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This blog post is quite long so you probably shouldn’t read it. To the 50% of visitors who are still with me, I’ll say now that less than 1% of you will get to the end so you may as well leave now. The value here is in reading the whole post; not in skimming. Now that we’re left with just a few people, let me say first say “Hey” and secondly say “This blog post will go against 99% of the things you’ve ever read about blogging.”
I’m going to be controversial and I might even upset a few people. I’m not being controversial for the sake of controversy and I’ve been told I’m actually quite a nice guy. I’m simply telling the truth, and giving you the real state of the blogosphere for no other reason than it’s about time something like this was said.
Helping You Make Money Is What Makes Money
Brian Clark (a big inspiration of mine) is the owner of one of the biggest blogs in the world, Copyblogger. His site made over $3.5m in 2009 and it will probably make more in 2010. He made that money by teaching you how to make more money through courses like Teaching Sells and through selling WordPress themes like Thesis.
He’ll even throw the odd affiliate link into his tweets. I really like Brian and he deserves his success, but he makes money by teaching you how to make money. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing; I just want you to be aware of it.
Steve Pavlina is the biggest personal development blogger in the world. He writes some of the best articles I’ve ever read on topics like productivity and motivation, but he also makes money by teaching you how to make money. He promotes journaling software and other products, but he admits his biggest earner is promoting products he didn’t create. One such product, Site Build It, helps you build websites that make money. Steve has linked to the product on multiple posts and has even written a 2,000+ word review.
Steve makes over $100,000 per month from his blog, so I’ll let you decide if promoting a product like that is worth his time.
Leo Babauta runs a very popular blog called Zen Habits. With over 160,000 subscribers he’s one of the biggest bloggers online and no praise he receives is without merit. With that audience he’s been able to promote eBooks like ‘Zen to Done’ and write a best-selling book on simplicity. I’m sure that each of these things made him a lot of money, but did they make as much as his $285 course on A-list Blogging?
I’m not exempt from any of this. I’ve made a lot of money myself through teaching.
There’s a popular saying that goes, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” These people can, and do, and they also teach. I have huge respect for each of them. The point I’m making is simply this: Teaching is a very, very profitable business, especially in the blogosphere. These guys did not create the waiting audience, but they do provide for it.
The web is full of bloggers who see that these people are making money so they try to teach you how to make money as well. Please don’t fall for it and lose 12 months of your life like I did or $5,000 like a good friend of mine (who may identify himself in the comments here) did.
It’s not just the topic of making money online where this has happened. You’ll see plenty of teen “life coaches”, social media experts who only use Twitter, and Forex experts who’ve never actually traded with real money. I’ll let you put your own quotations around the word experts.
A good rule to follow is to only take advice from people who are actually living what they teach. How much importance would you place on relationship advice from someone with three divorces under their belt?
Being Remarkable Doesn’t Matter
I talk about being remarkable on this blog quite a lot. In all honesty though, I know that it doesn’t really matter. Not if you want to make money with blogs, anyways.
There’s a 26 year old in Hungary who makes over $100,000 per month from blogs you’ve never heard of. That’s probably because he has hundreds of them, and all of his content is automated. He has no real readers and he probably doesn’t handle any of the blogging process, but he sells text links on such a large scale that he’s now a millionaire.
In many ways, he’s a successful blogger.
There’s a popular blogging course I found recently which goes against every rule out there. Their philosophy is for you to pick a very small but profitable niche, and then write about every other blog post that’s being written on that subject. It might not make much sense (I had to go through the course myself to “get it”) but these guys are making millions of dollars by doing this.
The bloggers who are being written about then comment or blog about that feedback, and send more traffic to the new site. These sites look very much like affiliate landing pages (email opt-ins that eventually promote you a product through an affiliate link) and capture very targeted email addresses.
Many marketers will tell you that making money online is all about having a list. In the case above, this list can make you thousands, if not millions.
Quick Online Tips is not remarkable (at least not to me) but it does exactly what the name promises. It offers quick tips to help you get the most out of the internet. 999 posts out of 1,000 probably have absolutely no relevance to you. The author knows this but I doubt he cares – the traffic he receives from Google must be incredible.
Despite having over 20,000 apparent RSS readers, writing a guest post there will get you no more than 10 clicks on your site. Most subscribers simply don’t read the majority of their content.
Search traffic is targeted and if you display relevant contextual ads (just check out that second “navigation bar”) then you’re going to make a lot of money. I wouldn’t tell a friend about the site simply because most posts aren’t going to help them. Yet, the owner is making thousands of dollars per month by doing what he does.
Would I tell a friend about the automated blogs that are filled with unreadable content and link out to thousands of other sites? Would I want to keep reading a blog that simply writes about other blog posts day in and day out? No.
They’re unremarkable. But, in their case, it’s totally irrelevant. They’re successful.
Being Remarkable Matters
Gretchen Rubin is remarkable. Her blog, the Happiness Project, helps people answer the question “How can I be happy?” She managed to launch a best-selling book with the same name and deserves every bit of praise she receives.
Ars Technica is remarkable. When thousands of other tech blogs were writing short posts made up of a few hundred words they changed the game by writing long, in-depth and detailed posts. The owners of the site are well rewarded for the efforts that they put in.
Being remarkable matters if you want to love what you do, not just the result of your actions. Although Steve Pavlina makes a large chunk of his cash by telling people how they can make a large chunk of cash, he’s still remarkable. I also have no doubt that he loves what he does — how else would he have written well over 500,000 words on the subject of personal development?
Despite making less than 5% of my income through this blog (some of you manage to find my eBook) I still spend more of my time on this site than any other that I own. The reasons are simple: I love writing, I love sharing ideas, and I love interacting with highly intelligent people (that’s you!). Writing on the subject of making money online and not making money while doing it is somewhat remarkable. I guess. ViperChill is growing because the content I write markets itself. People are talking.
The main reason being remarkable matters is because the blogosphere has changed dramatically.
You didn’t always need to be remarkable to build a successful, legitimate blog that makes money.
Now you do. Here’s why:
- Writing Content is Not Enough – In the past you could just keep writing a lot of average content and because there were so few other people writing about that subject you dominated search results and gained an audience. There are just too many bloggers now for that to happen.
- Bloggers Don’t Link Out – Well, they do, but probably 1/20th of the amount that they used to. Most people have resorted to tweets, rather than links as a ‘vote’ for good content. Because people link out less, they only link to remarkable posts (and people).
- Blogs Became Less Personal – Blogging started as a personal hobby for those who wanted to share their thoughts with the world. As soon as others realised you can make a lot of money from blogging the game changed dramatically. It’s now harder than ever to stand out from the thousands of other blogs in each niche.
For a moment imagine that everyone in the world could only subscribe to 10 blogs on your chosen topic. Do you really deserve to be on their radar?
If not, then maybe it’s time to…
Break the Rules
With ViperChill I have broken pretty much every blogging ‘rule’ that most bloggers will share with you. I didn’t set out to break the rules, but I didn’t set out to follow them. I just write when I want to write on topics I want to write about (try saying that 3 times quickly). If it takes a lot of words to say what I need to say, then so be it.
Here are a few rules I’ve broken, off the top of my head:
- The first sentence of your post is crucial – Scroll up and read my first sentence. Back? You still stuck around, even with an introduction like that.
- Write on a schedule – Some weeks I post once, some twice, some never
- Don’t write too much (your audience is busy) – I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I write a lot of content in each article
- Make posts scannable – Some parts of my articles are scannable but mostly, I think you have to read a lot of what I say to get the most value
- Keep posts to one message – I share a lot of ideas in each article and certainly don’t just stick to one theme
There are probably a lot more but I’m sure you get the point.
Playing it safe is riskier than taking risks.
Don’t believe me?
Yahoo! played it safe with their portal, and then Google came along with their simple search interface. MySpace played it safe and stopped innovating, and then Facebook stole the social network crown. Newspapers played it safe and now most of them are struggling to find leverage online.
Playing it safe is easy. But it’s also boring and predictable. Taking risks might (probably not) alienate your potential audience, but that’s fine. You will build an audience who loves whatever it is you’re doing differently.
Does that mean that the old rules don’t work? Of course not. Sharing value on a consistent basis is always going to be a solid strategy to use. Likewise, no matter how remarkable you are, people just aren’t going to stick around if you can’t be bothered to spell check your articles. These things matter, but they’re not enough on their own to get people talking about you.
