The past few months have been interesting to say the least, and in closing out 2009 I have been getting a variety of requests on my Blog, including speaking & consulting opportunities. When I started blogging I was hot and bothered about Nanotechnology, why people weren’t talking about it and how it may or may not impact our lives. That turned out to be a dead horse.
I then shifted energy to my other passion, I.T. Strategic Planning, that has developed some interest from a business perspective.
Lately, the biggest area of interest is Social Media, monetizing a blog, and how to get traffic to it. Go figure.
Anyway, My question for you is, is learning the ropes about blogging and or monetizing your blog important to you, do you want to know how and where I’m having success with it? Late 2009 and so far this year has proven profitable teaching and sharing on these items. Please do not take this as bragging, I’m merely sharing and want to know if you want to learn how I have done it. Or, is there something else you would like to see covered?
Thanks for your time, please let me know so I can discern where to invest my time serving you.
Please send me an e-mail with your input and or request: owen@owengreaves.com
Many Blessings,
http://blog.owengreaves.com
Hi Owen,
Yes! A resounding YES! I have just decided recently (this past weekend) that my blog is going to be the biggest way for me to make a serious impact on my industry and brand. I know it’s going to take a long time to establish and it takes patience but any tips that could assist in making it a blog with a solid foot print would be highly useful.
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your input, it’s helping set direction for Owen Greaves Consulting as we enter 2010.
Owen
Hey Owen, I just thought I’d comment on this post as this is something I have also looked into. After quite a bit of research it seems to me that very few people actually make any real money by blogging. According to research conducted by WNBC only 17% of bloggers in New York (a major hub of bloggers) make more than $1000 per month; that leaves 83% of bloggers in New York earning less than that. Let’s say a blogger makes $200 per month by monetizing their blog, that’s not bad as a little bit of pocket money, but it’s no where near a full time wage. Maybe the way we should look at this is, “If I make a little extra then that’s a bonus.” Most people cannot look to their online activities to make them a yearly wage. Like one blogger I read on the subject said, “Don’t give up your day job.”
I know many bloggers who are also working full time jobs and wouldn’t dream of giving up their job in favor of their blogs… not saying they wouldn’t love to, but the money’s not there to do so.
They way I see it is it’s a little like looking at those pastors who have taken a congregation from 50 people to over 10,000. They then write a book about how they did it. Everyone buys the book and they try all the same things, but it doesn’t work for them. Did they do anything wrong? No. It’s just that repeating someone’s success word for word usually doesn’t happen.
Take Amazon.com. How many online bookstores have started since the Amazon boom, and how many have failed in Amazon’s shadow.
There are no easy answers as how to monetize blogs on the net. Sure there are some amazing success stories, but for every success story there are 1,000′s of others who failed.
I’m glad the blogosphere is becoming financially rewarding and working for you
Just some thoughts…
Keep it Hardcore Owen… for Him!
Hi Chris,
I recognize a very low percentage of Bloggers are making enough to live on, that’s not the point. The point is, it can be done and depends soley on the Blogger how are hard they want to work to make that change in what they do for a living.
To answer your question on there are no easy answers as how to monetize blogs on the net, it actually isn’t that difficult, it depends on what your goals are and what you are willing to invest. I will suggest to you that the top two things required are Time & Hard Work, those are two things most people won’t give up. Time, it’s taken me two years to get to a place where I can say what I’m saying. Hard Work, it takes more effort than most are willing to put forward, and most of the time people try to do it on their own understanding of how things work and how they are.
Anyway, I see the glass half-full and have experienced that the process is working for me here on Owen Greaves Consulting. The Blog itself is a tool or a homebase for me, consulting and speaking other things that come from my Blogging. That is also part of the monetization equation.
Take care, and talk to you soon.
Owen
I use my blog and website in the same way Owen. I really make a small amount of money from the blog itself. But I do agree with you that it does take hard work and commitment. Most people will blog for a few weeks or months and then give it up. WordPress states that less than 10% of the blogs they host are active. A blog is part of a bigger picture.
Hi Fred,
Good to hear from you. Yes, the Blog is a bigger picture and people tend to think making a lving is only about Blog Posting, it’s not. Blogging brings about business from many sources not just selling products / services from your Blog. It’s Homebase for me, everything spins around it, my outposts drive to it and from it, monetization comes in many forms.
Thanks for your input.
Owen
Hi Owen,
Personally, I was more interested in your I.T. Strategic Planning posts, when I began following your blog. I must confess I am not much interested in blog traffic and monetization topics.
But I understand that you don’t write for me, and it is important that you take your blog along with your passions in a direction that is the most fulfilling to you. So, all the best! My good wishes will always be with you and your blog.
Hi Mahendra,
I am not abandoning I.T. Strategic Planning or Nanotechnology, I am asking what people want. If Traffic & Monetization are what people want, I will be moving it to it’s own Blog site just to clarify. I want to give what readers want, if I have to manage two Blogs, so be it.
Stick around I’m still gonna bring it for ya.
Thanks again,
Owen