The top 5 classic problogger myths: EXPOSED!

  Is that a unicorn on your shoulder ...
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You've probably heard mythical tales about folks building sites from scratch, earning enough off the site to quit their day job, and later selling the site for a gazillion dollars or more.

We love those stories, because it sounds like every office renegade's fantasy--work in your pajamas, write from your heart, play around for most the day, rake in embarrassing amounts of cash. Ahhh, that's the life!

The truth is that there is as much myth as fact mixed in with that fantasy.

I've studied problogging, worked with some of the biggest blog rockstars in the business, and have even tried my own hand at it, and one thing I've learned is that behind the myth, behind the fantasies, behind the growing amount of media attention this hot new internet career is garnering, there is a solid, legitimate, long term business opportunity for those willing to invest the significant time, resources, and energy needed to start with nothing and grow a site into a cash cow.

If you've ever had the inkling that you might be able to turn your blog into a business but just aren't sure, you might wanna confront these classic problogging myths first:

Myth: Problogging is not a real job.
Fact: Probloggers are entrepreneurs with real businesses. They have marketing plans, products, business partners, business licenses, administrative duties and teams of staff. It is a real job and a real business.

Myth: You can get rich quick by problogging.
Fact: Like all of us entrepreneurs, probloggers work very hard, sometimes without knowing if their efforts will be financially rewarded. Sometimes they make steady cash, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they have huge windfalls of income, sometimes they lose money. Being a problogger is like being any other type of entrepreneur--the trick to making your blog work as a business is to take calculated risks and to get back on the horse if things fall through.

Myth: If you blog about what you're passionate about, your blog will make money.
Fact: Not necessarily. In order to make money from your blog there needs to be some type of products associated with the topic of your blog. Monetizing a blog is not quite as easy as just putting Adsense up and raking in the cash. (I wish it was!) Being able to turn a great blog into a blog that makes money takes at lot of market research, much marketing and strategizing, analyzing stats, and being creative as to how to convert the blog into cash. Some blogs are wonderful, provide compelling content, are a joy to read, but  are not suitable for making money.

Myth: No one can live off of the amount of money they make problogging.
Fact: Like all entrepreneurial ventures, problogging has a high income potential for those who stick with it and make smart decisions. I know more than a few folks who live quite comfortably off of their earnings from their blogs.

Myth: Problogging is mechanical and artless; it's all about pumping out dozens of posts a day, regardless of the quality.
Fact:  A money making blog is where creativity and technology meet. Problogging is satisfying work for creatives, tech heads, and entrepreneurial personality types. As with all businesses--quality counts. You will not have a successful blog if you are not providing valuable content for your readers. The best probloggers in the business approach site building as an art form.

So, that cat is out of the bag--Problogging is a real job, it's hard work, it's satisfying, you can make money, you might lose money, it takes skill and talent and foresight.

Still think you can do it? Yes? Wow, you're tenacious! Good for you :-)

For all those tenacious go-getters, the ones who are still on the edge about problogging, still curious, still intrigued, I'm about to announce a special free treat that is coming your way soon...be patient...it's worth it :-).

Related posts: Six Figure Blogging Course Is Back! Free Preview

Comments

[Kevin Lee]

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for this post. I've got a new blog in the draft stage on keeping kids safe in church settings/programs, and my hope over time is to possibly turn a dime on it, or at least make it pay for itself! But no illusions here...I'm keeping the day job for sure!

[Sharon Sarmiento]

Hey Kevin,

That sounds like a cool site, and like a very useful site for parents.

And that's a great plan--create the site, enjoy doing it, try to monetize it, and as long as we keep our day jobs, what's the worst that can happen? I like that type of stress free strategy :-)

[Perfect Life Project]

Sharon

Great to see you back blogging. Have missed your posts since you went quiet before Xmas.

Enjoying the new posts and apparent change in commentary direction.

[Sharon Sarmiento]

Hey Perfect Life,

Awww, thanks :-) Hmmm, I hadn't realized that the direction of the blog had changed, but maybe it has! :-)

[Perfect Life Project]

Well it seems you have a more pro-blogging focus now. Maybe it was just the first few posts I noticed. Either way, good to have you back.

[Sharon Sarmiento]

Hey Perfect Life,

Ohhhh, I see what you mean! Nah, it was just a couple recent posts that were about that, trying to get folks ready for the Six Figure Blogging course :-)

It's so good to be back too. Thanks so much for chiming in :-)