Blogging is the biggest money-spinning success of the last century. While this was once a hobby-only activity, it’s now an undertaking that could earn you a small fortune, or at least a better salary than you’d get for the same work in many other industries.
That’s not to say, of course, that you can start any old blog and see significant returns. As with any career choice, taking time to learn this trade is vital. Not to mention that bloggers who’ve been on the scene for a while are sure to earn more than you, at least to start.
But, what happens if you’ve gone to the effort of starting a blog only to find that it hasn’t opened doors to the earning potential you expected? What if, even worse than that, initial outlays like domain names have actually left you in the red?
The good news here is that upfront blogging costs are modest, meaning that failed efforts won’t exactly break the bank. Still, not making money from your efforts is an issue, and it may be happening for any of the following common reasons.
You’re approaching with a one-track attitude
Your blog is only worth money with a readership that’s willing to spend on affiliates, merch, and whatever else you’re selling. Hence, building relationships is non-negotiable. Sadly, it’s a goal you’ll never achieve if you’re sending posts into the ether. Instead, you must realise that blogging is a community. It’s as much about supporting and conversing with fellow bloggers as it is about creating your own content.
You think you can do it all alone
Most bloggers start solo, but these comes a time when this lonesome wolf approach isn’t best for making actual money. That’s not to say that you need to employ, of course, but it does mean you’ll want to think about outsourced services that help you to ease processes, and tailor your focus where it needs to be for results. For instance, you may bring an outside accountant on board to help spread your money. Or, perhaps you seek outside managed IT services to ensure you never miss a post date, or otherwise go offline for extended periods. Either way, these additions, all available at a fixed monthly rate that’s easy enough to afford, can bring you closer to making a go of this blogging business.
You’re not treating this like a business
In some cases, a lack of profitability from blogging could come from the fact that you’re simply not treating this like a business. If your posts are intermittent and you’re making no real effort to add monetary value, then there’s little chance that you’ll get off the ground. In reality, earning from these efforts is no walk in the park. You’ll need to instead consider everything from a regular posting schedule, through to making the most of opportunities like affiliations wherever you possibly can. Otherwise, there’s just no way you can expect this to reap more rewards than any other hobby.
