What I’ve Learned from Blogging
I’m going to attempt to kill two birds with one stone post — I’m going to address my own question with a bit deeper detail as well as participate in a group writing project at Middle Zone Musings where participants are responding with “What I’ve Learned From…“.
Keep in mind that these are only my personal opinions based on pitfalls and successes I’ve seen in my own 3+ years of blogging — perhaps you’re own experiences will provide a complete contrast altogether. The main thing to keep in mind is — you just never know your full potential until you try!
Randa Clay jokingly called me Gayla of a Million Blogs one day. Of course *I* found the humor in that, as did a few others that know me. In reality, I am only Gayla of 12 Blogs.
The reason I have so many blogs is because I have found that for me to keep forging ahead in my own work at home environment, I have to have a ‘place’ online that’s more fun and therapeutic then strictly ‘work’ related.
Remember, all work and no play…
People often ask me how I make my living blogging — the fact is, I make my living with only 5 of those 12 blogs.
Three of those blogs are b5media blogs. And for those who don’t know what b5media is, it’s a blog network that pays writers to keep up to date on a variety of niche topics.
One of those blogs I picked up from advertising “Professional Blogger for Hire” on Craigslist. I earn $200 a month from it.
While those four pay some of the bills, the one I have that’s my biggest money maker is health related.
It’s my opinion that nothing can replace the advice, support and information provided by patient advocates - or people who have actually been there, done that. And it’s proven each and every month, when my having become an expert on a specific health topic results in check after check and deposit after deposit. Most times between $3,000 and $4,000, but never under.
If you just don’t feel you could handle a health related topic, the next option would be to walk through a department store — make note of the various departments AND the prices on the items. Naturally, items that are higher priced will likely serve up the higher valued ads.
While I’ve seen people turn candy bars into a fortune online and think just about anything is possible, if you have enough passion - if simply making money online is what you’re after, you should really put some thought into what you’ll be blogging. It might be that having one for profit and one for passion is the way to go.
In the end, being a mom may be the most rewarding ‘job’ I have, but it’s far from being the most profitable blog topic!
If you’re looking at developing a blog and feel your life is worth writing about because it is SOOOO very interesting, go right ahead, but I’d highly recommend you have a backup plan or plan on keeping your day job.
Speaking of health blogs — if you or someone you know have a health blog, I’d like to point you in the direction of a new health blog network — Check Up Today
Tags: blogging, middle zone musings, group writing projects, work at home, wahm, professional blogger
You’ve given this advice before, and I know that I need to follow it! I have 4 blogs and one of them is health related. I have about the same amount of posts and links to other related sites on each of them, but my rating on the health one hit a 2 faster than any of the others! They are all about 2 months old, so I have LOTS of growing to do, but I plan to do a lot more work on the health blog.
Thanks for the reminder!
Bev
Gayla, I’m impressed! Thanks for sharing this with us, and especially thanks for participating in the writing project!
Cheers!
Once again Gayla you are an inspiration. :)Thank you for so generously and openly sharing your experience and insights.
Yvonne
Meant to add.. I’ve only just discovered the world of group writing projects. I posted mine on my blog for the Middle Zone Musings one on What I Learned From Procrastinating.
Just to give anyone interested in group writing projects a heads up, apart from the one mentioned, Darren Rowse at Problogger is starting a group writing project tomorrow.
Hey Gayla… I added my health blog to CheckUpToday. Thanks for sharing!
Gayla… do you think you can point me to the link of your health blog? Thanks!
12 blogs! You’re a machine!
cheers, Mark
Bev ~ I’ll have to see if I can find the report that gave a clear indication of what most people are searching for on the net. It broke it down into categories and health was tops.
Robert ~ It’s my pleasure to participate. It was a nice change of pace for a bit
Yvonne ~ Darren’s GWP’s are always so fun and educational. I can’t wait to see what transpires this time.
Doris ~ I’m glad you joined CheckUpToday. Watch for an email from me soon.
Mark ~ Yup 12 blogs. Sometimes I joke about having Mutiple Personality Disorder (the good kind of course) and OCD. Multiple Blogs is the best treatment for both
Thanks y’all for stopping by!
Yes, we still have a few positions open for the new checkuptoday.com health blog. I’m so excited about this project. Thanks so much for helping me spread the word on this one Gayla.
hello,
Thanks for useful informations.
this is very interesting story for me, cause I just started my first blog
best wishes.
Blogging is great and there are definitely a lot of things to be learned from blogging. Thank you for sharing this with us, it was very useful information.
It’s always the health blogs that are the most profitable. Keep up the good work.
Gayla, I’m impressed! Thanks for sharing this with us, and especially thanks for participating in the writing project!
It’s a good article,I like it! Thanks for the information!