6 Reasons Why Blogging Can Be Difficult: Part 3 – How to Monetize

Blogging Guide: Knowing When and How to Monetize Your Blog

Show Me the Money

The new reality is that having a day job usually means we also need a so-called “Side-Hustle” to help express our creative side or make extra money. Working on a blog is a great way to do this.

At some point we want to make some profit. This is a good goal to have because by providing value to others, we can also develop a revenue stream if we get enough site traffic. Whatever your monetization preferences, getting something in return is rewarding and will increase our motivation to do even better work. Having a goal to make money is a good one, but if that is our only goal, our ability to building good content will suffer.

Kill Great Ideas to Monetize?

It’s well-established that any business idea starts as a thought in someone’s mind. Entrepreneurs see a problem to solve. They start to figure out how that solution might bring value to potential customers. Of course, we want to generate ideas and find the best ones. This is brainstorming.

If we focus on thinking of only web content that will only help us monetize, we might miss out on even better ideas. Studies in brainstorming have found that focusing on quantity and not quality is the key to finding the best idea. By thinking of only the “best” ones, you might miss out on ideas that catch on for no apparent reason, other than it was an idea in the right place at the right time.

Many ideas that are today multi-billion dollar industries would never have earned a dollar if they came out in another time. Imagine pitching Google search to someone in the 1400’s? Or in 1960? Even in the 1990’s most people could not have envisioned how a search engine would have created the behemoth of a company that Google is today. Timing and environment is key. Google is highly creative and adaptable, allowing its workers to spend 20% of their time in personally creative ventures. They know full well that having as many ideas available to them will help them adapt to unforeseen events or opportunities.

What to do before the Monetization Phase

What should we do then to stay motivated before we make a profit? We need to be moving forward and feeling a sense of progress. Focus on creating great content and on the kinds of products that help us wake up early in the morning with energy and passion. What would we do even if we don’t get paid? What free content or online videos could we make and post that would be a learning experience for us as well as for our customers?

Skills Can be a Way to Monetize Beyond Your Side-Hustle

Developing our skills in a clear and focused way will also give us the confidence that we are going in the right direction. In the end, even if we don’t make the profit that we imagined we would, we still will have the skills that we developed while working on our goals. We can use these skills once we readjust our trajectory to make that sweet, sweet money, or if we decide that another goal might be worthwhile. Working on yourself always pays off.

Ability to Connect Better Than to Monetize?

Developing positive and supportive relationships is also something we cannot neglect. Like developing skills, developing relationships is rewarding in and of itself. It might be even more rewarding than just profit. By increasing your social influence, people might be more inclined to help you along the way, guide you to a better path, and generally make your life more enjoyable. A path walked in the comfort of good company is a path worth walking.

To Summarize:

  1. Create as many ideas as you can: Brainstorm.
  2. Sort through the best ones, combining what you love, what customers might love, and what might bring value (profit).
  3. Put it out in the “Real World“, being open to feedback, and being aware that some ideas might need another place and time to succeed. Failure might lead to success and vice-versa. 
  4. Are you feeling a sense of progress?
  5. Are you creating skills you might use in the future?
  6. Are you developing strong relationships?

So go ahead and keep walking forward developing a profitable side-hustle. Remember that the steps you take there are just as important, and should be as enjoyable as the final destination.

Stay tuned for Part IV of this topic: 6 Reasons Why Blogging Can Be So Difficult to Start. Keep an eye out on www.memorypie.com.

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