Are You Wasting Your Time Blogging?
Bringing some pessimism into Blogopolis to help raise some necessary questions for the up-and-coming blogger.
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“Zen Habits is like a weed” LOL!
Yo tell it like it is dude! And here I am watering my own blog with weedkiller. D’OH!
Just to put a bit of perspective on it though. The “me too” model which you describe isn’t as bad as you make out. Just think how many probloggers are out there now, there’s obviously Darren but also Yaro and David to name but a few. I mean are you going to tell David to cancel his trip to New York because his blog is too similar to others and won’t work?
OK I’m being a bit harsh but here’s the bottom line. We all form our own packs. We may be pack leaders in a field that is exactly the same as a million others but our packs are no way lesser (or better) than anyone else’s.
We’re not just stuck in a leadership role either, we form a pack of followers for others, usually in the same niche. Let me illustrate with an example.
Yaro follows (and buys from) marketers like Frank Kern, he’s one of Frank’s pack. He in turn disseminates the knowledge he has gained to his followers or his pack of which I am one (I’ve paid for his Become a Blogger Premium). I am now in the middle of disseminating that knowledge to my pack.
I’m also a part of Copyblogger’s pack, the Men with Pens pack and of course your pack(s).
So while it is important to put your own voice and your own twist to a subject, more important is this:
Stop focusing on the subscribers you haven’t got and focus on those you have.
Oh and it’s n-ee-sh not n-itch
P.S Seth Godin’s book Tribes apparently delves deeper into the pack mentality. I’ve yet to read it but I’ve read rave reviews.
Marc’s last blog post..What The Phantom Of The Opera Can Teach You About Writing
You’re right, your post is a bit depressing! But it’s also a great wake-up call.
I write my current blog because I enjoy it, but plan to start up a monetised one soon. (Just wish I’d thought of ZH first!)
Question: in addition to 100lb gorillas etc., seems to me that the current depression/recession is going to have an impact, e.g. people not buying so many e-books etc. Any words/advice on this aspect?
Tess Giles’s last blog post..Leadership, Benedictine style
Tess, don’t believe everything you read (which should probably include this reply lol). Seriously I’ve spoken to a few people online about the same issue and their general response is “what recession?”.
What ever you have in mind, now is the time to go for it. Don’t let the state of the economy hold you back or you’ll end up looking back when it recovers (and it will recover) and wonder why you didn’t bother.
Go for it now and I can guarantee that you’ll come out of it stronger for at the very least you’ll learn what all businesses need to learn, how to survive the tough times.
Marc’s last blog post..What The Phantom Of The Opera Can Teach You About Writing
Brave one, Eric! My advice to anyone who’s despondent? Blog to connect, to support, to recommend and to give your gifts an authentic voice. See your blog as a way to inform, to entertain and to inspire at a time when many folk are having to cut back on magazines and books, courses and mentors, DVD rental and cinema visits. Even if you’re struggling financially, share your passions and your gifts and it’ll happen for you. Somehow, sometime.
Let me guess. You always wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, but then somebody told you how hard it would be, so you quit. You gave up your dream. You gave up what you loved in favor of mediocrity and boredom.
Negativity is never productive. Realism can be. Optimism can be. Hope can be. I hope I speak for most people reading this when I say not one of us has a plan for making money by blogging. We have places we hope it might take us. We have dreams we pursue through this medium, but we don’t have a plan to make money by blogging alone.
What I’d like to say is that you’re wrong. Not “untrue” wrong. But wrong. Wrong to discourage those whose dreams are new and fragile; wrong to bleed out what hope there is in a world filled with cynicism and selfishness.
I’d like to say that, but it would make me feel hypocritical.
So let me say this: In a world where making money is the object of desire and the end-all to really living, then you’re absolutely right in what you said.
I just never wanted to live in that world.
Ryan’s last blog post..Moving Essay (with music)
Love the post. Maybe if you guys try to be a little more real than the other blogs about blogging out there, you’ll gain a wider readership. It’s refreshing to see a blogger blogging about how freaking difficult it is to actually become successful at blogging on *any* level.
Forget about making money for just a minute. Merely gaining over one hundred subscribers is downright difficult. Making money, on the other hand, is like finding a hundred dollar bill stuck in between the crevice of the toilet seat while you’re doing your business.
Or maybe you’ll scare away everyone who wants to believe in the illusion. Those who want to take the blue pill instead of the red one.
Well… I’m taking the red pill and I like it.
Bamboo Forest – PunIntended’s last blog post..Your Pun Intended Universe is Getting a Redesign
Bamboo Forest is on to something here. Reminds me of Brian Clark’s post about courageous blogging.
Marc – WelshScribe’s last blog post..What The Phantom Of The Opera Can Teach You About Writing
E-
It is not all about the traffic and subscribers – it is about “what kind of traffic”. Every blog has a niche and yoou have to bring the right traffic to be able to monetize – there are wellwishers and there are people that will pay. You have to think about that starting day 1 and work on it every single day if you want the right traffic.
