« What James Altucher taught me about marriage | Main | Growthhacking, Mobile Dating & other BS »

The ROI of Blogging (or why I blog)

It doesn't make any sense to blog.

Really it doesn't. From a sane person's perspective it really doesn't make any sense at all to start a blog. And from a business perspective it makes even less sense. You're never going to make money with it anyways. Trust me on this one.

The competition is just way too tough. Almost every imaginable niche was already taken over by some major players/bloggers. It takes years and years to build up an audience. It doesn't pay the bills (and will probably never pay your bills).

These are just a few things that speak against starting a blog. Really, I discourage everyone to start a blog. I encourage YOU to not start a blog. 

You'll have to put in hours and hours and you'll probably never be able to monetize your writing ever. I don't make a dime with my blog. And I already do this for 18+ months.

Even worse, it takes pigheaded discipline, persistence and a hell lot of work before your writing will get any good. Before people will even notice it. Before anyone will finish an entire article of yours. Your writing will simply suck.

That's a matter of fact.

Still, a lot of people blog. It seems like the entire world is blogging. Everyone is looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. I also blog even though I'm a business guy. I should know better that all of this is useless. That it's complete BS.

And a lot of people (mostly business people) have asked me why the hell I even blog.

I'll tell you why. And I'll try to focus on the hard facts here, as this post should be about the Return on Investment (ROI) of blogging. Needless to say that blogging helps me quite a lot to get my own thoughts straight, to rethink my now and all that other stuff.  

So here are a few reasons why I blog: 

  • Ever since I started writing, I reached more than 100k+ people, compared to zero people if I didn't launch a blog. Each and every single person represents a potential opportunity/customer. It's like 100k+ people took a look at my CV (or product if you're a business).

  • Through my writings I was invited to 20+ events as a speaker/coach/mentor, etc. Some folks started seeing me as some sort of expert, whatever that is. I got to travel the world. Some of them only covered my expenses. Some of them paid me a few thousand for a few hours of work.

  • My blog helped me to get connected to people that are way out of my league. People that manage $100mn+ funds. People I might otherwise never ever in my entire life have gotten in touch with.

  • I got countless job offers from all over the world. That would never have happened if I never started a blog. I rejected all of the offers. But that's another story.

  • I got in touch with amazingly inspiring people. People that I tried to help out. People that tried to help me out. My network grew exponentially with every introduction I made.

These are just a few reasons why I blog.

What you usually see when you read someone's blog is just the tip of the iceberg. What happens backstage will usually stay hidden to an outsider. To me. To you. 

To me, a blog is the single most important asset you, your company or your startup have. It's the first thing you should invest in if you want to start stuff. It's the single most important thing you need to gain your potential customer's trust.

People trust me. My readers trust me. You trust me. Otherwise you wouldn't spend 5 to 10 minutes of your life reading this article. You could've gone to the New York Times website.

But no, you preferred to read this article instead. That means that you trust me almost as much as the NYT. Damn it. While writing this, I realize how powerful this blogging crap can really be. It really is insane...

I'm not saying that any of this stuff that happened to me will happen to you if you start writing.

No, not at all. That's just what has happened to me. What has worked for me. But for most people it might never work out. Most people will simply give up too early. They'll try to cash in too early.

Please, never start a blog. And if you do start a blog, please give up too early. If you plan to write a blog for your business, always try to think from the business perspective. It doesn't pay off. And never will. Period.

If you're a startup, don't write about your journey. Don't write about the stuff your prospect's care about. Don't educate them about what they should pay attention to. Only try to sell them your product. Don't tell them anything useful. Just try to close that deal. Ok?

Don't start a blog. Ok?

Because if you start a blog it might take away my readership. And I really love my readers.

Don't start a blog.

Because then I won't have any competition. Maybe everyone might read my blog then. My follower base will get bigger and bigger. Maybe kids in rural India might read my blog then. That might be really cool.

And if you don't blog, even more opportunities will get thrown at me.

Opportunities I will reject, of course but that doesn't matter. But who knows. Maybe I might accept one in the future. Maybe not. But remember, please don't start a blog. Ever!

Thank you...

Exclusive Content:

121 Unusual Tips To Being A Better Writer CLICK HERE to get your copy now!

I've put together a book with some of my best advice on writing.

Over the past 5 years I've written more than 1000 blog posts, published 10 books and more than 3 million people from all over the world read my stuff.

This book contains everything I've ever learned about writing. You can get your free copy here. 

If you want to improve your writing skills or want to get started writing online, this is for you.

Click here to claim your copy now (it's free, for now)...

 

Twitter | | Pinterest | Facebook

++ YANN'S DAILY BLOG ++


  • Ideas on entrepreneurship, seeing & believing. Established 2013. Daily since 2015. Start here...
Email subscription form header
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

Search

Archives

More...

Quote Box


  • "97% of the people out there won't care about what you do. Act accordingly."

     

  • "Money is not for buying things. Things don’t make us happy. Money is for buying ourselves some freedom to do the things that make us happy."

     

  • "Being unrealistic is the most realistic thing you could do."

     

  • "You just need one person who cares about what you do. And that person is you. And no one else. It all starts with you."

     

  • "We always think we have enough time. Until we realize there's no more time left."

     

  • "The only way to stay ahead of the curve is to create your own curve."

     

  • "Be the dealer. Don't be the junkie. The dealer always wins. And the junkie always dies."

     

  • "The only person you should try to please is your 80 year old self."

     

  • "It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you keep your eyes closed.."

     

  • "Most advice doesn’t work. Because most advice comes from people who’ve never even done the things they're taking about. And that's dangerous."

     

  • "Being able to build something out of nothing is the most important skill. For what? For everything!"

     

  • "Why are people who write about millionaire habits not millionaires?"

     

  • "No one will magically find out about you."

     

  • "The things you don't want to do are usually the things you should be doing. They're almost always the things that will get you where you want to be."

     

  • "Don't let other people's reality be your reality.."

     

  • "Today it's easier to get started than ever before. That's why most people give up so easily. Because it was so easy to begin with."

     

  • "When you hate your job you'll never be able to do more than just mediocre work."

     

  • "Don't listen too all the life advice out there. It's all B.S. Just like this right here."

     

  • "No one starts as an expert. We all start from the bottom. And have to work our way to the top."

     

  • "The only thing that will ever lead to quality is quantity. To do it over and over again. That’s the only way."

     

  • "Be a Warrior, not a Worrier!"

     

  • "New ways of doing things never work. Until they do. Just like old ways of doing things always work. Until they dont."

     

  • "Constantly thinking about things won’t get you anywhere. You'll never find a solution just by thinking about it. You've gotta start doing."

     

  • "Not getting it right is part of the process of getting it right."

     

  • "How long does it take to change the world? As long as it takes to change yourself. So probably your whole life."

     

  • "Focusing on results won't get you results. Focusing on the actions that produce results will get you results."

     

  • "It's easy to forget all the things you have when all you do is to focus on the things you don't have."

     

  • "Perfection will only hold you back"

     

  • "Never listen to anyone who has never done what you're doing or want to do. Ignore your parents, your friends and pretty much everybody else."

     

  • "Trading time for money is not freedom. It’s a prison. The only way you’ll ever be able to make more money is to trade more of your time."

     

  • "The only way to beat the system is to know the system. Inside out."

     

  • "It's not what you do on your good days that will make you. It's almost always what you do on your bad days that will either make you or break you."