“If only I can make $10 today. Then if I make $300 for the next month I can pay my bills, buy food and even stow away some dough for savings.”
This is how I thought as a newbie blogger over 9 years ago. I was happy to make $10 a day. Even worse, I figured that I *could actually* make 10 bucks a day. As if a blog was a job. Like I could manipulate systems to spit out 10 USD every day, like a neat little salary that would yield me a nice, steady flow of cash every day for the year.
Unfortunately, blogging does not work like that.
Blogging is not linear. So blogging earnings are not linear.
This aspect of blogging confuses the bejesus out of newbie bloggers.
The Big Blogging Problem
If you believe as a newbie that you can actually earn a set number of dollars daily through your blog – or above a set daily threshold – you are still clinging to the employee-based, linear, “get this much by working this much” mindset that will kill your online career.
I struggled hellishly to make money blogging for many years because I treated blogging like I was an employee punching a time clock. Work a day. Get paid. Just like when I was a security guard or worked warehouse jobs and literally punched a time clock when I arrived to work and when I left work.
When I did not see $10 a day from day one of being a blogger I became a bit confused. I put in work. But did not get paid. What gives? Was blogging a scam? Or did I not work enough? Or did I need to work harder?
I put in more hours. I worked harder. I worked longer. I forced things. Eventually, I ran into so many struggles with this stupid, employee-based, fearful approach that I quit blogging a few times during the lean years. Or at least I quit doing the creating and connecting that would have brought me success.
The big blogging problem here is that blogging and blogging earnings are not linear in nature. No blogger in history earned $10 a day over a period of weeks, months or years. No blogger earned $1000 a day for months. Doesn’t work that way because blogging is not a linear, “work X hours and get paid X dollars” type deal. If you do foolishly believe blogging is linear you will quit blogging quite quickly when your $10 a day does not flow in through Paypal or through your commission payments. Or when you see $15 today and zero dollars a day for the next 3 weeks you will quit blogging or believe that blogging is a scam.
The Solution
Accept the truth that blogging, like all entrepreneurial ventures, is not linear. Accept the truth that blogging is not a “work 1 day and get paid for that day” type deal. You are no longer earning a salary. You are no longer working a job. You are no longer paid money for the amount of time you spend working on your craft.
You will be paid money when you spend months and then years honing specific, profitable skills through diligent daily practice, when you solve problems for your ideal reader by offering both free content and premium products, eBooks and services and when you build your friend network by generously promoting top bloggers in your niche.
Blogging is not linear.
You are not paid per day. You are not even paid per post. You will build your entrepreneurial income through a variety of profit streams that you open, learn and work over a period of months and years.
Accept this idea.
Gain clarity with your blog.
Position yourself to earn a full time income through blogging.
Hi Ryan,
Nice Post!
Linear income also called active income is money you earn for your effort. In order words linear income is money you earn when you show up at work.
Of course, blogging isn’t linear. No matter how great your blog is, how great you are or even how great your content is, you will not get any visitors to your blog if you let it just sit there!
The truth is, there are so many great blogs out there and if you want your new blog to be seen you need to market that blog, promote that blog post.
I will tweet your post.
Thanks a lot for sharing.