Blogging = Analysis leads to Paralysis & Rules are made to be Broken
I was trying to recast my blogging journey and I was diving deep into the blogosphere. The more I read, the more I was getting confused.
“What am I doing?”
“What I should be doing?”
I was trying to strategize my journey and was looking at options and opportunities I should be tapping and should be pursuing. I was getting lost in the web vocabulary. Not the words and definition but the use and it’s interchangeability of usage.
Blogging, Internet Marketing, Blogging Business, Online Business, Hobby Blogging, Professional Blogging, Blogging Category, Blogging Topic, Making Money from Blogging, Blogging Marketing, Strategic Blogging, Affiliate Marketing, Blogging Advertising…
Is blogging a website?
Can blogging be a business?
How to make money?
Can I make money?
Can I follow the guidelines and success is guaranteed?
Is it the right time to start my blogging?
Is it the right time move to be a professional blogger?
All these words and questions was hitting me hard, I was utterly baffled. I was under the impression that with exploration and acquisition of knowledge I will getting clarity and confidence in the endeavor of recasting my new journey, it will be much more meaningful and hopefully, more productive.
The dilemma I was caught how to balance my creative expression and also give a strategic solution.
Am I by attempting to give strategic solution diluting my creative freedom?
It is my creative freedom that is driving me and making me to take my blogging engagement to a new level. The question that I was not finding an answer was can I really go to the next level without a strategic thrust. When I started scanning the life of successful blogger and how they have achieved the level of success and sustained their engagement. There are a whole lot of theories and hypotheses from the experts and the experienced bloggers who have done it and seen it and are speaking from the stage of authority.
I thought I was pretty clear on what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do what I decided to do in blogging.
That the very thought of mine did undergo a sea change, literally a tectonic shift which I had no clue and I had no answer to further clarify my increasing state of ambiguity. I had acquired so much knowledge. I had dissected so many articles. I had read so many blogging lines, just not the lines but between the lines. I was debating and I was discussing. I was questioning the assumptions. I was on a mission of wild exploration and expanding the horizon of my limited frame of thinking and the way I have been visualizing the space and the form of online engagement through blogging.
Professional blogging is difficult to manage and sustain without resources, it has to generate resources to maintain its existence. Blogging has to wear the commercial hat, content cannot continue to be offered free and have a model that can run the show. For the show to go on, it has to produce the products and services that can be marketed and make money. To be able to create a market for my product I need to have my audience who can listen, understand, appreciate and see the value to put their money and close the sale cycle. I need to learn the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to be able to attract traffic to my blog. I need to learn the Internet Marketing to be able market my blog in the market place. I need to learn the monetization methods like Affiliate Marketing to be able make some money and keep trying and adding other methods.
Checking what is working and what is not working for me and keeping aside those not working and focusing on those that are working for me.
I had remembered that what works for others may not work for me, and this what I was not saying, it was the words of the experts and I had no reason to discount the teaching. I was passionate about creative writing and space to experiment my thoughts and ideas that keep coming and that keep exciting me. I was enjoying my space and I was experiencing the power of creative fulfillment.
Why should I be recasting my blogging journey?
Why should be trying my hand in so called arena of professional blogging? Am I doing the greatest mistake by being carried away the monetary value that I will be getting by this shift?
Is it a reality or I was in illusion?
Is that the perception I was carrying was proving me wrong. I was not ready to correct myself.
It was bordering paralysis with the kind of analysis I was doing, I wanted to do a comprehensive check before I took the final call on the decision to be a professional blogger. I didn’t want to get branded by being a professional blogger I was compromising my creative freedom and get swayed by the monetary benefit that is likely to come with the success of a professional blogger. Though I was getting clearer with further research that it needs a gamut of things to be put in place to make money and make good money and make money consistently, not just one big catch and few here and there.
Not just writing but also speaking.
Not just content but the quality and consistency of quality and production.
Not just one form of format but all including that of audio and video.
Not just online marketing but also offline marketing.
To do all this I have to keep updating my knowledge on technology and the trends that are trending in twitter to the words, those are key to my area of blogging. With all these bricks and blocks it acquires the form of a company, a startup online company.
