Can we grow rich by blogging?

[Gazzali]

I just came across this article about blogging : time to hang up. Is this how the end going to be to all bloggers

[Weena]

Have you ever donated money through a blog? Have you ever stumbled across a blog that was life changing? I haven't... so i really do not think people can grow rich blogging.

I would pay for a product or a service, because that would provide me with "value" (a word very used around here).

What's your opinion?

[Bradshaw]

By pure blogging and putting a few adsense ads on the side? Er, no, unless you completely dominate extremely competitive markets like finance, law, etc. And even then I REALLY doubt it... it's tough doing it like this, even though this is what everyone does, for the most part.

By selling valuable products that give a lot of value to people as a byproduct of your blog?

Yes. And you don't need that much traffic.

No product = No money.

People need to realize that it's a business. And in a business you sell valuable products that people want.

[Aleksander Krstic]

Originally Posted by Weena

Have you ever donated money through a blog? Have you ever stumbled across a blog that was life changing? I haven't... so i really do not think people can grow rich blogging.

I would pay for a product or a service, because that would provide me with "value" (a word very used around here).

What's your opinion?

Hmm,... Steve got rich blogging. So did Leo of Zenhabits.

[afewpotholes]

Originally Posted by Aleksander Krstic

Hmm,... Steve got rich blogging. So did Leo of Zenhabits.

I would have been inclined to say that blogging wouldn't make much money for people but for sure people like these have done it so it's certainly possible.

[Weena]

Originally Posted by Aleksander Krstic

Hmm,... Steve got rich blogging. So did Leo of Zenhabits.

But don't you think Steve wrote a book --> got rich --> blogged --> got richer because this is where he can advertise his book + his workshops + passive income from products advertised? there's more to it than just a blog isn't there?

[Gazzali]

Originally Posted by Weena

Have you ever donated money through a blog? Have you ever stumbled across a blog that was life changing? I haven't... so i really do not think people can grow rich blogging.

I would pay for a product or a service, because that would provide me with "value" (a word very used around here).

What's your opinion?

Absolutely right. Value is the one thing that makes a difference in living.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by Weena

But don't you think Steve wrote a book --> got rich --> blogged --> got richer because this is where he can advertise his book + his workshops + passive income from products advertised? there's more to it than just a blog isn't there?

Steve was making more than 6 figures from just AdSense. He's doing substantially better now, but he *did* manage to get fairly wealthy just from blogging and AdSense.

Not easy, but it's possible.

[Gazzali]

Originally Posted by SatvikBeri

Steve was making more than 6 figures from just AdSense. He's doing substantially better now, but he *did* manage to get fairly wealthy just from blogging and AdSense.

Not easy, but it's possible.

not easy but possible. Do you have a way to do that? What is the secret behind Mr Steve

[Mounds]

Define your version of rich and it will either become very possible or very impossible
If your definition of rich is work from home and make a decent living, very possible! If your definition of rich is to make $5,000,000 a year from blogging, I'd be inclined to say impossible.

-Tim

[Gazzali]

Originally Posted by Mounds

Define your version of rich and it will either become very possible or very impossible
If your definition of rich is work from home and make a decent living, very possible! If your definition of rich is to make $5,000,000 a year from blogging, I'd be inclined to say impossible.

-Tim

i think we have to make realistic goal in blogging, and then we have to be different.

[Piercetheveil]

Interesting thoughts. Makes me wonder how much of reality I am missing.

The answer is yes. Absolutely. Has happened many times over.

But the question only matters if you are writing about this issue. If you are asking for you then it is a poor question.

[hawkal]

I believe that you could still make a lot of money from blogging. What you have to do is exactly what Steve did which was to become the top problem solver in his market (Online personal development) and target a market that targets products.

I believe the article writer seems rather narrow minded to expect anything from a blog about Steve Jobs. I mean there is absolutely no direct target market there. Unless they happen to sell Steve Jobs novelty items I don't know about. I doubt anyone looking to buy an Apple product would search for Steve Jobs.

[Moopheus]

You certainly can if you are not average and are willing to put in the years required to make a legitimate business (read: not just write posts). I don't doubt that if someone as skilled as Steve had to start from scratch right now he'd be doing just as well if not better than his original start in 2004.

