Launch a blog. Create some content. Make money.
Sounds pretty great, right?
Many of us have read about all those high-end bloggers like Neil Patel, Jon Morrow, and Pat Flynn who seem to have done just that.
And not only do they just make money — they make a ton of it!
The fact that these guys are able to do this gives us hope that we just might be able to do it too. I mean, who wouldn’t love to be able to wake up when you wanted, work when you wanted to and still make more than enough money to pay all your bills and take care of your family.
And on paper, launching a blog sounds easy enough:
- Setup your blog
- Create some content
- Drive traffic to your site
- Make money
That’s about as simple as I can make it, but it’s pretty much what everyone says you need to do.
Many people have tried to repeat the successes of other bloggers, but even when they put their heart and soul into it, they still fail — miserably.
Why is that usually the case?
Why do those who have the best intentions and most drive still fail?
Because of this one seemingly harmless lie…
Avoid This Lie: All You Need Is Great Content
If your mind just had a “Whaaaaat?” moment, I totally get it. You and I have both read all those blog posts talking about how important high-quality, evergreen content is.
Just to be clear:
I’m not saying that you should throw that all out the window; High-quality content is undoubtedly important.
So why do I call it a lie?
Because it’s only a partial truth which makes it misleading.
Here’s the truth:
Launching your blog with a lot of content on it means nothing without an audience who will read it.
Starting your blog with no proven way of getting people to actually read it would be like opening a sunblock lotion shop in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
Yes, it’s hot there, and anyone who accidentally stumbles across your shop would definitely need sunscreen (and water), but other than that, you can pretty much bet that your business will flounder due to the lack of consistent income.
Similarly, even if your blog has valuable, helpful content you’re not going to see the fruitage of it without readers.
For bloggers, having loyal readers of your blog are your bread and butter — literally. They will be the ones who buy a product and put the money in your pocket. And while you need that valuable content to build trust and loyalty, it’s best to realize that making money from blogging is not that one-dimensional.
There are a lot of moving parts and aspects to building a profitable blog.
Bloggers like Pat Flynn or Neil Patel can write a top-notch article, publish it and pretty much sit back and watch the traffic to their site skyrocket. Why does that happen to them?
There are two main reasons:
- They are very well-known; trustworthy,
- They have a huge following and readership
Both of those convert towards the end goal: to make money.
However, a blog with no audience written by someone who isn’t well-known means quite the opposite which is why so many aspiring bloggers scratch their heads when they think they’ve done everything right.
And this isn’t the only lie or partial truth that many of us have bought into. There are quite a few actually — which is why I’ve been writing and putting together an entire list of over 30 lies that you’re likely to read about how to make money from blogging.
So what works? If creating evergreen and top-notch content isn’t the sole answer to making money from a blog, then how can you do it?
How To Launch Your Blog the Right Way
If you gave three different people a cell phone, a map, and a hundred dollars and then dropped in them in middle of a city they’ve never been to with the goal of getting from Point A to Point B, what would happen?
Well, chances are they would all get to their destination, but each one would find a different way of getting there with the things they were given.
Similarly, there is no single way to create and launch a profitable blog. However, you can use the same tools and methods that others have been given and tried to help you get to that point — and with hard work, you will get to that point.
So what should you do first before you write any content? How can you stop yourself from wasting your time?
Well, sign-up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when the next part of this 4-part post is ready to answer those questions.