People don’t talk about graphic designers who create logos similar to ones you’ve seen a hundred times before. They talk about people like Hugh McLeod, David Airey and Matthew Inman. If you haven’t realised by now, the blogosphere doesn’t need another Engadget, Problogger or Perez Hilton (who are each remarkable in their own unique way).
The blogosphere doesn’t need any more blogs that play it safe.
I was going to list some of the ways that you can break the rules in your own industry but then they might just become the new rules which would defy the point of this post entirely.
Instead, I’ll ask you a very important question, the answer to which is critical: What is nobody else in your industry willing to do / try?
Do it.
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Great post as always! The best rule is that there are no rules! This blog’s success is clearly from breaking a few rules and I can think of several others that ignore “standard” advice. Even on my own site, going against recommendations has worked to my advantage, and doing it my way has always been the best way.
Following standard rules just puts you as a standard blog. Some guidelines are good, but we should all break free from there
Although, I’d disagree with this post proving that the first sentence is less important. If anything, that first sentence uses an interesting psychological technique to get most people to really read the whole article
The job of your headline is to get people to read the first sentence in a post. The job of your first sentence is to get people to read the second. And so on. When I mentioned breaking the rules for the intro I simply show that writing something that isn’t compelling can still keep people interested if you build the right audience.
Thanks for the comment, Benny!
Reverse psychology works like a charm.
And in my own defense, I made a lot of money in real estate 2001-2005 thanks to the copywriting and content marketing techniques we teach on Copyblogger. I didn’t just make this stuff up out of the blue and start teaching it. I just love teaching more than real estate.
But I know that Glen knows that. And this really is a post that people need to really think about, because it’s dead on the money. Nice work Glen.
Thanks Brian, I really appreciate that you stopped over here.
I am aware of your background (you’re also a recovering lawyer, if I’m not mistaken
) and it wasn’t all to do with Copyblogger. As I said in the post, you’re a big inspiration for those who want to see what is possible through blogging.
Keep rocking, and thanks
Hey Benny,
That’s a great looking blog you have….not to mention what looks like a very interesting lifestyle. Good on ya, mate!
@VC – Very interesting post. I was going to skim…but who could skim after that opener? A good lesson there for me.
I agree that being remarkable is super important. I ‘think’ I’m doing it on my blog…but as we all drink our own Koo-laid, its hard to know. I use the comments as my feedback mechanism.
Same goes for my membership site. It teaches people how to build a portfolio of Adsense sites so they can globetrot to their heart’s content. Again, I’ve tried to make it remarkable by providing super-specific training (heavy on the ‘how’ and not just the ‘what’ to do).
Aside from paying attention to comments, how else do you know if you are being remarkable?
Hey Glen!
I totally agree with your post. I don’t think that it should create too much of a stir because these big bloggers know that they make so much money by teaching others how to do it. I don’t think that there is neccessarily anything wrong with making money by teaching others how to blog or make money online.
The thing that I don’t like is people who have no experience with making money online who start to classify themselves as a guru and teach others how to make money online. Then they proceed to show proof of sales of their teaching products and all of a sudden they are internet marketing geniuses.
Very informative and detailed post as always
Cheers!
Hey DiGGy,
This bugs me as well, even though I know it shouldn’t. It’s just a shame that people fall for all of the “secrets” in products out there. As you know I get a lot of traffic to this site from paid membership courses that simply use my content to teach people.
It’s a shame really.
Thanks for reading this last week and giving me your thoughts!
You’ve pretty much identified most of the groups of bloggers that are in this game.
I kind of agree with you on some points. But one thing I blog for is because I want to stay up to date with the industry and get a heads up on things as they happen. Then I can play with things like Digg paid advertising and Twitter paid advertising when it comes out.
I do want lots more readers and followers, but honestly I get a lot of value from blogging already. I use those ideas on paid advertising campaigns that I run or for SEO/ traffic building tactics/social media tactics for clients websites.
Also with blogs, it’s a patience thing sometimes. It certainly takes more time than the immediate results I’ve seen with paid traffic. however, the results are probably a lot more stable and less likely to get stolen or click frauded from me. So pluses and minuses of both approaches.
As far as gurus go I take pretty much everything they say with a pinch of salt unless they have proven themselves to me. And let me tell you there are probably only 5 or so well known authorities that are on my list of people to pay attention to.
May I know who those top 5 are? I’m starting over again with blogging and I want to do it better this time around. =)
One example is JohnChow. He makes money online by telling people how he makes money online. The only thing is that he doesn’t do that on his blog. All he does is post photos of the places he visits and the food he eats. The only tips I see on his blog are from guest posts (written by other people and paid to show up on johnchow.com)
John offers tons of marketing advice; he doesn’t just post about where he goes or what he does.
I wished this post would never end. You completely got me with your introduction. Reverse psychology always works like a charm for me, so when you said what you said, I naturally had to read every word, and to be honest, it was well worth it.
Thanks for reminding me to think deeper on what I can do to be more remarkable. It’s easy to fall into a routine and follow everyone else, but that’s not where the true challenge and fun lies! Time to whip out a pen and paper and brainstorm how I can improve my stuff.
Keep rocking, Glen!
My secrets have been revealed
. Now just promise me you won’t click on this link.
Haha.
Thanks Henri!
couldn’t have said it better myself Henri
I wanted the post to go LONGER! Great stuff. I love it when a blog post goes right for the guts on a topic…
And thanks for NOT listing ways to be remarkable! Some things cannot be made into a formula!
I suspect a fair few people have read through that post and I also suspect most will have agreed with it.
I was told by a marketeer only last week I was in effect wrong to be posting about my dog biting my testicles. I get that, I really do, and the feedback was genuine, but it was a fun thing to talk about.
I have also been told again and again I get too personal and I don’t utilize all the correct methods to gain heavy traffic, but I don’t give a ####, because I’d rather tear it down than end up looking like Dumb Little Man (feel free to strip that out if you like).
Sites like that add no value imho other than to the author. Occasionally people *think* they do, but we don’t change from reading ’7 Ways To Be Happy For Ever’ No matter how many people say “Great post” or “This post couldn’t come at a better time for me” the information is too vague, too general and too lacking in depth to really help people. Ok maybe the occasional productivity tip could have a short-term benefit, but that’s about it.
Problogger asked the question yesterday “Do you tell your readers when you use affiliate links?” That really was about it, it was one paragraph. It got almost 100 tweets last time I looked. In fact *I* commented something I rarely do on his site. I’ve no idea why in retrospect because it was bollocks.
We’ve had our ups and downs Glen, but what you are doing here is trukly outstanding and is pissing all over some of the more established bloggers.
I remember going to see The Police in 1980. By then they had started doing too much Bolivian Marching Powder (according to Sting who was famously quoted as saying “Coke is Gods way of telling you you have too much money), had become cocky and arrogant. In short we walked out before the end. Fortunately the support band, a young up and coming outfit had given us full value for money and blown them off stage and we went home buzzing (it was in your neck of the woods by the way at Gateshead athletic stadium).
Who were the support band? U2. They seem to have done ok
Hey Tim,
Awesome to see you over here! (And an awesome comment)
I bet you’ve seen more examples of this than me:
Funny, I used to train at Gateshead all the time when I was running for my county. I have always respected that you stick to your core values, rather than just doing things for fleeting traffic.
Thanks again, Tim.
Not sure at all what to think on this subject.
Question you raise at the end is valid, but does not really connect to the content you wrote, which is mainly about the fact that most bloggers making money online are making it from other bloggers. We already knew that… Or at least I did.
On the “rules” of blogging, the trouble is that as soon as you break whatever mold someone said was the rule you create the new rule for blogging.
What nobody else is willing to do / try? Being new! All of us that write blogs are always, no matter how hard we try, pleasing our readers in some way. This post is perfect example since it was promoted on Twitter as “going to upset a lot of bloggers”, when it is in fact just telling them to wake up, something a lot of bloggers have wanted to hear for a long time.
The point wasn’t that most people are making money from other bloggers, it’s that people who have never made money in any other form are teaching. Or, people who have never had a social media client are now experts on the topic.
Do you think I’ve created new rules? I don’t.
As I’ve studied certain aspects of personal development for a few years I’ve noticed that people don’t like their realities being challenged. If the world’s press suddenly started saying the world was flat and McDonalds is healthy, you would probably have some internal resistance to that.
People don’t like to hear where they might be going wrong. Usually.
