Blogtrepreneur: When it comes to blogging for money you’ll get a wide range of opinions on the subject of whether a blog is a business in itself. Personally, I feel that a blog can be a business on its own (without any other services or products being sold) because I see plenty of them every day that are making money. Of course, a blog can also be used very effectively to promote and improve an already existing business. Either way, running a blog with the intent to make money either directly or indirectly will help you to learn a number of valuable business lessons.

Blogging is an excellent proactive learning experience for anyone interested in business and entrepreneurship, and I’d like to take a look at 7 lessons that you’ll learn from blogging. While you may or may not have already had a textbook knowledge of these lessons, blogging will give you a first-hand, real-world knowledge that is always superior to anything you can read in a book.

1 - Networking is Critical

Building a popular and profitable blog without a network is just about impossible. Likewise, in the business world a network can be the difference between an average career and finding exciting and challenging opportunities. For any entrepreneur, regardless of what type of business you are building, a strong network will be one of your most valuable assets.

2 - Businesses Need a Plan

When starting a new blog it can be tempting to jump into things and just start blogging. Modern blogging platforms make it extremely easy to get started quickly, but the need for planning still exists. If you hope to run a successful blog you’ll need to have a plan to get there. Most likely this plan will evolve somewhat over a period of time, but you should always have some direction in mind to keep yourself on track.

3 - Making Money Online is Realistic, but Not Easy

Many people start new blogs every day with the hope of quitting their day job in a month. After all, people like John Chow and Darren Rowse make a significant amount of money with their blogs, so why can’t you? Well, I believe that anyone can earn a substantial income blogging, realistically only a very small percentage will earn that type of income. The biggest thing holding most online entrepreneurs back, in my opinion, is effort. Yes, it is realistic, but it won’t come easy.

4 - A Great Idea without Consistent Effort will Only Go So Far

Regardless of what type of business you are running, the necessary action is critical. If you have a great idea don’t wait around while someone else beats you to it.

5 - Integrity Counts

In the business world there are always going to be temptations to take short cuts, but in the end integrity does count. In most cases those short cuts might help you temporarily, but they’ll usually come back to haunt you. Whatever type of business you are working in, make it a priority to be seen as reputable and trusted.

6 - Not All Expenses Are Bad

If you’re a blogger you may learn the value of quality hosting when one of your posts gets to the front page of Digg. Or you may learn that paying freelance bloggers is a cost-effective way to build quality content for your blog that generates even more money in advertising revenue. There are plenty of expenses that can make your business more profitable, the key is minimizing the unnecessary expenses and being willing to spend on those that will help you grow the business.

7 - Building a Business is a Long-Term Experience, Not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme

Most bloggers tend to give up very quickly when they find that they are not making money as early as they had hoped. Blogging is like any other business in that it can take some time to be successful. Sure, there are a few examples of blogs that are profitable very quickly, but they are the exception, not the rule. If more bloggers took a long-term approach to making money there would be a lot less that give up along the way.

7 Business Lessons You’ll Learn from Blogging [Blogtrepreneur]

• 1 Comments

  

Comments

Steven-Great post. People think that blogging for a living is quick, easy, and part time. In reality it takes a plan and hard work.

Two points in you post stick out to me:

- Networking: This is the easiest way to grow traffic. If you network with integrity and add to the other person's blog, your traffic will grow. If you participate in a thoughtful way consistently guest posting and other opportunities arise. This can be a great way to significantly increase your subscriber base.

- Plan: you need a direction or you will be all over the place. This attracts few subscribers. This doesn't mean your focus is set in stone. You need to respond to your subscribers and adapt.

 Posted by: B Smith @ Wealth and Wisdom at June 7, 2008 6:30 PM

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