5 Dirty Secrets Every Money Making Blogger Should Tell You (But Won’t)

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Last Update 9th May, 2017.

Are you sitting down? I hope so.

Because now it's time to push past the fluffy hype and reveal some of the dirtiest secrets of making money blogging.

The downfalls to blogging if you will… the things you don't normally find out about.

I hope you're ready for this.

More and more people are deciding to start a blog as a way to make money online and become independent business owners.

The sole reason I launched The Make Money Online Blog was to show people how to start and run successful blogging businesses.

The benefits to becoming an online entrepreneur far outweigh any money or time you invest. Whatever you put into your online business (as long as you don't quit), will pay you back many times over for years to come.

I like to put it this way: launching my blogging portfolio three years ago and the progress I've made until now is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it's also totally changed my life and my online businesses are among my proudest achievements.

I'm serious too, here's just a few things that have changed since I started the free training at Wealthy Affiliate in March 2013…

  • I've moved continents – from my mum's house in the sleepy village of Swillington in England to my own condo in the bustling city of Sriracha, Thailand.
  • I've changed my day job – for years I worked for British Gas, sitting in their call centres talking to customers about loft and cavity wall insulation. Now I volunteer full-time as a missionary working with children and families in Thai slums and travelling around south east Asia.
  • I've gone from financially dependent to independent – this is the biggest change that's given me the freedom to make the other changes. It's more than not needing to ask permission for a toilet break or living from pay cheque to pay cheque – it's the confidence that comes from having control over your life and freedom to make your own choices.

Check out my About me page for my full story and find out, whatever your dreams are, whatever your online income goals, I can help you do the same.

I actually run a free 7 day blogging as a business email course you can take advantage of too. As soon as you sign up I'll send you the first lesson.

My promise to you is I will guide you every step of the way to setting up your blog and making your first sale.

This is a promise I take very seriously, so go ahead, enter your email address below and let's get started!

Now… with that said, there are things I've realised in the last three years of being a full-time blogger that no-one ever told me.

If you're an aspiring blogger-entrepreneur what I'm going to share with you will make sure you know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

For the more experienced bloggers out there, I'd love to know what you think and if I've missed anything, please share your own ‘blogger's secret' to the comments below.

Now please don't think I'm trying to put you off, I just think it's good for you to know what you're getting yourself into so you're more likely to stick out in the longhaul.

So let's get into the juicy stuff…

Here are the 5 Secrets Every Money Making Blogger Should Tell You (But Won't):

secrets every money making blogger should tell you

1. All money making bloggers work for free (at least at first)

In How to earn money on the internet – the fast or the REAL way we talked about the difference between get rich schemes and building an actual blogging business – the truth is, like anything in the real world, making money blogging takes time, diligence and patience.

You have to work at your job for years before getting that promotion. Would you quit your job if you didn't get promoted within the first 3 months? It's the same with your blog, give it time; consistency gets you the prize every time.

I say this because I see many aspiring bloggers starting out strong only to get discouraged and quit when they don't see the results as quickly as they thought.

To be successful in this game, you need to be realistic about the process othrwise you'll be stuck in the “it must happen now” mindset and you'll just jump from one shiny thing to the next without ever accomplishing anything.

2. Making money blogging can be hard (but it doesn't have to be)

Is it easy? No

Is it worth it? Absolutely yes!

wealthy-affiliate-reviewWhen you're first starting a blog you're starting a new business venture, like starting anything new, you'll have a steep learning curve especially at the beginning.

You'll need to spend time training yourself, investing into your self-development and acquiring the skills you need to make your blog a success.

The best online affiliate marketing course I can recommend is Wealthy Affiliate (link to my 4,880 word review). It's where I changed from being a newbie to a true money making blogger.

The top notch training covers all the technical and creative aspects of running a successful blog and you can try it all for free and get started on the training here.

They'll also be points along your journey where you get discouraged, have questions and feel stuck. It happens to the best of us.

For me personally, the community of fellow online entrepreneurs at Wealthy Affiliate are pure gold. They give me a kick up the proverbial butt when I need it and it's a great place to bounce ideas around and get feedback.

3. Money making bloggers pay a social price for success

Ask any successful entrepreneur and they'll take you running a profitable business (or or offline) takes focus and commitment and there's a social and relationship cost.

When I first started I set very clear money goals and knew exactly what I needed to do to get there. I had to prioritise my blogs. This meant I had to start saying no to some social invitations and work while others played.

I'm not saying you have to cut off your friends, but you do need to be clear on what your priorities are and decide beforehand how much time each week you can put into your online income goals.

This'll help you to plan your weekly schedule and give time slots in the week to work on your blogging businesses.