- Glen
We tend to forget that our “loyalists” take our words and make them rules for themselves, even if we don’t intend to and as far as I can remember, nobody told me how to blog so I had no rules when I started out besides trying to avoid swearing.
I don’t think that was what Glen meant, as mentioned in his response, the trouble is with people thinking they can “blog about blogging” when they barely know anything about blogging themselves.
In all, the make money online market has become so saturated because people with no experience pursue that market ONLY, even when they have no idea what they are doing!
While Glen’s blog is somewhat of a “make money online” blog, he differentiates his posts with something as simple as effort: the effort that goes into each post is far beyond most bloggers, who stick to the same old rehashed nonsense that we’ve all heard before.
You published it then….;-)
Indeed; I made quite a few changes from the original draft that you were sent.
Thanks for your feedback last week!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here is hoping to a paradigm shift.
I’m a bit tired of reading about how to do things the “right way” and find that I simply never follow the rules (even the rules I set out for myself). I post about the things that interest me, write posts that are too long, and have a theme that apparently wills the reader away from my site.
But, I like what I do, I like the theme that I have chosen (at least for now) and I like the freedom to write about whatever comes to mind. I should know better, but at the end of the day I am hopeful that the right people will come across my blog and enjoy what I have to say rather than just visit my site because Google says it’s a good match for one particular area of interest.
Here is to all the bloggers who still write about whatever strikes their fancy- keep breaking the rules and keep writing great stuff please!
I second Benny’s opinion, your post is great as always. Although I don’t feel like breaking any “rule” on my blog but I have one rule which I keep always in mind: I write what I think about what I do and about what I could/would/should do. my blog is my piece of internet and I don’t write to please somebody, I don’t write to get famous or controversial or snything else.
subject of my blog is personal finances and getting out of debt but it is about MY debt and MY finances. and I don’t care what kiyosaki or bach or any of personal finances gurus would say or do about my situation. I can read their articles or books but what I will do with MY money is MY decision. and I write about it and I have small group of readers who comment my posts or decisions or suggest some solutions but ultimate decision what to write about and what to do next with my money is only up to me and nobody else. and I think it is a key to success: if you are honest about yourself and you provide articles which average Joe can relate to because he has the same problem or doubt or dream you will win his attention.
@Benny
it’s funny to see your comment here because I just read article about you at one of blogs I subscribe
Hey,
I expected someone to leave a comment like this and let me first state that I really respect how you do what you do. Your blog is your home to do whatever you please with it
In order to build a blog that makes a decent amount of money though you sometimes have to do things very different to anyone else out there. That is when remarkable can matter – though it doesn’t always.
And Benny is awesome. Follow him
Thanks for your comment!
Making money with a blog is rather out of range of my interest although I wouldn’t mind to get paid for it
But I don’t have intentions to force myself to write about something “hot” just to get traffic and convert google ads clicks to hard cash. But if I wanted to build such blog I know where to look for help (yes, that’s you Glen 
) and I wouldn’t mind to pay for advice, training or tutorial.
At the end it’s all about what you like to write about and why you do it. If it’s just for money in my opinion it can’t be fully honest because you’ll end up promoting products or services you know nothing about because there’s no possibility for you to know and use every one of million of things that people sell everyday. But if you write about your passion or your cat or your vintage hats collection and you embed reflinks to products/services you know are good because you use them and you can fully describe their impact on metter of your interest – then you can make money and you can be honest.
I think that’s why you have so big audience, because you write about what you love and you can describe how these things works for you and what to look for to get similar effects. you could just copy/paste reviews from clickbank or such service and just cash in checks from refferals. But it wouldn’t be true you and you would make big money and feel not so good about it.
I repeat: that’s just my opinion
You certainly drew me in with a start like that, and that title is better than the one I sent your way on Twitter.
Of course, I don’t know that there’s any title you could put on a blog post that would keep me away from reading it. Your content is so damn good.
Thanks Neil,
I actually paid $20 for my favourite headline I received (although I didn’t use it here) as it was better than anything I can usually write. That’s why I love being involved in this community so much – there are just thousands of smart people out there.
Thanks for the kind words and support.
You hit the nail on the head why I don’t trust any of the people giving business advice. I see them as no different than the late night tv hucksters. They have never had a payroll to meet, or ran a real business. The fact that are making money doesn’t make them any more successful than a con man.
Hi Gary,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Interesting thoughts — I’ll leave it at that
I’ve thought for a long time that the big and growing names online are those that tell people how to make money “doing what they love” (yawn). Even the relatively new guys on the block like Naomi Dunford and Jonathan Fields do this. I have all the respect in the world for them and love their writing because they have a distinct voice that can be heard above the clamouring crowds – but how would these businesses look if they didn’t have the “teaching people how to make money” thing?
I don’t know the answer to that, but it certainly demonstrates the art of being remarkable even in an over-crowded niche.
Personality still shines.
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the comment! Jonathan is actually different to Naomi (I think) in the fact that he’s successfully built a number of businesses such as a Yoga studio that he ran in New York. I consider him a friend and he’s certainly not someone who has gotten to where he is just by teaching.
I have to agree though that most people, even the “big names”, wouldn’t be very far without the MMO industry that they’ve picked.
Great comment
Great post Glen. I was looking forward to reading this post since you mentioned it on twitter. Very informative as usual. Your honesty is always reflected in all your post. I suppose that is why I am glued. Keep it up!
Amazing post. Lets face it, why would somebody tell you how to make money? To earn money themselves. If it’s that good why tell everybody. If you’re ever going to make something you’ll need to beg steal and borrow and not play by the rule. Try things if they don’t work out, they don’t work out. But eventually you’ll hit on something that works.
Rich people have either inherited it our spotted an opportunity. Find your opportunity.
I simply love you
As you read this blog, I love you more
Hey, G.! Just wanted to let you know I read (and loved) the whole thing.
Thank you Mrs Blackstone
Glen,
Superb post! While the people you’ve referred to are remarkable, I still have mixed feelings about the whole teaching thing. In their favour, they’ve done it successfully and are trying to show others how to do it.
If you look at the other end though, will the students be the type who are stuck in the ‘how to make money online’ rut, taking course after course, buying ebook after ebook, looking for the magic formula?
I like being clear about what my blog is so there’s no false information there. I would like to break my ‘schedule’ habit and see if it leads to better posts or what. As always, great read Glen.
Hey Moon,
Thanks a lot!
I hope not, but I know that it happens. After all, I was stuck in the exact same rut myself, which is what my “losing 12 months of my life” comment was about.
And I think you’re hitting right on the head what bothers me the most about internet marketing, making money online and just the whole issue surrounding it.
I like a lot of these people who make money online solely through teaching people how to make money online. What shits me to tears about this is that some of these people do deceptive things, utilise cognitive dissonance to get customers to justify crazy prices or pack things up with affiliate links (aff links are fine, but there’s a time and a place for everything. The place is most certainly not inside an information product you made someone pay for).
And I suppose it just highlights what a spectacular clusterfuck this feels like to me when I can read a post like this and think automated setups actually sound nice, because they almost feel *less* exploitative of people based on the cult of personality revolving around some of these products.
I’d love to think I can do something I find intrinsically worthwhile and make a little cash from it, but I really, wholeheartedly agree that there’s this pervasive formula online that has worked for many but the efficacy of this is diluted as more and more people try and jump on the bandwagon.
This in turn makes me feel even more idiotic for expecting that somewhere along the line someone was going to go “Here’s how the new kids on the block do it well!” and that it will all just work for me. Or that someone is going to tell me how to make that jump. Can I do something like what I want? Can I skip the formula, the vapid egotism and the bullshit that surrounds all this?
Honestly, I’m not sure. But when I read something like this, it does make me remember that I know how this shit works and that it can work without the usual trappings – all i’ve got to do is give it a shot. Maybe i’ve even got a better chance if I skip out on some of the usual hoops people jump through.
Enjoyed the comments too – esp Tim’s remarks.
Hi Glen,
I’m the numpty from the North East who emailed you over the weekend about a link in your book which was sat in plain sight!
I was looking forward to this post and wasn’t disappointed. I’ve gone on a mini-crusade lately to get people in the MMO World to swing by this blog and check out the kind of stuff you are writing.
I’ve run a number of blogs before. Some for another company and a couple of my own. The couple I own myself have never really been too successful. A few hundred to a couple thousand visits a month. Pretty frustrating. I have constantly analyzed why it is I couldn’t break beyond those statistics and make my blog a success.
