Blogging Is a Medium Rather than an End

A lot of people are trying to make a good living off of blogging, but sad to say, most are not successful, at least in terms of being able to monetize their blogging activities enough to quit that day job.

Sadly, most think that blogging is easy money. But that is not the case. Blogging is hard work — or at least it involves a big amount of effort in writing, marketing, planning and even socializing. Most people would not get that, and think that the fact that you’ve opened a blog, put in some ad units, and posted a few posts would already make you rich.

But I’ve come to think that the age of monetizing blogging purely for the content may not exactly be the best business model (or at least the one that earns the big bucks). It’s not that publishing as a business, per se, is no longer good. For me, blogging is just what it is: a medium. Blogging is not the ends, but rather it is a means.

That’s why it’s a medium.

There are several ways of earning from blogging, and it will be very fruitful if you get it right. But the big money could be somewhere aside from directly earning from one’s blog. Think of marketing. Think of networking. These days, people are able to generate sales, business leads, consultancy jobs, and other such opportunities because of their blogs.

Think of it this way. You can build up your profile online through your blog. Show people how good you are at what you do, whether it’s a skill, profession, or other business that you do. And the opportunities will come. Be a Joel Spolsky. Be a Jeff Atwood.

An example: a blog network can earn more from blog-related consultancy services, or from selling books, or from selling software than from ad revenues. Besides, writers are expensive. But if you’ve built a good product (software, etc.) or service, then they will pay for themselves, and will give you good money down the road.

Blogging is a medium, and not the end-all be-all of things.