Blogging Is All About Money… Right?

Posted February 15th, 2010 / By Brandon Cox in Misc

There are plenty of ways to make money online, and blogging is one of them. The problem is, only a few people actually succeed at making money blogging, and many of those who do so are simply people who make money at blogging by blogging about how people can make money at blogging. Nevertheless, every day more people jump on the bandwagon.

Here’s a challenging thought. It’s simplicity wrapped in profundity… Influence is better than money.

Can influence make you rich? Certainly. But if you focus on being rich, you probably won’t have much influence at the end of the day. A principle we are very passionate about at Fuel Your Blogging is the idea that blogging is bigger and better than simply a tool for getting clicks and sales. It’s a communication mechanism that affords us an increased exposure and an ever-expanding influence with people.

Influence Takes Time to Build

You can make money overnight, but it takes time to build your influence. Whether you want to call it a following, a fan club, or a tribe, connecting with people and building a community is a long term goal that requires consistent investment in others.

Influence Takes Time to Show Its Reward

Influence usually produces income – it’s the blessed side effect of all the hard work. But the rewards are even more diverse than this. The connections you make as your blog touches more people are far more valuable than the immediate payoff. And the payoff sometimes takes time to show itself.

Influence Requires Hard Work

Most blogs that fail to become successful suffer the same shortages of patience and hard work. These are two of the elements of success people tend to mask over when selling a “make money blogging” program. Hard work can’t be done on autopilot. One of my favorite quotes is from John Maxwell…

Success is 1% inspiration and 99% persperation.

Growing your influence requires elbow grease and midnight oil.

Influence Multiplies

The ultimate reason influence is better than immediate income is that influence multiplies. Blogging in the digital age demands that we understand the viral nature of good content. My five fans will share my good post with each of their five fans. Soon your influence is multiplying. Getting rich is all about adding – more subscribers and more dollars. Influence is about multiplying – more self-appointed brand (or blog) evangelists spreading your message.

Influence Is Truly Earned

Influence depends on authority, which is built on trust, which is earned over time. Money can be made without any of these ingredients, but only in the short run. So why not go for the short term gain? Not to wax too philosophical, but influence is fueled by purpose and passion. There’s a point to possessing influence, which isn’t always true of money alone.

There isn’t anything wrong with making money. Sell your stuff. Offer advertising options. Forge partnerships. But never forget that influence matters more. In short, never compromise what you can have in the long term for what you can grab today.

In addition to serving as Editor of Fuel Your Blogging, Brandon is also a Pastor at Saddleback Church and Online Community Coordinator for Pastors.com. He’s also a web designer, blogger, and church communications consultant. Catch him on his own blog or on Twitter.