Chapter One
Blogging for Money
It is hard to miss the word "blog" today. We hear blogs mentioned in the media, see them all over the World Wide Web, and we even hear them discussed now in business and social situations. In many cases the term "blogger" is used not just to describe a person who writes a blog, but also someone who earns money doing it.
In this chapter we examine what blogging actually is and what it involves, the different types of blogger, and the truth about making money blogging.
Before we get into earning money from a blog, we had better define what exactly a blog is.
What Is a Blog?
So what exactly is a blog? Because we are at the beginning of a blogging book, this is definitely an issue we need to be clear on!
There are a number of ways we can answer this question, ranging from the broad to the highly technical. To put it as clearly as possible, a blog is a particular type of website. You can see an example in Figure 1-1.
Studies have shown that although awareness of blogs is increasing, there are still many people who frequent blogs without realizing it. This is fine; the key thing is that readers get value out of it. Anyone who has been reading blogs for a while, though, will know there is more to blogging than just publishing any old website.
Though blogs started out as informal lists of links and personal journals, they have evolved into a far more varied medium. In addition to diary blogs and link blogs, there are now CEO blogs, educational blogs, marketing blogs-you name it!
Even blogs on a seemingly similar topic can be approached very differently. Just compare chrisg.com and ProBlogger.net, the blogs belonging to the authors of this book. You can see that though blogs have a lot of features in common, they can also be implemented with your own individual style.
What Makes Blogs Different?
If blogs are just websites, what makes them so different?
In my opinion there are three main areas that differentiate a blog from any other type of site:
1. Content-Blogs are usually updated more often than a traditional website, many of them even multiple times a day, and this keeps visitors coming back more often. The content is also normally arranged in reverse-chronological order with the most recent "post" (article) at the top of the main page and the older entries toward the bottom. 2. Syndication-As well as being able to read a blog in a web browser just like any other website, a blog will almost certainly provide the content in the form of a "feed." This is all the recent articles posted to the site provided in a machine-readable format, allowing people with the appropriate software to read the blog posts as they are published without actually visiting. 3. Conversation-The style of a blog is quite different from other types of websites; there is more of a conversational and community feel. Unlike a more purely informational site, or a traditional news site, blogs are written with the bloggers communicating directly to their audience, and replies are expected in the form of comments. As well as conversation happening on each blog, conversation also happens between blogs, with one blog post attracting replies and responses on others. You can see responses to my blog displayed by the Technorati service in Figure 1-2.
The Added Benefits of Blogging
Yes, blogging has many benefits. Although many bloggers get pleasure just from the process of writing, and of course we cannot overlook the bloggers who make money, you could be looking at blogs with other goals in mind:
1. Fame-A successful blog has the potential to get you noticed and build you a more visible profile in your business market, pastime, or community. 2. Contacts-Blogs are an excellent way to get to know people and network. With blogs naturally leading to conversation, a well-read blog will put you in contact with a wide variety of people. 3. Traffic-Attracting highly targeted visitors alone could be a big draw, especially if you have products or services to sell. Website owners are always looking for new sources of traffic and blogs are a proven way to generate more visits and increased loyalty. 4. Sales-In addition to gaining more attention, over time through your articles you can generate trust and build credibility, critical to making sales.
I love blogging. It is great to be able to work from home, on my own schedule, while helping and meeting so many people. I can''t imagine a better way to earn a living!
Making Money with Blogs
You have seen blogs making money mentioned a couple of times already, but so far I have offered no explanation of how that is the case. This section takes a look at how bloggers make money. While you read this, you may want to think about tactics that appeal to you.
Introduction to Professional Blogging
Over the past few years blogging has changed a great deal and evolved in many ways. What was once an activity limited to a very small number of people has now exploded into a mini-industry. As the number of bloggers has exploded, so has the number of tools and services available for bloggers.
What once involved a good deal of perseverance and a lot of technical proficiency can now be quickly and easily performed by anyone with a few clicks and some typing. Web publishing has arrived for the masses.
With these developments and a growing awareness there have been individuals who have succeeded in profiting from their blogs. In the beginning it was almost unheard of for someone to earn money from their blog; in fact, for many it was seen as counter to blogging culture. This soon changed. As the first pioneers have shared their income achievements there has been an increase in focus upon making money from blogging to a point now where, although it might not be expected, it is certainly much more accepted.
In recent years the term "professional blogger" arrived to describe anyone who approaches blogging not as simply a hobby, but as a professional money-earning activity.
How Much Could You Earn?
It should be stressed before we go any further that bloggers need to enter into an examination of this topic with realistic expectations. While millions of bloggers are experimenting with professional blogging, most bloggers are not getting rich and are only supplementing their income by blogging.
Although some bloggers like Darren and I do make a full-time living from blogging, and there are bloggers who make way more than either of us do, there are many more bloggers who use their income to subsidize gadget purchases or as a way to offset some Internet costs.
Just like in most walks of life, those who succeed are the few who put in the effort to make a go of it over the long haul, whereas most others fall by the wayside before they really get going.
Pro Blogging Is Not a Get-Rich-Quick Tactic
It sometimes disappoints people when I tell them to look elsewhere if they want instant riches. Unfortunately for the impatient, it takes time to build a profitable blog. You do not just become a professional blogger overnight any more than you just instantly become a professional golfer. If only this was the case! Though it does involve making a decision that you are going to earn money from blogging, it is also something you have to work toward over time.
Yes, you could make a lot of money from blogging. Read the stories that are going around on blogs of people making decent full-time incomes from blogging and you will get an idea of the sort of earning potential that exists. Take care also to read about and investigate the hard work and investment of time that it has taken them. Remember that for every well-publicized success story you do read about, there are plenty of others around who have tried and failed that you do not read about. There are a lot more people who struggle to make any more than a few dollars from their blogs than who earn those headline-making five-figures-a-month totals.
