Money from blogging: Too good to be true?

[solstace]

Not sure this is totally the right place - but thought I'd put it here in case anyone more than me could benefit from this info... Don't want it to become evidence for slander though, so... ya know.

Aaanyways - I blog, and I tweet, and on twitter I'm now getting tweets mentioning that http://www.realwritingjobs.com/ are looking for writers and that they'll pay etc etc.

Now, I'll happily talk or write the hind legs off a donkey, so to do so for a living sounds too good to be true. Anyone else had experience of these guys? Are they legit? How does it work? Best avoided?

[Mugge]

Not to break your hopes and aspirations , but I've heard that job-spam is up on Twitter.

Chances are that if they start demanding personal info or processing fees then it's a scam.

[solstace]

Figured. ;)

[psmith2.0]

I live and die by the old "if it's too good to be true, it is" thing. It's never let me down.

My skeptical, practical nature means I might have missed a few choice opportunities over the years, I realize that. But I'd wager that my skeptical, practical nature has also kept me from getting screwed, scammed, scapegoated, etc. by the professional shitheads of the world.

1. Nothing is ever free
2. "Something for nothing!" doesn't exist (not in any serious, major or reliable way)
3. Nobody in Nigeria, especially a prince or high-ranking official's aide, gives a shit about you
4. That rumble in your tummy and catch in your throat are your friends; pay attention to them, because they're trying to tell you something that you should already know and be on top of
5. You'll never add four inches to your wang overnight (unless you tape a crayon to it or something)
6. If you're making "$10,000 a week from the comfort of your own home!" chances are you're doing something highly illegal or involving a lot of oral sex and photography equipment

Words to live by.

:p

[Dorian Gray]

On the serious topic of making money by blogging, though, has anyone here managed that? Is it strictly fairytale stuff, the exclusive preserve of workaholics, for prodigious hacks only? Or can money be made with skill and three hours a day?

There are a few niche things I know enough about to feel I could impart something useful to the world. But because I have the business smarts of a newt it's never gone beyond a pleasant daydream three times a year.

[PB PM]

There are a few bloggers out there that make money, mostly from ads, but that is generally used to cover hosting costs.

[psmith2.0]

On the serious topic of making money by blogging, though, has anyone here managed that? Is it strictly fairytale stuff, the exclusive preserve of workaholics, for prodigious hacks only? Or can money be made with skill and three hours a day?

There are a few niche things I know enough about to feel I could impart something useful to the world. But because I have the business smarts of a newt it's never gone beyond a pleasant daydream three times a year.

I guess if you're an exceptional writer and have some sort of voice or a draw that people genuinely respond to, the audience will be there (and therefore the ad interest and money flow). I'm sure there are those who do it, but I'm betting they're few and far between and probably got into it via legit, established patterns and methods (and not singled out randomly, or via unsolicited spam).

If someone was a famous tech pundit or columnist, and decided to ditch their gig and stop working for The Man, but that person had a following, some clout, contacts in the industry, etc. they could probably make a go of things doing that. Probably helps to be single/childless, and not hung up on the finest things in life (because it might not be super-lucrative either).

:confused:

[Ryan]

Didn’t that Kottke guy try something like this years ago? Not sure how it worked out for him.

The only thing even close to this I can think of is Leo Laporte’s podcast network, but he a) has real radio shows and b) was already loaded so it’s not like there was a lot of risk.

[torifile]

I think Gruber is a good example of someone who has made this work. It's rare though. I would like to give it a go, but I don't think I could support a family doing independent writing.

[evan]

The guy at the simple dollar makes a living off of it too.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

I guess if you're an exceptional writer and have some sort of voice or a draw that people genuinely respond to, the audience will be there (and therefore the ad interest and money flow). I'm sure there are those who do it, but I'm betting they're few and far between and probably got into it via legit, established patterns and methods (and not singled out randomly, or via unsolicited spam).

If someone was a famous tech pundit or columnist, and decided to ditch their gig and stop working for The Man, but that person had a following, some clout, contacts in the industry, etc. they could probably make a go of things doing that. Probably helps to be single/childless, and not hung up on the finest things in life (because it might not be super-lucrative either).

:confused:

I wish Jerry Pournelle did this when Byte was going under. I always enjoyed his Chaos Manor segment.

Oops, looks like he has his own site. Open mouth, insert foot. :D