Blogging Success According To My Favorite Guru!

Thank you for visiting again. I hope you are enjoying my blog.
Click here to subscribe to my RSS feed and get updates automatically.
Please come again!

How in the world did I land in the blogosphere you ask?  Well, funny you should ask.

I was searching the internet for “how to make a living online”, not the fast buck but the career type venture.  I tried one scam after another for a year or so.  Ahh, the scam artists paints a pretty picture.  After being stung a few times, I  became a little more cautious.  I scrutinized every detail of every claim!

I landed on some sales page that discussed blogging.  I survived raising three daughters who were all teenagers at the same time.  I will investigate most stories.  I understood blogging a little.  But, this character wanted to sell me some secret that would allow me to gain entry into the blogosphere.

Of course I googled his name.  Surprise, yet another scam!  I was getting very discouraged.  Why do 9 out of 10 (more like 99 out of 100) ventures all have to be scams?  Forget this internet business stuff.  I’ll think of something else.  After all, I am an entrepreneur at heart.

I researched blogging a little further…

I went to the website of Darren Rowse – ProBlogger and I was bit by the blogger bug.  I got it and I got it bad.  I never looked back.

I was so excited, I worked on my site for hours every day into the wee hours of the morning.  Yup, I was going to make some serious money.  Now you know.  I started blogging for the money.  I am not afraid of hard work so I knew I could do this.  I bought my copy of ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

As many of you are aware, I am at the 6 month point of my blogging “career”.  This is one of the checkpoints in my business plan.  At 6 months, I evaluated the progress of my goals to date.  Am I where I want to be, where I thought I would be?  Do I need to re-evaluate the plan and adjust?

Being that I had very little knowledge about blogging, my business plan was somewhat vague.  I know how to run a business and how to write a business plan but blogging is a little different then what I am used to.  After 6 months I do have a much better grasp on the reality of blogging.

I originally thought that all I had to do was write a few good posts, put up some ads and wala – I’m in the money.  Doesn’t quite work that way.  I am happy to report that I am not in the blogging business for the money.  It is simply a love affair.  Don’t get me wrong, I still want to make money at blogging but that is secondary.

I am in the process of revising my business plan.  I went to my favoirte Guru for some advice.  I asked Darren Rowse the following questions:

• Do you think a blogger can make a living with just AdSense type ads?

Yes – it’s possible. It really depends upon the type of blog that you start as to what type of monetization works best. Some work great with AdSense, others do better with affiliate programs, others better with direct ad sales. The key is to experiment and see what works best.

• Do you think a blogger can make a living with just one blog?

Again – it’s possible and many bloggers do it – but not all do. Some bloggers take the approach of building a few smaller blogs rather than one big one.

• What do you consider the top 5 picks of Social Media?

Depends a lot on the type of blog you start. The key is to find out where your readers (or potential readers) hang out in social media and join them there. For me that’s been Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn and Digg mainly.

• If you could only pick one avenue or company for monetizing your blog, what would it be?

Really tough question. I’ve made more with AdSense than any other ad network but it depends upon the blog. It’s a good starting point and can work well but in the long term on a successful blog direct ad sales will probably work better.

• What do you consider the one thing that contributes to your success?

Staying at it for the long haul. Posting something every day for 6 years has not been easy but it’s paid off.

I had questions from the answers too but that will have to wait another day.  The one big message I received from this interview is – patience.  You need patience and time to nurture your blog.  6 months is not a significant amount of time to invest in a blog.

You need to test your advertising plan just like any other business.  You don’t necessarily know what works until you try it.  What works for you might not work for me.  It also takes time and patience to build your social network.  Again, the same advice applies to the typical brick and mortar business.  Thank you Darren, for your wisdom and advice.

Is Darren’s advice an eye-opener for you?  Are you more motivated now knowing that success is possible?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

____________________________________________________________________

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and
an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen…”

- Frank Lloyd Wright

____________________________________________________________________

Popularity: 57% [?]