Start A Blog: Just Jump In!
There are many bloggers in the blogsphere right now; according to Technorati there are approximately 71 million. I bet there are even more people wanting to start a blog but are waiting for that one thing to push them into blogging. What you have probably heard a thousand times and I tell my readers this all the time, is to create a web site or blog about something you are passionate about and enjoy. That is probably the best way to jump into blogging. There are two advantages to starting out this way:
- You teach yourself the basics before tackling a real money maker.
- It will be easy to write because it’s a topic you enjoy writing about.
So let’s say that you’re crazy about sky diving on a beautiful island like Hawaii. Why not create a nice informative web site about the location with supplemental and related information?
How can creating a site that interests me help?
Starting something new that you’re not familiar with can be extremely frustrating. If you know nothing or very little about how the internet works, how website marketing works & how affiliate marketing works it’s unlikely that you will be able to create a web site that can compete with the thousands of other developed sites out there. So it’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to just jump into blogging.
To help you with this idea, let me tell you about my experience. I did a lot of research before jumping into the deep end. You see a lot of bloggers start with a personal blog first because they want to write about everything under the blue sky. Well, I began with a niche in mind and learned how to do things as I went. I created a site on a topic that I knew a lot about. This way, I put more passion into the site rather than write about what happened to me on the freeway today. Also, there was less competition in the area and it helped me get a feel for what worked and what didn’t work.
The best advice I can give you if you are starting a new blog is to make sure it’s a topic you enjoy.
This post was guest blogged by Jane May. She teaches readers how to create and monetize blogs on Daily Web Ideas.
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Great post! Blogs are fun too, setting aside the money making part.
Reply to this commentBlogging about something you know is WAY easier than having to research something too.
John, you hit it on the spot. I was about to write about how too many people are blogging about making money online. Just because many of the popular bloggers such as you are making something by blogging about making money, thousands of other people are trying to do the same thing. It takes the creativity, originality, and fun out of reading blogs. Problogger, ShoeMoney, and even a new blogger Kumiko are starting to get boring. New readers will always be around as new bloggers keep on appearing onto the blogsphere.
Reply to this commentDude, Jane wrote this post, not John
Don
Reply to this commentHI Andy,
Read your comment and agree with you that when people starts to concentrate doing things just for money, the fun is gone. I share your opinion and invite you to visit my blog and help me become a better blogger so that I can achieve my goal of helping more people become happier and more caring.
Make money by all means but do have some time and thoughts for those who are less fortunate.
With the money made, contribute to help more people.
You may like to consider joining a service organization and contribute your talent to helping more people enjoy blogging and gain more knowledge in the process.
Your passion for blogging will be most beneficial to many people and helping those who need to do it for whatever reasons is still a service to humankind.
Cheers!
A Sam
Reply to this commentPassion is a powerful tool, Jane.
Like business, it’s almost impossible to succeed if you’re not passionate about the market you’re in. The very reason that 50, 60, 70 year old millionaires and billionaires still work is because they love absolutely everything they do. They are so passionate about their business and their market that to retire would take half their life away from them.
It’s that passion which drives quality results. It may be your goal of turning over $10m in five years which gets you up in a morning, but without the passion for your business and your market, there’s absolutely no way you’ll ever reach that $10m goal.
A business is like a baby…
It’s conceived with a load of passion, and usually comes about after licking a bar clean of beer.
Then comes the nine months of hard intensive care while your baby establishes itself around its mother and her current job full time job.
Then comes the next 12 months where Mum quits her job to tend full time to the baby and slowly the baby grows.
Then the baby hits two or three years old and starts to grow like crazy.
Yup, passion is so important. In business. In blogging. In life!
Reply to this commentI couldn’t agree with you more! Doing something you are passionate about will make it easier to succeed.
Reply to this commentHats off to you! Well said!
Reply to this commentWell Said!
Reply to this commentI just couldn’t possibly see myself doing work that I wasn’t passionate about in the first place. Sure, I did a few stints in the past that didn’t really tickle my fancy. But I ended up miserable and unproductive overall. The element of passion, in any kind of work or business venture, can definitely take you places.