The business of blogging to succeed there has to proper business model. The business of blogging to succeed there has to be proper marketing plan. The business of blogging to succeed there has to be a proper financial framework in place.
It boiled down to following rules and getting blocked within the boundaries and the boxes. I was convinced that blogging business is about out of box thinking and breaking the rules of the game, playing in your own style and setting your own rules and running the way you want it to be without the conventional stipulation and standards.
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image_credit_ newsiosity.com
Hi Nihar,
Firstly I would like to say that I am so sorry that I haven’t been able to keep pace in the last 2 – 3 weeks.I was absolutely caught up with a number of things.
You have hit the nail on its head in this post. The dilemma of balancing creative expression, while finding a strategic solution has plagued me from time to time. I have always been of the opinion that unless there is a strategic thrust, it is difficult to sustain the interest. How long it takes to get that strategic thrust is a different question altogether. One cannot go on creating and offering quality content for free. There have to be some marketable products or services to be offered, and there has to be a consistent tangible gain.
One thing I have come to realize is that one needs to amass a huge follower and viewership base, to make it commercially viable. And yes, making it commercially viable could also mean stifling creativity.
There are no easy solutions. At the same time when we have started this journey, that has enriched us in terms of ideas, and getting to know people and cultures, let’s keep it going as long as we can, to the extent we can. 🙂
Hi Somali, not to worry, it was exactly the same here for the last few weeks, quite hectic and tied up at various fronts, not able to spend time here. Sometime we just have no options and get caught in our daily life and work which gives no space for our creative engagement.
Absoulety right, I couldn’t have agreed more on the same. It needs the startegic thrust and there has to be strategic solution. How long can we keep giving stuff free and the bigger challenge to keep our motivation and drive intact and sustain it so long without tangible benefits not at all easy.
I agree to make it commercially viable it is the follower and it has to be pretty good number and that is another activity which can affect our creative endeavor. I keep thinking and many time just give up as I don’t get an easy answer and back doing the free content and creative sharing becomes relatively easy. The intangible benefits keeps us going and the pleasure and joy makes us hooked but how long is a bigger question…this question keeps striking me and I remain clueless and keep reflecting periodically to get a right answer.
Yeah, it has been long that we had such good conversation and thanks for sharing such a lovely perspective and being back on our conversations.
Have a wonderful day ahead.
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So , an exploratory journey it remains still. Have a wonderful day. 🙂
Perhaps the beauty of this journey somewhere lies hidden in our child like curiosity and the nature of our constant exploration.
You too have a lovely day.
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A fully monetized and business-minded blog needs to shift from the aspect of creativity to market pulse. It’s up to the blogger how to take this in accordance with the essence of the blog- creativity. I think a balacing is very important, though sometimes one has to compromise.
And, I absolutely agree with the fact, that, too much information often clutters the mind.
A wonderful, thought-provoking, post as always… 🙂
I agree Maniparna, striking the balance is the best way to manage such situation. Never easy to take a decision in shift from a hobby blogger to professional blogger. There is definite need for a shift from pure creativity to more market centric, there is a business dimesnion which comes into play and needs different mindset to put that business perspective in place. Managing the flow and form of content is so vital and beyond a point giving content free becomes a challenge. Always a pleasure to get such lovely insights from you.
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Honestly, I don’t see any harm when pure creativity is gelled with a tad bit of market-centric attitude to produce content that can earn a revenue from blogging. But, yes, I think balancing is very much important and one should be careful of not behaving in the way of a paid media.
Thanks to you too for opening this interesting discussion… 🙂
I agree Maniparna, there is a good scope and reasonable space for both creativity and the marketing activity to join hand and present a different package to our audience and there is tremendous hidden value and will be appreciated by the target audience. The art lies in building and balancing such a delicate and little bit of complexity that is involved and there is a possibility of getting swayed and carried away by the power of money and money is always needed and it has always been a strong motivator of life and blogging cannot escape that relationship.
Have you thought of monetizing your blog or are you planning in that direction?
Have a wonderful weekend and I am sure the count down must have started for you for the season so close to your heart…the rains!!!
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Not planning anything concrete at the moment…let’s see… 🙂
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