Looking back, having read this blog so much for the past two weeks, and after reading your ebook “cloud living” I realized that whilst I thought my content was good (I put a lot of effort into the content) I wasn’t doing enough to get my message out there. I did not do anything different to the millions of other bloggers out there. To be successful, I think you have to go further than other bloggers. You did a prolific amount of guest posts in a short period of time for example. I guess there is room at the top for the people who are willing to put the work in.
Honestly? In some ways I’d love to make the kind of money those bloggers you mentioned are from automated content and re-hashed blogs. It sounds so simple. But, it’s not what I would enjoy doing or what I would want to be known for.
As far as the “fake-it-till-you-make-it” blogs go, it’s one of my pet hates as well. I knew one blogger/self-appointed marketer charging people $1,000 a month to teach them “how to make money online”. He had 2 or 3 clients at least every month. He told me this whilst using his next-door neighbours Internet (they had wireless and hadn’t put a password on it). He was living with his parents and couldn’t even afford an Internet connection. It’s a pretty scary industry/world.
I had the benefit of having started an internet company in the early/mid 90′s when I was in my 20′s. I met a lot of guys who were worth 10′s and 100′s of milions of dollars. I had a roommate who was briefly a billionaire on paper.
NONE of them made money by telling people how to make money. ZERO. They did shit. They built shit. They didn’t follow self-help gurus or read books on how to make money.
I follow several internet marketing blogs and now it is a game to see if I can ever find a useful tidbit of information in what they say. It is all fluff. No substance. Rhetorical questions and platitudes. The fact that enough people buy this shit so they can make a living doesn’t mean much.
These sites live in a world where bringing in a salary is considered an amazing success. There are so many people desperate to make money and not work, that these guys have taken over from the TV real estate guys you used to see after midnight. They sell “programs’ just like they used to sell audio tapes. Nothing has changed.
I think that once you’re an established blogger, it’s easy and sometimes necessary to break the ‘rules.’ When you’re just starting out, rules are all you have to design a pathway – something to follow in order to make some sense of what you’re meant to do. I can understand why some people follow them.
I’m always complaining about the pyramid scheme of blogging. The people make money…teaching other people how to blog. And then new bloggers think they’ll have the success that the A-listers do and it’s not going to happen. The two takeaways I get from this post are: 1.) don’t plan to match the well-known bloggers in financial success unless you’re teaching and 2.) if you want to be somewhat successful, you’ll have to be really good to stand out.
Hey Glenn
Great post, this is my first comment over here., though I am following this from from many days!!
” less than 1% of you will get to the end so you may as well leave now.”
This line made most of the visitors to read the complete post lol ! You are smart man!!
I bought your cloud living just 2 weeks back…completed reading it and I trust that this procedure is going to make me passive income..looking for an update.
Regards
Adi
This definitely reminds me of the “Is Blogging a Pyramid Scheme?” discussion from a couple of years ago, but I love how Glen delved into this without necessarily condemning it.
Yes, the biggest money to be made in internet marketing…is teaching other people internet marketing.
No, that doesn’t mean you should start there. It *PAINS* me to see kids who claim to be marketing experts, OR WORSE, life coaches (although I would love to see a 22 year old “college coaching” some teenagers, that’d be brilliant)
This is exactly why we’ve resisted entering the “Make Money Online” game so far. It’s very crowded with crud, and you lose remarkability points simply by playing.
That said, I’m all for breaking the rules. Well said, Glen.
You just had to mention the spell check didn’t you?
In all seriousness man, I have to agree with much of what you say. In regard to PluginID I’ve tried to dig deeper than those posts that get just ” great post.” I write with one purpose in mind: to create change. I could list tips all day long, but as Tim said in the comments it doesn’t create any lasting difference.
People look at you and see you as this successful stud, but you got that way by working hard and being REAL. You’ve got that way for changing the lives of people like me. It’s been great getting to know over the years man.
You’re absolutely right when you saying playing it safe is easy. Fuck safe.
unbelievable great content on here. You are right with that “teaching money makes money” thing, that had bothered me since long time. It’s really really hard to break all those rules and to be innovative, because we get used to that rules so much that we stop recognizing them..
“Playing it safe is riskier than taking risks.”
Great statement, Glen. This was an enjoyable read, thanks.
I think what it comes down to is this… people want to buy money at a lower price. That’s essentially what the “make money online” people are selling: money.
So for the rest of us, who are in the business of delivering value that cannot be boiled down to money, it’s a whole different ballgame. For example in my field of health and wellness… I’m still teaching concepts, but these are concepts that I’ve applied to my own life and gotten results from.
I also think that there’s a lot more of a techy community around the “make money” community, so we can all band together. Whereas in different niche markets there isn’t as much of a “spot” to hang out together on. (Like twitter, or what have you.)
Thanks for writing this Glen. We’ve all been thinking it!
Well Glen, As usual this post really helps me.
Thanks for it.
Hey Glen,
This is a very insightful post. Yes it’s long, and yes I read the whole thing
. I love all of the examples of the non-remarkable people that you pointed out. I recently wrote about why I think a case of “tunnel vision” has pervaded the blogosphere. For every person you mentioned that is amazing there’s 100′s, probably thousands who are happy to remain in obscurity, collect small fortunes and live their life. On the flip side there’s also something to be said for being remarkable.
Regarding the rules, I think the real game changers are the ones who don’t follow rules. I don’t think there’s a magic formula to blogging success. Everybody has different experiences with it and while there are some best practices, I think you need to do what works for you and it’s different for each person. One person might grow to 5000 subscribers in a year, while for others it might take 2-3. But it shouldn’t matter. The goal shouldn’t be to be like other people. It should be to be the best version of yourself.
It’s interesting: My mother was a teacher in the US, and although she did ok, she (as most teachers) often complained about how teaching was not a lucrative profession. I had several discussions with her about this, and argued that teaching was very lucrative, if you’re in the right environment, with the right students. I sited several examples – mainly in the “professional training” niches, such as real estate investors, or personal development “gurus” like Tony Robbins.
Tony makes an interesting case study – because what is he known for? The fire walk. Not only was he willing to walk on fire to get you to change your life, but he would lead you across fire. Remarkable, yes. and he’s built a remarkable income as well.
It’s interesting to me to note that one’s environment is a big factor on whether one can become “remarkable” or do something others wouldn’t consider. If you’re in an environment that stifles creativity, or has stringent requirements, or where every initiative must be “vetted” by a committee; chances of doing something great are pretty small.
However, an interesting counter point is how you can “pre-vet” or brainstorm with your followers and the “geniuses” of the cyber world to get juice for an article, or title, or headline feedback, etc.
Pretty cool stuff going on around here.
Just so you know, I came to your website throught a Retweet on Twitter. That already makes much of what you wrote evident. I am no teacher , not even a propective one. Infact, I am probably a part of the audiences most blogs and people you quoted above intend to target. And your post sure makes a lot of sense from this side of the blogosphere.
Interesting post and even better comments.
I’m in the personal finance niche, which is incredibly crowded. The guy who breaks about every rule is Ramit at Iwillteachyoutoberich.com, and he is making the most money. Then there are about 500 bloggers following “the rules” and only about 5 are making money.
Not sure where to go from here, but that’s not a bad thing. I need to sit down and rethink how I work. I know there are ways to improve on what’s “working” right now. I just need to think outside the box to find them.
Good post. One way to stand out is to give the scoop the way other blogs aren’t willing to do because you know… it may make them look bad. But you gave the scoop. You dished it out. And by doing so you made your readers happy.
I didn’t intend to make anyone look bad, if that’s what you’re suggesting. In fact, if you read the whole post I don’t see how you could come to that conclusion about any example.
Just read the article for a SECOND TIME. Yeah, I got issues…
But by doing so I see how inaccurate my comment was
Anyways, you’re right on about how in the very congested blogosphere, breaking the rules and taking risks becomes your ally.
Oh, and I also see nothing wrong with making money by teaching others how to make money.
P.S. – Love your SEO guide post. Will be studying and implementing the goodness that’s in it.
By the way, I agree with Brian Clark. Your first sentence created tremendous curiosity, so much in fact, it was effective at drawing people deeper into your content. So I think it was a very strategic first sentence
Not intentional. Although the heading was supposed to have that effect.
Excellent post, I agree with Bamboo Forest about you’re first being strategic in a sense. I saw it as a challenge, and wanted to meet it. Though I read every post regardless of length. This post was very informative, stretching the mind outside of the box of the standard blogging rules. Out in the mainstream flow of the internet we hear so many things about do this, do that.
