As I was thinking of what to write for James’s blog this week I considered some ideas I’d been playing around with for a while now. One was the fact that I’m now looking more seriously at turning my blog into a business
generating me a full time income to live off of. But why? Is it because I want to be a full time blogger? Yes. It’s also because I want to help people understand the important of having a blog added onto their business
considering what advantages come along with it.
Where is your mindset?
Are you just thinking about the income? That’s not going to take you too far. Are you wondering how in the world you’re going to get your blog out from under where the rest of the world is at? That’s also not going to do
much good by itself. What you need to understand and wrap your mind around is the fact that any blogger can make money online. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making money yet myself. AND, I never said you were going to make it possible to make a full time living online. I just simply said you can make money online.
Make sure your mindset is in the right place because that’s really where it all starts.
Care Enough
You need to care enough to do the right things to make your blog work foryou. It’s not just going to magically start making you money. You absolutely have to put the work and the hours in if you want it to work the way it should. This isn’t about a hobby, it’s certainly about creating a business that will make your time well worth your efforts.
Care enough to go above and beyond what others are doing and become amazing at creating a kick-ass blog that takes your readers by storm.
Keep it simple
I like the idea of keeping it simple because that’s where the real power is at. Make sure you know exactly what you’re about and exactly where you’re going. Go on, make some mistakes, because you can always correct
them later. Just make sure you have a clear mind set from the get to and keep it sweet and to the point so as to know what’s really going on before getting started.
So are you ready to take this to a business level or are you not quite there yet?
photo credit: Frankensteinnn
Eric Heavilin is the author of BluePop13.com where he writes about various topics including Blogging and how to improve your blog and your business with your blog. He enjoys Music, Writing, Blogging, Movies, Entertainment in general, helping people succeed and more. If you want to know more about Eric I encourage you to visit his site. You can also follow Eric on Twitter.
Awesome stuff Eric,
I think making as many mistakes as you can is great, I mean don’t rush out there and deliberately make them, but don’t look at it as a mistake when they do happen, instead look at it as free learning!
Top work man
.-= theinfopreneur´s last blog ..Which Side Of The Tracks Are You On? =-.
Free learning, I like that man. Yeah mistakes can teach you a lot if you’re willing to learn. They can also break you if you’re not willing to. It’s all about what kind of life you want to live and what you’re willing to do for that life.
Thanks James!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Blogging Is A Two-Way Street =-.
I’m excited about this mate, looking forward to seeing it all happen from the outset. Simplicity has to be key as you say, and also not spreading yourself too thin. Not that I know from experience, I just know that there are so many options available it can be daunting!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..The Perfect Male Mind =-.
Keeping things simple definitely helps you keep an eye on what you’re after and helps you when you fall off course.
Thanks!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Blogging Is A Two-Way Street =-.
Hi Eric,
Perhaps soon you can talk about the actual steps you are taking to make your blog your business? We can all learn from that. I know that you can do it, too!
I agree that blogging isn’t a hobby if you want to be able to be a full-time blogger and make your living from it. Your mindset definitely has to be in the right place for it to happen.
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..The Next Step In Finding Meaning For Your Life =-.
Mindset is extremely important. Believing it can be done is honestly half the battle. Once you’re on the “right” side, you can accomplish so many things.
That’s a great idea to do something that shows how I’m doing it and how I get the results I do now and will in the future. Thanks for the idea!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Blogging Is A Two-Way Street =-.
I like the idea of having a picture in mind of what you ultimately want in terms of income-producing options (membership site, consulting, etc.) so you can position yourself for this as you write posts and promote in the early days.
Mistakes are great teachers. I like the advice I heard to “fail forward faster.” If we truly learn from our failures, then every one takes us closer to where we want to go. So, the more failures, the better
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..How to Live With Your Inner Critic =-.
Learning from mistakes is always key to creating a kind of success. I’m currently writing down all my plans and taking immediate action with things so that I can get everything in place.
Having a plan of action and knowing where you’d like to be is extremely helpful so you’re not running blind.
I like the idea of a membership site a lot… I have plans in the making.
Thanks!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Blogging Is A Two-Way Street =-.
If you plan to monitize your blog then you need to treat it as a business and set up a business plan. This will help you focus on the key things that you need to do.
What level of money are you aiming for?
What type of revenue are you aiming for? Affiliate? Adsense? Direct advertising? Ad networks? Coaching? Product sales? Black market affiliate? Lead generation?
Once you decide this, what is the audience that you need to appeal. It will also dictate what tactics to use.
For example, if you go for ad networks, they need a niche. Advertisers pay money on a specific blog for niche audience that they’re trying to get.
Think from the perspective of the customer (the people paying your revenue)
What metrics do they want? What level of audience do you need to hit? At 1,000,000 page views a month, you can start writing your own ticket for some niche.
Marketing – how are you going to market the blog?
Focus on doing one thing extremely well at a time.
In business, you succeed by doing 20% better than anyone else rather than 100% mediocre.
If you have a clear vision and plan, everything else will fall into place.
I hope this small start helps.
.-= Kim | Money and Risk´s last blog ..Change the World by Redefining Success =-.
Having a clear focus and figuring out all the details so you know which direction to go in is a huge help. Everyone around you can help which is why it’s also good to get to know people and offer them something and then see what they can offer you in return.
Thanks for the comment!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Blogging Is A Two-Way Street =-.
I agree that a person needs a business plan if blogging is going to be your business. The key is passion and joy. To be a full-time blogger, writing has to give you joy and being passionate about helping or entertaining your audience will create success. Making mistakes along the road is inevitable and part of being human. The other ingredient for success is persistence. Don’t give up.
Too many people give up because they don’t think it can be done. That’s sad because it absolutely can and there are so many bloggers out there who show you exactly that, James being one of them!
Treating it like a business with the right mindset and the right plans while keeping everything simple and to the point is the right steps to take in order to succeed. And of course making mistakes because you learn from them (hopefully!).
Thanks!
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Blogging Is A Two-Way Street =-.
I believe for the first time in my life I am on the right track, thanks Eric great post and James for posting blog for Eric.
.-= PurpleB´s last blog ..My Reason 4 Changing =-.
Awesome post man… “Are you just thinking about the income?” To be honest i started blogging to make money, but now I have found my Passion in this field. …!! I think Passion is very important. !!
Thanks for sharing this great post Eric. ! -:)
.-= Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..Weekly Roundup #5: Link Love to Blogging Friends =-.