Being a full-time blogger

Things have changed around here – again. I started this site about nine years ago (actually under a different domain name) as a journal of my struggles to learn everything I could about running websites. Then for the past few years I stopped maintaining this site for the most part because I was too busy actually doing the work to journal it.

Now, finally, I’m a full-time blogger. The money I’m making isn’t huge, but it’s enough to let me work from home and do something I enjoy for a living.

I wake up to birdsong instead of the alarm clock. I no longer have to arrange my day around an employer’s schedule. I don’t have to worry that my job will be phased out. And I can devote all my time to growing my income instead of waiting to see if my employer gives me a good raise. I’m free and in control.

I don’t claim to know everything about making money online, and I don’t position myself as one of those gurus who promise to dribble out a few hints and secrets if you read between the lines. The big secret to online success is hard work combined with experimentation. I don’t mind at all telling you my “secrets” because all they’ll do is save you time and mistakes.

For starters, here’s my first “secret”: making a few hundred dollars a month from a blog isn’t difficult, if you know what to do and what not to do. Getting that to a full-time living phase requires something extra. That “something extra” boils down to persistence. “Luck” is what happens when you keep at something until, eventually, the odds swing in your favor. If you keep at anything, then sooner or later “luck” happens.

I’ll tell you one other “secret” for free. There is no single solution for online success. Conquering the Google rankings isn’t it, although that’s important and something I’ve done and will talk about. Conquering social media isn’t it either, although we’ll talk about it, too. Ads aren’t it. Affiliate marketing isn’t it. What is “it” is all of the above and more. You want to diversify everything: your traffic streams, your income streams, everything. Anything that’s working for you today could shut down tomorrow. Or shut you out. Or change to the point where it’s not helping you. And there’s always something new coming along that might take you to a whole new level.

So here we go!