When you make the decision to learn how to blog, or to try to make money blogging, there are a few factors I think would help you in your decision. I was convinced by a good friend of mine that I needed to create a blog to try to promote my fence contracting business I was starting. I had owned a contracting business in the past, but never had a website before. So, it wasn’t easy to convince me. But this was a trusted family friend, so I started with a free wordpress account, signed up for Twitter, and the rest is another story.
If you can format an email, insert pictures, and insert links, then you can write a blog. The Wordpress administration section is a little harder than an email, but it really isn’t as hard as it sounds. I basically taught myself, and I am no website designer or copywriter (as you can tell).
Yes, I spent a ton of hours teaching myself the ins and outs of the backend of a Wordpress site, but it paid off BIG! As with any part of your business, you must be willing to put the work in (unless you outsource everything, and then it is just a matter of your budget) in order to reap the benefits.
No. I know I said up above that if you can write an email, you can blog. But there is more to it than that. In the beginning, it wasn’t much more for me other than signing up for a free account, picking a theme, and start writing.
But, there is much more to it than that if you want to use a blog to get business (for a traditional business) and I plan to go into more detail on this site but I can only fit so much on a post before it looks like a long form sales page.
Do your research, I spend almost an equal (if not more) amount of time researching to this day, and would research at least twice as much as I would write and network when I first started.
I can’t say enough about the benefits of reading blogs that provide quality information, videos, and other resources for you to use to learn how to blog.
Can you learn how to make money with a blog quickly? Yes you can, but chances are, it will take some time to get there. Have a little patience and be prepared to work for your money. I see countless sites claiming to teach you how to earn 6 figures in as little as 6 months. I will be honest, it probably won’t happen. I am not saying you can’t make 6 figures with a blog, but it will most likely take some time.
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It is definitely easy to get started blogging, and the actual work isn’t really that hard. The place where most bloggers fail is in the QUANTITY of effort that is required.
.-= Tom@Free Squeeze Pages´s last blog ..The Aweber Code….And Why You Need To Promote It! =-.
@Tom@Free Squeeze Pages, That is exactly what my point is, it is quite easy to get a blog started, but making it successful is another story.
Yep. The level of easy or hard is depend on what you’re writing. Sometimes easy article has a high impact on the readers too and vice versa. The thing is you article must has a great point in attracting the readers so the best way is to be creative and smart because smart article produces more money! =p
.-= BloggerDaily´s last blog ..Better Than Nothing =-.
@BloggerDaily, I think everything is relative to what you are trying to accomplish, I have a site that I probably only write once a month on, and it is my biggest earner by far. But my traffic is very targeted and mostly search traffic.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..A-List Bloggers =-.
I agree with you, Keith. At first, it’s really kinda harder to work with the blogging platform since that will look something new for beginners. With so much dedication, I just made blogging easier. But not that easy as others may think. We still have to spend much time and effort for the big “S”.
.-= Cebu Tech Blogger´s last blog ..Use FOrecast for iPhone and iPod Touch Jailbreak Info =-.
@Cebu Tech Blogger, Just like any business, blogging takes hard work and dedication.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Drooling On PageRank =-.
@Keith Bloemendaal, I couldn’t agree more with this post. Blogging takes a lot of time and commitment. Its like any other entrepreneurial activity. It requires a lot of bootstrapping, figuring things out for yourself, and time, commitment and hard-earned experience.
@Cebu Tech Blogger, I spent almost 6mos researching and writing on a free blogging platform before sterting my first business blog.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Drooling On PageRank =-.
me too, it took me 3-4 mos. before getting serious on blogging… but still I realized there still something wrong with my decision. I supposed to choose WP before as my blogging platform. I have a PR3 blog that I need to migrate to WP.
.-= Cebu Tech Blogger@Facebook´s last blog ..Pay Facebook Ads and Credits Using Paypal =-.
Big thanks for the link luv and mention Keith I appreciate that, I retweeted this bad boy because anyone that considers blogging should read it and since I think everyone should have a blog (wouldn’t that be entertaining, haha) it’s perfect for sharing
.-= Extreme John´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of.. Episode 3 [video] =-.
@Extreme John, Thanks for the RT John, and I agree that everyone should have one, well anyone trying to promote a business especially.
@Keith Bloemendaal, my pleasure on the RT Keith, anytime. I know that it doesn’t seem like I am around much lately, I have been getting crushed with both of my business’s being in season this year at the same time. YAY! It’s short lived so I need to drive it deep while I can, have no worries before you know it I will be around more then you probably want haha.
.-= Extreme John @Blogging CEOS´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of.. Episode 5 [video] =-.
Thanks for the great tips Keith. Blogging isn’t that easy, so many people fail to read and research thereby complaining about lack of idea. Even if you have enough content, you still need to do some networking, guest posting and even some SEO.
Even though blogging is not easy, a little bit patient and dedication can go a long way.
@Onibalusi Bamidele, Anyone can succeed at blogging if they have the dedication to do so.
Hi Keith,
Having just started my blogging journey a few weeks ago I am finding that it is a matter of commitment and concentrating on the quality of my posts. This is something I hope to develop over time and keep raising the bar for myself. However, I think you are right about spending time learning, researching and working the back-end….after all, there’s no point to sharing good ideas if no-one can find you.
Here’s to an exciting journey
Adrian
.-= Adrian Swinscoe´s last blog ..Nurturing Creativity =-.