Reply to this commentNot only does it make it easier to succeed, you’ll tend not to take the bumps in the road as hard. If you’re passionate about it, you’ll skim over the problems, thinking nothing of them.
Reply to this commentGreat post Jane. I would agree that creating a blog is an excellent way to write about something you’re passionate about. In my case, I right about Southern California and National Real Estate. Initially, I was writing as a cathartic way to talk about something I love.
Any of the top rated blogs are specific to one niche (i.e., baseball, housing, or marketing) and focus on that general area. It was a shock when I realized I could earn a profit from writing about something I enjoy! You can have your cake and eat it too.
If you go into blogging simply for the money, you will not make it. It took me a minimum of 3 months before I generated any sort of noticeable traffic. And the great thing about blogs is you have so many sources of information. Unlike television with 100 channels, you have millions of outlets to find differing points of view.
Cheers,
Dr. Housing Bubble
Reply to this commentand 3 months to generate income is actually better than most. Thanks.
Reply to this commentMany people want instant gratification that is why most quit after a short while. I am guilty of this but I will keep keeping on.
Reply to this commentGood point, Andy. A lot of people are in it to ear the quick bucks. In blogging, you would have to come to terms with the possibility of not seeing any form of revenue until you’ve established your site as a really good generator for traffic. Once the people start coming to read and comment on your site, you know you’re ready to make money online. In some cases, like our boy John here, it’s making lots of money online.
Reply to this commentI’m sorry, I meant EARN, not ear. My bad.
Reply to this commentInstant gratification is the best kind of gratification
Reply to this commentWhat DID happen to you on the freeway today?
Reply to this commentlol…nothing, just an example
Reply to this comment
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Reply to this commentI think he’s talking about all the people who blogs about everything from their paper clip to their shoe laces.
Reply to this commentOne of my blogging passions IS writing about the mundane LOL. But that’s more of a personal blog so I don’t expect to make money out of it.
Reply to this commentPassion is the only way that a blogger will post day after day, otherwise it will grow old real quick.
FT
Reply to this commentI think that’s why the turnover of bloggers is so high. They write about something that is difficult for them to continue and expand on.
Reply to this comment.. or they started blogging about something they were passionate about, and then they realize they didn’t have any readers, so they switched topics and then gave up.
Reply to this commentMost likely a little of both. Another factor that’s wedged in there is the momentary interest. You suddenly become infatuated with a topic, have lots to say and then move on to something else.
Reply to this commentI think the web doesn´t need more people writting about make money online, but talking about themselves.
Reply to this commentYou are right. We would like more blog on telling us how is their experience on making money from blogging. We are not interested on their daily life.
Reply to this commentvery true…it’s a saturated niche…hopefully my experiences can help.
Reply to this commenthaha. “its a satuarated niche…hopefully my experiences can help.” Actually, that’s a saturated quote. Everybody hopes their experiences can help.
Reply to this commentAll the niches are saturated except the ones nobody wants to read about.
You can’t let that stop you. You have to work your way in and find your own readership. It’s not easy, but it’s worth the effort.
Reply to this commentI think the web needs more people talking, writing and thinking about Jane May lol
Ok sorry Jane but I m totally in love with your way of communication
You are simply amazing
Reply to this commentOk, now you’re starting to freak me out…
just kidding.
Thanks for the kind words!!!
Reply to this commentAre you the ONLY one that is freaked out?
Reply to this commentI don’t think it is ultimately necessary for any blogger to select a specific area of interest and only write about that. From what I can surmise, those who want to monetize their blog are better off choosing a specific area of interest. However, those who are not interested in monetizing their blog, then it makes sense to just write about whatever they desire.
Overall, I agree with Jane when she says that it is essential for any successful blogger to write about what interests them. In my opinion, a successful blogger does not necessarily have to have financial revenue.
If you are new to blogging, it is definitely something that you will learn as you go along. I’ve been blogging for a while, but everyday I learn something new. Since I have no desire to monetize my blog, I spend most of time writing about what I enjoy and what really sparks my interests. In the end, blogging should be fun and enjoyable for the author, not just an overwhelming errand/task.
