Yes it’s true. I blog for one selfish reason: financial gain. The great thing is, it finally seems to be working.
This website has been up and running for around 2 1/2 years and in that time I’ve gone from not a lot of visitors to a handful to a fair few. The reason I started to blog was to get my name out there, to show people I knew what I was talking about and that I was employable – and it was the best thing I could have done.
Me, an entrepreneur?
This month, if all goes according to plan, I will make more money from freelancing than in my previous 11 months as a part time freelancer. I’ll earn nearly double my monthly salary (from my full time employer) – and I owe a lot of that success to this blog.
I feel as though, I’ve become an entrepreneur overnight with limited effort but in hindsight, that isn’t the case. I’ve been putting in incremental effort since this blog began – it just hasn’t really paid off until now.
Blog for your future
Writing a blog, to a (very limited) extent, gives your opinions more validity in people’s eyes. Just like having a book published does or appearing on TV as an ‘expert’. Just as the book is a stepping stone to the TV ‘expert’ appearance. The blog is a stepping stone to greater things.
When young (so-far) unemployed web developers email me (after reading What a junior web developer should expect to earn? or How not to write a web design CV) looking for advice on how to find work – I always tell them to start blogging/get their own site and the ones who already have their own site – I just know they will do well.
Having your own site when you’re looking for your first job, means you ooze initiative (which is what employers look for – supposedly). Even if your opinions are half-formed due to lack of experience, you will still stand out from the crowd*.
* Unless your opinions are truly out of date e.g. tables for layout = good practice, etc
Established players
Would dconstruct be such a big event or even exist if not for some of clear left’s founders Andy Budd, Jeremy Keith finding respect through blogging. Would Blue Flavor be so highly regarded without the years of great blogging built up from one of its founders, Keith Robinson (Asterisk) and would people be as interested in Garret Dimon‘s new project if he hadn’t put in the hard work blogging and gaining a readership? The answer is: Yes, possibly but, possibly not at the same time. They’ve put the effort in and they’ve seen the rewards.
Summary
Essentially, this article was nothing more than a boast. There is no smokescreen people – read the headline. By blogging about how successful I’m becoming I hope to become more successful. Fingers crossed.