It was refreshing to hear, break the rules. Because really as you already stated, that’s how innovation arises, and without courageous people to do new things, new things never happen.
@ Glen: I didn’t mean look bad, really. But there’s a reason other blogs who make money teaching others how to make money don’t write posts like this one. So ‘look bad’ isn’t really what I meant. What I meant is, you’re drawing attention to something that other blogs aren’t willing to. And as a result it makes for a great read.
Great post. I loved this. This gives me some ideas for my abandoned blog. I’m not necessarily trying to make cash, but this is still a great post for tips.
Glen,
A thought-provoking post. I agree with many of your contrarian viewpoints. Especially the playing it safe is risky concept.
As far as me taking risks, I’m a cash gifting mentor. Nuff said. I’ve had points of seeing no opt-in’s for months. People despise me, send nasty messages. It’s all part of the game when believing firmly in something which few people understand. And I write a helpful blog which had cleared up a lot of the BS concerning this private activity.
By encountering the resistance which I’ve met with I know that I’m onto something. Namely, I’m doing something which I was formerly scared to do because I didn’t want to take the risk of no one knowing or caring about cash gifting. Good blogging is speaking from your heart. Successful blogging? That each person’s definition.
Well, I will start by letting you know that I read EVERY word of the post and even checked out all the other sites you linked to that I didn’t already know about. I guess that puts me in the top 1% of everyone who finds this post. I’d like to say that I agree it is a very important post and I am very happy that I read it. Most of the blogs I read are the ones who do “break the rules” and stand out from everyone else. I’ve only been a reader here for a short time but you have not disappointed me yet. Your style is exactly how I like it to be.
I disagree with you about Brian Clark though. I used to think he was one of the “good guys” but he did something recently that completely changed my perception of him. I’ll just leave it at that and won’t go into details, but I wanted to at least mention it since he was talked about in this post.
Anyway, keep it up man, you have one of the best blogs in the industry! I gave this post an RT and I will also link to it from at least one of my blogs in the coming days. I hope more people read it and actually make it to the end. I think you’ll be surprised at how many do.
That’s a really good post you got there. And I really like the simple advice you give here. But I have to admit that the qualification of your readers as “highly intelligent” seemed a little sales-pitchy to me, no offense.
I do think you are a highly intelligent person, and maybe some people commenting and really certainly are highly intelligent, too. But the majority is crackers. Now that’s a positive comment, really, I believe life lives itself far easier if you’re a little crackers. That’s why I like to pretend to be crackers sometimes.
Whatever.
Nice post, keep up the good work.
Really? Sales pitchy. That might make sense if there was a big product at the bottom of the post.
Ah well.
Thanks
Great post, Glen. I think I fit somewhere in the middle of the extremes because I make the large majority of my money from sites that aren’t blogs, and only a small portion from my coaching classes. But I do teach. Still, I chose the one-on-one method of coaching/consulting because I’m not a fan of the group learning model. That type of model is less personal, obviously, and I believe that the students end up getting not much more for their money, than they would have if they’d just read the teachers’ blogs. Of course, by not choosing the group learning method, there’s no way I can effectively scale the service and make tons of money. Luckily, that’s not my goal for the teaching side of my business. Helping is the real goal there. What I believe, and what I try to get across, is that there are many ways to monetize a site. Monetization should never be the first goal, however. The first goal is to create a site that gives lots of people something great – or useful – or solves a problem – or is remarkable – or is just flat out awesome in some way, shape or form. What that is…is what can’t be taught. What that is…has to come from the person and their interests, their talents, their knowledge base. A teacher, in my opinion, should only be teaching methods of promoting, marketing, monetizing, organizing, presenting, etc. Of course, one can also teach how to write great headlines, or effective copy, etc., but the real meat of the content – that has to come from the site owner. Well, I’ve rambled on and on, and I’ve already forgotten where I was going with this, LOL! But anyway, great post!
You. Are. Awesome.
I miss you Donna!
Great to see you over here.
“I’ll let you put your own quotations around the word experts.”
LOL.
Dead on, Glen. Well done.
My favourite blogging coach (and the only coach I’ve ever hired). Check Michael’s site out, guys.
Thanks buddy!
Wow. I’m almost speechless. That pretty much sums up the blogging industry.
I’ve found the path to making money online pretty confusing thus far. There are so many choices; ranging from simply providing incredibly remarkable content around something you love to automating traffic to several websites you don’t care about that bring in affiliate/ad link income, and everything in between. Do you go the noble personal brand route, the quick easy money route, or both? I’ve been wanting to to start a blog for awhile, but have been pushing it off because I’m not sure if I’d want to do it to make money, have an outlet for writing something I enjoy, or to create unique opportunities for myself.
One thing that is clear to me after reading this post is that you really must be certain with what you are trying to achieve and how you’re going to do it before getting started.
Tony
Hey Glen,
! Needless to say how brilliant I think your post was. To tell you honestly I was expecting it to be longer – or maybe it’s just that I wanted to keep on reading. Either way, it’s another of your excellent, easy-to-follow articles.
.
! But regardless, not making money from it will not change the fact that I love to write in general and that I have found a wonderful medium that allows me to share what I have to say. All I can hope for is that more and more of the right people will come along and read my posts; not because I am an expert on something in particular but because 1) they like to read the different things that I have to share 2) they like the way I share them through my simple “I write the same way I talk” writing style and 3) they like the diversity in topics – although my blog does have a theme (or a tag line that implies the main subject) it can sometimes stray from it. Whether good or bad – I have found that it works. The mix of content keeps my particular readers interested. But that’s just me.
You had me at “you probably shouldn’t read it”
Just to note: I’m actually a fan of Copyblogger but I wasn’t familiar with The Happiness Project, Ars Technica and Quick Online Tips. I’ve already right clicked on them and will be checking them out right after I finish commenting here.
In regards to “your first sentence is crucial” – I completely agree with that; I also think the title plays a big part too – It’s the same with making speeches – you have to hook your audience within the first minute or less; or else…But I do disagree with you – in that I think your first sentence in this post is catchy – I dare say that it’s almost like reverse psychology. In my case, it’s what made me want to read on – well, that and the fact that I truly like reading your insightful and inspirational posts
I think your rule about following people who are living what they teach is on the dot! It’s kind of like the drug dealers who don’t do drugs (I know it’s a terrible analogy but I hope you get the intended point – if they’re not doing it, then why should you?)
As for me, I’d like to say that I don’t care whether my blog makes money or not – but let’s face it, it would be great to be at the level of some of the folks you mentioned – or even a few notches down
I don’t know if it’s remarkable yet or not, – probably not – but just the fact that I’m able and have the time to do something that I love and care about is remarkable in itself – at least I think so.
. I’ll be looking forward to the next, even longer 
post! Hope South Africa is treating you well.
Anyways, thanks for sharing this piece. Hope you don’t mind my personal blabbing
uff, that was long! but yes, it was worth the time. Innovate or die!
Oops I just realized how long my comment is! Sorry about that and the excessive smiley’s!
Hi there,
This post made a lot of sense to me. I started my journey following Copyblogger about a year and a half ago. I don’t tend to read it now as much as I did, but it’s an excellent site for sure.
I think that the whole loop about teaching people how to make money online, and making money to by so, it pretty amusing really. I don’t buy into it. I want to build a business, not just make money. I wnat to love what I do. I also love writing, I love sharing my ideas.
It’s actually really hard to build something meaningful.
I also liked the fact that you mentioned the A-list blogging club, I won a free place on the last Camp (which I was stoked about) and I subsequently signed up to the club. It’s like $20 a month, which for the information they provide, its very good value. I’ve learnt so much from it.
The problem I’m having is that my niche is Snowboarding. There are a lot of very very mediocre blogs. Which actually works against me. If there were loads of other blogs, it would be easier to get noticed. Also people are trained to read that kind of info online.
The reason that talking about blogging and making money are such good topics, is because people trying to do those things spend A LOT of time online, they are also kinda trained to read info in this way.
I’m trying to make my site about Snowboarding. I want to teach people how to Snowboard better. It’s proving to be quite challenging to get going. But that’s ok, as long as i’m learning a lot in the process, it’s all good.
This is the longest reply i’ve ever left, so it must say something about your articles. Thanks dude.
Fantastic post! Even my secret cyber crush commented and he knows stuff too. Keep on speaking your mind it’s refreshing.