Reply to this commentvery true! Not everyone wants to blog for money. If you don’t, write anything your heart desires and how often you like. It’s a great stress reliever
Reply to this commentIt is very therapeutic indeed. Some of us may not be out there to make money from blogging, but we’re definitely in it for release, venting out, and reflection.
Reply to this commentLol and John do you really use “Outpost Earth”?
Just saw an ad “John Chow uses Outpost Earth maybe you should too”
Or is it one of those lame advertisers?
Reply to this commentno, john conformed it is true in the comments a few days back
Reply to this commentYeah, he did say he used OE and even wrote a review about it a few months ago.
Reply to this commentI completely agree with everyone - it’s all about wanting to write. If you are not interested in writing in the first place, you shouldn’t be blogging. And if you aren’t interested in what you are writing about, you won’t keep up with it. I think blogging should be fun - any financial gain should be gravy that you are getting paid to write.
Reply to this comment“You Become What You Blog About” -Stephen Welton
or what someone said on my blog recently “YOU ARE” what you blog about.
I think that a blog can be an excellent expression of who you are. I try to use my blog to impacts people results and ultimately their lives.
One of the major factors that impacts our lives is our thoughts and attitudes so I created a place where I and my readers can hopefully feel compelled to achieve and inspired.
Passion and enthusiasm will always succeed over time.
Reply to this comment“Passion and enthusiasm will always succeed over time.”
I couldn’t agree with you more Stephen!!
Reply to this commentRight on Jane!
Great post at Career Ramblings everyone. You might want to jump on over and give it a read also.
http://www.careerramblings.com/2007/06/04/personal-success-is-a-state-of-mind/
(
self promotion **Don’t forget that you can sneak to mine also** 
)
Reply to this commentGreat blog! I agree very much with the passion you must have to maintain a site.
Reply to this commentWell said. And no matter what, don’t be afraid to start a blog, even if you have limited computer knowledge.
Heck, when I first started mine I knew absolutely nothing (and I mean nothing) about HTML, etc. But I jumped right in and started teaching myself everything I needed to know. And now it’s all second nature to me.
Bottom line, if you want to do it, then do it. And make sure that you do it with passion.
Reply to this commentI can honestly say that I had limited computer knowledge when I first started. But it’s amazing at how much you learn by being in the blogging world. The people you meet and the things you need to pick up to be successful will come after trial and error.
Reply to this commentDiving in headfirst is the best way to make a lot of mistakes. Making mistakes is the best way to acquire experience. Experience is the only thing that prevents you from making mistakes.
Reply to this commentMy blog is about my most favorite subject - me.
Reply to this commentWell you sure picked the right subject. I don’t think you can ever get bored now….
Reply to this commentJane you did a smart thing, u did your research before investing your time and money in your blog
Reply to this commentSome people don’t realize how research is important in writing. Creativity is a given; we’re all creative enough to even come up with sites that may be of some use to others. But content cannot be purely based on creativity alone. This is where research comes in. Jane May’s posts on her site, for example, are very well researched. Sure, there are a lot of personal interjections, but she gives the facts straight and precise, too.
Reply to this commentAn insightful post. Thanks!
Would you know whether you hurt your blogs future greatly if you begin in a scattered, multiple topic fashion while wading around in the baby pool and also if it is necessary to stick to one central topic at all?
You know the “write about everything under the blue sky” syndrome.
Reply to this commentlol…well if you’ve started broad then don’t worry. Hopefully you’ve found that certain topics tend to be more popular than others. For instance, I write about careers and notice that the entrepreneur topic tends to be the most popular. So I tend to focus efforts there when I want a lot of traffic or i’m trying to drive my adsense revenues up.
Reply to this commentHi Jane,
Your comments are very encouraging for new bloggers like me and I would like to learn more from you to become a more contributing and effective one.
I’ve just started blogging recently and my interest is in what is life about and how we can make our lives more beneficial to this mad world. I think I have had a fair amount of life experience and have been sharing with others in my own small way.
