but because he has made good solid points and because it takes work to get anything you want in life.
People don’t want to look at the fact that if it were actually easy to make money blogging that there would be people walking around everywhere with cash flying out of their pockets. It just doesn’t happen that way. Great post… In fact, one of the best posts I’ve discovered online that tells the truth for how it is.
Twitter: websiteweekend
December 22, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I know, right?
Here’s another one to think about: “Blogging success takes 2 years.”
What if it doesn’t? What if it used to take 2 years, but now takes 3 years? Or 5 years?
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..7 Tips for Producing Snackable, Factual Content
yes man i am absolutely agree with you good informative post thanks for sharing this. i am new to this site i liked it website is going pretty good nice topics all around i hope i will continue in the future as well thanks!