20 Reasons Why Your Make Money Online Blog Will Fail
June 17th, 2008 / Blogging Tips, General Blogging
What do Digg, Mixx, StumbleUpon, Reddit and other similar services have in common? Well, many things, but among them, the abundance of newly launched “make money blogging” and “make money online” blogs.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that at least 95% of them are meant to fail. Are you part of those potentially successful 5%? If not, it’s probably due to at least one of the following 20 reasons.
- You’re competing in a VERY crowded niche;
- You have no authority;
- You don’t give a damn about personal and blog branding;
- You have no proof you’ve already made money using the methods you promote;
- When it comes to reporting your income, you’re suddenly very quiet;
- You’re not providing advice, but rather guide readers through a series of affiliate links;
- Instead of talking from experience you keep reviewing other bloggers’ opinions;
- Your free eBook is just another make money online tips compilation;
- Everything you say has already been said;
- You blog posts are filled with keywords, so many that we can hardly find a natural, valid opinion;
- You leave comments on other blogs using spammy keywords for the author name and as if that is not enough, you throw one or two links in the comment too. This will affect your reputation, sooner or later, but it will;
- Instead of focusing on making your blog better you keep kissing John Chow’s a$$, hoping for… what?
- You’re not Chow (actually, you should be happy for that);
- You forget that in order to teach people how to make money blogging you should first teach them how to become better bloggers;
- Filling you blog with AdSense, text links and banners doesn’t get you enough money to say that you’re a money maker. Why? Because it drives readers out. Good bye traffic, good bye earnings!
- Don’t tell me I can make tons of cash with AdSense. That time is long gone. Have you seen any new $XX,XXX.XX cheque photos lately?
- Interesting that you have reviewed gazillions of money making services and guide us to them, but, have you made even a cent out of them? No, the paid review doesn’t count;
- You’re actually full of s#it. So much gibberish, not a single concrete advice;
- Are you ready to go full time blogging about making money? If not, stop telling us how to make money when you obviously don’t;
- And last: My grandmother’s pension is bigger than your monthly income. Fake it ’til you make it DOES NOT WORK.
Do you own a “make money online” blog? Do you find yourself in any of the above situations? If so, stop pretending. If you don’t buy it, neither will we.
Also, remember that you don’t want to make money blogging. Not right from the beginning at least.
-
- Spread the love!
- Digg
- StumbleUpon
- Delicious
- Fast & Free RSS updates?
- Join the 1,353 subscribers NOW!
Loading ...
HAH! Awesome post!
I have to admit that I originally started out creating my blog to help people make money. I was going to use it to help train my downline and educate potential prospects.
Once I started blogging and getting into the community, I realized that there was much more that I wanted to write about. I also noticed how crowded the niche was and how “spammy” it all seemed.
Now, I have changed direction somewhat. I have been sticking to more of a self-improvement approach using Web 2.0 technologies. Much more interesting. I don’t really try to classify my blog, I just try to write stuff that doesn’t suck.
There are myriads of blogs covering the topic of making money blogging — that I think the ones that will come out on top are those that innovate. The ones that can write in a way that is entertaining, funny, and compelling all in one.
In regards to #9, I’m not sure it’s true that anything new can be said – it can only be said differently. I guess in a sense new things can be said as the blogging world evolves, but most everyone covers the same topic matters. That’s why, the game is in how you cover it. That’s where the winning is done in my opinion.
Somebody mush have really pissed you off. I guess “keep kissing John Chow’s a$$” but it’s only a guess. Anyway everything you’ve just said makes perfect sense and is logically. That’s why real successfully bloggers make up a strategy. And from what i saw you talk in your blog about effective strategy. Some people make tactics before creating a blog, others make a porn site and boom they have cash. (i think this was said by krummel from WDB on his blog but i’m not sure). Anyway i’m glad to see a real blogger online.
I think everyone is trying to make money from the make money online niche. And newbies are just giving up when they are not making a success. Thats why I love your first point!
@Rahsheen: Thanks. I think you made a great choice when you decided to go for a “improvement” type of blog. It’s nice to help and help is always appreciated and rewarded, with money, with reputation, with awareness. Give and you shall receive. PS: Cool name, Rahsheen.
@Bamboo: I feel what you say, but please, notice the “everything” at the beginning of #9. No matter how well you re-write content it’s still ‘old news’. I’m OK with taking old topics and add your views to them, but a blog cannot survive without a personal touch, some original posts. Unfortunately, many of the blogs targeted by this post don’t have that personal touch.
@stefan: No one, in particular, pissed me off. Just the fact that some people think that if you make 5 bucks a day from AdSense, qualifies you as a money making guru. I’ve always believed that in order to make money – out of anything – you must first be really good at what you do/talk about. In blogging, money should come as a reward. But then again, maybe it’s just my view.
@Tom: That’s why it’s the first. At least, it’s a good filter that separates good from bad right from the start.
This is a hilarious post. Making Money Online is very tough as it is an overcrowded market. You need to find your niche, and specialize in it. I have one blog for now, making 150-200 per month consistently. It’s not a lot but it’s a start. If I could work on 10 blogs, and then invest the money in stocks/real-estate I will be living off dividends.
Things that stress me out, are the blogs that make money. They mostly have really good keywords. Owners that have this type of blogs, have an orgasm when reaching 100 visits per day. I saw a lot of these blogs in the blogroll widget from problogger. I’m just wondering how do you make money from a blog that has < 100 visits per day.
