The blogging game is really a set of several smaller games isn’t it? It’s rare I find a 100% kindred spirit blogger whose tasks are the same as my own. One blogger may be obsessing with her/his pagerank and emailing me periodically to note their incremental rise or fall. Another may consider her/himself a “purist” and ask me to stumble posts only on world peace and spiritual sites. Still another may be a joker who eludes any form of financial success in favor or sarcasm and humor. The fact is: I love all these types! Still, in my blogging adventure I’ve had to select my mission and set my goals individually based on that. I’m not speaking for anyone else but myself when I say that is how I measure my success.
So how did I get here and am I now a “success?” That’s a great question and one I can simply answer. I started blogging on December of 2006. I was purely an “online diarist.” Through time and due pressure from my family about the hours, I put those words to work for us and started monetizing my blog through adsense and sponsored posts. At first I made $10-20 a month. After a few months I was often making $300 a month. I discovered I valued income along my journey. I am not saying every blogger should, I’m simply saying every blogger should explore and know what they value. My goal is to interact with other bloggers and profit a little from blogging. Based on those 2 goals, I am a success.
My family understands my success and they appreciate a new tradition I started in December: a weekly treat to a nice night out, paid for with dad’s Paypal card (blog money). I encourage you to define why you blog on paper when you have the chance (and it doesn’t necessarily have to include compensation).
Below is my wife Sarah’s email signature. Those are our 3 kids.
Time management is often a challenge in blogging. I’ve discovered and created a method I use to prioritize tasks I do online. It is geared toward my personal goals and helps me manage my time.
What are your blogging tasks and how do you prioritize them?
You see Damien, you’re organised. My desktop looks like a virtual hurricane has passed by and there’s tumbleweed floating around …. still, as you say, horses for courses … great post
My blogging used to be more just as a digital diary. But then, it became prioritized in 3 ways, for personal, business, and ministry. All 3 serve their different purposes in different forms and take place, of course, at different times of the day, week, and month.
I just flow with what works for our homeschool family while not keeping me away from my husband too much when he’s home.
Because we are such a busy larg-ish family (5), compensation has become a goal, as well.
I have found your posts amongst many that are helping me to navigate this new world of digital working.
Thank you so very much.
My main focus, at this time, has shifted to helping those new to the social networking sphere. I just started http://tw-utorial.com and am providing free resources, including a slideshow. Because I do have expertise in business, I am also offering some fee-based services to those who would like further help from me.
Fuelmyblog has been a new tool for me, and I am still learning how to optimize it. I love the changes you’ve made to the program, as well, and am looking forward to continuing on with it.
Thanks for taking the time to share and to ask a great question so that we can all share and learn from one another.
Great post on blogging,with your hard work you will see success.
@Daddy Papersurfer – Well, first of all, that’s a 2 year old photo of my teaching desk at work so I keep that one considerably nicer than my work space at home. Also, I have a much nicer laptop now … Having said that, I appreciate you noting the value in organization for bloggers. Even a little effort in that department can really “part the clouds” of fog.
@Donna – It sounds like you are on a very productive road. Keep it up!
@Michael Mason – Thank you for the compliment and the kind words of encouragement