Damn, all the girls love Diggy eh?
Thank you Erin!
Another awesome article of Glen….being Glen. This was great stuff, and I really, really agree with your point of taking risks in your industry. I maintain 2 blogs. One is all about marketing for small businesses. My other blog talks all about the swimming pool industry (That’s my other real job, I’m a pool guy) and it (the blog) completely goes against the grain. By taking huge risks (I’ve been served attorney papers by 3 different pool manufacturers only to tell them all to shove it) I’ve managed to build a huge following in my industry and many consumers now see me as their advocate. In other words, I think the key to any blog is the willingness to present the good, the bad, and especially the ugly….By so doing, success is bound to follow. This also explains why your blog friggin rocks Glenny boy
….Keep up your greatness.
Wonderful Glen. And a little bit of Purple Cow in it at the end! I really like what you do, it’s awesome.
Being different, being new is a really hard thing to do. When I am looking at my own niche, the college blog niche, what could I do? I’ll have a brainstorm in the near future, the sun is shining here in the Netherlands again, so I’ll grab a cup of coffee and go sit outside with paper and pen for a while.
Thanks for everything you write.
Hey Glen, you have like close to 80 comments so I don’t know if this one will be read, but I’ll just comment anyway. Great post as always man. It’s so crazy how people like that guy in Hungary makes so much money when his site is automated and he’s probably not even there most of the time. But I don’t think this is the right way; there’s just something wrong about that. As for people trying to tell sell you services, I agree that they need to have the credentials to do such as thing. I like that example where you mention if we would trust someone for relationship advice if they had three divorces under their belt. I laughed at that. Ultimately, in today’s day and age of millions of blogs, I agree that being remarkable isn’t enough to make millions of dollars, but it is enough to separate yourself from the crowd, and that does require risk taking. Thank you Glen for another valuable post.
A blog that makes money by writing about every other blog post written on a specific topic? No way!
But then again, let’s look at Lifehacker. That’s exactly what they do. The only difference is that they curate what they write about and include a feature article every now and then.
Another great post. Learned a lot … again … what to say …. just Thanks I guess.
How much importance would you place on relationship advice from someone with three divorces under their belt?
Um… actually, a hell of a lot. You learn in the failures, remember.
I’m guessing you do this a lot?
Glen, I quickly scrolled down and see how long your post was gonna be when I read your first sentence. And it’s not long at all!
Anyway, I’m glad you wrote this post, it puts things in the right perspective. I find myself breaking quite a few rules as well, like you have to write and publish on a specific day. I don’t know if it’s good or not, but I know that if I keep myself too rigid I will go crazy and stop writing good stuffs, if at all. That might change as things develop, but I just want to produce good stuffs, and get paid while doing it.
“Helping you make money is what makes money”. It’s gonna be stuck in my head for a while…
Well I read the whole thing as normal too. It would have been okay if there weren’t so many long comments from your intelligent readers:)
Hmm. Ain’t that the truth.
(Waving hand wildly) “I get a gold star!! I read the whole thing AND all the comments”.
I appreciate what you’re saying, and recognize that it is true. At the same time, I am trying to make some money on-line, so that I can pursue my dream of being location-independent. Which means I’m blogging. And I have nothing to sell and I have not been successful in any of the ventures I have attempted, mostly due to under-capitalization.
But I love my identity as a blogger. When I describe myself that way, I glow and SMILE – because, at last, I belong to something wonderful that is bigger than myself.
You are right, and it is unfortunate that there are those who are profitting from the whole “re-sell rights” sector. But I am going to close my eyes to them, and keep reading the words of those I love (OK – blogcrush time. . .).
You did good, Glen. “Get yourself a Probie-snack, not from my desk, use the vending machine”.
Your a clever fellow Glen, adding “I know you wont read this” probobly made more people read this. How did coppy blogger make 3.5 million btw, more specifically where did you get that number (just curious)? Love this site, its my secret weapon for success
Hey David,
Brian mentioned it in his keynote at Affiliate Summit West.
Thanks!
*Phew* Made it all the way through – even though I had to take a break half-way. Funnily enough – I’ve never really considered monetising my blog or worrying about traffic that much – I have Google ads up, but that’s about it – and its probably a clone for a thousand other blogs out there – but having spent some time here I’m wondering if I shouldn’t change my approach a little.
I’ll be spending more time here in the future anyways
Hey Jaydon,
Long time. I hope life is good dude
Can’t complain. But of course, there is always room for improvement :p
Hi Glen,
Great post – thank you. I totally agree about the conclusion of trying to do something that nobody else is willing to do. This will depend on your industry. Being in a “traditional industry” I used to auto-censure my content – but actually I’ve totally changed my way of thinking particularly after reading the Whuffie book of Tara Hunt – and have decided to go with an honest and straight through the point approach. I think you need to speak out to people similarly to what you would say to your friends or family: it’s fine to say that something sucks and stop being politically correct!
Greetings Glen,
New reader, but a happy one. Your blend of IM ideas and personal ideas speaks to many – including me. You did pretty much sum up the blogging industry. The only thing that was missing was mentioning the little “cabal” at the center that pimps all its members stuff. If you’re in it you get your stuff launched to hundreds of thousands of people. I unsubscribed to most (like ProBlogger) as I was sick of seeing the same launch material 5 times on the same day in my inbox. Now I’m hanging out on the fringe and liking it a lot more.
Well I certainly did not have any time to read this post today, and I have decided not to read any blogs on Internet Marketing anymore….. well guess what! I read every word and I am even compelled to comment! Rule breaking works wonders Glenn
Glenn;
I want to thank you so much for this article. I have been going back and forth (more like all over the place) with the direction of my site, blog and the product i developed. You gave me some really great direction here.
I just downloaded Cloud Living and I’ll (hopefully) be open for visitors by the end of the month. I’ll send you a link when i Launch.
Ha! You got me hook, line, and sinker… Hell, I read every word just to spite ya’.
As someone who started blogging strictly to educate customers and increase the overall search engine visibility of my small (brick & mortar) business, I’ve never been into the ‘Make Money’ genre. What I am currently getting into is the ‘Help the Other Guy Who’s Struggling’ niche.
There are so many small business owners who are struggling everyday just to try and keep their doors open. Most shy away from the time suck that can be online marketing. But, with a few tips and tricks(like goal setting, a plan for consistency, etc) they can all benefit and reduce the amount of time required.
Keep up the fantastic work, Glen!
If you aren’t passionate about what you are blogging about, it will suck to write and suck even more to read :.)
Awesome as usual!
Hi Glen, stumbled upon the site while wondering around the net and I have to say, absolutely brilliant read and also, thanks for all the tips, tricks and information contained within this site.
Adam
This post has needed to be written for way too long.
I’m glad that you finally did it Glen. Someone has to have the balls.
It’s no wonder this blog is catching on like wild-fire. I’m sure it will continue to burn for a long, long time.
Nice blog Glen and keep up the good work and thumbs up.
Great post, very informative. The little reverse psychology worked on me. I’ve read about 2/3 of the comments here as well.
Glen,
I’m going to alter my damned blog right now.
It’s too …. SAFE
Jonathan
There is real gold here Glen. I’ll be back to read through this many more times. It is helpful for people fairly new to this scene like myself to get good solid advice like this.
For me, being a great blogger resorts to that: live an extraordinary life day in and day out, and then describe it word by word. I believe so much in this approach that I even made it a single post on my blog. I truly believe that providing consistent value is what creates abundance (in the very common form of money, for many of us). I don’t think that Steve Pavlina (met him in real life), Leo Babauta or Brian Clark aren’t providing value, on the contrary. I also think that none of them is making money exclusively by teaching others how to make money. They’re doing much, much more than that.
From Glen: It feels like you’re trying to disagree with something I didn’t write. I know they each provide value. I even said that Steve and Brian are two of my favourite bloggers.
At this point, maybe you realized that I’m not buying what you wrote. You created a feeble dichotomy between “making money by teaching others to make money” and “I make money by doing what I want”. These things aren’t exclusive. The guys you described are making money for a lot more reasons than teaching. And one of them is because they\re an inspiration. The way they live their lives is what makes other people curious, in the beginning. And once they realize that their lifestyle is for real, that gives the hope to change their lives too. Inspiration is much more important than teaching for their success.
From Glen: Again, it just looks like you’re trying to be controversial without much substance or relevance. Where does it look like I say “I make money by doing what I want”? – I make 5% of my income from this site at most.
