Running a Blog is Hard Work, and IDC
Do not expect to get rich on blogging. If you want to make money blogging, expect hard work. At least in the beginning.
By. Jacob
Edited: 2018-07-11 02:30
Running a blog or website is hard work, but I do not care. In this article, I am going to explain why.
I do not usually like writing this type of articles, because there are tons of them on the internet already, and usually I find them very boring to read, maybe this is because I already know most the tricks. I know about Google Adsense. I know about Affiliates. I know about... It does not matter what I know about. What matters is the investment I make in the website, which eventually will pay off in some way. But I, you, and anyone who has a website, needs to keep working hard on improving it.
There has been a few obstacles on the way, some of which I am still trying to overcome. The most obvious one is, it is very difficult to go from unknown to known in a short period of time – unless you got money to burn on advertising. However, I have learned something important and valuable on the way. It can be summed up in one word: Patience.
If you want the detailed explanation, then continue reading.
Basically, I do not view a website or a YouTube channel as an easy way to make money. I view it as a long-term investment. I like to diversify my investments, just like I do on the stock market.
Since I know programming, I likely have a much different approach than most "bloggers", and I try to avoid selling of links or shitty sponsor deals. I also do not think of Beamtic as a blog, but more like a hybrid of different things. Obviously, I save huge amounts of money, since I can do everything myself. I manage everything from the servers to the development of the CMS. It is lots of fun most the time, but sometimes I get discouraged, too.
Momentum in this business is very important. In the end, it does not matter that you are not currently making much money, because things can quickly go viral (or you increase slowly with time). I would prefer not to rely on Ads, but it is one of the best ways to make money with a website.
Obstacles
When you join a network like Google Adsense, there is going to be some obstacles. You need to meet their requirements, one of which is that you need a Privacy Policy, and you need to inform your users about the use of cookies. This is fairly simple to do, but does require some reading on the website owners part.
Maybe you have been making money on YouTube, and suddenly YouTube decides to change their partnership terms. Now you need at least 1000 subscribers to be allowed into the YPP. Fine. YouTube has to wait, because you are still busy working on your website.
Then comes the EU cookie law, and suddenly you need to show cookie popups on your website to inform your users of the use of tracking technologies. Great. You make necessary changes (pay a developer if you have to), and get on with your business as usual.
Then comes GDPR, and suddenly you have to implement a horrific cookie wall. Again, you make necessary changes, this time without knowing or fully understanding the consequences. Great. But maybe you have at least learned something about the law.
Blogging is not easy
My point is. Blogging is not easy, and there is going to be certain expenses. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, those expenses will not be covered by what you earn on ads. If you have to pay a developer, then your expenses can surpass your revenue very easily. You might also need help with the legal stuff, or with some other aspect of running the business (especially as it grows), and you might have to pay for that kind of help.
If you are using one of the many popular CMS systems, then you might get away with using plugins to solve GDPR (making sure they are actually compliant). But, you still need to create a Privacy Policy if you run Google Ads, or you run the risk of getting banned.
In many cases, the time invested simply does not pay off. If you want to earn money on ads in Europe, then things have become more complicated than a few years back. It is not as simple as setting up a website and starting blogging anymore.
For those getting sponsorship offers, it may be easier to succeed with blogging. But the rest of us have to be more creative. Besides, I do not think counting on sponsors or affiliates alone is a good idea. Diversification is important, and you should blog when you have something to blog about.
If you are very skilled at something, having a blog could also be a useful way to attract customers or make some extra money on ads next to your main income. Even if you are not making any money directly, having a website can be a very solid personal investment, and, very likely, help secure you a dream job.
Do not expect to get rich on blogging alone. A website needs hundreds of thousands visitors per month to make decent money, and very few are able to attract that many visitors. Currently Beamtic draws in around 50k visits per month, which only covers my hosting expenses.
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