Don''t get me wrong; I am not saying this to dampen the excitement and dreams of pro bloggers! The whole point of this book is to help you achieve exactly those dreams, but I think it is the responsibility of those of us who are "talking up" blogging to also keep giving reality checks. There are no magic wands, no hidden tricks, and no secret handshakes that can bring you immediate success, but with time, energy, and determination you will get there.
Direct and Indirect Earning Methods
We go into more detail about exactly how you can earn money from a blog later in this book, but making money from blogging is achieved with two broad categories of tactics: direct and indirect monetization.
Most blogs and bloggers tend to fall into one or the other of these methods, but there is nothing to stop bloggers experimenting with elements of both.
Direct Monetization
Direct methods are where bloggers earn an income directly from their blog. Examples include the following:
Advertising Sponsorships Affiliate commissions Paid reviews
As you can see in Figure 1-3, Darren creates revenue directly through displaying advertising.
Indirect Monetization
Indirect methods are where bloggers earn an income because of their blog. This could be taking your blog-derived authority, credibility, and expertise and using it for any of the following:
Freelance writing contracts Book deals Speaking engagements Consultancy opportunities Service contracts
When you visit my blog you will not see any adverts, but you will see references to my indirect monetization, as you can see in Figure 1-4.
Passive and Active Income
A big appeal for making money out of blogs, or in fact web publishing in general, is that it is seen by many as a passive income. This is income that is earned even when you are not actively working.
Though there are aspects to blogging that can be seen as allowing a passive income-for example, advertising can earn you money while you are asleep, you can take days off, and so on-in actual fact you do need to keep working at it to make a steady or increasing income.
Blogs that stay still, do not get cared for, or are obviously built with automated or ripped-off content ultimately decline and disappear. When a blog attracts no visitors, the blogger will not earn income.
Is Pro Blogging Right for You?
Darren and I speak to bloggers every day who have heard the stories of blogs that make big money and who want to try to make an income from blogging also. One of the pieces of advice that we attempt to convey, knowing full well that it doesn''t always get through, is that it is worth taking time out to ask yourself whether making money with a blog is right for you.
Though this might seem to be a silly or even insulting question to some, it is meant to help you actually examine your intentions. Not every blogger is suited to blogging for money.
What many new bloggers find is that at first the enthusiasm and ideas come easily, but after the first flush of energy has passed it becomes harder and harder to write every day, let alone keep up with all the other factors of maintaining a blog. When your income depends on keeping it up, you might find some of the feelings of excitement and enjoyment have turned to resentment and blogging has become a chore.
Which Monetization Method Is Right for You?
It is not always obvious which style of monetization you might want to follow. Each monetization tactic will be appropriate to a different style of blog and blogger.
Consider the following approaches to blogging and see if they fit you. I have noted which category I feel they primarily fall under.
Indirect
"I blog to help me promote my business."
"I blog because I want to promote my writing."
"I blog because I want to make myself known."
Direct
"I blog for recreational purposes, about my interests and hobbies."
"I blog to make money in my spare time."
"I blog about products and write reviews."
Now, there is nothing wrong with blogging for more than one reason and a mix of strategies is certainly possible, but bloggers considering adding income streams to their blogs need to consider the possibility that there are implications of going in that direction that might impact their other goals.
Let me share some scenarios of real cases that Darren and I have come across where putting ads on a blog wasn''t a good idea. Although they might seem specific I am sure they represent the story of many bloggers and that you can imagine many more scenarios.
Business Blogs Advertising for Competitors
Many entrepreneurs hate the thought of "leaving money on the table," so when they hear about blog advertising they think they have found a way to make money of "wasted traffic." In fact what tends to happen is they find that the ads that are served up by their blogs are for other competing businesses in their field. Though they could block some of the ads, they find that often more ads just come in to replace them. If you are promoting your own products or services, be extremely careful about displaying banners or any other offer but your own. In many cases the space you give over to advertising could be more profitably used to sell your own offering.
Reader Uproar
A blogger who Darren spoke to told him about the day she added graphical banner ads to her blog that sparked a mutiny among her readers. There was outrage from her previously loyal readers who were angry that she''d gone that route. Whereas on some blogs the readers'' sense of ownership is not very high, there are other blogs where for one reason or another readers take great offense to bloggers who change the rules midstream, especially when it comes to intrusive or animated banner ads. Depending upon the community levels and the way you introduce the ads, you can end up losing readership and you need to consider whether the benefits of the income will outweigh the costs of fewer readers.
Money Obsession
Perhaps one of the saddest examples is of a blogger who had been running a really interesting and reasonably successful blog. Though you wouldn''t call him an A-lister, he had a growing and loyal following. Seeing this growth, he got bitten by the "money from blogging" bug so badly that it ended up killing his blog. He deleted from his archive any content that had no income-earning potential and introduced so many ads onto his blog that it was hard to find the actual content. Eventually he ended up writing only on topics that he thought would be proven earners. In doing so he lost the vast majority of his readership and ended up with a pretty uninteresting and garish blog.
Distractions and Clutter
A number of bloggers try some advertising and then later pull the ads, largely because the payoff has not been worth giving over the space to the ads. Ads do contribute another element of clutter to your blog and if the conversion isn''t sufficient they can seem quite pointless. This varies from blogger to blogger and sometimes comes down to the type of ad chosen and the topic that they are writing about, but it''s one of the main reasons we see for bloggers to remove advertising.
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Excerpted from ProBloggerby Darren Rowse Chris Garrett Copyright © 2008 by Darren Rowse. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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