How much time do you really have in a day? Many people, me included, have full-time jobs. And sometimes, these full-time jobs are more than your average 40 hour/ week job. With that in mind, you have to ask yourself one question, and you have to be honest with yourself, do you have time to start another blog?
Since starting a blog network 2 weeks ago, I have quickly learned some important things about starting multiple blogs and websites in a short period of time. Different blogs will demand different levels of time from bloggers depending on a number of things. For instance, consider the following when wanting to take up blogging full-time, that is, if you are in it to make money online of course:
- Personal Evaluation. Take a moment and prioritize what’s going on in your life right now. Are you going to be moving soon? Is a baby on the way? Do you have other projects all ready that take up much of your time? Reflecting on what you value and what your goals are will be key at this point. You have to be honest and realistic with yourself. If you have 4 children, a wife, and are the sole money maker in the home, quitting your day job to start blogging isn’t the best idea. On the other hand, if you are single, have no social life, and have no friends, what are you waiting for, blogging is perfect for you 🙂 hehe, well, you get the picture.
- Blog Maturity. Let’s say you have a blog and you suddenly get in over your head with a second one. Many things happen to new bloggers such as feeling overwhelmed at the amount of time it takes to generate content, or having months go by without getting a single adsense click other than the ones you are clicking (not recommended). If you can stand the test of time and maintain quality blogging frequency, good things will be in store. Although this is not enough for your blog to start making money online, it is a key ingredient. The more mature or older a blog is, the more likely it is to get traffic through search engines, the occasional passerby, or paid advertising, etc. When you start a second blog it might seem quick and easy to maintain, but it will only become more involved and time consuming over time. Be aware of that when you are starting out.
- Niche or topic. Some topics are easier to write about than others in terms of how often you have to keep them updated and the potential traffic levels they might bring in. These are both things that contribute to how much “effort” or time you’ll need to give your blog.
- Writing Style. Each blogger writes a bit differently and depending on your blog, the frequency will vary as well. The style of writing you have has a direct impact on the time it takes to maintain your site. For example, if you write a thoughtful, engaging post that encourages interaction, comments and feedback, then those will take a little longer to write than your 2 paragraph summary of what you did today.
Before you start a new blog, take some time and do a self evaluation. What spare time do you have to dedicate to a new blog? Is there any way you can free up more time for blogging? Do you have anything coming up in your life that will impact your schedule?
Self reflection is important if you’re considering starting multiple blogs at once. Many bloggers set themselves up for problems by simply starting too many blogs too soon.
I would recommend that you take your time, the web isn’t going anywhere. Start a blog, see how it goes and know how much time you will need to devote to it. Once you have one up and you are feeling ambitions, then start another. The last thing you want is to start 10 blogs at the same time thinking you will bring in the same amount of money with each blog each day. Although not impossible, you’d be setting yourself up for failure.
So once you have set up your first blog, maintain it consistently with thoughtful posts. At that point, reflect back on the process and ask yourself if you still want to start another one knowing what the process entails. By doing this process, you won’t be as likely to over extend yourself. Also, you will have a better chance at making a new blog successful rather than over extending yourself and having a bunch of no trafficked sites.
This post was guest blogged by Jane May. She teaches readers how to create and monetize blogs and networks on Daily Web Ideas.