Recipes for blogging success: Do they really work?

Do you really believe there's a recipe that will show you how to "cook" blog success?

Do you want my own recipe for generating a monthly five-figure income from a blog? Maybe add that to your growing book of recipes for blogging success?

My recipes for blogging success

I’m not giving it away. Sorry.

For one thing, I’m not making that much money.  My sites make as much, as it happens, but my actual profits only hit the 5-figure range (upper, I’m happy to say) on an annual basis.

Also, I don’t have a recipe to share. The thing is, I don’t think anyone has. If anyone had a foolproof recipe, they would hire 10 people and replicate everything to make 10 times as much. At least, that’s what I would have done.

I guess there are such people and they have done that. And that’s how they eventually got to making five-figures a month from blogging. I don’t think that’s what you were looking for when looking into recipes for blogging success, were you?

Here’s what I can share though, based on my own experience.

  1. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and the ability to do this for the long haul. And by long haul, I mean years. Blogging about what you love can help achieve that.
  2. You have to absolutely love web publishing. This includes every aspect of it: from deciding on a project, buying domain names, dealing with hosting, writing top-notch content and marketing. If any of these daunt (or bore) you, this isn’t for you.
    You absolutely can outsource some of these functions but  you need to have a good grasp of them to know what works and what doesn’t.Which brings me to my next point –
  3. You need to be able to write with a passion. I don’t believe you absolutely have to be an expert on the field. Being an expert helps in cutting down on research time and gives your writing an authoritative tone.  That said, there’s nothing wrong with investing some time to research a topic and with using a more hesitant, explorative tone. Either way, unless you care about what you write about, it’s going to be so much harder to keep writing for years on end.
  4. There are no formulas for successful web publishing. There are ideas, tips and techniques. However, it will always take some amount of creativity on your part to implement them in a way that works for you, your niche, your style and personality.

Don’t get me wrong, “How I made/make money” kind of posts are fun to read. They can be anything from educational to inspirational. Just read them with the understanding that what worked for that particular blogger, in his or her niche, with their own interests and abilities, may not necessarily work for you.

I suggest you read these posts skeptically, not because I think that  these bloggers  are lying. I never just assume people are lying (though obviously, some may be). I just don’t think their own way of making things happen will necessarily work for you. And that’s totally fine, of course.

My own “Dos and Don’ts” for reading this type of posts are –

Do –

  • Let their enthusiasm motivate you. Motivation is always a good thing!
  • Assess how close that blogger is to what you’re trying to do. Is he or she blogging in the same niche or vertical? Does their style of blogging resemble yours? The closer the affinity, there’s a better chance you can actually learn from them.
  • Scan their techniques and tips for those golden nuggets which may be pertinent to your own style of blogging, even if it’s a different niche altogether.
  • Engage in a positive dialogue with the blogger. Networking is always good, and leaving your paw mark in the comment link (if such a field is available) never hurts either. This isn’t SEO per se (the links are nofollow) but just a nice friendly way to get yourself known in the community.

Don’t –

  • Ignore the date. Found an inspirational blog post? Check the date. That magic-bullet SEO trick mentioned may no longer be relevant and in fact could hurt your blog.
  • Copy their techniques or blindly follow any step-by-step recipes. Web publishing simply doesn’t work like that.
  • Spam. Don’t just leave them a comment that says “Great blog post, thank you!”. You’ll look like a bot. If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, move along.
  • Be rude or objectionable in your comments. Constructive criticism is fine but if you do leave a comment keep it polite.

I hope you find this blog post helpful even though it doesn’t provide you with a recipe. I do believe recipes are for cooking and baking – not blogging – sorry! And honestly, even when I use a recipe for baking, you can count on some tweaking on my part 😉

2 Comments

  1. Oh, Anne:

    I just love your attitude, lol! You just say it like it is! And what you have said here needs to be said.

    Everyone is looking for a shortcut to big money. Sorry, I’ve never found it and no one I know has either! I focused on all things real estate for over 30 years. I had some really great times and I had some lousy times. But, through it all, I learned a great deal!

    My main take-away? Passion is fuel (at least from my perspective). You don’t want to run out of gas on that long trip! To be a successful blogger takes time, commitment, some money, skill and I say being “humble and teachable.”

    Visit bloggers that have more knowledge and experience than you. Learn from them, interact with them, comment on their blogs. Build real relationships. These are things that will get you there. Then, add your own kind of “special sauce.” 🙂

    Really enjoyed this post, Anne!

    Deborah

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