One reason why the ‘blogging tips’ niche is growing larger and larger and becoming more and more profitable is that because there’s still a huge number of persons/market that consume/need it. It’s no secret that a lot of people who have a blog or who is just trying to have their own blog is seeking to become a problogger, and make tons of money from their blog just like famous guys do. While there is an overflowing of good stuffs and content about blogging, a lot of people still couldn’t have it going.
While the rule of ‘reading too much, implementing less’ still follows, I think still almost 90% of the bloggers are not satisfied with the way their blog is performing. Either they feel they aren’t making that much money, or not a lot of people reads their blog or for whatever reasons. The truth about blogging for fame and for money these days is that providing good stuffs alone is not enough. I have read some blogs with really superb content yet they’re not getting the traffic (I think) they should deserve. They say content is the king but experience and observation tells otherwise. Here are some of the things that I realized why most blogs don’t just fly:
- Bloggers are just idiots – No offense to the statement (I was thinking of a better way to express it). What I mean is that everyone starts out from scratch and is an idiot himself. Two to three months later, it’s either that a blogger has learned a lot (hopefully implemented what he learned) or is still an idiot just like when he started. The basic explanation in this is that blogging is like schooling. Some people never get to pass on some levels primarily because of their lack of knowledge (and drive maybe).
- Lack of drive and determination – Please do take note that bloggers like Darren Rowse, Shoemoney and Chow had blogged for over a year without being recognized and now look where they are now! I could even testify that making a blog popular and profitable is easier these days rather than before. If you’re entering the blogging business, then make sure you have the necessary juice of determination and patience to keep it going for a long time. Do you really think you can handle blogging for a long time?
- Not enough Marketing – Blogging is internet marketing, remember that! Carving out a successful blog includes giving out good content first, then finding a way to reach the most number of audience as possible. Sure it’s not hard to create good content but marketing and promoting what you got is something to really focus on. Content is the king no more! 30% content. 70% marketing.
- No clear goal – This one should’ve been written first I guess. Anyway, everytime a person starts a blog and has no goal, it’s like driving without a map or like shooting the basketball with a blind fold. Make sure to set your objectives and goals on blogging. Are you going to just create a personal blog? Are you going to create a flagship blog that would boost your online brand? Or you’re just creating a blog to be flipped soon? Either way, a blogger really has to be clear on this one. Saying ‘I just want to start a blog period” is a retarded statement. Believe me.
- Proper funding – Starting a blog is a low-risk investment I must say. But when one does start a blog that he intends to monetize later on, he must understand that a blog may not get its initial income return on it’s 6th month or even a year. I do really feel bad for a lot of my friends who do start it out alright, provides good content and then flop afterwards because of lack of budget. It’s either the site got suspended by its host or the domain just not renewed. $100 for a year is the safe number of budget needed. You’re gonna be needing more of course when you want to fast track your progress.
- Afraid of trying Out New Things – Assuming you are NOT one of those things listed above, then you must not be afraid to try out new things. If you have a blog and its consistently getting 50-100 pageviews a day and is doing good interactions, are you just gonna stop there? Why not take your efforts a couple notch higher? Or try to experiment new stuffs? It’s a common misconception that when an experiment fails, expect tons of drawbacks. Don’t be afraid to try untested things, or to do something different. If you fail miserably, then chances are you’d benefit more in the long run, unless you’re an idiot. 😉
- Not Building Relationships – In my guest post on ThouShallBlog about using blog as a reputation tool, I stressed how a blog can make you reputable and do a lot of good things more than just making money from it. Blogging is a very large, yet tight and accomodation community. I have met a lot of bloggers, talked with them and shared insights with them. Like any other business, building relationship with other bloggers within your community is a key. If you’re not then you’re missing a lot.
Building a ‘good blog’ takes more work than what you think, yet it’s not as rocket-science as building your own company or making a male baby. Remember the 7 things I listed above and make sure you enjoy what you are doing. If not, then maybe you should re-assessed whether blogging is for you. Feel free to share your own piece please.