Wednesday, December 3, 2008

You Shouldn't Be Blogging


I wonder......
Originally uploaded by jwlphotography

I know you've been lurking for a while. You read your favorite blogs. You read the top blogs. You don't usually participate in the conversation. You have your reasons for not connecting and to you they are good ones. But here recently you've been wondering, "Should I blog?"

Many will encourage you to take the plunge. So why not start now? Normally I'd tell you to dive right in too. Make your mark on these series of tubes! If this were a normal, encouraging post that's just what I'd do. But, this isn't a normal, encouraging post.

What are your motivations for starting a blog of your own? This is a very important question you need to ask yourself. If you are doing it for these reasons, you might want to think twice.

  1. Money - If you think blogging will bring you some extra cash, it might. But the odds that it will are slim. Sure, there are plenty of good examples of people out there making a living blogging. However, very few of them started out with the sole purpose of making some fast cash. In fact, in blogging there is no fast cash. It's usually a long, tedious process. You have to put out good, consistent material... consistently. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Then there's connecting, participation, etc. If money is your motivating factor in starting a blog, be prepared to be disappointed.
  2. Fame - The money and fame factors are closely related. The odds of you becoming famous or "someone" in the blogging world are slim. If you are considering blogging in order to snatch your 15 minutes of fame, I'd like to encourage you to just keep lurking. It would be easier for you to snatch up your fame by joining a reality show.
  3. Everyone is blogging - Thanks to @RobinRKC for this one. Your mom was right. It isn't a good idea to jump off a cliff just because everyone else is doing it. If your motivation for creating a blog of your own is due to the fact that it seems like everyone has a blog, don't do it. Without a real reason or purpose your blog will go the way most new blogs go. No where. You will soon get bored. You will have a hard time coming up with material for your blog because you will always be concerned about everyone else. Your heart will not be in it, because you were just following everyone else. So I'm warning you now. Don't jump off the cliff!
If your motivations do not involve any of these three common reasons people start blogs and you think you have something to say, by all means, get started! Let's see what you can bring to the table.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good points. There are a handful of us who have figured out how to make some money blogging and the money is there but it is like any other writing job - hard work. Fun and games don't pad the wallet a darned bit, in my experience, although this is a great way to make a living.

Andrew Weaver said...

Carl, thanks for stopping by. I agree. There is money to be had in blogging if you can do it right. But it's unwise to start up a blog thinking you're going to make money doing it. So many do not. Try doing it because you love it. You love to write. Whatever, but not for personal gain. If you're good enough, that may come later.