Anyone can be a blogger. It’s not that big of a deal: Start a blog, write about a certain topic you like. Done!
Although that is true, starting a blog business and going from a hobby blogger to a full time blogger is an entirely different story.
Today I’m going to outline some things you should know before starting a blog business. The reason I’ll be telling you all this is to prepare you for what’s to come.
Eventually, if you get the right training, you’ll be well on your way to being a full time blogger.
But not until you jump over these hurdles….
5 Things You Should Know Before Starting A Blog Business
It Takes Time, Patience & Determination
Before starting a blog business, you should really get clear about one thing: Building a blog business is a lot like building an offline business (in some ways).
Although the start up costs aren’t as high, the effort you need to “make it work” is going to be insane.
Even if you do everything right from the get-go, which is basically impossible if you’re only a beginner, you’re looking at 6 months to a year before you starting seeing some income that is worth talking about.
Sure, you could get your first few dollars in your first month but to start hitting three / four digits, you’re going to have to wait.
Competition is tough out here.
Whatever your blog is going to be about, I guarantee you there is a million+ other like it being run by people that have a bigger budget and more experience than you.
I know that sounded like an “oh-sh*t” moment but believe me; you have nothing to worry about.
As long as you provide your own unique twist to things; you’re on your way to the money. Your unique take on the subject is what’s going to make you stand out, if you give it time that is.
One thing that I can suggest you do is to start your blog in a subject that you deeply care about.
This blog you’re reading right now has been one of my biggest tests as to how much patience I have. If I wasn’t genuinely interested in blogging and how blogs can be monetised, I’d have given up by now. It has just been an uphill battle ever since my first blog post.
Your Income Is Not Guaranteed
While your income will hopefully steadily increase over time (see what these top bloggers are making) you have to know that your income is not going to be consistent.
On certain months you may hit a record then you fall flat on the next – it happens !
I’ve learned this lesson from my other blog that promotes products on Amazon. I’ve had a record month in December but then had the worst month ever in January! I still can’t believe how it happened myself.
Here are some more things that will cause your income to fluctuate;
-The amount of traffic you get in a month;
Once you hit a steady run, you can count on your traffic being always steadily on the way up but you could easily have a post go viral and suddenly you get 3x the traffic in that one week.
Sudden viral traffic will lead to more sales but don’t count on having that income on a regular basis.
On the flip side, search engines might also decide to de-rank you under a keyword that was getting tons of searches and suddenly, you lose 1/4 of your traffic. Yep, that will also affect your income.
Traffic = money here so any changes in traffic would likely lead to changes in income.
-The products you’re promoting;
Your income is also obviously tied to what products you’re promoting and how much you’re getting off a product.
What happens if a certain product you were promoting suddenly gets pulled? It’s not as rare as you’d like it to be.
It happened to my friend Dom Wells from HumanProofDesigns.
He was selling a product that was suddenly discontinued and his income dropped suddenly, that is until he switched his business model and eventually business picked up again. Nice going Dom!
It could also happen that a product you promote just made some big news or it is now “in fashion” and interest in it has skyrocketed.
-What your niche is about;
If your blog is about winter coats, do you think summer is going to be a good time for your business? Every niche has it’s peak season and it’s low season and that’s just part of the game.
To find out when your niche peaks, type your subject in Google Trends and see what Google tells you.
If I type the term “blogging“; I can see that every December, interest in “blogging” is at it’s lowest but then soon after in January, it hit it’s peak.
Hmmm, is blogging a popular New Years resolution!? Could be!
PRO TIP: If you’re making a solid income from blogging and you’re thinking of going full time with it, save up some cash as an “emergency cushion” before you make the jump.
You’re Going To Be Lonely
As I’ve already said; blogging takes time and you have to invest valuable time to make it work. That means time that was previously spent with family or friends have to be spent following training and applying yourself.
Also, when you do finally make it happen and go full time, you’ll find that you’re going to be spending most of your days alone, since everybody is at work. :/
I’ve noticed this when I decided to go to the beach but couldn’t because all my friends, family and girlfriend were at work
How much time do I need to put in!?
Blogging 2 hours a day is enough. I spend over 12 hours a day online but if I was super organized and on a tight schedule, I can fit 12 hours into 2 hours easily.
Legendary blogger John Chow says he only works on his blog 2 hours a day and it is now making over $100,000 a month.
Two hours might still sound a bit too much for some people but it just has to be.
If you don’t want to take time away from your family, do your 2 hours after everyone went to sleep. Sure you’d be tired the next morning but it all depends on how much you want this to work.
Trust me, if it works out at the end. It’ll be worth the effort. (More on this later)
You’re Going To Give Up
Statistics show us that most often, people give up on blogging before they make their first $1.
Even the guys that do make it, once gave up; but they always came back to try it one more time.
I’ve given up multiple times. There are about 7 or 8 inactive blogs lost in the archives of the internet that were once connected to me.
I know failure is very demotivational but you’re going to have to learn how to take failure as an opportunity to “do better next time”.
Eventually, you’ll get your break. It’s just a matter of time. You’re only one post away!
It’s All Worth It
I’m just realising that I’ve been very down on blogging with this post today. And that’s not a good thing for a blog that makes money when a reader decides to start a blog business haha!
Trust me though, making money from a blog that you created, out of nothing, is simply the best feeling ever! I can easily say it has been one of my life’s proudest moments.
It brings with it so much benefits that all the negatives I talked about today just can’t match up.
Here are now some of the benefits I’ve experienced that came with being a full time blogger.
- No alarm clocks.
- No boss.
- No need to ask for time off.
- I don’t live for weekends and vacations anymore.
- I’m much happier.
- I can take my business anywhere in the world.
- I now have blogger-friends all across the globe.
- I’m a “business owner”! How cool is that?
- My earning potential has no limit.
- I help people achieve the same goals I’ve set for myself!
- and much more…
Yes it is hard to build a blog business but once you do, you’ll look back at it all and see that all the ups and downs you had were just all part of the process of you building a solid business you can rely on.
I really hope this article hasn’t put you off blogging because that is the last thing I wanted to do.
Hopefully, it has opened up your eyes to all the work that needs to be done. I think if you know what you’re getting yourself into, it’ll be much easier to face them.
And the end of it all, I really hope you have fun with it. It’s one awesome job!
If you’re interested in starting a blog, I suggest you get some training like John Chow’s “Bogging With John Chow” or my own personal favourite “Wealthy Affiliate“. Both programs will put you on the right path to success!
WAIT! – Don’t Go!
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As always, if you have any questions or comments, make sure you drop them below and I’ll get to them asap.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your time.
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Original article and pictures take ablogonblogging.com site
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