I've recently been spending more time on Quora, you can find my profile here, and for those of you that don't know, Quora is a place to ask and answer questions, and one of the most popular questions I see, is "How to earn money from blogging?", or a variant of that subject.
Of course, I earn my living by writing content or copy, the occasional blog, so when I see someone asking the age old question about earning money from blogging, I usually take a read, mainly out of curiosity, sometimes to answer, depending on the mood.
Earn Money From Blogging
Quora is full of these questions, of course it's a subject I follow (Blog Writing), but it seems that every man, Jack and his dog wants to jump on the gravy train and get paid for something that literally every one can do. Everyone can write, right?
Of course the problem is, people see it as an easy way to earn money ... all they need is some kind of device, an internet connection and a free platform; kerching, let the money roll in.
But surely, if it was that easy, everyone would already be doing it? Hang on ... I'll rephrase that ... surely, if it was that easy, everyone would already be making a living from it? There would be no need for sites like Contently, PeoplePerHour or Upwork, because you could literally walk down the road and trip over a high quality freelance writer.
It's all very well having the passion to blog, or to want to earn money from writing, but appreciate that it's something slightly more than 'brainin a few words out' for moolah. It really isn't the piece of piss job that you think.
Professional Writing
Being a professional writer isn't just about knowing how to arrange the alphabet in certain orders, you need to be able to understand the market that you're writing for, be able to work in key words or phrases in the most natural way, understand exactly what it is that your customer wants.
And if we're just keeping with the subject of earning money for blog posts, where are you going to get the traffic from? A common misconception by many newbies is that the traffic will just magically appear because ... "Well, I've got my own blog site".
As if having their own blog is the magical key to a kingdom of splendorous wonder, that they'll become famous in their own right for being 'so funny', or 'insightful', while the reality is that 90% of all blogs are read by family or friends only, and even they'll cringe at some of the content.
It's Not All Bad News
I guess when I say it isn't all bad news, what I mean is that there's plenty of opportunity for people that want to learn how to blog, that feel the need to update their followers about what they had for breakfast, or why little Timmy isn't pooing solids right now (believe me, I've seen exactly that post).
All I'm really saying is that professional blogging is a world apart from knocking a few words out because it's cathartic, or because you want your voice to be heard; it takes dedication, skill and an understanding of many different things ... SEO, demographics, language, grammar, NLP ... that's just a few of the topics that I have an understanding (at the very least) of.
Want to find out more about me? Looking for some special 'words & shit' (yep, that's also a quote I have had, exactly), then contact me so we can talk through what it is you want.
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