For instance, Steve Pavlina lives a life of inspiration: he’s jobless yet he’s enjoying abundance. He writes about Site Build It, that’s true. But people buy Site Build It because of Steve’s authority and real life examples, not because he writes powerful sentences at the beginning of the articles, that’s just common sense copywriting. Let’s not mix things here. Leo lives a great life on the personal relationships level: he has a family of 6 kids (2 of his own, 2 of his wife and 2 common, if I’m not wrong on this one). A lot of what he calls minimalism, and what became the foundation of his success was a direct result of his personal life. And the examples can go on and on. Those guys aren’t making money exclusively by teaching. Maybe John Chow could be in this league but not this guys.
From Glen: Again (am I being repetitive yet?) you seem to miss the fact that I already clearly stated these guys make money from other sources. I even used two examples of Leo’s other income streams.
And now, directly to the topic: following a certain rules can help you become visible, and that’s a fact. Especially in the blogosphere, which is a game ruled vastly by search engine algorithms. The more you follow those rules, the more your message will be fit and pushed to the top of the search engine directories. So, I do think following those rules you mentioned is important. And I don’t just think, I know from my own experience. I hit Delicious a few times, I constantly hit SU and been featured on LifeHacker two times in less than 10 days. Last one made me move my blog to cloud hosting, because the traffic from LH brought my dedicated server to the knees. Many of the traction posts – as I call them – were good ol’ list posts, published on a schedule and so on… Some of them were personal stories. But I did follow a lot of rules and I’m going to tell you why.
From Glen: You have completely missed the point of the post but judging by my earlier comments (even though I consider you a friend online) it honestly seems like you’re disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing. That’s fine. Maybe you didn’t like the way I put things across. I guess not everyone can enjoy it.
Because the rules you mentioned are on the technical side. They’re like bones, they sustain a body. If you break those technical rules, you break the body. No matter how beautiful that body is, without a consistent foundation it will be down. If you write with a schedule, you’ll improve your style. if you get the habit of writing powerful sentences at the beginning of your articles, you’ll create bigger expectations for your readers, etc, etc. Those rules are just simple selling techniques, I don’t see any reasons why one wouldn’t follow them. Really…
What should be broken, though, because there is something to be broken, is at the authenticity level. You can safely follow those technical rules you mentioned, but what you write, the content, that should be you, and you only. That should be authentic. That should breathe your life experiences, your goals, your failures and your victories. I expected to read something like this in your article and waited and waited and nothing happened. Instead of telling people to find their own PERSONAL lifestyle, you told them to break some common sense blogging rules which are only making their message more digestible.
So, I’m not with you on this one Glenn, and I also felt the need to tell it. I may be doing something wet against the wind here, but I can’t tell I agree with something if I don’t.
Again a great post Glen,
I must admit that I read some of your posts twice to make sure that I understand everything very well.
In the last few years, I tried to follow rules that so called “internet gurus” are saying “must follow” to be successfully online, and honestly I had no results.
Since I am following your advice, I started to see some great results, and I am doing nothing else than what few years ago I thought is wrong to do.
“Playing it safe is easy. But it’s also boring and predictable”. You’re 100% right.
Thanks for the answers, Glenn. Obviously I wasn’t on the same vibe with you on this one. That’s what I call “agree to disagree” (as opposed to disagreeing just for the sake of disagreeing). One more thing: as one grows in popularity his friends will slowly be replaced by fans, yesmen and sycophants. Been there, done that and it’s not nice. At some point, you start to realize the value of somebody who’s just telling you upfront: “I don’t like what you did here”. Friendship is more often a way to openly disagree than a way to blindly worship somebody in the hope that his success will be contagious at some point.
Cheers, mate.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m open to criticism (constructive is better) but your comments just didn’t seem to have much relevance to what I wrote.
No worries
Most of the comments on my blogs start with something like “I found you on Google while searching for” Well I found you on Twitter while searching for something which I can’t quite remember how. I’ve been reading your bio and you certainly seem to be a remarkable man.
Anyway thanks for the info and I look forward to reading some of your tweets and viper posts in the future.
Glenn;
I’m really just getting started in the blogging world. I read every word of this article twice, as I do with all your posts. I have also been reading some of the comments. Most of them are giving you praise for having the courage to write it, and I would have to agree with them.
There was a rather long comment that I noticed today, however, and I really appreciate that he took this stance. Due to his explanation of his direction and thoughts about the nature and necessities of successful blogging, I am more convinced than ever that I will be following your advice Glenn.
I have been looking at a category of blogs for some time now, as this is the subject matter that relates to the main area of my life. For years I have been looking for advice and real world solutions on the multitude of problems all of us in this field face. As hard as I have looked, there simply is none. Every single site I come across is an expert in the field explaining to you why you will die a horrible death if you don’t by the product being pitched. Although there might be a small bit of useful info, I am being pitched; no matter how well it’s disguised. There is an ugliness in this.
Your approach, on the other hand, is perfect for what I am about to do. From your direction, I will launch a site based on my experiences and the many things that I have learned in this field. I will have guest bloggers come and give advice. I will offer the ability for visitors to share their experiences and the solutions they have found. Most importantly, I will take a strong stand to a different way and a better way.
I will advertise the product I have developed, specific to this field, but this will not be the main purpose of the site. First and foremost, my mission will be to help people and to bring them some piece and comfort.
As to the exact techniques that I will use, I’m sticking with you Glenn.
OK, I admit, I skimmed it. I always do. But then I got interested and read the whole thing. An yes the first sentence reverse psychology worked because I like contrarian blog posts anyway. Bu the main thing I go for is the comments. That’s where the real meat is as it becomes a conversation. Now I’m going to go back and read it again due to the comments. Mission accomplished.
Thank you, I loved this post. I read almost every word
It is nice to read a blog about blogging that isn’t promoting someone else’s course about making money blogger. I write a service based blog and it does very well for us, I also do several other blogs for enjoyment. I think there are ways of monetising without resorting to hype and selling ‘teaching’. whilst I work it out, I shall stop by and read more often, but only if you have posted something
Hi Glenn!
Your point about making money by teaching others how to make money really got my attention. I agree that there’s nothing wrong with it, but only as long as you actually know what you are talking about (which accounts for probably 1% of the people who are doing it.) Some of the biggest names in social media seem to have no real experience or credentials, yet they are wildly successful. They speak in sweeping generalities and don’t provide a whole lot of value, but they market themselves well.
But I think there’s something to be said for the approach that you seem to take. I come here and I read what you write because there are some awesome, actionable tips here. Offering that kind of information builds credibility from the ground up that lasts forever. Keep up the good work!
This was ABSOLUTELY fantastic Glen, I am so glad I read through the whole darn thing
worth it 10x over… I love that you present both sides of the story without bias as well. Thanks for continuing to provide such amazing reads, this is why your blog is so popular!
ok, I’ll be the clown who asks what was the name of the product that recommends that you
pick a very small but profitable niche, and then write about every other blog post that’s being written on that subject.
First time reader and got to say I read the whole article. Very good and very true. I write on a very small niche and know what you mean by going against the grain. Thank you for a provocative article.
Copy blogger makes $3.5 million? That is truly insane.
More accurate to say the 2 businesses I’ve launched off Copyblogger made a lot of money last year and that’s growing with the launch of a third this year. The blog is a launch platform, not an end to itself.
Glenn,
You said it all right here (for me anyhow)…
“The blogosphere doesn’t need any more blogs that play it safe.”
Spot. Fricken. On.
Great article. I completely agree with you. You have to think out of the box to be successful online today.
Hi Glen
I’m inspired by your words – and would like to comment on one point.
A relationship coach who has had three divorces – and who has learned about himself/herself from those divorces – could just be a way better coach than someone who got married when they were 18, raised two sweet kids, and never had a cross word with their spouse.
Having three divorces, or no divorces, is not the issue. The point is what did they learn from their experience and do they have the skills to communicate that learning?
In case you’re wondering – no, I’m not a relationship coach. And I only have two divorces behind me!
ciao, Leo
Glen-
I read the entire post and enjoyed it. I definitely agree with the differentiation idea. People are tired of seeing the same old stuff.
Thanks for producing great content!
Jeremy
You nailed it once more. Nice!
I love writing, I love sharing ideas, and I love interacting with highly intelligent people too.
That’s really the core of it.
It is a long conetnt. I could be lazy to write the post. After I read it, Thi blog post give inspiration
Wow, for somebody just getting into blogging this is huge. It’s like a condensed ebook that really lays it out. Very motivating. Does Copy blogger really make $3.5 million? What about Problogger?
