Making Money Online is like a clogged toilet
Posted on March 20th, 2008 by John Cow under Guest BloggersIf you are new here then you will want to CLICK HERE to enter to WIN a Brand New Amazon Kindle!
Just hear me out
I bet you’re wondering what could possibly be going through my mind after reading that title. This post is not intended to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams of being the next big thing on the Internet, and making a nice profit from it.
The point I want to make with this post is that the Making Money Online niche is saturated. So much so, it is like a clogged toilet. The same information and advice on how to make it rich, although it may be good, keeps circling the Internet toilet bowl.
I follow several MMO blogs and well over half the posts from those blogs are just re-packaged versions of the same stuff we always hear about. 10 ways to increase your blogs traffic. 7 ways to get more RSS subscribers, The top 5 ways to monetize your blog, etc, etc.
Now this information is, usually, very good and true but I probably have 4 or 5 different variations already bookmarked. So why is all this content being rehashed over and over?
Good advice is to blame
I have a couple of theories. First off it may be just a symptom of people actually following that advice. What? Yes, we’ve all been told at one point or another, likely repeatedly, that guest blogging is a great way to increase exposure to your site.
This is absolutely true. In fact, if it weren’t I doubt I would have written this guest post, sorry Cow.
The problem is everyone and their dog is trying their hand at guest posting and unless the blog owner uses some editorial integrity when evaluating guest posts we end up with a clogged toilet with the same information floating around and around. This is true of any niche not just MMO but it seems to be more obvious, to me, in the MMO niche.
Own your niche
Another possible problem is people trying to write about something they know very little about or are not interested in. They see a particular subject is popular and doing well as far as income potential and they start reading various blogs from that niche. Next thing you know they are parroting the blogs they read and not adding much value to the niche as a whole. You need to be passionate about your niche.
I can confidently say John Cow is NOT one of those bloggers. I am continually entertained reading the latest from the Cow like the recent mess Graham finds himself in. I enjoy reading the guest posts here too because I never have to worry about rubbish posts getting through. The Cow has higher standards then that.
What can you do about it?
My final thought is that most bloggers just don’t care about the first two points I mentioned. They are in it 100% for the money, it is the MMO niche after all. For me this is not a good excuse. You can make money in any niche if you are adding value to it. Start caring about your content and your readers.
Making a quick buck is all fine and dandy but start focusing on the long term. The rewards will be greater and you will truly be a value to your chosen niche at the same time.
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I know the Cow has high standards, just can’t understand how he let your post slip by.
Hyder’s last blog post..Dentists Do It Too…
An excellent post! One thing I would say is that there is so much content that you can GET AWAY with repackaging it. Eventually though, those people run out of ideas as they are not creative. Like anything you have to wait it out and you’ll see the real deal separate itself from the garbage and come to light.
Mattaw - Moneybites’s last blog post..The Pros and Cons of Guest Posting
MMO is not explained on most blogs. You cant read blogs and think you have learned all there is about making money online…. BHWHAHAHA
Have you bought any high ticket courses training you? In the last year ive bought 5 from $497 to $2,000
You cant expect to find the ‘real’ ways to make money online splattered over a few people’s blogs
I think the MMO market is saturated as well… which is why I offered some alternatives to using MMO as your blog tagline. I wrote about it two days ago (obviously some are a joke):
http://www.chrisguthrie.net/21-ways-to-avoid-saying-mmo-make-money-online/
Chris Guthrie’s last blog post..21 ways to avoid saying MMO (Make Money Online)
No matter how much someone can say their blog has it all, it doesn’t. Most blogs just have information that everyone else has. There are very few blogs that have content and posts that add real value. I find this can only happen if the writer writes every post from his/her point of view. Make it unique and be creative and no, it is not about the money.
Robin Haney’s last blog post..What is Blogging?
Most people forget that it’s not just content that is king, but Fresh, Original Content…rehashing what everyone else is saying only serves to drown out your voice.
James Wilcox’s last blog post..A Day In The Life
What cracks me up is that a lot of the people who read the make money online blogs start a blog about making money online when they haven’t actually made any in the first place.
There are so many other things people could write about, that have a much larger audience.
Fatgadget’s last blog post..Geeky Gaming - The T-Go Kart NW Wii Steering Wheel
I agree with you 100%, so much of the same info being regurgitated, and muc hof it is good, too, yes.
I have over 83% of my visitors to my blog this month adding me to their favorites, so I think that wriitng about subjects that are timely and timeless are very important.
Also, writing about things that are near and dear to you will definitely make your content unique.
Seems like everyone else rewrites some PLR to use as blog content.
Now, my blog isn’t like Doshdosh except for the fact that every once in a while I write a really long post, see this one here.
http://www.danielmcgonagle.name/internet-marketing/footprint-in-cyberspace-are-you-following-bad-advice-from-marketing-gurus
That link goes to a post that is 5k words, is 100% unique content, is near and dear to my heart, and gets a decent number of comments. It doesn’t overtly sell anything and it lends character to the blog.
