Songdo South Korea
Why do you blog?
Do you blog to make money online?
Do you blog to help people?
Do you want to improve people’s lives?
Do you blog to pass the time?
Maybe you blog to share your thoughts with the world. Perhaps you blog to get your ideas out there.
Does blogging feel cathartic to you?
Why do you blog?
Do you want to build a community?
Do you want to build a tribe?
Or do you want to find a new hobby?
Ask yourself these questions. Wait in quiet for honest answers to arise in the mind. Figure out your motivator. Assess your direction.
No Wrong Answer Exists
Bloggers blog for a dizzying array of reasons.
Making money seems to be reason A1.
People want freedom from time and location. Blogging becomes one way to achieve that end.
People build online businesses through various models. Some use social media. Others use forums. Some build a static website.
Blogging differs from any other model. Being able to update content quickly makes blogging different from static websites. Owning your blog makes this gig different from social media. Blogging becomes a rare bird if you consider how it deviates from online business models. I love it for this reason alone. I stick with it because blogging is unique.
Rewind for a moment.
I mentioned how no wrong answer exists.
But some answers pull you in the wrong direction.
Blogging primarily to earn dough is one such misstep.
Blogging Mainly for Money Kills Careers
Blogging predominantly to make money destroys your online career. Almost every blogger learns this lesson the hard way. Money seems easy to earn through a blog. Publish a heavy volume of posts. Earn scrilla. Right?
Wrong.
Money does not arrive until you practice for thousands of hours. What happens if you lose motivation since the money is zero? You quit.
Blog for one week. Look for income. Income is zero. Traffic is zero. Crestfallen, bloggers push harder. Publish five thin posts daily. Look for income. Income is still zero. Push harder. Push even harder. Income remains zero after two months. Quit blogging.
I see this scenario play out often. Bloggers seem excited. Everyone becomes motivated by big income potential. But after making goose eggs for 6-12 months bloggers quit.
Why is that?
Most bloggers delude themselves into believing this gig is easy money.
Selecting a strong money motivator leads to failure.
You think it is easy to make money. Less scrupulous bloggers tell you that it’s easy to make money. Clueless bloggers tell you that it’s easy to make money because fools told them that it’s easy to make money. Fools love leading fools off of the blogging cliff. The scenario unfolds currently with the funny AI blogging debacle. But I digress.
You really need some money. Maybe times are tough financially. Perhaps your job disgusts you. Been there. Felt disgusted about that. Blogging sounds like the solution.
You dive in. But you have no clue what you’re doing. Six months later you quit. Most of these individuals blame blogging. Some say that it’s dead. Others say that blogging didn’t work for them. Yet others blame their bum mentors. Almost nobody blames their greed or desperation as the only cause of blogging failure. Alas, blogging is an inside game. I’ve even written entire eBooks on the blogging mindset topic.
Nobody likes to spotlight their own delusion. Who enjoys labeling their temporary craziness?
Yet the brave ones who do eventually go pro.
Everything begins by labeling your genuine prime motivator.
Money motivates me a tiny bit. I learned long ago that helping people with content is how to become a professional blogger. Trying to squeeze money through your blog is how to become a failed blogger.
Never believe the Blogging ATM Bullshit Crowd even if the claims sound enticing.
Blogging is not an easy way to make money online.
Consistently building a content-asset intelligently gradually nets passive blogging income.
But this thing is not an ATM. Not even close.
What Say You?
Be honest with yourself.
Why do you blog?
Address the money thing now. Get it out of the way. Be genuine. If you blog predominantly to make money own that motivator. In the next breath, let it go. Making money is about being truly helpful. Loving the process of creating detailed, targeted content positions you to become a full-time blogger. This has to be a motivator to get through the ups and downs everyone faces.
I don’t care if you know what you’re doing. You will face ups and downs. I don’t care if you have experience running a business. You will face ups and downs.
Blogging seems to be a different animal than any online business. All the power comes with great responsibility. Yeah; like Spider Man. The leveraging potential is astounding but so is the work. In order to beat out large companies on page one you need to blog intelligently for years. This is why blogging and not chasing money needs to be the motivator.
But if you just want to build a community that’s okay too.
However, helping people with content is how to build a community. Publishing posts randomly doesn’t work. Covering multiple niches doesn’t work. Be a specialist not a generalist. Nobody trusts a jack of all trades. Specialists win. That’s why your lawyer doesn’t hold down six part-time jobs nor does your doctor work four jobs. Trusted professionals do one thing to do it well.
How to Find Your Blogging Motivator
Find a quiet room.
Turn off your phone. Turn off your laptop.
Draw the blinds.
Create a quiet space.
Ask yourself why you blog. Allow answers to arise in the mind. Be honest with yourself. Lying to yourself makes this process intolerable. You tell yourself one thing but the other thing is true so the other thing always wins.
That’s why lying to yourself about blogging for money is foolish. You will fail miserably until you own the motivator.
After finding your reason write it down on a piece of paper.
Stare at it.
Mentally let go of money motivators.
Replace with the love of helping people through content because that is how you make money. The content earns credibility. Credible bloggers influence readers to buy their stuff and hire them. Happy customers and clients increase referral business.
Bloggers go full-time based on following this simple process consistently for a long stretch of time.
The pure motivator inspires you to blog for a long period of time.
Conclusion
Decide why you blog.
Find your motivator.
Establish your blogging direction.
Struggles and successes begin with motivators.
Your Turn
Why do you blog?
What drives you?
Share your comments below.
Call to Action
What should I sell you today?
J/k….;)
Click the link below to correct common new blogger mistakes:
10 Disastrous Mistakes Newbie Bloggers Make (and How to Fix Them) eBook