The discussion in the preceding paragraph, however, lumps two concepts -- making a living and creating a business. To be sure, Weblogs, Inc. and TechCrunch are making a business out of blogging, while your regular bloggers may just be contented treating blogging as a hobby, or, at most, as a means of making a living. Top blogger, Jason Calacanis, says that there's a huge difference between making a living and making a business. We'll start with "making a living" and reserve "making a business" down the path.

 

Blogging nowadays is more mainstream and much easier to do even without the help of programming people. Blogging is now plug-and-play. Anyone can create a better blog in just a few minutes -- for free. You don't need a staff, just an internet connection. To monetize, perhaps you could start by creating an account with Google's Adsense.

 

While setting up is relatively easy, earning something significant is not. Abe Olandres, one of the top probloggers and netrepreneurs in the Philippines, says that while there will always be new opportunities for newcomers, 99% of bloggers who monetize their blogs will not earn anything significant. This is perfectly ok for bloggers, like us, who treat blogging as a hobby. This is not a reason, however, not to explore this field. Abe has these kernels of advice to those who would want to venture into this field:

In addition, please note that high-performing blogs usually have a team of bloggers, and, in the case of TechCrunch, a CEO. For solo blogging, it's advisable to engage in value-blogging. As the Problogger noted: "The quality over quantity model is well-suited to a one-blogger show. The upper echelons of the world’s most highly trafficked blogs are updated dozens of times a day, often by full-time editorial teams. The average blogger simply can’t hope to compete in terms of volume (at least, not if any shred of quality is to be maintained). Value-blogging emphasizes quality over quantity every time, and many of the world’s most respected value blogs update only a few times a week. This flexibility is invaluable to anyone who leads a busy life outside blogging."

 

So, wanna give it a shot? Maybe you could start by creating a blog.