Blogging Is Not Passive Income

There is a lot of talk on the web about how easy it is to make money online and numerous guides that help you to that end. One thing I find interesting is that people brag about putting very little work and effort into the day-to-day business of their site.

When I choose to read a blog I want to know that the author is dedicated to their readers and will maintain a consistent quality in their work. I myself can spend up to two hours writing a single post so I get the right information, sources and internal references. I find it hard to imagine being able to write valueable articles by spending only a few hours a week.

Here is a quick sample of things I do almost every day as a new blog:
Internal

• Write a post
• Read other blogs/sites for ideas, stories and ways to optimize my site
• Maintain my Blog Strategy and Marketing plan
• Tweak my WordPress Plugins
• Install any new and optimized Plugins

External

• Read up to 20 other blogs for ideas, stories and ways to optimize my site
• Make comments on stories that catch my attention
• Check my rankings (broke the Top 100,000 in Alexa - now floating at 80,000 to 120,000!)
• Check AdSense, Analytics, Technorati, Kontera, etc.

Continue To Grow
I see LewisEmpire.com as a way to continually grow my own knowledge of SEO, online marketing and making money online. I also see it as a great place to record the lessons I have learned through my reflection on the daily events that I experience. Those are some of the internal benefits. The external benefits are from the value that readers offer through comments and creating a community around my work.

As a business, I think writing a blog is an excellent way to make money. Once you get your traffic high enough, there are limitless opportunities to add wealth and generate cash flow. The problem with running a successful blog is that blogging is not a passive stream of income. A passive stream of income brings in money regardless of whether you’re present or not over the long run. One might argue that a good blogger could write a bunch of great posts then time-delay their appearance. That’s true; however, at some point you must come back and keep writing or your blog will fizzle and die.

Treat Your Blog As a Business
Even if you’re only spending 4 hours a week working on your blog, it’s better if your readers believe that you’re putting in a solid effort every day. The best businesses in the world don’t grow by telling their clients that they only need to work a few hours a week. They work hard to maintain an ‘always open’ mentality. If you are taking a holiday or something, that’s a different story but make sure your time-delay posts are still valuable!

As I mention in the title, Blogging is not passive income. The real money comes when you’ve created a large and active community of readers. If you start to post too many articles that look rushed or poorly planned, those readers (and the income they bring) will find other places to spend their time.

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Tags: 4 hour work week, value, passive income, blogging, blogging challenge, business success, always open