4. Most money making bloggers are addicted to stats

This blog would likely have double the blog posts it does now if I didn't waste to much time incessantly checking my daily traffic statistics, affiliate referral staticstics, Aweber email subscriptions statistics, bounce rates and income for the month.

I confess: I'm a total Google analytics addict.

Constantly checking visitor stats can be an emotional roller coaster if you're not careful…

Someone unsubscribed from my mailing list? Oh no! What did I do wrong?

A dip in visitor numbers one day? Have I been penalised by Google or is there something wrong with my site?

While statistics are vital for your online business and are really useful for helping you to make tweaks to improve engagement and conversions etc., don't become too obsessed that you're wasting time hitting the refresh button instead of actually taking the steps to build your blog. (I'm telling myself too)

 

5. I don't know everything

what to start a blog aboutOkay here's the final confession of a money making blogger: I don't know everything there is to know about making money online through blogging.

I know, shock horror.

But you'd be surprised at how many people assume you're an expert just because you have a website.

I set up The Make Money Online Blog as a platform to to share my experiences, the things I was learn along the way about making money blogging. I'm growing and getting better at this blogging thing all the time.

My bank account reflects that… but there's still so much I need to learn.

So never stop learning. The most important investment you can make is in yourself.

And don't get overwhelmed by information overload. The truth is there's so many different ways you can make money with your blog. So choose a track and run, get a mentor, follow a step by step training program and apply it long enough to see real results.

If you're looking for step by step training on how to start a blog, choose the right topic, attract a bustling readership and of course, make money with your blog, check out the free Online Entrepreneurship course at Wealthy Affiliate.

It's time for you to spill the beans!

Come on don't hold back, you're in a safe space. See this area as your own online confession box 🙂

If you're a money making blogger I’d really love to know whether you have your own secret to confess about building and running successful blogs. You know, the things we don't normally like to talk about…

9 thoughts on “5 Dirty Secrets Every Money Making Blogger Should Tell You (But Won’t)”

  1. Hey Simon! Thanks for your insight. I’m new to the game and in the short time I’ve been at this, I’ve learned that I must commit to the long haul if I’m going to see results. Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme for me, and I can tell I’ll only get out what I put in.

    Congrats on your accomplishments! Those are pretty big steps.

    Reply
  2. This reminds me of my grandpa showing me how he was constantly learning and taking courses to better himself and his career. It’s so true, you have to strive to gain more knowledge each and every day. It’s stressful, never ending, but so rewarding!

    Reply
    • This is great advice – whatever you’re doing on or offline the key is to never ever stop learning. The good thing about this blogging malarkey is that it’s forever changing, developing so we’ll never run out of things to learn. It’s all part of the fun of being your own boss I think 😉

      Reply
  3. Wow you really hung all the dirty washing out to dry here didn’t you 😉

    It’s actually really to hear about the world of make money blogging from someone whos experieced in it and know the reality of launching and building successful blogs.

    I hear ya on the point about deciding where your websites come in order of priority, but I think with good planning and time management and a good work/life balance, your businesses don’t have to have a negative impact on your social life.

    Thanks for this, really enjoyed it – shared!

    Reply
    • Thanks Tar! That’s a really good point and something I could do better at – effective time management. In fact, one of my new year’s resolutions this year is to be better goal setting and actually putting aside allocated slots of time to reach my goals.

      Reply
  4. Hi Simon

    Thanks for those encouraging words about making money as a blogger. You have accurately described the typical life of a successful blogger or makes one. I like the analogy about working in real life and I hope this would help a lot of people wanting to venture into this niche.

    I also read you who section and it describes where I would like to be and why I am drawn to Wealthy Affiliate. I haven’t arrived yet but I definitely do know more than I knew when I first joined.

    I will return for more inspirations.

    Reply
    • Thanks Kavinah, I think the trap of thinking generating an online income is somehow ‘instant’ or ‘magic’ stops many people from ever earning a dime online.

      The great thing about Wealthy Affiliate is that they teach an actual business model with a step by step strategy with realistic money goal setting and training to implement.

      See you around the blog! : )

      Reply
  5. People tend to think making money from blogging is easy, just type and cash-in. WRONG! It takes so much focus and hard work. You may not see any money for months unless you know what you are doing and get good at it pretty darn quick.

    Simon you did a great job in smacking me with the honest truth of online blogging. I wish I read this article years ago. It would have avoided many days of frustration.

    Reply
    • Wow I appreciate that Jean-Josue – my intention is not to try and put people off, but to give them realistic expectation going into it so they won’t quit before they see results.

      You make a very good point, blogging is more than starting a blog and publishing blog posts – you need a solid blogging strategy.

      Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

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