I must say – I agree with you. I have had many little blogs in the past and it always seems that the ones where I am just myself – do the best.
The only thing I make sure that I actually *do* is choose my keywords as best I can. All the rest, I just don’t care about. I am me – plain & simple. I might never make millions, but at least I can feel good about whatever *topic* I want to write about. And if I happen to make a buck off my hobby – then that works for me!
For the life of me – I just can’t come up with a posting schedule…lol. I write about what I want, when I want. Sometimes, it’s a few a week, other times it’s months in between.
Hi Glen,
This is such a fantastic article!WoW! I feel like i dont know anything about blogging…but now I have been happily informed by you.YAY!
I am so charged up to do something different in my niche…I seriously stopped to actually read your whole post after that first sentence…your reverse psychology worked on my therapist mind too
Glen, I am in total awe of your writing and blog…seriously I have so much to learn from you about blogging..am subscribing right NOW!!!!!!
Much love,
Z~
Hey dude.
It’s so weird. I never got an email
for this post. I thought it had been
a while so I popped by and like I
thought… a long, shiny new post.
Good stuff.
I noticed you’re off FB. Shoot
me an email so we can stay in
touch ‘old school’ style.
PS: I read the whole thing. LOL
128 comments????
Congrats dude!
Sheesh.
Glen,
You’re an original thinker which to means you put ideas for people to think about, not just a rehash. That’s why I and many others like your work. It makes us think. I stumbled across you through your Blogging Blueprint. Although I could only implement 1/3 of the material and I am still working on learning it, I realized what you were offering wasn’t just rehashed and copied from someone else’s pages. You told your story as you do in much of your posts.
In any market there are people who will just copy or “model” someone’s success. It’s even considered a smart way to do things in some fields. These people may reach a point of success but how fulfilling is that? But I think what you may be getting at is that as a blogger you are a writer. That means you need to bring original thoughts.
I am in the personal finance niche. People will blog about “how to write a check” And others who are deeply in debt are teaching others how to get out of debt?? Go figure. The ironic part is that a huge part of our economy is based on people making uninformed (may I even say stupid or ignorant decisions) like buying a 2 year adjustable ARM mortgage or stocks they don’t even know the underlying sector. The relevance? They’re looking for the big payoff. It’s a mentality. As long as people are looking for “the answer” there are plenty of people to sell or “teach them.” I am in no way referring to anyone you’ve mentioned here. IMO, all of these people add tremendous value.
The market has a way of weeding out all the others. For those not “doing”; you either adapt or get left behind. The ability learn and change is what personal development is all about.
Keep up the great and original work.
Mike
Good read as always Glen.
Been casually following your blogs since start of 2010 & picked up some great info for my affiliate site.
Cheers
I don’t read very many blogs…. something I could probably devote more time to. This is the first time I’ve read yours (a friend posted on Facebook). I love the point you make, which to me is basically, Be authentically YOU. Rules are so boring. ‘Shoulds’ keep us small. Thanks for making the practical case for following our own instincts.
Glenn:
As always bro, you never fail to provide value. I had just gone public with my first blog that you were instrumental in getting me started, and I was feeling a bit discouraged that I hadn’t gotten a subscriber yet. I was feeling that maybe my blogs were too long, my site wasn’t professional looking enough, the market was too saturated etc. Reading you blog has made me realize that I was being too hard on myself because there are people out there who will be interested in my content, I just have to keep at it. You reminded here me why I started my blog in the first place, to reach out to people who are at their wits end in their self improvement process who are trying to get over their “blocks.” I know that if I persist I will capture my own audience who will receive value from what I write.
Keep on inspiring and adding value!
I don’t know if anyone else has made this point (133 comments are a lot to scroll through) but your (very good) post reminded me of the story about the California gold rush: the people who got really rich were the ones selling shovels.
I really appreciate your site and that post, thanks.
Hi, first visit to this blog, it will not be my last. In this information overload world, its easy to get pulled in every direction. I have lost my way so many times that I can’t count them. So that means more than ten. One half tells you to be ahead of the game, the other half tell you to copy someone who is already successful.
What your blog tells me, is that its ok to be yourself. Tell your story be different, be honest and above else have fun.
This is my first visit too. I stumbled here by the way.
I really enjoyed your post as I feel the same way about blogging. I post when I want, about what I want, and if I were to blindly follow every “tip” and “rule” about blogging the gets espoused by so called experts I’d still be scratching my head and never actually starting!
Good work, keep it up!
Awesome post, I’m glad I stuck around a read the hole thing. However, I didn’t understand what rules you were breaking. The ending question is what really resonated with me. If you want to make money then you have to take risks on being different. That is the only way anyone is going to grow.
Anyway, Great Work Glen
Mark
Great stuff, truly inspiring. Now I need to re-read it, taking notes. Thank you!
[...] trusting someone who has created a number of blogs that failed miserably. But, even though I said I wouldn’t trust someone with marriage advice who has been divorced three times (they [...]
Great post again, somehow I just love reading this when I have some free time. Learned me allot over the last 2 weeks! Thanks.
Hi Glen,
Amazing website by the way.
Not sure where to post this but where do you get the Graphics you use in your posts at?
Thank you to anyone who could help
iStockPhoto.com
I did get to the end, but i didn’t read it
I’m pretty sure you have valid reasons (though probably nothing that hasn’t been said before), but the essence of the post is at its end: “What is nobody else in your industry willing to do / try?
Do it.”
Now we know what we have to do – i guess it’s for each and every one of us to find a way of doing it…
Glenn,
I am going crazy over here with energy after reading this. We are all unique but we are so afraid to show our uniqueness when everyone else is telling you “how it is”. I plan to break YOUR rules now, just because I can. I’ve learned very well over the past few months (especially in my private life) that no one really knows crap about anything because of how much information is out there. So why should I listen to anyone? Everyone has their own personal story to listen to, enjoy, reflect on, but in the end, if you apply ANY of it to your own unique life, it turns into a giant load of crap. We already know everything about ourselves, so why ask anyone? Our blogs can be great, but for some reason XYZ’s blog says something about inspirational books and we feel the need to make an inspiration blog entry. The only way to succeed is to plug through every possible method until you find one that works with your own personality.
I cant believe i read all that, but this article is totally interesting, and you managed to make me follow you till the end. Thanks for the advices!
Great post but I’ve got an issue with it. Most of it is “easy to say but hard to do” type of stuff. For example, you end by saying “what is nobody else in your industry willing to do or try?” Obviously if I knew that, I’d be doing it. However, the fact that I’m not implies a deeper issue – when you’re “running with the herd,” it’s really hard to tell where you’re going.
So to answer your “what is nobody else doing” question, how exactly do you do that? How do you break out of your day-to-day “normal” routine so that you can see the “abnormal,” or in this case, the opportunity no one’s taking advantage of?
Your points are very well taken but they require a type of “sight” that most of us just don’t have. How you develop that type of “sight” might be the basis for one of your next posts!
Hiram
Glenn,
I new to the blogging thing. I want to thank you for this article. It has the right idea and the right help for people like me who are just starting out.
I really enjoy writing and hope to continue. Someday, I hope to make some money doing this
Again thanks for t he article.
Ron
I laughed when I reached the end of the actual post. You called this a long blog post and I was prepared for a nice long story. In reality, the length of this post pales in comparison to the average length of the posts I write (and read).
Awesome
Great read Glen. And I didn’t think I had the time!!! Touche!
Nice article!
And I can’t help but be amused by how ‘long’ that article was. The scroll bar on the side made it seem like you were right, until factoring all of the comments in
I was still right for a lot of people
I love this post, thanks!
“The author knows this but I doubt he cares – the traffic he receives from Google must be incredible.”
On buysellads they get “Est.Impressions 1,000,000″ this is awsome. That are nearly 33k Impressions … i checked out some keywords they rank for a lot of Keywords #1 in Google.
Greets
Really nice article! Really long tough
It’s really nice to read that people make money from Adsense, but i think lately it has become more harder and harder for the websites to compete against larger authority, that was upped thanks to the late Panda Update.
These kind of stories really make me not give up despite so many setbacks. Thanks Glenn
I’m especially going to start implementing tip #4 into my blogs. I’m glad I stumbled upon your site.
Excellent Post. I have nothing more to say, you’re right. This is ace.
Excellent, highly educative post. Thank you!