The internet has only grown during this time, meaning there is a greater chance to reach a larger audience and optimize income streams easier. In the same vein, the far larger amount of competition now is going to prevent mediocre sites from going anywhere. Half a decade ago it was possible to succeed by putting out a poor/decent amount of value and then just ride that initial success further; now those lucky breaks won't happen as easily or often.

[Lucidism]

It's possible to get rich by blogging. Many people have. But will most people be able to? No, definitely not. It takes a lot of time, work, and you have to have something of value worth blogging about. Most people aren't willing to put in their pound of flesh.

However, I think it is realistically possible for most people to make at least some money online, which they can use for vacations, car payment, etc.

[aiyori]

For those who keep saying that Steve can make blah,blah,blah with Add Cents (I misspell on purpose), I would like to ask where are those ads now? I simply can't find any Add Cents ads in his Web site. Actually, it is against the TOS of Add Cents if you reveal how much you make to the public. I strongly suspect that Steve has already been banned by Add Cents. And I don't think that a convict who has recently cheated on his wife and ends up in a divorce is someone I can fully trust. Never expect a man to treat you better than treating his wife.

Add Cents becomes less and less effective when your visitors become more and more loyal. To make Add Cents 100% efficient, you need to have a very constant organic traffic from search engines. And these one night stand visitors are much less likely to buy your products or use your paid services. You may end up in the worst nightmare: selling potential customers to advertisers for cents while those customers might pay you dollars if you have sold them directly.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Moopheus

I don't doubt that if someone as skilled as Steve had to start from scratch right now he'd be doing just as well if not better than his original start in 2004.

And remember that it wasn't steveplavlina.com that he started with, it was Dexterity Software in 1994. I admire what he's accomplished, and just hope it won't take 16 years to get to a similar income level, though it's an excellent achievement regardless of how long it takes, particularly worthwhile if you make sure to enjoy the process along the way as Steve has, unlike the many people who start a blog or a company explicitly to make money and then get burnt out.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Weena

Have you ever donated money through a blog?

yes, to kenrockwell.com

Likewise my girlfriend donates to the online comics she likes. For an idea of how this can work, check out The Technium: 1,000 True Fans

"A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

"A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans."

[JustinPopovic]

Originally Posted by Bradshaw

By pure blogging and putting a few adsense ads on the side? Er, no, unless you completely dominate extremely competitive markets like finance, law, etc. And even then I REALLY doubt it... it's tough doing it like this, even though this is what everyone does, for the most part.

By selling valuable products that give a lot of value to people as a byproduct of your blog?

Yes. And you don't need that much traffic.

No product = No money.

People need to realize that it's a business. And in a business you sell valuable products that people want.

Bradshaw nailed it. Blogging alone is an extremely difficult business model in terms of generating revenue.

However, using blog as a promotional vehicle to distribute free content and establish yourself as an expert in your industry, it can lead to a lot of sales. I generate a lot of clients through my blog and many of my clients do the same. They key is, we all have existing products or services we are promoting and we simply use the blog to show our prospective buyers that we know what we are talking about.

I think all business people with a good product/service should blog. It really works when done correctly.

[Gazzali]

Originally Posted by aiyori

For those who keep saying that Steve can make blah,blah,blah with Add Cents (I misspell on purpose), I would like to ask where are those ads now? I simply can't find any Add Cents ads in his Web site. Actually, it is against the TOS of Add Cents if you reveal how much you make to the public. I strongly suspect that Steve has already been banned by Add Cents. And I don't think that a convict who has recently cheated on his wife and ends up in a divorce is someone I can fully trust. Never expect a man to treat you better than treating his wife.

Add Cents becomes less and less effective when your visitors become more and more loyal. To make Add Cents 100% efficient, you need to have a very constant organic traffic from search engines. And these one night stand visitors are much less likely to buy your products or use your paid services. You may end up in the worst nightmare: selling potential customers to advertisers for cents while those customers might pay you dollars if you have sold them directly.

Steve took away the adsense because adsense is not really contextual.. I hope I am writing it correctly. That is why he took it away...forgoing thousands of dollars just for the cause of value. I think he has written to this effect in his blog. If he had really done this far I believe he has really done this successfully. Why he just blog and bluff. Is he not simply wasting his time and money

Only steve knows how to do successfully in blogging. He had gont thru this path. Perhaps we do not have the patience or the passion

Do not whine...

[Manomanman]

1. Why “Blogging” Is a Terrible Way To Make Money

2. That guy had NO value to add. That's why nobody payed him money.

I could drive 50 million people to my website, but unless they have a REASON TO BUY, they won't.

