A couple of years ago I started getting into affiliate marketing. I built websites, joined an affiliate program and started selling products. We'll I started offering them anyways - I really didn't do much selling at first.
But then one day everything changed for me - I came across an article that was posted on some guys blog. The article was about how blogs have the potential to bring your website a lot of traffic. There is one part of the article that has always stuck with me, and this is basically a run down of what it said...
If you want to drive traffic to your website, a blog is a great way to do it. Start a blog on blogger.com, write a few articles that link back to your website and wait for the traffic to pour in.
After reading the article, I thought to myself - this looks easy enough, I'm going to start a blog. And like I've mentioned before, my only goal at the time was to drive traffic to my websites that I built for affiliate marketing. Needless to say, it worked, well sort of. See, I did get traffic, but it didn't funnel over to my websites. However, it did help me realize how much I enjoy blogging.
In fact, I liked it so much that I decided to stop building websites and start a completely new blog from scratch. I wanted to start a blog on a topic that I knew a little more about. So I abandoned the blog that I already had, which was getting traffic, and I started another blog. It was a video game blog - as if there wasn't enough of those on the web. Unfortunately it bombed. It was shown no love by the search engines, but still I kept at it and even started another blog.
It was about 1 year after that when my wife and I started the HCG Diet 411 Blog - Well, we had talked about doing it for about a year before we actually launched it in October 2009. Either way I'm glad we did; it has been well received by the search engines and visitors alike.
This blog on the other hand has yet to gain as much momentum. But it's a fun topic to blog about. After-all, I am enjoying the journey to become a successful full-time blogger. However, the road is anything but easy; there are a lot of speed bumps and detours along the way and I've yet to reach my destination. But at least I know that I'm on the right path.
So if anyone tries to tell you that blogging is an easy way to earn money online... they're lying. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. In the beginning you'll probably spend more time with your computer than you do with your own wife. (or husband) Most people think that you can pick a template, type some words and boom, you're making money.
If people didn't think that, why does every single blog have Google AdSense all over it?
But you need to be the one to make the decision. If becoming a successful full-time blogger is something you want to take a run at, then I say go for it. However, I wouldn't go and quit your job just yet. For the simple fact that... most people that try to make a living online through blogging, give up on it within just a few months of starting. Even if you do stick with it - there are no guarantees. So make sure that you have a back-up plan.
3 Tips For People Wanting To Become Full-Time Bloggers
- Don't go into it expecting too much - Otherwise you are going to feel very let down if it doesn't happen for you.
- Find something that you really like to talk about - Because... you will likely have to write hundreds or even thousands of articles on the topic if you plan on being successful in that niche. So it is always better to write about things that you know a lot about.
- Have a blogging schedule - I have learned through trial and error, that you can't put your blog before everything else. So set aside time for your family. And if your wife/husband tells you that you need to spend more time with the family, you better listen.
Why did you first start blogging?
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