@Adrian Swinscoe, Glad to hear you are getting started in blogging, if I can help in any way just let me know. I am thefencepost on skype if you have it.
@Keith Bloemendaal, Hi Keith,
Thanks for the offer. I’ll keep that in mind. I’m on skype (adrian070270).
Let’s arrange to chat soon,
Adrian
.-= Adrian Swinscoe´s last blog ..Nurturing Creativity =-.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by kbloemendaal: RT @HotBlogTips Blogging Is Easy? http://tinyurl.com/ye4vlzs...
Very True Keith I remember when I thought setting up the blog was the hardest part of getting started. I think this post is a must read for anyone who is considering blogging. Yes you can make money as you said but as you said it may take awhile.
.-= Jenny´s last blog ..Dial Up Internet – Humor For Humpday! =-.
@Jenny, I remember thinking that too, then I started trying to come up with topics to write about, getting people to link to me, working on SEO, etc…
Hey Keith, can you come on over to Bloggers Market and lend a hand?
Oh, by the way, nice touch with the “linkWithin”! I knew there was a good reason why I followed this Blog!
.-= Jeffrey´s last blog ..Please Donate To My Blog =-.
@Jeffrey, Sure Jeffrey, what kind of a “hand” are you referring to? I think i have commented on your site if you would like to shoot me an email….
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Comment Links: Are They SEO? =-.
Well said, it is very easy to set up a blog and start blogging. Literally, my 7 year old daughter can blog by herself and my 11 year old son is a wiz at this point. I think it is hard to blog well and it is hard to build a following and it is VERY hard to make money blogging. That is why so many blogs get discarded after 4 months or so because people think it is easy to be successful and then when they find out it is hard, they quit.
Blogging is much like exercise. You need to have a plan, stick with, be dedicated and devoted, and most of all be patient before you start to see the fruits of your labor. And like exercise, it is not easy, but once you make it part of your life, you not only enjoy it and look forward to it, but feel incomplete if you go too long without it.
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..Freaky Friday: Site-Enhancement Oil- Too much of a Terrible thing =-.
@Aaron,
So true. A great comparison that truly is just like blogging.
.-= Brian Inman´s last blog ..Subscriber Numbers Are Not A Sign Of Success =-.
Hey bro!!
I haven’t been on your blog for a while and thought I’d stop by!!
I love this post and it’s very encouraging to me, that all those gimmicks out there to get you 6 figures in 6 months is really what I thought it was–a load of bologna.
I’ve done a few of these courses, hoping each time that they’d be different, but no, each one had promises it couldn’t keep. Who knows, maybe it was user error? But even input from the REAL pro-bloggers out there say 6 months is an unrealistic time frame to enter into the 6 figure realm of income.
So with that, I just decided to “wing it” and do it my way. You make money selling something right? And you need people to buy what you want to sell. That’s two ingredients: A product or service and traffic. So currently, that’s what I’m working on. It’s logic right?
Thanks man.
Keep on keepin’ on!
.-= Travis´s last blog ..You Are Your Own Best Material =-.
@Travis, Good to see you Travis, seems like you are on the right track, try not to count on money at first, but also keep thinking of it as a business, and make decisions accordingly.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..4 Tips To Get More Blog Exposure Via Twitter =-.
@Keith Bloemendaal, Thanks bro! That’s some good advice.
Much appreciated.
.-= Travis´s last blog ..You Are Your Own Best Material =-.
Keith,
Great advice as usual. Every time someone says to me that my blog is “Easy Money” I have to laugh. Sure…from a distance it looks like I’m one lucky SOB…the reality is it’s taken me almost 4 years of hard work to get my site to where it is today. One of the hardest parts is continuing to do that research and creating quality content on a very regular basis. Blogging is like everything else in life…nothing is free….and nothing that’s successful comes easy.
Keep up the great work!
.-= Todd – Home Construction & Improvement´s last blog ..Colonial Home Exterior Design Features =-.
@Todd – Home Construction & Improvement, I have watched you for 2yrs of that, and I can say you have worked VERY hard to get where you are at.
Let’s face it, making six-figures a year from a single blog is VERY difficult. Doable, obviously, but extremely unlikely to happen to most of us. Doesn’t mean you can’t make a living blogging or creating websites (I should know, this has been my only line of work for about a decade now
).
.-= Anne Moss´s last blog ..Spring Pictures from Israel =-.
LEARNING how to MMB is super easy. In one post from a pro blogger stating 10 ways he/she makes money blogging just learned you 10 ways to make money blogging.
True enough? LOL
Implementing and duplicating; not so much.
BTW, you need to put a more positive spin on things…..blogging is not harder then email, just more to learn and its fun to learn!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..WANTED – Keyword Research Expert(s) =-.
@Dennis Edell, True, blogging can be fun, I am not trying to be negative, sorry if I came off that way. I make my living online, and I love what I do.
.-= Keith Bloemendaal´s last blog ..Linking Out For SEO =-.
@Keith Bloemendaal, I didn’t mean to imply that, the first half was sarcasm and the second half was just fun
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Do You Know The REAL Difference Between Bloggers and Internet Marketers? =-.
Blogging is easy and if you’re a writer it’s a snap however I wouldn’t go as far as saying that earning money off a blog is or even building traffic. Most bloggers give up after a couple months. You have to stick to it, write posts specifically for your demographic and keep things fresh and up to date.
I have not started blogging yet. I am still doing my research, so I guess I am following your advice. I have written some artice on my website, so I think I can do it. Thanks for the post, very helpful.