Have you been hearing that most bloggers never make money? Sadly, this is true, and it is a problem that is growing, rather than shrinking.
A few weeks ago, I was chatting with Brian over at Blog Engage about the success rate of many of the blogs out there. As we talked, one thing that he mentioned is that a large number of his members that he chats with fail to actually make a decent living from their blog. As blogging becomes more and more popular, the fact remains that most bloggers never make money!
You see all these programs that tell you that they will teach you “the secret to making money with a blog” but so many of the people out there tend to struggle along, and never see the income that they were promised.
On top of all of that, you will find a lot of people claiming to make money that they didn't earn through their blog, which just compounds the problem.
But, once you realize that blogging isn't just a fun game that will make you rich overnight, the burning question that I am often asked is “Why Do Most Bloggers Never Make Money?”
After all, although I have met some people who are successfully making a lot of money from their blogs, a large number of people that I chat with fail to make more than a few hundred dollars a month. This led me to look at what people are doing.
I started doing some one-on-one coaching with people from my email list just to get a look at what they are doing, and where they struggle. As I did this I narrowed it down to a few reasons why people fail to make the money that they want, and I thought I would share those with you, so that you can blast away the problems and start focusing on what works.
Bloggers Never Make Money With The “One Man (or Woman) Business” Syndrome
A huge problem that many people have is trying to do everything themselves. If you have ever played just about any sport, you will know that it takes a team to win, and the same is true for blogging. If one person tries to do everything, you will struggle to succeed.
You need to learn how to build links, technical aspects of your blog, writing content, continuously researching your niche, and tons of other stuff to make your blog a success.
There is no way you can be an expert at all of them.
I generally recommend setting an income goal for your blog. To set this goal, take what you need to make to replace your income, and triple it ( this way you cover outsourcing fees and any relevant taxes). For example, say you want to replace an income of 2,000/month. I would reinvest every dime your blog makes until it gets to $6,000/month.
This way, you have enough funds to continue outsourcing, pay your taxes (it is a business after all, and you do need to pay business taxes) and pay yourself.
Most Bloggers Never Make Money Because They SUCK at Monetization
The next big issue is to look at how you monetize your site. I could write an entire ebook on how people monetize their sites wrong, but I will try to keep it brief. You could be over monetizing your site, or underdoing it.
You could also be offering ads that aren't targeted to the traffic you are getting. You have to find a balance in order to really get the goods. Blogs are very different than static sites. Most of your posts should be geared towards engaging and helping people, not selling.
Too Many Ads = Too Many Distractions
I was looking at a blog from one of my clients the other day, and his blog was way out there. He had 3 adsense blocks, a ton of affiliate banner ads, and an opt in form on every page of his site. His reasoning was that if he gave people a lot of choices, they would find one that fit them. This is a common misconception that many new bloggers face.
The reality is the opposite.
If you give people a lot of choices, often, they will not make a choice and they will simply leave your site. I generally recommend limiting the choices that they have. Too many ads will be more of a distraction, and will limit the success that you find. Choose the method that you want and stick with it. Don't over do it. Otherwise people will run away, and you will be stuck with a ton of traffic and low conversion rates.
Bloggers Never Make Money If Customers Never See the Option to Spend Money!
The other side of that is not having enough monetization in place. For example, I had someone who called me up the other day and was furious because they had only made 1 sale on their site in about 8 months. They had followed my website traffic guide, and they were getting some good traffic, but they weren't making any sales.
When I went to check out their site, it was pretty clear what was wrong. They didn't have a clear monetization plan for their site. I went through 10 pages before I found an option to buy something or sign up for their newsletter. They were so scared of overdoing it that they didn't have enough ads in place, and the pages that were getting the traffic didn't have any ads on them. When they did monetize the page, they were afraid of running off the customers, so they didn't promote those pages as much. If you don't have ads, people can't buy anything, so make sure that you have them ready to go.
Using the Wrong Ads
The last one that I want to talk about real fast is using the wrong ads. A lot of people fail to target their ads to the right people. Part of this is the keywords they use, but part of it also has to look at where your traffic is coming from, and the topic of your blog.
For example, the other day, I was reading up on a blog about personal development. Since I have a blog where I discuss many personal development issues, I thought it would be a great opportunity to follow this blog. They had some really great content, but they are talking about emotional issues, relationship problems, goal setting, and other personal development issues, but all of their ads were for IM related products and services.
If you are running an IM blog, this is great, but if your content is targeting people with dating problems or weight loss issues, they probably don't care about starting an online business. You have to choose ads that fit your content, or else you will struggle to survive. You might get a few lucky sales, but you won't get the highest conversion rates.
The good news is that once you properly monetize your blog and you get some help to do all the work (which is really massive if you really think about it), you can turn your blog into a full time income that will sustain you for years to come.
Negative Thinking About Your Blog Will Cause You To Fail!
The last issue that I want to confront today is how your thinking affects your blog. This isn't a technical issue, but it is often the reason people fail. In fact, from all of the people that I talk to, the way they think is why they struggle to succeed.
A long time ago, I learned that your thoughts influence your beliefs, which will in turn influence your actions. And of course, your actions will always influence the results that you get. So, in a way, your thoughts will greatly impact the results that you get.
When it comes to your blog, for example, what you think about yourself and your content will influence what you do to promote it. Often, when I see people struggling, they don't believe their content is “good enough” so they don't put enough effort into promoting their content properly. This becomes a huge problem that will leave you struggling.
Honestly, with all the physical things that you have to do, if you change the way you think, you can transform the success that your business has. If you struggle with worry, doubt, and fear controlling your business decisions, then I would recommend that you learn how to stop negative thinking and take control of your mindset before going on.
Where does Your blog struggle to make money?
So, today, I want to ask you where your blog is struggling. What is your biggest problem with making money from your blog? where do you need the most help? The lines are open, so share your comments below! I want to know what you think about why most bloggers never make money.
Recommended Reading:
- The Ultimate Guide to Blogging: What To Write About, How to Promote Your Blog, & How to Make Money Blogging
- Zero to Blogger in 30 Days!: Start a blog and then join the 30 day blogging challenge to get results (Blogging book 1)
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