De-Bunking Professional Blogging Myths

Being able to make money off of your blog isn't a new concept. Many Dot-com moguls have struck gold from their blogs! Off the top of my head, I can probably a name a handful such as John Chow, Devin Reaves, Michelle Malkin, Seth Godin and Jeremy Shoemaker. What a lot of people don't know about are the hundreds of professional bloggers who, like me, aren't living in mansions.

A lot of people think that making money blogging is cranking out a few posts a day. Some people also think that if you create content, the traffic will make itself. It's easy! It leaves a lot of time for partying, right? If only there really was an easy get rich quick scheme.

You see, the unfair thing about business is that you can turn out good content, comment on a million blogs, a layout that looks cooler than the South Pole but it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get the bazillions of hits a day that you think you deserve. Just because you write the content doesn't mean you're going to generate the amount of traffic needed to earn a decent living off your blog.

Truth is, the big time bloggers don't always have the most out standing quality posts! The best writers are sometimes on websites that are just struggling to stay afloat. What reality gets the traffic is networking and marketing. I won't get down on any of the big time bloggers, especially since I'm humbled by my status as a medium sized blog. I think a big chunk of their value is their ability to network and make themselves useful to other people. After all, no one really does anything unless there's something in it for them - so what does visiting/commenting on your blog do for me?

Consider this before you start on any big blog venture: What do you have to offer? How will your blog help your readers? Why am I going to waste my time coming onto your blog?