[FazK]

Most of all it depends on your blog - you need to be remarkable now days because their is so much competition.

You wont make much cash until you hit steve's level

So to answer your question i think you can make a very good living but probably wont become rich

[aiyori]

Originally Posted by Gazzali

Steve took away the adsense because adsense is not really contextual.. I hope I am writing it correctly. That is why he took it away...forgoing thousands of dollars just for the cause of value. I think he has written to this effect in his blog. If he had really done this far I believe he has really done this successfully. Why he just blog and bluff. Is he not simply wasting his time and money

Only steve knows how to do successfully in blogging. He had gont thru this path. Perhaps we do not have the patience or the passion

Do not whine...

No. Adsense had always been a very important income source for Steve. I strongly suspect that he suffered from a ban and nonpayment and was forced to let go of Adsense.

[Manomanman]

Originally Posted by aiyori

No. Adsense had always been a very important income source for Steve. I strongly suspect that he suffered from a ban and nonpayment and was forced to let go of Adsense.

I strongly suspect that you have no evidence to back this claim up.

[Marger]

Originally Posted by aiyori

No. Adsense had always been a very important income source for Steve. I strongly suspect that he suffered from a ban and nonpayment and was forced to let go of Adsense.

So you ask a question, refuse to do a simple search for the obvious answer (Dropping Adsense – Saying Goodbye to $100K Per Year in Easy Income) and then try to convince us to believe you instead of a man who has been open, honest and helpful on all of his blog?

Somehow I doubt that anyone will take you seriously, but hey, good luck crusadin'!

[aiyori]

Originally Posted by Marger

So you ask a question, refuse to do a simple search for the obvious answer (Dropping Adsense – Saying Goodbye to $100K Per Year in Easy Income) and then try to convince us to believe you instead of a man who has been open, honest and helpful on all of his blog?

Somehow I doubt that anyone will take you seriously, but hey, good luck crusadin'!

1. Steve honestly told us that he is a convict. And he honestly told us that he had sex with women who were not his wife. If a man is not loyal to his wife, he is not loyal to anyone. I simply can't trust him 100%. That said, I like his articles a lot.

2. In your link, he didn't give any convincing reasons for dropping an annual income of 100k so completely and suddenly. It is too against common sense and thus some red flags are automatically raised. He is an entrepreneur and he should've known better than that.

3. Steve was too high profile about his Add cents income, which was a big NO-NO for the Holy G. Legally speaking, the Holy G had every right and reason to terminate his account without paying him. I can't prove it. And I don't need to. It's written in the TOS.

[aabbcc]

Originally Posted by aiyori

And he honestly told us that he had sex with women who were not his wife. If a man is not loyal to his wife, he is not loyal to anyone. I simply can't trust him 100%.

What a load of rubbish. He and Erin both decided it was best for their relationship not to remain married. He never cheated on her. As a single man now, he's free to have sex with whomever he chooses. It's his own business and it certainly doesn't make him disloyal to Erin. They have a healthier relationship than a lot of people who stay miserably married and then act all self-righteous because they're doing the 'right' thing.

[aiyori]

Originally Posted by aabbcc

What a load of rubbish. He and Erin both decided it was best for their relationship not to remain married. He never cheated on her. As a single man now, he's free to have sex with whomever he chooses. It's his own business and it certainly doesn't make him disloyal to Erin. They have a healthier relationship than a lot of people who stay miserably married and then act all self-righteous because they're doing the 'right' thing.

As far as I can remember, he engaged in polygamy before the divorce.

[Manomanman]

Originally Posted by aiyori

3. Steve was too high profile about his Add cents income, which was a big NO-NO for the Holy G. Legally speaking, the Holy G had every right and reason to terminate his account without paying him. I can't prove it. And I don't need to. It's written in the TOS.

Can you show us the part of the TOS that supports your claim?

[Liz Caitlin]

Originally Posted by aiyori

As far as I can remember, he engaged in polygamy before the divorce.

Yes...which means his wife knew about he was open to exploring relationships with other people. He actually pointed out that he had been seeing someone before their divorce but that he hadn't even slept with her yet.

You clearly have a bias toward people who are monogamous. Which is fine. I just don't see how it affects his ability to write about business. In my book, fwiw, it's not cheating if two people AGREE to sleep with other people, and I think most people here would have the same (very logical) understanding of it.