And then provide right value to the right people. Just traffic that does not convert into business is of no $ value (it has LOTS of other kinds of value).
There is a lot of strategy behind being able to make money from a blog – very specific strategies that will showcase your blog as a valuable tool to people.
We all have to remember that all the big money makers in the blogworld blogged for years before they started to monetize.
So I say yes, think about all of what you said in your post and THEN think more about your strategies. And then work on them. Take u turns and quit and then do it again until you do it right.
Perhaps I will put a video response to your blog post on my blog
Maya’s last blog post..The One Hundred: A Guide to Pieces Every Happy and Balanced Soul Must Embrace: Simplicity
@Everyone
Click to play this video.
Eric, I think you were right to bring these issues out in the open. It takes courage and I respect that.
Feel better soon mate.
Marc – WelshScribe’s last blog post..What The Phantom Of The Opera Can Teach You About Writing
I honestly think blogging is a waste of time for some. They do copycat sites and obtain a regular readership, but then wonder why its not monetizable.
Marc, for us its a bit different. We’re aspiring freelancers and our blogs, to a degree, are our portfolios. As the blogosphere grows, our work is even more demand.
I believe people are wasting their time creating content, that could better be spent on networking.
I’m writing in a saturated niche – writing and freelance blogging. Its going to hard as all heck to seriously monetize it. Instead I’ve been focusing on creating friendships. Its working – people are know seeking me out for guest posts on blogs with over 10 times my subscribers (currently at 100)
You could create the best content out there but it’s worth nothing if no-one will see it. People should be doing what Marc is doing – actively seek advice from your mentors. They’ll eventually be the ones who will throw work your way.
Marc – I do love your ‘pack’ concept. I’d love to see how you would expand on that, and how you could utilize the various groups to help you learn more and get experience.
- Jade
P.S Love the Superman PJ’s – you have so much more cred in my eyes now. Hope your feeling better soon
Jade Craven’s last blog post..Top Tips for Getting a Guest Post on an A-List Blog
@Marc @Jade
Click to play this video.
Yeah I was just thinking about the credibility and the “human” factor you’ve injected into this post Eric, Jade is spot on there.
I’m not entirely convinced that blogging is a waste of time for anyone, I believe it’s all to do with their mindset. Ok, so if they can’t change their mindset then they’re probably wasting their time, Fake Steve Jobs comes to mind here…
Regarding the pack. I’ve been giving it more and more thought lately, there’s something about it that just resonates with me. What you are doing Jade – reaching out and forming friendships is an integral part of it.
I don’t quite know where I am headed with it at the moment, my head is full of random thoughts. But Rudyard Kipling once wrote;
I really do think it depends upon your goals. If you desire to make 6 figures off your blog and retire from your job in 6 months, then you need a “pink elephant” to make that happen. As I’ve said before, being a “mom blog” it is really hard to distinguish myself from others at face value. But where I have distinguished myself is in my relationships with other bloggers and in the skills I possess and share with others, no only on my blog but behind the scenes. Again, though, sure – I’d love to be Darren Rowse but that is not the reason I started blogging and to do it, to find the “1,000 lb gorilla” or “pink elephant” I would have to set aside some of my passion and make it a job.
My site continues to grow and while I am still struggling with connecting with that random visitor who comes by searching for “big spot” (yeah, I’m #1 in Google for that phrase …weird) and keep them coming back, I’m actually pretty happy with the small amount of $$ it brings in and the HUGE amount of friendships I have gained.
Kim @ What’s That Smell?’s last blog post..Military Commissaries SAVE YOU MONEY
Marc – great to see this many comments from you!! I enjoy reading comments as well as blogs; maybe it’s because I’m new to the whole comments scene, but as I’ve said before, I like blog communities as well as blog posts. It’s weird and wonderful that a Scottish woman and a Welsh man meet in comments at the other side of the world!
Tess ~ I don’t know you, but I noticed you weren’t here a few days ago and then I spotted you a few days ago visiting a Scottish blog you’ve supported for a while. It made me smile at what a small world it is!
Eric – what can I say! To bring people together from all over the world like this is a gift. Maybe it’s because I’m new to all this that I’m still a bit in awe of the process. Maybe experienced bloggers just go through phases of getting weary.
I LOVE your video comments replies. Suddenly, something new to inspire our own blogs. I’ve never seen this done before – maybe I’m just totally naive – but the immediacy and humanity of seeing and hearing your replies in a wee video is brilliant. GENUINE! Something that’s missing in so many blogs. You have a real warmth and a talent for this medium. Someday, over at Cloud Cadet,please show us how to do this!~ Janice
Janice, thanks for the kind words. Everytime I see one of your own comments I want to go click on your name to see your blog, how come you never link it in?
Oh and upload a gravatar as well