Sometimes I wish I could travel back in time five years to when I was writing blog articles in a sand-filled diary and uploading them to Internet cafes.
I would assure my younger self that one day I would be doing this as my full-time work. If you had told me that, there is no way I would have believed you.
I’m well aware that I’ve been living a fairy tale, and I can’t express how thankful I am to whatever fairy godmother recognised how much I enjoyed writing and chose to allow me to make a job from it.
I feel like I’ve been granted a wish come true. But at the same time, the reality that that fairy tale is no longer true is becoming more and more obvious to me.
Since word has gotten out that you can make a respectable livelihood from blogging about travel, an increasing number of individuals are beginning travel blogs with the intention of doing exactly that. To put it another way, the level of competitiveness is really high.
A few weeks ago, I went to Antigua with a large group of other bloggers. One evening, a number of us were discussing about how dramatically the blogging industry has evolved in just the previous few years, and whether or not they would even be able to create careers off of their blogs if they started them now.
I have a strong suspicion that they would, given that they have all gained a significant number of important skills over the course of the years; yet, I also have a strong suspicion that they would begin those new blogs in radically different ways than they did years ago.
You’ve probably heard a number of tales of people who started travel blogs as a way to remain in contact with their friends and family, and then all of a sudden, they found that the blogs were bringing in thousands of dollars per month in revenue for them.
And if you were to ask them for guidance on how to achieve a comparable level of success in blogging, the response you would get would be something cheesy about pursuing your dreams and the money will take care of itself.
And I do believe that having a strong sense of enthusiasm is quite vital when establishing a business, particularly a blog.
However, desire alone is not enough in today’s world. My finest piece of blogging advice has evolved over the years to become much less romantic and much more straightforward: if you want to turn your blog into a company, you need to start treating it like a business from the very beginning. Like now.
Obviously, the first thing you need to do is consider whether or not you really want to turn your blog into a company.
This is a subject that I’m aware may be challenging for a lot of bloggers; I know that it was for me. When I think about it now, I wish I had been more honest with myself about this matter much sooner.
If I had, I would have been able to monetize my site much more rapidly and with a great deal less stress.
Although I am aware that it is easier for me to make such a statement now that I am aware of how much I like managing a business, when in the past I was so concerned about destroying my preferred pastime.
Because so many successful bloggers appear to have stumbled on the financial advantages that blogging may provide by mistake, I believe that it may also look inappropriate for a new blogger to state that they wish to make blogging their full-time profession. In point of fact, though, each of the top five most successful travel bloggers that come to mind began their own blogs as companies.
It’s probably important to note that I don’t always approach my blog as if it were a company. I frequently take vacations and write articles despite the fact that I am well aware that neither will result in any monetary gain for me.
On the other hand, I spend a significant amount of effort into “boring” activities that result in financial gain.
It seems completely unjust that I’ve had an easier time expanding my blog solely due to the fact that I started blogging five years ago, just as it seemed unfair to me five years ago that those who had begun blogging five years before me had an easier time growing their blogs.
But as I mentioned before, the vast majority of professional bloggers would be able to launch successful blogs even in today’s competitive market because they have the skills and knowledge to do so.
These are skills and knowledge that even the most inexperienced blogger could acquire if they were willing to put in the necessary amount of time and effort.
I can’t tell you how many people have written to me asking how they can make money from their blogs, and when I’ve sent them a list of courses and tools to help them, they’ve replied that they don’t plan on spending any money on blogging right now – they’ll start investing money in their blogs once they’re making money from them.
I can’t tell you how many people have emailed me asking how they can make money from their blogs, and I can’t tell you how many people
To what extent? I didn’t attend business school, but isn’t it something that just doesn’t exist?
This past weekend, I went to a conference that was given by Matt Kepnes. During the event, someone asked Matt what piece of advice he would give to someone who wanted to begin blogging as a profession, and Matt’s response was “don’t quit your day job.
” Everyone chuckled at his joke, but then he went on to explain that if you want to turn this into a job, you’re going to need some financial backing to invest in both yourself and your site.
There is a rationale behind why the Internal Revenue Service anticipates new firms to report losses during their first couple of years in operation.
Yes, you could attempt to get by with the free knowledge and tools that are available on the internet if you had a lot of time on your hands and a lot of self-control.
However, my experience has shown me that 1) if I pay for a tool or a course, I am far more likely to really utilise it, and 2) premium resources give such a significant amount of value that people are prepared to pay for them.
Because I pretty much enrol in a new course every month, I sometimes joke that I have a course addiction. This is because of how frequently I do so.
Blogging courses, social networking courses, photography courses, videography courses, and even accounting courses have cost me thousands of dollars, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever stop taking classes in any of those other subjects.
But at the same time, I’m not entirely convinced that I ever should. The blogging business evolves at an alarmingly quick speed; my revenue sources seem to change just about every year; and the people who are prepared to develop and learn with the changes will continue to find success. My money sources appear to change just about every year.
I think what I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t just wait around and hope that your goals will find you; instead, you should actively seek them out and pursue them. Put forth as much effort as you possibly can to ensure that it happens.
Get moving on it!
Maybe you’ve had your eye on a specific camera or guide for a long, but you’ve been avoiding making a purchase because you feel bad about spending money. Perhaps now is the time to go and grab it.
You probably already have an idea of something that you’d want to put money into, so don’t be afraid to take the plunge! And if you don’t, consider the abilities or tools that could be of use to you in achieving your objectives.
You may discover a list of tools and courses that I’ve used and enjoyed using here and here. If you still need some inspiration, have a look at that list.