Penn cites all kinds of statistics on the numbers of bloggers making money online (an extremely small number of elite bloggers make a living at it, but apparently 1.7 million people earn some income from online publishing).
But I'll turn it over to Pat in Shreveport for an interesting perspective on "Blogging for Bucks?":
I'm rather new to blogging - this blog started in August of last year. I still have a lot to learn and I see, probably better than most, my own flaws. I don't always proofread as well as I should and I make punctuation errors. I'd prefer to be more journalistic than I often am. I've never figured out how to use "Digg" and those other sharing things. I can't figure out how to make my Technorati authority move up - I currently have "no authority." I know people have to link you, and they do, but ... still "no authority." That's a real blow to your self-esteem - "You currently have no authority." God.Well, as much as I love it, I do teach for the money! I just recently monetized my blog, and I'm betting it's going to be a little while yet before blogging pays the bills!
Oh well. I have ads and I have a tip jar, but I suspect I will never make a living from blogging. I do it because it's fun, I enjoy it, and to be honest, I've "met" a lot of really nice people. So, I'm grateful for my readers and I'm going to keep on blogging even if I never make a dime. It's like teaching - you don't do it for the $$$.
I think Pat strikes the right note on doing it for fun, of course. If you're not enjoying your blogging, you're not likely to make any money from it.
In any case, readers might like my recent post on some of this, "How to Become a Successful Conservative Blogger."
But see Robert Stacy McCain's takedown of Mark Penn, "Don't believe the blog hype!"
More later ...
5 comments:
I'd love to make some money from blogging. In fact I wish I could do this for a living, as I absolutely love to write.
I am finding that my points of view have a relatively wide range of adherants, and frankly that's scary, as I always thought of myself as to the right of Rush Limbaugh.
But to be honest, I have no ideas as to how to get this thing to become self-sufficient. Or to get my name out there to more people without blogwhoring. I hate that. Makes me feel like a liberal.
McCain is a douche but Pat is right. Greywolfe, well...let's just say that he's special.
Ah JBW, my favorite fruit from the Cereal state. As one of my favorite dope smoking, maggot infested liberals I'm glad you could come by and spew your drivel.
Cheers, Greywolfe. Your own comments always make me giddy that I no longer live in a state directly adjacent to Oklahomo. Snap.
I see the appeal of blogging, especially as some people look to find justification for their warped and outdated views. That's fine. But it's one of the downsides of the internet...it spreads fear and ignorance in equal proportion to knowledge and education.
Of course, I put this blog in the former category.
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