Blogging is a BAD Way to Make Money Online
Millions and millions of people work every day trying to make money online. It would seem that the common denominator is that they all are hoping to generate enough income to shed the day job and have more free time.
Money is Freedom
The old saying that money doesn’t buy happiness has got to be one of the most overrated cliche’s ever used. Money very well might not buy you happiness but it buys you all of the things that DO make you happy.
Happy or not, what money does allow you is freedom. Freedom from the fear of being homeless, freedom from the fear of not being a good provider for your family, the fear of not having enough money to retire, the fear of being laid off at any time.
I am sure there are hundreds more but you get the idea. All of these are very valid and real concerns with most people trying to make money online.
These are all very admirable fears to try and overcome however I think most people aren’t trying to make money online to put food on the table, they are trying to make money online to enjoy a different kind of lifestyle. They want to be able to make more and work less.
Blogging Allows Little Freedom
It’s a new month so inevitably you have the good fortune to read all of the income reports that bloggers love to post. I have been reading a number of these in anticipation of this post and one thing is pretty clear, blogging for money is not that lucrative for 99.99% of bloggers.
My own blogging efforts produced about $1000 dollars last month which is ok but it takes an incredible amount of time and effort to make that money. I made double that from my growing niche site empire (ok empire might be strong) and they require very little work once they are setup and optimized.
I’ve had a revelation this past month and that is blogging for money is an AWFUL way to Make Money Online IF you are looking for freedom and to have to work less, then blogging isn’t the best path to do it in my opinion.
To make a sustainable income from blogging would require as much as or MORE time invested than a regular job.
Passive Income
I am not trying to tell anyone what to do, if spending hours writing and promoting content is your thing then by all means have at it. I was bitten by the blogging bug myself, the fact is, it’s FUN to blog. I enjoy the heck out of it.
I enjoyed it so much that I became engrossed in it and stopped working on my niche site collection. I have since come to my senses and will resume work on “building a dotcom empire.”
What I like about the niche sites is that they are passive income. What I mean by that is that once they are built, optimized and setup, they require very little work after that. You can write an article or two every few weeks, build some back links etc but for the most part, they run on autopilot.
This is a much more attractive income model for me. I am after the freedom that making money online can offer, not just a different job. I actually like my day job, it just doesn’t allow me to do it from a beach house.
Conclusion
Your reasons and mileage may vary but for most, money equals freedom. If your definition of freedom involves working less and enjoying life more then for me that isn’t blogging. I am still going to blog, because I like it, I am just not going to try and generate a sustainable income from it.
What are your thoughts? Do you make a full time income from your blog? If so how many hours a week do you spend? Any Problogger will tell you that they probably work as much on a blog as they would at a regular job, so why the attraction?
Passive Income, for me, is the horse I plan to ride.
Yeah. Hey, looks like me sleeping at the keyboard. Heh. What’s the attraction for Probloggers with as much time used? Probably being one’s own boss, working from home, and deciding how to allocate one’s own time. And, boy. As a former Nurse, I very much appreciate being able to work from home. Not having to work evenings, nights, weekends, and major holidays.
I’ve looked at my blogging as providing a real life face for my niche site. In these strange Internet times, with so many scams and cheap sales…people don’t know who to trust, anymore. Being able to read my blog visitors can learn about my work, my background and competency, and even get to know me as a real person. The person behind the niche site. Kind of like when you mention the disgruntlement about e-books. People don’t know anymore who REALLY is a specialist in their field, and who’s just giving you a hyped landing sales page. Even though people shop more on the Web, that doesn’t mean they wish less quality for their money. When I wrote my first E-book several years ago, it was because people were so impatient for their info. Exactly for the reason that the Web put everything at their fingertips…..they wanted it now, now, now. They didn’t have the time to order a book, and wait for it to come by mail, and pay postage to boot….especially when they didn’t have to.
So….a blog related to a niche site can give a more intimate experience for the searcher. I would agree with what you write about it being an easy money-maker. Like you said, it takes a lot of time and effort.
Tameras last blog post..Personal Development- Preparing to Stroll
You’re right on target with this! Blogging is NOT passive income. It is HARD work.
For a favored few (often the early adopters) blogging will produce an income that can sustain them. For the rest, blogging may provide some pocket change.