Point being, that’s what it takes to be different
Thanks,
Dan
http://danielmcgonagle.name
Well, I just got really hungry and it sucks cos it’s almost 2 am. I don’t have much of value to add here. Good night.
Matt’s last blog post..Filesharing vicar gets up to no good
One thing that sets Cow above (or is that aside from?) the rest is the element of FUN. John Cow does it for fun. If you aren’t having fun it’s probably gonna flop. So many people are blogging out of a need for cash and desperation not to have to work a day job. How fun is that? (Of course it’s not mutually exclusive. But really it’s more attractive if you hide your desperation and flaunt the fun, don’t you think?)
You can make money online by blogging about it. But it’s not easy, nor is it really the best idea to start with. It is unfortunately the most natural idea to start with, because when you’re blogging you want to speak your mind and what’s on your mind is quite often making money online… So if you are serious about this you are going to have to work a lot harder to convince everyone that you’re not just being clueless newbie about it.
My blog posts are probably 90% about MMO, personal development, blogging software, blogging habits, and other stuff that’s all done to the death. Hopefully I will be moving away from this in the future. Unless by some strange coincidence I suddenly really do become an authority about all that stuff…
Luke’s last blog post..5 Reasons to Post Daily
I think making money online (ie. the generation of revenue using the web, in part or in whole) and the “MMO sector” (as bloggers like to talk about it) are not really the same thing.
Blogging about making money, for a lot of people, is a way to avoid doing anything that will generate revenue long term.
The same goes for a lot of the IM “gurus” that spout off advice 24 / 7. If anything, much of their advice (given for the sake of making money for themselves) leads to a narrow view of what it means to setup a business that generates revenue, as well as a sub-culture that is anything but entrepreneurial.
Just my 2 cents…
Simon’s last blog post..theBigGive passes 3,000 projects
I’m apparently rehashing your battle with entrecard….I did mention you here: http://natespost.com/index.php/quick-conversation-with-entrecard/
nate’s last blog post..Quick Conversation With Entrecard?
That’s so weird. I wrote about this exact same thing yesterday morning!
Casey’s last blog post..Is the Make Money Online niche right for you?
The MMO niche is clogged, and seems to be beating a dead horse. I suggest people branch out. Start a niche blog on hunting or sewing. The home mom could start one on parenting. A stay at home mom could post reviews on house hold products like the new swiffer mop or something. Also hot deals/coupons and watch out for triple coupon days at the local Kroger. Find something you know you could talk about daily for the next few years and put your heart into it.
Wade’s last blog post..How do I increase traffic
lol, you know what’s really great? The majority of people who are agreeing with this post write blogs about making money online. Kind of reinforces the point.
Todd Morris’s last blog post..Domain Name Giveaway
Heh, good point Todd.
I’m starting to question the article’s point though. Writing about MMO is a symptom of thinking about it. Thinking about it leads to doing it. So perhaps your run-of-the-mill MMO blog is in fact an incubator for other types of blog. Just treat the MMO side of your site as a nonprofit personal thing (maybe a general traffic generator) whereas the real money-makers are the niche topics. For me that could be worm farming or something fun like that.
Luke’s last blog post..5 Reasons to Post Daily
I know what you’re saying and I agree with you; however, the knock-on effect is that I’m starting to feel slightly irritated by the number of bloggers complaining about the saturated MMO market - it’s getting repetitive, y’all - we’re all complaining about the same thing. So now, not only do I have to contend with the amount of shite MMO blogs out there, I now have to deal with the increasing amount of MMO bloggers repeating the same complaint over and over and over again.
I get it. 99% of MMO blogs are shite. University Kid said it. BloggerNoob said it. You’re saying it.
I get it. I really do. Most. MMO. Blogs. Are. Shit. NOW STOP ALREADY.
2ThePoint’s last blog post..Erm, Can I Borrow Your Beard - I Need It For My….
Interesting. I just posted to my blog where I basically referred the readers to other blogs - I just couldn’t bring myself to attempt to rewrite what has been written so many times, and written well, on basic tips for GPT. I believe explaining why this is important and then saving them time (many people just don’t want to do research) is beneficial. What is most important is that the information is in my blog - not that I wrote it. As well, I’m sure those bloggers/webmasters won’t mind the plug. This may work sometimes when we don’t have an original, creative spin to the topic.
Jacqueline’s last blog post..Tools For Your GPT Toolbox
Agreed. I’m really getting enormously bored with the whole MMO thing. I hear another “I’m gonna make a million quid and post about it online” site has been created and just yawn. There are more fun things, like going on motorcycle rides and waving at the cows.
Linda R. Moore’s last blog post..Anchored