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:
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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