Laura Spencers last blog post..Of Note: Rogue Ink
Correction. NOT being an easy money-maker without lots of time and effort.
Tameras last blog post..Personal Development- Preparing to Stroll
@Tamera – Sure I hear you on the being able to work from home but it’s still a job and let’s be honest….most people aren’t disciplined enough to work from home anyways, they are setting themselves up to fail.
That takes an incredible amount of discipline.
@Laura – Yes I agree completely. The early entries are definitely reaping the benefit of being in first. If you read their content, it is hardly groundbreaking or in most cases, even that interesting, but yet they do quite well anyways.
At least they CLAIM they do…how would we know any different.
@tamera – I understand your point….I do….but it would depend greatly on the niche site. Not all niche sites have anything to do with a hyped up landing page of any kind. Take an Ebay affiliate store for example, a searcher enters something they want to buy into Google to find a deal or information and they end up at your Ebay store.
A couple of clicks later you earned a commission, and you didn’t even have to pretend to be an internet guru or anything.
Amazing.
It’s not entirely bad if you’re enjoying what you’re doing. If you enjoy blogging and use it a public relations platform, then it can help out a bit. It’s not the main source of revenue, perhaps, but just a channel.
Elys last blog post..Don’t You Just Wish You Were Tony Stark?
I agree… I enjoy blogging. It’s my soap box…my therapy… my loud speaker to the world. I think it’s fun. I’d do it for free.. wait I’m already doing it for free..lol
On a serious note, Money does give you peace of mind. It also provides a sense of security also.
@Ely – I agree….definitely not entirely bad, in fact I love blogging, I just don’t see it as being able to produce a sustainable income without working even harder than you would at a regular dayjob.
Niche sites aren’t easy either, they take a LOT of work to get going, but once they are up, they are passive income machines.
@Eathan –
Oh, I agree with your points. I didn’t disagree. One more point I WILL have to agree with, and that is that most people do not have the self-discipline. The only thing that can weigh and balance a lacking in that department is the passion for what one is doing. It at least keeps one sitting and working for longer periods.
Tameras last blog post..Personal Development- Preparing to Stroll
A blog is a platform. How you use it is your choice… you can use it to make money, but I don’t think that’s the most optimal use. My personal choice is to turn my blog into a stepping stone into being an information entrepreneur. It does help that I love writing.
If you build up a blog with lots of loyal readers and good PageRank, and integrate it with your other sites, you will have an easier time selling almost anything. Why? Because, as mentioned above, buyers like to know they are interacting with a human being.
I don’t make a lot of money off my blog, but I expect it to be one part of my life that will help me generate $1M/year in passive income by helping me show my passions and personality. I may not generate the money directly from the blog, but it sure won’t hurt to have it as part of the complete package.
ericabizs last blog post..“Secret” eBay and Craigslist Hacks That Will Save You Thousands of Dollars Online
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You are definitely right… blogging to make money online is probably not the best choice. It does take a lot of time and involves a lot of work. Some people; on the other hand, enjoy writing for their blog and thus doesn’t make it seem like work at all. You can look at it many ways, but in the end you will always find exceptions.
KG Lews last blog post..Issue 55 : Readers Come 1st, Search Engines Come 2nd!
Blogging certainly is hard work, which I am quite sure is the reason most people don’t make any money at all. For those that enjoy it and can see the bigger picture (and who are not work shy) it is a great way to make a living.
Free MacBooks last blog post..Creating Bans Headers
Hmm.. imagine that i only manage to have 2 ~ 3 hours sleep just doing blogging
david cheongs last blog post..The money earn for last month
What’s blogging?
Just kidding.
I doubt that many people (more than 10,000) will ever make enough money from blogging to get rid of their day jobs. Like you said, most will be pocket change. Now, why we don’t hear more about your niche site …
[...] Blogging is a BAD Way to Make Money Online [...]
yes, indeed!But the passive income one gets from blogging itself is enough to motivate a person into full time blogging. But i know how tough full time blogging is for probloggers like you. Well, i would say that the prospect of becoming a full time blogger has always amazed me and in the near future, i might be following my dream. hmmm…
Surely one should enjoy blogging and at the same time make some money. However the priority makes the difference.
Ha, I still see your posting so something most be going right?
Rick Vaughns last blog post..The Big Secret
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