For The Love Of Money
Rule #1. Find what you are passionate about and devote yourself to that passion in a way that benefits others.
Rule #2. Never….and I mean NEVER, stick your fingers in the monkey cage at the zoo.
What I mean is, there is only one rule. To make money with a blog, money can’t be your only reason for blogging. I know that sounds close to hypocritical coming from me, but let me elaborate. Yes, I am making and want to make much more money with this blog, but money isn’t my driving force. My passion since I was a little kid and my Dad brought home a Commodore Vic20, has been computers. Then came the internet. Actually, how many of you remember the pre-internet “bulletin boards”? I was fascinated! Not in the sense of “Hey, this is cool” but in the sense of “How the hell does this work?” From day one of my AOL account, (what else was there?) I learned to right click and “view source”. I had a passion for the infrastructure rather than the content. As I have learned more, my passion has expanded to encompass all things related to building and growing a vibrant, beneficial site on the internet. Sharing what I already know and what I learn every day is a benefit to others. I love knowing that I have helped someone and also love making people laugh. So this is my passion and this is the reason I am already making and will make more money. Being laid off from my job was just a motivation to do what I was already passionate about.
What I respect about my readers is that all of you that comment are on the same path. You have started blogs about what you are passionate about. From Anca, who recently moved to the United States and has absolutely fallen in love with Las Vegas, to Scott who definitely has a passion for fathers’ rights in the court system, to Chandler who, well, REALLY likes beer. Sorry for not mentioning everyone of you but trust me, I read your blogs and everyone of you is writing about what you are passionate about.
How many times have you happened across a blog that hasn’t had a post in months and has become a spam comment junkyard? Unless the blogger is now dead or in prison, he/she started the blog simply to make money. When it didn’t make money early on, they quit. They quit because they weren’t passionate about their subject. Find what you are passionate about and make yourself a combined source of information, inspiration, and entertainment. You will be an asset to your readers and the money will come.
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March 13th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Nice post! I see those blogs you’re talking about all the time. No posts, no subject, no passion for writing. I have a passion for writing about any subject, especially Vegas, the town I live in, but have always been interested in marketing, and, recently, in blogging. Thanks Nate for mentioning me in your post.
Keep up the good work, you’re doing great already!
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March 13th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Good post Nate. Down to the point. It is very hard to write frequently about a specific topic if the person writing is doesn’t have passion for it.
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March 13th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I like how I only have an interest in BEER. Ha. I rule. Going to drink. I suggest you do the same. Deer HATE BEER. lol.
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Nate reply on March 13, 2008:
There’s a saying you need to put on your header….”I feel sorry for people that don’t drink because when they wake up in the morning…..that’s as good as they will feel all day long” Someone famous said it but I can’t remember who.
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chandler reply on March 14, 2008:
Good idea. That could be a possibility.
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March 13th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Chandler’s too much…:)
I wish a year later we’ll all still be here, still commenting, and writting posts about how much of a progress we’ve made…and also how much money
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March 14th, 2008 at 2:06 am
[…] For The Love Of Money -by Nate over at natespost.com. Even if he’s broke and unemployed, still warns about blogging for money, and advises to put passion in it; […]
March 14th, 2008 at 8:41 am
You’re awesome, Anca!
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March 14th, 2008 at 10:13 am
*blushing* *blushing* not really, nate
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March 17th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
My deal is that I sell phones. Many people make great money selling phones, tvs, etc. Not that anyone has a passion for the product necessarily, but have a passion for business. Otherwise, you seem to be giving great advise and I will hopefully learn along with you.
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March 17th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Write about your passions. I like this concept, and I decided to open a blog for each and every passion of mine. Starting from Dungeons and Dragons, trucks, space, science-fiction, literature, computers and ending with cats, butterflies and spiders, I should be very busy this year.
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