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Make Money Blogging?
Perhaps – like me – you were seduced by the dream of getting paid to blog?
I do enjoy writing and always have done…. when I was a little girl I won an essay prize from Cadbury's, and the prize was a stack of chocolate bars so tall my Dad had to carry them for me. My friends will know that's just my type of prize!
But of course as we take on more responsibilities and bills, a stack of chocolate bars won't quite do the trick!
- My off-line business pays the bills for me.
- Blogging satisfies the writing bug that never quite left me.
- But wouldn't actually getting paid to blog really be the icing on the cake?
The Paid Blogging Dream
You've seen the adverts – they're such nice guys / girls – they wouldn't lie to you! Just blog away daily for a few weeks and the dollars will roll in. Then as the weeks turn into months, and years, and the bank balance stays static (or worse!) reality kicks in and it's obviously not happening quite the way those gurus promised.
Getting Paid To Blog – The Reality
I have to be honest – big earnings from blogging didn't happen for me!
- A few paid adverts
- A few product sales after reviews
- Not enough to make a full-time living!
I have reviewed several products written by fellow bloggers, in return for free copies of the products, and some of my readers have been kind enough to buy the products so I earned a small affiliate commission. Of course the posts remain on my site, so I could earn more commission in the future.
But it can easily take a whole day to go through a product and write up a decent review, which usually means that the “earn by reviewing a product” model is rather hit and miss. Of course I've had the benefit of the free product and the time taken to review it also includes my time learning a new skill, so it's been beneficial to some extent and it's something I will continue to do for certain trusted product creators.
As an aside I've been lucky (or skilled) in my choice of product authors because I've always been proud to present them as valuable products on my blog. The other day I actually PAID for a product that was doing the rounds, because I knew I didn't have the time to review it, and it was so “thin on the ground” I was really relieved I hadn't attempted a review. Perhaps I'm being harsh on the author – I guess complete beginners would have learned from it, but it wasn't right for my readers!
I still enjoy my blogging, but as my knowledge and skill has increased – thanks to many helpful bloggers “out there” – it's obvious that there are hundreds / thousands of bloggers working their socks off and still not making a decent living out of blogging.
But…..
Not Everyone Wants To Blog
Shock, horror, heresy! Over the months I have had to accept that “not everyone” wants a blog. Despite how important I, and all bloggers, think it is.
Many people don't have the time or inclination to produce (and more importantly) keep a blog up-to-date. So blogging isn't for everyone. They may prefer social media, for example.
Some may prefer making money with their smartphone by text messages. Now that's not something I would ever want to do – but that's no reason to exclude from my target market people who would LOVE to make money using their mobile phone.
My conclusion is that any business model I recommend must provide options for bloggers and non-bloggers.
Another Way To Make Money Blogging
In May 2021 I was invited to join Intellifluence – a site where tasks are posted, and ‘influencers' apply – according to what takes your fancy. I have have had 3 paid jobs from this site. The best paid one was $200, so we're not talking chump change.
It's free to register, so have a look round and see if anything appeals to you.
The tasks aren't limited to blogging. There are social media tasks too.
The site is easy to use and attractively laid out, so now I'm going to suggest you register free for Intellifluence.
Have YOU Had Paid Blogging Work?
Before you register on BlogExpose, please take a moment to share your comments about your own experiences of getting paid to blog, and whether you think this will be useful to you.
