There are lots of articles on how to become successful as a blogger but if you read in between the lines on most of them, you might get the nagging suspicion that the authors are not themselves actually successful bloggers. Does that ever happen to you? Does that tick you off at all?
Think about this – what this means is that a lot of the content you read about blogging is speculative and hypothetical – which isn’t terribly useful. This translates to the fact that you are wasting time reading something that may or may not work!
How would you like to discover what being a successful blogger is actually like. What is it like on a day to day basis? What are the positives and negatives of making money this way? Let’s take a moment to answer those questions.
The Day-to-Day
One of the reasons that a lot of people want to become successful bloggers is because they think it’s a completely work-free, stress-free job. Of course this is not in fact the reality. While it’s true that running a blog is definitely much easier than working 9-5 in an office, you shouldn’t think that you can just relax all day if you’re a blogger. If anyone ever told that working online was the quick way to riches, they are not being really being honest! Personally, I only know 2 people that honestly work less than a few hours a day.
If you want blogging to be your full time ‘career’ then you need to treat it as such and you need to work ‘full time’ on it. Thinking that you can do this ‘whenever you want’, just aint gonna cut it! You need to take this seriously. That said, this is definitely a ‘leisurely’ full-time. You can probably get away with 5 hours a day with the TV on… But if you start to ignore your blog you’ll see your income wane.
In terms of stress?
Blogging is a lot less stressful in many ways than having a boss breathing over your shoulder but it is still a little stressful. One of the sources of these stresses is simply the fact that you won’t want to lose your fortunate position. If you’re making a living from a blog, how do you ensure that you stay that way? What if you wake up one day and your AdSense account is revoked? What if Google has taken your site off of page one? These thoughts will haunt you… So be smart and make sure your business is resilient.
Keep in mind that ONLY blogging will not make you money. You need to handle OTHER aspects of the business in order to be successful. This will be the topic of another article in the near future!
Fans
Something that is really pretty awesome about being a blogger is all the fans. People will e-mail you praising your work, asking for advice and generally treating you like a celebrity. It’s a massive ego boost. But then you’ll also get trolls, you’ll get people saying ‘hey I live down the road from you!’ (which is creepy) and you’ll have e-mails you can’t answer. The ‘trick’ to handling this is to go with the flow!
When someone comments on your page, make sure you reply back! People like to be acknowledged and be recognized. This will go a long way to helping build a relationship
Is running a blog full-time awesome? Absolutely. But it’s not without its challenges. Make sure it’s right for you before you dive in! And speaking of challenges, this post was part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge!
Blogging is a great way to reach out to your ideal customers/clients and share the information that they are looking for. When you view it as a relationship building tool it completely changes your outlook. In my opinion blogging is well worth the effort.
While the act of blogging does not make you money, the effects it has WILL make you money! I agree, Toni! When you reach your ideal customer/client, you are building a relationship with them. That is what will make the sale easier to process.
Paul, you were speaking the truth there! I love blogging and working from home, but that does not mean it’s like being on vacation. In fact, I have to push myself sometimes to take time off.
For many people, it can be more difficult to work from home becuase of the distractions. Add in family members and it gets MUCH harder!
I am slowly but surely learning all of the ins and outs of blogging. It is a like a whole new world!!
That is because it IS a whole new world, Beth! You will find that it is like peeling an onion. As you learn more, you also learn there is more to learn! WHOA!
I love blogging, but you’re right… it is a lot of work and I have been guilty of not being consistent over the years. That’s why I’m making a clean start with the UBC this month!
That is great, Ruth! Keep up the good work. By being consistent, you will see the benefits!