Making money from your blog
Some writers are turning to blogs to not only promote their print publications but they are using advertising on their blogs to bring in extra income. Many bloggers are writing regularly in order to generate traffic so as to develop income from their blogs. Tales of bloggers bringing in huge incomes from blogging abound. What many who jump on the bandwagon don’t realise is the long-term effort required to generate just a modest income, if any.
Tony Lawrence in his posting “Just two posts a day” suggests that the reality for most bloggers is that they will never make any income from the writing. Most bloggers, he suggests, write a few dozen posts over several months and wonder why their income from ads is zilch. He takes a very long term view of blogging. It is not until a blogger has posted many thousands of posts that the traffic generates enough income to be regarded as anything like a reasonable income for the effort and time expended. He has posted over 12,000 posts over several sites. This is a rather daunting statistic for anyone just setting out on the blogging pathway, but it has taken him 9 years to achieve this.
One step at a time.
One post at a time.
His concluding comments are encouraging – and challenging.
My suggestion is that you treat your blogging efforts like you treat your 401K investments. Small, regular investments now can pay out big dividends later. I’ve made this suggestion to dozens of people: start now, write about what you love. Do it well, and do it every day. For the first few years, you probably will generate very little income. Don’t think about it. Your day will come. If you keep plugging, chances are you will get a pay off. Maybe not: you may be dull, uninspiring, and completely uninteresting. If you don’t see the numbers starting to climb after a year or so, maybe you should forget it: this just isn’t your “thing”. But you aren’t going to find out unless you start doing it, are you?
So.. are you ready to write your two posts for today? I’ve done mine..
Well.. not yet.
But then, I have written nearly 30 posts over the last 5 days. That may seem a lot, but then, I do have 3 blogs to feed daily.
Short Fiction #2 A Matter of Convenience
2 Comments »3rd July, 2006; Category: Short Fiction
Elizabeth, always suspicious of Phillip’s motives, spoke first.
“Why did you do it?â€
“Do what?â€
His innocent countenance fooled her not.
“You know very well that I detest such unthinking inconsiderateness.â€
“But seriously – what difference does it make?†protested Phillip.
“All the difference in the world!†she fumed. “In future, leave the toilet seat down!â€
Notes:
- All rights reserved.
- Copyright Trevor W. Hampel 2006
- Read some more of my Short Fiction here.
- Read some of my Poetry here.
Avoid cliches like the plague
1 Comment »3rd July, 2006; Category: Writing Hints
There is an excellent article about eliminating cliches in your writing on the Writers’ Digest web page. It’s called Beyond Basic Blunders. It is quite a long and thorough article full of simple to follow hints on making your writing cringe-proof.
Clichés come in all shapes and sizes. There are just as many clichéd scenes as phrases and words. For instance, how may times have you seen a book begin with a main character being “rudely awakened” from a “sound sleep” by a “clanging” alarm clock? Have you written an opening like this yourself? Wondering where to start, you opt for first thing in the morning. Speaking of clichés, been there, done that. We all have. Don’t ever do it again.
Yes sir.
I think I’d better stop this post before I, too, fall into the trap of writing phrases that are beyond the pale, full of hackneyed statements that make you think I am as nutty as a fruitcake. I’d better write this carefully in case I get a tongue lashing from my readers. I can see the writing on the wall already, and that’s nothing to write home about. I wasn’t born yesterday and I know when I’m skating on thin ice. I need to keep on top of things and turn over a new leaf.
And I think I know when enough is enough.
To be serious for a moment, I found this cliche finder an interesting site.
Short Fiction #1 The Loss
No Comments »2nd July, 2006; Category: Short Fiction
“Who would do this to us?†wailed Betty.
“Any number of damn idiots!†retorted George.
“What can we do?â€
“First; both of us are fine.â€
“Yes… but…â€
“And we still have each other.â€
“I know that – but these despicable…â€
“Never mind,†soothed George. “We’ll just have to buy another garden gnome.â€
Notes:
- All rights reserved.
- Copyright Trevor W. Hampel 2006
- First published in FreeXpreSsion magazine August 2001
Taking time to think
Rick on his blog Shards of Consciousness writes that we should take more time to think about what we read. With the masses of information available at the click of the mouse, there is so much to read that is so interesting. Rick, however, is suggesting that we are reading far more but digesting far less of what we read. We are forgetting to think about what we are reading.
Ouch – guilty as charged.
In fact, since starting blogging seriously in March of this year my reading of printed materials has plummeted to an all time low. I subscribe to about a dozen magazines which largely go unread and have a huge pile of “books I am going to read when I retire.” Well, since “retiring” from teaching 2 years ago the pile has probably doubled. As for thinking about what I read…. mmmm… time for a few changes me thinks.
To read Rick’s article click here. (Sorry – the link to Rick’s site not longer works.)
Updated November 2013.