Blogging questions. Blogging answers. Blogging seeks readers. Blogging accepts affirmations. Blogging learns to live with rejections. Blogging transforms a blogger into an explorer. Blogging kindles hope. Blogging purges the negativity of moments. Blogging attracts attention. Blogging promotes ideas and sells products. Blogging reviews the world and all that is going on in it. Blogging embraces photography, videos, and art. Blogging loves to be creative. Blogging makes good use of words and expressions. Blogging rejuvenates emotions. Blogging is fashionable. Blogging is friendly. Blogging has been an irrepressible phenomenon ever since the internet made it possible for most of us to write and let the world know that we write. Blogging redefines passion. But does blogging earn money for a blogger?

Blogging has been an irrepressible phenomenon ever since the internet made it possible for most of us to write and let the world know that we write. Blogging redefines passion. But does blogging earn money for a blogger?

Well, blogging has won prizes for me. Blogging has invited readers from all corners of the world to extend a hand of friendship to me. Blogging has made me be a part of panels on online portals and websites. Blogging has created a place for me on the lists of bloggers that PR Agencies and digital marketers have. My reviews have made publishers and authors offer to send books to me, companies marketing devices and gadgets have extended launch invites, travel assignments have come my way, my stories and poems have made it to being a part of many anthologies, and a few of my articles have been published in the print media. But does all this mean that I have earned enough money as a blogger?

There are both friends and strangers in the world of blogging who claim to have converted their passion into a profession. This earns them a decent amount of money, they say. Now when I look around I find those who were passionate about food and wrote charming posts, are writing to please chefs, restaurants, eateries, and hotels. Some have even graduated to ranking restaurants, hotels, eateries and even other food bloggers to create lists of ‘The best this’ and ‘The best that’ and are forever giving away awards… possibly for some return favour. Many travel writers or bloggers have slipped comfortably into their new role of promoting travel and tourism boards, creating their travel agency, or are even taking groups of people on short and long trips the world over. Some who began by writing about education are now simply well-known award-giving entities. They are still wonderful and involved people and have their passion with them of course… but unbiased and spirited blogging is either completely absent or present in a minuscule sort of way. Don’t you agree that calling such people successful entrepreneurs is far more relevant than letting the world know them as bloggers? Impartial creativity and a sound fiscal sense aren’t always friendly to each other over sustained spells and so every blogger must decide sometime or the other if he wishes to be a part of the blogging fraternity or would prefer joining the club of entrepreneurs.

Don’t you agree that calling such people successful entrepreneurs is far more relevant than letting the world know them as bloggers? Impartial creativity and a sound fiscal sense aren’t always friendly to each other over sustained spells and so every blogger must decide sometime or the other if he wishes to be a part of the blogging fraternity or would prefer joining the club of entrepreneurs.

Some may ask, ‘Why can’t entrepreneurs blog?’ Of course, they can blog but then don’t we all know how circumspect their sentences are and how expertly they skirt issues that may hurt their line of business. For instance, why would any business leader from the telecom industry go around writing or blogging about issues that may ultimately hurt their own bottom-lines? Blogging is rather allergic to moments where there is a clash of interest and suffers if such a conflict continues. So if you’re the sort who is eager to convert his passion into a profession, do so but be careful to keep your blogging instincts at a safe distance. I know this is far more difficult doing than just talking about it.

Blogging is still a toddler and must find its own relevance in a world where matching it with the ability to earn money is discussed more than anything else. Not that there is no money in blogging. If we take the case of India, we have more than 300 million internet users. Mobile usage has been steadily climbing and has crossed the 250 million user mark which means that access to all the writing online has penetrated well. Around a hundred million active social media users have internet. Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Roposo are just some of the platforms where posts can be promoted and there are ways in which every blog has a chance of earning money. There is Adsense and affiliate marketing to help a few. Corporates dole out assignments through PR agencies and digital marketing segments who, quite obviously, prefer blogs where writing with insights is there. Corporates, educational institutions, ecommerce sites, technology firms, lifestyle product marketers, publishers, authors, and almost everyone else prefer to make their presence felt through blogs and not just through a few tweets and instagram mentions. The influencer segment is also there for people looking to augment their income. The online advertising market in India is touching 2,938 crore, and e-commerce is rushing forward and upwards by using the ShipMonk pricing analysis. Newspapers and magazines have online portals where bloggers are encouraged to share. They have panels of bloggers and being a part of these opportunities can surely have a beneficial effect on one’s blogging ability to influence consumer behavior. Earning in one or the other form trickles in but the competition is intense and there are new entrants making their impact felt with each passing day and I agree with George Siemens when he wrote that ‘where the Internet is about availability of information, blogging is about making information creation available to anyone.’ Bloggers are here for the creation of information though this has to done without the interest of earning a fast buck creating a rupture.

Bloggers, according to Joshua Micah Marshall, are journalists and the medium they work in is blogging. Blogging, ever since it made its appearance, has helped many of us realise that writing and seeking readers isn’t the exclusive domain of a few individuals who are connected to journals, magazines, and newspapers. As Andrew Sullivan wrote: ‘I’m a writer by profession and it’s totally clear to me that since I started blogging, the amount I write has increased exponentially, my daily interactions with the views of others have never been so frequent, the diversity of voices I engage with is far higher than in the pre-Internet age—and all this has helped me become more modest as a thinker, more open to error, less fixated on what I do know, and more respectful of what I don’t.’ Wise words and bloggers as well as potential bloggers must pay heed to what he has said. If you got inspired and now want to be a blogger as well, make sure to start with the basics such as creating a website with WordPress. If you need any help with that, there are a multitude of wpexperts online who can instantly assist you.

Those who assume that blogging is a dying force must understand that there is still a lot of churning going on in this field. There are hundreds of well-meaning individuals coming in each day and an equal number simply fading away or changing their track to become entrepreneurs. This must be understood in the right spirit because even today there are many active bloggers who constantly look into the mirror and chant: When will the money come? I’d suggest them that they replace this with a better affirmation: ‘Be a worthy blogger and assignments shall flow in.’

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Blogger turns into an entrepreneur

Blogger turns into an entrepreneur

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Arvind Passey
03 August 2018