In my previous article about how I make money online, I briefly mentionned that to run a blog, you need expertise about a given topic, time, and dedication. I think those are the three pillars of blogging.
When I tell people how I make money blogging, they get really excited and want to start their own blog. Some of them actually do start their own blog but the majority fails because they either lack expertise, time, or motivation. If one of the pillars is missing, your blog is going to collapse.
Let’s have a look at the three pillars.
Expertise
Expertise doesn’t mean being a living encyclopedia in a certain field. It simply means knowing more than most people in a certain field. That’s a big difference.
For example, I blog about the iPhone but I really don’t consider myself an iPhone expert. More often than not, I will find myself confused when reading technical information about the iPhone. However, I know much more about the iPhone than 99% of iPhone owners. In their eyes, I am an expert.
We’re all expert at something. It sometimes takes time to figure out what we’re good at or what our special skills are, but the reality is we all have skill sets that can make us look like experts in the eyes of many.
Are you a good cook? Are you passionate about tropical fish? Do your neighbors come ask you about gardening tips? Those are areas of expertise that you can take advantage of and leverage on your own blog.
Time
Being an expert is one thing, but having the time to show your expertise is another. Blogging is time consuming and you will need lots of time if you want to run a blog.
Last year I set up a blog for my accountant. As the guy who filed my taxes, he saw how much money I was making from blogging and he thought he could just start his own blog about taxes. He sure had the expertise, but the poor man didn’t have the time.
He didn’t have the time to put at least one article up a week, and he didn’t have time to reply to comments. Basically, he didn’t have time for something that wasn’t generating income as quickly as his business. He gave up within days.
If you’re serious about blogging, make sure you have the time to blog!
Dedication
Being dedicated is very related to having time. You obviously can’t be dedicated if you don’t have time. But having time doesn’t mean you will be dedicated. You might have all the time in the day to blog, but the truth is that if you don’t feel like blogging, well, you won’t!
I am very dedicated to my iPhone blog. I write at least one post a day, every single day. I am so dedicated that I sometimes get up at 3 in the morning to cover breaking news. I buy every new iPhone coming out. I read over 50 iPhone-related sites. I answer questions on Twitter about the iPhone. I reply to people’s comments on my blog or on Facebook. I do this because I am committed and dedicated.
There are some days when I don’t feel like writing an article because I lack the motivation to do it. Well you know what? I still move my ass and write an article. That’s dedication. No matter what happens, I’m going to publish one article/day, and I’m going to be as helpful as I can to people who think I’m an expert. They trust me, they give me their time (and their money); my part of the job is to being there to deliver what they come for.
Is that it?
Can you be a successful blogger simply by being an expert, having time and being dedicated? Absolutely not! These are just the basis of a blog. There is obviously much more to it than just the three pillars but those are the foundations and support of a solid blog.
What’s your take?
Twitter Updates
You need to advertise and gain a following as well. Without that, people won’t know about your blog.
Hi Sean,
thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment here.
I do agree that getting traffic to your blog is necessary at some point, but it is certainly not a requirement to a successful blog. The 3 pillars I talk about in this article are the basis, the fundamental that very blogger needs to have in order to create a stable blog. After that, you need hundreds of different aspects such as good content, traffic, building community, etc…
Do you know what I mean?
Sebastien
Great post – i to agree if you have good informative infomation on a subject/s that people WILL search for they will find you with out spending money on advertising. cheers
I had to retweet this. I think this a wonderful foundation for anyone considering blogging, or for the blogger who has lost their way. It’s like anything in life. If something is not working you go back to the basics or in this case…The 3 Pillars:)
Susanna
Yes if your readers are subscribing, then you will be earning
Hi found your content to be very interesting appriciate the good work you doing… :)
it is really hard to build massive traffic on a website. you need to promote your website by blog commenting or PPC advertising-,~
I agree blogging is time consuming!! I still don’t what am I expertise in? I know philosophy but only few people interested with philosophy.. And I still really don’t get it, what is in the end, is it about money or something more precious like self-satisfaction.
Blogging is a quite time consuming but the outcomes are always great when you can get a lot of people to follow and subscribe
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u r right dediction is important and we have to make atleast one post daily and if u make more than one it;s kool and if u put more effort then u r one the top ; like i found a blog from my country (redmondpie) he is going very nice 5 posts almost and 2-3 are on google news daily and think what amount he is getting. so we are also making effort to reach that level. Do u think how much blog can get .looking for reply
I really like the photo you picked regarding the 3 pillars. It is very Zen. Every one has a way, we just need to get out of our own way.
Hi, thanks so much for the fundamental info for blogging. i really want to start my on blog and am sure with this info at hand. i gonna use it as a guide.
keep the good work up
I think you should also add education. A lot of people try to start blogs when they don’t really know what their doing and thats why they ended up being scammed or make little to know money.
New bloggers: before you start, take the time to research what your getting in to. It will save you a lot of time, effort, and money.
Im new to the world of blogging but what I have seen of it so far I am wanting to read more.
There are a lot of intersting people out there with intersting views.
It beats listening to what celebs have got to say on t.v