There are lots of folks out there who will tell you that they are earning thousands of dollars per month blogging. Many will sell you their secrets, but almost all of the people who are worth listening to will tell you that it didn't happen for them and it's not going to happen to you without work.
Blogging CAN earn some very ingenious people a lot of money within a very short time. For the vast majority of people like me and you who are struggling to keep up with the information overload, however, blogging is not going to earn significant amounts of money without an investment in learning time and energy in doing the groundwork it takes to put the components of a sustainable blog in place.
The good news is, if you're willing to learn how to do the work that sustainable bloggers do, your blog most certainly can develop into a rewarding hobby that not only pays for itself, but also pays you a salary for nurturing it that can increase over time.
There are four basic categories of blog-related work that any blogger concerned with sustainability must be prepared to get done in equal measures:
1. Produce content
2. Let audiences know your content is available
3. Identify, implement, test & manage revenue streams
4. Learn constantly about 1, 2, and 3 by interacting with other bloggers
As I delve into the blogosphere of late in search of knowledge about how it all works, my quest is to find ways that the ourwwworld team can collaborate effectively as a team, to help each other get the 4 main parts of the work involved in sustainable blogging done, and maximize the value of the scarce time we each have to spend online. Ever present in my mind are the language, time and cost constraints that our non-US team members face.
In future posts here, my plan is to offer knowledge, time-saving tips and collaborative ideas for each of the 4 categories of stuff that needs to be done to create blogs that increase in value over time. Though I will certainly share whatever I think I'm learning I honestly don't have all the answers for us by a longshot. I'm thinking about interviewing some guest bloggers who I believe will have some useful experience to share in helping us understand the work involved in all of these areas, and tips for getting it done efficiently. I'll also be pointing you in the direction of bloggers I am learning from in a number of different spheres.
Please let's use the comment space here at the ourwwworld blog to discuss (with each other and other bloggers who will hopefully pass by) the different strategy options available to us as we explore the path to sustainable blogging as a team.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Becoming sustainable bloggers
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I wanted to pop in and add my name to the extended team. I blog, but I sure don't do it right and haven't tried to make my blog pay. But the need for money to make projects I care about is so great that I really want to learn how to make blogs pay.
ReplyDeleteI do think that one of the payoffs can't be counted in money, but in connections.
For example I'm connected to Ceris and Ben at Ned. From Ceris's Facebook feed I saw a link to Ben's plan to collect books to sell via Amazon. Ceris is thinking how to sell art prints online. All this sort of connects to the questions I'm trying to answer to sell some old magazines. All these things aren't directly related to Blogs, but blogs are involved because blogs are a way to connect.
It's imperfect but already all of us are used to trying to solve problems together. Lots of bloggers are like that too. It's little things, but people feel great when they can offer a comment that may have good information in it.
Susan Mernit has a post directed towards recently laid off well-paid people, but the advice is pretty cool for thinking strategy Here
thanks john! i will keep that in mind and think about what it could mean in the context of some plans for November. keep following for some ideas that i plan to float in the near future.
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