Jul 11 2009
Can you really make money blogging online?
I’ve been blogging for about a year or so now and I think I can answer my own question. My answer is that you can make money blogging online sometimes. That sometimes your blog topic stinks and no one ever comes to visit and sometimes your blog becomes highly popular, but it is very difficult to figure out what content will be visited and what will sink to the bottom of the blogging cesspool.
I’ve read one blog consistently, The Junk Drawer, where Kathy talks about her life, her flaws, and a bag named Windy that has been stuck in a tree for the past year or more. Why this is so popular is difficult to understand, but I find myself visiting often just to see what Windy and Kathy are up to.
Another blog I visit often is one that details a family struggle in an effort to save their almost one year old daughter Hannah. Hannah has a rare genetic disease and Little Miss Hannah is a blog that I follow because I admire her mother and admire her strength and determination.
I’ve weathered quite a few nasty comments here at Why Be Normal? When you put yourself out there to the blogging community, some bloggers can be quite harsh. Many believe they know better than you and offer advice that you didn’t ask for. Others will find offense at something you had to say and hold a grudge, commenting rudely on almost every post you’ve made for the past year.
To make money as a blogger, you have to find your niche, otherwise you will eventually burn out and have nothing left to say. When you write junk that you aren’t interested in, no one else will be interested in what you have to say either. You can make money blogging, but you have to focus your efforts, peruse message boards and learn what is attractive to other readers. If Windy the plastic bag can be a success, so can you.
Thanks. I think this was really helpful. I hope others do too. I’m certainly one of those people who have something to say about everything, but usually my topics aren’t well visited. I hope that I can be witty enough to draw people in, like Kathy and Windy the bag.
I understand that there will be someone who is offended. No one can express their opinion without someone being offended, so I’m ready to weather some anger, but that’s if Today.com gives me a chance. We’ll see!
Look for “Bite the Bullet” in about a week or two to see if I succeeded! I hope you continue to write, you seem really sensible and nice.
Signe
This is a great article, and one of the ways that you can drive traffic is by linking to things you are talking about.
Giving links pays itself back as those you link to follow the back link, read a post of yours, and then link to you.
I wanted to read about Kathy and Windy, but without a quick link, I probably won’t bother to search for it myself.
Just a little tip from a fellow student of new media.
Good site!!