Dreaming of Making Money Blogging? 10 Unspoken Rude Truths

Everyone wants you to stay positive. But the last I checked, opposites attract. So who is fooling who?

I love blogging. And working online, from home, while making money from it completes the deal. Funny how typing the sentence above took less than a minute but a decade to realize. And even then, making money blogging still feels elusive.

I’m not here to pet you. But to state some truths very few bloggers have the guts to share.

Making money blogging is an art every willing soul can learn. Whether you will be successful all the way is a story I cannot promise to tell. But this I will tell you, before you make it, if ever you will, you will experience these rude truths. How you deal with them paves your way. To victory. Or misery.

There is no in-between.

10 Rude Truths No One Will Warn You About Making Money Blogging

Oh, and maybe I am ranting. A whole lot!

Rude Truth #1: You will wake up one day, or 30 days in a row, without any solid topic to write about. And unless you are bold enough to admit it to yourself, you will go nuts. But you can console yourself and write something like this.

Rude Truth #2: You could write for 5 years and never make money from your blog. Having Google Adsense, affiliate links and products renting space in your blog does not guarantee making money. Not even the number of articles in the blog can save you here.

Rude Truth #3: You will end up writing for your cat if you don’t have regular devote readers. If you are lucky to have one. And don’t let anyone lie to you that all subscribers read the articles mailed to them. And act on the message. You too have subscribed to several blogs I bet. How many of their emails do you open?

Rude Truth #4: Writing for Likes and Comments is suicide. Blogging runs on self-motivation. Not cheers from the outer world. That is why I still write despite getting less than 50 comments on my entire blog.

I am that mad woman in the market. Readers or no readers. Likes or no Likes. Comments or no comments. I keep writing. Share on XMagdalene kamau

Rude Truth #5: Writing nice and sweet stuff all the time will make you sick. So be true to yourself. Rant when you need to. Post your frustrations in long form if you must. It’s therapeutic!

And don’t wait for consolation. No one comments on such an article. Not if they are in their real senses. Folks out here are trying to stay positive. Even when it kills them to do so.

Rude Truth #6: You will never graduate from writing pads. Even though you can’t make money there. This is your way of generating great content as well as escaping moneyless blogging heartbreaks.

This is what I mean.

Unlike Word’s blank screen and the jumpy fellow, a writing pad gives you room for scribbling your raw feelings. From drawing broken hearts to writing upside down to tearing the sheet and chewing it tossing it in the bin. Writing by hand allows you to express your feelings. And even if you make no money from it, you feel useful you wrote.

Rude Truth #7: You are not too cute for ghostwriting. Learn the ropes of the hustle and sell your writing skills to those who need but lack them. Then collect the money and move on.

Never look back. It could get ugly if Amazon declares your client a best-selling author from the book you wrote.

Remind yourself that becoming a best-seller is all about ‘selling’. The marketing effort your client put into the book. Never your writing. So don’t praise yourself or get jealous and ask for more than you negotiated for. You risk losing a client by so doing.

Rude Truth #8: If you ever get sick and break your writing habit, you stand a chance to lose the blogging momentum. And the few followers you may have gained.

Kenyans say, ‘earth is hard‘. A call to prioritize your health, not the money, no matter what. Better still, keep your writing pad and favourite pen by your side even in your sickest moment. Get ready to jolt that idea you believe will keep your blog flowing and your readers scrolling. Your will and eulogy included.

Rude Truth #9:You could start making a listicle like this and end up several points short. Restructure and move on.

That has nothing to do with poor brainstorming. Blogging is hard work. More often, with no pay. So when your fingers disagree with your head and demand to type their own things, let them be. Then post the article!

Resist the urge to toss it into the draft folder. Some wise guy will understand what you mean and appreciate the ‘fault’. Or turn it into a thesis.

Rude Truth #10: Going blank amidst your research, notes taking and brainstorming is normal. Remember opposites attract. Your brain may just be attracting a rest. Don’t force things. The most shared, most liked, most commented on and most tipped for articles are those written from the heart. Not those with life-saving research.

So if you must make money blogging, write from the heart. Whether ranting or building a train to the moon. Speak from your heart. And do it often.

In Conclusion

The thought of making money blogging has been glorified as making money while you sleep. But there is more to it than posting an article and having readers flock to your blog like fowls for grain.

The opposite is true though. If you want to make money blogging, the least you can do is fall in love with writing. Then set up all the money-making traps as you go. Create products for sales, add Google Adsense, affiliate links, free and paid-for tutorials, and premium content for a chosen few. Last but not least, ask for tips!

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There’s no shame in that.

Otherwise, the hard work of researching, writing and sharing in the name of making money blogging will have you second-guessing your dream. A good reason why most bloggers keep their main hustle until their writing sells. And you should too!