@stefan: Traffic is not the only money maker. Reputation, is a very important element. Also, there are many blogs out there with little traffic, yet, if you look at the posts, each one has at least 20-25 comments. This means that blog has a very loyal readers base. That can be monetized in other way. And of course, consultancy and additional services are also money makers.
“Don’t tell me I can make tons of cash with AdSense. That time is long gone. Have you seen any new $XX,XXX.XX cheque photos lately?”
Photos, no. Checks, yes. Sounds like you should pay attention to your own advice.
Hey Eric, thanks for stopping by.
Either the checks you’ve seen come from those “successful 5%”, or it took them a while to gather the amount. I’m seeing $500-$1000 (even more) checks often, monthly, but 5 or 6 figure checks, not that much.
In regard to my own advice,
thanks, but this is not a “make money online” blog.
LOL…
cracked me up. I know 1 or 2 bloggers who do a few of these
Clean up the grammatical errors in here.
I like point number 13
Don’t tell me I can make tons of cash with AdSense. That time is long gone. Have you seen any new $XX,XXX.XX cheque photos lately?
That’s true ! Totally true. Adsense smart pricing has made me mad to run suck adsense anymore.
Well, If you do decide to make a run for a make money online blog, we’ve got a new social news site dedicated to the topic – http://www.carnivalofmakingmoneyonline.com .
They say in Hollywood that two B list stars in a scandal can equal A list material, lets see if Social Voting Sites (digg clones) + making money online can produce a C list website.
When I first start reading this post I kinda got offended because I have a blog that talks about making free money online. As I read through I understood what you meant. I am new to the blogging world but I am learning from people like you. But I am trying to get better at this. It was interesting reading your post though.
At the beginning it seemed like this was going to be a very angry list, but as I looked at it again I could see your point, and it’s actually quite real. It’s because of stuff like this that I’ve unsubscribed from so many newsletters on how to make money online, because at a certain point they’re all saying the same thing, only changing a few words here and there. Of course, number 5 is my favorite, and when I really start making any real money, you’ll see mine on a consistent basis. But I wasn’t scared to show that first $8 I’ve made since the beginning of the year.
Not hitting six figures yet but have just passed four. Not enough to leave my full time job, but enough to make it an enjoyable hobby.
Actually mate i looks like im gonna hit my first million by the end of 2009.
Just because you have no idea on how to make money online doesnt mean you need to destroy hopes for all the newbies.
the main reason most people never make money online is because they dont do it properly.
My blog is just going to provided reviews and information techniques tips and tweaks to help budding on-line entrepreneurs. ie how to make a successful squeeze page etc.
Just because you still work 9 til 5 doesnt mean everyone else has to. and i bet i can make your grandma’s pension back within a month.
While I was not going to approve the above comment the first time, I’ve decided to approve it and to answer it publicly.
1. anon, obviously short for anonymous, making a million by the end of 2009? That’s a bold statement for someone who does not share his true identity. First sign of fake.
2. Destroy the hopes of newbies? Mate, I’ve only underlined some real facts that people do, even if they are simply stupid things to do or say. From my point of view, I’d first try and be a good blogger and only after try and “sell” money making tips to others.
3. Why don’t you share with us your blog’s URL? Is it anonymous too? Second sign.
4. “Just because you still work 9 til 5 doesn’t mean everyone else has to.” Indeed. Really looking forward to the day when we all work 10-12 from the comfort of our homes. Unfortunately, some still have to grow food and make the clothes bloggers eat and wear. And by the way, it’s more like 9 to 1 AM in my case, to cover all i feel like doing.
5. “And i bet i can make your grandma’s pension back within a month.” Wouldn’t it be a shame if you wouldn’t? I know I make at least 10 times more in a month, so I guess that basically everyone should be able to beat that.
Now mate, next time, either sign you comment and provide solid proof for your expertise, either join the spam IPs. Cheers!
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!
Its really appriciating what you explained here “the 20 points by which my blogs will not be fail”.
Basically I think that every one should keep these ideas in his mind when they are going to blog to earn money.
thanks…….
_______________________________________________
Rives
http://rives.com
Blogs can be a realistic and significant part of making money online, but you need to have your finger in many “pies” to be able to successfully make it. Also often overlooked is that you need to either have, or be able to create, the correct mentality to stay focussed and determined as – at least initially – things may move slowly and it is easy to give up. After much searching I eventually [edited] found the program that works for me in here – the only one that gave me a real hands on approach and showed me the ropes from end to end.
Making money using blogs really depends on search engine traffics. A blog with many useful posts and interesting information will improve in the SERP.
These 20 reasons just hit the bulls eye. Quite blunt but hey, such information stated are all true and I definitely to all of the 20 reasons you posted. Make money online through blogs will be a breeze if these reasons are well-absorbed.
Blogging is just like any other online venture and will require trial and error. Thanks for the info as it will definitely help the process for everyone. I’ve found affiliate marketing to be real simple and you can incorporate that into a blog as well as ad space.
No. 16 made me laugh. Adsense is still the best payer out there. The others don’t even come close (mainly because they haven’t the clout to sign up advertisers).
I have to disagree with you. If you want to make money with your blog, you have to think outside the box to drive traffic to your blog. To make money online involves more than just blogging.
Great and to-the-point post. But I dissagree with you about the very crowded niche.. f. example with dieting, there is still a lot of value there..
Funny, brash, concise, sweet, no-nonsense & straight-to-the-point. I agre with the sentiments expressed in this blog post very much.
It is not possible to teach people how to make money if you are not making money yourself.