3 Big Reasons You SHOULD Make Money from Your Blog

bybrandonacox

2.9K followers

7 years ago

According to Forbes, Stephen King has managed to earn roughly $433 million from writing books. I've never once heard anyone insinuate that it's somehow wrong for Stephen to sell his books instead of just giving them away.

When it comes to blogging, however, the idea of "making money blogging" has gotten a bit of a bad wrap.

Some people, who believe it's impossible assume that the only way to earn online income is by being scammy or spammy. Others insinuate that it's somehow dishonest to earn money from blogging or that one has to cross ethical boundaries to do so.

I used to desire to make extra money from my blog, but couldn't manage to make it happen. Then, when I figured it out, I didn't want to talk about it. There's a bit of a stigma.

And that stigma needs to die among those who write to serve their audience well.

I've come to believe that if you blog, you should make money from your blog.

It's not that it's a moral obligation. Obviously there isn't anything at all wrong with blogging as a hobby and never earning any money from it.

But if you take blogging seriously as a publishing and business model, then earning revenue from it is actually a good thing. Here's why...

1. Making money from your blog helps you build a better blog.

When I earn money in my online business, I usually re-invest some of what I earn into training, apps, tools, and software that make me a better blogger and writer.

I'm able to serve my audience better when my audience supports my work, either directly (from coaching, consulting, or product sales) or indirectly (through affiliate sales).

2. Making money from your blog has great personal benefits.

We live in a very strapped culture. Everyone is overextended, having borrowed money to consume things that don't ever pay us back.

Earning an income from blogging can - if we're disciplined - help us to pay off debt, save for the future, and give more generously.

3. Making money from your blog elevates your influence.

I assume, if you blog, you have some kind of message that you believe is valuable. You write to make a contribution to those who read.

So when your business grows and traffic increases, more people show up to read what you've written. And influence is a good thing. It's actually far more valuable than income.

You dont' have to justifiy a good business model. Earning income from serving people well is nothing to be ashamed of.

Thankfully, our culture is swinging around to be a bit more positive about this. We believe in compensating artists for art, musicians for music, and writers for books. I believe, more and more, we'll feel good about rewarding bloggers for their blogs.

So don't apologize. Instead:

• Stay humble.
• Re-invest earnings into improving your blog.
  
• Be generous, giving and sharing out of your profits.
• Always operate within the guardrails of your values and ethics.

So go. Earn.