I have much interest in all the major religions in this world, i.e. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Bahai, Nichiren Daishonin, Taoism, etc. Would like to share and learn from one another on these subjects.
Can you help?
Reply to this commentCheers!
Nice post. I have to ask did John ask you to guest blog or did you come to him with the offer?Since he knew he was going to be away
Reply to this commentboth. I left a playful comment on one of his posts and I got an email the next day
Reply to this commentI completely agree. Doing anything that you don’t like, especially blogging isn’t fun or helpful. If you are going blog about anything it should be something you are at least interested in. I would never have started my investment blog if I didn’t trade on the stock market…it just wouldn’t make sense.
Profit tends to follow those that are passionate.
Reply to this commentJane
Reply to this commentYou must be reading my Blog, because that is exactly what I wrote about earlier tonight. What happened to me on the Freeway. Not a good idea though huh? It won’t happen again!
71 million?? Wow! I had no idea there were so many. So do you think those of us just getting started have missed the boat?
Reply to this commentno. The ocean is big enough…
Reply to this commentI must say that it is easy to start a blog on a niche topic that you are familiar with, but when time pass, I feel that I would run out of things to post.
Reply to this commentYou right Jane just do it. For me I not really care about niche or not my blog. Important thing I enjoy and know what I post to my blog. Money? it will came after that.
Reply to this commentVery good posting and encouragement to start a blog
Reply to this commenton a topic you can feel passionate about. I stumbled across your blog last week and I must say it has changed my thinking about blogging. Very informative stuff
Thanks a lot. I’m glad you were able to take something from it.
Reply to this commentIt’s OK, if you just want to learn the basics, but if you’re not serious about it, blogging consistently becomes a real burden.
Reply to this commentYou’re right. However, I started blogging about my work experience, a very technical thing and I never thought I’ll have some follower/readers (because it’s quite technical).
Now, I’m really glad, because, I think, if i’m not the first to blog about chemical engineering, I’m among the first….
Great tips….
Reply to this commentA good thing about the blogosphere is that it is always open to novelty topics. You’re bound to attract readers who haven’t found what they’ve been looking for.
Reply to this commentHi there! I’m new in the world of blogging, I began my adventure to better know the googleworld, I see that the blog is the best way to be included in the most important world search engines and now it helps me a lot to be present with some important
(for me) keywords! It’s also a big pleasure to show to the rest of the world my works and thinking, in the future I have to traslate my blog in english so everyone can read it.
see you in the blogworld!
Reply to this commentWelcome Lorenzo!
Reply to this commentNice post Jane, and some timely advice!
I think many people are smitten by the money so they just start any ole blog and are washed up within 4 to 6 months wondering where the money was at!
Don
Reply to this commentexactly! It takes some effort and hours put into it, but people can do it.
Reply to this commentI must say that it is easy to start a blog on a niche topic that you are familiar with, but when time pass, I feel that I would run out of things to post.
Reply to this comment————————————-
Me to
Doubt can definitely kill a dream; just keep doing it and don’t restrict yourself with just one particular subject. Stay positive — I’m sure you’ll do fine.
Reply to this commentyea, I am still fairly new to the blogging game, but I have been amazed at what just a little bit of SEO knowledge will do for you. I am already ranking in the top ten on google for a couple of my keyword phrases.
Reply to this commenthehe..I’m just start blogging right now…hopefully I’ll get visitor on my brand new blog..
Reply to this commentGreat post, Jane.
I started blogging to cope with a personal tragedy. Lately, I’ve considered focusing on a particular topic but it just feels better for me to blog about whatever is on my mind. There are ads on my site but revenue is not my main concern.
Thanks for your insight!
Reply to this commentPersonally I don’t think everyone is fitted as a blogger..
Reply to this commentThis post is very true. You learn so much just from trying it.
Reply to this commentI keep telling my girlfriend to start a blog but she doesn’t know what to write about, I tell her, just start writing having fun with playing with settings and so on, then figure out what your niche will be.
Reply to this comment